Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18, 19
Introduction: Isaiah’s writings to the children of Israel came at a bleak period of their history.
They are in captivity, they have lost everything they thought they would keep forever and they were home sick for the land and the blessing God had promised them.
The 1st step to embracing the new thing that God wants to do in your life is to:
I. CHANGE YOUR FOCUS
II. QUIT LOOKING BEHIND START LOOKING HEAD v.18
III. Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
If you are continually looking behind, you cannot see where you are going.
If you are ever going to move on to new things in Christ you must learn that.
A. You Cannot Depend Upon Past Victories To Sustain You Forget the former things;
Application: The children of Israel had many victories in their past:
1. Leaving Egypt
2. Conquering the Land of Canaan
3. Fighting of prospective conquerors
4. Survived a split in their country
But now they are in captivity. All their previous victories were doing nothing to set them free. They needed a new work, a new miracle, a new victory.
The question isn’t what has God done –the question must be:
What is God doing in your life right now?
What is it that you want Him to do in your life right now?
Secondly, in order to move on to new things in Christ you must know that you cannot allow your past failures to possess you – don’t dwell on the past.
The children of Israel had failed God miserably. Every time He blessed them with good things, they returned to Him evil things:
1. God gave them the Temple – they gave Him idol worship
2. God gave them truth – they lived and proclaimed a lie
3. God gave them His commands – they lived like they were suggestions.
4. God gave them wealth – they used it to abuse the poor
5. God gave them Himself – they gave Him nothing except rejection.
The children of Israel did not deserve to receive anything from God. Yet He still loved them and He earnestly wanted to help them change.
Notice God’s Message:
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
God was not condemning them for their past, they could do nothing to change it.
Instead God was holding out the hand of hope. He is in effect saying: Forget about your past — I am giving you an opportunity to start over.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
If you are going to get anywhere in your spiritual life you must understand that you cannot live on yesterday’s Faith.
Fact: The children of Israel had experienced great spiritual blessings throughout their history.
From the first Passover, to the crossing of the Red Sea, to the conquering of the Land of Canaan, to the building of the temple, the children of Israel had seen the hand of God at work in and through their lives.
Yet their faith in what God had done was doing nothing to deliver them from their present situation.
Their old faith was not sufficient enough to deliver them from their present problems. They needed new faith, a new vision for what God could do.
They needed a new portion of the faith that had brought to pass all the victories from before.
Psalm 85:6-8 Will You not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your mercy, Lord and grant us your salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak.
The 2nd step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
II. CLARIFY YOUR FOCUS – DISCOVER WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU, forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
1. What do you see when you view your life?
2. Do you see possibilities or problems?
Notice what God said: “I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” The children of Israel had a choice. They could view their past and the problems of their present, or they could focus upon what God wanted to do in their lives.
Way -vs. – Desert Streams -vs. – Wasteland
In order to discover what God wants for you, you Must First See Yourself as God Sees You. The children of Israel felt as though they were getting just what they deserved because of the way they had lived.
Some even believed that God would never have anything more to do with them. But they were wrong! You may feel like your past has made your life a wasteland but in God, your life can become a stream of life.
Romans 8:1, 2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Colossians 1:21, 22 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight. In order to discover what God wants for you, You Must See Your Possibilities as God Sees Them I am making a way in the desert. God is able to transform the desert areas of your life into fields of blessing and abundance.God can take a dried up useless life and transform it into a life of purpose and grace:
2 Corinthians 3:17, 18 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The greatest step to embracing the new thing what God wants to do in your life is to
III. COMMIT YOURSELF TO GOD’S PLAN
God had already set into motion the events and people who would lead Israel out of captivity and back into the land of blessing. But it was still up to them to decide if they wanted what God was offering.
A. If they refused God’s plan,
B. If they refused to follow where God was leading,
C. Then they would be doomed to remain in their captivity.
I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. God has already set into motion a new direction and a new purpose for your life — will you follow Him?
Psalms 95:7, 8 For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.