Badenoch Free Church

Morning service 24th June 2007

1 Cor 6v11 : Introduction:

The Corinthians were once terrible sinners, unholy and heading to hell. But now things have changed dramatically! The are washed / sanctified / justified.

You are different. You are not what you once were. Something tremendous has happened to you that has taken the whole of the Godhead to do!

In the context the fact of the Corinthians changed souls should then go on to change their behaviour. Specific application is to do with sexual immorality. The Corinthian believer should have nothing to do with sexual immorality! V18 - flee from it!

The principle is that the Christian is a changed creature! Washed / sanctified / justified. You have been changed by God. You are born again! Fresh start.

This is relevant today for you as a believer.

You are not what you once were, you have been changed!

Maybe people no longer understand you.

Maybe you don’t enjoy the things you used to.

Maybe your family relationships have become strained.

Maybe your priorities in life clash with those whom you used to share the same priorities.

The reason is you have changed! you have been changed! you were something once now you are different!

But it is a change so much for the better!! Washed / sanctified / justified!

To the text:

A) You’ve changed:

Changes happen in the created world: tadpoles to frogs. Caterpillars to butterflies.

Seasonal changes: summer to winter. Just passed the longest day!

Developmental changes: children to adults.

Supernatural changes!

“and such were some of you” -

There was a time in your life when you were something different.

May be a radical difference! Like Saul to Paul, some of the Corinthians,

Chuck Colson - (chief council of President Nixon, Watergate Scandal).

Exception - those converted in their early years.

At one time you were one thing, now you are another. You have been born again!

1 Peter 1:3 ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:23 ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

For some this happens without even them knowing about it! You know you have changed! but you can’t explain it. Things are not what they once were!

You have been born again! Saved.

B) What has happened?

So what has happened to you exactly?

Paul uses three words to explain it.

Sanctified: set apart as sacred to God; made holy, consecrated.

- this explains why things no longer seem the same to you. God has come and taken you for Himself! He has set you apart from the crowd!

He has made you special, holy, different!

e.g. special times, special days, special people, special events. Extra-ordinary.

In order to make us something special, God has also Justified us.

Justified: put into a right relationship (with God); acquitted, declare and treat as righteous. God has done this for us, we have done nothing!

Just how much are we justified in Gods sight? Mostly, Fully ?

Acts 13:38-39 ³⁸ "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

So you have been Sanctified and Justified.

Washed: you have also been washed. This is maybe referring to the symbolism of baptism. And is more something you have done for yourself. You have washed yourself of your past sins and sinful ways!

So you’ve changed! Your different. Your washed, sanctified, justified!

C) Who done it?

How has all this happened? Who has done this to me!

“the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God”.

None other than our Great Trinitarian God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

All three persons of the Godhead were involved in your transformation!

If someone is looking for someone to blame over your transformation, then they will have to deal with God!

The Lord Jesus Christ has done it!

The Holy Spirit has done it!

God the Father has done it!

This change is not something that you could have done for yourself!

Salvation is a divine act!

Conclusion and application:

1) All of this then should change the way we live!

Not simply as an act of our own discipline but out of the fact that we are no longer what we once were. We have changed!

Therefore, it naturally flows out from us that we will not live the way we used to!

We will not live like the rest of mankind.

We are different!

2) Our attraction is that we are different!

We will not attract the world by becoming more like the world.

Our witness is not based upon how like the world we are, but how like God we are!

As we live, pure, holy, clean lives the world will be drawn to us.

If the world sees no difference in us then it will look somewhere else!

There is the challenge. You have been changed, live that changed life!

 

 

evening service 24th June 2007

 

“James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

Introduction:

Theme:

God is near, therefore we need to act in a certain way! We need to be strong and we need to be patient. And we need to be encouraged because God is near.

Original application of the theme:

This would have been great encouragement for the Jews scattered across the world. Suffering at various times and points. James 1v1

Great also for those who were suffering at the hands of the unjust rich.

To know that God was near, would have encouraged them to go on and have patience and be strong. James 5v4-5

Today’s relevance:

It is also very relevant for us today. God has not changed

The principle is that God is near! Psalm139

What an encouragement, in times of trial and trouble.

What an obligation: we are to be patient, strong, holy, - because God is near!

To the text:

“James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

Called to Patience:

How hard for children to be patient! Waiting for Christmas, birthdays etc!

We had to be patient for a Call to Kingussie

Life is full of waiting!

In our waiting we are to be patient!

Like the farmer Jam5v7

Like Abraham Heb6v15

Like God 2Pet3v9

Being patient is acting in love 1Cor13 “love is patient”

People need us to be patient all the time! Servant with the debt Mat18 needed time!

Patience means giving more time. But also involves an attitude of humble waiting, not fretting and fussing.

This is what we are called to! “be patient” “verb imperative aorist active 2nd person plural” We are to do this!

Called to Perseverance:

Perseverance goes hand in hand with patience! Our patient way of life is to be established and solid! We don’t just give up being patient after a certain amount of time!

To be established in our hearts / to stand firm!

What does it mean?

The word is used of Jesus when he “set his face” towards Jerusalem LK9v51. He made a firm decision!

Rom1v11 - Paul wants to administer a spiritual gift that would strengthen their faith.

1thes3v2 - Timothy is sent to strengthen the church!

Rev3v2 - the church in Sardis is called to strengthen what remains!

To be established / strengthened in heart is to be firmly resolved. To be strong. To be encouraged in heart. For the true inner self to be established / steadfast.

So we too are called to stand firm! “Establish your hearts”

again it’s a command - “verb imperative” - we are called to do this!

Presence:

So we are called to be patient and to persevere! But it is very hard! How do we?

“for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

We do so by remembering the presence! “parousi,a, aj f coming, arrival; presence ”

Can have 2 meanings:

A) The Lord is coming again. A glorious truth to always hold onto by faith.

B) The Lord is here already! “at hand” A fact to be experienced in life now by faith.

e.g “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” phil2v12

Mat3v2, 4v17 - the Kingdom was near, at hand, to come but also here now in Jesus!

The Presence of God is here now!

So God is here! At Hand ! With us ! Present !

How then do we live?

With Patience and Perseverance!

We live holy lives - “ Leviticus 11:45 I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.” The holy God is right there! We are in his presence all the time! Thus we are to lead holy lives!

We are to be greatly encouraged! God is near, at hand!