This Sunday’s sermon was brought by a guest pastor, Pastor Brad Lewter. He is the senior pastor at Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas. We are currently in a series called Always and Forever, and the title of today’s sermon was Changed.

Pastor Brad’s message this morning was whether or not you’re Changed through God’s grace. Are you truly changed and seeing the world, people, etc through the lens of God, or are you simply saying you are a Christian, but still viewing the world, people, etc through your flesh and a worldly perspective. In times of distress or at your peaks are you looking to God for your gain solely, or are you in constant communication with Him and have the Holy Spirit living with you 24/7?

As Christians, sons and daughters of Christ, we have two “born” days. What I mean is that we have our physical day of birth, and the other is when we are reborn and our old selves are crucified with Christ and we are born again, made a new creature in Christ, having given and completely surrendered ourselves to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul says it best, “therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.

Biblical change boils down to what you believe about God. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God is the source of life and love, God is The Messiah, and that God is the Son, Father, and Holy Spirit, then you will evidently see biblical change in your life. Believing this all to be true then you will see the world and people through the lens of our Heavenly Father. Your heart will break and yearn for what His does. You will love others as He loves. Now of course this is not to say that being a daughter of Christ that you no longer sin, we are human and will still sin, nonetheless we need sin less. There is a major difference. You become what Jesus is about. You love what God loves, and you abhor what He abhors.

Later on 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 goes onto say, “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliations; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us: who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”. Jesus reconciled me and my relationship back to God. He didn’t input my sins unto me, but all the sins of the world unleashed onto Jesus on the Cross. I deserved a sinners death, but God. God died a sinner’s death, became sin, as He knew NO sin. It blows my mind that perfection became sin, so I could have the opportunity to live in eternal paradise with the Almighty King of Kings.

I’m made right with God because of who God is. I’m made the righteousness of God in Christ alone. He is love, He is life, He is the truth and the only truth, He is the King of Kings, He is a giver and a forgive, and He is Abba. He is the one and only thing that matters 500 years from now, for the rest of eternity. We are to glorify and make His name known among the nations, to spread the Gospel and His good Word. I’m redeemed in His love. I am changed and made anew in God. I’m praying you walk through this week with the reminder that we as sons and daughters of Christ walk in His righteousness, and as a new creature. Walk in unwavering confidence because of whose you are, who you turn towards when the enemy tries to shake your faith, and whose love enraptures you to your core.