Title: I Will Do a New Thing
Contents
We have just started a new voyage towards the new year 1998. Above all, I pray that God's great grace will fill the families and workplaces of the saints on this new departure. No, I pray that you will have mature eyes of faith to see that God is with you in any case, without exception, for a moment this year. In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that the will of Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth, not our meager will, will come to fruition beautifully in your life this year, transcending time and space.
In fact, if we seriously consider it, we cannot help but agree with Solomon's confession. Solomon testifies like this in Ecclesiastes 1:9-10.
“What has been will be again later, and what has been done will be done again later. There is nothing new under the sun, and what can be said, ‘Behold, this is new?
That's a hundred times correct. We call the year 1998, which has just begun, a new year without any hesitation. But what's new? Last year, the year before, even ten years ago, not even a hundred years ago, even a thousand years ago, people called the year New Year's Eve. There has never been a year in human history that was not a New Year. But again, what does the new year mean?
With the development of science, we all know, don't we? The sun does not revolve around the earth, but the earth revolves around the sun. The sun always stays in the same place. In other words, the morning sun that illuminates the alumni every morning is not a new year, but the year of yesterday. No matter how repeatedly the 365 days of a year set by humans pass and come, what is given is actually not a new year, but an extension of the old year. That is why what we call the New Year is only a rhetorical expression, and there is no real novelty in it.
Nevertheless, there are two reasons why we must have a new year that comes regularly.
There is a first new year, so we can start anew. If 70 to 80 years of life go on without the opportunity of a new year, how boring and indolent would it be? If there is no New Year's knot for those who have fallen into despair and despair, what can motivate them to rebuild themselves and stand up again? But every 365 days we are given a new year's challenge, so we get the strength to start anew, overcoming all boredom, inertia, failure and discouragement. In this sense, it is a great grace to be given the opportunity of a new challenge, that is, an average of 70 or 80 new years in this world.
However, the second reason why there must be a new year, an absolute reason that cannot be compared with the first reason, is that God can really give a new year. Because there is nothing new under the sun, the new year can only be a continuation of the old year for people who are declining day by day, but because of God who makes all things new, even the old year can become a completely new year.
2,600 years ago, even in Israel, a new year would start every 365 days without fail. However, no matter how many new years are repeated, it cannot be a true New Year. It was because the whole people at that time were engulfed in corruption and loose conduct, iniquity and darkness. Therefore, as the years went by, the year only became more and more old, rather than new. The Israelites, who had thrown away all the new days given every day, were finally destroyed by the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. And for the Israelites who were taken to Babylonia, the harsh life of captivity began.
Even during that miserable captivity, the new year did not come. He came every twelve months without exception. However, the days stained with pain, despair, and tears of captivity soon turned into old years.
By the way, the New Year has really returned to them. Not because they changed their dwelling place, but they were still in tears in captivity in Babylonia, but when they stood right before God, because of God, by God, their old days, old days, and old years were not fresh at all. Time, fresh days, and a whole new year have begun to be nurtured anew. Through the first half of verses 18-19 of the text, God said this to the people of Israel.
"Remember the old things, and do not consider the old things. Behold, I am doing a new thing, and now it will be revealed."
God Himself did a new thing, and a real new year had begun for them. What a great new event God has prepared for the people of Israel who stand right before Him. God said, 'Remember, neither remember nor think of the old things.' It was meant to unfold a new work that cannot be compared with anything that has happened before.
What does the old thing that God does not remember or even think about refer to? Verses 15 and 17 testify to this.
“I am the LORD your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, and your King, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the great waters, and brings out weapons, horses, and mighty men of armies; “Thus says the LORD, who made me like a lamp” (15-17).
The old thing that God spoke of was the history of the Exodus. He liberated the Israelites who had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years, and when the Red Sea was blocked in front of them, He opened the way for them, and He buried the Egyptian army in pursuit of them in the Red Sea. It was a great story you made. For the people of Israel, this history of the Exodus was one of the most unforgettable national splendor.
But God is promising to do a new thing that cannot be compared to that of the Israelites, who are now captives in Babylon. What was the new job specifically? It was a new liberation from Babylonian captivity. It was the dream of a new return to Jerusalem, Israel. It was a new reconstruction of the destroyed temple in Jerusalem. It was a new contraction of the desolated city of Jerusalem. It was a new sacrifice offered to God with tears of joy there. It was a new life that began there with God. But the new thing that was greater than all of them was Emmanuel God - Jesus Christ, who came to this earth in the form of a human because he loved humans.
In the very land where the new year was made of old and worn rags, they became those who enjoyed the new year every day by God and in the new work that God is doing. It was a great battle that could never have happened if I had not stood right in front of God.
This year, our church's motto is 'Do new things' based on the text. This is because there are more new events predicted socially and ecclesially this year than any other year. First, socially, a new government will be established at the beginning of the year. As this is the first female-night regime change in constitutional history, new values and a new order will inevitably be established. New reforms will be entailed by the new government. In May, there will be a large number of new people appearing due to the election of the head of the local government. According to the agreement with the IMF, new restructuring will be carried out in the economic and financial circles. The necessary new laws will be enacted. Due to the continuous IMF cold wave, a new morality and ethics will be formed among the people. At the same time, it is inevitable that a new aspect of life will emerge that has removed the bubble that was only a bluff.
In this way, a whole new day awaits us. None of it is new. However, if we ourselves try to be the subject of these things, from the moment they pass us by, they become only old rags, and this year when only old things torn down and old things pile up can never become a new year. On the other hand, if we accept our God as the subject of all the things that come to us, if we stand before God and greet them with the help of God, then those things will unfold before us as God's new things without interruption, and in the new things of God. 1998 will be a true New Year, a year of God's grace that renews all of us.
We are yearning for the new year more desperately than ever. None of us would like 1998 to be a continuation of those bleak days when the whole country was fundamentally disintegrating like it was in 1997. Everyone will hope that 1998 will be a true new year, starting anew in every way. Then, let us all stand upright toward God, realizing that only the Triune God can make all things new. Just as the Israelites who lived in captivity in Babylon with all their heart and soul turned toward God, let us, who were captives of the IMF today, turn toward God with all our hearts. Let us build ourselves upon His Word, His Law, His Truth.
Let us all become the glasses of truth and become those who can distinguish between illusion and reality. Let us all become people of the truth and those who can judge long and short things. Let us all become the scales of truth and be able to discern the weight of things. Let us all become compasses of truth and those who know the right direction to go. Let us all become leaders of the truth, and those who can correctly discern where we stand.
As long as we live like this, everything that will happen before us will be a new work of God, and that new day will be greater than the parting of the Red Sea. This unfading New Year will be engulfed in English.
Through Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon, who lamented that there is nothing new under the sun, ends the conclusion of Ecclesiastes like this.
“Now that we have heard the end of the matter, fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
He clearly experienced that all things are new to those who fear God.
Classmates!
There is nothing new under the sun. In any era, anywhere, among people. But under the sun, everything is bound to be new. Only for those who fear God. For those who fear God, every day is a new day of God, every day is a new day of God, and every year is a new year of God. Let's face God's new work, which is bigger than the history of the Exodus, because we all stand up straight to God. So, even though we live in the valley of the shadow of death, I pray that the new year will be renewed with green pastures and still waters by God who does new things for us.
I will pray for you.
The people of God who believe that the subject of the new year is God bowed their heads humbly. Grant all of us grace, but above all else, help us to become those who fear God. Be the glasses of truth, the scales of truth, the ruler of truth, the compass of truth, and the map of truth. So, let us all enjoy a true new day, a true new year, in the new work of God that He is doing for us, family, church, and society.