04.17.2011 Extreme Makeover-Hope Edition - New in Christ!

04.17.2011 Grace Summit Sermon - Extreme Makeover-Hope Edition - New in Christ! from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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Thank You Lord, that You are with us – You are a comforter – You came that we might have life through Your death. We are grateful to You – help us to not forget what You have done – may we be reminded of what You have done for us this week. May we give it the reverence it deserves – how important it is that You gave your life for us. Take control of this meeting – and my life – that I might speak Your words and that You might touch each heart and SPEAK – that We would hear from you. You do new things every day – You are looking to do something new – in this world, in our lives – and in the church – in Your name we pray.
2 Cor. 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Something brand new – not just a little changed – but Paul tells us there has been a transformation that has taken place when a person comes to faith in Jesus. Something dramatic happens inside. We are given a new perspective - a new world view – a new hope – and a new power, because we are a new people.
In Titus – Paul talks about a washing of regeneration – renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Now – the old has gone – the new is here. Step back for a moment and ask – Okay, this is true – this is real, theologically correct – but is it my personal experience?
We don’t always experience the new, and it doesn’t seem like the ‘old’ is really gone – but things keep following us.
When I first came to Christ, some things changed instantly and dramatically. Immediately, my language cleared up (not my English!). Other things changed – over time. But things like anxiety and fear issues – it seems like it doesn’t change. Many areas – addictions – immorality – haven’t left – and why does the verse say the old has gone and the new come if it is not our experience?
One thing – we have too low of expectations of what God wants to do in us.
Today is Palm Sunday. When Jesus came riding in – they did not accept who He was – they expected a certain type of Messiah – as a king to drive the enemies out and to bring about this new, prosperous nation. But Jesus intended on doing a lot more than that. He came to bring about a new creation – a new people. And He accomplished that by doing something no one expected – by going to the cross to pay for the sins of the world – in order to bring all these people with Him. He didn’t come to teach good things or to start a new religion – but to do something new – and He does that inside of each of us who come to faith in Christ. He doesn’t do it just to help us get over bad habits. Sometimes that is how we look at our Christian lives – but He did something completely different and wants us to live that out.
The reality is it has already taken place – but in our lives – it takes a long time to work itself out. We are to become more and more like Christ – to experience the new life in Jesus.
Romans 6: 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
We have an opportunity to live the life that Christ lived after the resurrection – that is a whole lot bigger than just getting over a bad habit – to be able to live a resurrected life – if we have been united with Him in death - …so we will be resurrected.
That old thing – that old self – that which causes us to go back to an old way of living – and that comes out in many ways – things that tend to control our lives – for some it is immorality issues – for others, fear and anxiety – self-control – and those things control us – we become slaves to those things. Throughout life. We have been enslaved – but we no longer need to be slaves – those areas don’t need to control us anymore.
We are a lot like the nation of Israel – God led them out – and the Egyptians are coming after them – and they cry out – why did we leave? We are going to die here! We were better as slaves in Egypt. Then Moses holds out his staff and the water parts – and they walk through on dry land. And at that point – they are separated from their slavery – from their oppressors. And what happens? Moses goes up to the mountain – and they start grumbling again – why did we leave our slavery.
Tim Keller – You can take a person out of slavery – but you can’t take the slavery out of the person.
But that is what Christ did – and we keep going back to it – but we don’t have to! Those things that you struggle with – you can change - you can get victory.
Rom. 6: 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus
Even though this is all true – the reality is – the best Christians are still going back to the sense that they can’t get over these areas – and Paul says – you need to count it – regard this to be true – because so often we forget and doubt and go back to living the way we have always lived.
We see this with Paul in Romans 7: 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

Sometimes it feels like we are a prisoner to some issue – it has us – the bitterness has taken control of your life – you can’t escape it – the anger, anxiety, the fear. That is what Paul is saying.

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
I want to do what is right! I try to do what is right! But I find the same thought patterns going on – although I want to do good – evil is right there with me.
The answer is there – it is what Jesus did for us. The answer is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – what I would like to do – how do we practically move from the struggle of failure and discouragement to the process of hope? We can do this – how do we appropriate what Christ has done inside of us?
I have four practical requirements – to help
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Step 1 – you must understand that you are forgiven. You cannot change in any area of life – without first believing that you are forgiven of what you have done. What is your view of yourself? When you fall? How do you look at yourself? Do you feel guilt/shame/failure? Or do you see yourself as forgiven? Completely forgiven?
I think we believe that the worse we feel about doing something wrong, the better chance we have of not doing it again. You cannot make yourself feel bad enough to not do it again.
You will not see yourself victorious until you see yourself forgiven! That is so important. The number one key to victory is that Christ came to forgive you of all of your sins – not partly – not just if you stop doing it – but you are forgiven the moment you sin – even before!
Colossians 2:
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.
WHEN? When you were dead in your sins
He forgave us all our sins,
They have ALL been forgiven already! It frees you up! We are free to live the new life. There is nothing holding us back. You have the power to do it and the freedom – you don’t have to deal with nay of the guilt that causes problems in our lives – and God’s love and forgiveness corrects so much of what is wrong in our lives. There is nothing you can do that God doesn’t completely forgive. There is nothing you WILL do that God won’t forgive completely. That is our life and hope! We need to think about these things! And we need to do it every day! That is our hope! That is what makes it worth living for!
Turn to 2 Peter 1:5 – He lists virtues for living –
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
These are to be yours – a part of who we are.
Blind/shortsighted – having forgotten. When you look at your life and see something that should be there and is not – it is not there because you have forgotten.
1) Understand our forgiveness.
Second – mind on the spirit
Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
The battle is fought in the mind – we have to get control of our thought-life. We must take control of what we are thinking about – if we are always thinking of our resentment and bitterness – that will control us. We need to set our minds on Jesus, his power, and what He has done for and in us.
2 Cor. 10: 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
So many thoughts want to flood our minds – and Paul says to capture them. So when you find yourself going down this thought path – grab it – don’t continue! Don’t go down the path of lustful thinking – at that point – capture it – and redirect it to Christ and what He did for you on the cross because that is where the battle is won. Watch what you let into your minds – it will fill and consume! It is so important to guard what comes in – you know, like computers – Garbage in – garbage out…
It is a discipline –
Phil. 4: 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Do you fill your mind with those things? What does your mind fill up with during the day? That will have a lot to do with how transformed you are becoming.
Get control of the thought patterns –
Rom. 6: 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Once we get our thinking in control – daily, moment by moment – when things go wrong or we are tempted – you have a decision to make – what will you offer yourself to? The old way, or to God? Will you present yourself to the way you have always done it, leading to failure? Or to God? God wants us to offer ourselves to Him.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
It is a decision we must make daily and moment by moment.
I am here for You, God. When the temptations come in – I am here for You, God.
We go through the struggles – yes, that is life – but we must keep offering ourselves to Him. It changes a lot of our perspective on things – when we see that Jesus died for us on the cross for our sins.
1 John 3: 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Jesus will return someday. I got an envelope – a couple of weeks ago – showing numerically - why Jesus is returning on May 21. Alan took a look at it and found some errors in his calculations… - well, it may not be May 21, but He will return – and when He does – we shall be like Him – it will be unbelievable!
The transformation that is going to take place is unreal. It won’t be a little better – it will be totally better – a WHOLE NEW CREATION! It won’t be like Adam and Eve – but God changes everything and makes everything new.
Revelation 22 – the old heaven and earth will be destroyed – and there will be a new one. A new earth that is unlike anything we could ever imagine.
1 John 3: 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
He is simply saying – YOU focus your attention and hope on THAT day – we are living for THAT day – THAT day changes this day – what you are like today. When you really know that you have been forgiven – so that you can be like Him and with Him forever – that changes this – then we can say - Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Let’s pray. Lord, help us to look forward to that hope. We might see it – and might, Lord, let it thrill our hearts. May our hope not be based simply on what is going on in this world – because this life will always disappoint – but when You come – what waits for us is beyond anything we have here – we will see you and be like You – in Your name we pray – amen.h