A good new year

There was a revival in Croy near Inverness between the years 1763 and 1774. Many were converted during that time under the ministry of James Calder, and in his diary he mentions that many of the converts were young people. 

Here is what he wrote in his diary on New Year’s Day, 1765. ‘As the year 1763 was a happy year in this place – much happier than in former years – with regard to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the saving conversion of sinners; and as the year 1764 was a happier year still in that respect, may the Lord grant that the year 1765 may exceed them both in the number of saving conversions here and elsewhere. O may many, very many, souls of every rank and sex and age be gathered in this year to Christ in the gospel net…. Lord, send prosperity, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.’

What did he have to say on December 31st of that year? ‘This being the eve of the expiring year, good cause have I to close it with warmest sentiments of gratitude and praise to my God, and my father’s God, and my children’s God, for the many instances of his undeserved goodness vouchsaved me and my flock and family during this period. Blessed be his gracious name, this year has exceeded the last, happy as it was, in the number of converts betwixt this parish’ [and a neighbouring one which was without a minister and he must have been looking after it]. Then he writes, ‘O Lord, grant, for Jesus’ sake, that the new year which is now beginning may exceed this and all former years in the same happy respect!’ 

The revival lasted for a few more years, with ebbs and flows. Whatever else can be said about it, 1765 was a good year spiritually in that area. It would a good year for us if we saw the same.

The Start of Another Year

The commencing of a new year is obviously a milestone in our lives. In olden days, a milestone was a place where a traveller could rest and look back to where he had come from and look ahead to the remainder of his journey. The journey may have been long or short, yet the milestone was a place for getting his bearings.

It is good to pause and reflect on what has happened. This is true on the big scale of life. This time last year no-one would have predicted that David Cameron would not be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and that Donald Trump would be waiting for his inauguration as President of the United States. In those changes in the political world we are reminded that rulers come and go, but the Lord is enthroned for ever. Probably there will be major changes in the political world in 2017 that will be very surprising when they happen, but when they do we should remind ourselves that God is on the throne.

No doubt, each of us can look back to events in our own lives that we did not understand or desire. At times, we faced disappointments, sadnesses, tragedies and crushed hopes. Sore bereavements have been the experience of some in the past year. When such events take place, we wonder sometimes why the Lord allows them to happen. About some of them, we may never get an insight regarding them while we are in this world. In such times, we must rely on the promises of God. Circumstances change, but God’s promises regarding them remain sure. He is the one who can make all things work together for good to those who love him. Job in his difficult life situation expressed his faith by affirming that when God had completed trying him he would come forth as gold.

Yet at a milestone we have also to look ahead. Whatever the next stage in life will be like, if we trust in the Lord Jesus we have the promise of his presence each step of the way. As we know, when he describes himself as the Good Shepherd, he is not only promising to meet our needs. In addition, he is promising to be our Guide (a shepherd in the Middle East walked ahead of his sheep, mapping out for them the way to go). He does not only guide when we ask for specific directions. Rather he is the constant Guide of his people. So wherever we find ourselves in the coming year, there should be the realisation that Jesus has taken us that far, and that he will continue to lead us on from there.

Good things will happen in 2017, whether in our own lives, or in our families, or in our congregation. We do not know what the Lord has in mind, but he has promised to give grace as well as glory. Grace covers a wide range of good things. The Lord will meet our needs ‘according to his riches in glory’. We often quote that verse from Philippians as if Paul had said that God would meet our needs ‘out of his riches in glory’. ‘Out of’ is not the same as ‘according to’. A rich person could give me ten pounds out of his riches, but he would not be giving according to his riches. How rich is God? If we trust in him, he will enable us to discover something of the spiritual treasures he has stored up for his people.

We should ask ourselves, ‘What is the best thing to do as we begin 2017?’ The answer to that question is obvious. We should commence the year by putting ourselves, our loved ones, and our congregation into the hands of God. The way we do so is by prayer. Even as you read this, you can do so. If you have not done so already, you can speak to Jesus and ask him to be your Saviour. And if you already belong to his flock, you can ask him as the Good Shepherd to take you safely through whatever 2017 will bring your way. And you can speak to him about it right now.

2016 – The Year of …..

2016 is a year composed of details we currently know nothing about. Of course, we can make some assumptions about it, as we have done with previous years, and some will take place. Yet they will not occur because we thought previously that they would. Instead they will happen because there is One in charge who does not make any assumptions and does not need input from anyone regarding the passing of time.

No doubt, there will be situations on the global and national levels that will have so many ramifications we will not be able to take them in. I doubt if even the leaders of the nations will grasp the significance of most of them. That comment is not made to disparage them – after all, we should show them respect. The best form of respect we can show is to pray that God would give them wisdom regarding what to decide and do in 2016.

What will happen to the church worldwide in 2016? It will grow, and that assessment is not based on an assumption. Instead it is based on what the Bible says about the kingdom of Jesus, that he is building his church, and there is nothing that can prevent him doing so in 2016. This awareness is a matter for celebration, for praising Jesus that he will not cease in his work of gathering in his people from all over the world. It did occur to me as I was typing this article that the Good Shepherd would have gathered in several in the short time that I have been typing (about five minutes). And he will have gathered in a lot more by the time you read it.

What will happen to the church in Scotland in 2016? Who can say? There are signs of possible roots of recovery, but even if they persist, there is a very long way to go. Even with regard to our denomination, in the nineteenth century there were more Free Churches in Glasgow than we now have in Scotland. And the population today is much higher numerically! At the moment, we are still on the edges of society whereas previously the church was in the centre. But before then, the church was also on the edges, so hopefully God will repeat his gracious acts of the past and revive his church in 2016. We should certainly pray for this to happen.

What about ourselves in Inverness? Imagine it is December 2016 and we are looking back at what has taken place in and through our congregation over the previous twelve months. Should we do so, I suspect in our minds there would be a picture of what we currently are praying for. God expects us to have a vision for what he can do, not because he will be confined to it, but because it will reveal what we think he can do. And prayer is an accurate screen for displaying our expectations.

In many ways, any spiritual success in 2016 will be connected to speech. Words need to be used when interacting with God, when having fellowship with one another, and when speaking to those who are not yet Christians. It is hard to envisage any other method of growth, and even if we could, it would not be biblical. So maybe we should plan to make 2016 the year of plain talking.

Beginning a New Year (2015)

We have now arrived at a new year. 2015 has begun and we do not know what God has planned for it. It is common for people to express good wishes, but that is all that they are. They can only happen if God brings them to pass. Sadly, some people will commence the year afraid and wondering if things will only get worse in 2015. Their fears may seem logical, yet they will only happen if God allows it.

Of course, there is always the possibility of a wrong response to the awareness that what God has planned will happen. The wrong response is that we try to live according to his secret will and not according to his revealed will. We can easily tell if we are focussed on his secret will because we will become fatalistic, which is not a good spiritual outlook. Instead we have to partner our awareness of his secret will with a desire to practice his revealed will. His secret will is not written down anywhere on earth, but his revealed will is stated very clearly in the Bible.

If we could ask God one question, and we decided to ask him what he intended to allow in 2015, he would reply to us in the words of Deuteronomy 29:29: ‘The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.’ In other words, he would say to us that the details of his secret will are none of our business.

Is it hard to discover God’s revealed will? The answer is no, because it is clearly described in the Bible. Yet we must approach it aware that some of its requirements are more important than others. The most important of his requirements is that we trust in the Lord Jesus for our personal salvation. Until we do so, we remain at enmity with God. God invites, indeed commands, us to trust in Jesus right away. Once we have ensured that we trusted in Jesus, we can then consider his other requirements.

God’s revealed will is clear that he wants us to live spiritual lives wherever we are. He does not expect us to be ‘spiritual’ in church and something else in the home and in the world. If we are unspiritual at home and in the world we will be unspiritual in the church as well. The revealed will of God for us in 2015 is summarised in Paul’s words in Romans 12:1-2: ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’ If we do so, we will have a good 2015.

Praising God in 2015

There are many reasons for praising God. Further, there are many aspects of praise that we can offer. On the first day of another year, I want to mention some details from Psalm 100 that may help us have a fruitful 2015. This well-known psalm, which we have sung hundreds of times, is about praising God.

Global

What were the aspects that the author of Psalm 100 mentions in his statement of praise? In verse 1, we can see that his praise had a global perspective. This is surprising in a sense because when the psalm was composed the kingdom of God was located within the nation of Israel. Yet the psalmist was looking forward to times of universal blessing.

In doing this, he was a good model for us to follow in the year that is beginning today. Why should we have a global perspective? The answer is obvious. We serve a God who is concerned about the nations, who has made many promises about the nations coming to serve him. We can mention two examples. One is the covenant he made with Abraham in which the patriarch was informed that through his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed. The other is the great commission given by Jesus when he told his apostles to go into all the world and make disciples.

How do we participate in the global activities of God? One obvious way is by prayer in which we remind God of his glorious intentions and interact with him in divine energy supplied by the Spirit concerning the spread of the message of his kingdom. One good resolution would be to pray for five countries every day and ask God to bless his church in those places.

Gather

A second detail emphasized in the psalm is gathering together with the people of God. In verse 4, the psalmist encourages his fellow believers to attend the worship of God in the temple, and to attend in a spirit of suitable praise. What are acceptable features of such praise? The psalmist mentions several in the psalm and three of them are gladness, gratitude and gathering.

When the monarch of a country is crowned it is a time of national celebration. Sometimes the country then has the opportunity of celebrating significant milestones of the reign, whether with regard to periods of time or by noting significant events that have occurred during it. Yet with regard to those milestones we know that they also indicate that the reign is coming closer to its end. When a king has reigned for fifty years, we know that he will not reign for another fifty.

It is very different with the King we worship today. Jesus, our great Saviour, began to reign two thousand years ago and his reign will never end. The milestones that we pass in the history of his kingdom don’t reduce the number of years in which he will reign in the future. The reality that we rejoice in is that he will reign for ever and ever. Each time we meet, we come to celebrate that great fact. We look back on 2014 and see a year in which Jesus reigned and as we look ahead to 2015 we anticipate a year in which Jesus will reign. Therefore we are glad.

Our worship is also marked by gratitude. There are many reasons why we should be grateful. We have received much from him in his common grace – food and clothing, homes and other features of a comfortable life. We also have his great and precious promises that assure us that he will work all things together for our good. And we have the amazing salvation that he has provided for sinners. Today, having believed in Jesus, we are justified and adopted, we are being sanctified, and we are heading to a better world.

How does Jesus want us to express our gratitude? He wants us to do so together, by gathering together with him and in a corporate way to respond to him with intelligent and warm exuberance. The fact that he wants us to gather together is a sufficient reason for doing so. Not to do so is a snub to Jesus and a failure to grasp an opportunity to gather with others and join them in grateful worship.

Grace

The third and final feature we can observe is that as we worship we are surrounded by grace. We can see aspects of God’s grace in verse 5: his goodness, his steadfast love and his faithfulness. In other words, the Lord is completely reliable. No good thing will he withhold from any of his people. He will be good in time and he will be good in eternity. We gather in worship to contemplate the grace of God and to remind ourselves of the wonderful fact that the God of all grace is our God forever.

The description of God’s people as sheep in verse 3 shows us that we are the recipients of his grace. At one time, we were lost sheep heading for destruction. Then we became liberated sheep as the Good Shepherd came and found us as we wandered in the ways of sin. He had to go to some strange places in order to find us, but he did. And then we became led sheep, and that is where we are today if we are Christians, being led to the refreshing pastures. In the future, we will be lavished sheep as Jesus bestows on us an endless and full supply of riches from the storehouse of glory.