We Can Start Over 2 Cor 5:17 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Intro: As this year comes to a close we all look back with mixed feelings. The year brought some surprises, some joy and perhaps some pain. But, perhaps the biggest issue is our failure to be the person we would like to be, to act the way we know we should. It is easy to get down on ourselves and feel like a spiritual failure, wondering how God could possibly love me when I failed to show some kindness to an elderly person who needed just a little help. Or perhaps you wrote an email in anger and sent it off hoping to rip someone who offended you. Then there was that opportunity to offer an apology that would have saved a friendship, but you refused. Then there was that scandal that was ruining a reputation and you refused to stop it, even though you knew it wasn t true. Maybe you had an occasion to help a young boy or girl find themselves, but were not willing to listen. Then there was that little bit of gossip you passed on. How many times during the year you refused to obey your conscience. How many times during the past year have you had to confess your sin? I know it is not easy being a Christian It is better to sleep on what you plan to do than to be kept awake by what you've done. Source Unknown. This question was asked to an Olympic runner; what is the secret of your success? His answer really has profound implications for the Christian life. This is what the runner said: "The only way to win a race is to forget all previous victories, which would give you false pride and all former failures which would give you false fears. Each race is a new beginning. Pressing on to the finish tape is all that s important!" This young man knew what he was talking about. He was right about athletic running and spiritual living. The freedom to forget is a gift from God. He frees us to forget past achievements and failures so that we can press ahead to the goal He has set before us. Lloyd John Ogilvie Phil 3:13-14 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Actually I could go on and on about our failures, but that is not what I want to concentrate on this morning. As I read the Scriptures I am very encouraged to find many like us who come up short and have to confess their sin before the Lord. I guess it is true that misery loves company, but that is not the point here. What I want to look at today is God s response to the failure of men and women that came in contact with Jesus. I. Zacchaeus, Luke 19:1-6 1
A. Chief among the Publicans-Cold and Calculating Luke 19:1-9 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 1. This man was hated by the general population. Jesus always met men and women on the level of their need, regardless of who they were or what they had done. He met everyone as human beings, never as stereotypes 2. By any standard he was a thief, working with the consent of the government 3. He had become rich by cheating others 4. Chief among the publicans basically says he was the worse of the bunch. 5. All of this pointed to the fact he had to be callous and selfish. B. Compassionate and caring. 1. When he meant Jesus his whole life changed. 2. He wanted to repay those he had cheated. 3. He was sensitive to those around him 4. He was a new man T.S. He was guilty of extortion and robbery. God changed his thinking and actions. II. Saul Acts 9:1-4 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? A. Saul the persecutor of Christians 1. Hated Christians to the point of wanting to kill them. 2
2. Persecuted anyone of the Way. 3. He was very religious, a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law. 4. Lacked love and compassion. B. Paul the protector of Christians 1. What he once hated he now embraced\perspective can make a huge difference, can't it? Saul began by seeing the Christians as his bitter enemies. But after his encounter with Jesus, his perspective changed. By the time Ananias came to him, Saul was praying. He humbly awaited word from Jesus on what he was to do. 2. Those he wanted to kill he now protects 3. He was a new man in Christ Jesus T.S. Saul was a murderer and persecutor of Believers. God changed his name, his thinking and actions. III. Peter Luke 22:57 57 him, And he denied saying, Woman, I know him not. A. He denied our Lord three times 1. With cursing and blaspheming he spewed out hatred 2. Not once but three times 3. Still he is Called to be a disciple (Jn. 1:40) Called to be a constant companion (Mt 4:19, Mk. 1:17, Lk 5:10) Called to be an apostle (Mt. 10:2, Mk 3:14, 16, Lk. 6:13-14) At one time Peter had wayward feet, but Andrew brought him to Jesus. And then one night Peter had some wet feet because he was walking on the water. Then he had washed feet when Jesus knelt before him and washed his feet (John 13). He had wandering feet when he denied the Lord. But, God forgave him and gave him willing feet. "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace" (Rom 10:15). B. He led 3000 to faith in Jesus on the day of Pentecost 1. Great preacher in the face of opposition 2. Boldness and joy were his mark on people 3. God used him to reach thousands in his lifetime 3
4. Became a leader in the Jerusalem church T.S. Peter denied the Lord and was a blasphemer. God changed his thinking and actions. IV. The Samaritan Women John 4:7 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. A. She was a social outcast. 1. Divorced 5 times 2. She was shunned by her peers 3. Isolated and outside of her society B. She became a witness for Jesus. 1. Went immediately to tell others about Jesus 2. She found joy and new meaning for her life Her name was Sarah Dowerday. Born with only one leg, she received national attention several years ago for climbing to the top of Mt. Reiner in Seattle Washington. To document this fascinating human-interest story, a CBS camera crew went along. When she finally reached the snow-capped peak they ask her how she felt: "Once you have experienced the peak, your life is never the same." Friends, once you have come to the point that you truly can echo the words of Peter: Thou art the Christ the son of the living God, your life will never be the same. Ask the woman at the well, ask Mary Magdeline, ask Paul, ask Martin Luther, ask John Wesley, ask Charles Colson, ask somebody in this church. Jesus asked; Who do you say that I am? Discover the answer to that and you discover the answer to life. T.S. She became a witness for the Lord and led many to faith in Christ. Conclusion: As we approach the New Year we can look back with regret on our failures and sin, or we can approach the New Year with a sense of anticipation and excitement over what God can do through us when we are surrendered to His will. As we confess our sin and turn from it we can know that God has promised to forgive our sin and not only forgive but bury them in the deepest sea. I can rest in the knowledge that His payment was sufficient for my sin. I believe that one of the saddest things in life is to come to the end of one s life and be filled with regrets over what might have been. I m afraid that many of us labor under the heavy burden of our guilt for sin and never allow God to take it off our shoulders. 4
Not long before she died in 1988, in a moment of surprising candor in television, Marghanita Laski, one of our best-known secular humanists and novelists, said, "What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me." John Stott in The Contemporary Christian The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. Tim Kimmel, Little House on the Freeway, p. 143 The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn. David Russell 5 Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day! Today in the Word, March 1989, p. 8 If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. Unknown 5