From Religion to Relationship
· The New Normal (def) - The state to which a society settles, following a crisis, from what previously prevailed.
· Woke (def) – Alert or awake to recognize injustice or racism in society.
· Ephesians 5:14 “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (15) Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
· The closer you get to the light source, the bigger your shadow…
1. We have the Holy Spirit working in us.
· Galatians 3:3 (NIV) “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (4) He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
· The Ark of the Covenant - Before Jesus, people could only reach God through the Ark.
· Holy of Holies - where the Ark was kept, closed off by the Vail (curtain). Only the Priest could enter.
· The Vail was torn - When Jesus finished the work of the cross, we gained entrance to His Presence.
· John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. (17) He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”
2. We have relational fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit.
· Galatians 4:4 “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, (5) to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (6) Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father. (7) So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”
· John 15:15 “I no longer all you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
· II Peter 1:3 (NIV) "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."
3. We have the Power of the Holy Spirit to bring change in us.
· Galatians 5:16 (NIV) “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (17) For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (18) But if you are led by the Sprit, you are not under law.”
· Fruit of the Spirit - (Galatians 5:22) Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering (patience), Gentleness (kindness), Goodness (benevolence), Faith (faithfulness), Meekness (humility), Temperance (self-control).
· II Corinthians 3:18 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformedinto His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
· Transformation: a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance (Gr: Metamorphoo – Like change from caterpillar to butterfly).
· II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
