Changed
Scriptures: John 3:3; 18:36; Romans 6:1-11; Colossians 3:1-4
The title of my message this morning is “Changed.” The word change is defined as “to become or make different.” When used in the past tense it means to “have become or been made different.”
Before I get into the heart of this message, I want to share a story with you that I am sure most of you know. It’s the abbreviated story of Pinocchio. The story begins in the Italian workshop of a woodworker named Geppetto. Jiminy Cricket watches as Geppetto finishes work on a wooden puppet that he names Pinocchio. Before falling asleep, Geppetto makes a wish on a star that Pinocchio will be a real boy. During the night, a Blue Fairy visits the workshop and brings Pinocchio to life, although he still remains a puppet. She informs him that if he proves himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, he will become a real boy, and assigns Jiminy to be his conscience. The next morning Geppetto discovers that his wish has come true, and is filled with joy. However, on his way to school, Pinocchio is led astray by Honest John the Fox and his companion, Gideon the Cat, who convinces him to join Stromboli's puppet show, despite Jiminy's objections.
Pinocchio becomes Stromboli's star attraction as a puppet that can sing and dance without strings. However, when Pinocchio wants to go home for the night, Stromboli locks him in a birdcage. Jiminy arrives to see Pinocchio and is unable to free him. The Blue Fairy appears and asks Pinocchio why he was not at school. Jiminy urges Pinocchio to tell the truth, but instead, he starts telling lies, which causes his nose to grow longer and longer. Pinocchio vows to be good from now on, and the Blue Fairy returns his nose to its original form and sets him free while warning him that this will be the last time she can help him. You know the rest of the story of how he got into trouble again; ended up on Pleasure Island; escapes; and ultimately saves the life of Geppetto which leads to him becoming a real boy. What I want you to see through this story (you really must use your imaginations) is how it parallels our change when we got saved. When we get saved we are innocent Christians who must learn a new way to live. You see our responses to the world changes from a worldly view to a spiritual one. And like Pinocchio who needed Jiminy to be his conscious and provide guidance, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us make the right decisions. And, please pay attention to this, like Pinocchio who refused to listen to Jiminy and thus got into trouble, we too get into trouble when we fail to listen to the Holy Spirit. Everything worked out for Pinocchio when he proved to be brave, truthful and unselfish and it can work out for us too when we die to the world in order to live (be real) for Christ. So keep this story in your mind as I talk this morning about what it means to be changed.
In 1975, Walter Hawkins released a song titled “Changed” on his “Love Alive” album. In this song he talked about the change that Jesus made in his life after he accepted Him. Listen to some of the words from that song: “A change, a change has come over me; He changed my life and now I'm free. He washed away all my sins, and He made me whole. He washed me white as snow. He changed, my life complete, and now I sit, I sit at His feet. To do what must be done, I'll work and work, until He comes. A wonderful change has come over me.” What change was he talking about? He was talking about the transition that takes place in our lives after we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Let me put it another way so that it will stick with you.
In August of 1968 I died; I was 7 years old. I didn’t know it and no one else seemed to notice. I had died to everything that linked me to this world and yet I didn’t know it and no one else seemed to notice. There were others around me who had also died and no one seemed to notice them either. I mean how can someone die and they not know that they are dead and those around them don’t seem to notice either? Please understand, I am not talking about seeing ghosts or anything like that, but when I look at myself and most of you, I see dead people. I guess you could say that I, and all of who have accepted Christ, became one of “the walking dead.” I just didn’t know it then and no one else seemed to notice it. So how did we die? We died when we accepted Christ. We died to this world and the requirements to continue living a defeated life, one filled with sin and troubles that torment our souls. That is what Walter Hawkins was talking about in the song “Changed.” This morning we are going to explore the answer to the question of how someone can be dead and not know it and why others who know them do not seem to notice that they are dead. At the close of this message I hope that you will recognize that when you too accepted Christ you died and therefore a change came over you too.
Recently I had a conversation with a young adult who was wondering how it was possible to live a righteous life. In her words she said that it was downright hard. She said that God should understand how difficult it is for people to live in this world and not give in to sin continuously, that maybe the expectation should be lowered as people try their best to live right. I thought about the term “doing my best” and how we use that term. Do you know that “people trying their best” is not a good marker for success? I mean, how many times as a parent have you talked to your child about their low or failing grades and they tell you that they were doing their best? Did you accept their answer and tell them that you were proud of them? If you are like my parents you probably told them that they needed to try harder because in reality “their best” could be improved. And, when they actually tried harder, miraculously their grades got better proving the point that even though they may have thought they were doing their best, in reality they were not. So as I was having this conversation with this person about why God couldn’t just accept our word that we are “doing our best” the Holy Spirit dropped this example into my spirit.
Let me say this up front that God knew that the person I was talking to was sincere and really wanted to understand the whole issue with living righteously for God. He knew she wanted answers about living in sin and why there is so much emphasis on conquering it (at least when she was talking to me.) I looked at her and I said this: “You have a daughter that you love. Both you and your daughter both love this other person like they were family. The other person got into serious trouble based on how they were living. When they were arrested and placed in jail, they were given a death sentence. You and your daughter loved this person so much that each of you wanted to save them. Your daughter volunteered to take the person’s place and you agreed to allow it to happen knowing that your daughter would now face the same death sentence. Once the decision was made, you take your daughter to the prison and she takes the other person’s place. Your daughter is now sentenced to death in the place of the other person and the other person gets a second chance at life with the expectation that they would make better choices. When the other person is freed from jail they have a clean slate and you provide them with what they need to live a better life. All they have to do is go and live it.”
Now here are the questions that I asked her: “How would you feel if when the other person got out of prison, because you daughter took their place, they did not use the resources you have them to succeed; did not change; and ultimately went back to doing the same things they were doing that sent them to prison in the first place? Wouldn’t you expect that the person would be so grateful for the gift they were given that they would want to change – to do better?” She thought for a minute and said that yes, she would expect to see them change. And I told her that is why God has the same expectation for us. Our freedom came with a price. He gave His Son to die for us so the least we could do is live the life we have been empowered to live through His death and resurrection. When I said this she paused before saying that this made sense to her. Truly this is how we need to look at our lives – we have been empowered from on high to do great things!
When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1968, I died to this world and to a nature ruled by sin. At the time I just didn’t realize fully what that meant. And because I died, Jesus was able to give me God’s most precious gift – eternal life! I had to die in order to live. When I died, I was re-born. Jesus calls it being “born again.” In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see (know or experience) the kingdom of God.” Being born again changes our eternal family and that change means that what we were once associated with in the world is no longer a part of us. In other words, we are dead to it. There is a song that says, “This world is not my home, I am only passing through; if heaven is not my home, Oh Lord, what will I do; the angels are beckoning me, to heavens open door, and I can’t, feel at home, in this world anymore.” When heaven becomes our home, we can no longer be at home in this world. Turn with me to John 18:36.
Jesus has been arrested and is being questioned by Pilate. Pilate asks Him if He is the King of the Jews. Verse 36 says, “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My kingdom not from here.” (John 18:36) While it was a common thought that Jesus would establish His kingdom on earth during this time, He made it clear that this world, in its current state, was not where His kingdom was. He was not of this world nor was He sent to “rule” this world in its current form. In John 15:19 Jesus is with His disciples at the Last Supper and He tells them, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Now turn to 1 Corinthians 2:12. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
Within these passages we find three specific truths:
? First, Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world, which means Jesus was not of this world.
? Second, when we are born again, we receive the Spirit which is of God. We receive the same spiritual life that lived in Jesus.
? And third, as children of God, we are therefore not of this world.
Now the first question we must ask is this: What does Jesus mean when He tells the disciples they are not of this world? Do you see the word “of” in these verses? In all three verses, it is the same word in the Greek. It’s the word ek, which is a primary preposition that denotes origin – the point from which a motion or action proceeds. It identifies where someone comes from. So in John 18:36, when Jesus says “My kingdom is not of this world,” He’s saying “My kingdom did not originate, did not come from, this fallen world.” In John 15:19, when Jesus tells the disciples “you are not of this world,” He’s saying that after I am raised from the dead, you will be just like me – your place of origin will be Heaven! In 1 Corinthians 2:12, when it says we have received “the Spirit which is of God,” it’s telling us that, who we are – our spiritual identity – no longer comes from this world, but from God. In these three verses and many others our true origin and residence is defined as not being of this world. When we got saved, we became visitors here, not residents!
Now here’s the next question: If we are not of this world, should the things of this world dominate how we live and think? Now before we answer that question I want you to think about something. All of us have moved from one place to another, whether it was moving homes or changing schools. When we move to our new location, our old location no longer belongs to us. Now imagine moving from your old house to your new house but, in your mind, you still live in your old house. So every day you drive by your old house to check on things. When the grass needs mowing you leave a note on the new owner’s door telling them to mow “your” yard. Or, you just bring your own mower and just do it yourself as you did when you really owned the house. Imagine what happens when the new owners hear you mowing “their” yard and come rushing out of the house yelling and asking you why you are mowing their yard. Imagine them calling the police because you are trespassing on their property. Imagine the police coming and you trying to explain to them why you are mowing someone else’s yard. This seems extreme doesn’t it? But isn’t this what we do when we forget that this world is not our home? The Bible says that once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer part of this world. This world, New Light, is not our home so it should not dominate how we think or live.
Let me ask you this question. Have you ever slept so hard that when others tried to wake you they found if difficult? And when you finally woke up they told you that you were sleeping so hard that you were “dead to the world.” This saying is a figure of speech that describes a person who is so deep in sleep that it’s hard to wake him up. Not only that; the person is not conscious of the things going on around them. Their sleep is not being impacted or disturbed by outside influences. To a person who didn’t know better, the person sleeping would appear to be dead. That’s why he is said to be “dead to the world.”
Did you know that this saying, when it was first used, did not mean to be so deep in sleep that you appeared dead? The phrase “dead to the world” originated sometime in the 1700s or before and originally referred to a person who had made a decision to be dead to the world and its influences and be alive only to God and religious pursuits. By the 1800s, “dead to the world” also meant “unconscious.” Over time people began using it to describe sleep from which one could barely be awoken. Do you see how its meaning began to degenerate and have no relationship to serving God? By the early 1900s, people sometimes used “dead to the world” to describe someone who was extremely inebriated. Ladies and gentlemen, it took Satan a little over 100 years to degenerate a figure of speech that described a person who placed a high value on a vibrant relationship with God to one that described a person who is so deep in sleep that no one could awake him. Then, in another 100 years or so, Satan was able to pervert the saying “dead to the world” once again, this time to mean a person who is drunk or an alcoholic. So what am I saying, being dead to the world is about understanding the change that took place within you when you accepted Christ as your personal Savior. You changed addresses spiritually for all eternity even though your physical address was still right here on earth.
A person who is “dead to the world” is a person whose life most resembles that of the life of Jesus that we see in the four gospels. Here’s what I mean. Being dead to the world means:
? The world does not influence how you think.
? Your emotions don’t dominate how you respond to situations and circumstances.
? You do not value what the world values.
? You see things the same exact way God, your Heavenly Father, sees things.
? Does not mean the world sees you as dead. Now let this one sink in. When we are dead to the world, the world is not going to like us one bit. It is going to hate us. It is going to know we are alive and living for the kingdom of God!
Romans 6:1-2. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?” How many of you know that if you are dead to something, it no longer affects you? And that is exactly what Paul is saying here. We are dead to sin! Now look at verses 7 & 8. “For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we are dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” What causes us to be dead so that we are no longer slaves to sin? We accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Ephesians 2:5-6 says “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved) and hath raised us up together [with Christ], and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The word “quickened” means “to be spiritually alive.” Ephesians tells us that when God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him spiritual life, He also gave us that same life – at the same time!
Romans 6:11. “Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Even though we are born again, even though we have a spiritual nature just like God, we have to choose to live in that spiritual life. That’s what Paul means by “reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.” That’s not a problem spiritually. But, when we get born again, our minds and our bodies are not affected. The only way we can “reckon” is if we allow our God-given spiritual life to govern how we live.
Turn to Colossians 3:1-4. “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory.” Now that we have been raised with Christ, we are to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness and to love the things of the kingdom of God and its righteousness (Matthew 6:33). That is what verses 1 and 2 are saying. Verse 3 says we are dead. What are we dead to? The things on the earth! Do you see this? But more importantly, we now have our life with Christ, who is our life! Translation: When we live for Jesus Christ the Bible says “WE ARE DEAD!” The Bible also says that the life we have is hid in Christ. It is now in union with and is exactly like the life Jesus has. So when Jesus says we are not of this world, He’s saying that we are just like Him – dead to this world because of the life that lives in Him and us! When we make a decision to be “dead to the world,” 1 John 3:1-2 declares that the world will not know us – will not understand us, will not agree with us, will not accept us. It says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
I shared with you last Sunday that I had a conversation with a family member while I was at home. Actually I had a conversation with several family members. I have talked to them from the day they were born and while I am not always sure that the seeds planted take root, I continue to sow them. But something was said last week that gave me pause. One person told me that they do not always “feel” saved. When I probed and ask why, they could not fully verbalize their reasons other than it was hard to live according to the Bible sometimes. I understand this fully. I know we live in days when people want to hear that everything is okay and as long as they attempt to walk with God that is sufficient. I am not sure where that is found in the Bible, but I can tell you this. None of us are perfect. All of us have sinned. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. But the question that remains is this: “Just because I have fallen short, should I keep on falling short? Should I expect to fall short? Should falling short continue to be my norm?” I want you to hear me closely as time is running out. Our known sins will not draw people to Christ. In order for us to draw people to Christ they must see something in us that is different from them. While they can connect to our past (the sins we lived through) our desire is for them to one day connect to our present and future. If we have what they have then there is no need for them to desire or need to change. Remember, the word changed means to be become or be made different. It’s the difference (change) that people will see in us that will draw them as we begin to go outside of these doors in 2020. Our time is now.
When I was seven years old I died. I died to this world when I accepted Christ. My flesh did not change nor did my thinking initially. At seven years of age I knew that it meant something to be saved. I knew at that age that I was supposed to be different – I was supposed to have changed. As I began to read the Bible, I believed what I read. I knew that God expected something from me and I wanted to honor him. When I became a teenager I sinned and I enjoyed it. But here is the thing; I knew that I was sinning. My flesh enjoyed it. At that time I knew there was a hell but I knew that I had been baptized and I was saved. At that time I firmly believed once saved always saved regardless of how I lived. It wasn’t until I studied the Bible for myself that those beliefs changed. Even though my flesh still desires to sin my spirit overrides it more often than not now. Please understand that I am no better than anyone else. I still fall down, but unlike my past, I no longer justify it. Now I am quick to cry out to God for forgiveness and strength. If we are going to really start making a difference in our lives and the lives of others this gift that God gave us in His Son must start showing up in how we are living.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
