NEW THING: NEW GLORY, NEW VICTORY

God says, “I am making a way for you to go through the desert, streams of water in the dry and empty (wasteland)…” Isaiah 43:19. Isaiah wrote to the Israelites at a bleak period in their history. In captivity, they have lost everything they thought they could keep forever – homes, families, lands, temples, their synagogues etc. Not only that, they also had no hope, God would redeem them again. They became homesick for the land God promised their forefathers. They wandered too far from God and sinned too badly. The Israelites have been so long in captivity and started to enjoy their sufferings. They lost hope and faith in God’s redemption and deliverance.In vs. 18, Isaiah warns about dwelling too much in the past. They lived in despair and failed to open their eyes to what new thing God was doing in their midst. God had released them from the bonds of slavery and set them free on a new path. He has called them out as His chosen people. All this was part of Israelites history and experience. We like to reflect back on our past, consider our accomplishments. History, however, has its place and purpose but you cannot live in the past. There is no future in the past. Dwelling much in the past creates deference to the present.

You have a choice: See your past, dwell in the past and the problems of the present or focus on what God wants to do in your lives today and in the future.

In order to discover what God wants for you: Isaiah 42:7-9, 15-17; 46:10-11.

1. You must see yourself as God sees you: You can see yourself as a wasteland (a no good, waste pipe, useless) but God sees you as a stream of life. You can see yourself as a desert (dry land, where nothing good can grow) but God sees you as a way of blessings. You can see yourself as a slave but God sees you as a freeborn. You can see yourself as a grasshopper but God sees you as a stallion/horse. You can see yourself as an alien (undocumented, visitor, stranger) but God sees you as a citizen or documented visitor   (Rom 8:1-2; Col 1:21-23).
2. You must see possibilities as God sees them: Luke 1:34-38 – “Impossible is found in a fool’s dictionary.” God says, I am making a way in the desert: able to transform the desert area of your life into a field of blessings and abundance. He can take a dried up useless life and transform it into a life of purpose and fruitfulness. God can take a nobody and turn into somebody worth of honor –extraordinary. God is not through with us yet, He’s coming at us in a new way, a new thing; new works, new glory and new victory. But I have to see it and believe it.
3. Commit yourself to God’s plan –Luke 21:17-19 (19). God had already set into motion events /people He will use to set Israelites out of slavery and return to the land of blessings and abundance. Jeremiah 29:11 – I know the plans I have for you. I will bless you with a future filled with hope – a future of success, not of suffering (CEV).  But you must decide to follow God’s plan. If you refuse to follow where God is leading, then you are doomed to remain in slavery. God is ready to set a new direction for your life, are you ready to follow Him? God is ready to establish new glory, save lives, restores broken life and marriages, and gives hope to the hopeless. Our forward momentum can become slowed and even stagnant, if we dwell too much on the past accomplishments.

Steps to embracing the new thing:

1. Change your focus: Quit looking behind, start looking ahead. There’s no future in looking behind. If you keep looking behind, you cannot see the front – where you are going or God is leading you. Forget the past – its comfort, shortcoming and disappointments or even failures, it doesn’t matter how many times. No doubt God has led them out of Egypt. He is ready to take them across the Red sea and through the wilderness. In this new dimension, you cannot depend on past victories to sustain you. You cannot live today on yesterday’s faith. You cannot allow past failures to possess you. You’ve to develop new faith for new works, new glory for new victory.
2. Discover what God wants for you: Being uncertain of God’s plan for our lives is common among Christians but it shouldn’t be. Eph. 5:17 says, “Don’t be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do.”(CEV). Seek God with all your heart (Matt 7:7). Present your bodies a living sacrifice and dedicate yourself to Him (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Peter 4:2; 1 Thess. 4: 3-7). Study the word. It’s filled with clear statements concerning what God wants for you (2 Tim 2:15, 3:16-17). Discover God’s plan through prayers (Col 4:12); rest assured in God’s promises (Jeremiah 29: 11-13; James 4:8; 2 Peter 3:9) and God will separate you for His purpose (Gal 1:15).
3. Never place limits on God’s mercy. Like the Israelites, we often feel that we are on “dead end;” no more hope, no new striving, behaving and trying. We have sinned too badly and gone too far for redemption. But since God didn’t turn His back on Israelites, He won’t give up on us. He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to bring us salvation. God’s mercy and love has no limits. Don’t forget the two prisoners on the cross with Jesus.
4. Never place limit on God’s ability to do new thing: Whatever it takes, God is going to do to cut a path straight through the wilderness of judgment; He is bringing salvation, deliverance and healings. God can do anything – nothing is too hard for God (Luke 1:37).
5. Take off the pre-conception of guilt’s and despair. These keep you from seeing God as the God of redemption and salvation. Israelites failed God miserably. Each time God blesses them with good thing, they returned with evil thing: God gave them temple, they gave God idol worship; God gave them the word (truth), they lived and believed lies; God gave them His command, they accept it as suggestion; God gave them wealth, they used it to abuse and hurt the poor; God gave them His son, they return it in rejection.

Exodus 14:10:

1. The Israelites were terrified because they were looking backward. Each time you look back, you find it difficult to move forward.
2. God freed them from Egypt to witness new glory but they were still slaves in mind preferring slavery instead of freedom. Freedom has challenges – price to pay, work to do, & sacrifice to make etc. As we pray, God already answered but while awaiting the manifestation, we fail to give God glory and thanks.
3. The Egyptians were pursuing them with the mind to re-enslaving while God had already set them free. If the son shall set you free…. Nothing can hold you in bondage except you…
4. God hardened the mind of Pharaoh and the Egyptians to enable Him gain new glory and make new victory than the ones He gained in the land of Egypt – various plagues, etc.

Verses:  17-18: Moses, hold out your walking stick over the Red Sea. The Red sea will divide into two. The children of Israel will walk through the Red Sea on dry land. “I will make the Egyptians stubborn that they will pursue after you. Then I will be praised because of what will happen to the king and his chariots and cavalry. The Egyptian shall know for sure I am the Lord.”

Verses 19: All this time the angel of God had gone ahead of Israel’s army, but now he moved behind them. A large cloud had gone ahead of them but now it moved between the Egyptians and Israelites. The angel of God was travelling in front of Israel’s army. They did not know that God made one angel of war to go before them. One angel visit Mary; One angel to take away the tomb of Jesus. When God is for you, who can be against you? It does not matter how many your enemies are, gathering, pursuing you, one angel from the throne of God of enough to disarm, destabilize, and strangle the multitude of the enemy.

New Glory:

• The angel changed position moved back and stood behind the camp of Israel – between Israel and Pharaoh’s army.
• The pillar of cloud also moved away and stood behind. It came between the armies of Egypt and Israel – barrier
• It gives light to the Israelites ( as it was night season) and total darkness to the Egyptians
• The Lord pushed the sea back with eruption of the strong East wind.
• The sea divided and the sea became dry land
• They went through the wall of water on the right side and left side.

New Victory:

• During the morning watch, the Lord looked down upon the army of Egypt through the pillar of fire and cloud.
• The Lord caused panic/commotion on the Egyptian army
• God jammed the Egyptian chariot’s wheel and they had difficulty in driving
• The Egyptians testified that God was against them and fighting for the Israelites – “leave that man alone, God is fighting his battle”
• The Lord command Moses to Stretch out his staff over the sea for the final onslaught
• The sea went back to its place and covered the entire Egyptian army, chariots and horses
• While the Egyptians were locked inside the sea, they were trying to run away – their time had expired.
• The whole Egyptian army died/perished in the Red sea. No one person of the whole army survived
• The Israelites witnessed new glory, great work, great miracle and great victory. Because of that new victory, they feared and believed the Lord.
• Don’t pay attention to the horses, chariots and Egyptians forces; they are distractions
• Look forward, keep going – expect that God is going to do new thing……..
• The Lord that caused a virgin to conceive would restore families
• The Lord that open the Red sea, would open doors of opportunities
• The Lord that resurrected Lazarus, would bring back to life every dead, life: dead ear, dead eye, dead womb, dead marriage, etc
• We must have faith that God is going to do new thing. Where there seem to be no way, God would create one. When there seems to be no remaining strength, we shall declare “we can do all things through Christ who strengthen us.
• We must believe that God is going to set new glory and win new victory. We serve a God who is out to do new thing; we must follow where He leads. We must listen when He speaks; we must submit when He commands. We must claim when He Promises and we must see when he reveals.

We’ll be glad to receive your comments. Begin the year by trusting your future into the hands of our faithful and dependable God. Do not forget, “You are too blessed to be stressed.” We appreciate very sincerely your readership and support. We exist and do ministry because of you. Thank you.

We wish you and loved ones a fruitful New Year!!!!!