Too Stubborn to Change
1st John 1:5-10 Victory Fellowship
January 14, 2024 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
I. Introduction:
a. It can be amazing what the Holy Spirit does with us if we let Him.” He transforms our lives – removing the undesirable habits and behaviors and giving us a magnetic quality that draws believers and unbelievers to us to desire what we have.
b. We need to allow room for the Fruit of the Spirit to transform us and re-make us after the image of Christ. To allow more room for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - we need to take to change those attitudes and behaviors in our lives that hinder the work of the Spirit.
II. This week I want to focus on Stubborn-ness.
a. Jesus loves and accepts us where we are but He doesn’t want to leave us there. The bible talks about being perfected in our faith. Being renewed day by day after the image of Christ. Consequently, we need to recognize that there are things we need to change. If we are too stubborn to admit the need to change, God can’t do very much with us.
b. 1st John promises us fellowship with God, Who is Light and Truth - but to have that fellowship we cannot walk in darkness. We have to confess our sin.
c. And if we say we have no sin (too stubborn to admit the need to change) John says we are fooling ourselves and calling God a liar.
d. The good news is when we confess our sin to God, He forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness We begin to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
III. Application:
a. (Advice Pastor Lyle gave me on coming to a new church – fix what you see is broken right away)
b. There are people who have behaved a certain way for so long they no longer see the need for improvement. Often, they do the same thing with sin in their lives. They become comfortable with their behavior and as a result may be too stubborn to allow the Holy Spirit to work in them. They are too stubborn to admit the need to change.
IV. Conclusion:
a. As we begin 2024, let’s agree to ask God to help us examine our lives - and if we see any of these behaviors present I think it’s time we say goodbye and good riddance to them as well.
b. This week let’s examine in what areas we may be too stubborn to admit the need to change. Come Holy Spirit and help us say goodbye to stubborn-ness!
PRAYER
SONG: He Is
1st John 1:5-10 NLT
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.