The On Off Button of Life

How to Change Your Life.

Who is your favorite player? NFL? NBA? MLB? NHL? What if they were traded and had bad attitude on the team?

Who is your favorite reporter? What if he/she changed networks? And talked about how much they missed the old network?

What is the best care you have had? What if someone gave you a new one and all you did was talk about how good the old car was, unappreciative of the new one?

Our human, sinful nature is resistant to change. We like to play “god” and be in charge, and keep things under our control and in our comfort Zone. But What if God has something better for you?

10,000 Sermon Illustrations 5 Kinds of Attitudes About Change

5 Kinds of Attitudes About Change

1. Early innovators (2.6%), run with new ideas

2. Early adaptors (13.4%), influenced by (1) but not initiators

3. Slow Majority (34%), the herd-followers

4. Reluctant Majority (34%)

5. Antagonistic (16%), they will never change

The majority of ministers are being nibbled at by the last group. They focus on the minority opinion. This group is basically carnal. You expect antagonism from them.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Stages of Change

Stages of Change

1. Resistance to change

2. Tolerant of change

3. Embrace the change

READ PASSAGE: Unity and diversity come together to benefit our spiritual formation.

The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary Walk

Walk is often used in Scripture for conduct in life, general demeanor, and deportment.

There are contrasting ways of walking, thinking, and living in this passage.

BEFORE I was a Christian.

AFTER I Became a Christian.

These are competing for your MIND, HEART, and BODY.

BEFORE - Like the Gentiles (multitudes of people / Nations).

AFTER - Like a new man IN JESUS.

A prisoner can stand in court and be convicted of his crime, or pardoned, or acquitted of all charges. When he leaves the court, either as a free man or in handcuffs, his condition changes, but not his character. Not true in God’s court. When we are confronted with Jesus and His Gospel, we leave not only in a different condition, but with a new character of heart and life.

“In the vanity of their mind” = the futile and empty thoughts. 17

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (ματαιότης)

a. what is devoid of truth and appropriateness: ὑπέρογκα ματαιότητος (gen. of quality), 2 Pet. 2:18.

b. perverseness, depravation: τοῦ νοός, Eph. 4:17.

c. frailty, want of vigor: Ro. 8:20.

Worldliness is not so much what we do, but how we think and what we love: We have generations of Christians that think and love just like the Pharisees “as long as I don't do these things I can have as bad an attitude as I want because I love my works." Not good.

“Change Your Brain; Change Your Life.” - Dr. Dan Amen

10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Self Change)

Everybody thinks of changing Humanity and Nobody thinks of changing Himself. - L. Tolstoy, Russian writer who wrote War and Peace.

What we do (actions) and what we love (affections) are indications of how we are thinking.

Before your thinking is effected, the heart must change. Priorities change. This affection changes when we are confronted with the Gospel and believe in Jesus.

All parts of your being can change (according to this passage) by the power of the GOSPEL.

Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations (The Change Came the Other Way)

An Italian woman, whose husband had accepted the Gospel and joined a Protestant church, was asked, “Is it true that your husband has changed his religion?” “No,” answered she, “but his religion has changed him. Formerly he had no religion, but now he has accepted one that must be very good, because it has changed him so. You must have noticed that he does not get drunk.”

Eph 4:17 begins a new section to 6:9, dealing with the after effects of being “In Christ.” These are logical conclusions of life change that takes place for the followers of Jesus.

How can I Change? 22-24

The “Replacement Principle;” a Before and After Perspective.

Hit the ON/OFF Button Daily.

Keep Changing Daily.

New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations 2850. Heart, Renewing The

A little boy once said, “How hard it is to do right!” and so hard did he find it, that, after a while, he added, “It’s of no use trying.” But he was a boy who had learnt to read and understand the Bible; and one day he thought to himself, “Why! I have been trying to change myself all this time; and here I read that only God can change me. How foolish I have been not to ask him!”

Ask God to change you and submit to His leading and teaching and changing.

Understand the Need for Change. WHY?

Walking requires looking ahead to navigate the path. 17

Seeing requires the blinders be lifted off our eyes. 18

We are being changed to be more like Jesus!

Know that Change is Healthy. HOW? Change is good:

A seed becomes a plant.

A child becomes an adult.

An immature becomes mature.

An ignorant becomes informed.

A novice becomes experienced.

A new Christian becomes an experienced Christian.

Change is possible by the power of the resurrection and the Spirit of Christ Who now lives in you!

Today's Best Illustrations, Volumes 1-4 (Religion and Change)

If your religion does not change you, then you should change your religion.—Elbert Hubbard.

Identify What Can be Changed: WHAT?

What can be changed?

Pick any singular problem, issue, habit, choice, or thing and by God’s grace it can be changed.

Your life can change for the better and for God’s glory. Your life may still have hardship and the effects and consequences of sin and choices may still be there - but you can be changed!

Hit the ON/OFF Button Daily.

Keep Changing Daily.

“Renewed” (23) appears to be past tense, but the idea is “being renewed.”

Titus 3:3–7 AV

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

“Renewing and renewed” is the same root word.

The starting point for being renewed is when you became a Christian. From that moment - You are a new man / woman. We are being renewed daily in our lives. We are being changed more and more into the image of Jesus as we grow in Christ.

What is being changed or renewed?

3 areas to affect life change:

Changing Mind. 17-24

BEFORE CHRIST the mind was: Empty, entertained, or evil.

AFTER Christ: Filled, purposeful and Righteous.

Today's Best Illustrations, Volumes 1-4 (Fanatics > Zeal)

A fanatic is a person who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.—Winston Churchill, Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 1

Our heads are filled with Truth instead of vanity. 17, 21

Our minds are informed rather than ignorant. 18, 20

Our thoughts are guided by Jesus rather than lusts. 21-22

2 Peter 3:18 AV

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

My Favorite Illustrations (What’s on Your Mind?)

A man sat on the second row each night during the revival meeting. He never took his eyes off the preacher, but no matter what the preacher said, the man never changed his expression. He didn’t join in laughter at the funny stories; neither did he weep at the sad stories.

This intrigued the preacher, so that he was determined to find out what was on the man’s mind. Finally, one night he pointed to the man and asked, “Tell me, what are you thinking about?” Impulsively the man shot back, “Pigs!” Confronted with the preaching of the gospel and all he had on his mind was pigs!

Turn off thinking about pigs and Turn on thinking like Christ. Be challenged. Develop your mind. Be careful what you put in front of you to think about.

Changing Affection. 18-19

The emotion and choice of loving God is changed and should be more and more.,

Natalie and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this year. At Christmas I gave her a toy kitchen set and said, your Christmas gift and our anniversary git this year is a new kitchen - a real one. We also are planning to celebrate with a special trip in a warm climate.

Marriage is choosing to love and working each day at loving each other.

Christians cannot be indifferent towards God.

We have some feeling in our heart.

Before Christ you were against Him or indifferent to Him, but now you have a heart for God.

Past Feeling = become callous. Addicts of any type get to this point… past feeling, Eyes glazed, tired all the time with no energy, withdrawn from others and public spaces.

With no love for God, people turn to wickedness, 19

Lasciviousness = sensuality, promiscuity.

They try to replace the void (Where God should be) in their heart with eros, erotic, or sensual actions with others.

IE. Many people become addicts trying to replace the painful feelings of nonacceptance when they could simply find the love they are looking for in Jesus.

Many addicts turn to addiction because of relational wounds, feelings of not being wanted.

Many young adults, men and women move from one bad relationship to another bad relationship because they just want to feel loved and cherished. Have you ever thought: “That guy is just like the last guy she was dating?”

With no emotion for God, we make bad choices.

Uncleanliness is impurity. They run after impure things with greediness (or covetousness).

Christians are different because our affection, our love is different.

These are all heart matters...

Proverbs 4:23 AV

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Matthew 22:37–40 AV

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Today's Best Illustrations, Volumes 1-4 (The Different Faces of Love)

The Different Faces of Love

Joy is love exalting and peace is love at rest.

Patience, love enduring in every trial and test.

Gentleness, love yielding to all that is not sin.

Goodness, love in actions that flow from Christ within.

Faith is love’s eyes opened, the loving Christ to see.

Meekness, love not fighting but bowed at Calvary.

Temperance, love in harness and under Christ’s control.

The Christ is love in person, and love, Christ in the soul.

Changing Thinking.

Changing Loving/Affections.

Changing Actions. 22-25

6,000 Plus Illustrations for Communicating Biblical Truths (Be a Problem Solver!)

Mary Kay Ash is the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. The following was from the pen of this woman who has played a major part in changing literally millions of lives. She has changed the way a large number of Americans live and do business today. Listen to the wisdom of one of the great pioneering leaders of our generation: “Be a problem solver! Effective managers know how to recognize real problems and how to take action to solve them.”

If we placed this in chronological order: the heart must change, then the mind must change, then the body can change.

A Lot of well meaning people try to train and change the body, but their heart is not with God or their mind is corrupted with evil or emptiness.

If we try changing one with out the other we may have conformity, but we don’t have real life change…

We could have a called this message: Why you should change your clothes daily or change your wardrobe. The Replacement Principal:

Replace what is wrong with what is right.

Replace old with new.

Replace wickedness with righteousness.

Don’t just STOP one thing - be sure to replace it by STARTING something NEW.

Bad attitude - a healthy attitude.

Evil lyrics in music or themes in movies - find good, healthy ones to replace them.

Wrong thinking - accurate, truthful thinking.

No Bible reading to Bible reading.

Poor money management and debt to Biblical money stewardship.

Friends that drain your spiritual life to friends who encourage you for God.

Bad habits - good habits.

Sinful choices - righteous choices.

Hit the ON/OFF Button Daily.

Keep Changing Daily.

Changing Thinking.

Changing Loving/Affections.

Changing Actions.

Baptism pictures death, burial and resurrection. Old nature dead, new and alive in Christ.

New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations (4905. Regeneration, Purification In)

The early Christians have told us, that in the first ages of the gospel, when an adult came to be baptized, he put off his old clothes before he went into the water, and put on new and clean raiment when he came out of it; to signify that he had put off his old and corrupt nature, and his former bad principles and corrupt practices, and become a new man.

RESPONSE:

Help my thoughts to be Your thoughts.

Help my heart to love You more.

Help my actions to be right actions.

I want to believe the Gospel.