Isa. 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
Isa. 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isa. 43:20 The beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragons and the owl: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.
1. Have faith in God.
2. Look to the Lord.
B. Forget the past, but ask the Lord what you are to learn from your past, so you don't have to keep making the same mistakes.
1. The past is gone.
2. God is going to do greater things in the future.
a. We can't get hung up or camped out on the things of the past as the Lord is moving on. The cloud is moving onward and upward as it did for the Israelites, and we must move with the cloud. In short, the Holy Spirit of God must now lead us. The "cloud" was a type and symbol of the Holy Spirit today.
b. Many "religious" folks get caught up in the past, and they refuse to move on with the New Things that God is doing. They will miss the coming wave.
c. We must be in the right place, at the right time just as runner in a race. We are in the “race of life” now. The most skilled and prepared runners will lose the race if he or she is not at the starting lineup at the right time.
d. We must be like God who remembers our sins no more.
e. Heb10:16 this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Heb.10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
C. How are the New Things Coming (see Isa. 43:19a)?
1. They will spring forth. A spring moves quickly, and we must prepare ourselves for the coming move of God now.
2. We must seek the Lord with all of our hearts, so that we will learn to hear His voice,
3. We need now to learn to obey His voice, as His Ways will be new and unraveled.
4. They will appear suddenly like a spring, and we need to be ready for what God is doing at all times.
D. He will make a Way in the wilderness (see Isa. 43:19b) We will have our wildernesses even as the Israelites had theirs, but we do not have to stay in the wildernesses for 40years.
1.) Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life.
2.) He is in the wilderness as He will never leave His people nor forsake them.
3.) He will make a way where there is an apparent wilderness as we turn our" Wildernesses” over to Him.
4.) A Wilderness is a very difficult place. It is a “wild and uninhabited area.” Adjectives for wilderness are: barren, wild, wasteland, and frontier.
5.) It is a new area that has not become inhabited or tamed.
It is in this type of environment that the Lord has promised to make A WAY for us. Hallelujah! It will witness to all those around us that He is a God of love, goodness, mercy and that He is all-powerful.
E. He will make rivers flow in the desert (see Isa. 43:19c).
1.) Only God can make the rivers of His Life flow in the dry, desert place sin our lives.
2.) Where He is; there the rivers of New Life are flowing. We will have dry places, but through seeking, turning to and praising God; He will make the dry places a river for us, and through us; He will make a river for others.
3.) Are you in a dry place? Then you are a candidate for a refreshing river of the Living Waters. Look to the Lord in the desert, and He will fill you with His Holy Spirit. He will bring His Living Waters to you. He will use you to refresh others who are dying of thirst for the living waters in a dry and weary land.
4.) A river is moving and changing at all times, and the River is moving toward you. It is new every moment, and it is coming your way. Be prepared; be ready to jump into the River of the Lord!
F. The beasts will honor what the Lord is doing in your life (see Isa. 43:20a).
1.) Even the wild beasts (the enemy) will honor the authority of the Lord when He turns the wilderness into a highway, and when He turns the desert into a spring (see Isa. 43:20b).
2.) Even the evil things that are around you will take notice that a miracle is taking place.
3.) It is the greatest witness when God takes a negative and transforms it into many positives.
4.) Manassah means “forgetting." Joseph said:
Gen.50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
5.) He also said that: Gen.41:51 And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.
6.) God made Joseph into a new man doing a New Thing because He caused Joseph to forget his difficult past, and He caused a healing to take place in Joseph’s life that he was not effected by the failure that he experienced in his family, in his work, and throughout his life.
G. God said that we were formed Him (see Isa. 43:21a).
1.) We were created for God’s pleasure.
2.) The focus is on God, and we are His temple.
3.) He wants to dwell in our lives, and He wants to make our lives new and lovely for His; honor and glory.
4.) His plan for us is far superior to anything that we can think or imagine.
5.) Rom.11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!
6.) God wants to take your life and your old man, and He wants to do something glorious as He did with Joseph.
Joseph was noted for his obedience unto the Lord even to his own disadvantage.
H. All Good in This Life Comes from God:
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.
1.) God is the only One that we should worship, praise and glorify.
2.) When God makes a way for us in the wilderness, and when He brings living water where there was a desert; it brings praise to His Name.
3.) We, God's people will be a praise unto Him upon this earth. Many will see and turn to God. When we love one another, then the world will know about God's love for all mankind in sending His only begotten Son to this earth to die for our sins, and redeem us from eternal damnation.
4.) He wants His people to become a praise upon this earth.
Where there is darkness; He wants us to bring His Light. Where there is discord; He wants us to bring His Peace.
Where there is hatred; He wants us to bring His Love.
Eph. l:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of will.
Eph. 1:6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.
The world may reject you, but you are accepted by the beloved Jesus Christ! Never forget that His acceptance is more important than the acceptance of others in all of the world.
Eph. 1:7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
We were created for the Lord God. Let us pray that we will be a praise upon this earth. May we ever live up to our high calling Jesus Christ. Amen.
By: Peggy Kannaday