PASTOR’S CORNER: Leaving it all behind in 2024

We should not take anything with us into 2025 that is no good.

Dead weight will kill us before we get started in the new year and being connected to people who are not of the same mind that you are will hinder you in the new year. Now is the time to start over. It is an opportunity for brand new beginnings and it will be a time to dress down, shed ourselves, get ready to go, leave some things behind, let some things go and get rid of the baggage, old baggage, old weights, old mess, old grudges, old hurts, old pain, old sins and just old stuff out of gratitude to God. We ought to quit dragging the wheel and declare that we will not try to put new wine into old bottles! To live out this life is what we profess to have as Christians.

Going into a brand new year there are some things that we need to make straight now and that is we will not go into a brand new year the same way. There will be no pointing fingers for there can be improvement in all of our lives; things that we all can do better. We all can step up our game. We all can tighten up our belts a little bit and determine that this year we will be genuine Christians.

And what is a genuine Christian? A genuine Christian is one who puts on the new man in Christ. Putting on the new man is like putting on a new suit of clothes. It’s like getting brand new furniture and throwing out the old. It’s like moving out of an old house into a brand new house or parking the old car on the junkyard, and getting into a brand new car. It’s like taking off work clothes we’ve had on all day working, taking a shower and putting on fresh new clothes.

Now community, let me tell you this morning that the one thing we do not want to do in the new year is to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul warned us not to do it (Ephesians 4:30). Some Christians don’t realize this, but we do not want to GRIEVE the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. The word “grieve” means causing great distress to (someone), to feel grief, or to feel sorrow over something. We don’t know it, but we can make or cause the Holy Spirit which is God to feel distressed, to feel grief or to feel sorrow. Just like we make people feel that way and we are made to feel that way ourselves.

For example, you know when our children do something wrong that they know better than to do, it grieves us. When they shame the family’s name, get their picture on the front page of the local newspaper for crime, it grieves us, it disturbs us, it stresses us. When in relationships with a man or woman we find out that they are unfaithful to us, it grieves us. It causes us distress when our children don’t get along with each other. When there is a rift between us and our siblings, it causes our parents to grieve and it causes us to grieve. When we don’t get along with each other as Christians; when we allow the devil to put bitterness and anger and wrath to rest in our hearts; when we are not kind to one another and allow God to have his way in our lives; when we use our bodies (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) for sinful pleasure, we grieve the Holy Spirit.

When we don’t live holy, for God is holy, and use our gifts and talents to bring God glory then the Holy Spirit church is grieved. He lives inside of us and we do not want to go into 2025 grieving the Holy Spirit! That’s why we’ve got to dress down and take off some things. That’s what Paul is telling the Christians at the church at Ephesus; as Christian believers, he tells them to put on the new man; to take off the old man; that old me and the old you (Ephesians 4:32-33). Let us take off the “grave” clothes of our old life and put on the “grace” clothes of our new life.

Then Paul said in verses 27 and 29 to “neither give place to the devil and “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth” but only that which builds people up. In 2025 if we can’t say anything to build somebody up, lift somebody up, encourage somebody up, pray somebody up, help somebody up, then let’s not say or do anything at all! Our lips should speak that which builds up (Colossians 4:6, Psalms. 141:3). Build up our children, our family, our fellow church members. Corruption from the lips only means that there is corruption in the heart.

Let’s dress down in 2025 and get ready to go; leaving it all behind in 2024.