AN EXTREME CHRISTIAN MAKEOVER

"AN EXTREME CHRISTIAN MAKE OVER"

Psa 34: 12



Intro: "You look 20,25,29, but I need to add them up."

I want to ask a fairly straightforward question here this morning. Is there anyone present who believes that they are the Christian whom God wants you to be? Is there anyone present who is completely satisfied with where they are spiritually speaking? Or, would everyone here today like to become a better Christian? In other words, I want to know if you are looking for a, "Extreme Makeover."

I will go out on a limb, and assume that each of us is looking to grow and become more of what God would have us to be. There are two ideas, which I want to suggest to you this morning. First, we all are looking to make a change. Second, change isn't easy. However, we know that the bible teaches us that with God, all things are possible.

This morning, I want to talk to you about your very own, "EXTREME CHRISTIAN MAKEOVER." I'm not going to offer you any twelve-step guide to better Christian living. That would be unnecessarily complicated. Instead, using the inspired word of God, I want to help you to discover the keys to living as the Apostle Paul lived. It was Paul after all who said, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ, lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me!" When you leave here this evening, I want you to leave with that very same attitude. So, the major question which we want to address this morning, is, "WHAT MUST I DO IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE IN MY LIFE?"



I YOU NEED TO DECIDE ONCE AND FOR ALL, WHO YOU ARE!



1. In our world today, we can see so many who have yet to fully decide who they are.

A. Men and women come to the marriage without understanding who they are, or what they want.

B. Young people leave the home and enter the world, and still aren't sure who they are.

C. Even in the church, we have Christians who give their life to Christ, but soon depart because they still haven't decided who they are going to be.

2. When this happens, trouble soon comes knocking at the door.

A. Men and women who don't decide who they are in terms of their marriages will soon be searching for another spouse.

B. The child who isn't sure who they are might turn to the world for their answers.

C. And the Christian, who gives their life to the Lord and then takes it back, will soon decide that they hold more answers than the God whom they once served.

D. I believe that we can all agree that there is a need for change in this area.

3. The answer to the question, "how can change be affected," is found in 2Chronicles 31-32.

A. Here we find the story of the battle between Hezekiah, king of Judah, and Sennacherib, king of Assyria.

B. Sennacherib offers Hezekiah the chance to surrender, and save his people some hardship, yet King Hezekiah refuses.

C. We might wonder why he would refuse.

D. 2Ch 31: 20-21 reveals to us that he refused because he had decided that come what may, he was a follower of the Lord!

4. This is the same decision that I am asking you to make here this morning!

A. Eph 5: 22-26 I am asking that both husbands and wives decide right here and now that you are going to fully commit to being a HUSBAND OR WIFE!

B. Eph 5: 1 young people, I am asking you to commit to become someone separate from the world!

C. Gal 2: 20 brethren, I am asking you who are here today, to commit yourself to living life as a child of the creator of all things, and the redeemer of mankind!

D. First Corinthians 15: 58 Decide who you are, and never look back!



II IF WE ARE TO MAKE A CHANGE, WE MUST TAKE SIN SERIOUSLY.

(1Cor 10: 13)



In 1Corinthians 10, Paul points out to us a group who didn't take sin seriously.
A. As usual, we are speaking of the children of Israel.
B. 1Cor 10: 5-10 they didn’t take sin seriously, and so many paid with their lives.

C. 1Cor 10: 6, 11 what you and I need to realize is that the Bible makes clear to us that the nation of Israel served as our example!

D. We need to learn from the mistakes which they made.

2. If we are to make that change in our lives, and begin to take sin seriously, then there are three things which Paul wants us to know about sin here in this text.

A. 1Co 10: 13a you are not alone in your sin.

(Jonah 2: 1-10 a.) the truth of the matter is that you aren’t alone in the most secret of your secret sins.

B. 1Co 10: 13 secondly, God is faithful.

(a.) Romans 8: 39 the truth, and the wonder, is that God will never leave us.

(b.) Time and time again we are told that God will not leave us, and that includes those moments when we are at our weakest.

C. 1Co 10: 13c he will always provide you a way out.

(a.) Matthew 14: 31 Notice, that the text doesn’t say that he will give you the strength to keep returning to that temptation.

(b.) Instead, Paul says that he provides you with, “THE WAY OUT.”

(D.) Of course that one-way out is through him!



III STOP WORRYING, AND LIVE FOR CHRIST!

(Matt 6: 25-34)



1. In Matt 6: 25-34, Christ points out two things, which we must do if we are to make an extreme change.

A. We must, "COMMIT TO QUIT WORRYING."

B. We must, "START LIVING FOR CHRIST."

2. Hidden behind the beautiful words of these nine verses, we find the reward, which will be awarded to the one who can commit to quit worrying.

A. To that individual, is given the ability to focus on what really matters!

B. You see, the one who is worried over the things of this world cannot see the rewards of the life to come!

C. The story of the woman who worried about the robber.

D. David Young, "If you are a Christian who worries, it is because you want to, not because you need to or have to."

3. What is meant when we say, "START LIVING FOR CHRIST?"

A. I am not telling you that you should live for the here and now.

B. Living for Christ means that you are living for that land of endless days!

C. When we do that, we will find that change is not only possible, but also simple!



CONCLUSION:

Is change easy? No. Is change possible? Without a doubt! If we are to make changes, which will stick, then we must do those things, which we have looked at here today. We must decide once and for all who we are. We must then begin to take sin seriously. And finally, we need to stop worrying, and simply live our lives for Jesus Christ. I pray that you will decide, just as I have decided, that you are ready to make those extreme changes!