Own It!
2nd Corinthians 5:15-21 - Victory Fellowship
August 4, 2024 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
I. INTRODUCTION:
a. When I was younger there was an admonition to “drive it likes it’s a rental.”
i. The newer version is drive it like you stole it.
b. Obviously, for a Christian this should not be an option. We are called to be good stewards.
c. Good stewards take care of another’s possessions as if they are their own. (tools, Car lease)
d. For a Christian, they should drive it like they own it.
e. In the same way, as far as our faith and our church, Christians live for Christ, not for themselves. We own it.
i. This should influence our view of what going to church really means.
ii. It also determines the long term effects of our church
f. When we build up the house of God, we are spiritually building up -in Christ- our lives and the lives of others.
II. Relating the text:
a. What God did for us in Christ
15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
b. We are God’s ambassadors
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.
c. We are to build up the church
We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
III. Application:
a. Kyle Idleman’s NOT a FAN
b. ACTIVE participant (Owning our faith) vs ACTIVE spectator
c. Difference between a Spectator and a Participant
i. A spectator simply observes in the house
ii. If you own it you BUILD UP the house
iii. Spectators seek their own desire
iv. If you own it you are committed to the vision of the house
v. Spectators delight in exposing weakness in the house
vi. If you own it you work to strengthen the house.
vii. Spectators bond people to themselves
viii. If you own it you bond people to God and to the Church family
ix. Spectators focus on appearances
x. If you own it you focus on the welfare of others
xi. Spectators tell you only what they want you to know
xii. If you own it you share their “inner conversation”
IV. Conclusion:
a. Jesus is our Lord and our church is Victory Fellowship.
b. The things we do in our faith and in our church we should do all for Jesus. Drive it like you own it. BUILD UP this House of Faith!
PRAYER
SONG: Always Only Jesus
2nd Corinthians 5:15-21: NLT 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.