How The Gospel Changes You

1 Pet 4:1-11

When people think about the gospel changing someone they think of someone like a young man in Dallas, TX. He was the head of a Satanic group, rough, mean, very anti-Christian and outspoken about it. Chris Siedmins, a preacher for one of the congregations in Dallas began praying for this man. He even met with him and told the man what he was doing. For two years, Chris prayed every day for this man and regularly wrote or called him to remind him he was praying for him. One day, this man asked to meet with Chris. They began to talk, he began to listen, Christ began to work. Today, that former Satanist is a deacon at the Willow Branch church of Christ.

Most of us don’t have such a dramatic story. Most of our changes are ordinary lives that come in contact with the Lord. People like Nick Payne- Tell his story and Tony Vandermark.

How has the gospel changed you? How is it continuing to change you? This morning we’ll look at how the gospel changed the early Christians and what was to be seen in that change.

PRAYER

I. The “Before” Picture

A. The world is not enough

1. A couple of years ago there was a Bond movie called “The World Is Not Enough” It was about the bad guy who wanted everything. Bond of course saves the day.

2. That title should apply to Christians and hopefully to a lot of others that are looking for something more.

3. After a while, the seekers realizes the world doesn’t have all the answers. It’s not as glitzy as it looks on T.V.

4. There has to be something more.

5. That’s where we need to step into their lives and let them know the world isn’t enough. That there is something so much better than the world if they are willing to listen.

B. We can’t stay in the world

1. When I read verses 3-4 I thought it was a recap of last week’s “Friends” episode.

2. Our world isn’t any different today than it was 2000 years ago, we just have a little more access to everything.

3. For some reason Christians like to play with fire. We are always tempted by our past worldly lives.

4. Our sins may not have been the “big sins” that people think about, but all sin separates a person from God.

II. The “After” Picture

A. God has called us out of the world

1. It’s not enough to become a Christian and have no change in your life.

2. Part of becoming a Christian is a transformed life.

3. The problem with transforming, is that often our former associates don’t like what we transform into.

4. We realize we have become a butterfly, and they still want us to be a caterpillar.

B. The Cost of Transformation

1. We see people who have lost a lot of weight and kept it off on TV. They are always asked “how do you do it.” They always answer, “ I had to totally change how I viewed my life. I can’t eat like I used to, I have to exercise, and most of all I have to will myself not to give in to bad habits I had picked up before.”

2. It’s the same with Christianity, we have to change the way we live from how we were before. We can’t go back to the old ways without serious consequences.

3. I was talking with a teenage boy earlier this year who wanted to know what he would have to give up to be a Christian. What the struggle was in his life, is the same struggle we all faced. “Will my friends still like me once I have made this commitment?” I told him that I didn’t know the answer to his question, but if a choice had to be made, it was better to be right with God and be missing a few friends than to be in opposition to God and be in hell with a lot of friends.

III. The “How We Look Now” Picture

A. Christian Love

1. READ vs 8-11

2. When someone has a need here, we are very good about helping when we can.

3. That is a very important part of Christianity.

4. Our text tells us to “love each other deeply”

a) Better translation is to love each other FERVENTLY

b) The word picture of that word is the athlete straining to cross the finish line.

c) It conveys the ideas of eagerness and intensity.

5. that’s how we should love each other.

6. Whatever is needed, our spiritual family will help provide, why? because want to reflect God’s love.

B. Love and sins

1. Peter makes an interesting statement, “love covers a multitude of sins.”

2. Does that mean that our love takes away someone’s sins? Not quite, God’s love does that.

a) Our love and sins is when you don’t feel you have been treated right by someone.

b) Our love should be the type that always gives the benefit of the doubt when something happens we don’t like.

c) We need to naturally assume our fellow Christians meant to do the right thing, and if they didn’t we’ll still love them as God wants us to do.

d) Again, Why? Because God loves us the same way.

C. God’s Grace in various forms

1. What we have in talents and material blessings isn’t just for our use only. It’s to bring Praise to God and his kingdom.

2. God is praised in many ways

3. most of us think of our worship service.

4. But there are other ways.

5. Peter make two broad categories.

a) Speaking

(1) any way you can praise God orally.

(2) Remember it needs to be what God says.

b) Serving

(1) Any way you can praise God through service.

(2) Service needs to honor God.

(3) Sometimes we serve others without letting it be known why we do it.

(4) It needs to be evident directly or indirectly we serve others because of what God has done for us.