NEW YEAR, NEW YOU | SUNDAY 8TH DECEMBER | PS AARON MORE

I uh went on to social media and you

know the thing about social media is

it's supposed to have targeted

advertising and I don't know how true

the targeted advertising is because the

first thing that popped up on my feed

was uh we're helping men in Tower

wronger over 40 who are unfit and so I

thought flip obviously something's going

a little bit wrong in the algorithm uh

as the new year starts because it

decided that uh I needed to um sign up

for a uh fitness program and so um not

quite sure what's up with that but you

know uh don't we hear the phrase New

Year New You and I was just speaking to

Maddie uh before was saying it's a good

start you know good to own a gym at the

start of the year right like man all

those subscriptions come in you're never

going to see them again but you know you

see them on the first January they pay

their three months and feel good about

themselves for about a week right is

that kind of the way it works um and so

you know you can see Maddie after the

service he'll sign you

up and

uh you know we used to do New Year's

resolutions right but they're kind of

like a little bit uh I don't know anyone

still do a New Year's resolution what I

discovered is it's less the cool kids

don't do New Year's re resolutions

anymore more they have a word for the

year like um you know my word is

abundance or my word is uh anyone do a

word for the year anyone got their word

for the year um and so uh you know or

some in some instances we actually have

like a prophets release their prophetic

word for the year and um you know I I

love the prophetic I must be honest

sometimes I think uh you know releasing

a prop phc word for the year the problem

is sometimes we're all in different

seasons right it's not like God's doing

one thing with everyone on the earth at

one time and uh you know I did have to

uh be slightly cynical when 2020 ticked

over and every prophetic voice said it's

2020 Vision but not very many of them

saw Co coming you know like the release

prophets were 2020 vision and uh this is

like 6 months into 2020 I finally met

managed to go to a hotel once lockdown

was lift did and this was what I saw uh

the competition they were running uh

what's your 2020 vision went up to 20

stays and 20 hotels in 20 countries in

2020 and I'm guessing they never had to

cash in on that promotion because

uh you know but it's it's kind of true

as much as we lean into a new year we

don't always know what it's going to

hold right like sometimes we we we want

to uh know what a new new year is going

to hold but if we're honest we actually

don't know and I know for uh you know

maybe this might sound a little bit

depressing but I know for some people

here it's going to be a hard year for

some people here it's going to be an

amazing year like we don't actually know

what the New Year holds but what I would

suggest to you this morning is what is

more important than what the New Year

holds is what are you going to hold on

to this

year you know not what the New Year hold

but what are we going to hold on to this

year and there's this uh uh Hebrew word

that's found throughout the Old

Testament that I love and it's I I think

it's pronounced hisid and it's uh it's

talking about it's usually translated

the

steadfast love of God the

steadfast love of God you see sometimes

as Believers we're always looking for

something new and what's the new thing

and God is actually causing us instead

to cast our minds back onto the thing

that never changes you see sometimes we

don't need something new we need to

ReDiscover that which never changes and

this uh steadfast love and it it speaks

of h a sense of love and loyalty that

inspires merciful and compassionate

Behavior towards another person

steadfast and in Exodus 345 and6 it

says uh the Lord is a Grace the Lord the

Lord a god merciful and gracious slow to

anger and abounding in steadfast love

God doesn't just have steadfast love he

abounds in it it is his character it is

his nature always remember uh we were

sitting at a life group leaders meeting

and we uh said hey what we're thinking

of as as a church we're thinking of um

it might be really cool to have our life

groups have a soaking time like before

at the start of life group we could just

put on some music and think about the

love of God and and soaking it and uh

I'll never forget this um life group

leader said

um you want us to do what and we said oh

you know put on some music probably some

soft nice music and people can just

meditate on the love of

God and uh she said you don't know my

group she said think people have things

and issues in their

life I said Okay and she said uh and you

want them to sit and listen to fluffy

music and you think that's going to

help might surprise you to learn that

life group's no longer running

you know God's love is

steadfast towards us and one of the best

things we can ever do is take time to

meditate on the love of God towards us

in Lamentations um it's this book about

how they're grieving and it is a book of

Lamentations and they're grieving

everything that they have lost and in

the middle of it he says but this I call

to mind and therefore I have hope so

they are in a terrible season like it is

a book of the Bible about lamenting and

in the middle of it he says but this I

call to mind the steadfast love of the

Lord never ceases his mercies never come

to an end they are new every every

morning great is your

faithfulness and God's love abounds in

every circumstances you see this was in

the midst of their worst season you see

I sincerely hope I believe we're

supposed to expect I'm not a massacr

we're supposed to expect that 2025 would

be a great year like we we're supposed

to expect blessing we're supposed to

expect favor but what I can tell you is

this I don't know what the year holds

but I know if we can hold on to the love

of God if we can anchor ourselves in

this reality that we are loved by God

then that will set the year up to be an

amazing year

amen Paul said this he said uh in all

these things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us for I am

persuaded that neither death nor life

nor angels nor principalities nor powers

nor things present nor things to come

nor height nor depth nor any other

creature shall be able to separate us

from the love of God which is in Christ

Jesus our lord here Paul's writing and

he's like I've got this Revelation that

there is not a thing on the earth that

can separate us from the love of God but

the thing I've learned in my life how

about you is the one thing that

sometimes separ Ates myself from the

love of God is myself that sometimes

it's actually me that withdraws from the

love of God and begin to live out of

other

identities rather than living out of an

identity as one loved by God we separate

ourselves when we believe that we are

not loved but Paul had this unction in

his Spirit where he said I am sure I

think in the King James says I am

persuaded about the love of God and

there is this idea that it is

Resolute in Alex uh we had a a lady in

our church who was dating a young man

who um he was not yet saved and um she

told me a story that kind of let me know

how not saved he was um they they they

had only just met and they' had a couple

of dates and um she said there was a guy

down south um a friend um who owed her

owed her like $100 and she'd been like

um oh yeah this guy owes me $100 I've

got to got to get it off him and um he's

like oh what's his name and so she says

his name and um that's okay well a

couple days later she gets a phone call

from this guy who own who owes her $100

and he's like I put the $100 in your

account but I don't know what kind of

friends you've got and she's like well

why is that and he said well yes two

days ago I was in the pub I walked out

of the pub some guys pulled up on a van

and threw me in the back of it and took

me under a bridge and uh said to me that

if I didn't pay you back the money next

time I would be getting more than a van

ride Fally enough that relationship

didn't last that long but anyway so

she's beginning to date this guy and uh

he comes to our church service and um

you know he looked uh reasonably

intimidating and he chose to sit as

close to the door as you could possibly

get I mean it wasn't in the car park but

it was pretty much like you know so he's

sitting right down the back and um he

had his arms folded and um by uh his

biceps flexing at that time and uh had a

scowl on his face throughout the service

and so I'm looking thinking okay this is

interesting and um gets towards the end

of worship and I feel the holy Spirit

say to me hey there's an encounter here

for some people with the love of

God and

um I'm like okay uh and I stand up and

as I look I see this guy sitting

there and I um said to the Holy Spirit

well he's never coming back to our

church but okay I'll do it um and so you

know sometimes you step out in a moment

and it's like wow things just crack open

and Heaven opens this wasn't that moment

I was like hey um I just think there

might be an encounter with the love of

God with some people and and God's just

and it's just kind of like felt like

quick stand and I was like oh and um I'm

going how how much longer Lord do I need

to have I done enough like can we move

on and uh

so I'm kind of drowning up there and I

said um hey do you know I don't know

what possessed me to do it because it

was drowning but I said hey does someone

just want to share something that maybe

they've encountered and you know every

church needs a good Janice because

Jenice always has an encounter right so

thankfully Janice she puts up her hand

I've got something to share I'm like

bless you Janice Come Share so she come

up and she shared about how she'd been

touched by the love of God and I'm like

beautiful you've got me out of the hole

we can move on and so I'm just about to

move on and I see this hand down the

back go

up and I'm like

like have you got a question like what

and so he's like yeah me I'm like okay

so I walked down the back with the

microphone and um I did what they tell

you you're not supposed to do I actually

handed him the microphone and so I got

no idea what's going to come out of this

man's mouth and so his first words out

were he says I don't believe in God so

we're off to a great start

and he said but right now I feel all

warm and like someone's giving me a

cuddle and that's probably about enough

for now and hands me the microphone

back and I remember walking back up the

aisle so clearly with tears in my eyes

as I was repenting to God because I was

like I'm so sorry I thought your

love was irrelevant to someone God I'm

so sorry that I looked at a Shell and I

thought yeah this guy won't want to know

anything about but Lord that your love

was extended to him he came up to me at

the end of the service he said I still

don't believe in God but this place

keeps making me feel like this I'll keep

coming

back and I realized

that the love of God towards us is so

great so tangible when we allow that

love to settle in our hearts and I

realized that I had limited the love of

God in that moment and here I was almost

embarrassed that this guy won't be back

and it was the very thing that he need

it I feel all warm and like someone's

giving me a cuddle you know throughout

co uh as we all became T evangelists and

did uh broadcasts online and um thank

goodness those days are over eh uh and

uh you know we everyone would be I I

remember just being stirred that cuz so

many people were watching during those

um during those times right like I

remember going to the park in Alexandria

and seeing a lady I knew who had never

been to our church and her daughter goes

hey Mom it's the guy from the TV screen

cuz they' been covertly watching the mom

wasn't going to tell me you know she was

still yet to be saved but their family

had been watching so I knew there were

so many people uh who were just tuning

in for Snippets of of things and um I

really felt during that season the Lord

uh encourag me to have this prayer uh

that was simply as part of the opening

that our prayer for every person was

that they would know that they are

deeply loved can I tell you myay prayer

for you in

2025 is that you would know that you are

deeply loved when we know that we are

deeply loved everything changes and how

often do we stray and live out of other

stories rather than living out of a

story of one who is deeply loved by

God Paul and his uh

Apostolic prayer in Ephesians 3 says

this for this reason I'll bow my knee

before the father whom from every family

on in heaven and on Earth is named so

that according to the riches of his

glory he may Grant you to be

strengthened with power through his

spirit and your inner being so that

Christ May dwell in your hearts through

faith that you being rooted and grounded

in love may have strength to comprehend

with all the saints what is the bread

length and height and depth and to know

the love of Christ that surpasses all

knowledge that you may be filled with

all the fullness of

God I pray that you may have strength to

comprehend God's love towards us is so

much that here Paul's praying hey you

actually need strength so that you can

comprehend God's love you will not be

able to comprehend his love without his

help like without his strength towards

you you will not be able to comprehend

his love I love what it said back in

Romans 8 it said in all these things we

are more than conquerors through him who

loved us can I suggest to you we are

never more than a conqueror than when we

are living in the love of

Christ and so Paul

prays that we would

know the love of Christ that surpasses

knowledge that you may be filled with

all the fullness of God as we come into

2025 can you imagine a year when you

were filled with all the fullness of God

here Paul says what being filled with

all the fullness of God looks like is

knowing the love of Christ

when we know his love that looks like

being filled with all the fullness of

God and so often there's another so many

agendas like if we can just do this then

maybe the breakthrough will come and if

we can just do that then maybe the

breakthrough will come and Paul's like I

want you to be filled with all the

fullness and what that looks like is to

be one that is loved by God and so next

week we're going to talk a littleit more

uh on this uh idea of the love of God

and his love towards us because 2025 may

not necessarily be defined by the thing

that we think it's going to be defined

by but I can tell you this it will be an

amazing year if we hold on to the love

of God if our prayer is that we would

have strength to comprehend the breath

length height and depth to know the love

of Christ that surpasses knowledge why

don't you place your hand on your

heart Lord even as the Apostle Paul

prayed Lord he said to us that we need

your strength to comprehend how much you

love us and so Lord I pray for each

person here every person who calls toim

home Lord

that father this year would be a year of

living in your

love Lord this year would be a year of

knowing how deeply we are loved by you

and Lord where there have been other

things that have come in to take our

distraction from living out of the love

of Christ I pray Lord that that those

things would be drowned

out by the breadth length height and

depth of Your

Love Lord for each one here may they

truly know this year that they are

deeply Loved by You Lord to know that

which surpasses knowledge Lord that

which goes beyond knowledge and Lord I

bless each person for whom that is a

struggle Lord I bless them with Grace

Lord where there has been a struggle I

bless them with Grace in the name of

Jesus to know your love love in Greater

measure and even with every eye closed

you know if you're here this morning and

you've never uh given your life to Jesus

you've never turned from your sin and

committed your life to God then there'll

be a team um this morning that would

love to pray with you and if that's you

you you can come to the front at the end

of the service and we would love to pray

for you and just uh uh see how we can uh

help in connecting you with Jesus but

Lord I just bless each person here with

that sense of shalom shalom your perfect

peace Your Love Upon Us in jesus' name

amen amen

awesome thank you