Life Changing Moment
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever had one event that has changed your entire life?
There was a man from India by the name of Dashrath Manjhi and we will just call him Dash.
But Dash was a farmer who had a pretty regular life, he had a family and would often be out tending to his animals
But one day everything changed for Dash, because his wife got into an accident where she slipped and had to be rushed to the hospital.
The issue was that if you took the road to get their, the closest hospital to their village was 40 miles away because there was this giant mountain separating their town from the town over.
So what happened after this event where his wife slipped, he actually sold all of his animals and bought a chisel and a hammer.
And for the next 22 years of his life he devoted it to creating a road through the mountain so that if this was to happen again for anyone else they could get to the hospital faster.
And at the end of the 22 years Dash created a road by himself that made the trip from his town to the hospital change from 40 miles to 4 miles.
That one event completely impacted his life.
But you know in our lives we have events that impact our lives and completely change our lives.
And really as we are starting our new series today called tables turned we are looking at something that happened that completely changes us, and really we are going to be seeing how this event impacts our lives today and really how it continues to impact us for the rest of our lives.
So I want to invite you if you have your Bible to turn to Romans 5:1-11
and you know in this series as you are turning there (and I am just going to spoil this ), but the event that impacts our life is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
and throughout this series we are just going through a part of the book of Romans and seeing how this event impact us.
So once again we are in Romans 5:1-11 and we are just starting in the first part of the first verse and it says:
Romans 5:1 (NIV)
Peace and Hope
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith…
And we are going to pause there.
Because this is the biggest point today and really it is what the entire sermon series flows out of and that is that when you are justified by Christ your life is changed.
And let me unpack that because that is a huge statement, and there are some really churchy words in it and it is so easy for us to skip over this.
Because if you look at what Paul (the author of this) is talking about right before this passage, he mentions that your life had something in it called sin.
Sin is something that causes destruction and brokenness in our lives.
and really if you had to create a simple definition for sin it is that it separates us from God,
and since God created us and the world God is the ultimate source of life,
I mean if you read Genesis God litterly breaths life into Adam right?
God is the source of everything good
And its because we have sin: that we see brokenness, sickness, hurt, pain, relationships are strained.
And honestly I have done this before but it is really the easiest way to show what sin does to our life.
Because our lives were created whole and good, like this mug, but when sin entered it shattered it.
And we are left in this place where we are going how do we get back to where God desires me to be.
Because my life looks like this cup just shattered.
It can’t be worth much right?
Who would ever want this?
And that is a hard place to be…(pause) but the only way that we can ever be put back to where God wants us is through saying “God, I want to be in a relationship with you”
and when that happens we start to see the broken pieces we have start to come back together.
And in the next verses to come I want to focus on three areas that God is changing when we take that step into faith with Him.
Look at the rest of verse 1 because it says because of us being justified, by faith (because of you entering your walk with God, the first thing it says is
...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
So because you have entered into a relationship with God, that relationship where you were separated has been mended.
It is at peace
It has been put back together.
because even though we ran away from God, God never stopped pursuing us, so as soon as we turn around He is right there waiting.
Its almost like this. When my brother was a kid he did something to get in trouble and so he ran away, and he told my parents he was done and so he packed a small bag and got ready to leave.
And so he walked up the street (my parents told him he couldn’t go any further, so eventually he walked back down and went into the basement where he eventually came back up and I believe he apologized.
But you know during my brothers short period of “running away” my parents never took their eye off him and when he came back they were ready to take him in.
And that is exactly want happens when we run from God, because He never gives up on you, you might say I am done with you, you might have done things that are awful,
But God is right behind you never letting you out of his sight and the moment you turn back to Him is the moment that relationship is mended.
And it dosn’t just stop there because look at verse 2 because once that relationship is mended we have access to God. It says:
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
So because of this relationship where we have accepted Christ. We do not just have this relationship where we can talk to God, but we have a relationship where this says we are literally standing in the middle of His presence.
And I love that word stand, because in Biblical times it was used to tell your status.
So if you were Roman they would say you stand as a Roman
Today if you were German they would have said you stand as a German
If you are are American they would say you stand as an American right
And this is saying if this relationship has been mended you are standing as having your citizenship as a child of God
And what is so amazing with standing as a child of God is that you have direct access to God
I mean think of it this way I am an American right?
but if I went to the white house chances are I couldn’t just go to the white house and say “excuse me I would like to speak with the president right now.
They would look at me like I am crazy.
But what is amazing is that is the access we have to God and really even more intimate then that, because He is not just our Lord, but the Bible says He is our father, our friend and and our rock in a time a trouble.
Look at this last point: because the relationship is mended, we have access to God, but the this last point is awesome because look at verse 3-5 with me it says:
Romans 5:3–5 (NIV)
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Basically the brokenness that is in our life from sin and even in the world instead of that just hurting us and causing pain, it actually shapes us.
Because what God does is he sees the brokenness of our lives but that is not the end.
Because God uses the brokenness to create something beautiful.
You know there is a Japanese art that is known as Kintsugi and really what the artist does is they will see something that is just broken.
A vase, a cup, a bowl, a mug.
And they will pick it up and they actually see the value in it.
And what they do is the actually take the mug piece by piece and they mend it back together with gold.
And this is what the finished project looks like (show Picture)
And whats amazing it is now considered stronger and more beautiful now then before it was broken.
Can I just say that is what God does.
Because you might feel like your life looks like this mug. Shattered and broken beyond repair.
But when you put those broken pieces in the hand of God, He does not see broken mug, but he sees that.
And I believe that this morning God wants to pick up your broken pieces this morning and create something more beautiful then you could ever imagine.
And maybe you are here this morning and you are saying you do not know my life its rough.
And your right I do not know your life, but God does. and as we close I want you to just close your eyes and reflect on the brokenness, reflect on the things that are just at odd with God’s will, and I want you to just think for a moment where you are in your walk with God.
And if you have been at our church long enough this is something we do just as a way of reflecting on where we are and responding to God in our life.
so just reflect for a moment and if you are looking at your life and you are saying God I am broken,
I feel like that mug, I have done things wrong, (I am a sinner) and because of it I am messy.
and your saying this morning I want to change my life and I want to take my first step into your will and I want to just give you a moment to do that and If thats you I want to invite you while everyones eyes are closed to raise your hand as a response to God.
And really even if its not your first time, maybe this morning you would like to make that recommitment I would invite you to raise your hand.
And as we close I want to just pray for you this morning and I want you this morning so lets pray.
Communion:
Well as we end the service we are going to end in one of the best ways possible which is recieving communion as the body of Christ, and you will notice we have the prepackaged cups in the pew in front of you if you would like to participate,
But really when we receive communion it is remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made so we no longer have to live broken lives caught in our sin but we can have freedom in Christ.
because on the night Jesus was betrayed he was having a meal with his disciples and they were all around a table
And at the beginning of the meal Jesus took the bread and broke it and said this is my body broken for you and he gave it to the disciples
And then at the end of the meal He took the cup and said this is my blood shed for you representing His blood shed on the cross.
And whats amazing is he gave these to every disciple including Judas who betrayed Him
And this morning Jesus is extending these elements that represent His Grace to you.
And so we are going to close on this song and I want you to just prepare your hearts to receive communion whether that be through prayer, reflection or singing.
And after this song we will receive communion and as long as you have placed your trust in Christ you are welcome to receive it.
So lets prepare our hearts and then we will receive it together as a body of Christ.
Song:
Communion:
The Body of Christ Broken for you, eat in remembrance that Christ Died for you
The Blood of Christ Shed for you, drink in remembrance of the sacrifice Christ made for you.