new mercies | Pastor David Turner

And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. — Genesis 13:3-4

My father often told me, “First things first.” Sometimes we worry about things that are outside of our control, or we rush into a project without establishing an effective plan, or we never begin because we are overwhelmed. In our walk with God, we can often wonder where to begin, especially if we have been distracted or stuck. Let me help you start again. Let me encourage you: 2024 can be a reset for you.

I want to show you how you, like Abraham, you can get unstuck and move into God’s plan for your life. It is not too late; you can get back on track with your relationship with God.

In most office jobs I have worked in I became the default tech guy. Let me be clear, I have no IT expertise. Maybe it is because my generation is the ones that grew up in the technological explosion, being the first ones to learn computers, the internet, and smart phones. Whatever the reason, I often find myself helping people with whatever techy-glitch they faced. I often told my co-workers, “I really only have two tools in my belt: reset or baseball bat.” Almost every time, resetting a device will solve the problem. And I have found we often need a reset in life. A good night sleep resets our system. A healing conversation resets a friendship. Getting back to church helps us reset our spiritual walk. Setting a new goal resets growth. So, how do we reset our relationship with God?

The Good news: In the Kingdom, there is abounding grace and rich, new mercies every day. You can start over because God is the God of second chances- and third, and fourth…and tenth, etc. He is an expert at divine resets. We always begin in the mercy of God by responding to God in worship. When you want or need to begin again in life, start with worship. It is a response to His mercy; it is the way to receive His grace and realign with the good purpose He has for you. If there has been compromise or failure, worship grounds you in God’s redeeming love. If you have been distracted or defeated, worship will reorient you to the most important, highest calling of loving God. If you are in pain or needing hope, worship postures your heart to receive God’s healing presence.

Let’s look at Abraham’s example:

Abraham’s relationship with God began with an encounter with God. God called, God chose, God revealed Himself to Abraham. In this encounter, Abraham received a promise and a purpose from God. The amazing thing about Abraham, is that He believe God, left everything, and followed the Lord into this promise and purpose.

“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him. — Genesis 12:1-4

The first thing Abraham did, when God showed him the Promised Land, was worship. For him it looked like building an altar and calling on God. Though we may not build physical altars anymore, we still offer God sacrifices through our praise and we still call on the name of the Lord. Abraham’s response to God’s word – His promise and purpose–was worship. This is how Abraham began. This is how we begin. Worship is the expression of faith; it is the posture of obedience. Worship is always how we begin.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. – Genesis 12:7-8

But then, a famine came upon the land. Abraham was in a desperate situation so he went to Egypt with his family because the economy of that nation was not as affected by the famine.

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. — Genesis 12:10

However, it seems disillusionment set in. Abraham may have wondered, “Why would God call me to a place in famine? Why did He promise blessing where there is lack?” He became afraid, thinking people would harm him, rather than trusting God to fulfill His word. How often do we start well only to become discouraged and disappointed with God? How often do we question God in the process and become sidetracked? And in that place where our faith is being tested, we are often tempted to compromise.

God protected his wife Sarah, despite Abraham’s lack of covering towards her. God led Abraham out of Egypt and back into the Promised Land, despite Abraham’s lack of faith. God blessed Abraham abundantly, despite his compromise. God’s plan and promise cannot be stopped! He is the God of abundant mercy and the invitation is always to start again. When God showed him mercy, Abraham returned to the first place he had settled. He rebuilt the altar and called on the Lord again.

And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. — Genesis 13:3-4

Do you see it? He went to the place of the “beginning” where he had been “at first”. He started over. He began again. He pushed “reset”. And how did he begin again? With worship. He worshipped the God who is rich in mercy, the God of forgiveness, whose calling is irrevocable. He worshipped the God of covenant who is faithful even when we are not. He worshipped the God of promise who cannot lie. Just like Abraham, God loves you. He has made promises to you and has a purpose for your life. Like Abraham, God’s mercy is new every morning. Like Abraham, you are invited to start again.

Worship is the reset we need. It is the first thing. It is how we begin and begin again. Have you become distracted with life’s anxieties, found yourself stuck in compromise, or grown weary because of delay? You can get back on track; you can begin again. God is waiting for you to drawn near to Him. Here is how you can build a spiritual altar and call on the name of the Lord.

Listen to David’s words from Psalm 18:1-3:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Like David, build an altar with your words or a song. Call on the Lord by opening your mouth and directing your heart towards God with words or songs of love and trust. Then ask Him for what you need. Make worship a part of your daily time with God. Cultivate this kind of loving adoration in your heart towards God every day. As you do, your heart will open to God’s grace and your spirit will grow stronger in faith. Those distractions will part, and clarity and focus will come. That shame will melt away, and confidence will increase. God’s healing will flow to your heart. You will posture yourself to hear the Lord.

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If you live in the Saint Louis area, we would love for you to join us any weekend at one of our campuses. You can also check us out online. We pray you find the right community of Christ-followers for you wherever you live.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “We got off on the wrong foot”? Have you ever felt this way? Maybe you made the wrong impression, used the wrong tone in an argument, or got stuck in a bad habit. We use this phrase because HOW YOU BEGIN MATTERS.

Your starting point, your foundation, your first move, your source matters. How you begin shapes the rest of your day or your year; shapes the rest of the conversation, relationship, or experience; shapes subsequent actions and decisions. Cause and effect. Like dominoes, how we start something ripples, or even avalanches into the future.

Let me give you some examples of how you begin matters:

If I begin my day in God’s presence, I am more at rest, calm. I can mentally process the long sequences of urgent tasks before me. But if I do not spend time soaking in God’s love, I am more likely to be agitated, overwhelmed, irritable. I’ll work hard, but not as efficient and without peace. The domino effect is either increasing joy or increasing anxiety. This can affect our co-workers, customers, family, and so on.

If I begin a relationship with thankfulness, I am more likely to be kind in my words, let little things go, and focus on the importance of the person and our connection. The domino effect is either increasing tension or increasing intimacy. If I begin conversation with humility, it is more likely to move towards healthy conflict resolution. But if I begin with an accusatory tone or harsh words, it is more likely to produce defensiveness in the other person and increasing unresolved conflict.

In most cultures, you can’t begin business or negotiations without first building trust through conversation. I know my wife loves to partner in ministry with me but only if we are emotionally connected first. I think God is the same: He desires relationship first, so that the work of ministry flows from intimacy with Him.

HOW YOU BEGIN MATTERS. Don’t let your day get away from you. Don’t let you year get away from you. Don’t let that relationship get away from you. Don’t start off on the wrong foot. Start off on the right foot. Learn how to begin each day, each season, each year, each relationship, each conversation.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23

Hear is the good news: the scriptures say that God’s mercies are new every morning. There are a few things I relish about this truth:

First, that the mercies come from God – a good, loving Father who is for us and not against us. They are HIS mercies flowing from HIS unfailing love. This is proven by how He gave His only Son so we could be forgiven and reconciled to Him by trusting in Jesus (John 3:16).

Second, that there are many, many mercies. It doesn’t say one mercy, but many, never ending. There is no allowance or cap on His mercy. He is a rich and generous God—that is a great combination!

And third, that these many mercies from God are new every morning. Even if I used up a lot of mercies the day before, there is a fresh batch of abundant mercies again the next day, and the next, and the next. He is the God of redemption and restoration. He is unfailing in His faithful love towards His children. So even if you started on the wrong foot or have been hobbling around on the wrong foot for some time, there are new mercies waiting for you from God today (or tomorrow, if you are a procrastinator).

ALWAYS start in God’s mercies. Pause each morning to thank God and listen to His word. Orient yourself in truth. Ground yourself in His presence. Focus on the Kingdom. Then live from that place throughout your day. When you begin in the loving delight of God, the rest of your day can flow in rest. Pause before you enter conversations and reorient yourself in thankfulness and forgiveness. Receive God’s mercy and dish it out. If He is richly generous, be richly generous. If there is abundance of new mercies for you, let those mercies overflow to others. As you do this, healing, reconciliation, and deeper intimacy with God and others can flow through your relationships in 2024.

How can you start on the right foot in 2024? For our church, we sense God saying, “MORE GRACE”. He wants to teach us to live by increasing dependence on His Spirit. He wants us to live and serve from a place of abiding in Christ. We are going to learn how to receive and align with God’s grace and see that flow to every area of our lives with the abundant blessing of God. We are praying every wall in your heart will be torn down and you will be empowered to receive the fullness of God’s grace for you. We are praying you learn to live from the right source—in Christ.

Want to invite Jesus into your life? Learn more.

Looking for a home church?

Expansion Church