Free to Follow

Introduction

Shiny new things—that lose their luster. Styrofoam surfboard @ the beach. And then it broke.

Q. Has anything like that ever happened to you?

A lot of times the shiny new things in this life lose their lustre pretty fast. They aren’ t nearly as cool as we thought they were.

They don’t bring the happiness that we thought they would. And they don’t fulfill us like we hope they will.

At the end of the day the new stuff just becomes old stuff.

But when Jesus is our savior and we belong to God there are some new things that we get that will never lose their lustre—they are continually new.

So let’s dive in to our lesson tonight and see 4 New Things Every Believer Gets.

I. New Life (Eph. 2:1-10)

The first things every follower of Christ gets is a new life given to us through faith by grace.

Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of my favorite passages in all of the Bible. I highly encourage you (in a high voice) to go and read the full text. It paints a very clear picture of salvation and teaches God’s role and our role in it. But let me highlight some verses here.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”

Let me ask you a question: what can dead person do? Nothing.

God wants us to understand that when it comes to being saved we did not come to God seeking salvation. We were dead.

A dead person does nothing to contribute to their rescue.

Sometimes people will paint a picture of salvation as if we were valiantly swimming against ocean currents desperately reaching out to God. Our efforts got us most of the way there and then God tosses us a buoy and we grab on.

But this isn’t the picture that Scripture paints—in regards to our spiritual life—we were dead—at the bottom of the ocean—not moving— “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? You! But you’re dead!”

Verse 1 is pretty clear. Now the picture gets clearer in verses 4 and 5.

Ephesians 2:4–5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”

We were dead in our sins…but God is rich in mercy.

Who can give a quick definition for mercy? Mercy is not receiving what we deserve. We deserve death because of our sins. But God is rich in mercy and He saves.

Why does God do this? It’s in the text…

Because He loves you! Why did God save you? Or if you aren’t saved—why does God want to save you? Because He loves you!

God loves us and so He gives us faith.

If you are saved it is because you placed your faith in Christ. But have you ever wondered where that faith came from?

We often don’t question where the good things we enjoy come from—if you keep placing steak on my plate I’m not gonna be quick to question where it came from—I’m just happy for the steak.

Verse 8 answers this question about where our faith comes from…

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”

Remember dead people can do nothing and that includes conjuring faith…it is a gift to you from God.

Why am I laboring at this point? I want you to see what a gift your new life in Christ is. If we rightly understand that we didn’t deserve to be saved and that we didn’t do anything to earn salvation or achieve it—then we’ll be really grateful for the new life that God has given us.

Contrast time:

Ephesians 2:2–3 “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 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.

This is who we are before we are saved.

Ephesians 2:5–7 “even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

This is who we are after we have been saved.

Say it with me— In Christ I have a new life.

II. New Hearts (Ezekiel 36:26)

Every year, growing up I would get excited for the start of school, because it meant shopping for new clothes. Do you guys still do that?

Okay imagine that it’s the first day of school—you’ve got new clothes—but you keep wearing your old shoes? It wouldn’t match right? Old shoes don’t match new clothes.

In the same way—old hearts don’t match new lives.

Here’s the good news—when God gives us a new life in Christ—He also gives us a new heart to match.

Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Why is it important that we get a new heart?

Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

God doesn’t just give us a new life but gives us a new heart that is not like our old hearts of stone.

—our new hearts are not hardened towards God’s love or rule over our lives.

If you are a Christian you have a new heart that can obey God and even enjoy it. Sometimes our flesh will try to convince us that the old ways of death are more comforting—more nourishing than God’s ways. The evil I know is better than the good I don’t.

But this is a lie—I want you to know that whatever sins you are struggling with have been defeated by Christ, they have been paid for by Christ, they don’t don’t define you anymore, and God has given you a new heart to go with your new life so that you can choose the good and live in freedom.

Say it with me—In Christ I have a new heart.

III. New Direction (Luke 9:23)

New life, new heart, and…a new direction.

Luke 9:23 “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

What do you think it means to follow Jesus?

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Here’s the truth we are all following something—but

The new direction that God gives us follows Jesus.

And we can’t follow Jesus and something else at the same time.

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

You can substitute the word money out for anything we might be tempted to follow. You cannot serve God and ….?

Are you following God? When you think about your future do you consult God? Do you pray about your desires and your wants? Do you ask God to show you what He wants you to do?

I don’t ask those questions to guilt you—adults need that reminder too—but I want you to know that trusting Jesus for salvation is not just a “Get out of Hell free card”. He gives us a new life, a new heart, and a new direction to walk in—a direction where He is leading.

Say it with me, “In Christ I have a new direction”

This brings us to our last point.

IV. New Purpose (Matthew 5:14-16)

A new direction gives us a new purpose.

Okay—I’ve got an exciting opportunity. There’s a $100 prize. I’ll give $100 to whoever can show me the Bible verse that says following Christ starts when you’re an adult.

That was a little mean and a safe bet on my part because it’s not there.

No matter your age God intends to use you for His glory and the good of others. Listen to what God says about you:

Matthew 5:14–16 ““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Story of Jenna being called to Uganda—no University—no medical/dentist degree—she can sew, crochet, and knit. God uses her mightily.

Being the light of the world doesn’t mean necessarily that God wants you to go to Uganda—but what if it did?

That might scare you. That’s understandable. I want to encourage you to make Jesus your highest treasure. When Jesus is our highest treasure we can follow Him wherever it leads.

This life is temporary but after you die eternity is forever.

When God is our highest treasure it makes living in our new purpose easier.

It gives us the right perspective about our lives and allows us to find joy and satisfaction in being used by God to be lights in the darkness.

Say it with me, “In Christ I have a new purpose”

Conclusion

My foam surfboard was new but it wasn’t fulfilling.

God has a satisfying, fulfilling, purposeful life for you in Jesus. He gives you a new life, heart, direction, and purpose.

If we are going to live in the newness of all these things then we must follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

So let me ask you, whose lead are you following?

Let’s pray.