"Changing My World"

John 10:17-18; Matthew 28:18-20

Sunday, September 7, 2008; (Communion)

Introduction: Think for a moment about some powerful forces in the world. A bolt of lightning; an earthquake; or something that has been on our mind more recently, a hurricane. These are some of the most powerful forces on Earth. But, something that is even more powerful is the “cross of Christ.”

Last week we talked about how Jesus provokes us to be humble and to remove the stumbling blocks, so that we can become more of who God created us to be. But the cross of Christ is where the real power lies, because without the cross we would be lost in our sins. It is on the cross that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, so that we could be free from our sins. As we are told by the apostle Paul in Romans 6:6- “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”

This morning I want us to understand that it is the cross of Christ that gives us the power to change our own lives, and the power to change the world we live in!

You’ll see in your outline, in the bulletin, that there are some fill-ins. The first fill-in, in point #1 is…STRATEGY.

I. The strategy of Jesus- (John 10:17-18, 19:10-11; Matthew 28:18-20)

a. John 10:17-18- The two passages that I just read help us to

understand Jesus’ strategy. Let’s look at John 10:17-18 first. In this passage we see the dominion and authority that Jesus has. Jesus makes it clear that His life was not taken from Him, but that He laid it down on His own accord. This is an important fact, because if Jesus’ life was taken from Him, then those who took it from Him would show themselves to be more powerful than Jesus. But it wasn’t others who took Jesus’ life, but rather it was Jesus who gave it. That is why Jesus said to Pilate, at His trial, in John 19:10-11, “Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" ¹¹Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

This passage also tells us that Jesus came to be obedient to the Father, and to the plan that was given to Him. This is important, because there were a few moments where the humanness of Jesus tried to go away from the plan. Without obedience, the plan would have not been carried out, and we would not have been saved from our sins. Jesus, fulfilling the plan, brought about a power into the world like none other; the power to free us from the slavery of sin!

But Jesus also had the power to raise Himself up from the dead. This is important, because without Jesus’ resurrection, we would believe in a dead Savior. And this is indeed a contradiction of terms. A savior that is dead cannot save anyone.

b. Matthew 28:18-20- The other part of Jesus’ strategy comes from

our second scripture passage, Matthew 28:18-20. This passage shows us another kind of authority that Jesus possesses, and that is the power to pass on His authority to His followers. Jesus starts out by saying: “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth…” Then He uses the word “THEREFORE.” This word designates the passing on of His authority to us; what follows the “therefore” tells us what we have been given charge and authority to do: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…”

So we see that Jesus has power over all things, since He has all authority. He has power over death, since He conquered death by being resurrected. And He has power over life since He is Lord of all. So Jesus wants us to make disciples that will follow after Him. We don’t need to question this call, because we have been given authority from Jesus Himself. This call isn’t just a suggestion, it is a command, And because it is a command, Jesus is going to give us what we need to carry out the command. God never gives us a call that we can’t attain. He will also supply us with all that we need.

Ultimately, we can do this because we have His presence. In verse 20 Jesus says: “And remember, I am always with you, to the end of the age.” How wonderful it is to know that Jesus not only gives us His power, but goes out with us as we fulfill His call. We don’t have to do this on our own power, because then we would definitely fail. We get to be guided by the presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

II. He uses changing people to change people- (Acts 4:13-21, 1:8)

a. From fearful to bold- For God to use us to make disciples, to

change other people, we need to be changing ourselves. As we see change in our own lives, we begin to believe that others can change as well. That is why the most powerful testimony you can give, is to share how you were before you met Jesus, and then talk about how you are changed now that you have met Jesus. And then talk about how this change is continuing; you are not done changing.

Acts 4:13 is a wonderful example of this; it says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Peter and John were teaching the people about Jesus, and this made the religious leaders upset. So they brought them before the council. In this verse we see that Peter and John spoke with courage before these religious leaders. This amazed the leaders because Peter and John were just ordinary people; they had not received any special schooling.

What caused the change in them? Seeing Jesus after His resurrection and being motivated to speak out the truth about Jesus. Because they had been changed by Jesus, they had an important truth to share; Jesus can change us for the better; Jesus can save us from our sins; Jesus can make us clean and holy. And because they had experienced the presence and power of Jesus, they now spoke this with boldness.

b. From denying to witness- If you remember about Peter, he had

denied Jesus three times. There were many who saw Peter do this. For Peter to be able to be a witness for Jesus, he had to be changed in a way so that others could tell he was different. And the difference for Peter was that He was filled with power.

Peter didn’t just speak with boldness, he spoke with power. This was because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. If you remember, in Acts 1:8, just before Jesus went up to heaven, He spoke these words to His disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And then soon after that the Day of Pentecost happened, and all the believers in Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ followers went from fearful and running, to bold and confident witnesses of Jesus Christ. WHY? Because they had been changed by the resurrection, by the great command, and by being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Can people tell by your witness, and by your boldness that you are with Jesus? They can’t if you are a gossip, or if you have an anger problem, or if you are unforgiving, or if you are lost in sin. But when they see Jesus change you, they believe Jesus can change them! It isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about knowing that you are changed. If you don’t feel like Jesus is changing you, then it is probably because you are not giving yourself over to Jesus to change.

IF YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEN TALK TO ME AND I WILL PRAY THAT GOD’S SPIRIT WOULD FILL YOU!

III. He uses Jesus-haters to show He can change anyone- (1 Tim. 1:12-15;

Acts 9:10-20)

a. Changed from blasphemer to servant- We see in the life of the

apostle Paul the power that Jesus has to change people. In 1 Timothy 1:13 Paul says: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.”

Paul had been a religious leader, but he was misled into thinking that acting righteous made you righteous. Paul had been misled into thinking that he was called to persecute Christians. But one day, Paul meets Jesus, and is challenged by Jesus to believe, and then Paul is blinded. Being blinded caused him to have the time to reflect on his life, his actions, his beliefs.

I would like to read for you a passage from the book of Acts, 9:10-20. As I read this passage, I want you to understand that Paul’s name was Saul before He became a Christian. I also want you to imagine that we are watching his conversion take place on a movie screen. So let this reading bring to your mind images and emotions. “In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. ¹¹The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." ¹³"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." ¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." ¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.”

b. Changed from life-taker to life-giver- At one point in his life, Paul

was a Jesus-hater. He hated Jesus so much, that he went around killing people who were believers of Jesus. It is an amazing thought that someone can hate Jesus so much, that they not only dislike those who follow Him, but they seek to kill them!

Now maybe you have never been in this place, one who hates Jesus; or maybe you have. OR, maybe you know or have known someone who has these strong emotions about Jesus. This would be nothing surprising or new. This has been the case all throughout history.

What is powerful here, is that Paul is not the only person who has gone from being a Jesus-hater to a Jesus-lover. Those who are lost in their sin often hate Jesus, because they feel condemned by Jesus. But once they experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus, they become Jesus-lovers.

IV. He uses the weak to show He can make them strong- (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

a. Our weakness- EX. I don’t know if you know anything about the

cartoon “Sponge Bob, Square Pants,” but it is a cartoon about a sea-dwelling sponge who gets tangled up in all kinds of trouble. We don’t normally let our kids watch this cartoon, but one day they happened upon it, and we ended up watching one of the 15-minute episodes. This particular episode was about Sponge Bob wanting to build up his muscles so that he could be strong. His friend Sandy tried to show him a workout that would help him to do this, but Sponge Bob realized that it would take a long time, and a lot of work to make this happen. One day he was watching a TV commercial that showed how you could get instant muscles; they were these blow-up muscles you put on your body. So Sponge Bob purchases these fake muscles, and the next day walks around showing them off. Everyone is amazed at his instant transformation. This works well until his friend Sandy enters him in the “strong man competition.” In trying to lift the anchor to throw it, his muscles pop, and everyone laughs at him for being a fake.

There are many ways that we are weak. Maybe there is a particular sin that we are battling, and we give in too often. Maybe there is the issue of running away from the conflicts in our lives. Maybe there is the issue of us saying that we are a Christian, but we follow the world more than we follow Christ.

b. Christ’s strength- The apostle Paul acknowledges that there was

weaknesses in his life, but he talks about how this is not a problem for God. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Life isn’t about us being strong. Life is about God using us through our weaknesses. God wants us to understand that His power is made perfect in our weakness. And when this happens, we can’t boast about it, we can only give God the glory. And this is how it should be. Here we have PAUL, one who had received great revelations from God, he had great knowledge and position, and had started many churches. But God had allowed this “thorn in the flesh” to be there so that Paul was reminded where his power and victory came from; from God!

Where are your weaknesses? Give them to God, and He will do great things through you in the midst of your weaknesses. It’s not about what you and I can accomplish, it’s about what God can accomplish through us.

Conclusion: It is not until we acknowledge our need to change, that we will allow God to change us. And once we are changed, we can proclaim this change to others so that they might be changed as well. This is the witness that we are to bring to the world, God is a God of change.

If you were to look around the world, you would see that change is needed. This world can be changed, but it must be changed by the power of God working in and through you and me, and all who believe in Christ.

Jesus tells us: “Go and make disciples…teaching them in my name…” Let us follow this command, and seek to make our community, our city, our world a better place. Amen!