GOING In The New Year

GOING In The New Year

J. Mike Minnix

Introduction

Isaiah 45:22-25 read,  "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength. All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.'"

Just before Christmas a few years ago 38 so‑called rockers got together in England to make a record to raise money for Ethiopian famine victims. The title of the song they recorded is most significant: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

That's a searching question for the Christian Church to face. Do the millions of  people on planet earth know it's Christmas? Have they heard that God sent His Son to die for them? Do they know of the miracle of the Virgin Birth, the Incarnate Son of God?

As we close out our celebration of Christmas this year and look into the face of the year 2022, we must do so with a sense of mission. Our world is frightened, frustrated and fractured. Covid 19, speically the Omicron variant, has the people of the world questioning whay life will be like in the New Year. The Covid 19 situation is not improving, and I think most of us thought this disease would be a memory by now. As Christians we must do what is necessary to protect ourselves but we are not to be frightened. Our duty is to face the New Year as a mission assignment.

Many people do not know that Jesus came to save. If they do not know, why do they not know? Why has the Church been so long in taking the Good News to earth's millions? The one question missionaries fear to hear from the lips of non‑Christians in un-reached lands is: "How long have you known about the Gospel? Did your father know about the Gospel?"

We live in world that desperately needs Jesus Christ. This was brought home to me in an even more vivid and graphic way when I saw the recent report from a number of polls that reveal that a large segment of the American population believe in God; however, it is estimated that less than  20% of the people in America attend church every week and less than 40% attend once a month. How can more than 80% believe in God but only 20% attend church weekly? The fact is that people say what they think people want to hear and not what they really believe. Our faith is actually shown by our works rather than simply through our words.

Noting that America is far more irreligious than we have been told should come as no surprise to those of us who truly love the Lord. Look at the heroes of Americans in this day. They include:

• Rap music stars who blatantly encourage crime and promote sexual license
• Female singers who take off their clothes in public
• Athletes who live promiscuous lives
• Cartoon characters whose names I will not even repeat
• Political leaders involved in greed, sexual assault and questionable elections
• Open crime and theft in our streets and stores

The list goes on and on! If America is one of the most religious nations on earth, and yet has so many moral and ethical problems, what of the rest of the world? In reality, our nation and our world has never needed Jesus Christ more than right now.

For a long time America, and perhaps the world, feared nuclear destruction more than any other problem. Terrorism is perhaps the greatest fear of many today - or, perhaps the financial collapse of the world markets. But, the real problem for the world is one of personal sin and the coming accountability for it.

Today, I want us to look at the fact that Christmas and a coming New Year reminds us that Jesus came for a purpose, and those of us who are saved are to go and take His message of love, grace and forgiveness to the world.

Let us turn our attention to the hope of the world.

I. The Simple Plan

Numbers 21:8 The LORD said to Moses ...

"Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."

There is a story concerning a certain society that once wrote to David Livingstone who was serving as a missionary in Africa. They wrote to him in he deepest part of Africa asking, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you." Livingstone was very unhappy with their request and wrote back to them with this reply, "If you have men who will come ONLY if they know there is a good road, I don't want them."

Friedrich Max Muller wrote, "Christianity is a missionary religion, converting, advancing, aggressive, encompassing the world; a non‑missionary church is in the bands of death." Instant (Quotation Dictionary_, p. 59.)

John 3:14 records Jesus alluding to Numbers 21:8. You can see clearly that Jesus was revealing that the incident in the Old Testament has implications for the New Testament age and even to this very day.

God's plan to reach the world is simple but the work is not. We must lift Christ up, if we expect people to believe upon Him. This must be done in the way we live, in our faithful worship and labor in the local church, through our personal witness, in our praying, and through sacrificial giving to the mission cause of our Lord.

Someone asked me, "Preacher, if Jesus paid it all, why are you always taking up offerings?" He was joking, of course - at least I think he was. But I answered, "Jesus paid for our sins, but there are CARRYING CHARGES! We must carry the message to the world and that takes money!"

We need to see the Christmas and the New Year as a great time to reach out to our world with the message of salvation found only in Christ.

 Note also ...

II. The Sure Promise

Numbers 23:19 read,s ...

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"

William Penn, the founder of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was well liked by the Indians. Once they told him he could have as much of their land as he could encompass on foot in a single day. So, early the next morning he started out and walked until late that night. When he finally went to claim his land, the Indians were greatly surprised, for they really didn't think he would take them seriously. But they kept their promise and gave him a large area which today is part of the city of Philadelphia. William Penn simply believed what they said. Should we do less with God and His promise to bless those who take His message of love and salvation into the wide world before us.

Our Lord promised to be with us as we carry His message of love and salvation to the world (Matthew 28:18-20). He keeps His promises! When we are willing to go, to pray and to give in order to take His message of grace to a lost world, He will be there to provide the power to accomplish the task.

Consider also ...

III. The Sweeping Problem

Nelson Price, pastor of the Roswell Street Baptist Church in Cobb county Georgia wanted to place his church's television ministry into the most un-churched counties in America. He contacted the Research Department of his denomination and asked them to give him a list of the most un-churched counties in American. To his utter astonishment one of those counties was Cobb County Georgia, the county in which his very church was located. (By Dr. Edwin L. Cliburn)

There is no shortage of those who need Christ. Even among those of us who claim Christ as our Savior, there is a need for renewal and revival. Without question, there is pressing need for us to become serious about taking the message of Jesus across the street and across the seas.

Some churches think of the lost as being far away, and certainly many unsaved people live in far away lands; however, missions must be first and foremost be viewed locally. I have known people who are always talking about raising money for and prayer for people doing missions far away; however, I have also noticed that some of those ardent supporters of foreign missions will never speak a word about Jesus to a neighbor or person in their town or county. We all have neighbors, co-workers, friends, acquaintances, and family members who need to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Doing missions is not just going to some place in America on a mission trip, giving to some offering to help missionaries, praying for those who witness, but it is being a witness right where we are. It is strange that some will pray and give for people to go across the world with the gospel, but those same people will not go across the street to take the gospel to a neighbor.

Please, as we being this New Year, take seriously the task of sharing with others what it means to know Christ. If you feel unprepared to do that, talk to us on staff and let us help you with training and material to help you have confidence and boldness in witnessing to others.

We must review ...

IV. The Single Path

During the Arab‑Israeli war in 1967, an American reporter was flying over the Sinai desert with an Israeli officer, and they spotted some fifty thousand stranded Egyptian soldiers who obviously were dying of thirst. When the situation was reported in the newspapers, a number of world leaders and organizations tried to do something to help. But every time a plan was suggested, some military, diplomatic, or bureaucratic obstacle prevented it from being carried out. By the time help came, thousands of the soldiers had died. How equally tragic it is for churches to spin their wheels in programs and committees while thousands around them are desperately thirsting for the spiritual water that only Christ can supply.

The path God has provided to reach the world is to do all we can to reach the lost before it is too late. Feeling bad about not sharing with someone, when we discover that he or she shas uddenly died, does not help the missionary cause. This is our day! This is our time! We get one chance - one life in Christ - to share with others. We simply must not fail in this critical task of being missionaries and help those who go to places we cannot go.

Think about ...

V. The Serious Peril

"If I straighten the pictures on the walls of your home, I am committing no sin, am I? But suppose that your house were afire, and I still went calmly about straightening pictures, what would you say? Would you think me merely stupid or very wicked? The world today is on fire. What are you doing to extinguish the fire?" (Corrie ten Boom, in her book: "Amazing Love," p. 101)

Sharing the Lord's love with the Lord is serious business. When we are more worried about whether we can find a parking place near the entrance to the church, or whether the church is too hot or too cold for our liking, we are seriously silly about selfish issues. We must concentrate on that which is most important to the heart of God. Christ sent His only Son to die for the sin of this world. We should do no less than give our best to take His message of redemption to the ends of the earth.

Remember ...

VI. The Secure Provision

God has given a pure provision for the sins of the world. Jesus died for the sins of everyone. Yet, millions languish in their sins because the 'Good News' has not reached them. We are charged with the ministry of taking the message of Jesus to the Lost world!

How many provisions have been made for sin? Only one! John 14:6. There is only One secure provision for the souls of mankind, and that provision is the Solid Rock. If there were many ways to be made right with God, the missions mandate would carry very little weight; however, there is only one way and those of us who know Christ must be His ambassadors in this world.

Now let's recall ...

VII. The Splendorous Place

Hebrews 12:2 reads ...

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

The Lord won the victory at Calvary and now sits at the right hand of the Father. He has promised power from His throne as we go forth to share the Gospel of Jesus to the World. And, he has promised us a home with Him in heaven when our work is done. Let us get on with the work of sharing the Good News. Many will come to faith and salvation if we are simply faithful in the task of sharing our financial gifts to the cause of missions, our prayers for those who serve as witnesses to Christ and then as we ourselves give witness to His saving grace.  After all, you came to Jesus because someone told you about Him. It may have been a parent, a friend, or a preacher, but when you heard it, you received Him into your life - a decision you will never forget. So NOW, right now, you need to be a Christian helping others come to the Lord.