How to Change for the Better - Warning: When Changing, What You Don't Know Will Kill You, Part 2

Do you ever get frustrated that the harder you try to change it seems like the less you do, how does genuine change occur.

I mean the way God wants it to work today were to look at a biblical theology of change right from the heart of God.

How it works. You can stay with me. Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge trips our Bible is international discipleship program today continues a series change for the better heavy message. Building on several points and later is that it's available on the chip now.

Just before we get started using chips message was assuring a lot of scripture in his outline let you jot down your own notes as you follow along there a quick download when you go to LivingontheEdge.org and click listen now to fill in notes on the left of the teachings you will be with us here in studio to ask your very direct question is power to not only help you change the little potentially is the power to change everything you're not eligible Bible second griffins chapter 3 let's join Chip for his message warning when changing what you don't know is occurs from the inside out is not rule that is not this and I get that from this little phrase we are being transformed and the worker transform that old biology term metamorphosis is also the same or memo and Jesus went up with his key disciples.

Peter, John and James and he was transfigured up on the mountain. It's the same word what's important about that is that you know it says and he shone brightly what they saw was the light.

It was like he unzipped his humanity and he opened up himself, and he came out the change come from the inside out.

When he transfigured what he did as he allow them to see him in his power and his glory.

And that's why they fell down is that and so change happens the same way, the spirit of God we trust Christ enters our life manifesting the presence and the power of Christ in us were sealed by the Holy Spirit were adopted into his family and were empowered then and so God wants to change us from the inside out.

That's how it works. Change is a progressive ongoing process. Notice it's from glory to glory is like from degree to degree and this really makes people like us crazy to see. We want to change on the essay, the change now I'm working on the impatient I want now is a strange about your wife and a lousy self-image. You know you know this is way talking coffee shop. You never say that your face but but you say wow when she got her work in my life.

Use that or can I use that and you what you forgot, we talked about this team.

Years of work. Member of renewing of the mind of trusting God growing as of the questions I want to ask is you know how to change occur when does it occur what is our part. What is God's part of why we keep on sinning if they say our sins are forgiven and their take away some basic stuff where this change begin. It begins the origin in the in the whole progress.

It begins its spiritual birth John 35 unless a person is born again spiritually, you will never see the kingdom of God.

What do people need to hear or believe in order to be born again, and that message is the gospel, the good news and that's found in first Corinthians 15 one through four and then also the verse that most of you know that has it in capsule form is John 316 for God so loved the world member. This, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever would believe or trust in him should perish but have everlasting life. That is the message that must be believed for a spiritual birth to occur.

What's the biblical term for all this. It's called salvation. The clearest understanding is in Romans chapter 1 through five and in parentheses. What were talking really about here is justification is a word used in Scripture. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God.

That's Romans 51 know it's just the Azalea Yosemite are starting to turn me off it. It's a big word never heard words like that a lot. You think that's an old word what's the definition of it is twofold. Justification is a coin on the one side definition it's a legal declaration of our standing before God. It's God looks at you and you can make a legal judgment. You have sin, and then he looks at Christ's work on the cross and is going to take your sin and place it on the cross and look at you because now you're pure and his is legal standing movie. I declare you innocent. I declare you forgiven is a legal thing and that after he takes away your sin he flips over the coin and he imputes the righteousness of Christ to your standing and this is a terrible illustration but communicates for me.

You know the Star Trek deals, you know, in the get there.

The beam me up and in some of the real weird one cc one of the weird you know where this guy goes blues and another person comes into his body facing some of those right okay the imputation of the righteousness of Christ is like that.

What he does is he takes away your sin legally. Were not talking you noticed like experience will get to that second but he legally takes your sin put in as far as the east is from the west and then he imputes or pours forth and puts in you, the righteousness of Christ, so that the old Sunday school term justification. It's just as if I didn't sin and you possess the very righteousness of Christ. That's what happens in salvation now, the time when to begin begins an appointment time for the moment a person repents turns away from whatever is trusting and believes in Christ, a point in time the basis of it is by grace through faith. For by grace per se through faith is not of yourselves. It's a key of God, not as a result of works with any man should boast. Regarding sin. It deals with your guilt and the penalty of your sin.

It's critical to your guilt is gone and the penalty is gone. The means of grace. It's the gospel. As you hear it or you see it in the lives of others.

It's a spirits convicting ministry.

John 16 you know he'll convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment and its creation creation lets us know there's a God that were accountable to, and then finally what's our response. Our response to the gospel is faith we believe and that always leads to obedience and so trust and obey that old hymn is still pretty accurate. If any man is in Christ, salvation. He is a new creature the things progressively passed away new things come, that is your standing. That's called salvation or justification you got it. How does it continue how to how does it grow.

Spiritual growth first Peter 22 like newborn babes long or crazy for the pure milk of God's word so that by you may grow with regard to your salvation.

So this is just an automatic God is that you and then leave you alone and say go baby go but Galatians 220. In a nutshell gives us a good picture of what it is I Paul says I am crucified with Christ historical fact. Romans six. Nevertheless I live I'm still living in my pieces.

There's my position and that's was based on crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless, I live yet not I but Christ lives in the got in the life I live experientially. I live by faith in the one who loved me and gave himself for me. And so in a nutshell what he saying is the Christian life is not trying harder. The Christian life is understanding what Christ did on the cross and the whole teaching on this is in Romans six through eight Romans six of the facts.

Romans seven is a struggle. Romans eight is the deliverance in the spirit and so here he gives it to us.

I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It's exchanging my life I'll give it to you in a different way little bit later. This is called sanctification.

This is really progressive segmentation. It's a continuous process of becoming more and more righteous or holy in daily experience.

This is our state gently really say something for somebody. Some of you have prayed to receive Christ, about 200 times because you don't understand the difference between justification for salvation and sanctification. Once you ask Christ in your life, repent, and you genuinely born again.

His spirit dwells in you.

Your legally forgiven now at that point a progressive process of ups and downs, the spirit living in you progressively wants to make you in your daily life. What's true of you and your standing before God and so the spirit works in you. So you're going to send at times you're going to blow it and that's why there's first John 19 when you blow it you say all God I've seen and I confess my sin is as well.

I'm faithful and just to forgive you your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

This has to do with salvation. This has to do with your fellowship with God and I met people that every time they sin, they think they offend by Christ back in her life. He never leaves but the fellowship gets broken. It's a continuous ongoing process. Where is it what time to begin at salvation, and it continues until death or the rapture, the basis of this get this. It's by grace through faith. The argument of the book of Galatians is this however you get say that's how you walk however you get saved. That's how you walk in, so what he told them he says who he wants to was out of self effort piece on the power of the spirit working in your life now. So then he goes on regarding sin and sanctification. The spirit deals with the power of sin in my life penalty Dr. Gill it's the power and the key passage there is.

Romans six, the means of grace become more holy well one thing you do. The body of Christ.

Spiritual gifts of others rubbing up against one another loving one another personal time with God of the ordinances as we take baptism and the Lord's supper. There's pictures and God gives us grace as we watch and examine our hearts of the spirits convicting and empowering.

He just changes us when there's something wrong if you're open to let you know. And then finally the practice of the disciplines prayer. The word silence solitude coming away from the world. The practice of spiritual disciplines to train yourself in righteousness and then what's the response it's the same faith and obedience. I trust God, I identify myself.

I am in Christ.

I had the power to spirit does it. I yield myself to him then a Roman 60 gives us a little acronym or not acronym but there's three little words he says no. This is true or reckon it know it and reckon it or considered to be true in the present yourselves as members as those who been actually crucified are now alive from the dead and so that's where it begins. This is how continues where it is all in Romans 833 39. Nothing can separate us from the love Christ, we have been predestined for ordained that we should not only be sanctified but also glorified and glorified. Good key passages. First John 32. First John 32 says we do not know what we will be like.

But this is what we know that when we see him we will be like him. See finally the final result is where the definition you are going to get a glorified body you see Christ face-to-face in heaven and that your destination one day you will see him, he will be changed forever. This begins in terms of time at death or rapture last forever. The basis is because of grace forever and posit U.S. Senate removes that there is no sin in heaven is gone forever. The means of grace is a face-to-face revelation of Christ and our response will be worship. Practically speaking, you and John need to hear and I need to hear on this one. Practically speaking, there's a lot of us that one this in this life and you're never going to get it youth you know your so hard on yourselves all the time. Not only playing sin you want life to be perfect. You want everyone to treat you right. You want tit for tat. If you do good that people should do good for you. You want peace, prosperity and everything. The fall in the place and you're a fallen world marred by sin. Yours and other peoples. And there's a lot of things that God is promised in his word that you will never get and I will never get until we get there and that's what the blessed hope and so and so instead of trying to get everything out of this life and getting frustrated.

We should walk in the spirit be led by the spirit and realize until you get there. On the other side. There's no perfection anywhere. So lighten up for key concepts.

To put this together and and by the way we do that original note to myself this is an overview if you would like to understand salvation and the basis for living a holy life. True spirituality by Francis Schaeffer you want to look at it greatly impacted my life in understanding what we talked about tonight. If the area of changing and growing in holiness. This is by Jerry Bridges of Knapp press the pursuit of holiness is excellent, practical, theologically sound if the whole area of the discipline solitude prayer. The word, how do you train yourself in discipline. I don't know what you're talking about the spirit of the disciplines by Dallas Willard excellent book final book is an overview 30 days.

Understanding the Christian life by Max the enders. He gives a picture you read a chapter a day and you get that under your belt, you understand a lot of what's going on.

What a friend is wet your appetite and realize this is a long-haul issue now summarizing in a little bit different fashion that I think you can take it home and you can look up all the verses makes a great Bible study for concepts about change. First, spirituality is the life of Christ.

Paul said for me to live is Christ to die is gain. We read earlier what he prayed that you would allow Christ to dwell deeply in your life. Secondly, spirituality is the life of Christ reproduced in the believer. It's not you, trying harder to get more like God it's you, along the spirit of God to take what's true of you and see it produced or reproduced by the spirit of God in your life. Three. Spirituality is the life of Christ reproduced in the believer by the Holy Spirit. That doesn't back to changes you. You have a responsibility more than a hit that just as when, but it's a yielding what's true dependent on God's grace and then finally, spirituality is the life of Christ reproduced in the believer by the Holy Spirit in obedience or response to the word of God and you just see over and over in Scripture, there is no way that you change apart from the word of God filling your heart and your mind and transforming your thinking that's how it works. Max Sanders puts it in little formula that I think is worthy, he has the work of God under conclusion W KG the work of God. What Christ did on the cross. Your identification with seniors spirit going you. Plus the word of God. That's the raw material plus personal commitment we have to respond only Romans 12: plus other believers. The role of other believers in bringing about change maturity plus time and trials. All these things are true but you know it just takes time and usually takes a lot of hard knocks. I hate to say this but most holy godly people I know are the people have been through the hardest of times respond to God in the midst of that equals maturity.

You can try as hard as you want.

You need to develop a training system of getting into the Scriptures, a training system of learning to respond when your tongue tells you something him out of your heart that is right a training system of prayer, of fellowship training of grace and discipline of learning to yield to the spirit and over and over. Over time, like a muscle. As you learn to do it. What happens, you grow. The issue is trying harder. The issue is training in grace and dependence upon the Lord were talking about change and by change. What I mean is how lasting effective from the inside out occurs now today I like the remainder of my time.

I like to talk to those of you that don't know Christ that are listening in the idea of change intrigues you and you're getting all kind of pieces but you don't know how it all really fits together. Let me give you a picture that I think will help the world's view and I didn't grow up as a believer so I understand where you're coming from. I spent most of my early life and maybe you are to trying to remodel my life unit was like a big remodeling, reconstruction, and you change this room and pull out a wall and put a new ceiling and do the whole deal. But no matter how much you try and remodel your life never really works. What I want you to know is that the biblical model God's model. The model of Jesus is not remodeling.

It's not even reconstruction what he wants to do is give you a new house a brand-new life. He wants you to know that, spiritually speaking. A bulldozer can come in and remove the hurtful and painful things of your past and he will give you a brand-new life in a brand-new nature and that you can ask him to come into your life and forgive you and your cleanse you of all your sin and the spirit of God will come inside take up residence and then you will have the power not in your own flesh or ability, but by his power as you trust to become the person he has destine you to become he will use people his word, his spirit will actually deposit spiritual gifts in you, you won't be reconstructing it won't be about trying trying trying it'll be about learning and trusting relationship.

When God gives you this new house. It comes furnished inside of it.

You experience love and joy and peace. The Bible calls this the fruit of the spirit. Would you like that.

Would you like to really change where God doesn't the message for change is the gospel in the gospel is very simple to understand and you must respond to it by faith. The gospel simply is Jesus is fully God and fully man and came to the earth to reveal to you what God is like.

He then died on the cross to pay for your sins and rose from the dead to prove that all he said was true. His message to you is, believe on him for the payment of your sin and trust in him for your salvation. Cry out to him call for him. Ask for him to come into your life and he will not reconstruct your life he will give you a bran new life. You can do it right now, right where you're at, you can bow your head or even talk to him in your in your heart and cry out to God and pray Lord Jesus please come into my life right now.

I'm tired of trying to improve my life. I want a brand-new life. We you cleanse me and forgive me.

We you give me new life right at this moment. I believe you are God you died for me the rose from the dead aim at do that and you'll never be the same if you just prayed with Chip.

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