The Template for the Christian Life By Ethan Wentzlaff

But if our passion for Christ looks extreme and crazy, that's okay. We're not living for the world's approval. We're living for God. We're living to live right before God. And as verse nine said last week, our aim should be to please the Lord. But if we care most about what people think and if if we we think I don't want them to think I'm out of my mind. If that's what consumes most of our attention and and thoughts, we will stay quiet about Jesus. We won't proclaim truth. [00:13:02] (34 seconds)  #PassionOverPopularity

And the Bible communicates and Paul communicates that that is where true freedom is found. There's freedom found in in not living for ourselves, but living for something bigger. There's freedom from the routines that drain us instead of giving life. There's freedom from chasing success that never truly satisfies. There's freedom from needing everyone's approval to feel valued. There's freedom from social standards. There's freedom from comparing our lives to others. There's freedom from building our identity on what we achieve and what we own or what we look like. There's freedom from all of that. Freedom from all of that in Christ. [00:15:29] (39 seconds)  #FreedomInChrist

But if you care most about what God thinks, we will speak his truth. We will proclaim the gospel. Because verse 14 said, the love of Christ controls us. The love of Christ should be ultimately what drives us and controls each and every choice we make. So in a Christian life, we're, yes, we're pushed by fear, but we're also driven by this love. And love can make people do insane things. May Jesus step out of heaven and die for us. And I've heard countless stories of of people who've done things out of love that have been insane. [00:13:36] (36 seconds)  #LoveDrivenFaith

I walked out of the the the eye doctor, and I just remember looking out at the world and being in awe of the beauty that this world was. I'm like, wow. This is so cool. People are prettier than I thought they were or uglier depending on how you see it. The world is so much more beautiful, and I see everything differently because of these lenses that I have on. The Bible communicates and Paul communicates here that same idea that when we come to Christ, something very similar happens to us. Christ reframes the way we see life, the way we see ourselves, and the way we see others. [00:17:17] (41 seconds)  #NewLensInChrist

Because if the message of reconciliation, this idea of a restored relationship with God, if that stops with us, then we have failed. We failed to live out our calling. To be a Christian means to share God's truth. It means to represent him in this world. That's all of us. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the disciples to go. Go and share this truth. That's called the great commission. That's not called the great suggestion. We're called to go and share each and every one of us. How are we practically doing that in our life? [00:28:01] (39 seconds)  #ShareReconciliation

That's not fixed. That's not temporarily repaired. That's not duct taped. That is brand spanking new. We are a new creation in Christ. And what that means is our past sins don't define us. Our past struggles don't define us. Our past circumstances don't define us. What defines us is who we are in Christ. That's what it means to be a Christian, and that's what it means to live in this world is to know the only thing that matters is do you know Jesus. Every single person that we interact with in our life, that should be the top of mind, the top of any conversation we have is do you know Jesus Christ as your lord and savior? [00:20:27] (43 seconds)  #KnowJesusFirst

We need to be mobilized with the message of reconciliation. You see that reconciliation is huge, and god has entrusted us to be ambassadors of this reconciliation. An ambassador, when it's used here, it it it means very similarly to what it means today. An ambassador is someone who represents a king or a ruler carrying authority on their behalf. God says we are ambassadors of him. We can carry the message, carry the authority of the gospel on behalf of God, and not only can we, but we should. We're implored to. Paul is urgent here. He's saying, go. We are ambassadors for Christ. [00:26:04] (46 seconds)  #AmbassadorsForChrist

And today, what what our text points to is the fact that that Jesus and god god saw us in a messy situation. He saw us in the midst of our sin, in the midst of this broken world, and he decided not to just leave us there, but to step into our situation and become the very thing that we needed. He became the sacrifice on the cross. He became the the the freedom that we can have through his life, death, burial, and resurrection. He stepped into the dirtiest job of all and became our sin. [00:02:56] (35 seconds)  #JesusSteppedIn