Impact week 3, Encountering the Risen Lord

Encountering (experiencing) the Risen Lord

Changed by a Risen Lord????

Colossians 3:1-17

Introduction:

Question - If you were told that I died, my body was sent to Jerry Taylor. He embalmed me and then 2 days later you found out that Jerry Taylor went crazy because he saw a dead guy walking around his funeral home. What would you say? You would think that it was a pretty goo prank that someone played on Jerry right around Halloween. You’d be right. That would be a good on Jerry.

-If that same person looked you dead in the eye and said.

What really happened is that Jonathan has been raised from the dead.

You stand there & would wait for a smirk from them & them start to laugh. But when they stayed serious & silent and repeated, “No really, Jonathan has been raised from the dead.”

You’d get frustrated. The joke is over, it wasn’t even that funny. You’re not that dumb to believe such an impossibility. No one has been raised from the dead.

Why would you not believe it? Pause

Because dead is dead. No one comes back from the dead. It’s just silly to even think that.

But you’ve been told ever since you were little that Jesus raised himself from the dead. You celebrate it at Easter ever year.

Do you really believe that a man named Jesus was stone cold dead and became alive?

If a dead man can raise himself from the dead. He can do almost anything. Including transform your life.

One of the reasons that you trust in Jesus in is because of the change He has made in your life not only when you believed in Him, but since you believed in Him.

Illustration - I want you to imagine a book shelf with two book end on either side of 20 books.

The left book end is your salvation - the right book end is the day you reach heaven.

Your salvation effects you on the day you got saved and the day you go into eternity to meet Jesus.

We easily miss that salvation effects my every day.

Will you say out loud. “Salvation effects my everyday.”

When you have really Encountered the Risen Lord Jesus your everyday is changed.

Do you want to give to others what has so radically changed your life?

Before Faith in Jesus Christ, people are:

spiritually dead, Lost, fearful, confused, broken, mean, negative, selfish, ordinary, alone, rotten, wandering aimlessly, discouraged, struggling, blind, unfulfilled, empty, bitter, miserable, unsettled, searching, scared,

After an encounter with Christ, people are:

Saved, spiritually alive, redeemed, hopeful, fulfilled, found, peaceful, gentle, caring, living for Him, changed, free, giving, forgiven, blessed, renewed, never alone, comforted, content, thankful, and joyful.

Transition, Encountering the Risen Lord...

1. Changes my perspective (v .1-4)

God begins to teach us to have a vertical viewpoint, not a horizontal viewpoint. Illustration on slide.

-When you live life from a horizontal viewpoint.

You feel like you are supposed to be in control of life. You feel like you are supposed to fix people and situation. You feel anxious and overwhelmed. You get depressed and defeated, because somethings you can’t control.

-When you live life from a vertical viewpoint.

You surrender those things and people to God that He is in control of. You learn to walk in freedom, peace and joy because a loving God, who knows what is best, is working His plan for His glory.

-Life is not about us. It is about Him.

When you live with a vertical viewpoint you live life surrendered.

-Application, Living life with a surrendered open hand.

-Have people open a close hand. I’m in control.

-In this closed hand is what you feel like you have to fix, but that you really aren’t in control of.

-People’s hearts and attitudes. What is going to happen tomorrow with the pandemic. If you are going to get sick or not.

-God desire to change your perspective. To think vertically. Allow Him those things that you cannot control.

-When you open that hand simply say in your heart. God I surrender these things to you.

-God is at work to change your perspective.

-When you encountered a Christ who has been raised,

We - “Seek those things that are above” ... and … “Set our minds on things above.”

-Remember, Before you came to Christ you did not have a vertical life. All you had was the Horizontal. You weren’t living for Christ and eternal life, you were living for this life and trying to hopelessly find satisfaction.

-Now God has given you himself, He has given you the vertical.

-Who do you know that needs this new life? Who do you know that needs the vertical?

-Who needs to be blessed to be saved from their sin and get their eyes off the horizontal and to the vertical to God?

-Will you tell them? (Pause)

Transition, We see in verses 5-13 that God not only changes our perspective, but He changes our Person.

2. Changes my Person (v. 5-13)

An encounter with the living Lord - Your Identity Changes.

We live in an age where people are choosing all kinds of new identities.

Could it be that people know that who they are needs to change and they ache for a change? Not knowing God - they change their identity on their own?

When you encounter the Living Lord Jesus in Faith. He assigns you a new identity. You go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. From being someone who follows self and Satan to someone who follows the Savior.

Pause

Our sin nature has been put to death at salvation. We no longer are slaves to sin. Sin no longer controls us.

For the Christ follower, our flesh still has a desire for self. We have to put the desires of our flesh to death.

There are specific ways for the believer to put our sinful desires to death.

Illustration -

To kill a vampire you have to stab it in the heart with a wooden stake.

To kill a werewolf you have to shoot it with a silver bullet.

To Kill a zombie, you have to kill their brain.

There are 4 ways to kill sinful desires in the Christ Followers life.

Negative - v.5-9 (Behaviors and desires of the Old Self)

4 ways to kill the Behaviors and Desires of the Old Self.

-The Word, God’s Word is our light to what is wrong.

-The Spirit, God’s Spirit is our power to obey and fight sin.

-You must ask God for the strength of His spirit to obey.

-The Church, Is God’s encouragement and accountability

-You call another believer and tell them, I’m going to be in a situation where I am going to be tempted to gossip or lust.

-I need you to do 2 things for me: a) pray, b) ask me how it went. Hold me accountable

-Wisdom (plan),

For gossip - I am going to stay away from the person who I tend to gossip with. If I get into a conversation I will keep it short.

For Lust - When I go to my hotel room, I will not get on my smart phone, or I won’t turn on the TV, or I won’t go near the pool.

When we are changed by the God who raised Himself from the dead. We desire to be holy like Him. He changed our person.

That is putting to death the old self. What about putting on the new self?

What about embracing our New Identity?

In our current culture, when someone takes on a new identity there are changes that are made:

???Maybe marriage??? or being a professional???

Change in who you spend time with, change in hair, clothes, where you go, what you do.

Look at what verse 12-13 says about the changes in who we are.

Positive - v. 10-13 (new self stuff) Read v. 10-13

A true encounter of faith with Jesus changes who you are. You have been given a New Birth.

He changes your person!

Thirdly we see that trusting Jesus changes our passion.

3. Changes my passion (v. 14-15)

-Above all else, Clothe yourself in love.

-Above all else, this is the greatest passion that we should have.

Illustration - When Susan and I started to date the first few months in college we spent a lot of time together. We spent many hours a day. We took long walks, we asked each others a lot of questions, we laughed a lot.

We lost focus on school. Our grades that Semester suffered.

Why? Because our Passion was changed.

What are we to love? Self? Our Job? No, we are to love those God loves. Others.

-God changes our passion from loving self, our hobbies, our movies to have compassion for and love others.

-Love is a fruit of the spirit, it is something that God gives you.

-You say it’s hard for me to love. Hard to consider others. It doesn’t come natural.

-It is not from the natural. It love is from God.

-Ask for it. He will give it to you.-When you grow in your walk with Christ and begin to love others, you start to care about their eternity.

-You start to want to share your faith with them because you care for that person. Your heart aches for them. You carry a burden for them to leave their old life and come to know Christ.

Why? Because your passions have changed. You become more passionate about what Jesus is passionate about.

Transition - Finally

4. He changes my pursuits (v. 16-17)

Read verses 16-17

-Experiencing the a God who has raised himself from the dead, changes what we are passionate about. That change in passion changes our pursuits. It changes what we do.

-verse 16 says, We are called to teach each other.

-You say, I’m no teacher, I can’t stand before a group.

-(Let me share with you a spiritual secret.) You teach someone when you share with them what God is doing in your life. When you are on the phone or in conversation and 1 on 1 you share what God has been challenging and encouraging you with.

-We’ve had people sharing “2 minute testimonies” in service. Some of those testimonies have meant more to you than any song or sermon you heard that day.

-God was teaching you.

-We are called to admonish one another. This can mean to challenge or to rebuke. We are to challenge each other and in some cases rebuke.

-Singing songs being thankful.

Paul gives us a linchpin - one thing that all this hangs on.

Beginning of verse 16

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

To be transformed by the Risen Word of God, You must spend time in the Written Word of God.

-There is nothing that will transform you daily walk with Christ and also your personal evangelism like daily taking time to “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

-If sharing your faith is a struggle for you, and your are not spending time with God in the Bible, then sure up your foundation with Him.

Being changed by the living Jesus challenges us to live our life like the living Jesus.

Final Challenge -

Christ Follower - What would you say is one area that God is challenging you to today?

Is it to change your perspective to a more vertical perspective.

Is it to embrace your identity as a changed person.

Maybe it’s to focus your passion on what God is passionate about.

To pursue reaching and encouraging others spiritually.

What is one area you will commit to prayer and action this week.

Closing

If you are an unbeliever. God invites you into His family right now.

The Bible tells us this.

Our sins wrecked our relationship with God.

You and I have separated ourself from Him because of our sin.

God in His love is calling you back to Himself right now.

God fixed your problem of sin by sending His Son Jesus to pay for your sin by dying on a Cross.

If you will ask for forgiveness, trust in what Jesus and give you whole life to follow Jesus - you will be forgiven.

God invites you to be forgiven right now.

Will you say “yes” to Him?

_________________________________________________