The difference Jesus makes

With our past In our relationships With our feelings With those who don’t like us With our money

Does Jesus make a difference? A spiritual change in us. Then growing good fruit. Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit… Matt 7:17 This is about how we do life. Freedom Change Being distinctive

When relationships are broken we feel the pain of the breakdown. A chasm opens up…

Romans 12: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.

Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.

20 On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

How to love someone who doesn’t like us! Love must be sincere v9 Love is about what we do rather than how we feel. A decision; rather than a response to a warm feeling.

Be practical Choosing to serve those who don’t like us allows us to cling to what is good v9 Opposite of feeding evil which so easily festers. Our heart catches up. Helping those in need v13 Generous hospitality v13 Rejoicing & grieving v15

Watch our words Our words have great power. Bless those who persecute you; bless and don’t curse. v14 Don’t foster bitter roots in our own hearts. (Heb 12:15) For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45

Watch our hearts Three idols in our lives: sex, money & power girls/guys, gold & glory Glory: our egos are easily bruised. Honour one another above yourself v10 Decide to prefer others. Always think the best. This disempowers power and privilege in our lives.

Guard our unity We are not isolated units but part of God’s family. Division hurts the whole body. Live in harmony with one another v16 Differences will occur. Decide to seek healthy resolution. Our brother and sister in Christ is NEVER our enemy.

Be peacemakers With neighbours and colleagues: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live in harmony with everybody. v17 Be the peacemaker Go the extra mile Drop our end of the rope Acts of kindness: heaps burning coals on their head! Love wins…

Dealing with deep hurt Some hurts are deep and damaging. Betrayal, broken trust, deceit. Natural response – revenge; retaliation. Paul is clear: Do not take revenge v19 So what do we do with those feelings? A real challenge for us.

Being real about evil Evil is real, wrong, destructive and bad news. There can be lasting consequences. It does matter if we have been badly hurt or abused. What does God say about the problem of sin and evil?

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:6 – 11

Jesus died so that sin and evil wouldn’t have the victory. Jesus opened up a new way – freedom for us from sin and evil. Unforgiveness keeps evil in circulation. In nations, communities, families. It hinders the healing we long for.

We are called to be a people of forgiveness. Even forgiving those who show no remorse for their actions. The good news…

Forgiveness brings freedom to us. Decision to forgive Step by step. This is a good news journey… Bringing healing and restoration Also: God’s anger has room to breathe It is mine to avenge; I will repay v19

Jesus is our role model. Jesus is our healer.

The difference Jesus makes… Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit… Matt 7:17 Jesus shows us how to do life well. Living distinctively…

The difference Jesus makes With our past In our relationships With our feelings With those who don’t like us With our money