Sinner to Saint
1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NKJV)
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1. Before we chose Christ we are all guilty under the Law:
Luke 10:27 (NIV)
He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
2. Death is the final sting/Hades has its victory
3. We are all qualified to be recipients of the “Greatest Gift known to Man
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
When you choose Christ
You are no longer sentenced by the law, you’re set free from it
Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
You are no longer a Sinner, you’re a Saint who sometimes sins
Corruptible men put on Christ’s Incorruption – Mortals put on Christ’s Immortality – then the change from the inside out. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! NEW Creatures – power and purpose to live in our true identity.
You are no longer destined for Death, you’re destined for Life
Application Points
To those who are seeking to Believe: Realize the Power of His Salvation and the coming Resurrection!
Jesus knows how to humble us without humiliating us and how to lift us up without flattering us. He is THE ONLY one who give us the true, and essential nature of our worth. John 10:10-11 (NIV) 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The invitation is expressed in Psalm 23 – Relationship, Guidance, Rest and Protection – that goodness and mercy would follow you all of the days of your life!
To those who are Believers: Remember the Power of His Salvation and your coming Resurrection!
Seasons of filled with Problems/Pain
Jeremiah 31:3-4 (NIV)
I have loved you with an everlasting love, this won’t last forever, I will rebuild you once again, you will feel like singing again when these days are past.
Seasons filled with Prosperity/Possibilities
Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 19-20 (NIV)
Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery … If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.