MADE FOR THIS
Pastor Brian Johnson
A Jesus Shaped Life • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 30:29
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Ephesians 1:4 “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”
(S1,2) — McDonald's is our Kind of Place
(S3,4) — Bounty is the Quicker Picker Upper
(S5,6) — KFC is Finger Lickin’ Good
(S7,8) — Wendy’s : Where’s the Beef?
It softens your Hands While You Do the Dishes? Palmolive
Why do we know these phrases? Advertisers…they influence our spending...
(S9) — What things, sources, people... have the strongest influence in your life?
Whether we realize it or not, there are seen and unseen forces working in our lives — influencing our thinking, values, habits, character...
Some are obvious — Family/friends/People/culture/education, and our life experiences...
Some are not so obvious — Social media?
Facebook — Key Chain, phone magnet...
(S10) — Cell phones and social media change the way we relate to each other. The question is for what Good? Neuroscience says that using the Internet changes our brains are structured.
“Excess use over prolonged periods of time may negatively affect some cognitive functions, like attention and short-term memory. It has also been associated with a higher risk for depression and anxiety, and can make us feel isolated and/or overwhelmed.”
Why we need a break today...
(S11) — Good sources and bad sources?
I have some good news! If you have said yes to Jesus…than there is another force at work in you, wanting to influence you for good.
(S12) —
Romans 8:29 (NLT)
29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son...
Jesus is wanting to shape those who believe in him and his purpose in the world, to be more and more like him. Ever wondered what your purpose is? If you are truly living into God’s will for your life?
God at work in me...
How much influence does Jesus have in your life?
From birth we were meant to be like Jesus…From our new birth... we are being shaped to be like Jesus. Clay in the potter’s hand…What is looks like to live a Jesus shaped life...
(S13) —SERIES — LENT — 40 days...Handouts — Sermon follow-up forum/group
A Jesus Shaped Life — Made for This
A Jesus Shaped Life — Made for This
Next five weeks — Obedience of Jesus — Relationships... Courage... Justice...Mission...
Here is what you need to know first...YOU ARE MADE FOR THIS — To be like Jesus...
PRAY
Paul’s letter...
Read vs 1-3 and expound...
To be like jesus is...GOD’S DESIRE FOR YOU!
(S14) —
Ephesians 1 (NLT)
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Notice it all starts with God...the initiator of the relationship — You were thought of, part of God’s greater plan, before it all began
Parents initiators — A desire for a child
God thought of you first — Creating, loving... for a relationship…that’s not all! There is more…God’s desire is that you would be HOLY...
Holy — Images? — Sanctify — become like Jesus (son)...
How we think
Philippians 4:8 “ Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Relates to others
Ephesians 4:32 “ Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
Act, in word, deed...
Notice, it’s how God already sees you! ...in his eyes
Your purpose is rooted in god’s plan. You are made for this. It is God’s desire?
(S15) — The only road to a Holy life, is Jesus —
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Jesus came, so we would no God...so we would no what it is to live like Jesus. When we do, it brings him great pleasure!
Bad news — It’s not easy!
Jesus — 40 days in the wilderness —
(S15,16) — To be like Jesus...
I. IT’S NOT NATURAL!
I. IT’S NOT NATURAL!
The Natural — Roy Hobbs, an individual with great "natural" baseball talent.
Dad’s death (19) — Harriet (shot) — (19) New York Knights, a struggling ball club sitting in last place — Manager is furious, believing him too old. Initially refuses to play him but...
He was a natural but, success was not...
Similarly, Both inner and outward sources are trying to influence us away from being shaped like Jesus…It’s not natural — Sin, our natural nature can get in the way...
Romans 7:20 (NLT)
20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Movie — Devil/angel on the shoulder
(S17) —
There is no sin that God cannot free you from
There is no sin that God cannot free you from
1 John 1:9 (NLT)
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Paul found freedom even in prison...
Ephesians 1:7 (NLT)
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
(S18,19) — It’s not natural to be like Jesus, that is why we need a
II. A NEW NATURE
II. A NEW NATURE
What’s wrong with my old self? When we are BORN we are born into flesh…in need of a new nature...
Baby’s are so cute
“John Wesley makes clear he understands human nature has been so thoroughly corrupted that we have no possibility of any goodness at all in ourselves or in our patterns of thinking, apart from God’s grace intervening.”
Romans 5:19 “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
In Christ, we are given the opportunity to be restored into our true, uncorrupted human nature — to live into the life we were originally created to live. Wesley put it this way,
(S20) —
“the great end of religion is to renew our hearts in the image of God, to repair that total loss of righteousness and true holiness which we sustained by the sin of our first parent” (Original Sin, III.5).
Taking on our new self , is to be change from the inside out — Repentant heart — To be born again — Baptism
Ephesians 4:22–24 (NLT)
22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
When we are born again by faith... we are born into the spirit of God — New nature
But that is not enough…we need a life coach to be shaped like Jesus
Ephesians 1:11 (NLT)
11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
(S21,22) — The H.S. becomes...
III. OUR ULTIMATE LIFE-COACH
III. OUR ULTIMATE LIFE-COACH
“The job of a coach is to help players reach a new level they would not reach on their own.”
Jaylen’s natural talent — His parents didn’t hire a piano teacher to tell him how lovely he played. It was to instruct him how to perform better to achieve what he could not on his own.
When we take on our new nature, the Holy Spirit becomes our ultimate life coach
(S23,24)
A. God’s Spirit helps us RECOGNIZE sin
A. God’s Spirit helps us RECOGNIZE sin
…Opens our eyes to the need for change — Conviction
John 16:8 “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”
Tell us what we are doing wrong so we can become more like Jesus
(S25,26)
B. God’s spirit empowers us to CHANGE our BEHAVIOR
B. God’s spirit empowers us to CHANGE our BEHAVIOR
…helps whip us into shape, like a good coach does
(S27,28)
C. God’s spirit Keeps us INSTEP with the WILL of God
…sustains us when we want to quit, so we will stay in shape — in touch, in love with God...
Galatians 5:16 (NLT)
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
It’s not NATURAL — NEW NATURE — LIFE COACH
Geologists tell us that the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon over millions of years. The river cut so deep that its strata reveal 40 percent of the earth’s history. Even now, the relentless water flow continues to imperceptibly erode the canyon floor, deepening and widening it.
(S29) — Whether we realize it or not, there are seen and unseen forces working in our lives — influencing our thinking, values, habits, character...
How much influence does Jesus have in your life?
Philippians 2:12–13 (NLT)
Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
You are MADE for THIS!
Questions for Reflection
When you hear the word holy, what comes to your mind? How closely does that image resemble Jesus’ character and life?
In what ways do you most frequently see your old nature show up in your thoughts and actions? How would your life be different if your new nature were able to win more of the inner battles?
What pitfalls might we face if we do not realize that it is the grace of God that enables us to become like Jesus?
Think of a time you recently sensed the Spirit’s conviction. How does knowing that you are already accepted by God change the way you respond?