Hope in God’s Final Exchange

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Introduction

Recap

The Exchanged life is a life of Christ-Likeness

The Exchanged life is a life of service

The exchanged life is a life of sacrifice

Today is all about Hope in God’s final exchange

Think about how hard you worked to become a starter on the team, or to make the squad, or to beat that guy or girl in that match. Think about how much time you spent studying to pass that test. Think about how much work you put in to make the band or get that part you wanted. You worked hard to earn and save the money for whatever it was you were saving up to get! In most cases, you wouldn’t have known what it felt like to get what you wanted had you not put in the hard work required to earn it. And even when we work hard and come up short, there’s still a tremendous lesson to be learned in giving it our all.

As we wrap up our time in Exchange, I want to challenge you to consider something: living the “exchanged life” isn’t easy. It’s hard for several reasons. And though succeeding in living the “exchanged life” doesn’t exactly come through your hard work, there is a lot to be said for giving Jesus everything you are to become more like Him. Let’s take a look at why the exchanged life is so challenging.

We will begin this in Hebrews 12:1–3 “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.”

The “Exchanged Life” isn’t easy

Explanation Hebrews 12:1-3.

The author of Hebrews is using the image of a runner as a metaphor to describe devoting ourselves to living the exchanged life. In verse 1, when the author says to “lay aside every weight” that hinders us from living the “exchanged life” and “sin which clings so closely, ’ he’s doing two things:

1) He’s acknowledging that living our lives as followers of Jesus is hard, and

2) he’s pointing out what’s hard about it.

The stuff of everyday life does weigh us down. It gets in our way, makes life feel heavy, and carrying around all this extra weight due to the “stuff life brings” makes it difficult to focus on living a godly life. Sin does “cling so closely” to us, slowing us down!

However, the author also gives us the solution to sticking with it when the going gets tough and feels heavy. In verse 2, he says, “No matter how bad it gets, don’t take your eyes off Jesus. He’s been through this race, too. And He did it so you could do it. ” Jesus joyfully took on the Cross, especially for us, an overwhelmingly awful situation to embrace. The author of this passage is saying that this fact alone should give us strength when things get tough.

Illustration

Application

The race is hard, but the problem isn’t usually the race, it’s what we’re looking at

Identify one “weight or hindrance” this week.

Replace it with something that points you to Jesus

Simply start your day with “Jesus, help me fix my eyes on YOU today.”

Living the Exchanged life will put you at odds with the World. 1 Peter 4:12–17 “Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”

Explanation

If you are looking for a way to become popular or trendy, following Jesus isn’t it. If you are trying to identify ways to make and keep lots of friends, living the “exchanged life” wouldn’t be your best bet. Following Jesus, truly following Him, will 100% put you at odds with the world and quite possibly even some of your family, friends, and significant others. But then again, the Bible says all along that this would be the case.

These verses hold a few important truths about the reaction caused by living the “exchanged life” of following Jesus. Verse 12 gets right to the point. Peter basically says, “If your life is sometimes tough because you’re living the ‘exchanged life, ’ don’t act surprised and don’t worry. This is what living the ‘exchanged life’ looks like. It’s tough for everyone in your shoes. ” He doesn’t try to sugarcoat it. In the very next verse, he actually says you should “rejoice” and basically consider it a positive because they treated Jesus the same way. Peter makes it clear: if we find life hard because we’re living the wrong way, we should be ashamed. But if we’re finding life difficult because we are living out the “exchanged life, ” we should throw a party! We’re living the exact life Jesus called us to live.

Illustration

 The Bible’s command to see suffering as a positive, due to our faith, is unique. But it’s a common thread throughout Scripture. Let’s wrap our heads around this counter-cultural ideal a little more by taking a closer look together at God’s Word on this idea of “suffering.”

John 15:18–21 ““If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.”

Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush here. He makes it pretty clear: the world hated Him, and if you identify yourself as His follower, the world is going to hate you also. If the world sees enough of Jesus in us, we will, at some point, find ourselves having to stand up for our faith. But we can take heart knowing that Jesus went before us.

James 1:2–3 “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

James calls us to something that seems impossible. He urges us to see joy in the fact that we are being treated poorly simply because we identify with Jesus and are living out the “exchanged life.” But James also speaks to what we gain by sticking with our devotion to Jesus. Staying true to Jesus (James calls it ‘steadfastness’) is evidence of genuine faith that has been tested. He goes on in verse 12 to say that any “who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,” which means eternal life with God.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.””

Jesus helps us understand that no matter how hard it gets in our following Him, no matter how much pushback and hate we will receive from the world, He has ultimately conquered the world. This presents a great segue into our final point.

Application

Decide ahead of time, “I’m going to follow Jesus even when it costs me socially

When you feel left out, mocked, or misunderstood because of your faith

Don’t retreat

Don’t blend in

Stand firm with humility

We can take Hope because God already knows how it ends. Revelation 21:1–5 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.””

Explanation

Around 70 years after His death and resurrection, Jesus allowed His disciple John to have a vision, in which John saw the way it was all going to go down when Jesus returns to earth. John wrote down the things in this vision, and we call it the Book of Revelation. Jesus’ return, described in Revelation, sets in motion God’s plan to rid the world of sin and usher in an eternity in which God is with us and we are with Him. This is the final Exchange God will make, exchanging our broken, sinful world for eternity in perfect union with Him. Look what an amazing picture this is! Is there a better verse than verse 3? How incomprehensible is it to think that there will be a day when we will be with God, literally in His presence? That should make all of our hearts skip a beat. But verse 4 makes this even sweeter. When we’re finally with God, there will be no more suffering. No pain. No need. No sadness or sickness. All will be perfectly perfect! This hope should empower us to make it through life’s tough times. God is with us today. And, on top of that, there is also a future coming that is brighter than anything we could

imagine.

Illustration

Donkey in Shrek. Are we there yet?

Donkey is an example of not having the right perspective. You see, Donkey didn’t know where Far, Far Away was, just like your younger siblings might not know where your destination is. They don’t know how to prepare themselves mentally for the trip because they don’t know how long the trip is. Even if you tell them, they often do not have any real perspective of time. All they know is that they have been in the car for what feels like a long time. And so, the question inevitably comes. “Are we there yet?”

We can sometimes suffer from this same lack of perspective. We can become too fixated on our lives today. We can make too much out of our struggles, especially those related to following Jesus. We don’t have the same excuse as Donkey had, though. We should know where we’re headed.

The Bible makes it clear. Life on this earth is an amazing blessing, full of rich experiences and vibrant memories. But it’s not the ultimate experience. It’s merely a blip on the timeline of history before we join God in relationship forever. We have God’s Word. We know the ending. We know the destination. We can see that God will one day make all things new. We aren’t there yet, but we can certainly see where the end of the line is. And the end of this trip is just the beginning.

Application

We’re not there yet, what John talks about in Revelation, but we’re not without purpose either.

Ask yourself daily

How can I live the exchanged life today?

Look for one opportunity each day to

Serve someone

Share your faith…. with your one

Choose Christ over comfort

You may not be home yet… but we are on mission until we get there.

Closing

Believer

Non-believer

Small group Questions

What are some “weights” (not necessarily sins) that can slow down your walk with Jesus?

What does it actually look like in real life to “fix your eyes on Jesus”?

Why do you think following Jesus often puts us at odds with culture?

how do you usually respond when life gets hard?

Why does James say we can have joy in trials? Does that feel realistic to you?

How does knowing “how it all ends” change how we live right now?