How to Live this New Year
It is the New Year. How will we face it together? What will it look like? I think now, more than ever in our post-pandemic society, things are more uncertain than they were before. Today is a message for us to gird your loins. What does it mean to gird one's loins? What does gird your loins mean biblically? If you've read the Bible, then you've probably come across the phrase "gird up your loins." I've always thought it was a funny turn of phrase. During Biblical times of the ancient Near East, both men and women wore flowing tunics. Around the tunic, they'd wear a belt or girdle. While tunics were comfortable and breezy, the tunic's hem would often get in the way when a man was fighting or performing hard labor. So, when ancient Hebrew men had to battle the Philistines; the men would lift the hem of their tunic and tuck it into their girdle or tie it in a knot to keep it off the ground. The effect created a pair of shorts that provided more freedom of movement. Thus, telling someone to "gird up their loins" was to ask them to get ready for hard work or battle. It was the old way of saying "man up!" Yea, now go forth. Gird up your loins and fresh courage take, my brethren.
We do not want any fears, sins, old nature, and ways of doing things to impede a person's movement. We need to be in a position of empowerment, strength, peace, and actions. I like how it is written in (1Peter 1:1:13) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The word of God asks the old to gird their loins in (John 21:18) Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”
The Bible says to women to gird their loins in (Isaiah 32:11) Tremble, you who are so complacent! Shudder, you who are so confident! Strip yourselves bare, with only a loincloth for cover. We can see that in Isaiah and John we are to be in a state of preparedness in all things. The most important is to be ready spiritually. We must be made new in line with the fact that we are in a new year. Old negative messages must die and be left in the past. Stop word cursing yourself and stop hanging around people who word curse you. For example, who told you, you could not be successful? Who told you that you wouldn't make it? Who told you, you would never rise above it all? Who told you that you wouldn't find love? Who told you that you would not find a good job? Who told you that you would not get well?
Who told you that this is all there is? Who told you that you are too poor, or you don't have enough education or anything else? I will tell you who. The DEVIL, and he is a liar. That is how he operates. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Kill your ideas, motivation, dreams, and hope. Steal your car, your house, your health. He comes to destroy your life, your reason, your value. If you suffer from these things, you are not listening to God, that is for sure. You are listening to the Devil, and his end goal for you is to be sick, drunk, immoral, or dead.
Ask yourself, what would you give for a life like that? Well, I will tell you I would not give a penny to the Devil for a life like that. Let's turn the page this year for a new life. Well, Pastor Marlaine, we are in a pandemic, and I can't do this or that. That's the Devil. Well, there is not the right job? Start somewhere. If nothing changes, then nothing changes. Well, I can't move? Yes, you can. I can't leave them. They need me. No, they don't. I can't tell them the truth. Oh yes, you can. I can't go to church. I am too tired on the weekend. Yeah, that's the Devil's plan, all right. I can't go to church. I don't want to get to Covid. Covid doesn't seem to be catchy at Walmart, the bar, or Kroger.
In this new year, we are much like Jesus in the Wilderness. We need to make tough decisions and come out victorious to bear witness of the hope that is in us. If you do not have a mission statement for your life, get one. If you do not have a vision statement for your life, get one. If you have not prayed for God's guidance in all your affairs, then do so today!
We recently, before Christmas, left you with Jesus' victory as John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. I told you to use your imagination if we were at the Jordan today what would that look like. I told you that when Jesus entered the water to be Baptized, and all the "Hello, my name is stickers" fell into the water. All the ink of our sin was washed away. We made that analogy to teach us about the person and work of Jesus. We read Matthew chapter 3 where the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, and we heard God speak from the heavens, "This is my son in who I am well pleased." Here we have Jesus aligned with Himself in every aspect and led out into the Wilderness.
Let us turn in our Bible today to Matthew 4 Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness.
(Matt. 4:1-11) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then (Again) the Devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:" 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " Again, the Devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
The number 40 is an important number to God. Let’s look at why Jesus fasted for 40 days and then was hungry. The plan of God is never random. The number forty is the Hebrew letter Mem which represents water. It was 40 days the spies were in the land of Canaan. It was 40 Years in the desert— which is a generation. It was 40 days and nights of rain during the flood that occurred at the time of Noah. The number 40 has great significance throughout the Torah and the Talmud. The number 40 represents transition or change; the concept of renewal; a new beginning. The number 40 has the power to lift a spiritual state.
According to Hebrew tradition when a person becomes ritually impure, he must immerse in a ritual bath, a mikveh. The Talmud tells us that a mikveh must be filled with 40 se'ahs (a measure of water). Immersion in a mikveh is the consummate Jewish symbol of spiritual renewal.It is no accident that in the story of Noah, the rain poured for 40 days, and submerged the world in water. Just as a person leaves a mikveh pure, so too when the waters of the flood subsided, the world was purified from the licentiousness which had corrupted it in the days of Noah.
Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and came down with the stone tablets. The Jews arrived at Mt. Sinai as a nation of Egyptian slaves, but after 40 days they were transformed into God's nation. According to the Talmud (Avot 5:26), at age 40 a person transitions from one level of wisdom to the next. He reaches the level of binah - the deeper insight of understanding one matter from another. After Moses led the Jewish people for 40 years in the wilderness, he told them: "God has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day" (Deut. 29:3-4). From here we see that it took the Jewish people 40 years before reaching a full level of understanding.
All this is very interesting because the bible does not go over what happened to Jesus during the 40 days. The mention of 40 was included in this passage because it meant something to the audience of that day. Jesus was going from baptism to a baptism of a different kind. The baptism of struggle. This struggle led to understanding, wisdom, and purification. The number 40 gives us a picture of what was going on in (Genesis 1:2-3) “and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters— Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.” Mem which is also the number 40 means divine Omnipresence a Hebrew Name of God is makom, meaning "place." The Mem means King over Water, Formed Earth in the Universe, Cold in the Year, and the Belly in the Soul.
(The first temptation) Jesus was not tempted because for His approval because He already was approved. He was authorized to demonstrate that He was more than a conqueror. He exposed Satan's methods of warfare so that we may learn to go to war in our lives that would prove effective. Jesus experienced suffering so that He would understand us when we call out to Him in our desperation. Jesus faced Satan as a man because he said, "Man shall not live by bread alone. It is important to know that He used spiritual solutions which are the same spiritual resources available to us every day. The Greek original text found in Luke 4 reports the same story. In Greek, when Jesus responded, "It is written," He was speaking the rules into existence both in eternity past, the present moment that he was rebuking the Devil and, in the future, to equip us in times of trouble. The dynamic of Jesus' confrontation with the Devil should not be played down as just something that happened. Jesus' words, actions, and life shifted our lives forever. Nothing can ever be the same again once God intersects with humanity. Let’s look at the word “if” and how it's used in the text. Take notice of how the Devil said to Jesus if you are the son of God if you are the son of God, and then if you bow down. The arrogance of the Devil has not changed, and he has not changed. He is still jealous of God and still jealous of you who house the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Never forget WHO you are and WHO'S you are. The Devil will try to get you to doubt your IDENTITY. We forget that we are the son or daughter of the most-High God when we forget our identity it gives the devil access to lie to us. He wants you to forget, get busy, and then when you doubt your destiny, Satan will move in with his final blows. He did it to Jesus, this is one of his favorite forms of attack. Knowing your divine rights, identity, position, and location will bless you in every area of your life.
(The Second Temptation) (Matt. 4:5-7) Satan said, oh okay, you want to quote some scripture at me. I see. Well, I know some scripture too. What do you think of this one? This attack is more subtle. Do you ever notice that? You learn this major lesson marked as approved only for that stinky Devil to trick you into a milder version of it. Maybe you finally stopped raging at people, so you rationalize being angry. Or you are not imposing your worldly ideology anymore, but you are still selfish. Or you rationalize that you don't have the Jezebel spirit anymore and that you're only controlling sometimes. Or maybe you are not controlling sometimes; you are just fearful. Or you are not fearful anymore you lack faith in certain areas. I know because I am human too. It is called Progressive Sanctification. We will be working on being more Godly every day until we are in heaven. We have trials so we can help others have victory. We are all guilty of various sins, that is for sure. Matthew tells the reader that the Devil took Jesus to the holy city and placed him on the highest point of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! It is written, Did the Devil copy Jesus? Did he just "It is written him?" Oh yes, he did. You should know this. The Devil likes to copy everything so that you think it's real, but it is as FAKE as Satan himself. Please be aware and do not settle for the FAKE job, boyfriend, house; a situation be in prayer so that God can tell you which is wheat and where are the tares. Satan just quoted Psalm 91:11-12. Satan is only able to counterfeit left out “In all thy ways”
(Psalm 91:11-12) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. The lesson here is that a person operates and functions in the ways of God. Not in the individual's patterns of Satan's ways which would be imposing our will on to God's and make God do our bidding. That is why Jesus responded Deut. 6:6 Do not tempt thy Lord thy God. We embrace all of God. It is not, for example, an all-you-can-eat buffet where you only choose the sweets. A person must choose vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and bread if they are going to be in good health.
Now you can see the battle between Jesus and Satan, and their weapons was the word of God. That is why, as a Pastor, I focus so much on scripture. Reading and hearing the word of God is the most important thing we can do for ourselves. It's one of the reasons Satan keeps people from getting back to church. Nothing is more potent than many Christians happy together in a Bible study.
(The Third Temptation) (Matt. 4: 8-11) The Devil offers a shortcut to be King. Oh, I don't know if you heard me or not. THE DEVIL OFFERED JESUS A SHORTCUT TO BE KING. Has the Devil ever told you that you don't have to endure that painful trial, or situation, or experience? Yeah, come over here. You know you are not ready to get married yet, but what about that guy or girl. Won't they do instead? The good is always the enemy of the Best. That is God's best designer of your soul. If there is a shortcut, it may be the wrong cut. How often while driving do we think a particular path will get us home quicker only to realize we missed an important exit and have to double back. If we had just grown some patience and sat in traffic for a few minutes, we would have been home already. Satan used to be the minister of Worship. His body was encrusted in jewels and designed as an instrument for Worship in Heaven. Satan is described in (Ezekiel 28:12-18) "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the King of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord God: "You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth amid fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. "Your heart was lifted because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. "You defiled your sanctuaries By, the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore, I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
What does the Bible say about Satan? He was called Lucifer. (Isaiah 14:12-14) For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most-High.' Having Jesus' Worship was very important to his plan and what Satan wants from you. It is why sin is attractive, and therefore Pride comes before a fall because this is how Satan operates.
Jesus was already promised a Kingdom. Let us not forget that He was the Kingdom of Heaven. Again, Satan will try to make you forget your identity in Christ Jesus so that you accept filthy rags instead of God's glory. Pain is just momentary compared to the wealth of Jesus Christ. We need Jesus and not bend our knees to the Prince of this world. The good news is that even when we fall and make a mistake because of the work on the cross and Jesus' life here on earth, we are forgiven when we confess our sins. Jesus quoted (Deut. 6:13), "Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and Him only shall thou serve." Jesus knew that whatever we worship is what we shall serve. We Worship God, and we praise Him, and we will find our hearts there also. Satan was defeated. Jesus was ready for his next assignment. This happens for us as well, and we grow and learn. We become all that God has intended us to be. Our lives become the divine orchestration of our loving Father in Heaven. It may not feel like it at the time, but when we get a chance to look back, we see God's loving fingerprints over our destinies.
In Jesus' wilderness experience, it was a season, and then it was over. He was promoted to starting His ministry. He continued to be challenged in many areas until his final work on the cross. When dealing with our present circumstances, we feel that there should be an end or a place where we exist without problems. The truth is that life has good times and bad times. We are mistaken to think that we are owed a life without hardships. What we need to learn is how to rise about our circumstances to experience joy. We need not lose heart, as the Bible tells us. We can't afford to be fickle. We must act and invest in our own lives to become strong in God. We must stay strong and encourage each other. Part of our mission and vision statements for ourselves need to be about taking action for self-improvement. If we spent more time praying, reading the word of God, and thinking of ways to bless others our lives would be happier and more peaceful than before.
Do not be tossed around by the latest Covid variant or news report because that is what Satan wants. If you notice the timing on these reports, it is whenever the nation settles down again and we begin to rest there is more frantic news. Every holiday they increase because the purpose is to steal your joy. In this New Year, there are no promises that things will go back as they were before. It would be a better plan to make lemonade out of lemons than to hang on until normalcy returns. We have the security of God and His peace that is offered to us no matter what is going on. This year I urge you to use what is in the Bible to be successful. I challenge you to rise above your situations and we can do this together. Another part of your vision and mission statement needs to have a Godly friend someone whom you admire. This was you can build each other up through the different challenges of life. Jesus is God and Man had 12 disciples. He balanced being alone and being with people. I challenge you to tell Satan to "get behind you" so that you can walk forward into your destiny. If you have childhood issues or any kind of trauma as part of your mission and vision statement should be healing. Healing from past wounds and implementing a life of forgiveness. Un resolved issues is like having an inner magnet for new troubles. Let people be attracted to the New Creation you not the old you.
In conclusion, The Devil will try to get you to doubt your IDENTITY. We forget that we are the son or daughter of the most-High God let’s not give the devil any reason to get any strongholds. The devil wants you to forget, get busy, and then when you doubt your destiny so that h can move in his final blows. He did it to Jesus, why not you? This sermon begins to prepare you for the patterns of attack so that you are aware. We need to investigate our own hearts and remove pride. Pride is the leader in all sins. Paul tells us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. There are no spiritual shortcuts that will lead us to an easy life. If there is a shortcut, it may be the wrong cut. We trust God to lead us on the paths he would want us to take. After Jesus’ victory with John the Baptist, it says the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days. We must stop beating ourselves up if we are in the wilderness that kind of posture renders us useless. We may be in the wilderness due to sin, or we may be in the wilderness because we are obedient to God’s will for us. Jesus is the judge of our wilderness times, not us and not each other. Well, this is by no means an exhaustive list of how to have a good year however it is a good start in the right direction.
Prayer:
Thank Father for this new year. You are an amazing God that gave us your love letter from Heaven called the Bible. Let this be a year where we are more saturated in it. More satisfied being in your presence than we are with being in the world……
Thank you
Announcements
January 16, Pajama Sunday Free donuts, and coffee
[1] Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Mt 4:5–6). Lexham Press.