Redeemed - Skit Guys (song by Big Daddy Weave)
Have you undergone a change in your life? A dramatic change. What caused that change or led you your life suddenly changing? Was it the death of a loved one? Or perhaps it was a birth? Did you suddenly come clean from an addition? Or did you finally get that job you've been waiting for?
I know one man who reflected on his OWN life after seeing a friend die from cancer. He began to think that he had better get his OWN life in order . . . just in case HE died suddenly. What caused him to think that? Why would he be concerned about getting his act together/ That implies that he KNEW his life needed repair . . . improvement.
There is another man in my life who struggled with alcoholism for many years, yet to day he is as clean as can be, although he still battles the yearnings. Where did this man get the strength he needed to stop that addiction? It could have been a failing marriage. It could have been his children watching him stumbling in the door one night and witnessing his shame.
Another man I know was addicted to drugs. He SOLD the drugs to support his own habit. He knowingly sold kids drugs, getting them dependent upon him for their supply. He gradually turned them on to harder drugs so they would keep coming back for the more expensive means of getting high. Why would this man suddenly stop doing that, give it all up, and lead a more productive and legal life?
Each of those men met Jesus. They finally reached a point in their lives when they reached rock bottom. They were finally willing to try "anything" - even Jesus!! And when they did that, when they finally got so desperate that they turned to Christ they discovered the cure for what was controlling their lives. They left that life behind and began following Jesus.
"24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds." - Matthew 16:24-27
If we go through life without God's Holy Spirit to guide us and convict us of our sins, what hope do we have of being saved? Absolutely none! God gives us the power over sin. We can conquer anything through Christ!! Any addiction, any situation, any trial or pain. We can defeat our enemies through the blood of Christ. When Jesus died on the cross He took away our punishment, he defeated our deserved future, death, for us. It is through our faith in Him that we can truly live. It is through the love of Christ that we have been . . . redeemed.
"13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13
For examples of how people have defeated their demons through their faith in Christ check out I Am Second.
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