A Brand New Start

Are you ready for a brand New Year, a brand new start? Who doesn’t like brand new starts? Who doesn’t like clean slates? Imagine the chance to have a brand new credit score or all your bills wiped away. Imagine having a brand new youthful figure. Well God offers brand new starts, spiritual brand new starts. Baptism is a brand new start because that is when we are born again. Repentance is a brand new start which we can have daily. Today’s sermon is from John chapter 5 about the healing of the man at the pool whom through Jesus got a spiritual brand new start.
#1 We All Need Healing

• To be disabled means something physically is impaired.
• Something is damaged or weakened.
• We all at one time or another are going to be spiritually disabled.
• Two areas include damaged faith and weak convictions.

Damaged Faith

• We all take hits to our faith be it through physical or emotional challenges, self inflicted sin, and life.
• What varies however is our response to these hits.
• Some dig deeper into their Bibles and prayer and some go the other direction.
• You stop trusting God and don’t believe he wants to help you so you take back control of your life.
• The answer is getting in your Bible and rebuilding your faith through God’s word.

Weak Convictions
Psalm 36:1-4

• This is when you flat out stop rejecting what is wrong and don’t get convicted anymore.
• You have been in the same condition for a long time. You are struggling with the same sins every week and don’t feel the need to confess anymore or get help from anyone.
• This cause you to be spiritually disabled (Blind, Lame, Paralyzed).
• Paralyzed=You don’t walk with God.
• Blind=No vision about people becoming Christians or how God can use your life.
• Lame=You have lame excuses about why you can’t change.

#2 Do You Want to Get Well?

• Jesus is asking the man at the pool if he wants to change.
• If your faith is low then the answer is to dig deeper into your Bible. Proverbs 2:1-5
• If you are struggling with purity then you should fast.
• If your marriage is in the same place then you should get on your knees and spend time begging God to show you how to change
• Get off your mat.
• The mat represents comfort. Change will occur when you get out of your comfort zone.
• Jesus also told the man to get up and walk. Start by putting one foot in front of the other.
• We have to exercise our faith and workout our faith muscle.

Hebrews 12:11-13

• Strengthen your arms by doing the prayer flex or reaching out and fellowshipping or handing out invitations to church.
• Strengthen your knees by kneeling in prayer more often.
• Make level paths for your feet by clearing your schedule and making time for your spiritual decisions to help you change.
• What is the result of all this? HEALING
• You will be happy with how you look in the inside even if your new years resolution is to get in shape on the outside.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
#3 A New Creation
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!”

• We are new creations everyday.
• What do you want to see new created in you this year or today?
• God will give you a brand new start!