I know the God of New
The God of New
Proclaiming the God of Restoration
We serve a God of restoration. He can take what has rusted, corroded, and lost its sheen and restore it to its former glory. We serve a God who can repair things that have fallen into disrepair.
I have found that the Lord, on many occasions, has restored things to me. He is a God of restoration. He causes lost things to be found, brings healing to what is broken, and renews our strength. Psalm 23:3 says, "He restoreth my soul."
Personal Testimony: Restoration in My Life
Through my life of living for God, there have been times when I felt carnal, as though I had lost my first love and my way. But the Lord, in His tender mercy and with His outstretched hand, restored my soul. He restored the joy of my salvation. I know this to be true.
The God Who Creates New
II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new."
I’ve seen it. I’ve walked with people when they were saved for the first time, born again of water and Spirit. I’ve been there when they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost for the first time. It makes you love everybody, want to hug everybody, and say, "Thank You, Jesus," to everybody. There’s something about being born again for the first time.
The Beauty of Newness
I experienced this as a father three times. Nothing compares to the smell of a clean, brand-new baby—their new fingers, toes, skin, and nose. It’s amazing. And I’ve experienced it again, and no doubt will many more times. As I held my grandbaby, little Laura. New!
Brother BJ recently got a brand-new truck after driving his old one until the wheel literally fell off. Thankfully, it happened in a gas station parking lot, not at 80 miles an hour on the highway. That new truck smell—whew! It’s the most expensive smell you’ll ever experience.
God’s Nature Reflected in Our Desire for New
The imprint of God’s nature is reflected in our desire for something new. A new pair of shoes, a new set of clothes—it’s nice.
I believe the Lord gave me a word for our church and anyone that will hear it. About six weeks ago, during prayer, the Lord gave me Isaiah 43:18-19: "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing."
Not long after, Brother Billy texted me a screenshot of that exact Scripture from his Bible program. I didn’t need confirmation because I’ve lived for God long enough to know when He speaks to me. But isn’t it wonderful that the Lord confirms His word? In the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word is established. We’re not charting uncharted waters alone—the Lord goes before us, beside us, and behind us.
God’s Creative Power in Genesis
In Genesis chapter one, we see God’s creative power. If you’re bored, read something I wrote this week about people believing the Bible. One source of division in Christianity is the effort to summarize what the Bible says so everyone agrees. But in trying to quench debate, they create new agreements, and the arguing starts again—starting at the Council of Nicaea to these same kind of agreements today.
I heard two Catholics debating a document from the First Vatican Council, which suggested Muslims and Hindus could find salvation without Christ. They argued over words and tenses in a document 2,000 years removed from the Bible. The fallacy of summarizing truth is that the Bible itself is a summary. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." That includes ants, dinosaurs, elephants, birds, bacteria, and cosmic dust. God made it all in six days and rested on the seventh.
I don’t need a creed or council. My faith is in the Word of God. If it’s not in the Bible, it’s a lie. Everything that exists was once new—every star, moon, bird, whale, and octopus. God created it all, and its origin is in the Creator we call upon in the name of Jesus.
The God of Perpetual Creation
Genesis 1:24-27 describes God creating cattle, creeping things, and beasts. Every hamburger—whether 90/10 or 70/30, strip, T-bone, ribeye, or sirloin—thank God for the cattle! God made spiders, flies, birds, bees, worms, and beetles. In every new thing He created, He placed the seed for perpetuation. When God formed man from the dust and made woman from his rib, life continued through them. Even Levi, still in the loins of Abraham, paid tithes when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek.
Rejecting Foolish Theories
Some believe humanity has been improving, evolving from monkeys, dogs, rats, roaches, slugs, or germs. That’s foolishness. The Bible says, "A fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’" The world calls fools smart and believers dumb, but the sane ones are those who read God’s Word and see that we came from a perfect Creator. Man isn’t improving; we’re devolving. People act like beasts today, like Nebuchadnezzar, who roamed like an animal until God restored him. Let’s pray we never defame ourselves or the God who created us by sinking into carnality.
The Power of the New Birth
We preach, believe, and have experienced the new birth. It’s not enough to intellectually accept a historical Jesus or believe in His death, burial, and resurrection. We obey His death through repentance, His burial through baptism, and experience His resurrection when Jesus fills us with the Holy Ghost. Everyone needs to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
If only God would send an angel to whisper Acts 2:38 in every ear! But He uses us—people like you —to share the gospel. Angels don’t preach or baptize; they point to those who know the truth. God brings the new birth to our lives.
Seasons of Newness
The new birth isn’t the only new thing God brings. We’ve been restored many times, but there are seasons when God brings us into something new.
In the name of Jesus, Lord, in these final moments, let me speak as You intend. By the spirit of knowledge and revelation, help them understand the depth, breadth, length, and width of what You have for them in this new season.
Forgetting the Former Things
We serve a God of new. Sometimes, we get weary in well-doing—praying, attending church, inviting others who never show up. But I believe God is saying, "Forget the former things." Forget the times you invited someone and they didn’t come, the prayers He answered with "no," or the efforts that didn’t work.
In the name of Jesus, help us forget what didn’t work before. Forget the unanswered invitations and prayers. Baptize us with a spirit of faith to expect and anticipate the new.
Conclusion: Expecting the New
God is about to do a new thing. Forget the former things and embrace the new season He’s bringing. Let’s anticipate the new with faith and conviction, knowing the God of new is at work in our lives.