Forward by Faith

Forward by Faith

SCRIPTURE: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Introduction

Have you ever noticed how the world makes a big deal about the New Year and still so many people stay the same?

Every December, screens light up from Times Square in New York, to fireworks over Sydney, to crowds counting down in London, all waiting for that clock to hit midnight. Folks shout, hug, kiss, sing, and promise that the new year will be different. Some watch the ball drop, some light lanterns in the sky, some bang pots in the kitchen, and say, “Out with the old, in with the new.”

January 1st has come and gone, but has your season really changed? On the Gregorian calendar, the year starts on January 1, but many of our brothers and sisters around the world count a different day. In China and Korea, many wait for the Lunar New Year before they say the year has really turned. In Iran, they look to Nowruz in March. In Israel, the Hebrew New Year comes in the fall. Some African nations still mark seasons by rain and harvest more than by dates on a page. So, if every nation has a different start, how can a single date on a single calendar decide when God is ready to move in your life?

That is the problem when we let the clock and the calendar guide our hope. The calendar can change, and nothing in your heart changes.

The clock can strike twelve, and you still carry the same fear, the same grief, the same habits, and the same doubts as you did last year.

If we are not careful, we can slip from faith into superstition. This happens when we start thinking, “If I wear this color, if I eat this food, if I jump when the clock hits midnight, then my whole year will be blessed.” Some people believe that if they eat black-eyed peas, they'll have good luck, and if they put some uncooked black-eyed peas in their pockets, they will come into money in the new year. That is not faith, that is superstition. Faith is not magic. Faith is not lucky socks and special soup.....

Full sermon has 2550 words