Something New

[The following is the manuscript of my second sermon delivered as Pastor at Pilgrim Reformed Church in Lexington, NC on Sunday, May 18, 2014.]

I will be reading to you today from the book of Isaiah, chapter 43, verses 18 through 21.  This section of scripture begins with the words “Thus says the Lord,”…

18 “Do not call to mind the former things,

Or ponder things of the past.

19 “Behold, I will do something new,

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,

The jackals and the ostriches,

Because I have given waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

To give drink to My chosen people.

21 “The people whom I formed for Myself

Will declare My praise.

 --Isaiah 43:18-21  (NASB)

Let us pray...  Heavenly Father, help us to better understand Your word so that we can discern Your will for us.  Move us by You Holy Spirit to then do Your will once You have shown it to us.  Use us, Lord, to carry on the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the world just as those we recognize later today did for us.  Let our history of serving You be as rich as theirs.  In the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Savior we pray.  Amen.

“I will do something new…”  God said “I will do something new.” This afternoon we will be dedicating something new to commemorate something old.  In doing so, we will be setting apart for the Lord something which He has already given us.  And we rejoice that He has given us the ability, the opportunity to do so.

Around 260 years ago, a German immigrant stood with his neighbors, looked at this spot of ground and declared that God intended it as a place of worship.  God gave them an opportunity and they took full advantage of it.  Otherwise we would not be here today.  God has a perfect plan that He entrusts to imperfect man to work.  He gives us opportunities, and sometimes only one shot to get it right.  One of those unique chances came within the first 20 years of our church’s life – the chance to take a stand and oppose tyranny and fight for the freedoms our Lord grants us.  Many took that stand, in that American Revolution, and some lie resting here in these grounds.

Even though Jesus was speaking of the end of days, His words certainly apply to that war when He told Peter, Andrew, James and John what was recorded by Mark in his Gospel chapter 13 verse 20:

20 Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

 --Mark 13:20  (NASB)

Although out-numbered, out-armed, and out-supplied, our forefathers prevailed in that conflict, but only through their great faith and God’s aid, and our liberties were secured.

Throughout the last 257 years, far-reaching decisions have been made, and great chances were taken.  God has given us opportunities and our members took advantage of them.  And that is why our family is alive and well today, able to honor all those who went before us with our ceremony this afternoon.

I’ve read of an old cemetery in Indiana, not as old as ours but with a tombstone that is over a hundred years old.  On that weather-worn stone is chiseled this epitaph:  “Pause Stranger, when you pass me by.  As you are now, so once was I.  As I am now, so you will be.  So prepare for death and follow me.”  Some unknown visitor to this grave scratched a reply underneath those sage words:  “To follow you I’m not content, until I know which way you went.”    [From 1001 Humorous Illustrations, “Eternal Epitaph” by J. M. Kennedy,  #328, page 135]

I think that little story helps illustrate a point I am fond of making:  we can’t know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’re coming from.  Philosopher George Santayana, looking through the eyes of historical experience, noted that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  Irish statesman Edmund Burke once observed that “People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.”  These two gentlemen and I all point out that our past is important in helping us walk into the future.  But we need to be mindful of not dwelling too much on, or especially in the past.

In our message text today, right there at the beginning, God cautions us not to call to mind former things or ponder things of the past.  In last week’s message text from Ecclesiastes, we read that God has appointed a time for every event under heaven.  For instance we saw there is a time to keep and a time to throw away.  God wants us to keep an understanding of our past, to be mindful of where we came from, but to throw away anything that might detract from our journey through today and into tomorrow.

Let’s take a moment and look at what Paul thought of his past, from his letter to the church in Philippi, chapter 3 verses 7 through 9…

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

 --Philippians 3:7-9  (NASB)

Paul basically said that all the things from my past that I treasured so much I now consider nothing more than rubbish, because now I have the one true treasure of salvation through Christ Jesus.  He didn’t lose sight of his past; in fact it probably haunted him, just like our pasts haunt some of us.  But instead of dwelling on how bad he was, he used that experience to make himself a better servant.  It’s kind of like folks who work hard to lose a lot of weight so they keep an old picture of themselves on the fridge or some very large old clothes in their closet, just to remind themselves of what they don’t want to ever let happen again.  This is how Paul made use of his past.

Now today we will be celebrating an important part of our past, a huge piece of our family history, this family of Pilgrim Reformed Church.  We are making a dedication to history, setting it apart as special.  We want to rest in the memory of what God has given us, and in the newness of what He has yet in store.  God is still doing great works in us and through us.

Let’s look back at our message text, at the second half of verse 19 and at verse 20.  This passage describes things that would be absolutely impossible for us.  But with God, all things are possible, He can do anything.  And He can do anything in us and through us if we just open ourselves up and allow Him to.  His Holy Spirit will make a roadway through the wilderness of our lives.  He will cause rivers to flow in the desert of our times.  He will make us a blessing to others.

The first half of verse 19 says God is doing something new.  In the book of Revelation, chapter 21, verse 5, we see Him perfecting that newness…

5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

 --Revelation 21:5  (NASB)

He is making all things new.  These words are indeed faithful and true.  From day 1 up to today, our church has a history.  Today we will be writing on our page in history this beautiful dedication.  And then, when we turn that page we will see a clean, blank sheet awaiting us.  Together, we are starting a new page in our family history.  Together we are looking toward what God is giving us, and ahead to what He will give us next.  Together we are working on what will be dedicated in the future.

Those who went before us, who we commemorate this afternoon, laid a foundation for generations to follow. We are sealing that foundation for who we are.  Today we begin adding our stones to that foundation, building upon it for posterity.  So that our children and their children will know where they’re going because they’ll know where they came from.

Today we are doing something new.

Amen.