Divine Shift: Do Different

Divine Shift – Sermon Notes Pastor Brad Myers

Do Different October 13, 2024

Today: Do Different! .

Shift: To change or reposition. Change!!

Are we even open to doing different things?

Perspective! How we view things in life!

• Religion, Practical living, Politics, Family, Jobs, etc. etc.

To be different, we have to see differently!

• Everyone sees their life through a particular lens.
• Our view influences how we interpret our circumstances and surroundings.
• Our view impacts the way we value everything!

Many of us used to live in ignorance.

• Ignorant of realities of life
• Ignorant of the purpose of our experiences.
• Ignorant toward the suffering of others.
• Ignorant to the bigger picture of God’s divine plan.

God offered us the privilege to see things differently.

• Our view (filter) shifted to Jesus’ view (filter)

John 9:1-3, (ESV)

• Born blind: Not many options.
• Only option: To beg
• Disciples asked Jesus: Did this man sin against God or if his parents:

It was their understanding, just as it is the common belief of many people today, that our sources of discomfort and trouble are tied directly to God punishing us because of some action or moral failure in our lives.

John 9:3

• Disciples: Pessimistic view: He did something wrong
• Jesus: Optimistic view: God’s work can be displayed in him

What about how we see our daily lives? Positive or Negative?

• Negative view: It’s just another day!
• Positive view: Opportunity

Jesus defines a day

John 9:4 (ESV)

• Make the best use of the time they had been given.

John 9:5 (ESV)

• Jesus is the light of the world, but warned the night was coming.
• Jesus introduced a proactive vs reactive perspective.

Recently Forbes Writer: Biggest Regrets in Life:

• Working so much at the expense of family and relationships.
• Allowing my marriage to break down.
• Worrying too much about what others think.
• Failing to take time to teach his children practical things.
• Primarily, he associates with people who lead him in an unhealthy direction.
• Not caring for his health when he was healthy

Christ reminds us that the day is almost over, but it isn’t over yet!

To do things differently we must see differently!

We need to keep trusting Jesus even if He asks us to do something different that is out of the ordinary

John 9:6-7 (ESV)

• Jesus doing something controversial
• Religious leaders: Unlawful work on a Sabbath day.

Everything Jesus did in the Bible had a point to it.

• Jesus was teaching this blind man the nature of faith.
• Jesus was testing him.

You can tell what a person believes by observing the activity of their lives.

• If trust Jesus: He obeys the instructions.
• The blind man does differently. Went to the pool.
• Came back seeing.

What would we do if the man were us?

What would we do today if Jesus asked us something that seems out of the ordinary?

• Conviction to do something….. Do we say yes?

God can open our eyes to see things in a new way so we can go do something different!

John 9:35-41 (ESV)

• Real consequences for this man who trusted in Christ and obeyed Him.
• Excommunicated from the synagogue, but that shame was nothing compared to the joy of knowing and worshipping Christ.
• This man who had been blind could now see things, physically & spiritually.
• He would never see things the same again.

Christ offers us the privilege to see things in a new way so we can do different things.

How can we do different things?

By not living in two worlds at the same time 

James 4:4 (NIV) James (the younger brother to Jesus) puts it this way:

• James knew Jesus!! He witnessed him grow up!

We do things differently to make a difference 

What James & Paul were pointing out was this.

We can’t be a friend of God if we’re seeking to be relevant to the world. 

Matthew 6:33 NKJV

• Very few are really concerned about the things of God.

If we have the mind of Christ, we’ll first seek the things of Christ.

How can we do different things?

Don’t sacrifice your faith for popular opinion.

• Paul cautioned the Galatians about the danger of the changing world impacting their faith. And we do live just like them today in a culture that is driven by popular opinions.
• The Galatians at that time were seeking to be relevant within their corrupt world’s system, while reaching out to win the lost for Jesus at the same time. But in their attempts to win the lost, they found themselves moving away from the original message of salvation which they had received.

Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV)

• The danger of compromising the gospel.
• which they had received. Many are ascribing to popularism in the form of the gospel, which is being preached among them. Is the Church in the Western world going to succumb to popularism? But we do acknowledge that God’s way is pure and straightforward.

Today, the devil is throwing everything he has at the believer to limit our influence in the world!

• Politics!

We need to learn to lose our dignity for His deity!

If we care about what God thinks, we’ll do things differently.