Do I Need to Rededicate My Life?
Notes
Transcript
INTRO
INTRO
Have you ever felt distant from God?
maybe it was for a week
a month
a year or years
I can confidently say that all of us in here have found ourselves in that situation
some of you may feel that way right now
Growing up in church and being a Christian for many years now, I know I’ve felt this way before
Not only have I felt that way before but I also have talked to many of you who have too
and almost every time it leads to a question
Do I need to rededicate my life to Jesus?
Sometimes it isn’t even a question
sometimes it’s a statement…
“hey Fisher, i felt this way or I was caught up in sin so i’ve rededicated my life to Jesus”
TENSION
TENSION
And to that statement I always want to raise some questions like:
what does that even mean?
Where did you even get that concept from?
And is that what the Bible actually calls us to do?
See tonight I want to show you that the Bible never talks about “rededication”
but actually gives us something so much better…
the Gospel
TRUTH
TRUTH
Before we look at what the bible says about rededication we must first define what rededication is
What is Rededication?
Rededication: is the idea that, “I gave my life to Jesus once, but I messed up or feel distant from Him, so I need to give it back again.”
And at first glance that doesn’t so bad, does it?
I’m a follower of Jesus but i’m in season where I feel distant from God or I’m caught up in some sin that I shouldn’t be
so I’m going to rededicate my life to Jesus or I’m going to give my life back to Jesus
Now, while on the outside that seems like the Christian thing to do
internally or theologically this practice is doing something very dangerous
The problem with rededication is that when it comes to our salvation it takes our eyes off of Jesus and puts them unto ourself
Meaning it makes my relationship with God about my passion or feelings, my performance, my promises instead of Christ’s finished work
Rededication is like trying to climb a tall ladder to get to God, but random rungs are broken
You climb a little, it snaps, and you fall back down
So you get up and try again…and again…and again
But no matter how many times you rededicate, the ladder is still broken
You never make it to the top…
That’s what rededication does
it makes us think the Christian life is about climbing up to God
when the truth of the gospel is that God came down to us in Christ
Ultimately rededication says, “I gave my life Jesus, then took it back, then gave it back to Jesus, then took it back, and now I’m giving it back to Jesus again”
Your salvation is this constant game tug-a-war with Jesus all based on how you feel or the actions you are committing
Yet the Gospel says something completely different, “Jesus gave His life for me and that changes everything.”
Tonight I want to show you the Three C’s of the Gospel
these are three things that rededication tries to offer but can only be found in the gospel
Let’s start with the first thing rededication can’t give you
Comfort
Rededication never gives comfort
It tells you
‘If you feel far from God, then try harder
If you don’t feel passionate, then dig deeper
If you sin, then make another promise
But that doesn’t bring rest, it only keeps you on the treadmill of performance
But the gospel always gives comfort
Why?
Because your standing with God doesn’t rest on your feelings, your passion, or your promises
it rests on Christ and what He has done
His cross
His resurrection
And His Spirit living in you
Here’s the reality:
when you put your faith in Christ, you aren’t instantly made perfect
You are made new but then you enter a lifelong process the Bible calls sanctification
Sanctification is God slowly shaping you to look more like Jesus
And that process is beautiful but it’s also really hard
There will be times when:
You feel distant from God.
You read your Bible and nothing “clicks.”
You show up to Sunday or MDWK and it doesn’t “hit” like camp or that retreat did.
You fall into sin.
You walk through trials that shake you.
In all those moments, you begin to wonder:
Am I even close to God anymore?
Did I lose Him?
Do I need to rededicate?
But here’s the good news:
your status with God is not determined by your emotions, your consistency, or your promises
It’s secured by Christ alone
Think about camp or a retreat
The music is powerful, the messages hit different, you’re surrounded by friends who are all in, and it feels like you’re on fire for God
But then you come home…
The high fades
Life gets hard again
Suddenly it doesn’t feel the sam and you think, ‘I must need to rededicate my life’
But here’s the truth: the gospel isn’t built on mountaintop highs
And following Jesus isn’t a life of only mountaintop experiences
Following Jesus is built on the steady, unchanging love of Christ who walks with you in the valleys, too
David understood this
Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I live at the eastern horizon
or settle at the western limits,
even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
Even in the darkest valleys, when he felt far, he knew God’s hand was holding him
Paul understood this
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Sanctification is long
It’s slow
It’s hard
But God is the One doing the work, not you
That’s why he could later say
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul is clear…
Not even your dry seasons
failures
feelings
or anything else can separate you from Jesus
And if you don’t take David or Paul’s words hold on to Jesus’ promise
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Jesus promised that nothing can snatch you out of His or the Father’s hands
You salvation is not secured by how well you can hold on to Jesus but by Him holding on to you
So here’s the comfort of the gospel:
You will stumble
You will walk through dry seasons
You will feel distant
You will not always be “on fire.
But none of that changes your status before God
Rededication keeps you striving, but the gospel keeps you secure.
Rededication makes you restless, but the gospel gives you rest.
Rededication makes you wonder if you’ve lost God, but the gospel assures you He’s never lost you
But let me be clear: while the gospel brings comfort, it doesn’t bring complacency
God doesn’t just leave us in our sin or let us stay the same
The Spirit also brings something rededication can never truly give
2. Conviction
Rededication never really brings conviction
It just makes you feel guilty
Every time you send it makes you start thinking,
I just need to try harder
I just need to do better
Or I’ll make another promise to God that i’m going to quit
But that doesn’t lead to lasting change
It just creates a cycle of guilt and shame
Bu the gospel brings true conviction
and Conviction is not the same as guilt
Guilt says, “You’re a failure so give up.”
Conviction says, “This sin is killing you so turn back to God.”
Conviction is a gift of the Spirit, because it leads us to repentance
and repentance leads us to life
Imagine you walk into your bedroom tonight and there is mold everywhere on the walls
Rededication is like just painting over it with a fresh coat of paint
For a little while it looks good, but the mold is still spreading underneath
Eventually it breaks back through, even worse than before
That’s what happens when we ‘rededicate’ instead of repent
we cover up the problem without actually dealing with it
Conviction is like actually dealing with mold in your house
It’s tearing down the rotten and disgusting walls
then treating the mold at it’s source
it’s a lot of work
it takes a lot of time
it’s painful at times
but it actually cleans and fixes the problem
Conviction from Holy Spirit is God telling us we need to tearing out the rotten wood and treat the mold in our life aka sin at its source
Paul describes the feeling of Conviction as Godly Grief
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.
Rededication often brings worldly grief
it lumps shame and guilt upon us
Bu the gospel brings godly grief
it leads us to repentance which gives life and freedom
But what does this repentance look like?
what is it?
Peter tells us what repentance is
Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,
Peter doesn’t say that repentance is trying harder
No, repentance it’s turning away from sin and turning back to God
it’s a 180
John tells us what this looks like
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Repentance is confessing our sins to God, trusting that His is faithful forgives us of our sins, and help us turn from them
Remember it’s not this outward cover up
It get to the sources and treating our heart
it’s asking God to help us love Him more than our sins
So here’s the difference:
Rededication says, ‘I messed up, so I need try harder”
Conviction says, ‘I messed up, but God’s grace is bigger, and I need to turn from sin and run back to Him.’
Rededication pushes you away from God in shame while conviction it draws you back to Him in repentance
So we’ve seen that the gospel gives us comfort when we feel distant
conviction when we fall into sin
But for some of you, it may be deeper than that
You don’t need comfort or conviction
3. Conversion
Rededication never gives conversion
It just puts you on a treadmill of promises
“I’ll try harder”
“I’ll do better this time”
but it never makes you new
But the gospel always gives conversion
See salvation isn’t about you trying again and again and again
it’s about Jesus making you alive
It’s about becoming a new creation, not a better version of your old self
Imagine a car with a dead battery
You can scrub it
polish it
and shine it until it looks brand new
but the car still won’t start; It has no life in it
That’s what rededication does
it polishes the outside but never brings real life
Conversion is different
Conversion is when God takes the dead battery out and gives you a brand new one
It’s not you trying harder
it’s Him giving you new life
Paul says it like this
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!
The gospel doesn’t offer to clean up your life, it makes you brand new
And this isn’t a result of promising to God you will do better or try harder
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It’s a result of confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing
He lived the sinless life you couldn’t
Died the death for your sins
and resurrected from the grave 3 days later
and in doing so you are saved, you are made a new creation, you go from death to life
And that is what it’s all about
see, Jesus isn’t looking for people who rededicate their life to him over and over and over again
He is looking for people who are born again in Him
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
So here’s the difference:
Rededication says, ‘I’ll try again.’
Conversion says, ‘Jesus makes me new.’
Rededication is trusting your salvation in what you can do, while conversion is trusting your salvation in what Christ has done.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
We’ve walked through the three things rededication can’t give you but the gospel can: Comfort, Conviction, and Conversion.
Now the question is:
What is the Gospel calling you to do tonight?
Is it comfort?
Some of you are already saved, but you feel distant from God
You’ve been chasing that ‘camp high,’
you’ve been discouraged because your Bible reading feels dry
worship doesn’t feel the same
or you’ve messed up again
You don’t need to rededicate
you need to rest
Rest in the gospel truth that your salvation is secured
not in your feelings
not in your passion
not in your promises
but in what Christ has already done and what He is still doing in you
Tonight God is inviting you to take comfort in His grip on you
Is it Conviction?
Some of you are stuck in sin
Maybe nobody knows about it or maybe everybody does
And rededication has just been a way to cover it up
making another promise
painting another coat of paint over the mold
But the Spirit of God is convicting you tonight
Not to shame you, but to call you to repentance.
To confess your sin, to turn from it, and to turn back to God
Conviction is not God pushing you away
it’s Him pulling you close
Tonight God is inviting you to repent and be cleansed
Is it Conversion?
And some of you, if you’re honest, you’ve been trying to climb a broken ladder to God your whole life
You’ve tried rededication
you’ve tried good works
you’ve tried being spiritual
but you’ve never actually been saved
You don’t need another rededication
you need salvation
You need Jesus to take your dead heart and make you alive
You need to stop striving and start trusting
Tonight God is inviting you to stop running in circles and be born again.
RESPONSE
RESPONSE
So again, What is the Gospel calling you to do tonight?
Comfort
to rest in the security of Christ’s finished work
Conviction
to repent of the sin He’s exposing and turn back to Him
Conversion
to trust Jesus for the very first time as Lord and Savior
Whatever it is, tonight is the night to respond
Don’t walk out of here thinking you need to rededicate
Walk out of here knowing that the gospel offers you something far better: comfort, conviction, and conversion
