Jesus Changes Everything
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Introduction
There are certain people that have the credibility to say certain things.
For example, if I were to tell you that I believe definitively that you have leukemia you would rightly disregard my assertion. However, if your oncologist gave you this prognosis, you would believe every word he had to say and you would, no doubt, do whatever he said regarding treatment!
Why the difference?
Credibility! I have zero credibility in the area of oncology. The oncologist has tons of credibility because of his training, certification and experience.
There is one who has ultimate credibility in all things but especially in the area of beating death and receiving eternal life. And this One is Jesus Christ.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Introduction
Introduction
What a great question! Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life? If you truly believe this, then you are a follower of Jesus! If you do not believe in Christ’s resurrection you are not His follower.
I am not here today to convince you that Jesus has been raised from the dead. There is a mountain of evidence available to you proving this to be the case that is beyond a shadow of a doubt. If you are serious about discovering this, I would be more than happy to help you after the service.
What is the Hearer’s problem?
I am not here to convince you, but I am here to proclaim based on the credibility and authority of the One who has authority over all things that HE HAS RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!
What is the Biblical Solution?
Just as He said He would.
And you must understand something, because of His death, burial and resurrection you and I need to understand that this changes EVERYTHING! The Gospel changes everything...
What do the hearers need to know?
Change is the business that God is in!
Main Textual Idea:
Main Sermon Idea: Jesus Changes Everything and He Wants to Change You!!
And there are three ways that I want to share with you this morning in what He changes...
And the first way is...
Body (Satisfaction)
Jesus Changes Our Relationship With God (Romans 5:1-11)
Lead in…Contrary to common belief, we do not automatically have a relationship with God. There are some significant things that need to take place in order for a true and genuine relationship can take place...
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Text -
There is no way I will be able to completely share every truth from this or any of the passages I will show you from Romans this morning. That, isn’t the goal. I do hope you take each of these passages home and spend significant time studying them for yourself. However, I do want to summarize...
In this passage, the apostle Paul is making the point that our relationship with God is dramatically different after we become a Christian than it was before.
This may seem like an obvious statement, but too many in this world believe everyone is born a child of God and everyone, when they leave this world, goes back to God.
While this sounds so nice, we must ask the question, is it true? If it is true, then why would God send His only unique Son to enter this world, live a sinless life, die a brutal death, pour his wrath upon Jesus for the sins of the world, be buried and rise again on the third day? Why would God go through all of this if we were simply born His children and then die His children? The gospel, the good news, would simply be no news!
But, in fact, the bible paints a completely different picture for us. A picture that is not flattering toward us humans. A picture that clearly paints us as ENEMIES of God! And that without the intervention of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we would have no hope for redemption and eternal life with our Creator!!!
We simply are not good enough to earn our way to heaven. And because we are the sinful enemies of God, we are not allowed into Heaven. Let me be clear on what the bible teaches.
The Bible says that from the time we are conceived, we are sinners...
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
The Bible also says that none who have ever lived on this planet are perfect.
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
The Bible says that we do not have the capacity to achieve God’s glorious and perfect standard.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romand 3 10
The Bible Says there is a terrible cost for our sin...
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And the bible demands perfection if we are ever to have a relationship with God...
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
This is the backdrop of Paul’s message in Romans chapter 5!
Something has to change, someone has to change, and it is NOT GOD! He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
The truth of the matter is that we are at war with God and there is only one way for that war to cease...
Justification by Faith gives us peace with God! (vs. 1)
And Paul tells us clearly in verse one that “peace with God is THROUGH our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is why the gospel, the good news that King Jesus offered up His life as a substitute for your sin
By Faith we stand in His Grace...
We rejoice in suffering because of the Hope of eternal life.
We have Hope because of God’s love - His love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (who is a gift to you)!
It is verse 6 that tells us how this miraculous transaction took place. We were not strong, but very weak! And it was precisely at the right time in history that God the Son died on the cross
He has given us His Spirit!!!
By the way, we were not simply weak, but Paul says that we were “ungodly”
He makes the argument that there are not many people in this world that would sacrifice their lives for a good person. It happens, but it is not the norm.
But then Paul gives this dramatic contrast between humans and God. Not only would Christ die for a good person, but for wicked, God hating sinners (which is everyone)! Why? Because of His great love for us!
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We were born sinners, separated from God spiritually, facing His Wrath (punishment for sin),
Look at verse 8 again...
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Stuart Townend wrote these profound words. “How deep the Father’s Love for us, How vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure.”
What is the result? (vs. 9) - We have been justified by the blood of Jesus.
In other words, His shedding of blood on the cross, His sacrifice was more than enough to pay-off your debt to God.
Yes, you owe God! If you break His law, you are now indebted to Him and you must pay that debt off just like any criminal must pay their debt to society off by spending time in prison or Jail.
So, you are justified (declared to be innocent) because the innocent one, Jesus, paid the debt you owed, not with money, but with his own life!
What changed? (vs. 10-11) - You and I were enemies of God fighting a battle we could never win, facing an eternity we could never escape! We were without HOPE!
UNTIL JESUS SHOWED UP! And because He showed up and went to the cross and died in our place, we were reconciled (made right) to God! We were saved by His life!
And because of this, we have great joy!
Sometimes if we have a falling out with someone in our lives it takes a mutual friend to help facilitate or mediate to help reconcile the two parties…this is what Jesus did
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
If it were not for Jesus Christ, you and I would still be in our sin and slotted to pay for that sin in the eternal prison of Hell. But because He became a man and offered His body up as a sacrifice, you and I could be justified, declared innocent based on His righteousness.
It was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was His great love for you! He had to die so you could live!
If you are not a Christian, you are an enemy of God. And God’s enemies, all of them will be destroyed, for all eternity!
And yet even though you may be His enemy, He still loves you with a profound and great love!
And He demonstrated that love for you in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
There is nothing more God could, would or should do to prove His love to you!
If you are not a Christian here this morning will you please ask God to open you heart to have the faith necessary for your salvation!
It is only through Faith that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that you have the hope of eternal life with Christ.
Won’t you turn to him today? If you do, you will no longe be an enemy of God, but His son or daughter!
Review - Jesus Changes Everything and He Wants to Change You!!
Jesus changes our relationship with God
Division 2 Statement:
2. Jesus Changes Our Relationship with Sin (Romans 6:1-11)
Lead in…
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Text -
Let me summarize...
Now that we are Christians, our relationship with sin changes...
Prior to salvation, Sin was all we did because that is who we were!
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
But because of what Paul talks about in , we are now justified, save and reconciled to God!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
So, because we are new, we have a new attitude toward sin! We see sin for what it is and what it can do.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Death to relationships. Death to reputations. Death to everything is touches. For those outside of Christ, sin brings for eternal death!
For the believer, Paul is clear regarding sin! DON’T MESS AROUND WITH IT! “Should I take advantage of my position as a grace filled believer in Christ and plunge headlong into the sin of my choice because God has already forgiven my sins past, present and future? Paul uses very strong language to answer this self generated question - BY NO MEANS!!!
It is the unbeliever or the immature Christian who views salvation as strictly a “get out of Hell free” card. A “What can I get away with” attitude.
NO! Christians need to remember this very profound truth. Christ didn’t endure the shame of the cross to buy for you the opportunity for you to sin! No way!
WE ARE NOT SAVED FROM SIN TO SIN!
We do not pursue sin
When we do sin, we repent (vs. 1-2)
We died with Christ and so sin should be dead to us (vs. 3)
Jesus was raised and so are we! We have a new “Walk.” (vs 4-5)
We are no longer slaves to sin (vs. 6-10)
We must think (consider) like we are dead to sin in order to live like we are! (vs. 11)
When Paul says that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,” that is virtually that happens in the new birth. And here is the key to liberating people from the captivity of the devil. God grants repentance— that is, he awakens the life that sees the ugliness and danger of sin and the beauty and worth of Christ. That truth sets the prisoner free.
Piper - Spider...
It’s what happens when a person in the dark fondles an ebony brooch hanging around his neck, and then the lights go on and he sees it’s not a brooch but a cockroach, and flings it away. That’s how people are set free from the devil. And until God does that miracle of new birth, we stay in bondage to the father of lies because we love to be able to tell ourselves whatever we please. We keep fondling smooth roaches and warm fuzzy tarantulas in the dark.
Drinking sewage...
Piper, John. Finally Alive: What Happens When We are Born Again. Christian Focus Publications, 2009. 57-58. Print
For the Christian, playing with sin is not something we are to chase after. We have a new relationship with it. Before we were Christians we didn’t think much about sin and its deleterious effects on us, others and God. But now that you are a believer
Christian, you have a new relationship with sin! Jesus hung on the cross to pay for you sin! Stop chasing after it! Run from it! Cast it away!!
Review - Jesus Changes Everything and He Wants to Change You!!
Jesus changes our relationship with God
Jesus Changes Everything and He Wants to Change You!!
Jesus changes our relationship with Sin
3. Jesus Changes Our Relationship with Others (:9-21)
Lead in...
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Text -
Allow me to summarize!
Christians have a new way to relate to others and that way is by genuinely loving them.
Look at who you are to love...
You are to love your neighbor...
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
You are to love your enemies...
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
You are to love your spouse...
Ephe
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
You are to love others!!!
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
So, do you get the picture? We are to love! And the reason we can love is because...
19 We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4
And He proved that love by sending Jesus to save us from His eternal wrath!
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
And, the fact is that purposed loving is high on God’s priority list for us. We are to be excellent at loving other, especially fellow Christians.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Unfortunately, love for the unbeliever tends to be profoundly self-focused. “What do I get out of this ‘loving’ relationship?”
But remember, Jesus changes everything and so our love is to be (according to ) genuine, rooted in goodness, with brotherly or family-like affection that results in outdoing one another in showing honor!
And Jesus’ example of self-denial for the benefit of others is the standard of love that the believer must pursue with his or her life!
Love with a genuine(authentic) love (ἀγάπη) (vs. 9)
Abhor (to shudder) what is evil (morally corrupt)
Hold fast (to permanently join oneself) to what is good (moral).
Love with a genuine, brotherly (φιλαδελφίᾳ) love (vs. 9-12)
ἀγάπηLove with a genuine, brotherly (φιλαδελφίᾳ) love (vs. 9-12)
Love with a brotherly affection (φιλαδελφίᾳ) - Have your hearts full of kind emotion toward one another! (vs. 10)
ἀδελφόςlove (vs. 9-12)
Outdo one another (be superior in action or performance) in showing honor (value, worth, respect) (vs. 10)
Do not be slothful (sluggish, lazy, fearful, reserved, weariness) in zeal (earnest, eager to do), be fervent (intensely passionate, hot or glowing) in spirit, serve the Lord. (vs. 11)
Care for other’s needs (vs. 13)
Rejoice in hope (to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial), be patient (continue to bear up despite difficulty and suffering) in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (vs. 12).
Care for the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality (vs. 13)
Bless those who persecute (Inflicting of suffering, injury, or death on another); bless and do not curse (invocation of evil or injury against one’s enemies) (vs. 14)
Be sensitive to the needs (emotional) of others (vs. 15)
Rejoice with rejoicers
Weep with weepers
Live in harmony with one another (purposely make good sounds together)
Do not be haughty (showing oneself above others, exalt) but associate with the lowly (low in status or importance). Never be wise in your own sight. (vs. 17)
As best you can, live at peace with everyone! (vs. 18)
Trust God with those who have offended you! (vs. 19-20)
Overcome Evil with Good (vs. 21)
The church of Jesus Christ. This local church is like an embassy. An embassy is a little chunk of another kingdom’s property on the property of a foreign land. The local church is little chunks of God’s future Kingdom here and now. You are God’s church and you, by your actions, represent God’s future Kingdom today!
Jesus changes how we relate to others. He gives us a countercultural admonishment to live His normal which is contrary to the worlds normal. When we live out His normal, we shine like lights!
Review this list in this week and use it as a practical frame of reference to see if you are the world’s norm or Christ’s norm.
Review - Jesus Changes Everything and He Wants to Change You!!
Jesus changes our relationship with God
Jesus changes our relationship with Sin
Jesus changes our relationship with others
Conclusion (Visualization)
Review opening illustration (if appropriate)
“If Jesus has not changed your life, the Jesus you met was another Jesus!” - Dr. Steven Lawson
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you believe this? if you do, you’ll never be the same!
Action they should take
Land the Plane