Pastor Alex Pacheco
July 22, 2001 - W0129

Have you ever felt that if you could do something over again, you could do it better?  Many times, we get into conversations with one another, husbands and wives especially, and we say something and think, "Oh no! I shouldnít have said that to her. Iím gonna sleep in the doghouse tonight! I wish I could do it over again and say the right words."

Do you sometimes wish that you could even start your life over again?

The problem is that you cannot rewind the tape.  The past is behind you.  But, Iíve got good news for you today.  You can start over!  God is a God of fresh starts. Letís read the first verse from Psalms:

If youíve ever felt like quitting, youíve come to the right place today.  Weíre going to talk about the 5 secrets of making a fresh start. Now, I donít know if Pastor Wayne shares secrets, but I share secrets.  Iíll tell you guys all the scoops.

These 5 secrets are from Godís word, and will help you regardless of your background, your past, or how youíve messed up your life. You can make a fresh start today.

Jesus was walking through the streets of Jericho, and a large crowd was following Him.  A blind beggar sat by the side of the road, whose his name was Bartimaeus. Now, to be blind in those days, would leave you hurting because you could not work, read or write, or benefit from any modern methods of helping the blind. He was reduced to begging for a living.  Everyday, someone would carry him to the side of the road, place him on a pallet, and he would beg so he could eat.  At the end of each day, they would take him back home to sleep and start over again.  Bartimaeus had a miserable life!

One day, when Jesus was walking by, Bartimaeus thought, "This is my chance!  I gotta go for it. This is my opportunity to get a fresh start!" So he starts to yell and scream above the noise of the crowd saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Now, this is the first step to a fresh start with God:

1. Seize The Moment

Whatever youíre going to do, do it now!

Donít say next year, next month, or tomorrow. How many of you, every January, say, "Iím going to lose weight," but never get around to it?

When Bartimaeus got up that morning, he had no idea that Jesus Christ would pass by.  For all he knew, it was going to be another ordinary day ñ same place, same begging, same miserable, lonely, pitiful lifestyle.  So he had no time to prepare or plan for Jesus. It was just an opportunity that was dropping in his lap, and he had to seize the moment.  Letís read his story in the book of Mark:

Did you know that everyday there are opportunities all around you for a fresh start? You get them all the time. But, why is it that we donít take advantage of them?  The answer is just one word ñ procrastination.

The truth is that we already know the right things to do, and moreover, we already know the benefits of doing the right things in life. So why donít we do them?  We keep saying, "Iíll do them later, or someday Iíll get around to it."  But, the Bible warns us over and over again about presuming the future.

Monday is my day off, and I want to go fishing on Monday, but Iím not guaranteed a Monday ñ and neither are you!  You have no guarantees that you will live tomorrow, so whatever youíre going to do, you had better do it now.

I think that God often tells us, "Stop making excuses. Get on with it, and start living the way you know to do.  Give me your life now, and start living for me." Jesus himself said this in Luke:

If seizing the moment is the first secret, the second secret is to:

2. Tame Your Fears

If youíre going to make a fresh start with faith in your life, then youíve got to face your fears.  You need to toss them out, and not let them control you.  Fear has an incredible ability to paralyze our potential, and keep us from launching out with faith.

When we face that choice of faith or fear, if we choose fear it affects us in several ways.

• Skeptical ñ afraid of trying anything new
• Selfish ñ afraid to commit to God or others
• Short-sighted ñ we tend to focus on the past, and not the future

There are many fears that we face when it comes to stepping over the line to have faith.  However, Bartimaeus faced one that many of us face ñ the fear of disapproval or rejection.

He knew that shouting to Jesus in the crowd was not the right thing to do.  He knew that the people were going to look down on him for doing this, but this man was desperate. He knew that Jesus Christ was the only one who could help him.  Letís look at what happened:

When the crowd heard Bartimaeus shouting, they wanted him to quiet down because they believed that Jesus must have had better things to do than to minister to a blind beggar.  Did you know that Satan will whisper things like this to us?  When an opportunity to develop faith comes into our hearts, we hear voices that say, "Surely, God would not be interested in you!  Donít make a scene.  What are people going to think of you?  Do not rock the boat"

Listen to me.  Rock the boat, itís good fun!

Let me ask you, whoís disapproval do you fear the most?  Whoever that person is has now become your God.  They can keep you from having faith, or they can invite you to have faith. Peer pressure is not only for kids, the fear of disapproval is a struggle for all of us.

The truth is that you really wouldnít worry about how much others think of you, if you realized how little they think of you anyway.  People are not thinking about you, they are thinking of themselves.  Just like you.  But, God is asking you to do something greater and different than you have ever done ñ to depend on Him like you have never done before. Is it scary? You bet.

In that moment however, you and I have the choice. Am I going to fall back on my fears, and stay the way that I am, or am I going to look forward, and step forward in faith.

The third secret is to:

3. Announce Your Faith

Announce the change that you want to make in your life ñ what you are asking God to do. A secret faith is a shallow faith. Letís read what Bartimaeus said to Jesus:

Why would Jesus ask this question?  Jesus is the Son of God, and He knew what this guy needed.  So why ask? He was doing it for Bartimaeusí sake.  By asking this question, He allowed Bartimaeus to publicly announce his faith. Bartimaeus then declared three things through his request for healing: that He truly believed Jesus was the Son of God, that Jesus had the power to change him, and that Jesus will change him. It was a statement of faith.

Jesus Christ is asking you the same thing right now, "What do you want Me to do for you?" God wants to use you, bless you, change you, and do incredible things in your life, but you have to ask in faith.

Did you know that every time you set a goal for yourself, you are actually making a statement of faith?  You are saying, "Here is my goal, and this is what I believe that God can do in my life." Now there is only one qualifier when you set a goal. You need to also add the phrase, "If it is Godís will."

We do not know the future.  We donít know His plans for us. Letís look at the book of James:

This way, we allow God to work in our lives without our presumptions of the future blocking His best for our lives.

Announce your intentions, your goals, and your faith publicly. Thatís the third secret.  The fourth is to:

4. Receive Godís Grace

What Bartimaeus did here is that he received the grace of God into his life and allowed healing to take place. As Christians, we try to put on a happy face through our struggles, but I know a lot of you out there are hurting. I am glad you are here this morning, because Jesus Christ wants to give you a fresh start.

The emphasis here is on ëgiveí, because you cannot earn it, work for it, buy it, or do religious rituals to obtain it. All you need to do is receive the free gift of Godís grace and the ability to make a fresh start ñ regardless of your past, or what you have brought upon yourself.

How do you receive Godís blessing in your life? You do it by faith.

Some of you out there might say, "Pastor, I want to change, but I canít.  I want a fresh start, but Iím unable to change." The truth, is that you are right.  You canít change, because if you could, you would have done it already. You need a power greater than yourself to make the changes that really make a difference in your life. You need Godís power.

Bartimaeus was blind, but he had enough vision to see that Jesus Christ could help him.  He had enough vision to see that he needed grace ñ do you? Grace is not just for salvation, itís for the daily mistakes that we make in our lives.  If you donít have grace in your life, you are going to be filled with regret. When you are filled with regret, youíll be stuck in the past.  And when youíre stuck in the past, you cannot make a fresh start.

Now, the fifth secret is to:

5. Take The Next Step

What is the next step?  All of us are in different stages in our journeys, and I donít know what step you need to take, but I do know that you need to take one. Whether it is accepting Jesus in your life, or to be baptized, or to join a ministry, or to share Jesus with a friend, I donít know what it is, but youíve got another step to make.

If you listen to this message, and you donít take the next step, youíre going to be stuck in a rut.  And the only difference between a grave and a rut is itís length.  Your heart is going to shrivel up and wither away.  Unfortunately, the end result of failing to step out is that you are going to feel more and more distant from God.  God cannot help you with step 3, or 4, or 5, until you take step 1 or 2.

Now some of you might be saying, "Iíve been aiming to. Iíve been aiming to join that group. Iíve been aiming to join that ministry, or get baptized."  Can I give you some advice? Stop aiming ñ you need to pull the trigger.  Stop procrastinating.

When Bartimaeus regains his sight, he immediately does something ñ he starts to follow Jesus.  Before he met Jesus, he was just sitting beside the road, but after he has his encounter with Christ, he gets up and follows Him.  Now which of those two phases describes your life?  Which of those phases is more fulfilling?  Which of those phases has more joy, more meaning, and more satisfaction?  Which do you want to represent your life? Sitting beside the road, or following Jesus down the road?  There is only one way to follow Jesus, and that is to take the next step.

Faith is more than believing.  Faith is action, movement and activity.  Make a fresh start with faith right now!