welcome to your new life
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Intro and Tension
Intro and Tension
First car = Sigma | $500 - I thought - can make it better | Screeching Sound | never got better = spent lots money
Bought great car = no issues | Wow this is living
Here’s the point. Jesus didn’t come to make you better = That’s what Life offers | Jesus came to make you NEW
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
Title: Welcome to your new LIFE
My Hope: Jesus isn’t a sprinkling agent to make you better - He didn’t come to make bad people good, he came to make dead people, alive.
*prayer*
Series | New Birth |
Last week | How Christ splits History and puts us in NEW Story | HIS story.
Where going today? (books) What is NEW story about? He doesn’t make YOUR story better | He puts you in NEW Story and gives you a NEW LIFE | What are implications?
Let’s begin
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
This is where ended last week | If believe in HIS Name | Born of God | What does this mean?
Fast Forward | Jesus Adult | Has conversaion with man named Nicodemus |
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Completley Counter Culturul | Then & Now
Who Nicodemus? Believed gets to Kingdom of God because He is Jew |
Ladder System.
Now? climb ladder |
*Best Parent* *Most Successful* *etc*
Trapped in Comparison
and Jesus comes along with radical idea
Nothing you can do to make yourself “Good” or “Better than anyone”
as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Problem Is: Curve of Sin makes us feel better | “I’m a pretty good person compared to that guy” (Graphic) - Can slide anywhere along
However = Sin = Hamartano = Missing the Mark.
We weren’t just bad people needing to get better,
dead people in rebellion against God.
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Spiritually dead | This is message of Christmas;
Jesus came to make Spirituall dead people ALIVE and give them a NEW LIFE.
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Doesn’t matter how big YOUR story is | Dead person still going to be dead = Every story that is not God’s ends same way |
But Jesus Saying: I came to take you | Transform you | Put you in biggst story in History | Why? 2 reasons - Love, and you couldn’t.
But it’s your choice.
Who’s knows what this is ? Yes Bread -strts with Flour, water, yeast. - Yeast mentioned in Bible as representing Sin. born from because of Adam - Ends as Bread
Bread has a purpose - Great sandwhiches - You can make a chemical change with Bread - Anyone know?
Put Bread in Toaster = Changes -
You come to Christ - there is REAL CHANGE, you’re not just better bread - you are now TOAST (Fire etc)
If you are TOAST - You have DIFFERENT PURPOSE!!
Because we have NEW LIFE | Implications for NEW LIFE
1. There’s a new Author
You no longer Author of story | In new story with New Life, New Author
and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
He is Author of Life - and He owns everything.
2. You get unconditional Love
For some = hard | Love you recieve from the world may be conditional on your performance.
but God - He is proud of you because you are His.
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
I’ve said it before | You will not love others, if you have not first been loved.
You can be religions = Easy. Those abide in God, have no other choice. you get and you will give.
3. Can’t make up for it - Have to drop it.
Some have made big mistake = Think bigger than others = collected some stuff along way.
Backpack illustration
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
You need to understand - He died for all of it | on cross = It is finished.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
You don’t have Sin that is bigger than Cross.
4. You have a New Enemy
New Life | New Story | New Enemy
Not Derek from HIghschool.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
and at beginning of Christmas, Jesus was the light that was going to outshine the darkness
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Ever since Garden of Eden | Satan thought he had won | at Christ’s Birth, we read, darkness has not overcome light and at resurrection - The enemy…has been.. defeated.
Know you’re enemy - You have one = Satan
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
Completely counter cultural - brings us to last implication;
5. You have new rules
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Means we have different rules | Old story, in world, world rules | New story, New Author, Jesus rules.
I read this and think “Beam me up then” - Then Jesus has to ruin it;
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
Not out of world but keep them from evil one…why?
Because God’s Story, is all about Redemption - And He wants to use you to do it.
so instead of quoting “In this world, but not of”
Maybe we can say;
“Not of this world, but sent into” - To complete a heavenly purpose.
Conclusion and Inspo
Conclusion and Inspo
This Christmas -Wouldn’t it be great - Go to family gathering with contentment in heart?
Skip “How is work” but start with “how is life…do you have it?”
What does your life look like if you recognised who the author is?
If you recieved / accepted HIS love?
If put backpack down
If you could let go of bitterness?
and you started playing by the right rules?
Right now - offer on table for NEW LIFE - Just like Jesus, sat with Nicodemus, he is saying…you have to be born again.
The message is not forget old story - look at old story, remember old story, but live…in the new story.
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Maybe today, is the time for you to come into God’s Family.
*prayer*