Saturday, January 19, 2008
"Discarding Old Baggage for a New Year"
by Jack W. Hayford
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES A NEW YEAR MAKE? When we come to the threshold of a New
Year, many people make a cynical assessment that the difference between a few minutes on theclock
isn’t really that important. Yet there is no question that the minute before and the minute after certain
events represent a radical difference in the lives of people. Consider the minute before and the minute
after responding to the gospel and receiving the gift of salvation, or entering the waters of baptism.
We aren’t superstitious people living in the empty supposition that everything changes because
we flip the page of a calendar. But we do know that the Lord is faithful to move in on whatever is
given to Him. Just as surely as a transaction is accomplished by the Holy Spirit when a heart is
given to Him and, in one moment, a life is transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the
Kingdom of God’s dear Son, when we come together on the brink of a New Year and declare our
commitment: “Lord, we’re giving ourselves to You as we step into a New Year,” we can be confident
that God will honor that. His Word provides us with a framework for making and keeping that
commitment in the first verse of Hebrews chapter 12.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)
The practices of the ancient athletes included training with heavy clothing or weights that
would be taken off before the athlete actually participated in the event. This reference made by the
Apostle Paul is to the runner setting forth on a course and laying aside the things that would hold
him back and slow him down—things that would hinder his pace and keep him from accomplishing
the goal. This passage of Scripture draws our attention to three things that will help us to stay
the course:
1. See those that have gone before
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” This is a direct
reference to the “gallery of faith” of Hebrews 11—great people who succeeded in pursuing the way
the Lord intended for their lives. Their stories demonstrate how God rewarded their faith with triumph.
Almost every person can find a portion of their own life within the stories of the people
mentioned in this chapter, because all of us face those same things…and we each have the same
hope of victory.
2. Set aside anything that would hinder
“…Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…” As we look at the
victories of those who have gone before us, then, the Bible says, let us lay aside anything that might
drag us down or hold us back—anything that would keep us from running our best. Keep your eyes
on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith”—He is the One who founded our faith and who
accomplishes its full provision (v. 2).
Like the ancient athletes, we are to lay aside our “training weights”—those things that would
pull us back—and our failures—lack of discipline or obedience. We are told in Ephesians 4, as in
Hebrews 12, to “get out of our training clothes” by “put[ting] off…the old man which grows corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts,” and to get into our “running togs” by “put[ting] on the new
man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (v. 22, 23)
3. Recognize that the course has already been set
…Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. We are not setting out on an
uncharted or uncertain course. It is simply unexperienced by us as yet. As we embark upon a New
Year, the Lord is calling us to a place of beginning fresh with Him; a place of moving on in faith
and certainty. There’s a way set before us with clear boundaries within which the Lord wants each of
us to run, for He is the One who sets the course. We can trust following Him, and we can step confidently
into the future with Jesus because He has been here before: “‘I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty.’” (Revelation 1:8). That’s why He can prophetically say to us: If you’ll just run the race
I’ve set before you, you can’t lose.
Come to the Lord’s Table at the start of a New Year
When we come to the beginning of a New Year, it’s been our tradition to partake of the Lord’s
Table to remember Him and the grounds we have for the resources given to us through Jesus’ victory
at the Cross. When you partake, let there be a severing in your heart of anything that would
make you other than fruitful or victorious in this New Year. The Lord wants you to know that as
you come to His Table, He will break every bond to the past so that you may enter the New Year
with a sense of being cleansed and free from any haunting sense of failure. While we partake of the
bread and the cup, confession of sin brings cleansing for those who stand in guilt, while lifting your
head and letting the joy of the Lord begin to overflow you brings release for those who have confessed
their sin but are still carrying condemnation.
Our loving Father God invites us to freedom from the bondage and baggage of the past. As this
New Year begins, I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit fill you afresh and drive out any oppressive
work of hell that brings the spirit of guilt, condemnation or mourning upon you. Welcome the oil
of rejoicing poured over your head, and enter this New Year as a runner, fit to run the race, with all
eyes on our loving Savior who has already set the course.
Copyright © 2004, 2007 Jack W. Hayford, Jack Hayford Ministries, Van Nuys, CA 91405
From all of us at Gift of Grace Worship Center, we hope to see you Sunday, January 20, 2008, we have a great service planned. See you there.....
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES A NEW YEAR MAKE? When we come to the threshold of a New
Year, many people make a cynical assessment that the difference between a few minutes on theclock
isn’t really that important. Yet there is no question that the minute before and the minute after certain
events represent a radical difference in the lives of people. Consider the minute before and the minute
after responding to the gospel and receiving the gift of salvation, or entering the waters of baptism.
We aren’t superstitious people living in the empty supposition that everything changes because
we flip the page of a calendar. But we do know that the Lord is faithful to move in on whatever is
given to Him. Just as surely as a transaction is accomplished by the Holy Spirit when a heart is
given to Him and, in one moment, a life is transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the
Kingdom of God’s dear Son, when we come together on the brink of a New Year and declare our
commitment: “Lord, we’re giving ourselves to You as we step into a New Year,” we can be confident
that God will honor that. His Word provides us with a framework for making and keeping that
commitment in the first verse of Hebrews chapter 12.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)
The practices of the ancient athletes included training with heavy clothing or weights that
would be taken off before the athlete actually participated in the event. This reference made by the
Apostle Paul is to the runner setting forth on a course and laying aside the things that would hold
him back and slow him down—things that would hinder his pace and keep him from accomplishing
the goal. This passage of Scripture draws our attention to three things that will help us to stay
the course:
1. See those that have gone before
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” This is a direct
reference to the “gallery of faith” of Hebrews 11—great people who succeeded in pursuing the way
the Lord intended for their lives. Their stories demonstrate how God rewarded their faith with triumph.
Almost every person can find a portion of their own life within the stories of the people
mentioned in this chapter, because all of us face those same things…and we each have the same
hope of victory.
2. Set aside anything that would hinder
“…Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…” As we look at the
victories of those who have gone before us, then, the Bible says, let us lay aside anything that might
drag us down or hold us back—anything that would keep us from running our best. Keep your eyes
on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith”—He is the One who founded our faith and who
accomplishes its full provision (v. 2).
Like the ancient athletes, we are to lay aside our “training weights”—those things that would
pull us back—and our failures—lack of discipline or obedience. We are told in Ephesians 4, as in
Hebrews 12, to “get out of our training clothes” by “put[ting] off…the old man which grows corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts,” and to get into our “running togs” by “put[ting] on the new
man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (v. 22, 23)
3. Recognize that the course has already been set
…Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. We are not setting out on an
uncharted or uncertain course. It is simply unexperienced by us as yet. As we embark upon a New
Year, the Lord is calling us to a place of beginning fresh with Him; a place of moving on in faith
and certainty. There’s a way set before us with clear boundaries within which the Lord wants each of
us to run, for He is the One who sets the course. We can trust following Him, and we can step confidently
into the future with Jesus because He has been here before: “‘I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty.’” (Revelation 1:8). That’s why He can prophetically say to us: If you’ll just run the race
I’ve set before you, you can’t lose.
Come to the Lord’s Table at the start of a New Year
When we come to the beginning of a New Year, it’s been our tradition to partake of the Lord’s
Table to remember Him and the grounds we have for the resources given to us through Jesus’ victory
at the Cross. When you partake, let there be a severing in your heart of anything that would
make you other than fruitful or victorious in this New Year. The Lord wants you to know that as
you come to His Table, He will break every bond to the past so that you may enter the New Year
with a sense of being cleansed and free from any haunting sense of failure. While we partake of the
bread and the cup, confession of sin brings cleansing for those who stand in guilt, while lifting your
head and letting the joy of the Lord begin to overflow you brings release for those who have confessed
their sin but are still carrying condemnation.
Our loving Father God invites us to freedom from the bondage and baggage of the past. As this
New Year begins, I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit fill you afresh and drive out any oppressive
work of hell that brings the spirit of guilt, condemnation or mourning upon you. Welcome the oil
of rejoicing poured over your head, and enter this New Year as a runner, fit to run the race, with all
eyes on our loving Savior who has already set the course.
Copyright © 2004, 2007 Jack W. Hayford, Jack Hayford Ministries, Van Nuys, CA 91405
From all of us at Gift of Grace Worship Center, we hope to see you Sunday, January 20, 2008, we have a great service planned. See you there.....
