Newness of Life

[0:00] Music Some 30 years ago I entered into the Lowell McKeown Hospital.

[0:19] ! And I suited up with a gown, medical slippers, plastic gloves, disposable hat, mask, and I entered into the operating theatre as attending medical people and nurses were feverishly working, preparing my wife Julie for her C-section.

[0:45] And I stood there holding Julie and sensing the excitement. It was palpable. It was scary. And then the wonder of it all. I witnessed the miracle of childbirth, of a baby born.

[1:03] Our baby boy Peter, it was truly an astonishing moment in our lives. A new life had come into the world. Into the big wide world. And the new born baby breathed air for the first time He saw light for the first time. He felt human touch. And he cried out of his mouth for the very first time.

[1:37] For the first time he can sense those sounds and smells and be held in his mother's warm embrace. This is life. Life. New life. We're going to talk about life. New life. Life with a capital L.

[1:59] Amen. The Bible says, New life is possible through the cross. There's more than just childbirth.

[2:12] Our first birth, there's the new birth. The freshness of the new birth. We can be born again. And this dramatic event is as dramatic as the resurrection, the rising again to life of our Lord Jesus.

[2:33] It's the work of God in the human soul. And it's accomplished by the same power that raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead. Amen.

[2:44] This same life creating power. I'm talking about newness of life today. Newness of life. The Bible says that we can know a new life, a new birth. The Lord Jesus Christ broke through the death barrier, if you like.

[3:02] He tore the bars away. He broke the chains of sin that held us captive. The chains of death and hell. He struck them off and freed us.

[3:15] And the tomb could hold him no longer. As he rose again the third day. He's alive. He is risen.

[3:26] On this Lord's day, resurrection day, as many hold it, we read of new life. Romans 6, 4, it says, Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

[3:51] We should walk in newness of life. We hear of a dramatic change, newness of life. As Christ in the tomb was dead and brought back to life. We too can be brought to life.

[4:08] We can breathe, see, hear, speak in a new way. We've been made a brand new creation of God. And Paul pictures this in baptism as the sign of this dramatic spiritual birth.

[4:22] Baptism as a signpost of death and resurrection. As we are buried with him in the waters, in the likeness of death. And we're raised up out of the water as a sign of new life in Christ by faith.

[4:38] Newness of life is my theme. We think of life again. Life from the dead. Resurrection life. This glad day of Christ rising again.

[4:52] Newness of life. A brand new kind of life. A new quality of life. A new God-blessed life. And it's made possible, how?

[5:03] By the Lord. By God. The Lord Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

[5:17] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Newness of life.

[5:29] He is the resurrection. He is the life. New life. A new way of living. As we reflect on a baby being born, we reflect on God's supernatural worth.

[5:43] The new birth. A new nature. Can be planted in us. A new start. One starry night, the religious ruler, Nicodemus, came secretly to the Lord Jesus.

[5:59] He sought him out. He met with him privately. He was searching. Nicodemus was looking for answers to his deep spiritual need. As much as he was well-read and very knowledgeable, Jesus told him, You must be born again.

[6:20] In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus answered Nicodemus and said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Verily, verily, truly, truly, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God.

[6:42] The Lord Jesus spoke to this religious ruler, This knowledgeable man, And said, You must be, we must be, All must be. Ye, as in, All you, The Lord Jesus didn't need to be, But ye, All you, Must be born again.

[6:59] Amen, amen. He spoke of the miracle of the new birth. How to be born again? What does it mean? God changes us, So that we can walk in newness of life.

[7:14] We see for the first time spiritually. Spiritually speaking, God gives us some new things. One is a new mind.

[7:24] A new mind. Our Lord says that our mind can be renewed. Renewed. The Bible speaks about how mankind Has been mentally blinded. The temporary God, Small genie of this world, The devil, Has blinded the minds of people.

[7:40] Keeping them bound and captured In his kingdom of darkness. And the Bible tells how the lost, How their understanding darkened. Yet Christ can shine his beaming light, His brilliant, glorious light, Into the darkest of souls.

[8:01] And recreate, And renew our mind. Of the lost, it says in 2 Corinthians 4, Verse 4, In whom the God, Small g, Of this world, Hath blinded the minds of them.

[8:13] Which believe not, Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, Should shine unto them. Satan has blinded people's minds.

[8:25] There's people walking around Whose minds are blinded. They have their understanding darkened. They are blinded. They are blinded in their unbelief. The blinkers are on, As it were, For them to understand and receive, Perceive, To know God.

[8:44] And the Bible tells how repentance is a change of mind, And a change of direction. As we made a new person, By faith, God turns our lives around.

[8:58] In Ephesians 4, 22, It says that, Ye, Put off, Concerning the, Former conversation, The old man, Which is corrupt, According to the deceitful lust, And be renewed, In the spirit of your mind.

[9:14] Amen. And that you put on, The new man, Which is, After God, Created in righteousness, And true holiness. There's a picture there, Of taking off, The old man, Taking that off, And then putting on, The new man.

[9:28] Amen. Being clothed, Again, With a new life. We put off, By faith, Our old way of living, And we put on, The new man. Hallelujah. Everything changes.

[9:40] We let go, Of the old man, The old habits, The former conversation, The old way of living, And we renewed, In the spirit, Of our mind.

[9:50] What a picture it is, A dramatic change. This mind shift, It's a whole new way, Of thinking. The unbelieving, Abide in death, But the believing, Have life and peace.

[10:02] It says in Romans 8, Verse 6, For to be carnally, Or fleshly minded, Minded after the things, Of the carnal, Old, Fleshly, Lost way of thinking, Is death.

[10:17] But, To be spiritually minded, Is life, And peace. God gives us, A whole new mindset, A whole new way of thinking, Biblical thinking, And God creates in us, A mind, That is set, On the priorities of God, Not of men.

[10:34] Colossians 3, 2, It says, We're instructed, Set your affection, On things above, Not, On things, On the earth. God's will, Is that our mind, Be made up, No longer caught up, With the worldly worries, And focus, That tends to, Be, The human way of being, Doesn't it?

[10:55] The rat race, Caught up in all of that, We've been changed, To a new way of thinking, From the ignorance, Of unbelief, To truly see, To see the light, And get that clear understanding, A new purpose of life, Philippians 2, 5, It says, Let this mind, Be in you, Which was also, In Christ Jesus, His mind, His way of thinking, And in the context, It talks about, Having his attitude, His, Way of living, A new way of thinking, To think as Christ would think, As you approach life, So even so, We also should walk in, Newness, Of life, Another aspect, We see, Of this newness of life, Is, It means for us, A new heart, A new heart, God's will is that, We no longer be driven, By fleshly passions, And fleshly appetites, Fleshly pleasure, But that our heart, Be changed, And the Bible says,

[11:58] Pre Christ, Our heart is deceitful, And desperately wicked, And spiritually sick, And beyond repair, You know, When we become a Christian, God doesn't, Just turn over a new leaf, In our lives, You know, Some people think, Oh, It's about me, Changing myself, And me becoming a better person, Stopping doing certain things, And starting doing certain things, That by, My effort, I can somehow change myself, It's not that at all, You know, When you think, I heard a story about, Some people selling, Some real estate, And, The people came to look, At the property, For sale, And the person, Selling the property, Was saying, Oh, I'm sorry about, The paint job here, I'm going to get some new paint, And tidy that up, And that broken window, Over there, I'll fix that up, Before I sell it to you, And this and that, And the person, Buying the property said, I'm not interested in that, I'm going to demolish this house,

[12:58] And rebuild a new one, And that's what happens, With the Christian life, Isn't it? God doesn't, Ask you to, Reform yourself, He has to recreate, You, He has to renew you, Regenerate you, Making you again, It's a demolition job, Of the old structure, Structure the old house, And it's a rebuild, Not a, A renovation, But a rebuilding job, That's what God does for us, Doesn't he?

[13:31] We're not turning over a new leaf, He gives us a whole new start, A whole new mind, And a new heart, And he says in Ezekiel 36, This is our great heart surgeon, The Lord Jesus speaking about, A new heart, A heart transplant, That he offers to you, To replace that spiritually sick heart, That's beyond repair, He says, A new heart, Will I also give you, And a new spirit, Will I put within you, I'll take away, The stony heart, Out of your flesh, The heart, The stony heart, That rock heart, Hardened heart, Stony heart, Out of your flesh, And I will give you, A heart of flesh, A heart sensitive, Renewed, Revived, A new heart, A new spirit, A new living hope, A new passion, This is conversion, A life, Radically changed, Our Lord has delivered us, From the power of sin,

[14:32] David came to know that, As David, We read of David, What a mess, David, You see, All the, The bad press, About politicians lately, In other places, In our own place, And this would have been, Front page news, David, What a shameful thing, What a, What a horrific thing, To take someone else's wife, A deep sin, Before God, As he took Bathsheba, In adultery, And then he plotted, The death of her husband, And David, We read of him, In Psalm 51, You can hear the tears, Spilling onto the pages, As he wrote these words, Create in me, A clean heart, O God, And renew, A right spirit, Within me, He cried out,

[15:33] For a new heart, A clean heart, And a saved man, Or woman, Can have, New desires, A clean heart, A renewed spirit, A right spirit, Yeah, Even so, We also should walk in, Newness of life, Paul writes, For me to, Live, Is Christ, Amen, This is truly living, And we can become, A new creation, Of God, As Paul puts it, In 2 Corinthians 5, Verse 17, Therefore, If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature, Old things have passed away, Behold, All things are become new, All things have become new, If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature, A new creation, God gives us a brand new heart, A brand new start, All things are become new, He gives us a new calling, A new desire, A new joy, A new mission, All things have become new, And the word tells us, That our Lord God delivers us, All things have passed away,

[16:35] You will be made new, There's a new identity, We can find in Christ, It's a whole new way of life, You know, You hear sometimes, These stories about, Someone who's had an accident, And they have a, Total memory loss, They forget who they are, Where they're from, And they've got to take on, A new identity, A new name, They've forgotten, Who the old one was, The old man, The old woman, That they were, They become a new identity, It's really, Such a dramatic change, For us, A new identity, Such that we can declare, As the scriptures say, I am, The righteousness, Of God in Christ, Amen, 2 Corinthians 5, 21, I am, Accepted, In the beloved, Ephesians 1, Verse 6, I have been raised up, And seated with him, In heavenly places, Ephesians 2, Verse 6, I can do all things, Through Christ, Which strengtheneth me, Philippians 4, 13, If Christ is for me,

[17:35] Then who can, Be against me, Romans 8, 31, Behold, I am in Christ, The old is gone, The new has come, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, There is now therefore, No condemnation, Because I'm in Christ, It's a new walk, It's a new life, Romans 8, Verse 1, Even so, We also should, Walk in, Newness of life, This new heart, That our great heart surgeon, Transplants into us, Has a new devotion, It's a heart, After his heart, After God's own heart, And we want to follow, Hard, After God, It's a faithful heart, You know, It's been said, That a wife, Who is 85% faithful, To her husband, Is not faithful, At all, There's no such thing, As part time loyalty, To Jesus Christ, So said Vance Havner, You know, You can't be, You can't be, 85% faithful, As a wife,

[18:37] As a spouse, It's 100%, Isn't it? If it's 99%, Then are you faithful? No, God wants, Our heart to be, In tune with his, As newborn Christians, We've got a new loyalty, A new affection, A new Lord, A new love, God gives us this work, This new work within, And it's all because of Christ's compelling love, We've got new eyes, New energy, New drive, New motivation, New focus, God makes this change in us, All things, Are become new, We have a new relationship, With God, We can know a change of family, You've got new brothers and sisters, You've got a new father, You've been newborn, A new homeland, Your passport, He's changed your passport, He's changed your citizenship, You've got a change of belonging, Even so, We also should walk in, Newness of life,

[19:38] So he gives us a new mind, He gives us a new heart, And also he gives us new power, New power, Power, The Bible speaks of the fullness, Of the spirit, New power, Here we see a picture of, The power, Of the surging, Tide, Couldn't think of, How could you picture power, And when you think of the power of God, There's a new power, The fullness of the spirit, We're energised by God, Is the power, Of the resurrection, It's the power, That busted wide, The gates of death, This same power, That raised Christ up, From the dead, Works in us, In you and me, Creating new life, This power, It enables, Newness of life, He gives us a new source, Of spiritual energy, Romans 8 verse 11, It says, But if the spirit, Of him that raised, Jesus from the dead, Dwell in you, He that raised up,

[20:41] Christ from the dead, Shall also quicken, Make alive, Your mortal bodies, By his spirit, That dwelleth in you, He's going to quicken you, He's going to breathe life into you, He's going to make you live, Make you alive, The power of God, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 24, Says that, Christ is, The power of God, His power, Is in us, The Holy Spirit, Is at work, It's the same spirit, The same power, The same spirit, We breathe, The same spirit, It's been working, Since Genesis, Since, It breathed on the face, Of the waters, The same spirit, The same power, It's always been there, And it's always been, With God's own dear people, And this same power, His power, The power of the Holy Spirit, He is with us still, Since the dawn of creation, Until, And beyond this present time, His spirit is working in us, God made a way for Moses, Where there seemed no other way,

[21:43] God made a way for Joshua, And brought deliverance, At the battle of Jericho, The same God, The same power, The same God, The same power, That delivered David, From the giant Goliath, Is the same power, That works in us, The same power, That our Lord Jesus, Raised Lazarus from the dead, The same spirit, That raised Christ from the dead, Dwells, In you, Within you, And he will deliver you, He will empower you, Just reckon on it, Count on it, Declare it, Romans 6, 11, Says declare this, Reckon it, It's a, It's a definitive, Statement, An accounting, Reckon this, Make this, Strongly, Firmly stated, Reckon yourselves, Dead, Indeed, Unto sin, But, Alive, Unto God,

[22:44] Through Jesus Christ our Lord, As we yield to God, The power, Of his resurrection, Makes us alive, Unto God, And we can know his, Daily presence, You can know his, Daily presence, You can be led by his spirit, Day by day, Moment by moment, We can know, If God before us, Who can be against us, We can know that God, Has broken the power of sin, We can be truly set free, And just as surely, As the stone was rolled away, His spirit, Indwells us, And we're made alive, Unto God, Through that same power, We've got a new direction, And moment by moment, He's changing us, He doesn't save us, To leave us as we are, He saves us, And he changes us, And he keeps changing us, From glory to glory to glory, He keeps changing us, Transforming us, It's an ongoing, Transforming, Into his image, And likeness, Even as by the spirit, Of the Lord, And he's given unto you, And me that believe,

[23:44] A new nature, In 2 Peter 1, It says, Wherefore, I give it unto us, Exceeding great, And precious promises, That by these, You might be partakers, Of the divine nature, Having escaped, The corruption, That is in the world, Through lust, Receive the divine nature, That's amazing, Isn't it?

[24:03] There's people here, That you know, Fellow Christian believers, They've got the divine nature, In them, The divine nature, In them, Even so, We also, Should walk in, A newness of life, Another, Aspect is, A new walk, A new lifestyle, Even so, We also, Should walk in, A newness of life, A new life, Think of, As it were, A new road, A new direction, A change of direction, We do a 180, When we get saved, We've got a new purpose, The missionary, Martyr, Jim Elliot, Said this, Thank God, For purpose, In life, When one works, The will of God, That there is no excuse, For laziness, Or wasted time, He is redeeming, Our lives, As well as our souls, There's a whole new purpose, That happens, And nearly 200 years ago, There were two Scottish brothers,

[25:04] Named, John and David Livingstone, John and David Livingstone, And John had set his mind, On making money, And becoming wealthy, Which he did, But you look back now, Under his name, In an old edition, Of the Encyclopedia Britannica, And under the name, John Livingstone, It says simply, The brother, Of David Livingstone, That's right, Amen, For all his, Wealth, And, The substance of his life, Which was really just, Game, Game, Game, Worldly, Worldly, Earthly game, There was nothing to show, For John Livingstone's life, Who was David Livingstone, While John had dedicated, His life, To making money, David had knelt, And prayed, He'd surrendered his life, To Christ, And he resolved, And he said this, I will place no value, On anything, I have, Or possess, Unless it is, In relationship, To the kingdom of God, Praise the Lord,

[26:05] No value on anything, Except it be, In relation, To the kingdom of God, And, Inscribed over his burial, Place in Westminster Abbey, It says, For 30 years his life, Was spent, In unwearied effort, To evangelise, For 30 years his life, Was spent, In unwearied effort, To evangelise, In the nation of Africa, And we see the fruit, Of his labour still, On his 59th birthday, David Livingstone wrote, My Jesus, My King, My life, My all, I again dedicate, My whole self, To thee, My Jesus, My King, My life, My all, I again dedicate, My life, My whole self, To thee, Newness of life, David Livingstone knew that, Walk, In newness of life, We also, Should also walk in, Newness of life, Walk on, Brother, Walk on, Sister, It's a walk, You know, Sometimes, In the Christian journey, We have,

[27:06] Sometimes it feels like, Two steps forward, One step back, Doesn't it? And we have those moments, Of back and forth, Of slipping and sliding, Of human, Anxieties, And cares, Just like, Everybody else, Walk on, Walk on, In newness of life, Leave the old ways behind, You might slip and slide, And, And, Fail, But walk on, Walk on, Press on, Put off the old man, And keep putting him off, He keeps trying to get back onto us, But put him off, And keep putting him off, And put on the new man, Be renewed, In his own image and likeness, As we draw closer to heaven, Our trust will be more like him, Day by day, And he calls us to this, To Godly living, Life with a capital L, Life in all its fullness, It's God's design, It's what we've been created for, To realise this newness of life, It's a possibility, It's a reality,

[28:07] We can know, To know God's best, A life fulfilled, And purposeful, Friends, You are, His masterpiece, And there's still some finishing touches, You know, There's a bumper sticker that says, I'm a Christian under construction, You know, So, You know, There's times where, Yeah, We don't always live up to, That, The master's design, He's still putting those finishing touches, There's still a bit, A bit of, Smudging there to rub out, And a bit of colour to add, Here and there, To, To, Perfect the picture, Yeah, As it were, You are His masterpiece, His workmanship, It says in Ephesians 2, 10, For we are His workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus, Unto, Good works, Which God hath before ordained, That we should walk in them, Workmanship, I think, I think, Like, Of, Humanly speaking, It's great to, Engage someone, To do something for you, Who you know is a workman, As far as a craftsman,

[29:09] Yeah, Yeah, If you want something done, You get someone who can do it well, Yeah, Don't you? And, You see, The craftsmanship, Now, We've got a handyman, He does the odd job for us, And, The craftsmanship of his work, Is just, It's, Perfect, Yeah, He doesn't cut corners, He does it, Perfectly, How I want it, To be, And, Friends, We are His workmanship, Yeah, That's right, He's a perfect designer, And, Craftsman, And, We're created in Him, It's got the picture of an artist's masterpiece, And, As we yield to His hand, His working in us, His finishing touches are still yet to be made, There's still some rough edges to knock off, Here and there, Of that design, Of that work of art that you are, And God can make a masterpiece out of your life, And so we have this new world view, This new way of living,

[30:10] This new way of walking, We've been given new sight, A new perspective, To see beyond, This seen world, That unseen, A new perspective, We've got a new work to fulfil, A new master to obey, We've let go of the old one, You know, You can't serve two masters, You know, Sometimes we still, Tend to, Do what the old master wants, Don't we?

[30:36] Let's face it, I'm speaking for myself, But Jesus says, You can't serve two masters, You've been given a new master, A new work to do, And, We're actually meant to be addicted, It's a funny, Scripture in 1 Corinthians 16, 15, Sells of people who are addicted, Now we know, There's many, Earthly addictions, That are very bad for us, And you know what they are, I don't have to tell you, But our Lord wants to, Engage us as labourers, In his harvest field, And that we'll be addicted, In other words, We'll be really, Earnestly, Engaged, And, We just can't stop, Amen, This beautiful thing, Called living for God, It's an addiction, And it's a good one, It's a good habit, It's a good addiction to have, So the reality is, We should walk in, Newness of life, He's raised us up, As he raised Christ from the dead,

[31:38] Our father God, And he's still working, And, Yet, This time, So you might feel, Preacher, You're preaching to me, But I know that I've, I don't measure up, I know that, I don't always measure up, Join the club, Amen, Amen, None of us can, Or do, Amen, This side of glory, We're still living in the same, Earthly world, Still subject to the same, Earthly, Temptations, The same circumstances, Sometimes we may not feel like, We've got new life, We're not living it, We fall back, We're drawn back, To the old familiar habits, The old self, Seems to resurrect himself, Now and again, And he comes back to life, Far too often, And so we should die daily, The Bible says, Crucify the flesh, Die to yourself, God's plan,

[32:39] Is that you walk in, Newness of life, And, And, It's one step, After the other, God's plan, Is that you walk in, Newness of life, Like as Christ was raised up, From the dead, By the glory, Of the Father, Even so we, Also, Should walk in, Newness, Of life, Are you saved?

[33:03] This message is to those, Who are saved, Are you saved? Do you know this, Newness of life? You can, You can know it now, Today, This moment, By faith, There's an urgency to this, Yes, There's an urgency to this, The son who toy, And, They toy until it's too late, And they never, Are saved, The harvest has passed, The summer has ended, And we are not saved, What a tragic thing, Robert Moffat, Said this, We'll have all eternity, To celebrate our victories, But only one short hour, Before sunset, To win them, There's only one short hour, Before sunset, Yeah, Let's make our life count, Let's redeem the time, The days are evil, Let's make it count, For eternity, Don't take another day, For granted, Brother, Sister, Walk, In newness of life, And, If you're not saved, Prepare for eternity,

[34:05] There's only one way, To be saved, And it's not by, Turning over a new leaf, It's not by, Reforming yourself, You know, I've known some, That, The world has said, Wow, They've really changed, That man down the road, He's really changed, There's been such a change in him, He stopped drinking, He stopped, Fornicating, He stopped swearing, They were talking about, A Jehovah's Witness, He wasn't saved, It wasn't about, Reforming, Himself, It's about, Being regenerated, Regenerated, God breathing, His new life, Into you, Amen, Such that, As we see, As we've just recapped there, With the next slide, He gives us a new mind, A new way of thinking, Takes the blinkers away, The blindness away, And we see, We see the light, A new mind, He renews His mind, We get His mind in us,

[35:05] He gives us a new heart, Like David, Create in me, A clean heart, Oh God, Renew a right spirit within me, Cry out, And He'll give you a new heart, Not a rock heart, A stony one, But a sensitive, One that He can touch, And move, He gives us a new power, A power, The same power, That raised Christ up from the dead, Resurrection power, Life giving power, You can have power, And strength, Beyond your own, And we need that, Don't we?

[35:39] We need that power, And He gives us a new lifestyle, A whole new walk, A new whole, Way of living, A new direction, A new, Destination, And you can know, Newness of life, Praise His name, Let's not take another day, For granted, Let's, Be refreshed in our faith, And, Seize these truths, And if you're not, A Christian today, You might say, I don't know that I've ever been, Born again, I can't remember a day, A time, A moment, When I actually did, For the first time, And for the, Eternal time, Know that truth, Of the new birth, The new creation, The new life, I want it, Speak to me after, Speak to someone you trust, And they'll guide you through, Those steps of trusting Him, Of calling on His name, Of,

[36:41] Running to Him, And turning from, Your way, And turning to Him, The only Savior, And you can be prepared, For eternity, And walk in newness, Of life, Let us pray, To ending to Him, To ending to Him, To ending to Him, Thank you.