[0:00] Here we go. If you can turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 43. To write down a phrase or something that you hear that strikes you.
[0:39] That just causes you to go, huh. That captures your heart or your mind.
[0:50] Something that you need to look into later. By pondering it. Because that's what happened to me this past week.
[1:04] Sherry and I were listening to a sermon. A short sermon from a pastor that we've known over the years. And he has now moved into that part of his life.
[1:15] Where he gives little 10-12 minute snippets. Little sermons. Sermonettes. And he said just a little phrase. And it captured both of our hearts.
[1:27] This week. And so the sermon was being directed towards that way. And studied it. Went over it. Got it all prepared and everything.
[1:40] Got up this morning early to finish it like I normally do on a Sunday morning. To polish it off or whatever. Put the final touches on it. So started that at 3 this morning.
[1:53] And by 7.30 this morning. Putting it still. The final touches on it. The Lord said hit the delete button. It's like what?
[2:04] Not again. No. It is to me. He said hit the delete button. And of course I. Hit delete.
[2:16] Because when you hit delete you can't go back. But you hit save. And just put it someplace else on your computer. There it is. And you can bring it back. So the delete happened. But I will tell you.
[2:28] That he still. That phrase that he. Showed me. Earlier this week. It still. Was powerful for me.
[2:38] And as I studied it. I found out that this. That that study was for me personally. It was not for everybody else. Because it was things that I was dealing with.
[2:49] Personally. And rather than making the sermon about myself. Or using it as an example. That wanted to. Just things that have been going on with me.
[3:00] Always at work. It seemed like. Things that he deals with in my life. That he was still. And he's. A new thing that came up. And deal with that mark.
[3:11] Okay. But this is how you do it. So he showed me all that. So I'm very thankful. That. For the study that I had this week. Okay. That took me in a direction. I was not prepared for.
[3:22] For me. But. And however. Some of it. Still can apply to us. And I know that this is for.
[3:34] Somebody out here. Somebody in. Internet land. Whatever we call it. A cyber land. That this is for somebody. So.
[3:44] With that. Let's begin. We're not going to stand up yet. And read the passage. First I'd like to start out with a quote.
[3:56] From Thomas Jefferson. I like the dreams of the future. Better. Than the history. Of the past. I like the dreams of the future.
[4:09] Better than the history of the past. You know. Lately. When I'm listening to my coworkers. Carry on conversations at work. Throughout the day.
[4:21] And especially at lunchtime. Because that's when we're all together. And we're in the lunchroom. And. And. Yeah. A lot of times people. Like. Most everywhere else. You see everybody on their phone.
[4:31] No. We're actually in there. Talking. Interacting with one another. It's kind of neat. But I've been taking note. Of where their comments. Conversation. Inevitably.
[4:42] Winds up. And where do you think. That it is. Of these three options. Does the conversation. Wind up. Of future things.
[4:54] Of present things. Or of past things. What do you think. How does your. How do your conversations. Usually wind up.
[5:04] When you are. Talking about things. When you're just. Carrying on a conversation. The past. Yeah. What happened. The past. Yeah. That's very natural.
[5:16] Happens all the time. Without realizing it. We carry around. Our past. Everywhere. We go. It shows up in the way.
[5:28] We look at things. Our attitudes. And our conversations. Too often. Its power. Lives inside of us.
[5:38] And keeps us. From moving forward. For a lot of people. The past. Holds a difficult childhood.
[5:50] An abusive marriage. A financial draining. Job loss. Deep depression. Deep depression. Or injustices. Laid upon you.
[6:02] For some reason. We choose. Not to let it go. And it hinders us. We keep it. Inside. And we. Relive it.
[6:13] In our conversations. There's a. There's a. Peanuts cartoon. With Lucy. Where she's apologizing. To Charlie Brown.
[6:23] For missing a fly ball. During a baseball game. She missed. The fly ball. And says. It's because. She started. Remembering. All the other times.
[6:35] That she missed. She says. The past. Got in my eyes. I like that. Because we do.
[6:46] I don't like that. But that's real. That's what happens. With us. We missed the fly ball. One more time. Because the past. Got in my eyes. It's all we think about.
[6:57] Not all. But a lot. Focusing on the failures. Or hurts. Of our past. It hinders. Our present. And our future. Some things are good.
[7:12] Remembrances. Past experiences. And we hold on to those. Reliving. The good old days. How it once was.
[7:23] And we compare it. To today's life. Thinking. We had it better. Back then. And we long. For the way. It used to be.
[7:36] The Israelites. Did this. We learned earlier. And how they. Are reminded about earlier. The Israelites. How they long. For the leaks. And the cucumbers.
[7:47] In Egypt. They forgot about. The bad times. They would have. Remembered real fast. By getting back there. There. How about.
[7:58] When the. Second. Temple. Temple. Temple. Was being built. By. Zerubbabel. When. When it was being. Built. It was. Not as great.
[8:09] As the first. Temple. And. People were saying. We long. For the. Glory. Of the. Of those days. But then. The Lord said.
[8:20] No. The latter. The second. Temple. Will be even. Greater. Because of course. He was referring. To Jesus. As being. The second. Temple. How about.
[8:33] This particular. Church. And how. The church. Used to be. With so many. People. And we look around. And see the dwindling. Of it. All the good.
[8:44] Old days. What happened. Remembering. Either the good. Or bad. They're not healthy.
[8:54] Or profitable. For us. And in fact. God. Directly. Commands us. To leave. Behind. Old ways.
[9:05] And experiences. So that we. Will recognize. That he. Is about to accomplish. Something new. And wonderful. Could you please. Stand for the reading.
[9:16] God. God. Isaiah 43. 18. And 19. Do not call.
[9:29] To mind. The former things. Or ponder. Things. Of the past. Behold. I will do. Something new. Now. It will spring.
[9:40] Forth. Will you not. Be aware. Of it. I will. Even. Make. Make. A roadway. In the wilderness. Rivers. In the. In the desert.
[9:51] So. Reads. The word of God. You will be seated. Say it again. Holding on.
[10:02] To the past. Hinders us. From seeing. What new things. God. Is doing. As Jesus said. No one who puts his hand.
[10:12] To the plow. And looks back. Is fit. For the kingdom of God. And we're also told. That you don't put. New wine. Into old. Wine skins.
[10:22] Can't mix. The old. With the new. It just. Doesn't work. The phrase. That captured. My. Attention.
[10:33] This past. Week. Was that. Of. The phrase. Being. After. These. Things. It's the title. Of the message. After.
[10:44] These things. What are. These. Things. That's. The. That phrase. Is used. Several times. In scripture. And it does talk about. Different circumstances. Things that are happening.
[10:55] Are things. That happened. But in this case. It's. The past. After. These things. Things that happened.
[11:06] In the past. What about that? What are we to do. With that? What's. The next. Chapter.
[11:17] In my life. What's. The next. Chapter. For. This church. What's. The next. Chapter. For. Your life. Have you ever.
[11:28] Thought of that? We all. Go through that. From time to time. When we have. Transitions. In our life. Where things. They seem. To start becoming. Stagnant. And it's like. What.
[11:39] New thing. Is God. Going to do. Is there going to be. A new thing. Or is my life. Just going to be. Stagnant. From here on out. A lot of us.
[11:50] Are going into. Retirement. Or have. And. So. That's a new chapter. What's going to happen. Kids. Going off to school. Life. Things.
[12:00] Change. Jobs. Change. What's. Going to happen. A lot of times. We become fearful. Because we. Compare it.
[12:12] To the past. Maybe. Past. Not good things. That happened. In our life. You know. The. The last job. I got. The boss. Was a jerk.
[12:23] Is this new one. Going to be like this too. Maybe. You. Was a jerk. And not your boss. You know. Or. Relationships.
[12:33] With kids. With friends. Something like that. I don't want to fill in the blanks. Too much here. Because I. I really want to let. This. The Holy Spirit.
[12:45] Speak to you. And again. If a phrase. Catches you. I just. Really encourage you. To write it down. After.
[12:57] These things. We all know. Our walk. Before salvation. And after salvation. Are markedly different. Due to the fact. That. In Christ.
[13:08] The old is gone. The new. Is here. But what about our. Present. Walk. Is a new thing.
[13:18] Being brought forth. In your life. Do we see it. Or are we too focused. On the past. Do we go around. In life.
[13:29] Looking in this huge. Rear view mirror. Think about that. Do. That's. What. Most of us do. Or. We do.
[13:39] Most of the time. We walk around. With this huge. Rear view mirror. In front of us. And all we can see. Is the past. When you got this huge mirror.
[13:50] You don't get to see. In front of you. What's coming. Even what's. Presently. Going on. In your life. It's.
[14:01] You magnified. The wrong thing. In essence. Do you rest. On your laurels.
[14:14] You've. Thought to yourself. I've done my part. In the past. It's time for. Someone else. To step up. In whatever you're doing. Sometimes we do that. In our marriages. Or in.
[14:25] Raising the children. So it's your turn. You have to get up. With the kids. You have to. It's your turn. To discipline them. It's your turn. To cook the meal. It's your turn. To do dishes.
[14:35] I know that's all seems. Petty. Or something like that. But there are things. That we focus on. There are things. From time to time. I'm not saying. We do this all the time. From time to time. We do. It's your time.
[14:46] Your turn. To get things ready. It's your turn. To make the doctor appointment. It's your turn. It's your turn. I've done it. And so. It's time to pass the baton.
[14:57] You do it. Or that you are afraid. Of what you might be called. To. Because of being taken advantage of. In the past. Things. I need things at church.
[15:09] I'm not getting involved in that. I know what that means. That means I'm going to have to do it. For the rest of my life. Ain't nobody else going to step up. To help me out.
[15:21] To take the load off. From time to time. And so. You choose to just sit. Idly by. Are you content with your life?
[15:33] And so there's no motivation to change? Do we believe God will do something new? And is preparing it for us?
[15:46] Do you want him to do something new? That's a big question. Or is the status quo. Good enough for you? You know.
[15:59] We're always content. When things are going well. In our life. But. When adversity comes. That's when we call for God. To change our circumstances.
[16:14] Our past efforts. That led us to our present comfort. Keep us. From even wanting something new. We worked hard.
[16:25] To get where we're at. To be able to relax. Well. If you're too relaxed. Maybe God needs to shake it up. If God wants to do something new.
[16:38] Will he have to shake up your life. To get you to. To get you to desire. What he has for you. The new thing. Is your life.
[16:49] A desert right now. Are you walking aimlessly. In the wilderness. Are you ready to see. The new thing. God has planned for you.
[17:00] Well. What is it? What is it? Well. We first need to. Let go of the past. And ask. For eyes. To see. What roadway.
[17:11] He is making. In the wilderness. And what streams. Of rivers. Are being formed. In the desert. So the first thing. We need to do.
[17:22] Is let go of the past. Quit dwelling on it. Quit thinking about it. Keep your eyes forward. Move ahead. Of course.
[17:33] We have to wait for God. We have to wait for his timing. To reveal what he is doing. But how do you. Spend your time.
[17:44] While waiting. I will wait upon the Lord. But how do you. Spend your time waiting. Do we do it passively. Or actively.
[17:56] Do we just sit around. And wait for him to do. Whatever he wants. We just go along with it. Or. Do we. Occupy.
[18:07] As Jesus said. Till he comes. In the parable. That he told. About the ten minas. In Luke 19. Are we occupying our time. You know.
[18:18] There is that illustration. That God can't steer. A parked car. He can't steer. A parked life. A bicycle.
[18:30] I always thought it was a car. And then I was. Told about the illustration. Of a bicycle instead. A car. Yeah. You can steer it. If it's parked. You can turn it. Don't go anywhere. But you can steer it. But a bicycle.
[18:41] On the other hand. If it's not in motion. It's very hard to control. Very hard to keep your balance on it. So you have to be in motion. And then.
[18:52] That's how the Lord steers you. So you got to be riding that bike. If you don't know how to ride one. Learn. The best way to get moving.
[19:04] Is by reading his word. And pray. This is going to be a short sermon. I only had an hour to put it together. I only had to pray. Always good.
[19:16] So. Again. The best way to get going. Is to. Read God's word. Pray. Ten ways to pray. I'm going to give to you.
[19:28] One is. To release. The past. Pray for the strength. To let go. Of past failures. Or successes. And familiar structures.
[19:39] That might hinder. God's new work. In your life. Number two. Surrender. To God's will. Ask.
[19:49] For the grace. To surrender. Fully. Laying your old plans. And ways. At God's feet. To make room. For his new path. Pray for a fresh.
[20:01] Vision. And discernment. Ask. For open eyes. And a sensitive heart. To perceive. And recognize. The new thing. God is doing. As the Bible says.
[20:13] Behold. Look. Look. Behold. What he's doing. Pray for courage. To step out. Pray for the courage.
[20:25] To step into the unknown. Welcoming. The new. That God has for you. Even if it looks. And feels different. From what you know. Pray for new.
[20:38] Wine skins. Yourself. Ask. God. To provide you. With a new mind. New hopes. New dreams. And new capacity. To connect.
[20:49] With him. In his new season. How about. Breakthrough. For dryness. Pray for that. Ask.
[21:00] The Holy Spirit. To bring living water. And refreshing. Into areas. Into areas. Of your life. That have become. Spiritually dry. Pray for. Transformation.
[21:11] Of your heart. Pray for God. To create. A new heart. In you. Filled with a new love. For him. And his people. And a new heart. For the new season.
[21:23] Now that you've prayed. For a new wine skin. Pray for the new wine. In your life. Ask God. To pour out. New wine.
[21:35] Not say. Pour me. Pour me. But. Pour me. Pour me out. Pour your new wine. Out.
[21:45] In me. Pour for the. For those new. Those. The new wine. Of new experiences. Blessings. And powers. Into a new wine skin.
[21:57] Which is your life. Number nine. Breakthrough. From past hurts. Pray for that. Surrender past hurts. Regrets.
[22:07] And failures. To God. Asking for a breakthrough. For. From them. To move in. To the new. And the tempting. Way to pray. Is.
[22:18] For scattering. Opposing. Plans. Ask. For any evil. Manipulations. Meant. To block. Your breakthroughs. To be scattered.
[22:29] And nullified. I'm sure. I didn't write down. The reference. Brothers and sisters. I do not consider. Myself.
[22:39] Yet. This is out of. Second Corinthians. I do not consider. Myself. To have yet. Taken hold of it. But one thing. I do. Forgetting. What is behind.
[22:50] And straining. Towards. What is ahead. I press on. Towards the goal. To win the prize. For which God. Has called me. Heavenward. In Christ.
[23:01] Jesus. That's it. Chew on that a while. Father. We thank you. For your word. We thank you. That this. Simplicity.
[23:12] Of it. Can break through. Things. Strongholds. In our own life. Things that you. Want us to strip off. Ways of thinking.
[23:22] That you want to change. Things that we. Hold on to. Our past. Be it good. Or bad. Because. You're. You are a God.
[23:32] That is always. Creating. And you have new. Things for us. You. You. Always. Are. Growing us. In different. Ways. But we need.
[23:44] To be. Receptive to it. And see it. And I ask. Father. That we would. Take the time. To. Ponder this. What you're trying to tell us. About putting off.
[23:54] The past. And to see. What you are doing. So that we can. Grow. So that we. In essence.
[24:05] Will. Give you. Glory. By doing. What you've. Created us to do. And to be. And lead us. Into those. Areas.
[24:17] That. Will. Make us. Grow. Thank you. For your word. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[24:28] Amen.