In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes that God is working in our lives to transform us. He compares this process to major surgery, where God is removing things from our lives that are not aligned with His will. The preacher also mentions the story of the blind man who was healed by Jesus, highlighting the importance of allowing God to continually work in our lives. He encourages the listeners to trust in God's process and to be encouraged by the examples of those who have gone before us in faith. The sermon concludes with a prayer for God to continue His work in the hearts and minds of the listeners.

We're continuing on this thought about the family of God. He says that God always had in mind a family. And he's called us to be a part of his family. The apostle talks about the whole family in heaven and in earth. In unbroken fellowship with the living God. You're part of the family of God. If you've been born of his spirit, if the spirit of God dwells in you, you're part of the family of God. And today we want to focus on the theme that he makes all things new. All things new. The scripture that we read in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 17 and 18. It says that if any man be in Christ, there is a new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, I make all things new. And that's what we want to focus on this morning. The newness of things in the kingdom of God. The first thing we want to look at is the thought of the people of God. They've got to be new. We need to change minds. Most of the things that people are preoccupied with asking the Lord for has to do with time. With our time here on the earth. It might be a short time that God grant us. It might be relatively long. But most of the things that Christians, members of the family of God, are calling on God for has to do with time. The times in which we live. With supplying our needs. With saving souls. And that's good. God has promised to provide. He has promised to use us. But God has eternity in mind. God is not just working in time. God is using time to prepare a people for eternity. And there is a purpose in God's family as He seeks to get us to the mindset that we in its essence are eternal beings. And this time in which we live, this time that He has given on the earth, is a preparation for eternity. So we want the people of God to begin to understand that this time in which we live is very short. In the scheme of things, God has eternity in mind. And now, if we get a look at eternity, God has to do some stuff in us to make us fit for eternity. And these things are radical. First, He says, you need a new life. If we are going to live in eternity, we need a new life. And to get that life, He says, you must be born again. You need a new life. See, we have natural life. We have that. But God wants to give us His life. And that's different. It's called eternal life. He says, those that believe on Me, He gives them eternal life. And that doesn't mean just a life that does not stop. It means the quality of life, even the very life of God. So, we need a new life. God has to do some new stuff. Then we need a new nature. We were born with this Adamic nature that is different from the nature of God. So, He says, He's given us all these rich and precious promises that we might be partakers of God's divine nature. And that means that we begin to act naturally as God acts. We begin to do the things that God does. We begin to walk like He does. We begin to talk like He does. We react just like He does. And we know that's how Christ is. And then He wants you to be a new person. We'll talk about God doing some radical things here. A new person. He says, there is a new man. He says, put off the old man and put on the new man. He wants to make us a new man that could live in eternity. And then He says, you need a new personality. I want us to think a little bit of all these things that God has to do to prepare us for eternity. A new personality. He says, a leopard can't change his spots. So, you know what God has to do to give us a new personality. And that personality is called the fruit of the Spirit. He wants us to live, manifest in the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, right? Goodness, mercy. These are God's qualities that He wants us to be manifested in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit. Now, we say God wants to give us a new life. God wants us to be partakers of His divine nature. God wants to make us a new person. God wants us to have a new personality. Oh Lord! That sounds like major work to us. See, look at the natural. When somebody would have had a major accident and they go to the hospital, you need an operation. They need to operate on you. You need recovery. You need therapy. Sometimes you got to learn how to walk again. Sometimes you have to learn how to talk again. You know, you have to learn how to put on your clothes. You have to learn everything new. And sometimes you have to go back in surgery. God has to take you back. You didn't quite get everything, so you have to go back again. And then you have to go through all this process again. And sometimes I believe the therapy is more painful than the actual accident or operation because you might have been sedated. But in the therapy, you have to feel the pain because you have to know what needs to be fixed and adjust it. For God is giving us, making us all together new. And for that, you have to go through some stuff. That's the meaning of our experience with eternity in mind. God is making us over. Now listen, we start out as vessels of clay. In the beginning, we are vessels of clay. And God wants to change us to be vessels of honor fit for the Master's use. Now think of all this process that we have to go through. If at the end of the day, we can be fit to live with God in eternity, we got to go through some stuff. As Christians, He says, you have to be prepared to go through some things. He says, but whatever you go through, I'm going to be there with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will be your strength when you're weak. I'll be your health when you're sick. I'll be your supply in every situation. But He says, you have to go through some stuff if we're going to have this mindset. If we're going to have this attitude of eternity. So, unless we have that vision of what God wants to do with us, then we tend to complain when we go through things. If we do not understand that this porter is making us over. He's doing major surgery. And then he's teaching us how to walk and sometimes we walk with a limp. He says, no, no, no, no, no. That ain't quite right. He says, you need to firm up your walk. I've got to put you back on the table. You know the blind man, he said when he anointed his eyes, he said, tell me what you see. He says, I see man like dreams. He said, wait a minute now. Uh-uh. Not quite right yet. Let me pray for you again. And sometimes you come out and you feel good, but you know something keeps sticking here in the side. You know, you say, what's that? Oh, the doctor left something inside. He said, I've got to go back again. I didn't get it all out. God is doing something. God is making us something. He's changing us from these vessels of clay to vessels of honor fit for the master's use. And so let's look at some people and some situation so that we could understand that it's not unusual what he's putting us through. It's not just you and me. Sometimes we feel that we are alone in this thing that we're going through. But we're not alone. We want to look back and see how God dealt with others in the same way. Now we're going to start with Abraham's journey. We're going to start with Abraham and see how God dealt with him. Then we're going to look at Israel and we're going to look at Paul so we could understand that we are not exception. That this is part of God's plan where you are and what you're going through. God didn't want us to go through all those terrible things. But he says, because you went through those, he uses those to draw us unto himself. So wherever we go through, wherever we are, God speaks to our heart and says, this is where I want to meet you today. You don't have to fix up anything. You don't have to change anything. If you find yourself in a drug house, God says, if you come to your senses there, I want to meet you there in the drug house. I won't come there. I won't talk to you while you're there. Sometimes you've got to let God take us out of some situation. If he takes you out, you're out forever. But if God doesn't take us out, we tend to go back. You know, you've got to go back in the rehabilitation. You've got to go back. You've got to go back. But God says, let me meet you there and I'm going to take you out. And who I have, none could pluck out of my hand. Sometimes God is the one who we need to encounter in our situation. Sometimes, often, we cry to get out and man take us out. Sometimes there's some devices that we fix up ourselves to get us out. But it's better to let God there. It's better that God himself comes for you and me and say, here I am, let's go. Peter was in prison. Peter was locked up in chains. The church prayed. But God sent somebody, said, Peter, I will meet you right where you are. Let me take you out of this prison. If the church had broken down the prison doors, then it would have been a big thing. They would have sent the army and all that stuff. But God says, Peter, I will meet you in this prison. Let me open the door. Let me let you out. And who could fight against God? Jonah was in the belly of the whale. Nobody could have helped him. But he called on God. See, if they had tried to cut open the fish belly and take Jonah out, Jonah would have likely have died inside the fish belly. You know, somebody had put a hook, said, let's catch this fish and take Jonah out. Jonah would have died. But he cried on God. And God says to the fish, now you got a terrible situation here. You better let this man go where I say he should go. Sometimes we need to wait on God. Let Him take us out. So we look at Abraham. Abraham is 75 years old. He's past the time when you make plans to do this and to do that. He's past that time. He has established himself where he was. He's a great man. He has lots of possession. He has a reputation. He has a name for himself. He's 75 years old. And the God of glory appears to him and says, now we got to change this situation. But God, I am 75 years old. Let me do in my country what you want to do. God, He make no difference if I'm here or where you want to send me. Do it here. I'm comfortable here. I've already worked hard to get this job to make a name for myself. God, do what you want to do right here. God says, no Abraham, it's time for me to work. And so what God says to him, get thee out of thy country. Leave all the familiar landscapes. All the things that you, your point of reference, all the things that you could refer to, all the things that give you comfort, all the things that give you assurance. He said, leave them. Leave your country. I remember one time we were in 1960. We spent about three days or four days in Hurricane Donna out in the wilderness. And when we came back to the settlement, you had no point of reference because everything was gone. Everything was gone. And it amazes you. You would be standing in the place where your house was and you don't know that is your house. You don't know that your house was there. You have no more point of reference. Where mummy lived down the road, where her house is. It's gone. No point of reference. That is a strange feeling, brothers and sisters. And this is what God says to Abraham. Leave your country. But not only that. He says, leave your family. Leave your kindred. All those who give you moral support. All those who make you feel like you're somebody. He says, leave them. All the emotional attachments, leave them. And then he says, not only that, leave your father's house. All the things that you were going to inherit from your father, leave them. You got no more future in Mesopotamia. You got no more future there. Leave them. And then he says to him, go unto a land that I will show you. He says, I can take you some place now that I'm going to show you. Look at Abraham. He's got to leave everything. He's 75 years old. He's got to leave them. That's not easy, brothers and sisters. God waits. He said, God, why you didn't tell me this before I built my house? Why you didn't tell me I had to go some place else? God says, now it's time for me to work, Abraham. And he says, you got to go on a promise. Well, Abraham left. Abraham left. And if you read the story of Abraham, as he leave, he did some things along the way. But everywhere, once he entered the land, what he did was build altars. Abraham was a man of altars. Always building altars. Altars were something, an example in the Old Testament of the cross. It means that he always had to go through some stuff no matter where he was. He always reminding himself. He was always reminded that he got to go through some stuff. Now God tell him, left his comfort zone and go build altars. So everywhere Abraham was, he built an altar. He didn't find any rest in grace. But God says, he was looking for something. He had this vision. Not Palestine. See, if you got the vision of what God wants, if you have a vision of eternity, it makes us willing to go forward through the altars, through the crosses. It makes you willing to go forward because you have the vision. God says, Abraham was looking for a city not built with hands. Abraham caught his vision. Then look at Israel's journey of passage. Israel was in Egypt for some 400 years. Now you know you begin, after you've been some place for 400 years, you begin to think you're home. But for 400 years, now you know roots have been set down in this place. Then God troubles the water. God says, it's time to move. Don't be so anxious, brothers and sisters, to move. God says, after 400 years, Israel is time to move. And he says, Israel passed through rivers. We're going to take this journey backwards. From the promised land, they had to pass through rivers. They had to pass through deserts, wars, pestilences, tribulations. They had to go through all this for 40 years. And of the fighting men that left Egypt, only two caught the vision. Two got the vision. It says, if God sends us there, if God said so, everything else God has said was true. So God could bring us to this promised land. Caleb and Joshua were looking for a land. Two made it. If you look at Israel's journey. If you look at Israel's 40 years journey in the book of Numbers, you'll see something very strange. About 20 times or so, you will find this phrase. They departed and they pitched a tent. About 20 times in the book of Numbers. They departed from here and they pitched a tent. Then they departed from here and they pitched a tent. Israel now has no dwelling place in the desert. They departed from here. They departed from here and they pitched a tent there. They departed from here and they pitched a tent there. Everywhere they departed and they pitched a tent. There was following a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And when the clouds move, they move. Israel's got a vision even in the desert that they go in some place. Sometimes God moves you. He said, God you move me again here. You ain't got no dwelling place here. You move me again here. He said, you put your tent and depart it. You're living in temporary dwelling places. You're not here to set up roots Israel. You got the vision of where God wants you to go. Oh bless the Lord. They departed and then they pitched another tent. They too was looking for this promised land. Have we got the vision? Well that was 400 years for Israel. Look at Saul's journey. Look at Saul's journey into this newness. Now when Abraham gets there and all along his way, he needs a new language. You gotta learn to communicate with the person. He needs new resources. Every time, every time he moves, he has to, every time he moves, the new people, the new situations that he gotta deal with. God is making everything new in Abraham's life. He's making everything new in Israel's life. They have to learn how to live in the wilderness. They have to learn how to build, how to break down, how to build, how to break down. Because God is making everything new. Look at Paul. Paul is the Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul's future is set to be one of the principal men in Israel. He said he was a Pharisee. He said he was of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin the only one of Jacob's son that was born in the promised land. Paul said I am a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin the only one of Jacob's son. That's where Saul came from. King of Israel. The first anointed king of Israel. He said I was the tribe of Benjamin. I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. Trained at the feet of Gamaliel. Somebody who had all the education. He said he was zealous. He had zeal. More than all of his compatriots. Paul is set in what he wants to do and where he wants to go. God wants to do some new things in the midst of us. And so he goes down to Damascus. He goes down to Damascus. He's going down. He's going up, up, up, up, up in this world until he reaches the place now where Paul is about to break forth in public ministry as a Jew, as a Pharisee. And God says now it's time for you Paul to start going down. God wants to meet him. So he goes down to Damascus. Has an encounter with the risen and exalted Christ. Then in Damascus he tried to get up again. After his conversion he tried to get up again. Tried to preach to others. But God says you gotta go down a little further. So they let Paul down in a basket over the walls of the city. God says you still ain't gone down far enough. He went down to the Arabian desert. So you gotta spend some time there. He comes out of the desert and he still isn't ready yet. He goes down to his hometown. God says I'm going to set you aside for a while. And then God lifts him up. He takes him up to Antioch and says now it's time Paul. Now you're fit for the master's use. He was converted in Damascus on the road to Damascus. He was emptied. God took out all them things that they had. God emptied him. God took him all those things out from Damascus to Tarsus. He filled him and says wait on my call. And then God separated him. God had to make all things new. Paul needed a new vision. Paul needed a new Bible. Paul had to be made a new man. We're talking about God having to make all things new. And in that process Paul had to go through some stuff. He said he was beaten so many times. He was in the deep so many times. God is forming a new man and he's given us Paul as our example. He had to go through some stuff to get to this new man. What is God doing brothers and sisters? We don't want it to be strange when we go through these things. See if we get the vision. Finally Paul says you know I've been taken up some place. They stoned me and left me for dead. But I've been taken up some place and I saw some things in the third heaven. Maybe God wants to give you and me a third heaven experience. What is God doing in this whole process that seems so difficult for us? He takes out the heart of stone. He's got to take out that heart of stone. He has to put in a heart of flesh. And now we need to know how to live with a new heart. How to interact with people with a new heart. Not this heart that is look out for myself. The heart that is a sinner's friend. The heart that reaches out in the love of God. The heart that has seen that I'm only here temporary. I'm not here forever. This is preparation. I got something. I see this vision of eternity and now I can afford to love my enemies. I can afford to forgive those who have abused me. Sometimes that is the most difficult thing to do. But I got a vision of what God wants. And so I could forgive. I could get rid of it. It could go out. God, the surgeon, the master surgeon, the porter has us on his wheel and he's taking out things of time and fitting and preparing us for eternity. Sometimes that's painful. He has to put a new spirit in us. You got to give me a new spirit. That befeated, that cast down spirit. The spirit that has no fighting power. That gives up, that has given up. God says I'm going to give you a new spirit. You got to get the vision brothers and sisters. A new spirit. A new heart. A spirit that fights. That could fight. That knows how to fight. That God could teach to fight. To good fight or fate. You got to learn how to live with a new spirit. He wants to put his Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Now you got to learn how to live intimately with God. Cause he want to put a new spirit in us. And he ain't finished yet. He wants to give us a new mind. A renewed mind. He wants to purify our emotions. He wants a surrendered will. He wants to make us like unto himself. Now you wonder why we have to go through so much once we got eternity in mind. You wonder the meaning of our experiences. God is trying to do something. Yes we have to live in this world. Yes he's not taking us out of this world. We live in this world. But we have eternity in mind. He wants to make all things new. Now there are resources for that. He gives us some things that keep us going on. First God is faithful. And in this new mind everything comes from God. We have to learn how to receive everything from God. The Bible says that he who promise is faithful and he will do it. There's resources along the way. Everything is out from God. Then he's got a new household for us which we're talking about. He builds a shelter for us right where we are. Sometimes you think I have to go to some place different. God is the same God. God preserved Moses in the house of Pharaoh. He preserved Paul in Caesar's house and made him fruitful. He could preserve you and me wherever we are. He gives you a new household. He gives you a new family. You need a new family? He gives us a new family. And now you're going to have to learn how to live with this family. Remember we have eternity in mind. He gives you a new family. He gives you a new land. You have to learn how to live in this new land. Now that's Christ. This is the promised land. This is Christ. This is coming into the fullness of the inheritance. It's a new land. He's making all things new. You're a new nation. You're a new language and maybe we'll start talking about this new language. It's an old language but we'll talk about this new language. All these things new. All these things we've got to learn in time to be prepared for eternity. God starts with these lies of affliction Paul called them. As he transformed rough stones, rock, little stones in Genesis. In Genesis he took the clay. In Jeremiah he put the clay on the porter's wheel. See the clay was marred. Something happened between Genesis and Jeremiah. So he puts them on the wheel. In Matthew he said Peter you is a rough rock. You are a rough rock. You're a little rock here. Well after the resurrection he puts Peter through the process and Peter says you know what we are now lively stones. He's changed them. He's gone through some stuff and when you get to Revelation these lively stones have become precious stones. The foundation of that city of God. The pillars, the walls. He takes the clay from clay to rock to living stones to precious stones. By the time he gets finished with us we are precious stones. All things new. Now the clay wasn't fit for eternity. The rock wasn't fit for eternity. But boy those precious stones. Those precious stones. John say I saw he said I saw the new the heavenly city the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven adorned. And when you look at Revelation he start telling you about the sapphire and the diamonds. He says all these things were once only rough rock. What you going through these light affliction working out a greater weight of glory. He's transforming us. He's changing us. He's doing a work on the very inside of us. He's making us over brothers and sisters. He's changing that precious gift into glory. God is doing something and he invites you and me to understand this. That he's taking us through this process with something in mind. Yes he's blessing. Yes but he says he looks at you. He says God I just come out of the oven. He says well you're only half cooked. Only one side. You got to go back there. I need to turn you over. But God that hurts. He says I need to turn you over. I got to fix this thing here. And I got to fix this thing there. And I got to fix this thing there. I'm changing you and it takes pressure. And it takes a furnace to change us. God is faithful and he will do it. He says behold I make all things new. You wonder about the meaning of our experiences. You wonder why we go through these things. I'm hoping that God will give us the vision of what he has in mind. See like I said in the beginning we are so preoccupied with time. And brothers and sisters if we look around us we see people moving from time to eternity so rapidly. And you wonder is that still that red clay? Is that red clay? That ain't got no place in eternity. That can't even get across the waters. If you're living as clay the porter wants to speak to you. He says let me put you on the wheel. If you're living as a rock he says I will put you in the pressure cooker. I will bring some pressure to bear on your situation in your life. Because I got to make your life. You know what it takes to make a rock live. People say they live in stones. He says can these things live? And then he ain't finished yet. At the end of the day he wants a diamond. He wants a precious pearl. That's what God is satisfied with. And that's what he has in mind for you and me. That is the reason why we go through so many things. That is the reason why we have to go through. That is the reason why God has placed you where you have placed you. So that you and I can be a part of this family of God. This family that he has prepared for eternity for himself. We got there yet? Or are we still on the way? Well if you're still having difficulties in this life. If you're still having trials and testing. It means that the porter is still working on us. Some people say well I don't have no difficulties. I don't know where you all get the stress from. I'm a child of God and everything is going good with me. Well maybe the porter just stopped working with you. Maybe the blacksmith says there ain't nothing more I can do with you. I want to encourage you today. If you are a Christian and you're going through some stuff. Remember that God is still working on us. He's preparing you for eternity. And if you see someone Natasha going through some stuff. Say they're a Christian. If they're going through some stuff. Encourage them. Tell them God is still working on you. Encourage them. Don't condemn them. Say something must be wrong with you. Cause God taking you having problems as a Christian. You're having difficulty. Tell him he ain't finished with me yet. He's still taking. There's still some rough edges. There's still some stuff that he can't have in eternity. Be a yielded vessel. Let God do his work. Let God do his work in you and me. He is the porter. We are the clay. And we say he's doing a great work. I would encourage us today to go on with the Lord. I would encourage us to let him do his work in us. When he's finished the whole universe, the whole creation is going to marvel at the goodness of God. At the love of God. At the mercies of God. Be encouraged today. Pray that God would have touched our minds with the vision of the newness and the purpose that he leads us through. He's with you. He's with us. Because he promised never to leave nor forsake. He ain't going to get tired. He ain't going to sleep with his ancestors. And he keeps trying with us saying let's go on. This is a great cloud of witness. You know some people already made it. Paul says I fought the good fight. I finished the cause. I got there. I got there. There's hope brothers and sisters. This thing ain't just for nothing. We got a witness. We got witnesses of people who have seen it. And who got there. And they're encouraging you and me to keep pressing on. Be encouraged in the Lord. Can we stand to our feet? We can just give, pray and ask God to minister his word to our hearts and minds. No life I'm gaining every day. Still praying as I'm onward bound. Lord plant my feet on high. Lord lift me up and let me stand. By faith on high from stable land. A higher place that I have found. Lord plant my feet on high. Blessed Lord we pray for the ministry of the word. We ask oh God that you might open our eyes that we might see the vision. We say without vision the people cast off restraint and go their own way. But when we see mighty God we pray that we might just yield to you as you work in us your great salvation. Changing us oh God from common stone into precious pearls today. Touch our hearts and our minds that we might go in patience Lord and trust you more and more each day to finish the work that you started in us. We pray for those who have not yet begun the journey Lord. God these houses of clay cannot stand Lord. Cannot stand the fiery trials that are coming upon this earth Lord. And so we ask oh God in your mercy that you would snatch some in pity Lord God for your namesake and give us the strength and courage in Christ to go through the process. Knowing oh God that at the end there's something marvelous waiting for all of us who continue on in Christ. Be with us oh God during the week and cause us to meditate in the midst of a conflict of that which you're doing. Pray oh God for all those who are not here and for your people everywhere and thank you for the ministry of life that goes forth now from the throne of God and of the Lamb.