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New Life For The New Year
Open The Door to Life
Message 2 of ???
January 31, 1999
The Holy Bible, King James Version
John 10:1 through John 10:11
1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
We live in a world today that is hurting. Our world is sin-sick and all around us people are dying and going to hell. People are searching for an end to suffering, looking for peace. We want our life to count for something, to be remembered for something.
THE EPITAPH
A cemetery has a tombstone which bears the following epitaph:
Pause Stranger, when you pass me by, As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be, So prepare for death and follow me.
An unknown passerby scratched the following reply underneath:
To follow you I'm not content, Until I know which way you went!
We spend a great deal of time preparing for death, and getting our affairs in order. The hottest thing going today is prepaid burial plans. In fact, many of you probably have participated in this so that your family is not burdened with the financial responsibilities inherent with your passing. Perhaps we need to spend some time preparing for life though. God has promised us abundant life. We have as our birthright the life of a child of the King, yet we continue to live as a pauper.
Why is that? Why do we forsake the abundant life to live in the world? It could be because there are many folks knocking at our door. In today's day and age, very few of us would open our door to a stranger, and even fewer of us would open the door without knowing who it is knocking. Yet day in and day out we open our spiritual doors to the world without a second thought.
Who Is Knocking At Our Door?
Who is knocking at our door, longing to lead us astray? That my friends is a list that could go on, and on and on. The world is at war with God, and on some days it appears as if the world is winning the battle. When we open the door to worldly pursuits we are giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Ours is a world of conflicting temptations. It is truly easy to be drawn off track in our search for "the good life." One of these worldly temptations knocking at our door is the New Age movement.
New Age
New Age is a recent and developing belief system in North America encompassing thousands of autonomous (and sometime contradictory) beliefs, organizations, and events. Generally the New Age borrows its theology from pantheistic Eastern religions and its practices from 19th century Western occultism. The term "New Age" is used herein as an umbrella term to describe organizations which seem to exhibit one or more of the following beliefs: (1) All is one, all reality is part of the whole; (2) Everything is God and God is everything; (3) Man is God or a part of God; (4) Man never dies, but continues to live through reincarnation; (5) Man can create his own reality and/or values through transformed consciousness or altered states of consciousness. Research material and Profile are available.
© Copyright 1997 Watchman Fellowship, Inc. The material on this site shall not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without permission from the publisher. http://www.watchman.org/cat95.htm#New Age
New Age has many of the same tenants that humanism does, in that it tends to elevate man to either a co-equal position with God, or even to a higher level than God. This is in direct contradiction of God's word. Yet, many Christians are opening the door to New Age, and allowing a false theology to gain a foothold. On the surface it appears harmless, and quite tranquil, but the deeper you dig, the closer to the rotten core you arrive.
Underneath New Age's broad umbrella you can find such thing as psychics, astrology, and the worship of inanimate objects such as crystals. God forbids these things in His word.
Leviticus 20:6
6And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.Deuteronomy 18:9 through Deuteronomy 18:14
9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
When New Age garbage comes knocking at your door, don't open it. To allow Satan even a small foothold puts you in danger of allowing him even more access to your life.
Another evil lurking is science. Now, wait a moment before getting upset at that statement. Science is necessary, understanding how things work, and what makes them work makes us wiser. We should not discount science, nor should we take science as the Gospel. Many well meaning Christians have attempted to change God's Word in order to fit science. This should never happen, because God's word is the measure by which everything else should be interpreted. Not the other way around. Science cannot show us the way to heaven, science can never bring about our salvation.
Romans 1:20 through Romans 1:23
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
I might gently remind you this morning that there was a time when science was positive that our world was flat. Science is at best imperfect, and prone to mistake. Is science the best place for us to place our trust?
Another errant knocker is Satan himself. Satan doesn't just stop at knocking though, he's hard at work trying to bust our doors down. Satan is crafty enough to know that he won't influence us by direct confrontation, so he works on us slyly. He begins to insinuate things into our life that by and by we begin to accept as common place. The practice of the occult, and things of this nature are in vogue today. Witchcraft, paganism, ouiji boards, and horoscopes all lead us into Satan's snare. Satanic rituals take place in our own neighborhoods, and it doesn't even shock us anymore. Just last year a teenage girl was accused of killing her parents as part of a vampire club. When we open the door, just a tiny crack, we are opening the opportunity that Satan needs.
We could go on, and on about the things of the world that are trying to lure us away from Christ. The world promises many things to us, but they are just hollow promises. All sound and fury signifying nothing.
John 14:6
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
God's word tells us quite plainly, that the only way to receive life is through Christ. Christ is the only one that is knocking at our door that can lead us through.
Revelation 3:20
20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
In order to receive New Life in this New Year, we are going to have to open the door to the right person, and that person is Jesus Christ. He is the one whose knock gives us life.
There Is One Whose Knock Gives Life
10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
When we open the door to Christ, he brings to us abundant life. Our lives should be rich and rewarding when we have Christ as a part of them.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was one of the most creative people who ever lived, distinguishing himself as an accomplished painter, sculptor, inventor, architect, botanist, engineer, and physicist. We might learn some important lessons from Leonardo as we seek to live our lives to the fullest...
Be Curious. Centuries before airplanes had been invented, Leonardo was busily at work designing parachutes and hypothetical flying machines.
Think For Yourself. Don't just accept what others have to say about a particular topic; explore the issue on your own. To learn about anatomy, Leonardo didn't just read books on the subject. He dissected over 30 bodies!
Sharpen Your Senses. Leonardo once lamented, "People look without seeing, hear without listening, eat without tasting, touch without feeling, and talk without thinking." He took time to experience—and learn from—the everyday stimuli of real life.
Embrace Uncertainty. Don't be afraid to explore issues that aren't neatly delineated into black-and-white terms. Leonardo's Mona Lisa is a wonderful study in ambiguity: What exactly is intended by Mona Lisa's smile?...
Balance Logic and Imagination. The original "Renaissance man," Leonardo described his life as the study of "the science of art and the art of science." He reminds us to be "thinkers" as well as "feelers," to be "intuitive" as well as "perceptive."
Make Connections. Leonardo looked for links among seemingly unrelated phenomena. He sought parallels between flight and swimming … between the way hair grows and how muscles are formed … among wind, water flow, and the way sound travels through the air. We should take time to reflect upon the events and phenomena we observe each day: How are they related? How does one inform the other? How can our experience in one area prepare us to work effectively in another area?
"Abundant life" cannot be found by living life on cruise control. Like Leonardo, we must stretch the limits—of our logical minds and of our imaginations—in order to experience that "life to the fullest" of which Jesus spoke.
Source: "Bottom Line: Personal," January 1999, pp. 13–14 found at http://www.christianteacher.com
As the Word of God deepens our capacity, so the Son of God fills that capacity with HIS fullness. We become complete in Christ.
Many think the Christian life is prosaic, dull, uneventful. It is anything but that! If it appears that way, it is almost certainly a life out of focus with true spirituality; in other words, a carnal Christian life.
-- Ray Stedman in Man of Faith. Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 2.
Christ also brings to us an abiding life. One that will withstand the test of time. Now, let's look at the word abiding in this fashion. Let's look at abiding as eternal life! The abiding life begins on earth and continues in heaven. It is a glorious gift for those who are prepared to receive it.
A preacher once stood and asked his congregation how many were going to heaven. Not only that, he asked those who wanted to go to heaven to stand up.
Everyone stood, naturally—except for one little boy. The preacher called to him and asked, "Son, do you mean to say you don't want to go to heaven when you die?"
The boy replied with a start, "When I die? Sure! I thought you were getting a bunch together to go today."
Source: Stephen Brown, "Illustrating the Sermon," Handbook of Contemporary Preaching, p. 206.
Our life with Christ is also secure. Jesus tells us that all of those who follow Him in salvation will be eternally secure.
John 10:28 through John 10:30
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and my Father are one.
When Christ guarantees our salvation, no one, NO ONE, can take that from us. Our salvation isn't something we can lose and regain at the drop of a hat. To say anything less is to imply that Satan and his minions have power over God's Spirit. This however does not give us license to sin. We are not free to live anyway in which we please. We are accountable to the name by which we are called.
A young man was working at an Alabama factory when he was thrown accidentally onto a red-hot armor plate. When he was rolled off by fellow workers, it was clear that he would probably not live. His workers cried, "Send for a doctor!" The young man, though, cried, "Never mind the doctor. Is there anyone here who can tell me how to be saved? I'm about to die without God—who can help me!?"
Although there were 300 men present, no one could tell him what he wanted to know. After twenty minutes of agony, he died.
Later, another young man told his tragic side of that story. He had been there, and he'd heard the desperate cries of the dying young man. Yet, he was paralyzed by his awareness of the unholy life he'd been living. He would say, "I have heard those cries ever since, and I wished I could have stooped down and pointed him to Jesus ... but my life closed my lips."
Has a sinful lifestyle "closed your lips," making it impossible for you to share the Gospel with integrity, authority, or genuineness?
Source: "Proclaim," 1980 #2, p. 37
You have a choice to make today. You can answer the door to anyone and take your chances, or you can open the day to a new life in Christ. To reject Christ is to reject life, and to reject life is to die eternally. What will you do today?
