THE HOPE OF A CHANGED LIFE
Resurrection Sunday ❧ Part 1 of 1
Selected Passages ❧ Pastor, Dr. John Denney
I’ve found that most people are not satisfied with the status quo of their lives. Given the opportunity, we’d like to change some part of our lives. It could be we’d like to change our personality. We’d like to be more outgoing or more confident. Others would like to be less fearful or less bitter. Most of us would like to change our past. There are things We’ve said and done in the past we wish we hadn’t. As a result, we feel like a failure; we’ve failed others, and we’ve failed ourselves, we’ve failed God. If we could go back and do things differently we would. Others of us long for a changed conscience. Feelings of guilt, remorse, and unworthiness sabotage every minute of our lives. We long for peace, real peace. Not the peace of drugs or alcohol, but the peace of a clear conscience. Others of us would like to make a spiritual change. We feel empty and unfulfilled spiritually. What’s missing is in our lives is God. We’d like to know God, really know Him. But God feels distant and unknowable. As a result we feel as though we’re on a dead-end road to nowhere. We feel if they could truly know God our lives would be complete. The bottom line is that most people want change, but we’re unsure how to go about it.
Here’s our problem as I see it: Change is hard! We want change but often resist it because it invites a multitude of potential fears: The fear of the unknown or the fear of failure, or the fear of being out of control, or the fear of being embarrassed or misunderstood. The inventor Charles F. Kettering jested: People are very open-minded about new things, as long as they’re exactly like the old ones. We struggle with change. We ask: “Why can’t I seem to change? I want to change, but I don’t know how, or I don’t have the power to change.” Doctors complain that 90% of their patients needing to change won’t – even though their health is seriously at risk. They won’t stop eating the wrong things and start eating the right things. They won’t exercise. They won’t stop smoking or drinking. They know they need to change. They may even want to, but they don’t.
This morning we’re going to look at: The Hope of a Changed Life. More than two-thousand years ago Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being crucified on the cross and buried in a tomb for three days. Jesus’ coming back to life fundamentally altered the course of human history and continues to profoundly impact our world to this day. The hope of a changed life finds its source in Jesus Christ. Why? Jesus gave us the answer in John 11. He said: I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die (John 11:25-26, NLT). Jesus is saying what the Bible says elsewhere – that the very power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power God uses to change our lives. You can hear it in the Apostle Paul’s prayer for believers in Ephesus: I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:19-20). The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the most powerful event in history. Why? Because it is the power to change your life just like it has changed countless lives throughout history.
Today you’re going to hear how Jesus Christ changed the lives of three different people. They are living proof that God’s power that raised Jesus from the dead is still changing lives today. God’s Power in Your Life Can… 1) Cancel your past, 2) Clear your conscience, & 3) Complete your life.
- Cancel your past. The Bible says when Jesus was crucified (God) canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14, NLT).This verse is saying God put all our failures, mistakes, sins, regrets on His Son thereby canceling them. Cancel means to eliminate – to cause it to not exist anymore. This verse is not talking about denying the past as though it never happened. It means recognizing God canceled the record of all our personal wrongs on the cross. But the good news is this verse reaches even further than our past. It includes our past, present, and future! All of our sin! When you know and believe Jesus’ death on the cross canceled out all your past it changes your life!
I want you to hear Dan’s story. Jesus Christ knows the things you’ve done wrong, and He did not condemn you but forgive you. He came to change you. Jesus Himself said, John 3:17: I didn’t come to condemn the world. . . I came to save it. God says I cancelled all of your sin on the cross (past, present, & future). Christ’s forgiveness cancels our past and changes us.
- Clear your conscience. All of us have struggled with a guilty conscience. A guilty conscience has a way of haunting our every waking moment. You just can’t seem to escape it. Time and good behavior never take it away. It’s always there. A lot of people turn to religion hoping to find relief. But many learn that religion doesn’t bring relief from their guilt at all. At best it might give them some coping skills, but they can’t take away the guilt. Like eating a bowl full of sawdust, it may leave you feeling full, but it will never satisfy. It is said there are about 10,000 religions in the world and roughly 85% of the world’s population identifies with one of those religions. They all share one thing in common – they are unable to give you a clear conscience. Religion leaves them feeling like they’re stuck on a never-ending treadmill. They can never do enough to clear their conscience. Religion spells salvation: “DO.” But Christianity spells salvation: “DONE” God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Ephesians 1:8-10).
Tom Silver understands this well. I want you to hear his story.
Tom wrestled for 45 years to gain a clear conscience. He never found it until he gave his life to Christ. Only through Jesus Christ can we obtain a clear conscience. Since this is true, (Jesus’ finished work on the cross) how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14, GNT).
Dan showed us God’s power can cancel your past. And Tom showed us God’s power can clear your conscience. But that’s not all.
- Complete your life. A lot of people spend their lives wondering why they’re here. They wonder what their purpose is in life. God doesn’t make a lot of sense to them, so they look to the world for answers. The world says climb the corporate ladder, be successful, do what makes you feel good; do these things and you’ll be complete. The problem is it doesn’t work. Instead of feeling complete, their lives feel empty and lost. Only personally knowing Jesus Christ can make our lives complete. In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul is praying once again for the believers in Ephesus. His prayer is that their lives be complete. Listen to what he prays: I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:16-19, NLT). Did you catch what Paul said? Being complete comes from knowing God’s empowering and inexhaustible love through trusting Christ. But notice what he says: Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
You need to hear Rosehannah’s story. She has personally experienced the answer to Paul’s prayer.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:24-25, NAS).
Losing your life for Jesus’ sake means fully committing our lives to Him. When we commit our lives to Christ, that’s the initial turning point. The Bible says when someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a new person inside. He’s not the same anymore. He’s a new creation, a new person. What happens? God says: “I cancel out your past. All of its gone.” It’s like starting over. That’s why the Bible calls it being born again. Literally, born from above. Born again doesn’t mean reincarnation, it means you get new life! Not turn over a new leaf – you get a new life. God also gives you a clear conscience. You don’t have to live under the heavy guilt of your sin any longer. God gives you a clear conscience. And as you learn to walk with God in a personal relationship, you realize He makes your life complete. This is not something you do, but what God does in you (Phil. 2:13).
There is one thing that will keep you from changing – one thing that’s going to keep you from experiencing God’s power to change. Do you know what it is? It’s not the devil. It’s not other people. It’s not God. It’s not circumstances. It is one word. Procrastination. Procrastination is deadly. “I have every intention to change…Tomorrow sounds like a great time to start.” That’s called delay. Tomorrow will turn into the next day and so on. “One of these days is none of these days,”wrote H.G. Bohn. Good intentions aren’t enough. We’ve all met people who are getting ready to live but they never do. “I’m aiming to change.” I want to say, “When are you going to pull the trigger?” Procrastination is fatal.
The hardest thing for any of us it to get started. It’s one thing for me to say, “Jesus Christ can cancel your past. He can clear your conscience. He can make your life complete. He can change your life.” And you leave here today saying, “One of these days I’m going to let God do it. One of these days I’m going to let the power of God work in my life.”
Jesus rose from the dead to give us the hope of a changed life. His tomb is empty. I’ve been there. If you go to the tomb of Mohammed or Budha, you’ll find they’re still buried. Jesus Christ is alive. He rose from the dead. Because He’s alive He gives us the power to change. Without Christ you won’t be able to cancel your past, your conscience won’t be clear, your life will not be complete.
Asking God to Change Your Life
“Dear God, Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. I believe He died for my sins and proved it by rising from the dead. Thank You Jesus Christ for dying for me and forgiving me of all my sins. I commit my life to You as my Lord and Savior right now. Thank you for canceling my past and giving me new life. Because of Your forgiveness, I ask You to cleanse my conscience my guilt. I believe only You can do that. Show me how live so that my life is complete in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
