What's New This Year

James Byrd

New Years Day 2023 • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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Good morning, CHURCH!

(Opening joke)

There was A man who had went out to celebrate on New Year’s Eve.

The man had far too much to drink so he decided to walk home instead of driving because he didn’t want to get a DUI.

A policeman happened to be driving by and saw him walking kind of sideways.

He stopped the man and asked where he was going.

The man replied, "I'm on my way to a lecture."

He didn’t appear to be dressed for a lecture.

The officer chuckled and said, "Who gives a lecture on New Year's Eve?"

The man looked at him and answered, "My wife does."

“ And she gives lectures every day of the week too.”

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Proverbs 21:9 ESV for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Proverbs 21:9 ESV

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

The point is not that you should seclude yourself to a corner of the house away from your spouse if she is quarrelsome.

This is also not speaking of occasional times when there is contention and you temporarily separate from her.

This is speaking of you permanently living separated from her because she is quarrelsome.

When it says a corner of the housetop, it’s referring to the uncomfortable living conditions of the corner of the housetop, which would be unstable living conditions.

And no matter how unstable of a living condition that would be, it would still be better than sharing the more stable part of a house with a quarrelsome wife.

We know that when you see a Proverb written like this it is a contrast of wisdom and folly.

Let’s look for a moment a little deeper into a quarrelsome wife and find out why she is so quarrelsome.

Once we know why she is quarrelsome, we know how to break the contention and turn it into a wonderful, shared living space.

Today’s message title is:

What’s new this year

Every year at the turn of the calendar people all over the country start new things.

And every year a few weeks to a few months into the turn of the calendar people all over the country phase out of the new things they started.

The January gym rush is a real thing.

People know that they drank too much or ate too much in the previous year and that it is not good for them, so at the turn of the calendar they commit to drinking or eating less or not drinking at all.

People know they were not responsible with their finances, so no better time than January 1st to commit to being a better steward of God’s money.

I know it would be good for me to read my Bible more.

How about starting a new Bible reading plan this January.

I might even try to read through the entire Bible this year.

When it comes to our God, he is not to be treated like a new year’s resolution.

Something we start at the new year and fizzle out in a week or two.

One of the names for God is Jealous.

He won’t stand for someone or something else being in first place because first place solely belongs to him.

Point #1

God must be the center of our focus

Nehemiah 9:1-3 ESV

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.

2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.

1-They fasted together.

2-They separated from those who were not a part of the family of God.

3-And they read from the scriptures.

*I’ll talk a little about our upcoming fast.

Old Testament

Fasting generally occurs in the context of mourning. In the Old Testament the religious use of fasting is often in connection with making a request before God.

The principle is that the importance of the request causes an individual to be so concerned about his or her spiritual condition that physical necessities fade into the background.

The act of fasting in this passage was designed as a process leading to purification and humbling oneself before God.

They were reading the book of the law because they wanted to refresh themselves on the ways of God because they had gotten away from the path.

They had become more like the foreigners around them than like God’s people.

Point #2

God is sovereign

Over the course of a given period it is easy to allow the ways of society to creep in and become partly your ways.

That is why is good to remind yourself of who God is.

And it is good to take some time away from all the normal stuff and just consecrate yourself to time with God and who he is.

That is also what took place here in Nehemiah 9.

Nehemiah 9:6-8 ESV

“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

7 You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.

8 You found his heart faithful before you and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

Can’t you see what were they doing here?

They were reminding themselves of who God is and who He is to them.

There are three significant things I want you to pay attention to here.

1-You alone are God.

2-You made the heavens and the earth and all that is in it.

3-You preserve all of them.

Also, I want you to pay attention to what should be our response to those three things concerning God.

The host of heaven worships you.

They were to worship God and God alone because of all He had done for them.

He rescued them from Egypt.

He made them His people and He became their God and dwelt with them.

He brought them miraculously into a promised land flowing with milk and honey.

Point #3

God is steadfast

Unfortunately, instead of continual worship, Israel’s response and our response tends to be like that of a new year resolution.

Like that of the usage of a new gym membership.

Like that of a new commitment to eating healthier.

Like that of our new Bible reading plan.

God did so much for Israel just as he has for us.

But eventually Israel’s response was this:

Nehemiah 9:16-17 ESV

“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.

17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Why did Israel stiffen their necks?

How did that come about?

They were not mindful of the wonders that God had performed.

You ask, how could they not be mindful?

It’s the nature of humans. If you don’t keep reminding yourself of something, it will fall from the front of your mind.

Although Israel backed up from God and often, we do or have done the same thing, look at the nature and character of our God.

1-Ready to forgive.

2-Gracious and merciful.

3-Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

4-Does not forsake us.

Not only does he not forsake us in our waywardness, but he continues to lead us.

Nehemiah 9:19-20 ESV

you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.

20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.

How loving is our God that in our wandering off and idolizing other things he continues to:

Give us the Holy Spirit to guide us.

And continues to provide for us.

(Closing illustration)

If you’re watching online or here in the room, I have a very important question to ask you.