A New Year Without Fear (TCJ eSermon)

 A New Year Without Fear

Message Outline by Adrian Rogers. Love Worth Finding.

Jan 1, New Year God's Word brings us a comforting promise, along with an insightful command as we face a New Year: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper,   I will not fear what man shall do unto me”  

(Hebrews 13:5-6).

Theme: You and I can live this coming year without fear if we apply these four incredibly wonderful truths to our lives and root them deep into our hearts.

THE CONTENTMENT OF HIS PROVISION

Main Thought: Contentment is not getting what you want, but it is wanting what you already have.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content.” If you know Jesus, you will be content with what He has provided you with. You will rejoice in His blessings.

For years the hwy that ran between my home-town and a town north of my home town, was two lanes. 

For people who worked in La Crosse, Wisconsin, it took a long time to get there, because the traffic was so great. While home, my family and I traveled the 7 miles, on a four lane highway,(between the two towns) that allows more traffic to get where they are going in a shorter amount of time. How blessed we are because of what God opened up for us, through His Son Jesus. Are we grateful for what we have in Christ? (Philippians 4:19) 

THE COMPANIONSHIP OF HIS PRESENCE

Main Thought: God told Joshua, that He would never leave him, or forsake him.”(Joshua 1:5) 

That promise to us as well. How many times have we felt that we would have to face our problems alone? When the devil knocks on the door: Just say “Jesus. Would you answer the door?”

Max Lucado-There is a window in your heart through which you can see God.           

Once upon a time the window was clear. Your view of God was crisp. You could see God as vividly as you could see a gentle valley or hillside. The glass was clean, the pane unbroken. You knew God. You knew how he worked. You knew what he wanted you to do. No surprises. Nothing unexpected.

You knew that God had a will, and you continually discovered what it was. Then, suddenly, the window cracked. A pebble broke the window. A pebble of pain. (Just because our view of God is distorted because of pain, does not mean that God is not there. (Fog is frightening. It is the sun that burns it off)

THE CONFIDENCE OF HIS PROMISE

Main Thought: In Joshua’s final words to the people of God, in Joshua 23:14 he says: “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” 

What does it mean in Psalm 100:3 “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people, and the sheep of His Pasture.”  

It means that God promises to take care of us! So why should we worry in 2015. What He promised to Israel, that did not fail, He promises to us.

Julie Ackerman Link-After a global financial crisis, the US government enacted stricter laws to protect people from questionable banking practices. 

Banks had to change some of their policies to comply. To notify me of such changes, my bank sent me a letter. But when I got to the end I had more questions than answers. The use of phrases like “we may” and “at our discretion” certainly didn’t sound like anything I could depend on! (RBC-ODB-8/18/2011) 

Read 2 Samuel 7:12-13 God’s promises to David. How many times does God say: “I Will”

THE COMFORT OF HIS PROTECTION

Main Thought: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)

Anne Cetas-My friend handed me a tall glass of water and told me to hold it. The longer I held it, the heavier it felt.

Finally my hand grew tired, and I had to put the glass down.

“I’ve learned that worry can be like holding that glass,” she said. “The longer I worry about something, the more my fears weigh me down.” (RBC/ODB 7/2/2014)

As we enter into 2022, we may have a lot of fears about what we are going to do, about certain challenges we’re facing. 

The Bible does not say that we will not go through troublesome times. But God does promise that He will deliver us, and help us to climb that hill of difficulty we’re on.

Do we believe the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 121:8 –

“The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”

He will ever keep the soul, When what harm He will control;

In the home and by the way, He will keep thee day by day. Psalter

Conclusion: Let’s Face 2015 without fear. 

With applying these four wonderful truths, we can.  Philippians 4:6-7

 

 

Plans For You

"For I know the thoughts that I think towards you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

My family and I were watching a Christmas movie when towards the end of the movie it started to break up. The images were so distorted that we had to take the DVD out of the player to see what was causing the disturbance. In inspecting the DVD we found that it had some smudges of dust and dirt that was causing the problem. As we worked to solve our video dilemma, I thought how this illustrated very well what happened in the last two years (2020-2021( They started as a new years with great opportunity and promise. But what we got was a severe smudge of darkness, destruction, and death. With the suffering and death caused by the pandemic, the violence and destruction caused by the protesting in our major cities. And the controversy of the presidential election, 2020 was a year, that will not be forgotten. 

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote to the Jewish captives of Babylonia, encouraging them to move ahead with their lives, and pray for this pagan nation that held them hostage. What Jeremiah said to the nation of Israel, He says to us today. 

As we enter this new year of 2022 we are beaten down as a nation. 

We carry the the wounds of the pandemic both physically and emotionally, into this new year, and through time. But we need to remember that even though we struggle to see things getting better, God (through the prophet Jeremiah) tells us that He has plans for us. A plan to save us, to sustain us, and use us, as we live our lives out on planet earth. He gave us His Son to be our Savior, to save us from our sins, and to provide for us the gift of eternal life. It is in Jesus Christ, that we find our salvation, our sustenance, and our purpose. 

And no matter if it is a pandemic, or any other crisis, or calamity, we have hope for tomorrow. Even if the trials of this life take our life, we have a bright eternal future. But this is only found in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 

We need to do as Jeremiah instructs us. We are to seek the Lord with all of our heart. And when we do He will be found, and we will find our deliverance and our place with Him forever. (29:11-14) 

So Let's seek Him, and find Him, and let Him lift us up, for today, and tomorrow! GP 

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