A New Beginning with God
With every new year, we have to kick it off with new thoughts and new plans. It’s a time for us to refresh our mind and spirit. Sunday’s sermon was all about the reality and necessity of a new beginning with God. The passage of focus is Revelations 21:1-5 which is about a new heaven and earth. There are three aspects that we can draw from this passage that leads us to the need of a new beginning with God.
God as the only source of eternal hope (v. 1)
When we hear the words passing away, we immediately think of death but we can see in this particular verse that it’s actually speaking about a new beginning. It’s revealing that the old way must disappear but the new must remain. This act of new creation is because we have a God who loves to create beauty and order.
If we look back to the creation of the world, God created the heavens and earth. However, it was empty and chaotic as there was only darkness and deep waters but God brought it into order. It is very clear that the final outcome of Eden is completely opposite from the chaotic waters as God shaped the world into a place of beauty and order.
To top off the beauty of the world, God created humans in his own image. The people were to follow the order that God had put into place but they rebelled and because of their rebellion we now live in a chaotic world. God’s order and beauty has been destroyed because the people wanted to follow their own way instead of God’s. However, God is always planning and he is in the process of bringing order back through the chaos and this has been achieved through salvation.
God overcomes the chaos because he is mightier and more powerful than any ocean or sea (Psalm 93:3-4 and Psalm 77:16). He is the only one that has the power to do so. We need to understand that our hope cannot be found in any other place but God. It cannot be found in our education, our work or even material possessions. God is the only eternal source of hope so we need to think about where we are placing our hope. God is the only one that can conquer the oceans and storms of life but also in nature.
2. God as the only source of eternal salvation (v. 2-3)
God has freed us from the bondage of sin and he has made all things new. God has allowed us to start anew with a fresh start. Salvation is not about returning back to Eden or what was, it’s about going to a new heaven and Earth. God is coming to us in this new city as he is making this his home among us and he will live among us.
All of this is only made possible because of salvation as we were separated from God because of sin. We know that salvation is only found in God. Heaven is only a metaphor for dwelling in God. This is a great reminder that we can experience a glimpse of dwelling with God forever by making our lives as a place where God dwells in us. There is eternal peace and salvation when God reigns in our lives.
3. God as the only source of eternal comfort (v. 4)
It is comforting to know that God cares for us in ways that we can’t imagine. It truly cements that God is a source of comfort. God has redeemed us from all the mistakes that we have made. Even all the sorrow and disappointment that we experience has a purpose as it pushes us to have a dependent relationship with God.
The pain that we experience is a way for us to be compassionate for those that are also suffering. It allows us to empathise and point people to God as an ultimate source of comfort. Jesus did the same and he also empathised with us.
We don’t have to wait to have a new beginning with God as we can start this today. It will be a journey that will continue on to eternity as all hope, salvation and comfort is only found in God. Let us draw near to God and start fresh.
Father God,
Thank you for allowing all of us to have a new start and new beginning with you. Thank you for your grace and salvation as it allows us to understand the lengths that you take for us to be with you. I pray that we can understand that we can choose to dwell in you today and that we can truly know that hope, salvation and comfort is only found in You. I pray that we can draw near to you day by day into eternity.
Amen