A New Heart for A New Year Ezek. 36:26-27
Intro: If it’s broken – fix it! I know that everyone loves Christmas time because we get to give presents and receive them. One of the most frustrating things is to get something that doesn’t fit or is broken before you actually have a chance to use it. I know this Christmas I got us a family gift of a little Starwars Flying Ship. I put new batteries in it and made sure I charged up the little Flying Ship. I was excited about this hoping we could actually play with it on Christmas Day. I was really ticked, upset, etc… because the more I tried to get it to work the more I realized it wasn’t a good choice for a family toy. It didn’t work the way it claimed it was supposed to work. The sad thing is that for most this Christmas the meaning and purpose of life truly revolves around getting the things you want in life to make you happy. The challenge is that everything but the One Great Gift will ultimately be like my Starwars Flying Ship – it’s ability to make you happy will be short lived.
#1. The problem is that we are broken but don’t realize it. The Bible clearly tells us that we are broken and need to be fixed. Jeremiah tells us that our hearts our deceitful above anything we can imagine. (Jer. 17:9) The challenge is that most really don’t accept this and believe that everyone is really good and that given time you will figure out how to make everything better. The daily newspaper or internet news says something different that man is at war with himself attempting to take with different means what others have. We don’t want to be honest but everyone believes that only a little bit more money, or more power or a newer house, car or that incredible vacation or to rule your neighborhood through gang presence will make my life just right. Proverbs tells us so clearly that there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death. (Prov. 14:12)
#2. We need heart surgery. Our neighbor Kadjesha had heart surgery two days before Christmas. This wasn’t open-heart surgery but the kind that goes through an artery and then repairs a clogged or bad vessel. She was supposed to stay in bed for at least three days but ends up at home later the day of her surgery. Her doctors had told her that without this surgery she would have a heart attack and probably have a stroke if not die.
The prophet Ezekiel predicts the coming of Jesus Christ who will ultimately do an amazing work of transformation. You can describe it as major heart surgery. God will take what was a heart of stone and change it into a real heart. This refers to our inability to respond to God, the truth and instead live life totally on our own terms. God’s choice to send Jesus as the great redeemer means that He will take away our heart of stone, which only cares about ourselves and give us a heart of flesh that is able to care for God and one another. Ezekiel describes the miracle of the new birth by saying that God’s Spirit will come to dwell in you and then guide you how to live. Jesus describes this as being born again or from above. (John 3)
Conclusion: How are you going to start off the New Year? Do you make New Year resolutions? Isn’t it almost funny how most people go to great effort to come up with their list and then by the second week in the New Year everything is forgotten? I want to say that there is one New Year resolution that will transform your ability to do everything and that is to have a New Heart that is after God. We live during a tough time when there is a lot of hurt and jealousy because of a bad economy. There was an incident of an airman who had just returned from Iraq and had his car full of presents for his family. While going inside to get groceries someone broke into his car and stole everything. This hit the news and it wasn’t too long before someone sought to make this story have a better ending. A radio talk show host used his program to raise thousands of dollars to help out this young family. The reality is that Jesus Christ is the one who has come to make life the best. The question is whether you are honest enough to admit that you are broken and need a new heart. Most of you have met our Somali neighbor and can imagine what it would be like for her six kids if she didn’t get surgery and had a stroke and then died. Jesus has come to give you an amazing life that will make this New Year truly special. Do you have a New Heart for a New Year?
Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Dave
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