Know the New

I want to welcome everybody at all of our campuses.

I want to welcome those of you watching online.

And of course, I want to welcome Gateway Church in Scottsdale who's joining us via satellite.

Hello, everybody.

I'll be home next weekend.

Yeah.

And we're going to jump right into it.

If you have a Bible, I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 43.

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

Isaiah chapter 43.

Isaiah 43 · chapter mention

And we're only going to cover one verse in this chapter, which I know is a little bit different than we typically do in a message, but we're going to cover a lot of ground scripturally, so don't worry about it.

While you're turning there, let me help to kind of calibrate your thinking related to our time together.

This is not a sermon.

This is a message.

And there's a difference to me.

Sermons typically for me are either expository or exegetical in nature.

This is not that.

This is more of a message that I feel like the Lord slid across the table and asked to be delivered to us, and he paid extra for overnight shipping.

So I'm going to deliver it to the best of my ability.

But this is not a sermon I want you to learn from.

And this is a very important distinction.

This is not a sermon I want you to learn from.

It's a message I want you to receive.

Let's look in Isaiah chapter 43, verse 19, one verse.

Isaiah 43:19

All right.

Let's read it and see what God is saying.

Behold, God says, I will do a new thing.

Now.

Now.

Now it shall spring forth.

Shall you not know it?

The title of this message is Know the New.

And some of you might already be thinking, ha, ah, that cute new year, this message about the new year.

No, it's not Smarty Pants.

Nor is it a message about a new you in the new year.

This is a message about a new thing God is doing on the earth in this dispensation of time.

I believe this is something God is saying to us as believers in Jesus, I am doing a new thing in this season of time.

Now, when you break down this question in Isaiah 43, verse 19, shall you not know it?

Isaiah 43:19

Some versions translate it to say, uh, do you see it?

Will you see it?

Will you not notice it?

But really, when you break down the meaning of that question, that's not actually what it means.

The question literally means, will you not know it?

And remember, in scripture, especially in the Old Testament, when the Bible talks about a husband having an intimate relationship with his wife, what's the word that's used?

They knew one another.

All right.

So to know someone or something is to be intimately fully aware and connected to it.

So the question is not, will you see this new thing that God is doing?

The question is, will you participate in it?

Will you be intimately connected with the new thing God is doing on the earth?

And in this message, I'm going to give you a list of three things that will get in the way of you being an active participant in the new thing God is doing on the earth.

And here's the first of the three.

Point number one, lack of perseverance.

Lack of perseverance.

Now, many Christians hate the word perseverance because if there is a need to persevere, then that automatically means we're having to endure some suffering.

Now, the typical believer's doctrine of suffering goes like this I don't have one.

I have no doctrine of suffering.

I'm an overcomer.

I'm more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.

And yes, you are, but that doesn't mean there won't be some difficulty, that there won't be some suffering.

1 Peter chapter 4, verse 1 says, So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had and be ready to suffer too.

1 Peter 4:1

1 Peter chapter 2, verse 21 says, For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you.

1 Peter 2:21

He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

Now I know some of you are already thinking, gee, Press, it's great to have you back.

I came in to celebrate the new year.

It's been a rough 2017.

I'm coming into a new year with bountiful blessings, and I came in to celebrate it.

And you're depressing me.

You're talking about that there may be some difficulty in this season of my life.

There might be some challenges, some tough stuff.

Listen to me very closely.

Any person who removes suffering with Christ from being a follower of Christ is ripping pages out of scripture.

Preston, this is getting more depressing the further you go.

Listen closely.

Paul in Acts 14 said, We're going to have to endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus in John 15 said, They persecuted me, so naturally they're gonna persecute you too.

Then in chapter 16 of John, Jesus says, Hey, you're going to endure many trials and many sorrows while on this earth, but take heart, I have overcome the world.

Okay.

Some of you are clapping and some of you are cursing under your breath right now.

I don't want to talk precedent.

I think I need to tell you that we say around these here parts, happy new year, not horrific new year.

I I'm not speaking a word curse over this next season of your life, but I am telling you, it's not all going to be easy.

And understand this if you expect God to make everything in your life easy in this next season of your life, you will resent him when he doesn't do it.

So I'm just trying to help prepare you.

There are going to be some difficult things ahead that we're going to have to push through, persevere through.

So the question is, how do we persevere when things get difficult?

I'm gonna give you two ways to do it.

Here's the first one you cannot stop.

If you're going to persevere, you cannot stop.

This is the perfect time to talk about stopping because it's a new year.

And let's just, this isn't about you, but let's talk about Bob at your workplace or Uncle Bob in your family.

Uncle Bob is what I call a loud starter.

And here's what a loud starter looks like.

And you know him.

You go into the office the first day back after the new year, and you say to Bob, hey Bob, how's it going this morning?

And here's what Bob does gets really loud and obnoxious and says, Oh, it's going so well.

Everybody knows I've been telling you all that my New Year's resolution is to drop 20 pounds in 2018, and we are 14 days into the new year and I've already dropped 12 pounds.

I'm doing great.

I'm dominating this new year.

Loud and obnoxious so everybody could hear it.

Let me just say this if you're a loud starter.

If you exercise your right to be obnoxious the first week of January about your goals and your progress, then the rest of us reserve the right to be just as obnoxious about your progress or lack thereof come the first week of March.

Nobody likes a loud starter who never finishes.

If you're married, you understand what I'm about to say.

I hate when my wife starts a sentence and then halfway through it, what does she do?

She says, Oh, never mind, never mind, never mind.

And here's what I'll oftentimes say, I didn't actually care about what you were talking about before when you first started, but when you introduced the cliffhanger, I really want to know how's it end?

I hate when she does that.

Well, why do we hate that when someone starts something but then doesn't finish?

Well, scripture tells us, Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 8, the end of a thing is better than its beginning.

Ecclesiastes 7:8

You are gonna have to persevere this year, which means you cannot stop.

You're gonna you're gonna be tempted from time to time in this next season of your life to stop.

But you've got to push through and persevere.

Galatians chapter 6, verse 9 says, And let us not grow weary while doing good.

Galatians 6:9

For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

The first part of persevering, you cannot stop.

Here's the second part: you must not quit.

You must not quit.

James chapter 1, verse 12 says, Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love them.

James 1:12

Now, what's the difference between stopping and quitting?

Let me help you understand the difference.

You stop when you're tired of it, you quit when you're overwhelmed by it.

If you're gonna persevere this year when you bump into a challenge or a wall from time to time, you can't stop when you get tired, and you can't quit when you get overwhelmed.

And here's one of the things I've learned uh over the last five years of my life, moving a thousand miles away and planting Gateway Church in Scottsdale.

The devil loves quitters.

And he will come and throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at you to get you to quit.

But I've also learned there are a couple of things the devil hates to hear you say.

Here's the number one thing, of course, the devil hates to hear anybody say, Jesus, I believe in my heart and I confess with my mouth that you are Lord, and God raised you from the dead, and I make you Lord of my life.

Of course, that's the number one thing the devil hates to hear anybody say.

The second thing the devil hates to hear anybody say is, Yes, Lord, I'll do it.

The devil hates to hear you obey.

It's a pet peeve of his.

I didn't ask him, I'm just assuming.

But here's the third thing I've kind of learned.

The devil hates to hear us say, I'm not quitting.

You can throw everything at me, you can come chase me down wherever I am, but you need to hear me say, I'm not quitting.

I've had a couple of low moments in the last five years, especially in the first two years, where I felt the enemy just trying to overwhelm me.

And I heard myself say in a in a really low moment, those very words, I'm not quitting.

And it's amazing what happens when you resist the devil.

He flees.

When the devil comes to try and get you to quit, and you resist by merely saying with conviction, I'm not quitting.

It's amazing how he runs off.

If you're going to be a key participant in this new thing God is doing in these days, in this dispensation of time, you're going to have to persevere through some trial from time to time.

Here's the second thing that will get in the way of you being an active participant in the new thing God's doing, a lack of prayer.

A lack of prayer.

Why is it that for many of us, prayer has become our last resort?

When in fact, prayer is one of the best things we can do in order to receive God's greatest and fastest response.

Why?

Why, if prayer is one of the things that that allows me to receive God's greatest and fastest responses, why do I make it my last response?

Why is the running joke related to prayer when we say, let's pray?

Someone sarcastically makes a joke.

Has it come to that?

We're sarcastically making light of the fact that prayer has become a last resort for us as believers.

How on earth could something so incredible become our last option in trouble?

I'll tell you how.

There's really two ways.

One, we've forgotten how essential it is.

We've forgotten how essential prayer is.

Prayer is essential in the day in which we live.

1 Peter chapter 4, verse 7 says, but the end of all things is at hand.

1 Peter 4:7

Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Okay, let's talk about this for a moment.

Praying about what you see happening on the earth right now is far more important than tuning in to the news to see someone else's slanted opinion about what's taking place.

And if you like that one, let me give you another one that's probably gonna step on a few toes.

Christians should pray more than they watch the news.

So let me just say it like this.

If you don't want to have a four-hour quiet time with the Lord, don't come home every night and watch three and a half hours of news.

Listen, what God has to say about what is transpiring on the earth today is far more important than what Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow, or Wolf Blitzer has to say about what's taking place.

As Christians, praying about what we see is more important than seeing what everyone else says about what's taking place, seeing what they say about it.

I'm not saying don't watch the news.

But I am saying this: it is a bad idea to get your daily commentary from the people who write the headlines.

When what we were called and created to do was to get our daily bread from the headline.

But how many times do we flip on the news and we kind of get depressed, like some of you are with this message?

Because that's a commentary.

This is the word.

This is the word.

Why would we stop praying?

Why don't we pray as much as we should?

Well, first, because we've forgotten how essential it is.

It's not just essential to this day and time.

Prayer is essential to every day in which we live, not just in the days or the dispensation of time.

Prayer is essential in every day in which we live.

A better way to say it is like this prayer is to your spiritual well-being what oxygen is to your physical well-being.

If we just had a hold your breath contest, maybe the strongest among us might be able to go several minutes.

But I know this at some point, you're gonna tap out and have to take a breath.

Here would be my question to you in this season of your life: how long can you go without praying?

How long can you go?

It's dangerous to go, too long.

Prayer is essential to our well-being.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 16 says it like this: rejoice always.

1 Thessalonians 5:16

Pray without ceasing or without stopping, and everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Okay, let's talk about this.

Is God saying in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 that we should stop everything we're doing and just pray?

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

Is that what he's saying?

No, here's how you know.

Because all throughout scripture, he gives us many other things he wants us to do, right?

So he's not saying stop everything and only pray.

Okay, Preston, what do you think God is saying in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 16?

1 Thessalonians 5:16

Here's what I think God is saying.

When he says pray without ceasing or stopping, I believe he's saying this.

Pray without stopping.

It took me weeks to get that.

Let me illustrate it like this.

When you're in uh the conference room, about to give a big presentation, or you're at home in the kitchen at the dining room table, about to have a very serious conversation with one of your teenagers.

When you start off, do you do something like this?

Before we get started today, I need to do something.

I need to stop everything, and I need to breathe.

We may begin.

And 15 seconds later, uh, I need everyone to stop.

I need to stop right now.

I've got to breathe.

And now, because you're looking on the faces of the people in the room, it's starting to get a little annoying.

You hold your breath for 30 seconds, and then you stop everything and say, I'm sorry, Alan, what you're saying is really great in this meeting, but I need to stop everything because I've got to breathe.

Is that how you do it?

No.

How do you do it?

You breathe while you do.

Here's what I believe God is saying in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 16.

1 Thessalonians 5:16

I don't need you to stop what you're doing to pray.

What I need you to do is pray in the midst of all you're doing.

That's what it looks like to pray without ceasing.

But we forget how essential prayer is.

The second reason we we get to prayer as a last resort and we don't pray as much as we should is we've forgotten how well it works.

We forget how well prayer works.

Daniel chapter 10, verse 12.

Daniel 10:12

This lit me up this week when I was studying.

I don't know how many times I've read Daniel, but I've never seen the emphasis on these words.

Daniel chapter 10, verse 12.

Daniel 10:12

The angel says to Daniel, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words, Daniel, have been heard.

And I have come, the angel says, because of your words.

The angel says to Daniel, Buddy, I don't know if you know this, but your words are heard by God.

And I have been sent because of your words.

The angel's saying to Daniel, heaven and earth are moving because of your prayers.

Why wouldn't we pray?

If God hears our prayers.

Well, some of you are going, Well, I'm no Daniel, Preston.

My prayers don't work like that.

Really?

Is that what James chapter 5 says?

James 5 · chapter mention

That you have to be a hero in scripture in order for your prayers to work?

No, I don't think that's at all what James chapter 5, verse 16 says.

James 5:16

It says this the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

There you go, Preston.

I'm not Daniel, nor am I a righteous person.

I've screwed up.

Listen, your righteousness is not about what you've done, it's about what Christ has done for you.

And furthermore, stop interrupting me when I'm trying to read the Bible.

Because some of you are thinking in your heart, well, righteous person, I'm not that.

Let's keep going.

Verse 17.

Elijah, Preston, I'm not an Elijah.

I'm trying to tell you, I'm no Daniel.

I said, Stop interrupting me.

Elijah, scripture says, was as human as we are.

And yet, when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years.

Then when he prayed again, the sky sent down a rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

Prayer is powerful.

And whatever you do without praying is an indicator to God that you believe you can do it in your own strength.

Anything you do without praying about, anything I do without praying about it, I'm letting God know I got this, I can do this in my own strength.

But the sooner we realize that we can do nothing of Apart from him, the sooner we will begin to pray about everything and receive the strength to do it.

Because prayer is powerful.

Prayer is not just an intimate connection with God.

Prayer is also our powerful connection to God.

It's not just, well, prayer is an intimate thing.

Here's the problem if you think prayer is only intimate and not powerful.

What happens in your marriage when you're not in the mood to be intimate?

I don't know about your house, but in my house, it usually isn't going down.

In the same way, some of you are that one went right over your head.

Listen, if you think prayer is merely intimate, you will only do it when you're in the mood.

Prayer is not merely intimate, it is powerful.

And let me just put in a shameless plug for the most powerful prayer I know.

Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18 says, pray in the spirit at all times on every occasion.

Ephesians 6:18

That is good advice right there.

There have been some moments in my life where I was so overwhelmed and I didn't even have the words to pray, but I yielded myself to the Holy Spirit.

And in praying in the Spirit, I felt a strength, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to get back up, to stand up in his strength, and to go out back and fight the fight I've been called to and run the race God set before me.

When you feel beaten down, you feel overwhelmed with what's going on.

You don't even have the words to pray.

That's some great advice for you.

Pray in the spirit.

Pray in the spirit.

Listen, with all of my heart, I believe God wants you to be one of the key players in this new thing He is doing on the earth in this season of our lives.

But it cannot happen.

And I'll even go further, it will not happen if we're not living a lifestyle of prayer where prayer is our first and best option in every situation.

That's what a lifestyle of prayer looks like.

But a lack of prayer will stand in the way from us being intimately involved with the new thing God is doing on the earth.

And here's the third thing on the list that will get in the way of us being key contributors as part of God's plan on the earth today.

A lack of faith.

A lack of faith.

There are going to be some really amazing things that God desires to use you to do.

But those really amazing things are going to demand an amazingly crazy, big, bold faith in your God in a way in which you've never walked in before.

The more amazing the things he desires you do in this season of your life, the more amazing the faith will need to be to walk it out.

Mark chapter 11, Luke chapter 17, Jesus talks about the incredible power of faith in God.

Mark 11 · chapter mention Luke 17 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 11, verse 22.

Mark 11:22

Then Jesus said to the disciples, have faith in God.

I tell you the truth.

You can say to this mountain, may you be lifted up and thrown into the sea.

And guys, it will happen.

But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.

I tell you, Jesus says, you can pray for anything.

And if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.

Then in Luke 17, verses 5 and 6, the disciples say, Show us how to increase our faith.

Luke 17:5

And Jesus answers, if you had faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, May you be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.

Jesus is asked a brilliant question.

How do we increase our faith?

If we're going to be called to do some amazing and miraculous things, then our faith better be bigger and better than it's ever been.

Every year of my life, my faith needs to increase because that which God calls me to, the stakes are getting higher as we get closer and closer to his coming again.

How do we increase our faith?

Let me give you two things and then we'll be done.

Here's the first way we can increase our faith today.

Review his record daily.

Review his record daily.

Look back in Isaiah 43, a couple of verses before God says, I'm doing a new thing, shall you not know it?

Look at what he says in the several verses leading up to that.

He says in verse 16, I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea, speaking of the Red Sea.

I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses.

I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candle wick.

But forget all that.

It is nothing compared to what I'm going to do.

Okay, well, Preston, you just said a great way to increase my faith is to review God's record daily, but God just said, forget everything I've done.

Which is it?

Okay, God isn't saying, forget everything I've done.

Here's what I believe the Lord is saying in this passage.

Don't idolize what I've done in the past in such a way that you're no longer able to discern what I am doing in your present today.

Hold them both as special and sacred because I did them.

Think about this.

David did this.

David is standing before the biggest foe to date at that point in his life, Goliath.

And what does Goliath do when the king says to him, What makes you think you can go out and fight this giant?

What does David do?

He reviews God's record right then and there.

David says, Oh, buddy, I've seen my God kill a lion through my hands, and I've seen my God kill a bear through my hands.

This silly Philistine is nothing to my God.

Right before he goes out to fight Goliath, David reviews God's record.

Listen, why do you need to be in the Word of God every day of your life?

Why do I need to be in the Word of God every day of my life?

There's a simple answer, and it's not to check off a box of being a good believer.

Here's the reason we need to be in the Word of God every day.

Because when we review the resume of God's power and faithfulness, our faith rises.

Every time you open up the Old Testament and see the stories of his power and faithfulness, your faith will rise.

First way to increase your faith, review his record daily.

Here's the second way you can increase your faith.

Receive his word for today.

Receive his word for today.

Now, this is a principle that Gateway Church is built upon.

Hearing God's voice and obeying.

But let me ask you a question.

When is the best time to get a word for today?

Today, right?

Some people might say, in the morning.

Well, let me just say this to both of you.

You're both wrong.

No offense.

The best time to get a word for today is yesterday.

So that you can walk in strength, hope, and confidence even when storms arise.

Let me show you in Acts chapter 27.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

Paul is in the midst of a historically horrific storm.

Go read it in Acts 27.

And he's a prisoner en route to Rome, and this storm has gotten so bad that everybody on the ship is chucking stuff over the side of the boat.

And they take ropes and they put them around the hole of the ship so that the wood of the ship doesn't pull apart as the crashing of the waves hits it.

Listen to what Paul does.

He shows a measure of peace, hope, and confidence in the midst of one of the greatest storms he goes through in his life.

And watch why it happens.

Acts chapter 27, verse 21.

Acts 27:21

Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete.

That's what I love about Paul.

He slides in a told you so.

So the next time you want to say, told you so to your spouse, spouse, you have biblical grounds to do so.

Don't try that at home, all right?

He says, You would have avoided all this damage and loss.

But take courage, he says, none of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.

See, he's encouraging but a little depressing, just like this message is, right?

He says, Take courage.

The ship's going down, but none of you will lose your lives.

For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me.

And he said, Don't be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar.

Speaking of in Rome, what's more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.

So take courage, he says, For I believe God, it will be just as he said, but we will be shipwrecked on an island.

You can tell.

That's how I studied for this message right there.

A little bit of positive, and then a whwa right there.

Paul says, Take courage, everybody.

You're not gonna die.

The ship's going down, but no one on this boat is going to die.

Okay, why was Paul so confident in the midst of a storm everybody else on the ship was freaking out about?

The night before he got a word.

One of the wisest things you could do going into this new year is get a word from the Lord.

I'm all for watching the ball drop and celebrating moving into a new year.

That's great, but it pales in comparison to spending some time on New Year's Eve, hearing the Lord and getting a word for tomorrow.

Getting a word for this year.

When you get a word from the Lord about what is ahead, faith arises, strength comes upon you to begin to walk out his word, no matter how great the storm.

With all of my heart.

The message I feel that the Lord asks me to deliver is one verse.

Isaiah 43, 19.

Behold, I am doing a new thing.

It springs forth right now.

Shall you not know it?

The statement I believe God is making to you is I am doing a new thing.

There is no question about that.

I am doing a new thing.

But the question God asks you is, will you be intimately involved in an active participant in what I am doing on the earth in these days?

I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes.

We're gonna have one more song in worship.

And during that time, we're going to ask our altar ministry team to come forward.

And if you're here today, and maybe 2017 was a rough year, and you just want to pray with somebody at any of our campuses.

In a moment when I'm done praying, I want you to come forward and pray with someone.

Maybe you're here.

And perseverance is a weakness.

You just sense the Lord saying, I need you to be strengthened.

I need you to press through a little bit in this season of your life.

There's some storms ahead.

You're gonna make it through, but I don't want you to stop and I don't want you to quit.

If that's you in a moment, come pray with someone.

Maybe you're here.

And living a lifestyle of prayer is difficult for you.

Don't beat yourself up.

Start now.

Come pray with someone.

When I'm done praying and everyone stands to worship, come pray with someone.

Or maybe you're here today.

And just because of the nature of the way things have gone in your life the last couple of years, your level of faith is lower than it's ever been.

Don't fight alone.

Come pray with somebody.

Ask God to give you a measure of faith you've only dreamt about.

And if you're here and you need prayer and it has nothing to do with this message, when I'm done praying and everyone stands and our altar ministry team comes forward, come pray with somebody.

Leverage the family of God as you move into this new year.

Holy Spirit, I pray right now for every person at every campus.

I pray you'd minister to each one of them whatever they need going into this new season.

Holy Spirit, I pray you'd begin dispensing it now, in this moment, on this day, for the days ahead.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.