Podcasts about christ then

Main Points:如果 你已經與基督一同復活 然後：IF you have been raised with Christ THEN:尋求耶穌（1b節)  Seek Jesus (v. 1b)唯有衪（2-4節） And Him Alone (vv. 2-4)克制你的肉體（5-7節 ) Mortify your Flesh (vv. 5-7)脫去舊的生活（8-11節） Put Off the Old Life (vv. 8-11)穿上你的新生活（12-14節）Put On Your New Life (vv. 12-14)讓基督在你的情感中掌權（15節 ) Let Christ Rule in Your Affections (v. 15)讓基督的話語掌管你的生活（16節）Let the Word of Christ Rule in your Living (v. 16)凡事都要為神的榮耀而行（17節) Do All for God's Glory (v. 17)Application:確保你沒有融合的世界觀 Ensure you don't have a syncretistic worldview.在你生活的各個層面都相信神的話 Trust in God's Word in all areas of your life.從聖經的角度看問題、考驗和苦難 View problems, trials, and suffering Biblically.培養你的孩子擁有聖經的世界觀 Raise your children to have a Biblical worldview.從聖經的角度思考死亡和來世 Think Biblically about death and the afterlife.

Main Points:IF you have been raised with Christ THEN:Seek Jesus (v. 1b)And Him Alone (vv. 2-4)Mortify your Flesh (vv. 5-7)Put Off the Old Life (vv. 8-11)Put On Your New Life (vv. 12-14)Let Christ Rule in Your Affections (v. 15)Let the Word of Christ Rule in your Living (v. 16)Do All for God's Glory (v. 17)Application:Ensure you don't have a syncretistic worldview.Trust in God's Word in all areas of your life.View problems, trials, and suffering Biblically.Raise your children to have a Biblical worldview.Think Biblically about death and the afterlife.

Scriptures: Isaiah 40:1–12; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8–18; Mark 1:1–9. | By: Matt Light | Topic: Waiting for Christ Then and Now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1. The OBSERVATION of Christ -Jesus, beholding him--2. The AFFECTION of Christ -loved him--3. The OCCASION of Christ -THEN...--4. The PROCLAMATION of Christ -v.21-

Do you want to follow Christ- Do you really want to follow Christ- Then you must be willing to take up your cross and deny your flesh, on a daily basis. This isn't a suggestion, but rather an instruction given by to His followers. When we take up our cross to follow Christ, it also comes with some direct benefits.

Talk 4. Living for Christ - what we should do for him Welcome to the fourth talk in our series on Themes from Colossians.   In Talk 1 we saw the Supremacy of Christ - who he is. In Talks 2&3 we considered our Freedom in Christ - what he has done for us. We saw that:   On the cross Jesus defeated the enemy He has redeemed us from his power He rescued us from his dominion   As a result He has forgiven our sins and set us free from the Law of the OT He has made us alive with Christ He has qualified us to share in his inheritance He has brought us into his kingdom He has given us fulness in Christ   Today and next time we'll be considering Living for Christ - what we should do for him. The passage we're considering today is Colossians 3:1-17   Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.   v 1  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ Then = therefore. Paul is referring back to what he's already taught about who Christ is and what he's done for us (cf. Talks 1-3).   The supremacy of Christ is summarized by: Christ is seated at the right hand of God (v 1)   What he has done for us is summarized in 3 different tenses: Past.   Present.   Future Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.   These wonderful facts must affect our entire way of thinking:   Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.   And a change of attitude will result in a change of action:   Colossians 3:5-9.   Things to be avoided Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices   Colossians 3:9-14.   Things to embrace 9. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.   But what's the secret to avoiding the bad and embracing the good? Notice what Paul says:   Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.   But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.   Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.   And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity   Notice that in telling us to do these things, he's telling us to do what we've already done!   9. …you have taken off your old self with its practices …have put on the new self   So why does he tell us to put on what we've already put on?! He's telling us to be what we are! In Christ we already are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) Paul is telling us to live accordingly. If Christ had not already changed me, I could not possibly be what he wants me to be. But because he has already made us holy, we can live holy lives.Trying to live a holy life doesn't make us holy, but because God has already made us holy, we can live holy lives. Colossians 3:15-17 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.   It's as we allow the word of Christ to dwell in us that the peace of Christ will rule in our hearts. As Christians it's God's word that informs and authenticates our beliefs and actions and to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus means that we seek constantly to live our lives subject to his word.   Summary Because of who Christ is and because of what he has done for us, Paul encourages us to set our hearts and minds on heavenly things rather than earthly things.   This is possible because, since we received Christ as our Saviour,  God sees us as identified with him in his death, burial and resurrection. We have been raised with Christ, who is seated at God's right hand.   So we're to stop thinking and behaving in an earthly way. A right attitude will lead to right actions. Paul calls this putting off the old self and putting on the new. We're to be what we are in Christ.   Things like sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and lying are totally incompatible with our heavenly status. Whereas compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love and peace are qualities that reflect who we truly are in Christ.   Whatever we do we're to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. We can only do this as we let his word dwell in us and as we teach and encourage one another in love.

Chap. 240 - Studying the Character of Christ Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto thy commandments. Psalm 119:6. {OHC 246.1} In this world we might become hopelessly perplexed, as the devil wants us to be, if we keep looking upon those things that are perplexing; for by dwelling upon them, and talking of them, we become discouraged. In criticizing others because they fail to manifest love, we shall kill the precious plant of love in our own hearts. Have we individually appreciated and felt the warmth of love which Christ represented in His life? Then it is our duty to manifest this love to the world. Let us fear to dwell upon, to behold and talk of the great mistakes that others are making.... {OHC 246.2} You may create an unreal world in your own mind and picture an ideal church, where the temptations of Satan no longer prompt to evil; but perfection exists only in your imagination. The world is a fallen world, and the church is a place represented by a field in which grow tares and wheat. They are to grow together until the harvest. It is not our place to uproot the tares, according to human wisdom, lest under the suggestions of Satan, the wheat may be rooted up.... {OHC 246.3} None need to lose the golden moments of time in their short life history through seeking to weigh the imperfections of professed Christians. Not one of us has time to do this. If we see clearly what is the manner of character Christians should develop, and yet see in others that which is inconsistent with this character, let us determine that we will firmly resist the enemy in his temptations to make us act in an inconsistent way, and say, "I will not make Christ ashamed of me. I will more earnestly study the character of Christ in whom there was no imperfection, no selfishness, no spot, no stain of evil, who lived not to please and glorify Himself, but to glorify God and save fallen humanity. I will not copy the defective characters of these inconsistent Christians, and the mistakes that they have made shall not lead me to be like them. I will turn to the precious Saviour, that I may be like Him." {OHC 246.4} --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tawasv/message

Minute-To-Witness Instructions There was a time in my life when... (20 sec; two adjectives to describe your life before Christ) Then someone shared a story with me that changed my life... (20 sec; brief Gospel message) After trusting in Christ... (20 sec; after Christ how life has changed, be honest) Do you have a story like that? Overview Flashback Instructions (for those who came to Christ at a young age) Someone shared a story with me that changed my life... (20 sec; brief Gospel message) After Trusting in Christ... (20 sec; after Christ how life has changed, including hardships) Because of this, I have seen in my life (20 seconds; things that didn't happen because of Christ's sustainment) Do you have a story like that?

Are you a Christian? Are you part of the Church, the Body of Christ? Do you have this grand destiny of being a mature person, of measuring up to the fullness of Christ? Then, move toward that destiny which requires that you stop being a spiritual child.

The Kingdom Of Heaven is anywhere that the rule of God is taking place. Kingdom FightingWe are in afight.The battle is experienced here but not fought here.Ephesians 6:16 Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.Ephesians 6:12 We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. The real enemy is a spiritual enemy that influences flesh and blood people with his chaos.You have to fight from higher ground. Ephesians 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.Ephesians 1:20-22 When He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.Philippians 1:27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.Faith = fighting together based on our conviction and trust in who God is and what He will do.#1 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: UnityEphesians 4:3 endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. #2 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: Generations#3 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: Equality#4 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: The Presence Of GodRevelation 3.20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. #5 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: The Truth#6 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: COMMUNITY#7 At New Song Church We Are Fighting Together For: Purity

Has un forgiveness robbed you of your joy and freedom in Christ ? Then time to forgive is now. Learn what it means to walk in love and forgiveness.

“The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot.” — Genesis 8:9 Reader, can you find rest apart from the ark, Christ Jesus? Then be assured that your religion is vain. Are you satisfied with anything short of a conscious knowledge of your union and interest in Christ? Then woe unto you. If […]

"Yes, I am a Christian." Is the answer to the question often asked of someone who speaks of God being in their life. But when one does state, 'I have God in my life.' are they in fact speaking of following Christ in the manner the scriptures teach? And how can the one proclaiming that God is in their life, or that they are a Christian be eternally certain their claim is in fact true? After all, at the time of the great and terrible White Throne Judgment we read in Matthew 7 of the multitude of lost souls claiming to have been working in the name of Christ and the soul-wrenching reply they receive from their judge, the Lord Jesus. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven..., 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ How can such a thing happen? How do such souls end up being so wrong, so condemned? May it be suggested they failed to heed or understand the scriptures? And we who are believers are commanded to know and teach the word of God (Deut. 6:4-7) And in our claim of having God in our life, of being a Christian, a disciple, a believer, and yes, even a follower of Christ, do we also take into account a particular position we also hold found in 1 Peter 2:9? But you are... a royal priesthood... that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. We stand as those who direct others to God. We are here to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness. Think of that, we are to be God's proclaimers to a world lost in sin; but we must do so with the truth, and in truth. And Pastor Tim Bresnahan in this sermon expounds on the absolute necessity of understanding God's truth, taking hold of it for ourselves and proclaiming it to those not only closest to us, but to those who enter our lives as well. We must take hold of 'The Real Thing', and become those who stand as one from a royal priesthood rightly proclaiming God to a world of lost souls. And by doing so, at the time of the great and terrible judgment, we and our hearers rather than being told by Christ “Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' (Matthew 25:41)we instead will hear the glad words from Matthew 25:21 ‘'Well done, good and faithful servant... Enter into the joy of your master.'

"And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." - John 4:27-42 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/caruthersvillefirst/support

Do you know how your circle of friends impacts you? Would you like to know who you should have in your circle of influence, and who you need in your inner circle to grow in your walk with Christ? Then, this episode is for you.

Do you want others to believe on Christ? Then you must believe that God can use you to reach them. God's people must demonstrate true faith in a world characterized by unbelief.

Do you want others to believe on Christ? Then you must believe that God can use you to reach them. God's people must demonstrate true faith in a world characterized by unbelief.

Coffee Talk Topic: Living a Counter Culture Life This episode encourages Christians to live in opposition to pop-culture and provides tips to raise our children counter-culturally. Do you want your family to live a more Godly, enthusiastic life for Christ? Then grab yourself a cup-of-joe, sit back and be encouraged to break out of the box of basic! Featured Guests: Tina Griffin and LoveCollide First up is the exuberant Tina Griffin, who shares eye-opening details and offers plans for how you too can be a “Counterculture Mom.” Tina says, “Satan is trying to pump as much graphic sexual content as possible into our kid’s heads. The industry is making millions of dollars off the next generation in ways that go completely against God’s word. If we want to raise our kids in a Godly environment, it is critical to watch everything that goes into our kids brains. We must only allow them to engage in positive entertainment.” Then we’ll hear from Lauren and Brooke DeLeary of the faith-forward pop duo, LOVECOLLIDE. Tired of Basic is their latest release, which encourages us to break out of the boxes created by culture. You won’t want to miss their powerful new single, “I Don’t Want It,” featured on the show. This song suggests that if God’s not in it, then I Don’t Want It. LINKS FROM THE SHOW Connect with Tina Griffin at counterculturemom.com Connect with Lauren and Brooke at lovecollide.com Subscribe to the Christian Coffee Talk Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and Stitcher! Join our growing Online Community to connect with like-minded women 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. www.facebook.com/groups/christiancoffeetalk Theme Song: Jesus Kind Of Love by www.NateJacksonMusic.com

Our minister Adam Faughn begins this lesson by introducing our theme for 2017 One Word The Word of Christ Then our youth minister Tyler Hallman speaks concerning his vision for the youth program this year Adam concludes the lesson beginning at the 2110 mark if you wish to skip ahead by delivering three powerful observations about Jesus that can been made from John 114

Well, lets open our Bibles up to the Book of Ephesians today. I think before we get into the message, Im going to give you just one last time to stand up and stretch. Lets stand together one more time. More importantly than standing up and stretching is asking the Lord to guide our time together today. Father, we thank You for the body that Youve assembled here in Janesville. We recognize that we are a small part of what youre doing in the world, but we are a part. We play a role. You have a plan and a purpose for this body. You have a plan and a purpose for us as individuals. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will guide the things that are said. Teach us from Your Word. We recognize that You are the leader of this church. You are the only star here. You are the only One that is worthy of our admiration, praise and worship. We are all simply Your servants, but we too have a part to play; so I pray that today will be used in our lives to lead, guide and direct Your church and the purposes You called us to. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen. If I say to you, We are, what are you thinking? If I say, We are, how would you finish that? Im going to read to you several we are Scriptures this morning. Im going to talk this morning from the Word of God, and then half of the message is going to be practical, just talking about the plans and our roles and so forth. This is kind of a hybrid. Were going to spend some time in the Word, talking about our Mission because thats what its about. Its all about the Mission. Its not about the building; its about the Mission. Then well talk about some of the practical nuts and bolts of that. There are several times in the New Testament where the phrase we are is used of the church. We: plurality, unity, oneness among many. We signifies that we cannot do it on our own. We cannot accomplish the mission and purpose individually. It is a collective group effort-we, in partnership with God and in partnership with one another. Together we work for a common cause. Many of you know Im a basketball fan, and my favorite basketball team is the Chicago Bulls. I like the Bucks too, so dont get mad at me; but I like the Bulls. I grew up a Bulls fan, and especially when Michael Jordan came to town, I was so excited. I remember when he was drafted how excited I was back in 1984. When he came to the league, he went beyond expectations. He did dazzling things. He would score 40, 50, 60 points. The Bulls would make the playoffs, but usually theyd be eliminated early. They could never make it to the point of playing for a championship. Even though he led the league in scoring, even though he was recognized as the greatest player in the league-maybe the greatest player of all time, this young man-he wasnt reaching the top of the mountain until they hired a man by the name of Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson came in as the architect of that team. The first thing he did was he sat Michael down and said, We know youre great. We know youre the best player on the team, but you have to start thinking about team. Your number one job is going to be to trust your teammates and make them better. Youre going to take more shots and have more assists. Youre going to involve the other teammates, and youre going to make them better. When they get better, were going to win. After that first title, Michael bought in; and then they went on to win five more. Had he not played baseball for a couple years, he probably could have won at least eight; and thats no exaggeration. Its a team effort. So thats what we conjures up in my mind. It conjures up a team work, a collectiveness, inner-dependence on one another. Secondly, it says, We are. The word are, the verb to be is what we are. Its our essence, not just something we have, something we hope to have, or might have; it is what we are now. In the Book of Ephesians 2:10 (page 1157 of pew Bibles), For we are… Who? We, the church. We are what? …we are Gods… First and foremost, we are Gods. We belong to Him. Theres a Passage in the Book of 2 Corinthians 5, and I recognize now how dependent we are on our Bibles in the pew in front of us. We always have them, and now we dont have that today; so its a little bit more difficult. (Service was held at the Pontiac Convention Center to rejoice in the progress of the next phase in the buildings addition at Faith Community Church.) In fact, Im so used to not bringing my Bible that even the pastor did not bring his Bible to church today. Im so used to just grabbing one of the church Bibles that we all read. I was like, I dont have a Bible, and I had to locate one. In 2 Corinthians 5:15 (page 1145 of pew Bible), Paul writes and says, And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. Thats powerful, so if youre a believer this morning, you do not belong to yourself. You belong to the Lord. That influences the way you think, the way you speak, and the way you act. Its important for us to realize that. He says, We are Gods. Say that, I am His. I am His. We belong to God. You have to understand that our lives are not our own. Weve been saved and redeemed for a purpose-to live for Christ. What a difference that makes if we truly understand that. In Ephesians 2:10 (again, page 1157), …but we are Gods… what? Workmanship. Its an interesting word. Its the word we get poem from, the Greek word poema, that which has been made. It means to be made for a purpose, that God has put within you an ability and gift to accomplish His purpose. You are a part of the poem that God is writing. You are a part, a phrase, of that poem that He is writing for Janesville, He is writing for your life. You are a part of that. You are a unique expression of the creativity of God. Have any of you ever been to the Safe House restaurant? Have you been there? Its a fun place to be. Ive been there a couple times. At the Safe House, you come in through this obscure alley. It doesnt even look like there should be a restaurant there. It looks like the kind of alley you might get mugged in rather than being a spot of a popular restaurant. There isnt any parking around there. You just go down this dark alley. There is this plain old brown door, and theres nothing on it. It doesnt say Safe House. It doesnt list the hours; it doesnt say open. Its just like a door to a factory or something. You open it and go inside, and you walk into this light kind of a room. Theres usually a host or hostess there to greet you, and they ask you for a password. Its a spy house. Its a safe place for spies to go who are involved in covert operations. So you come in, and they ask, Whats the password? Usually, you dont know. Then you dont have to be afraid that youre not going to get seated because they will make you do silly things to get admitted into the restaurant. They might say, Act like an elephant, or walk like a penguin, or act like a puppy dog or a bunny rabbit. If its not quite silly enough, then theyll encourage you. Theyll say, Well, Im not sure you can really get in. You need to be more of a penguin than you are right now. Then youll continue to act up, and after they put you through enough humiliation, theyll say, Okay, fine, and theyll open the secret passage way. Into the restaurant youll go. While youre doing these silly things, the people in the restaurant down below are watching you on TV (congregation laughing). When you come walking in, theyre like, Hey, nice penguin there, Bud. Its just embarrassing, so if youre new there, you dont even realize people are watching. Then you really get double humiliated when you realize the whole restaurant has been laughing at your expense. Then the fun part comes in because you get to sit down and then laugh at them. There are new people coming in, rookies. You get to say a few things to them when they walk through the door. Sometimes people think when theyre coming to church, The church is going to make me be somebody Im not. Theyre going to try to shape me and force me into their mold, people who I really dont feel like I am. Paul said, Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is in the church that we discover who we really are. Its in the church that we discover who God made us to be, what Hes intended us to do. Have you ever had those moments when youre in church, youre listening to a message or a teaching, or youre in a small group-maybe youre engaged in ministry-and theres like a light bulb that goes on in your head that says, This is why Im here. This is what I was created for. This is what Ive been called to do. When youre serving the Lord and youre discovering those things, you just feel truly and completely alive. I hope youve experienced that. If you havent, I hope that you will. I experience that all the time. Ill leave our church on a weekend or leave our staff meeting, and Ill just say, This is my purpose. This is why God put me here. Im His workmanship. He is working in and through my life. So Paul says, We are Gods workmanship… Listen to what he says in the next part of that verse, We are Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus. What kind of creation is he talking about here? Do you know? Hes not talking about our physical creation. Hes talking about our spiritual creation. Were what the Bible calls the new birth. Lets turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17. Paul writes and says, Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, and the new has come. That is the creation that Paul is talking about here. Hes talking about the new creation. God has a plan for you. Its not a generic plan. Theres nothing worse than when your spouse goes to the grocery store and brings home generic food. I remember coming home one time with a bottle that just said ketchup on it. Wheres the Heinz ketchup? I dont want this! Well, thats $0.50 cheaper! I dont care if its a dollar cheaper! Get real ketchup! Or if you get some pop that says soda on it, Orange soda. I wanted Crush or whatever it is. God did not design a generic plan for you. There is a specific plan. It has detail. Part of being a part of a church is about God unfolding that plan to us-collectively and individually-and we walk together in that plan; but we are Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, to do good works. It didnt say were saved by good works. It said, Were created to do good works. That is our purpose. Think about what he just said. We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works or for good works. Paul is saying that is our reason for being. That is why God called you to Himself. That is why He redeemed you-for His purposes. Sometimes you think church is just this its kinda if I have leftover time, Ill make some time for church. When things settle down, maybe Ill have time for the things of God. When life settles down… I have all these things going on, all these projects. Maybe someday, Ill get around to these matters of spirituality. Actually, Paul says, That is our purpose. That is why He created us in Christ, to be the very center of our being-not an afterthought, not something for our leftovers. The church and Jesus Christ and accomplishing our purposes-and a mission in it-are to be central and integral to our very being. This is why He created us. So often the church is used as a consumer mentality. Church becomes like a consumer mentality here. We say, Well, whats in it for me? Whats in it for me? We travel here and there because of this. Oh, they have great music, or thats a great message, or they have the greatest program here or there. I go, I consume, and I leave. Thats not a church. Thats not what its about. Its not for you. Its not about your consumption. Its where you come to serve. Its where you come to be equipped. Its where you come to work. Some of you come to Faith on Sunday, and youre working on your ministry. Others of you are coming here, and youre being equipped and taught so you can carry out the work God has called you to do. Consumer mentality has no place in the Church of Jesus Christ. This is where we roll up our sleeves and get to work for the Kingdom of God. We are Gods workmanship. Were going to have this memorized before were done. …created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. It was not an afterthought. We were not an afterthought for God. He prepared them in advance for us to do, so the question is are we accomplishing that? Do you feel like you are in fact living out the poem that Hes written for you, that you are in fact a workmanship that God has called you to be? The second we are Passage I want us to take a look at-and well not spend as much time on these next two-is in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (page 1145 of pew Bible). Well begin reading with Verse 17. Paul says, Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us… the church …the ministry of reconciliation… Hes going to further define what that means, …that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ… Then he makes reference to the cross. He says, …not counting mens sins against him. This is a clear referral to the crucifixion where God, the Son, bore the sin of mankind, that God was in him, the fullness of the deity dwelled in bodily form and that we were reconciled to Christ on that cross. He is committed to us. He has committed to us, the church, the message of reconciliation. We are… there it is again, …therefore Christs ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christs behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him… and here-this is probably the most concise (this is in John 3:16) verse of the Gospel. It says, God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. What we learned in that Passage is that salvation is a gift that is given to us, and an exchange was made; Christ took our sinfulness and offered us in exchange His righteousness, His partner of grace. Thats a powerful message, and thats what God has called this church to deliver first and foremost. Thats the number one priority we have-to deliver the message of the Gospel, to reach the people of Rock County. That is our number one priority-to reach the people of our community. I want you to notice what he says youre to be here. Youre to be an ambassador. You know what an ambassador is. An ambassador is a representative. An ambassador is set out as an envoy and represents a country or a company. We are Christs ambassadors to the sick. Im going to ask for a raise of hands, and I want you to leave it up. How many of you came to this church because you were invited by a friend? Hold your hand up and keep it high. You have to look around. Look at all those hands up because somebody invited you. Thank you. You can put your hands down now. Somebody was an ambassador to you. Somebody took some time to come and talk to you. Thats what our church does. We equip ambassadors. When Im giving a message, when one of the pastors is giving a message, when youre going to classes, when youre in your small group, when youre learning and discovering your ministry, we are equipping you to be an ambassador for Christ-that youll go out and win the world for Christ. We wont win the world for Christ-we wont win our community for Christ if were scolding them. Some people think thats how you win non-believers in the kingdom. You just scold them. You just go out and make them feel bad. No. Theyll know we are Christians by our love. We reach out to them with a message of love, hope, and truth. Through our words and through our example, we are ambassadors of the Kingdom, and we seek to draw them in to the hope that we have in Christ, teaching them of Gods love and plan of salvation that He has for them. We are ambassadors. Thirdly, in the same Book, Verse 16 of Chapter 6 (page 1145), Paul is writing and he says, …for we are the temple of the living God. We are the temple of the living God. We are a temple. We recognize that the church building is not the church; we are. We brought the church to this building. We rented this for one week. Next week, we go back to the normal. Some of the folks who have worked so hard are saying, Thank goodness for that! We brought the church here-just like in our homes, our house is not our family. Our family is made up of individuals, so wherever we go, thats where home is. A house is just a structure we live in. The building is just a tool that we use, a place where we meet, but its an important place. I dont know if you grew up in a house where there were a lot of children and maybe you just ran out of space. Thats kind of what we are doing at Faith, and Im going to start transitioning that. We have run out of space, but the problem is its not just that were building for who we already are. If you just simply look around you this morning, youll recognize that we wouldnt all fit in our box over there on Lucerne. Just this morning, I am looking out, Where is so-and-so? Where is so-and-so? This is not all of us, but its a good representative sample of who we are. The problem is our house is full. Were out of space, and we are planning on having many, many more children because were called to bring people to faith. How many of you-and this is the most important question Ive asked this morning-would say here today that Faith Community Church had an influence in your giving your life to Jesus Christ? Hold it up; look around you. Isnt that wonderful that God has used us? Its humbling to see that, so thats what this is about. This is about commission. This is about touching more lives, making more ambassadors, more disciples of Christ. That is what we are called to do. Lets pray together. Father, I thank You for the challenge that youve given us. To live as You lived is a tall order. What You cared more about than anything else is people. The Word says that the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost, so thats our first priority. Secondly, its to make disciples. Its to teach them the Word of God, teach them how to grow in their walk, provide opportunities to them to serve and to use their gifts. Not only have You called us for a purpose, Youve equipped us for that purpose. Youve given talents, gifts, and passions. Together, we work to accomplish those things. We thank You for that purpose. We thank You for that call. In Jesus name. (22:18)