Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Power to Change*

 

*Introduction*

* *

A.     A few years ago there was a major evangelistic thrust used across NA called “power to Change.”

On the Power to Change website there is a video which describes the life of Steven Baldwin (the youngest of the three acting Baldwins).

B.

Have you ever tried to change?

Has this been easy?

What about an evil person like mass murderer can they change and become good people?

C.

That’s where God comes in.

Our text this morning says that God’s intention is to change us through and through.

When we come to God, as sinners with empty, broken lives, God forgives, cleanses us and saves us.

The he begins the process of changing us – of making us like Jesus.

We can count on this because *Philippians 1:6 says,  <“…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”>*

D.

There are three ways God is at work in your life to help you change.

/ /

/ /

*I.**   <God wants to bury your past in the past**.>

*

 

*A.

*Paul begins by talking about *a way of life that he assumes is ancient history for his readers* *<Eph.

2:1-3>*.

B.

For some of us *this is not the case*.

In fact, *everyone here today falls into one of three categories*:

 

1.

Those who have given their lives to Christ and have

successfully left their old way of living behind.

2.      Those who have given their hearts to Christ but still struggle with the “old life.”

3.      Those who haven’t yet given their lives to Christ but still struggle with their “old life.”

* *

*If you are in group one – that’s great.

You can coast through my first point.

However, I suspect that group two and three makes up the majority of the people here today, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

God doesn’t want you chained to a sinful way of life.

He wants to set you free.

He wants to give you the power to overcome sin – and bury the past forever in the past*

* *

*C.      *Paul is aware of the *power the old life can have on a person* *<v.

3>.*

 

*For some of you, sin is not just an occasional slip-up, it’s a constant, ever-ending craving – one that leaves you completely powerless.

Once that craving consumes you, there is nothing you can do to escape it.

Maybe it’s the craving to:*

* *

·      *release your anger on your children or spouse*

·      *drown your misery in alcohol or food*

·      *commit some kind of sexual sin*

·      *spend too much money shopping*

·      *exploit a business situation and take advantage of someone for your selfish gain.

*

* *

*The lure of the old way of life comes at us in dozens of different forms and facets, but the results are always the same: it brings the stench of the past into the present and makes living a new life for Christ virtually impossible.*

D.

How do you *get rid of the power of the old life*?

1.

It begins with *a decision to follow Christ*.

2.

*Attack the source of its stronghold: your thoughts*.

*When you change what you think about, and when you change what you think about what you think about, you change your destiny.*

* *

*We have a tendency to identify ourselves more with our sinful past than our sanctified future.

We think things like, /I have no control over my temper…I am powerless over food…I’m basically a dishonest person...I’m a total failure as a husband or father.

/Those things may have been true of you in the past, Paul says, but God wants to bury the past in the past.

What was true of you yesterday doesn’t have to be true today.

*

 

E.

When a situation comes up that typically would cause you yield, *take these two steps*:

 

      1.

*Change what you think about.*

Instead of dwelling on the situation, dwell on the solution, or dwell on a non-related subject that is more conducive to a peaceful mind.

2.

*Change what you think about what you think about.*

Instead of saying, “This is the kind of thing that puts me over the edge!” say to yourself, “This is the kind of thing that used to put me over the edge – the very thing that Christ is changing in me!”

 

/This is how God enables you to bury the past; this is the way he changes you through and through…/

 

 

*II.

<God wants you to come alive spiritually.>

* 

 

*A.

* Being a Christian is more than turning over a new leaf; *it’s a matter of beginning a new life*.

1.

The old life is like a living death.

#.

All of the sins that are part of the old life point in one direction – self.

·       Doing what feels good at that moment

·    Whether it’s emotional or physical gratification, sin is about self-gratification

·        God wants to move you into an entirely new realm of existence.

He wants you to come alive spiritually.

*<(v.

4-5) But because of his great lover for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead I transgressions…> *

 

3.

God wants to *give you eternal life*.

*Eternal life is not just a quantity of life – living in heaven for ever, it’s also a quality of life – God’s life in your life now!*

 

*<I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

(Galatians 2:20)>*

 

      1.

This is eternal life – Christ living in you.

#.

When you make a decision to follow Christ, some things go on behind the scenes that you may not be aware of.

*<(v.

6) And God raised us up with Christ Jesus and seated us with him in the heavenly realm…>*

 

·        God raised you up, he gave life to your spirit, and he put you in a special place in heaven with Jesus.

·        Behind the scenes but as real as the sun rising in the morning!

C.

How do you *get eternal life*?

1.

It does not require good works – one or many – none!

God did it for you.

*<(v.

9)…not of works, so that no one can boast.>*

2.

What it does require is faith.

*<(v.

8) For by grace you have been saved through faith-…>*

* *

E.      *A principle you need to remember*:

 

*My life as a Christian is not the result of my incredible good deeds or the result of my tremendous faith, it is the result of God’s overwhelming grace!*

 

      1.

God wants to change you through and through, but in order for him to do that you have to give up on the idea – forever – that this is something you can accomplish on your own.

2.

The life you can offer is at best a living death.

3.

This principle works the same way no matter how long you have been a believer.

No amount of works, no amount of faith can earn you the right to be “placed in the heavenlies with Jesus.”

*      *

*Imagine the heavenly realms…there is Jesus, sitting on his throne.

There, seated with him, is a group of Christians.

If you look closely, you'll see it's not just the superstar Christians sitting with him, the stumbling Christians are there, also.

Look closer.

There YOU are, in the heavenly realms, with Jesus.