Sermon Tone Analysis
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How is your soul?
I hope that you have taken some time to think about your soul and where you are at with God.
DTR Conversations
Have you ever had one of those?
These are those uncomfortable conversations that we often have when we are dating someone.
DTR means Define the Relationship.
When we have the conversations, it is often because one or both people in the relationship is unsure about where the relationship stands.
Are we dating?
Are we in love?
Are we just friends?
Am I just in the “friend zone?”
The purpose of the conversation is so that both people in the relationship know where exactly where the relationship stands.
When is the last time that you have had a DTR conversation with God?
When is the last time that you have evaluated where you are at with Him?
Today we are going to talk about another shift that happens in our soul when we become a follower of Jesus!
Let’s refer back to the scriptural reading from earlier.
So, remember what is happening here.
Jesus and His disciples were walking along.
As they are walking, the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them.
Jesus asks them what they were arguing about about.
They didn’t answer Him, but of course, Jesus knew what they were discussing.
Matthew’s version says this a little differently, he says:
The interesting word here that stands out is the word “change”
The Greek word is “strephomai” which means to “turn around” or to “come to believe”
So, Jesus tells the guys who have been following Him for two years that they still need to change the way that they were thinking.
They needed to change.
“It is a message that even the most devout among us need to hear.” - the authors of the book
Similarly, a few days later, this topic came up again.
Jesus was indignant - you know what this word translate to?
Irate!
Jesus was irate and said:
There are two key notes here:
Jesus is painting a picture of how He feels about children
Jesus paints Himself as someone who gladly accepts children.
And not just as a physical means of affection - but them as a whole
In fact, He says that unless we become like little children, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
2. The disciples needed to change - they needed to become like the little children!
As we saw last week, the disciples and Jesus were of two different minds.
The disciples were trying to keep the children from Jesus and Jesus was telling them unless they become like children, they won’t see heaven.
Jesus paints Himself in a Fatherly way here and tells the disciples that they must become like children.
This isn't the only time that Jesus refers to this Father/Child like relationship
and, most popularly
So, this relationship of father/child is common in scripture.
The disciples, as well as us, need a shift in our soul from:
Slave to Child
We don’t however desire becoming “like” children.
In fact, do you remember how the serpent tempted Eve in the garden?
So, Eve saw that the fruit was desirable and she wanted to become like God, full of wisdom.
Thus, she ate the fruit!
Rather than being like a child, full of faith and dependance on God, she wanted to become like God, full of wisdom.
This desire to be grown, and full of knowledge started in the garden and continued ever since.
Jesus is saying that we must become like a child, if we want to enter heaven.
So, let’s talk about this shift from slave to child.
Slave to Child
When I first thought of the thought of being a slave, I was a bit bothered.
For some reason, the word slave didn’t sit right with me.
When we talk about being a slave to sin, I am okay with it.
But these Soul Shifts are what takes place after we already accept Christ and His gift of forgiveness, or freedom!
So, how can we still be slaves.
Well, then I realized something.
The idea of being a slave here is not something on God’s end, it is on our end.
We are the ones that make ourselves slaves, not Him.
It’s about our perspective.
Often times, after we become saved, our passion and fire dies out.
And this is a dangerous place.
We become legalistic about our faith.
We start trying to please God.
The thing about God as a Father is that His goal for us is not that we please Him, but that we love Him.
Now, this is where it gets a little challenging today.
Does the Bible talk about pleasing God?
Absolutely!
Some of the things that we do please God.
What I am saying though, is that just because we can do some things that please God, doesn’t make it the goal.
The goal is to love God!
And, when we love God, we follow His commands, which please Him!
What happens when we are a slave, is we try to please Him.
We start making lists of all the things that we have to do in order to please Him.
Now don’t throw things at me just yet....
We try to do things like:
Going to church
Tithing and give beyond our tithes to those in need
Pray before meal or in a routine
Reading our Bible
Here is the problem though, are these bad things?
No.
Do these things please God? Yes.
The problem isn’t doing these things, the problem is the why?
Why do you go to church?
Why do you give?
Why do you pray?
Why do you read your Bible?
Is it because you are trying to get a star on your Sunday School chart?
Is it because you want to feel better about yourself?
Is it because you are afraid that God will strike you dead if you don’t?
You see, this is legalism.
This is a slave-like mentality!
This is like the disciples keeping the children from coming to Jesus.
I mean, He is the Son of God.
We have important things to do.
And the things that we have to do are good.
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