Under New Ownership | Northstar Church

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19

Looking for a fresh start, Benjamin Mees goes house hunting. Unfortunately, the only place he likes also happens to be part of Rosemoor Animal Park, a working but dilapidated zoo. He buys it hoping the zoo will bring his broken family closer. The zoo is under new management.

How often do you see a business put up a new sign that says, “under new management” or “new ownership”? There are various reasons for putting up a sign new management, but the inference is that the service will be better because the new management team is better. The new owners want you to know things are different so your experience will be different. The bottom line is that being under new management does not guarantee a better experience.

Unlike Benjamin Mees, however, it is rare to get a do-over, a reboot, a get out of jail free card and thus a chance to rewind and have a fresh start. Often it seems that our original course and direction in life seems to be the long-term course and we are stuck under the old management. The beauty of the message of Jesus Christ, however, is that you can stick up a under new management sign on your heart and it will make a huge difference in your life.

And when we are under God’s management, He wants to do new things in our lives. He wants us to forget about our past failures and disappointments and look to the future with anticipation of what He is going to do. God desires to work in our lives as never before, but we must surrender to Him. There are great benefits to be derived from being where God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do.

God not only wants to do a new thing in our lives. He wants to clarify our focus so that we can discover what God wants for us. The question is do we see the possibilities or the problems in change? In Isaiah 43:19 God says, “I am making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” God is able to transform the wilderness and desert areas of our lives.

God has already set into motion a new direction and a new purpose for your life — will you follow Him? When God says that He is going to do a new thing, you can be sure that He will follow through with His promise. God does have a plan for your life, but it’s not your job to sneak into his back office and try to find your file that lets you in on all the “secrets”. God’s not hiding something from you. We have the God-given abilities to think through options, assess the cost and dangers, pray for wisdom and direction … and then use 20 seconds of insane courage to prove that we are indeed under new management.

Discussion Questions:

Are we more concerned about God’s mission and less concerned about our mission?
If you had the ability, which part of your life would you like to put under new management?
What’s one thing has God asked you to do that you are too scared to try?
What can God do that I can’t concerning a new direction?
Whom can I lean on to support my purpose? How can I reach out to support a friend’s new direction in life?