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NEW YEARS CELEBRATION OF THE NEW CREATION


This is the time to celebrate a new year - for Jews, that is. For us, the actual date was October 3rd, 2005, for them it was Tishri 1, 5766. They call it Rosh Hashanah, which means "Head of the Year" - the celebration is so important that it lasts two days. This 48 hour New Year's Day begins a ten day countdown to the most sacred day of all, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
The Jewish New Year is a celebration and acknowledgement of several things. It is viewed as the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, so it’s a day of remembrance as Jews review the history of their people and pray for Israel; and it’s a day of judgment as they examine their past deeds and seek forgiveness for their sins
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the Shofar, the ram's horn, which is the only specific commandment for Rosh Hashanah. (Leviticus 25:9 - "Then you shall transmit a blast on the horn; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, the day of
Yom Kippur, you shall have the horn sounded throughout the land... And proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.")
In Biblical times the Shofar was blown to announce important events: preparation for war, the coming of peace, or the coronation of the king. The "Great Shofar" is said to have been sounded during the greatest event in all Jewish history, the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai.
Another significance of the Shofar is its connection with the story of God providing a ram (as in "ram's horn") as a substitute offering when Abraham was prepared to offer his only son Isaac, an event which is also believed to have taken place on this same day of the year. The sounding of the ram’s horn is also a call to repentance.
Because it is believed that during the first days of Rosh Hashanah, the destiny of all mankind is recorded by God in the Book of Life, during the festivities, a commonly heard greeting is, "May you be inscribed in the Book of Life." The Jews believe that on Yom Kippur the Book is closed and sealed, and those who have repented for their sins are granted a good and happy new year.
During the days of Rosh Hashanah, celebrants eat a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize their desire for a sweet year, and a special prayer is said near a body of water containing live fish - in this way they hope to symbolically "cast away" their sins, as noted in Micah 7:19: “He will turn again he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” The reason the body of water must be one containing fish is that the fish's dependence on water symbolizes the Jew's dependence on God, and as a fish's eyes never close, so God is always watchful of His people.
All of this was brought to mind this week while I was driving to the camp to drain the water pipes for another winter - I happened to hear a broadcast of a special program of music and readings related to this Jewish holiday. The music was in Hebrew, but the readings were in English, and I was interested to learn that one of them was from the familiar 51st Psalm in which King David prays his remarkable prayer of repentance.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Psalm 51:10-13
Looking at just this limited section of David’s prayer of repentance following his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, we notice a structure which consists of two negative requests bracketed before and after by two positive requests, and followed by the natural consequence of the prayer being answered.
First, consider the two negative petitions. The first one is, "Do not cast me from your presence."
Perhaps one of our greatest fears is the fear of rejection. Our built-in, deep seated need for love and acceptance is so strong, most of us dread to enter any situation where we are unsure of being accepted. Perhaps this is why young folks take drugs and old folks compromise business ethics - we don't want to be rejected by the people we feel are important to us. The problem is, when we do this, we are betraying the fact that there is a greater fear of man than of God. David dreaded the thought that he may end up being cast out from God's presence. It's a sober thought, but those who are so rejected will be, as Jesus said, be cast "into outer darkness." (Matthew 8:12)
Incidentally, the word David used for "presence" is literally, "face" - it's as though his prayer is, "Please, God, don't ever let me hear You say these awful words, 'David, get out of my face!'”
 "Do not . . . take your Holy Spirit from me."
Evidently he understood the incomparable value of the inner work of the Spirit, to bring both conviction and comfort. The Spirit's conviction would keep him from going down that path of sin, and end up doing what he knows is displeasing to God. The Spirit's comfort would be there when he did succumb to temptation because he would be assured that forgiveness and restoration was available to him.
Notice that this is the "Holy" Spirit, or the "spirit of holiness." (Romans 1:4) Because God is holy, we understand that "without holiness no one will see God." (Hebrews 12:14) David knew that it is the Spirit that inspires and enables holiness, it is not something that is achievable apart from the Spirit.
 "Create in me a pure heart."
The first thing that jumps out at us is that this is a very personal request; David prays, "Do it in me." It is vital that we look at our own need for cleansing, rather than what we think other people need. The tendency to look at other people's faults is as old as the Adam and Eve we celebrate during Rosh Hashanah!
Then, what did it mean for David to pray for a pure heart? Evidently, he knew, and was willing to admit, that his thoughts had been impure - he had not only looked on a woman
with lust, but he acted on that impure desire, and had conspired to have her husband killed to cover his own sin.
With this prayer, David is telling God that he didn't want that to happen again, and he instinctively knew it would, if his heart didn't change. Impure thoughts always eventually result in hurtful, sinful, behavior. Jesus said, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:19)
David also understood that it was the heart, the innermost, hidden part of his being that needed cleansing. For the Hebrews, the heart was at the center, the very source of emotions (feelings), volition (will) and even the intellect. This heart had been made black by sin, and there needed to be an inner work of cleansing, not merely an external clean-up job.
You may remember that during one of our political campaigns, our Vice President used a saying he learned as a boy growing up in Wisconsin; he said "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig."
Recently, someone from our church demonstrated their own skill at making a very dead pig look good by putting a lollipop in its mouth just before it was carved into delicious pork.
We also want to point out that the word "create" is the same word as “in the beginning God created.” However, thinking about that first creation when God created everything out of nothing, something very bad must have happened. What we know about God is that whatever He creates is good, yet right after we learn in Genesis 1:1 that "God created the heavens and the earth," it says in the very next verse that "the earth was without form and void." We do not believe that’s what God would do - He would not create something that is meaningless, empty and dark. So actually, what we now know to be our world is really a re-creation, for after God's first creation was ruined (perhaps by Lucifer when he was cast out of heaven), "the Spirit of God moved" and after the seven days of creation, the earth became what we know it to be today.
And that’s what happens with us - God created man good, and sinless, but man sinned, became impure, and God had to send a Savior to recreate a pure heart.
 "Renew a steadfast spirit within me."
In this prayer, David is praying that he would not be tossed about as by the wind, that he
not be subject to temptation. The "Lord's Prayer" comes to mind here when it says "lead us not into temptation." David had wandered from what he knew was right, he had not been faithful - to have a steadfast spirit is to remain faithful to the Lord in all circumstances, and in the face of every temptation
You see, we not only want to become pure, we want to stay pure.
 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation."
Notice that this "return of joy" follows true repentance, new purity, and the impartation of the Spirit.
Jesus once talked about people who received the word of God with great joy - how wonderful is the joy of discovery, when one learns that he or she is loved, and their sins are forgiven. But Jesus described those people to be like good seed falling on stony ground, with no roots getting down into good soil - soon the sprout would die, the joy will be gone. Jesus concluded, ". . . trouble or persecution comes because of the word, [and] he quickly falls away." (Matthew 13:21)
I hesitate to say it, but it seems to me that American Christianity has produced a lot of stony ground Christians - where's the joy?
"Grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
This is a very interesting request, for a "willing spirit" is one that is "free." This is the word used in the KJV, but that translation also inserts some words not in the original text - "with thy". In this prayer, David was really asking that he might be given a free spirit. He desires to be free from the bondage of sin. This is similar to what Paul writes, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship." (Romans 8:15) What Paul was talking about was freedom from "the sinful nature, to live according to it." (Romans 8:12)
Finally, the results of this prayer being answered are far reaching. The benefits are more than can be contained in the person who has prayed the prayer; other people will be moved toward God. David asserts, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you."
We long to see the day when our Christianity will be vital, and our witness in the world will bring many people into the kingdom.
The other day I received a call from a Bible College classmate of mine. Actually, not only was he a classmate, but we traveled together in choirs and music groups. He was, and is, a very gifted and talented man, and has been very fruitful during his many years of ministry.
One of the things he shared in our phone conversation was that he had put together a winning package. Using modern technology and his creativity, he had printed a beautiful color brochure about the church, sent it to households all around the city, and then followed it up with a telemarketing format, inviting these people to church. And wow, was it ever successful!
Now please understand, I am not about to speak against using modern means for the purpose of spreading the Gospel. However, it's of interest to me that the most technologically advanced country in the world seems to have the least vital form of Christianity - it's appalling to know that only 3% of us are actively sharing our faith. Perhaps we're too dependent on the technology, and have forgotten that the most powerful witness is a godly life lived out under the probing inspection of the rest of the world. Yes, at some point, the message must be verbalized, but the words spoken will "fall to the ground" unless backed up by the demonstration of a holy life.
Do you know why it is that so many have checked out of Christianity? Why is it that so many people, who once believed, prayed regularly and attended church, no longer do, and now are seemingly hardened to the Gospel? Could it be that they only heard the preaching but never saw the living?
A number of years ago I made a visit to an apartment of a man who had just attended church the preceding Sunday. There was very little furniture, the floors were bare, the rooms were very untidy, and the kitchen was a messy health hazard. The man I visited, in his mid twenties, had some friends over who regularly played together in a rock band. We had a short time reading Scripture and talking together, and during our brief discussion, my host made a startling comment. Perhaps impressed that I would take the time to come to his place, accept him as he was, and show a little care, he said, "Before you, I have never met a real Christian." Please understand, I didn't accept that as a compliment, it greatly saddened me to think that surely this man had met many who had claimed to be Christians, but failed to demonstrate the reality of the Christ within.
A little over a week ago I received a letter from a woman by the name of Susan who lives in Wisconsin.
"Please pray for our family, as we are looking for another church. There is a man in our church who been a drunk for years; he smacks his step children around and talks lewd. People have confronted him time and time again, but he still continues; now his step daughter who is 11 says she has seen him nude and he spanks her with her pants down. This man lies when he says he's quit drinking.
"I say its time to shun him or remove him from the church. Please write me back and let me know what you think the Bible says should take place because he leads a Bible study and sings at church. I must say in my short Christian life I met more believers practicing their sin than those on the straight and narrow - it makes me very upset and angry."
Susan, you should be angry, and no wonder the people of this world have decided against Christianity if that's the only representation they know. No doubt the entire church that goes by the name of Jesus needs to pray the Psalm 51 prayer of repentance. But while we can't speak for the rest of them, we can pray this for ourselves, and I call on all of us here to day to join David in making this our own prayer -
Do not cast me from your presence.
Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
Create in me a pure heart.
Renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Grant me a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

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