{"id":2722,"date":"2017-01-01T16:37:18","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T20:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=2722"},"modified":"2017-04-24T11:14:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T15:14:46","slug":"a-new-year-a-new-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=2722","title":{"rendered":"A New Year…A New Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Message by Dr. David Drake<\/strong><\/h3>\n

rec0101-112243<\/a><\/p>\n

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A New Year…A New Beginning<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

Introduction…In 1843, Charles Dickens’ \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d was published. The story line takes a man named Ebenezer Scrooge from his old ways of misery to a new man, almost \u201creborn\u201d into a generous and tenderhearted friend of all. The \u201cold\u201d became \u201cnew.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As today marks a brand new year on the calendar, we should approach these next 365 days with a new desire and hunger for at least three areas of our spiritual life \u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n

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I. THERE SHOULD BE A NEWNESS IN OUR WORSHIP IN 2017<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

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1. Our Worship Needs To Direct Us To God \u201d\u201c John 4:20-24<\/u> <\/strong><\/p>\n

John 4:20-24 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>20 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0“<\/span>Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people<\/i> say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
\n21 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.<\/span>
\n22 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0“<\/span>You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.<\/span>
\n23 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0“<\/span>But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.<\/span>
\n24 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0“<\/span>God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Robert McAfee Brown: \u201cThe purpose of gathering together on Sunday morning is to praise God and to honor His name. This note is lacking in much contemporary worship. Church services are designed to ‘to do us good,’ or give us a spiritual shot in the arm. The emphasis is all upon US, and what WE get out of it. The center of attention in true worship is not to be us \u201d\u201c but God! Not our state of mind, but His glory comes first. The significant thing is that God is honored.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“A high view of God leads to high worship and holy living, but a low of God leads to trivial worship and low living.” – Steve Lawson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Worship is our first or foundational ministry. It is not our only ministry, but the one that all other spheres of ministry should be built upon.” – <\/em>Carl Tuttle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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2. Our Worship Needs To Focus Us On God’s Word \u201d\u201c Nehemiah 8:5-6, 8<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nehemiah 8:5-6, 8\u00a0(NASB)
\n<\/strong>5 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
\n6 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their<\/i> faces to the ground.
\n8 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.<\/p>\n

David Julius: \u201cWorship is a picture at its best of Isaiah when the young prophet became aware of the Father; aware of his own limitations; aware of the Father’s directives; and aware of the task at hand.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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3. Our Worship Needs To Compel Us To Do God’s Will \u201d\u201c Ephesians 5:17<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ephesians 5:17 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>17 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.<\/p>\n

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Question \u201d\u00a6 \u201cWhat is the will of God?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 6:40 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>40 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0“<\/span>For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”<\/span><\/p>\n

To KNOW God<\/strong><\/p>\n

To GROW in grace<\/strong><\/p>\n

To WALK with God<\/strong><\/p>\n

To FELLOWSHIP in prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

To SERVE faithfully<\/strong><\/p>\n

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II. THERE SHOULD BE A NEWNESS IN OUR WITNESS IN 2017<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

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1. Our Witness Must Be \u201d\u00a6 REAL! – Acts 2:47<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 2:47 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>47 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.<\/p>\n

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In Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible, the statement is made: \u201cThere are many who stay away from Church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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James Pike in Look magazine said, \u201cThe 11:00 hour on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American life.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Vance Havner said, \u201cSo much of the church is in the world and the world in the church that you cannot tell the difference between the two.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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2. Our Witness Must Have \u201d\u00a6 PURPOSE ! – Acts 2:44-45<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Acts 2:44-45 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>44 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
\n45 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and they began<\/i> selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.<\/p>\n

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Jesus Christ ends his discourse to the Seven Churches in Revelation<\/strong><\/p>\n

by addressing the BEST and the WORSE of all the churches \u201d\u00a6<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13) \u201d\u00a6 \u201cLove for others …\u201d<\/p>\n

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Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22) \u201d\u00a6 \u201cLove for self …\u201d<\/p>\n

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III. THERE SHOULD BE A NEWNESS IN OUR WORK IN 2017<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

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1. The Work Of God In 2017 Involves \u201d\u00a6 YOU! – Nehemiah 2:4-5<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nehemiah 2:4-5 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>4 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
\n5 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”<\/p>\n

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The Old Testament reveals many accounts of God using individuals for His work<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jesus Christ states in John 15:16: \u201cYou did not choose me, but I have chosen you and appointed that you should go and bear fruit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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2. The Work Of God In 2017 Involves \u201d\u00a6 US! – Nehemiah 4:6<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nehemiah 4:6 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>6 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height,<\/i> for the people had a mind to work.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

(Illustration: The Tiberius Diamond Factory in Israel)<\/p>\n

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3. The Work Of God In 2017 Involves \u201d\u00a6 HIM! – Nehemiah 4:20<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nehemiah 4:20 (NASB)
\n<\/strong>20 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0“<\/span>At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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For This New Year, Let’s Remember \u201d\u00a6<\/strong><\/p>\n

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* God’s work must be done God’s way<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

* God’s work must be done in God’s timing<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

* God’s work must be done with God’s resources<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

* God’s work must be done for God’s glory<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Message by Dr. David Drake rec0101-112243     A New Year…A New Beginning Introduction…In 1843, Charles Dickens’ \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d was published. The story line takes a man named Ebenezer Scrooge from his old ways of misery to a new … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2722"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2722"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2926,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2722\/revisions\/2926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}