Words to Live by Week 6: Change Always Requires Change
Words to Live by Week 6: Change Always Requires Change
Acts 4, Romans 7,8, 10 &12, John 11
September 21st, 2025
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Never short sell an immeasurably more God.
Never underestimate the power of a simple prayer offered on behalf of a complex situation.
Never dismiss the impact of obedience (disobedience).
Never be afraid of the repercussions of telling the truth in love. One of those repercussions is freedom.
When in the dark always ask for more of God. You need Him more than answers, advice or direction.
Change always requires change.
A desire for change is common, actual change is elusive. Spiritual change always has spiritual opposition.
Newton’s Law of Motion #1 An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction, unless acted upon by a net external force.
Application: People tend to stay in the same spiritual and physical spot until the pain of staying exceeds the “pain” required in changing. On the positive side, spiritual momentum is also difficult to stop.
Newton’s Law of Motion #2 The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.
Application: Surrender/Repentance is a powerful force and spiritual change requires it.
Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. C.S. Lewis.
Newton’s Law of Motion #3 For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Application: We pose the greatest threat to Satan’s kingdom when we gain spiritual strength, a spiritual family and spiritual momentum.
Salvation is the act of freedom and life. Sotiera & Sozo = Deliverance, rescue, freedom, wholeness.
Acts 4:8-13 (NIV) 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’(Psalm 118:22) 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Salvation being found in no one else other than Jesus, is a non-starter in a relative truth culture. Salvation is the most inclusive offer known to mankind.
Salvation has no racial, gender, political, economic or geographic or educational qualifications. BUT salvation has only one gate – Jesus.
Sin is a separator, Jesus is a connector.
John 3:16 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Part of Satan’s deception around salvation is, you don’t deserve this and you will be rejected.
Justification is a legal action of setting right.
Romans 10:9,10 (NIV) 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
With our repentance, surrender and confession, we are cleansed (saved) of all of our sins and the sin barrier between us and God is gone – this is a loving fatherly act.
God now declares us justified – in right legal standing, penalty of our sin paid, free! This is His Just Judge “side” of God. Love can’t exist without challenge.
Salvation = Changed Relationship Justification = Changed Status
Sanctification is the act of setting apart.
The Hebrew root for sanctification means “set apart” and “brightness”.
The difference between salvation, justification and sanctification is we play a more integrated role in our sanctification. While God does all three, sanctification is an ongoing process that requires our cooperation and continual surrender. Sanctification is an ongoing process of change.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (NIV) As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
“how to live” points to an ongoing process.
“more and more” is an ongoing advancement.
Romans 7 & 8 deserves a slow read
Salvation = Changed Relationship. Justification = Changed Status. Sanctification = Changed Living
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The Process of Change…
Respond in offering yourself in worship. Offer your whole self
The more you hold onto yourself, the less you can hold onto God.
Stop the conforming.
Stopping Starves. Starved things die.
Reject cultures attempt to squeeze you into their mold.
Start the transforming.
The fuel of spiritual transformation is spiritual mind renewal.
The Word challenges and changes your thinking.
The Truth of God’s word is the only force strong enough for transformation.
The best case for change is to hear/see and offer testimonies of change.
Revelation 12:11(NIV) They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Let’s celebrate some triumphing with some testimony.
John 11:43b-44 (NIV) 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
To exit death, you have to respond to Jesus’ call to life.
Once alive, ditch the dead stuff.
Undeniable life comes with unavoidable backlash.
Life Questions
Is Jesus calling you out of a grave, today? Come forth!
What dead stuff do you need to ditch? Ask for help and participate in stripping off the dead stuff that doesn’t match the living God.
Don’t be afraid to live the life of Christ in dead circles. Everybody needs this life.