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Summary of sermon by Friedel Stegen, 05 Oct 2014
There is a word that exercises me of late. We easily get used to reading the word but there is a cry in my heart that the word will change our lives. It is important that our lives speak louder than our voices. Does the word change our lives? I pray that our lives will speak louder than our words. That is important to me. We have enough of hypocrisy. We say we are Christians but we get angry and don’t do anything about it.
Genesis 1:26 God wanted man to rule over creation so that man would be the manager of creation. When God created man he wanted man to be like Him. He wanted to put man on earth so that he would represent God on earth. That was the heart of God when he created man. That was the duty of man on earth. When He created man He wanted man to be restored to what he should be. That’s why he gave Moses the commandments so that he would be in the image of God. "I give them my commandments so that they can be in my image and likeness." He wanted to get man back to his rightful place. That’s why he gave Moses the laws but he found that man didn’t keep the laws. Paul writes to the Romans and says "That what I don’t want to do, I do and what I should do, I don’t do." Through the ages, God sent prophets to try and get man back to what he was supposed to be. They brought sacrifices but it didn’t work because of sin. Sin prevails. Then Jesus said, "I will come and I will make that sacrifice that will bring peace with God. Through shedding my blood, I will be able to deal with sin in mankind."
That is the point – have we experienced that Jesus has come into our lives and dealt with sin? It is sin that separates us from God. I had an encounter this week. A person said she had been seeking God. She said, "I’ve been trying to find out why my life is as it is. I’ve been to so many places trying to find the solution for my life. Then I came to this place where you are. I went to services in the day, evening and on Sunday. In every meeting they talked about sin. Why did people talk about sin? In other places you hear about the love of God and that we don’t need anything else but here they said you must confess your sin so that the Lord Jesus can forgive you." This person said she was a believer and had surrendered her life to the Lord but that here people talked about sin. She said, "I didn’t understand. I thought I had come to the wrong place. Maybe this place is only for bad sinners. As I listened, it was as if the Lord took the veil away and I understood what it meant. I was depressed. I thought heaven is only for those who are holy. Then I realized the Lord wanted to get me back to the place for what I was created – to be in the image of Christ. I realized I needed the nature of Jesus in me and to be governed by God the Holy Spirit. I realized He needs a holy abode and a clean place to stay. He wanted Jesus to come in and change me so that I will be a new creature. Now I understand what Paul wrote to the Romans. ‘That what I don’t want to do, I do and what I should do, I don’t do.’ " This person started confessing her sin. Her face changed and she started smiling. She said, "What I felt is lifting. I find peace in my heart and my joy comes back to me."
When that veil and law of Moses was lifted, it becomes my life. I needn’t do much about it. The law has been written into my heart and all I need to do is obey God the Holy Spirit and if he shows me something I confess it. This person said she was thankful to come to a place where she saw that sin separates her from God. Jesus has come to restore that relationship with the heavenly Father. I want to see that that relationship isn’t disturbed in any way. I want to cleanse my life so that you can have free sway in my life where there is no unfriendliness or judging and that such things will pass away. That no matter what happens that I will be in perfect relationship with Thee. Job lost everything. He stayed calm. He stayed in perfect relationship with God. If everything goes wrong, can people see Christ in me? No matter what comes my way whether it be accidents or death, that I stay in perfect relationship with Christ. I need to come back to that place where people see the image of Christ in me. No matter if I am persecuted that I stay the same. "You are my epistle in your heart" Paul writes in 2Cor 3:2. What do people read in my life? I meet so many people in one day. What do they see and read in me? We are a letter not written by pen and ink but by the Spirit of God. Paul writes to the Romans "When Christ comes into my life, His law is written into my heart not on paper" (Rom 2:14-15). It becomes part of me and that is my nature. Right into death he could pray for his enemies. I pray, "Lord Jesus that’s the life I want." If He has written His law into my heart, it is easy to keep the law. Have I become like Christ? No matter the circumstances that I show the beauty of Christ. That I have the same feeling that the Lord Jesus has. In circumstances that I keep quiet, and say "Lord Jesus what should I do?" Wherever you are, what will other people read in you? Will they see the glory of heaven in you or will they see something else? I hope that we can show the whole world that they will see Christ.
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