A New Years Message

New Years Message:

This morning I want to start with a passage from the Old Testament and then I want to tie it into a message that Jesus preached in the Gospel which I believe should be a pattern for Christian living in 2009.

Turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 31. Context: Israel is on the eve of their entry into the Promised Land after spending 40 years of wandering in the desert. The people were on the edge of uncertainty and they must have been filled with anxiety knowing the challenges that lay ahead of them.

Moreover, Moses’ purpose in writing Deuteronomy was for him to give his last instructions before he prepared to die. So he says in v. 1:
“I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’”

What is remarkable is strong word of encouragement that Moses gave to Joshua in v. 7:
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Moses repeated his exhortation to Joshua in v. 23, he says it again:
Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

I think we know enough to know that when the writers of scripture used repetition, they were trying to highlight an important truth! What was the important truth that Moses was highlighting for his people as they stood on the edge of uncertainty? What is the important exhortation that I want us to take with us as we stand on the eve of uncertainty at the end of 2008? “Be strong and courageous!”

But what does that mean? How can we be strong and courageous? Is this open to individual interpretation? Can it mean for one person, that they should be a good soldier patrolling the hills of Afghanistan, while for another person it means confronting inner demons; and for another it means being assertive and taking initiative…?

God’s Interpretation
Scripture is the best interpreter of scripture and the answer is found in Joshua chapter 1 where again Joshua is commanded to be strong and courageous— this time by God! God says in Joshua 1:7:
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Notice God not only gives the exhortation that Moses gave, but he also gives the means by which Joshua can carry out the exhortation to be strong and courageous?

He says “Observe to do” that means faithfully apply to your life “according to the law which Moses commanded….” The answers to the questions and challenges that face us in 2009 are found right here in this book!

I chose this verse because I want to be a catch phrase or Mission statement for Gateway Baptist Church in 2009: That we would be a community of believers who are strong and courageous because we faithfully and unwaveringly apply the Word of God to our lives and teach it to others without hypocrisy! This is a statement of encouragement, strength, and hope in what many forecasters are predicting will be a very challenging year.

But I know what many of you are thinking: “I have to apply the whole word of God to my life in 2009? All Joshua had for scripture was the Law of Moses; my Bible has 1996 pages in it; all together there are over 700 000 words in the Bible. I tried to read the Law, but I couldn’t get past Leviticus- it was too confusing! And some of the stuff I read have to do with situations and practices that no longer exist! How am I ever going to apply everything in here to my life in 2009? Where do I even begin?”

The Sermon on the Mount
I’m glad you asked that. I think the best teacher of scripture was Jesus Christ himself. After all, he is the one who inspired it. Jesus preached a summery of Christian living in his Sermon on the Mount and we would be wise to give head to it and apply to our lives.

It is my hope that when we hear the words: “Be Strong and Courageous” in the year to come we will automatically equate that with the things that Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount.

The Beatitudes
For instance, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lists 8 character traits of the Strong and Courageous in Matthew 5:1-11—characteristics like being poor in spirit; mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking and enduring persecution for the sake of righteousness.

I won’t read it to you, but I will encourage you to read it on your own as you take the time this week to reflect on the year ahead of you and consider how you might be strong and courageous in 2009.

Salt and Light
Jesus uses two metaphors to describe the role of the Christian in society and these are to be you plain purpose for 2009: first, you are to be salt (v. 13). Salt has two purposes, it adds flavour and it preserves. The Christian adds flavour and protection to relationships by participating in society and community (rather than withdrawing from it) by bringing our beliefs and faith and teachings and worldview to clubs and groups and organizations that are not necessarily Christian. After all, salt is not used to season salt, but other food.

Another metaphor that Jesus uses to describe the role of the Christian in society and your purpose for 2009 is that the Christian is like light. Light gives direction and revelation in the otherwise dark world of 2009. Likewise the Christian is to give leadership by pointing people to the Word of God, the true light that brings hope and success. We’re to be preachers of the Word in 2009.

The Law (17-20)
After defining the character of the Christian, Jesus goes on to explain the Law and apply it the age of grace. He warns in that,
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

You want to be great in 2009 (not in the eyes of men, but God)… you want to live so full of the assurance of God’s Word and His preservation so that you can be strong and courageous in 2009, do and teach the word of God! Every one of you!

And Jesus goes on to list some of the things that a strong and courageous Christian does in order to be salt and light (these include Law keeping):

Anger (vv. 21-26)
First, a strong and courageous Christian is not filled with hate and anger. In verse 22, Jesus says “…whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”



Adultery (vv. 27-30)
We live in the most pornified society in the history of man. We are bombarded with sexually seductive images and messages on a daily… hourly basis. Jesus said whoever “looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The only way you can escape it is go and live in a cave. But then how could you be salt and light.

If we want to be strong and courageous in 2009 then we have to take control of our passions. Martin Luther once said that he could not control the bird from flying around his head, but that did not mean he would allow them to make a nest on his head. The same is true of lust. You can’t control all of the images, but you don’t need to allow them to find their home in your thoughts- take every thought captive and obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5).

Divorce (vv. 31-32)
Jesus talks about the importance of marriage and keeping your marriage together. This is not backward looking! God is graceful and Jesus atoned for every sin- including divorce. But this is forward looking. In 2009, you want to be strong and courageous then you need to invest in your marriage. Peter wrote,
7Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).


Oaths (33-37)
Jesus warns against making false promises and flippantly making Oath. In stead of being two-faced and duplicitous, He says, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” (v. 37).
Revenge and Love (vv. 38-48)
A strong and courageous Christian is not to be marked by being vengeful, but loving. What a great New Year’s resolution. Let’s resolve to take Jesus at his word and instead of getting an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you…” (v. 44).

Charity, Prayer and Fasting (6:1-18)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also talks about acts of charity, prayer and fasting— your religious duties. In each case, he warns against doing it for public approval, otherwise you will deprive yourself of your heavenly reward.

True religion is not about man— it’s about God! Its not eye service… not about being seen as being religious. We don’t do this to impress other— we do this to worship and glorify and enjoy our creator who sees us when no one else does.

Wealth and Worry (19-34)
Finally, for us, Jesus talks about your wealth and worry. At the end of 2008 most people have little of the former and too much of the latter and there’s a connection because we have so place our hope in mammon rather than God that the uncertainty about finances has created so much anxiety that instead of being strong and courageous, most of us are week and fearful.

And the truth is the real reason we’re in this mess is not because of Wall street and Bay street, but because we have failed to honor the command of God about the way we use our money. We’ve been storing up treasure for ourselves— treasures that rust and rot!

“You cannot serve God and wealth.” Serve God in 2009 and he will take care of wealth. Jesus offers these comforting words for us as we enter the uncertainty of 2009:
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Don’t worry about 2009, obey God’s Word, seek his Kingdom, and be strong and courageous!