Celebration worship
METANOIA- Todd Morgan
John 7:6-8 Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.
John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Good Morning, please hold up your bible if you would like and join me.
This is my Bible
This is my lighthouse.
This is my sword and my shield.
Please use these words to enlighten me, mold me and to be my everlasting light.
In your name we praise and love-Amen
Some of you may be wondering what the heck is this Meta noia stuff. It is a Greek word that means change of mind. Our Father planted this seed word in my brain while I was still commuting and working in Houston. He reminds me of this word daily, weekly….all the time! I need to back track a little so you can understand this story. When I say I commit myself to the Lord, I mean that I truly follow His lead, him holding my hand like a loving father leading his toddler son through the crowded amusement park of life. I found out a long time ago that I cannot trust making decisions without bringing it to Him. I will tell you that God has a plan for everyone of us but for us to attain His trust we have to honor how he blesses us. We must do as he tells us without fear. We cannot ignore His pull on our life nor the command He has for us.
I was paid to leave my last job here in town. I tried for several months to figure out what He wanted me to do. I went in many directions but every door I tried to walk through would turn into a window. I could only look in, I couldn’t enter. My oldest friend had wanted me to come work where he works but it would require me to live away from home during the week 3 hours away. This was a big decision so I took it to the altar, and then Jesus said to me, “you need to go.” I didn’t know why He wanted me there, it wasn’t to get rich or succeed in work life. I would later figure out He wanted me there for spiritual support for my sister in law who had just got out of an ugly divorce. He wanted me there to be a spiritual influence at my place of work. And who knows why else I was supposed to be there, but I lived in His light while I was there, talking about the love of Jesus with anyone who would listen. He had given me a vision. He told me it was time to come home. How can I make this happen? I have a great job and cannot afford to leave it to find something new. I trust you Lord! Bring me home. Literally, that same week I found out from a friend from Emmaus that he worked for our company up here in north Texas. He told me on a Friday that my company, Renewal by Andersen, was opening up East Texas in March of this year. I couldn’t contain myself that weekend. I drove to Houston on Sunday night and went into the office early before our 10 am meeting. I told HR that I had heard of the opening and I want to go home. Brandy, the HR head, got on the phone with our CEO. Bob, our CEO, was all over it and called the CEO on the north Texas location. I would interview over the phone with the VP of sales and I would start in the first training class for East Texas that Monday. Do yall see what happened? I thought I had no way home, then in 3 days Bob was promoting me and I was back home within a week of God telling me it was time to come home after being gone for almost 2 years. Trust in God! Trust in His plan, His plan is so much better.
Metanoia is interpreted as a profound, transformative change of heart and mind. Derived from the ancient Greek words meta meaning (beyond or change) and nous (meaning mind), it literally translates to a radical transformation of heart, mind and life direction. Here is where it gets very interesting. Metanoia is often translated as repentance in the bible. Do you see the difference? Often we think of repentance as we are guilty of sin and we must repent from the sin. It is associated with guilt and shame. This is true we must repent from sin BUT metanoia is deeper than that when read in the context. For example, Matthew 3:8 says, Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Does it sound better to say, produce fruit in keeping with metanoia. Produce fruit in keeping with our Father’s word. Produce fruit by our actions living like Jesus Christ inwardly and outwordly. Or how about this in Acts 5:31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. That to me sounds redundant. But when said correctly, God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give Metanoia and forgiveness of sins. That He will change their minds into thinking like our Lord and forgiveness of their sins. Last one, which is my favorite; 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. To come to Metanoia. He wants all of us to come to his way of thinking, his way of living and understand His view of this world. Why is it important to understand His view of this world? Satan is also called “the prince of this world” three times in the New Testament, specifically in the Gospel of John. John 12:31, John 14:30 and John 16:11. If Satan is the prince of the world then the world is for Satan. There has been a spiritual battle going on since Adam ate the apple. This battle is all around and it reveals itself from time to time in this world. We have to be prepared and ready. We must protect our mind,our hearts and our souls. The enemy will attack you on all fronts. I believe that the best way to tell if you are following God’s plan is by how many attacks that you have from the enemy. Do you know what I am talking about? You are given a plan from God then every obstacle that could be imagined comes in your way. The enemy wants to thwart any work we are making for our treasures in heaven. Don’t let the thief steal that from you.
How do we Metanoia?
The first step for each of us is to say Yes lord I am yours and I want Metanoia. I want to know you better! What we do next requires Christian action from all of us as one church body. The Bible is our guideline on how to achieve it. All answers from life are found in this great book! Our Father directed me this week to a few verses that tell us what to do right now. John 17:20-26 is a Prayer from Jesus for future believers. It reads, (read from bible). Man, I dont know about yall but i want to read this every morning before I hit the day. This is so emboldening. Does it not get you pumped up? Jesus prayed for each of you 2000 years ago! This prayer is bold, strong and is about Christian unity. Unity of this church. Unity is all about striving for our main goal. Family matters!
Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you have a personal relationship with Him? Leading up to the verse John 10:25-30, Jesus was surrounded by the religious leaders and were questioning him about being the son of God. Jesus responded with “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Fathers name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish: no one can snatch them out of my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all: no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
We must gather all the sheep. We must invite anyone and everyone to church. We must continually bring people to Jesus Christ. That is our number one command. We should be inviting people to our table everyday.
Do you know Jesus Christ? Does he know you?
Jesus tells us a parable in 10 (read 10:11-18) We have been given authority by Jesus Christ to bring all sheep to him. Not just the ones we know but everyone we meet who does not have metanoia. We have been given ownership of this property by our Lord to further His kingdom. What have you done to honor him for this gift?
John 7:6-8 Is God calling you. All of us! Jesus tells them, “the right time for me has not yet come, for you ANY TIME IS RIGHT. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going to this feast, because for me the right time has not come.
I tell you folks the time is today. Have you invited anyone to our church? Are you not doing it because we are without a pastor? I challenge all of you to bring someone to one of our services. This is the absolute best time to invite a friend! Remember what i said last week, this is the most loving and giviness family that I have ever belong to. This is the best time to introduce someone new to our family. John 7:37-38 says On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Jesus boldly (says in loud voice) so he is boldly proclaiming that we all have a living water within us. What does that mean? We have the spirit flowing in us and we must boldly let the world see the living water in us. We must show the world Jesus Christ in us.
How do we do this?
We attain this with Metanoia. I believe that we are climbing that stairway to heaven our whole life. Along the way there are plateaus where we are paused in life. Sometimes we become complacent in these stages and don’t ascend further. Sometimes we falter and take steps back. Gods grace allows us to keep moving forward. Sometimes we get to stage in life and we seem stuck in limbo. God has a plan for all of us. There are possibly 2 differing reasons; either you need to earn God’s trust before you are able to move upward OR someone else has to move first before you. God is patient! I liken in to when I was child and was learning to hunt. My dad didn’t start me off with his 30.06. Nope my first rifle was a 22, then I progressed to the 220 and eventually to the 30.06. My dad needed to have trust in me that I will be safe with what was given to me and to use it correctly. Our Father is the same with the blessings He has planned for us.
How can we achieve Metanoia?
You achieve Metanoia by putting God first. God before your spouse, God before your children, God before your parents. God first! You surround yourself with like minded people. True christians that love you for you but also love you so much that they correct you when you take a step back. People who challenge you when you are complacent.
Another great way to better your relationship with Jesus Christ is going on the walk to Emmaus. We have the Fall men’s and women’s walk coming in September. A walk to Emmaus will open up that relationship with Jesus, You will become a better parent and spouse, it will help you in your own spiritual growth, and most importantly it will give you direction in our church and community. Tabitha and I did our walk #88 & 89 at camp gilmont at disciples crossing. It changed our lives forever. Made us closer as a couple and helped us with spiritual direction. That is where I heard God’s whisper to me for the first time and it changed my life. I encourage you, if you feel the pull to know Jesus Christ and to fully understand the love He has for you then talk to me or Tabitha and we will find sponsors for you. It will cost you nothing but time, 3 days to be exact. Your family will be taken care of while you are gone and they will be forever blessed when you are back.
Get in the habit of reading your bible, create reasons to read; for example I like to go back and forth from old testament to new, and then I will add other challenges like my current one where I am reading the 4 main books of the gospel. Go to prayer for everything in your life, and when I say prayer I mean have a real conversation with Jesus. You will probably be surprised by what he has to tell you. The most important part of Metanoia is to live like Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.
Who doesn’t want to please their Father in Heaven? We have to be bold in our faith not just on Sunday but every day. Boldly proclaim that you belong to Jesus Christ to every stranger you see! We all need to live in metanoia and it is forever! The world is in a spiritual battle and it is time we fight for what is good. The only way to do that is as a church family. We cannot do it individually, that is a battle that ends quickly but all of us as one body will win. We have to be prepared for the fight and the only way is metanoia. Soldiers don’t learn how to shoot a rifle then stop, they don’t learn jui-jitsu then stop. Soldiers constantly practicing shooting, constantly practicing jui-jitsu, they are always preparing for battle. We are no different. We must be prepared to metanoia everyone we see.
We as a church must have metanoia in our lives and to achieve it we need unity as a church, you must have a relationship with Jesus Christ and you must own your faith. Right now, more than ever, we must be a bright lighthouse and proclaim the love of Jesus Christ to everyone we see with boldness in the living water within us. I will finish with some opportunities for us as a church;
We have a combination service on August 30 with supper after, I encourage everyone to attend both. We have several Sunday school classes that are always welcoming to anyone. Join a Sunday school class. Who is ready to start a life group? You know a life group doesnt have to meet for food, although that works for me. You could have a shooting group or running group or book club. Something that will bring us together in the love of Jesus Christ. Why? Because yes this bible is my helmet, breast plate, sword and shield BUT the enemy we fight is bigger and greater. The only way to fight is with all of us together. A life group is an accountability group to help keep us ascending and not become stagnant. It creates the familial bond outside of church. Our family matters not just in these walls but this whole community.
Metanoia……who is ready. As He tells us in 2 Peter 9, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to metanoia.
Thank you father for your word, in your name we love and praise, Amen!