As we approach the dawn of a new year, many of us feel the pull toward renewal. The turning of the calendar offers a natural moment to reflect, reset, and seek God afresh. In this message, Pastor Léveillé draws from several key moments in Scripture where God’s people marked the beginning of a new year with intentional steps toward Him. These examples challenge us to prepare our hearts deliberately for worship, holiness, and obedient service in the year ahead.
Make a Commitment to Worship
The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month thou shalt set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation… And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up (Exodus 40:1-2, 17 KJV).
God specifically chose the first day of the first month for Israel to erect the tabernacle, the place where He would meet with His people. This was no coincidence. From the very start of the new year, worship was to be established as the priority. Everything else—travel, battles, daily routines—would follow after the place of God’s presence was prepared.
This day was both prepared and purposeful. The materials were gathered, the roles assigned, and the instructions followed with careful obedience. Spiritual progress never happens by accident. Just as Israel could not simply drift into proper worship, we too must intentionally arrange our lives to make room for God’s presence. Worship requires planning: dedicated time, priority in our schedules, and deliberate space in our hearts.
God’s manifest presence followed their obedient preparation. In the same way, when Solomon later dedicated the temple with full obedience, the glory of the Lord filled the house so powerfully that the priests could not stand to minister. Renewal does not come automatically with a new year; it comes when we deliberately prepare space for Him.
Make a Commitment to Holiness
He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them… Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify… so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end (2 Chronicles 29:3, 17 KJV).
King Hezekiah began his reign by addressing the neglected and defiled temple. On the first day of the first month, he opened the doors and initiated a thorough cleansing. Priests and Levites removed every trace of uncleanness, carrying it away to the brook Kidron. They refused to carry the filth of the previous season into the new year.
Scripture repeatedly connects new beginnings with cleansing. Before reform, before revival, before national blessing, holiness was the priority. God always cleans before He fills. We may long to be filled with the Spirit, yet if our hearts remain cluttered with tolerated sin, compromise, or unnecessary weights, His controlling presence will be hindered.
As we enter a new year, we would do well to examine our lives honestly. Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord (Lamentations 3:40 KJV). Some things are outright sin; others may be permissible yet weigh us down, keeping us from running the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1 KJV). Holiness is intentional. It begins with reflection, repentance, and removal.
Make a Commitment to the Lord’s Calling
For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon… according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments (Ezra 7:9-10 KJV).
Ezra began his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem on the first day of the first month. His purpose was clear: to rebuild the temple and teach God’s law to the returned exiles. Yet this obedient step forward flowed from prior heart preparation. Ezra had already committed himself to know Scripture, practice it personally, and share it with others.
God’s calling is never mystical or accidental. It grows out of a life already walking closely with Him. Availability matters more than impressiveness. Clean, yielded vessels are the ones God uses. As we step into a new year, we may wonder what God wants us to do. A better starting question is whether we are yielded to what He is already doing in and around us. Faithfulness in present obedience clarifies future direction.
Conclusion
A new year feels like a blank page, yet it will resemble the old one unless we act with intention. The examples of Israel at the tabernacle, Hezekiah cleansing the temple, and Ezra beginning his journey all show the same pattern: glorious things happened because God’s people responded to His Word with deliberate preparation.
None of these fresh starts were accidental. They required planning, cleansing, and yielded obedience. May we, as individuals and as a church family, prepare a place for worship, remove whatever defiles, and step forward in faithful service. Most importantly, if you have never trusted Christ as Saviour, today is the day to receive Him. He offers forgiveness and new life to all who call upon Him.
Let us enter the coming year not with drift, but with devotion, ready for whatever the Lord has prepared for us.
