Getting A Fresh Start With God

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Getting A Fresh Start With God</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id371.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Judgment: Gods Last Resort"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id381.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Memorial To The Value Of Life"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"Getting A Fresh Start With God" </B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, May 4, 2003am</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>     "</I>Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS), the flying department of Wycliffe Bible Translators-had flown thousands of hours over a 25 year span without one fatal accident before April 7, 1972. On that day, a Piper Aztec lost its right engine and crashed in Papua New Guinea, killing all seven persons aboard. The Aztec had just rolled out of the Wycliffe maintenance hangar the day before following a 100 hour inspection. The chief mechanic was stunned when he heard the news of the crash. Reviewing in his mind each step he had performed in inspecting that right engine, he suddenly recoiled in horror. He remembered that he had been interrupted while tightening a fuel line and had never returned to finish the job! That faulty connection had allowed raw fuel to spray out and catch fire while the Aztec was in flight. </div> <div>      "The mechanic's guilt at being responsible for the deaths of his companions crushed him. For days he did not know what to do. The other mechanics tried to help him, as did his own family. But when the family of Doug Hunt, the pilot who was killed in the accident, was preparing to return to their home in New Zealand, the mechanic knew he had to see them, talk with them and beg their forgiveness. He could barely get out the words as he sobbed in their presence. `That hand there,' he said, looking at his right hand, `took Doug's life.' Glennis Hunt, Doug's widow, embraced him. He later wrote, `Glennis sat by me and held the hand that took her husband's life, and another JAARS pilot sat on my other side with a demonstration of love, comfort, and forgiveness. That was the most significant first step in the healing process.'" (<I>God Came Near</I>, Max Lucado, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 101).have </div> <div>      Most of us have not experienced a failure of this magnitude, but we have failed God and people time and time again, if we are honest. Forgiveness from God is available after you fail God. We may have memories of spiritual failure, of patterns and habits that have been and continue to be destructive to our lives and those around us. You may be carrying the burden of guilt, and the remnants of bad decisions. Maybe it is sexual sin, or a broken relationship, or bitterness, or theft, or selfishness. Maybe it is rejection of God or complacency toward God, or pride, or failure to invest your life in something that matters; you may have a sense that you are wasting your life on misplaced priorities. Whatever your failure, you can a fresh start with God today.</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. God gave a "fresh start" to the earth and the human race (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+7-8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Genesis 7-8</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div>      The flood brought a fresh start; it was starting over, wiping the slate clean. Only those 8 people who accepted God's mercy got to experience it. In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."</div> <div>      Jesus compared the surprise of the flood to his return - we don't know when the time for mercy will run out. As long as you have life and breath, you have the opportunity to get a fresh start with God. </div> <div> A. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+7:1-12" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Genesis 7:1-12</U></A> - Noah and his family and the animals entered the ark, the means of safety.</div> <div> B. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+7:17-24" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Genesis 7:17-24</U></A> - The waters destroyed everything on the earth.</div> <div> C. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+8:1-5" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Genesis 8:1-5</U></A> - God remembered Noah and allowed the water to dry up on the earth.</div> <div> D. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+8:16-22" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Genesis 8:16-22</U></A> - Noah came out of the ark and immediately worshiped God for his salvation. </div> <bR> <div> <B>II. How can you get a fresh start with God?</B></div> <div> 1. Confess your sin (agree with God about it) and repent (turn to God from your sin).</div> <div>      Micah 7:18-19 says, "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."</div> <div>      In 1 Peter 3:18-22, salvation through Christ is compared to the ark. It says (in part) "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. In the ark, only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."</div> <div>      "An article in the May 2, 1985, Kansas City Times discussed the attempt by some fans of O. Henry, the short-story writer, to get a pardon for their hero, who was convicted in 1898 of embezzling $784.08 from the bank where he was employed. But you cannot give a pardon to a dead man. A pardon can only be given to someone who can accept it. Back in 1830 George Wilson was convicted of robbing the United States Mail and was sentenced to be hanged. President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall, who concluded that Wilson would have to be executed. `A pardon is a slip of paper,' wrote Marshall, `the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.' For some, the pardon comes too late. For others, the pardon is not accepted." (Wiersbe, Prokope, Vol. 11, #5).</div> <div>      Justification is available to you. Romans 3:23-24 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." It is more than a pardon, which does not deal with guilt or innocence. A pardon is a release from punishment or penalty without indicating exoneration from guilt. To be justified is to be declared righteous. On behalf of the people with the hands that put Jesus on the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them." He can forgive and cleanse you as well.</div> <div>      Having confessed and accepted God's forgiveness, where do we go from here?</div> <div> 2. Make things right with people, address the issues that are still opened, and be reconciled.</div> <div> 3. Get into the Word of God and prayer and the worship of God. Because God remembered Noah is sparing his life, Noah worshiped God. Our response is to be the same.</div> <div> 4. Get connected with another believer or a group. Meet together for prayer, study and accountability.</div> <div> 5. Commit to adding positive qualities to your life. Instead of quitting bad habits, focus on adding the right habits. This is a never-ending process, so don't be complacent. Here a few examples. Replace a bitter attitude with intentional thankfulness. Replace fear with faith. Replace greed with contentment. Replace laziness with diligence.</div> <div> 6. Persevere. You who are getting a fresh start today, keep on the journey. You who got a fresh start six months ago, etc., keep on the journey!</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2003, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>