GOD'S PLAN FOR STARTING OVER

Sermon Notes, January 13, 2013

Pastor Jan Sinozich

 

Pastor Jan’s sermon was titled “God's Plan for Starting Over.”  The scripture was Isaiah 43:18-19.  The New Year is a time for starting over.  It seems some resolutions are made year after year, the top seven, according to Lifestyles, being:  Finish the “to do” lists; Read more; Get organized; Save money; Quit smoking; Drink less; Eat healthy and exercise regularly. 

According to Isaiah, God has a formula for starting over.  He is more interested in our future than in the past.  “Don’t dwell on the past.  I’m doing a new thing.”  Israel remembered their past disobedience, but God delivered them—from Egypt, from their enemies, and from their lost faith.  We too have made mistakes and failed God, but He has not failed.  He has a plan for a fresh start, a formula for new beginnings.

          Stop—STOP making excuses. Stop blaming others.  Stop seeing ourselves as victims.  Be honest.  Accept responsibility. Admit mistakes, failures, and sin. (Prov. 28:13) Face problems and prepare to meet them. (Proverbs 20:7)  Seek wise counsel. (Prov. 15)  Hang in there—don’t quit when things get hard. (Proverbs 24:10)

            TAKE inventory of our lives.  Evaluate all our experiences. (Gal. 3:4) Learn from mistakes or we’ll keep on repeating them.  Learn from parents, from formal education and practical experience, from pain, from spiritual experiences.  Figure out what you’ve learned.  List your assets.  Surround yourself with the Body of Christ.

            ACT in faith.  Matthew 9 says “According to your faith it will be done to you.”  Faith connects us to God’s power.  Stop reinforcing past errors.  Real success is built on learning from our failures.

            REFOCUS our thoughts in order to change our lives.  Rethink the way you think.  (Prov. 4:3)  Our lives are shaped by our thoughts.  Let God renew our minds. (Romans 12:2)  Let go of harmful memories.  Think of good things (Philippians 4:8) Rehearse God’s Word in our minds.  As we fill our minds with God’s Word, it begins to change us and how we think.  We see ourselves as God sees us, created in His image.  In His Word we find the power to start over.

            TRUST God to help us succeed.  Depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, not on our own strength. “Not by might nor by power, but by my strength, says the Lord.” (Zech 4:6)  We can’t change by our own strength. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results.  Only God has the power to give second chances.

 

 

            This year, let’s not be satisfied with just making a few changes here and there, or just trying harder at the same old stuff.  Let God give you a new start.   How? 

Stop making excuses and accept the opportunity God gives us to rebuild. 

Take inventory of our lives and see what God’s given us to build on. 

Act in faith, believing God’s promises are true. 

Refocus our thoughts of failure by renewing our minds in God’s Word. 

Trust God to be strong when we are weak.

            This opportunity for a new start didn’t come cheap.  Jesus died on the cross so he could offer us a second chance in getting life right, God’s way.  He rose from the grave to show us that new starts mean new life through a personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  He now sits with God the Father in heaven and prays for us, and cheers for us as we break old destructive patterns and begin to renew our minds with God’s Word.