GOD IS DOING A NEW THING!

Below is an excerpt from my sermon notes on Sunday night at Hinterland Christian Centre. We had a great day in church! Enjoy.

What is the new thing that God is wanting to do?

Isaiah 42:5-9
5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 "I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them."

Isaiah 43:18-19
18 "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

1st New thing was to be the coming of Christ

Isaiah 53:4-5
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

2nd New thing was the drawing of all men and women together

Isaiah 60:1-5
1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 "Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you

3rd New thing and the thing I believe God wants to do through the church of today is to anoint us for every good work

Isaiah 61: 1- 3
1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

The 21st century church is to be others focused, community minded, one for another, as we live a life poured out. The new thing I believe God is doing is the anointing of the saints and the empowering of the workers to go beyond the four walls of our meeting place and take the church into the community.

We, the church, need to be Jesus' hands and feet as we outwork the gospel. The days of the river church where God pours out his spirit and confines it to a church meeting or worship time are behind us. Yes they were good times and yes we had many a good thing imparted into our lives during that season but I believe God has now filled us to overflow so that we may GO into all the world and actually do what we have been called to do, make disciples.