There
are a few words from a wife that can send a chill up every man’s spine. These
words are so terrifying that they can make even the toughest man crumble.
The
words are: “We
need to talk”
Immediately
we know what’s coming next. Something in
the relationship isn’t what it should be.
While
things may be fine in a man’s world, something isn’t right in the woman’s world
and she will want to discuss it, and make a change in the relationship.
ILLUSTRATION- I’ve learnt from experience
that when my wife says “it’s time talk”, that it’s time to talk.
She is telling
me that something in our relationship isn’t quite right and it needs to be
addressed.
If we never
talked about our relationship, it’s doubtful that we would be in the
relationship today.
These talks can be good, because there is almost always a change that
comes from having one of these discussions.
Believe
it or not, we actually need to have these kinds of conversations with God. We
need Him to assess our relationship and help us move forward in our walk with
Him.
As
we’ve been discussing over the last couple of weeks, the disciples were with
Jesus, but they weren’t minded like Jesus.
They
even went as far as debating their positions in His kingdom; they wanted
positions of power.
They were with
Jesus, but weren’t minded like Jesus.
The
disciples had been with Jesus day in and day out for two years—that’s the
equivalent of you coming to church each Sunday for 14 years, they had seen Jesus
do great things for other people, but they were still curved inward; they were
still thinking primarily about themselves.
As
the disciples were arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greatest, Jesus
says to them: “fellas, we have to talk...”
He proceeded to
tell them that “If
anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of
all." (Mark 9:35, NIV)
Then,
Jesus does something interesting: “He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking
him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little
children in my name welcomes me…” (Mark
9:36-37, NIV)
Matthew
puts it slightly different. Using the same little child as His illustration,
Jesus said: "I
tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew
18:3, NIV)
Jesus
is laying the groundwork for a change in our nature.
Remember, this is what a SoulShift is.
It’s a “change
in the deepest part of our being… that makes us more like Christ and less like
our old selves” (DeNeff)
Jesus
was reminding His closest followers that unless there was a change deep inside
of them—deep in their soul; they would never enter heaven.
One
chapter later, the matter of Children comes up once again. We can read about
this in Mark 10:13-15:
“People were
bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples
rebuked them.
14 When Jesus saw
this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to
me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15 I tell you the
truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will
never enter it."
16 And he took the
children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” (Mark
10:13-16, NIV)
Among the Jews,
it was customary for parents to bring their children to great men to have them
blessed, but the Disciples were trying to prevent parents from bringing their
children to Jesus.
At this, Jesus
becomes “angry
with his disciples” (Mark 10:14b, NLT2) and invited the children to
come to Him; and He used this moment to explain a SoulShift…
“…anyone who
doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15, NLT2)
Most commentators
suggest that Jesus was telling us to “act like children”, but I don’t think
that’s what Jesus is saying.
He was,
especially in Matthew 18, saying that we are to become like children.
Jesus is describing something
about our Nature and the way we approach God.
He said that
unless people change and become like children we will miss the kingdom of God.
Once again,
Jesus and His disciples are of 2 different minds.
The disciples
were worried that children were getting in the way, and Jesus was worried that
the disciples weren’t like children.
What
Jesus was implying was the 2nd SoulShift- a shift from Slave to child.
It’s
actually an amazing thing; as you read the Gospels, and the rest of the New
Testament, you’ll see this shift.
If we have surrendered our lives to Jesus,
we are not slaves; we are actually Children, children of God.
Allow
me to give you 2 quick examples.
Jesus,
in Matthew chapter 6 reminds us that when we pray, we are not to broadcast it
to the world, but are to find a quiet space, and “…close the door and pray to your Father,
who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you.” (Matt. 6:6b, NIV)
Calling
God “our Father” isn’t exactly the language of a
slave, now is it?
Or
how about this example from the writing of Paul, as found in Galatians 4:
“…when
the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.
5
God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could
adopt us as his very own children.
6 And because we are
his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to
call out, “Abba, Father.”
7 Now you are no
longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made
you his heir.” (Gal. 4:4-7, NLT2)
God wants us to
move away from thinking like a slave to thinking about what we really are:
Children of the Living God.
But, if we’re
telling the truth, there is a problem. The problem is we sometimes don’t see
ourselves as His children.
ILLUSTRATION- I find this to be true each
time I do something that I know to be wrong. I feel guilty; broken, abandoned, but
regardless of how I feel, I am still His child.
Just as my
daughter is still my daughter when she does something I don’t want her to do.
She is my child for life…
Want
an example? Look at Luke 15. This is a story of a father and his two sons.
The
younger son, whom we’ll call Bob, decides that he’s sick of being at home and
wants his share of his inheritance.
Once his father gives him what he asked
for, he jumped on the 6 o’clock train and headed for the city.
After
a few months of wild parties, Bob runs out of money and decides that in order
to eat, he has to find work. The problem is that a recession has hit town, and
the only work Bob is able to find is feeding the pigs.
When
he finally clues into his predicament, he decides that he needs to get back on
the same 6 o’clock train that brought him to town, and get out of town.
As
he is on the way home, he takes out his iPad and begins writing an apology to
his father.
As
he’s working out this apology, he sees someone off in the distance running
toward him.
When
Bob realizes it’s his father, he tells his him that he’s sorry, and is no
longer worthy to be called his son.
But his father responds, not by treating
him like a slave, but by treating him like a son.
It
didn’t matter what Bob had done. All that mattered was that Bob came back home.
This,
of course, is a picture of what God does for us. While we might be a slave in
our minds, He calls us sons and daughters and treats us as such.
Steve
DeNeff says: “When
you don’t know who you are you’ll always act like someone you’re not—a person
who is less than what you are meant to be”
(DeNeff, 2011, 51)
Church:
God did not send His Son to die the death that we were supposed to die so we
could live like a slave; God sent Jesus to die the death we were supposed to
die, so we could be free:
“It is for freedom
that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be
burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal.
5:1, NIV)
God
doesn’t intend for us to be wrapped up in bondage, to have a poor self-image,
or even to wallow in fear; God intended us to be free; to live, not as slaves,
but to live as Children.
The
Bible says: “How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1, NIV)
Do
you need this SoulShift to overtake your life? If Christ has set you free from your sin, you are not a
slave; you are a Child of God!
How
do we make this transition? How do we move from thinking like a slave, to
thinking like a child?
Listen to
the right Voice.
ILLUSTRATION- The world is constantly
speaking. It’s constantly sending out messages—messages like: “you’re too fat!”
“You’re too thin”. “You don’t make enough money” “you make too much money…”
If we want to
move from slave to child, we have to listen to the right Voice.
In order to
listen to the right voice, we’ve got to spend time in God’s word. We need to
memorize all that God has to say about us.
We need to know
that:
è
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (Jn. 8:36, NIV)
è
We need to know that nothing will ever separate
us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (See Romans 8:37-39)
è
We need to know that when we are weak, He is
Strong. (See 2 Cor. 12:9)
You see church, God
doesn’t view us as a slave, He views us a child, a child that He loves and
deeply cares about.
ILLUSTRATION- In his book, Capital of the World, Ernest Hemingway,
wrote about a father in Spain who had a son named Paco.
Because
of his son’s rebellion, Paco and his father were estranged. The father was
bitter and angry with his son and kicked him out of the home.
After
years of bitterness, the father’s anger subsided, and he realized his mistake.
He
began to look for Paco with no results.
Finally,
in desperation, the father placed an ad in the Madrid newspaper.
The
ad read: “Paco, all is forgiven. Meet me at
the newspaper office at 9 A.M. tomorrow. Love, your Father.”
Paco
is a rather common name in Spain, and Hemingway wrote that when the father
arrived the next morning, there were six hundred young men named Paco waiting
and hoping to receive their father’s forgiveness.” (SS
sermons. Week 3)
Friend,
it matters not what you have done, God still views you as a child, as His
child; He died for you; He paid your ransom; He loves you and He calls you His
child.
Do
you need to experience this SoulShift? Do you need to move from being a slave;
a slave of sin, a slave of guilt, a slave of your past, a slave of someone
else’s opinion of you, to a child of God?
Jesus
said “unless you
change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.” (Matthew 18:3, NIV)
Do
you need to experience this change deep in your soul? Do you need to move from
Slave to child?
The
Good News is that our God is mighty to save! He is able to rescue you and help
you move from slave to Child.
But we have to
make that first step, we have to acknowledge that by nature we are slaves, but we need to
beleive that we don't have to remain a slave.
We don’t have to
let our past determine our furture; because of the Death and Resurrection of
Jesus Christ, we can be free.
If you want to
make that shift from slave to child, will you consider doing it today?
Will you
consider leaving your past as a slave, and take your present and future as a
child of God.
If so, then I
invite you to stand and come to the front, and claim your true identity; not of
a slave, but of a child of God.
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