What difference Will the Reality of the Kingdom Make in My Life? | Old Things Will Pass Away and New Things Will Come

by Alan Smith

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

For a long time, the land of Canaan belonged to God’s people, but they didn’t live there. There were no Jewish farms, vineyards, settlements or cities. There was just the promise from God given to patriarchs long ago. The land was theirs. They did not possess it, but it nevertheless belonged to them. The book of Joshua details the long process of laying hold and taking possession of that which was theirs all along. Inheritance comes from the promise. Possession comes from faith and obedience.

We also have an inheritance that comes from the promise. In Christ, all old things pass away and everything is made new—this is the land that belongs to us in Christ. Many believers who recognize they are not living in this land make the mistake of questioning the validity of the promise. Yet the promise remains. Our inheritance of new creation lies before us to possess through faith and obedience.

The long process of the Israelites conquering Canaan’s former occupants and settling in the land illustrates for us the process of discipleship. When we first believed in Christ, something brand-new was given to us—the very life and nature of Jesus himself. His life and nature provide us with all we need to displace all old things that still occupy but do not belong. Like the children of Israel, these old things are not displaced all at once, but gradually, in a process of faith and obedience whereby we respond to God’s presence and voice. In His power, we lay hold of all the new creation He has fully provided for us in Christ. As we experience life within His kingdom in this manner, we can truly begin to experience the falling away of the old things, and we can possess the inheritance that belongs to us through the promise.

1. What ways have you questioned the promise because did not match your experience?

2. How do you relate the old things in your life to the giants who occupied the land God had promised His people?

3. How does the truth—that we lay hold of our inheritance by faith and obedience—change the way you view and apply 2 Corinthians 5:17 in your life?

4. How will your life be different once you take possession of your inheritance?

What Difference Does the Reality of the Kingdom Make in My Life? | I Am Not at the Mercy of My Past, My Limitations or My Circumstances

by Alan Smith

I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Isaiah 42:6–9

A lot rides on your credit score—home ownership, employment, insurance coverage … the list could go on for a while. The basic concept of a credit score is that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Those who paid their bills yesterday are likely to pay their bills tomorrow.

Many things in our lives work like that. Present circumstances and current limitations are defined by that which has been. Many people feel trapped—defined by past mistakes and regrets; limited by decisions made and words spoken long ago; held captive by “would haves” and “could haves” and ‘should haves.” This is really the natural course of things. We get what we’ve got coming. What comes around goes around.

Isaiah 42 speaks of the coming Messiah seven centuries before Jesus’ birth. He is the one called in righteousness, the one who holds the hand of God, the one given as a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles. But when this Messiah comes, what will he do? What will the nature of his Messianic role be?

Isaiah lists two descriptors: He will open blind eyes and release prisoners. Those held captive by what they cannot see and do will be set free. No longer will God’s people be held captive to their past. Through the Messiah, God will declare a new thing that will displace the old. The blind will see. The prisoners will be released. God himself will step in and interrupt the natural flow of cause and effect. In the kingdom of God, I have access to a completely different reality. I can have a new start. I can be set free from my past into a brand-new kind of life, a brand-new way of seeing and a brand-new freedom from previous limitations and current circumstances.

1. In what areas of your life are you blind or imprisoned because of your past?

2. What would it look like if Jesus were to release you from that completely?

3. How might your outlook on the future be different if you were no longer defined by your past?