We Are Church | Changed People Change People - Acts 8:1-25 | April 27

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Thank you. Just smile for me, okay? because when I look out,

I see smiling people, even if it's, you know, just, just just a fake smile.

I feel better. Thank you, Roger. Interesting and informative word.

I would like to talk to you and for everybody.

It's nice to be here. We're getting back into X, X eight, which is right after Steven was killed.

And it's all right. I'm going to keep it short.

I'm just going to read. And And Saul approved his execution,

and there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem,

and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house,

he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

And the crowds, with one accord, paid attention to what was being said by Philip.

And they heard him and saw the signs that he did.

For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them.

And many who were paralyzed or lame were healed, so there was much joy in that city.

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city

and amazed people of the Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

They all paid attention to him, from the least to the great,

and saying, This man is the power of God and is called great.

And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of

God in the name of Jesus Christ. They were baptized, both men and women.

Even Simon himself, after being baptized, he continued with Philip,

and seeing signs of great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word

of God, they sent to them Peter and John, and came down and prayed for them

that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not fallen on any of them,

but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given to those laying on the apostles'

hands, he offered them money, saying,

Give me this power also, so that he on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.

But Peter said to them, May your silver perish with you, because you thought

you could obtain a gift of God with money.

You had neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that,

if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you, for I see that you

are in galled bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

And Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.

And when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord,

they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages and Samaritans.

Just filled with it.

Thank you, Marnie. You know, you're just going to earn yourself a regular spot, a podium.

He needs a gavel and a podium.

Well, good morning, family. Thank you.

We are coming off of our celebration of Easter, celebrating together last week

the resurrection of Jesus.

Let's be honest. If we really believe that Jesus is raised from the dead,

that he really rose, how can we stop celebrating?

It's not like we're just going to move on and just go back to life as normal,

right? Like everything has changed.

For those of us who believe every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday.

Every breath that we have, we breathe and live for him. I was reading in Luke chapter 20 this week.

Luke 20 · chapter mention

And in verse 38, this is a verse that hit me hard. It says, he is not the God

of the dead, but of the living.

For all who live, live to him. all live to him.

And this is, this is everything. This is powerful truth, right?

That, that he's the God of the living.

That means that everything that we do, every moment that we have,

every breath that we take, every, everything is to be lived to him.

This isn't just like theology. This is real life. It's like Paul says in Philippians

121, that to live is Christ.

It's like what living is, is to be in Christ and to be for Christ.

It's not poetry, but this is what life is all about. It's what life is completely about.

And so we're never meant to just, you were never meant to just exist.

You were never meant to just go about everyday life, but we were made to live and to live to him.

In Romans 14, it says that none of us live to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord.

It's not about us anymore. It's not about our desires and our dreams.

It's life with Jesus at the center.

And I just wanna ask you guys this morning.

What is at the center of your life? Like what's the core of everything that you do?

Because every life is structured around something. We may not realize it.

You may not realize it. But there's always something at the center.

And we can always name things. Not that I'm necessarily going to hit them.

But careers or family or success or image or comfort or reputation.

Whatever it is. Our kids. Something is at the center of our lives.

Everybody on this planet's life is controlled by something. There's something

at the hub and everything else spins around it.

There's something at the center. And if Jesus isn't at the center,

I mean, there's plenty of people who live and prove that their lives are not

going to completely fall apart.

But if Jesus isn't at the center, when we wobble, when we fall,

when we collapse, there's nothing there because only Jesus is strong enough to hold us all together.

Only Jesus is strong enough to trust. and I've

been thinking this week about how a bicycle

wheel works because I live an exciting life and and

there's this thing called truing a wheel

where you adjust and you tighten the spokes and it straightens the wheel and

it keeps the hub at the very center Marty knows this because he's probably the

only person in here that bikes but it's detailed and delicate work right it

keeps the hub at the very center.

But this is what the Word of God does for us.

It centers us. It trues our lives.

In Psalm 19, it talks about how His rules, the rules of the Lord are true.

That everything revolves around them, how they give us wisdom. They give us joy.

They revive the soul. There's this long passage, Psalm 19, verses 7 to 11.

Psalms 19:7–11

I encourage you to read it.

It's all the things that the word of God does in our lives.

One thing it does is it re-centers us around him, keeps us true.

And so let me ask you that.

Have you let God center your life? Not just one time, not just some distant

decision in the past that you made a while ago, but even now,

right now, today, are we allowing God to center our lives?

Because we live in this, We live in this age of the curated self, right?

Filtered photos, branded identities, just countless comparing ourselves with

others. And it's exhausting.

It's this Instagram generation.

And it's not just young people. Everybody does it now.

Everybody carefully edits their life to present to the world around them in some way.

Even when we decide what we wear to come to church sometimes we're like.

Where how are people going to perceive the image that i'm projecting and when

i wear we all do this all the time and back in 2015 which is hard to believe

that that's 10 years ago uh,

But back in 2015, there's this girl named Essina O'Neill. She's an Australian girl.

She's 18. She had amassed this huge following.

Over a half a million followers, over a half a million people were following her.

And so she had this curated life.

She had the dream, right? This is influencer level status, branded deals.

She was living her dream. But then one day, she just quit.

She deleted a bunch of her photos. The ones that she kept up,

she rewrote the captions on and wrote sort of the real story behind them.

Things like not real life.

Things like I took a hundred pictures to make my stomach look good.

Things like I was paid to promote this. And as a result, of course,

this shocked the people who cared.

And of course, I'm not on social media. So this story escaped me at the time.

But she responded with something that I've been thinking about this week.

And I can't get away from it.

And this idea that social media is a system based on social approval,

on views, on likes, on validation, on things that are not truth.

They're based on views and not truth, she said.

How much of our lives are about things that are not truth?

How much of the way that we do things is not grounded in the truth?

And she had this curated life but it was.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't real. Even though she had everything that she desired.

We were once at a church several years ago that had this series where in the

entrance, they had these posters with celebrities,

the pictures of the celebrity, and then a quote about how fame or success or

whatever it was didn't satisfy.

And I remember that there was a pretty famous one for Madonna,

which I don't recall what that one is exactly.

And I'm not sure if this one was on there, but Jim Carrey famously said,

he said, I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they

ever dreamed of so that they can know that it's not the answer,

that it doesn't satisfy.

And Jenny and I have experienced this a little bit, very minutely.

I guess we could have stepped into it even more, but there was a weird season

where Jenny would sign us up to be models in all of these like retreats,

photo retreats with famous wedding photographers.

And she used it as an excuse, I guess, to travel.

And so it was a weird season where we were tagged and all of these,

all of the people who were attending and all of these famous wedding photographers

were tagged in these pictures.

And so, you know, we're getting all of these followers and all of these likes

from people that we've never met from around the world.

And it feels good in some regards.

People generally like attention, even if we're shy and don't admit it. We like being noticed.

But as you get going in it, you realize you have this pressure then to take

pictures in a certain way,

to present yourself in a certain way, to live up to some expectation that they're

putting on you, to go towards this struggle.

Of rising stars in the photo world or whatever it is.

And then you realize that these people that you're following or that follows

you, they're going through some hard, dark stuff in their lives and their lives are falling apart.

And even the famous ones who have made it, who have arrived,

you see that everybody's still searching.

They're still longing. They're still trying to feel something,

even when they've made it, even when they're at the top of their respective industry.

They curate these identities that have themselves at the center,

that place and project what they want the world to see, but inside it's empty

and it doesn't sustain them.

And I just want to say this morning as we get into it, that you don't have to be perfect.

I know the Bible says be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

We're not going to spend hours unpacking all of that, but you don't have to

be perfect for Jesus, not to belong here, not to be loved by God.

We're not asking you to filter your life and we're not trying to build a brand. We just want to be real.

And being real is the only way that we can actually receive what Jesus is offering.

And so Jesus isn't asking you to put yourself together.

He sees us in our mess and he moves towards us in it.

And so you don't have to be perfect. You just have to be changed.

And you have to be open and willing for the Spirit of God to change you.

And that important truth is something that we sort of see here in this section of Acts.

Changed people changed people. Because the church is facing all sorts of pressure.

Persecution from the Jewish leaders, persecution from Paul, from everywhere.

And it looks like it might be the end.

It looks like it could all fall apart. Like it could stop before it really ever began.

But then we see this incredible thing that happens.

But the church doesn't collapse. The people are scattered, but the church isn't shattered.

It isn't broken. It isn't held back.

Because the church is built on something that can't be broken.

It's built on something that can't be destroyed. It's built on Jesus.

He's at the center. He's the foundation. He's the hub that everything else spins around.

And so even as these believers are scattered across the world,

They're taking the gospel with them.

They're carrying Jesus with them wherever they go.

Their lives have been trued by the gospel.

Their lives have been centered. Their lives have been changed.

And now they're out there with the gospel changing the world.

And here's the thing I want us to grab this morning as we work through this section of scripture.

You've heard the phrase that broken people or hurt people hurt people.

You've heard probably this phrase before, modern psychology.

Broken people spread their brokenness. The gospel flips that on its head.

It says that changed people change people. That as we are changed,

we can't help but to be part of the spread of the gospel and the spread of transformation life.

Because the gospel brings joy.

Jesus transforms people wholly and completely.

And when that change takes place, it can't help but to spread. So we see this in Acts 8.

Believers who were scattered preached the good news about Jesus wherever they went.

Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah.

Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message

and see the miraculous signs he did.

So there was great joy in that city.

So persecution forced the gospel out of Jerusalem, and naturally it went to

where we would expect it to do because of the beginning of Acts that we see.

It went to Samaria because the gospel spread from where?

From Jerusalem to all Judea to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.

So the gospel arrives in Samaria and the believers that are scattered,

they're not waiting around for the perfect circumstances.

They're just going about their everyday lives. And what they're doing is something beautiful.

They're letting the gospel slip out into every moment of their lives,

and to every conversation.

And what the Bible actually says is that they are gospeling the gospel.

They're gospeling the word of God, that they are just letting it come out so

naturally in all that they do.

And it's almost like they're gossiping the gospel. We gossip about everything.

Gossip about TV shows. We gossip about bad dates. We gossip about Taylor Swift.

We gossip about what happened in the office.

We talk about everything.

A few weeks ago, Jenny and I, had a free trial of Amazon, of Apple TV.

It was on Amazon, which is confusing, but somehow that's a thing.

We had a free trial of Apple TV on Amazon.

And we started watching a show called Severance, which is this really crazy

show where these people's work memories are separated from their personal memories.

And it's not like I suggest you watch or anything, but It's crazy.

And so we started watching that.

And then I'm at work and I start talking to a coworker about it because he's watching it.

And it's just slipping out. It's just something, it's on my mind.

It's something that we had watched that night before. So it's just something that comes out of it.

We gossip about everything. Why not gossip the gospel?

Why not just let the good news slip out of us at every point in every conversation,

just like slipping out of our mouth as easily as everything else does that we

can't seem to stop sharing.

And that's what it means to gospel the gospel that when it's in you, it comes out.

When it's so deeply rooted in your life, it just can't help but to spill over.

And it's not forced, it's not contrived, it's real.

It's just actually coming out of you. I wanna be like that.

I wanna be like that. Wherever these believers went, that they weren't shy about sharing the gospel.

Sundays. It wasn't just for church. They are scattering that seed everywhere.

And I have a feeling that they were not being shy about it.

I have a feeling that they weren't coming back together and like planning out

strategies of how they're going to have this conversation with Jim the next week.

I think they're just sharing it. They're just scattering it in everything that they're talking about.

They're bringing up God. They're name dropping God wherever they went, whoever is around.

I want to be like that, don't you?

Just everything we talk about is seasoned with the gospel. This is where we meet Philip.

This is not the apostle Philip. I might blow some of your minds today.

This is not the apostle Philip.

All the apostles were left in Jerusalem. So this is Philip, who was one of the

seven chosen to take care of the widows along with Stephen.

And in this persecution, all of these people other than the apostles are scattered around.

And so Philip was one of these guys who was chosen in the early church because

he was full of the Spirit. He was full of wisdom.

And in this role of humility, he was serving people, but also he was filled

with power. He was transformed and changed.

And that power was spilling out of him wherever he went.

Because a changed life doesn't just change one person.

It changes everybody around you. It changes everybody.

And this is what happened with Philip. He had been transformed.

And it was through that transformation that Samaria was changed.

It was through that transformation that Ethiopia was changed,

which we talked about last week. this gospel spread through this man's changed life.

And the result is that many respond and joy filled their hearts as they were changed.

But then there's one man in particular who stands out in Acts 8, 9, 11. It says.

Simon, who had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria,

claiming to be someone great.

And everyone from the least to the greatest often spoke of him as the great one, the power of God.

And they listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.

So Simon, this is a guy who had it all, right?

If he was alive during this time, he would probably be killing it on social media.

He'd be an influencer. He had that formula down. He had a curated image, someone great.

He had the compelling content, magic that amazed.

He had a loyal following that the people hung on his every word.

And he had a reputation, the great power of God. He had the formula down.

He was famous. He was followed. He was fascinating people.

But then what we see in this section, this first half of chapter 8 is this radically

different picture, this contrast of two men, of two messages, of two powers.

And we'll see that one power greatly outshines the other, of course,

but he has the appearance of powers still that gathered a following.

So Simon is this guy, this man who is building his own following.

He's building a life with him at the center.

Everything that he serves his brand, his image, to promote his message.

And it's all about what he can do.

Then Philip comes along and the crowds follow Philip. The crowds begin to be drawn to him.

And he's doing incredible things. He's doing powerful things.

But Philip's never pointing to himself.

Philip's not promoting himself. He's not trying to increase his own brand.

He is always pointing to someone greater.

Philip is not at the center of his story.

The center of Philip's changed life. So everything he does points to him.

It's like when John the Baptist says, I'm not even worthy to be his slave and

untie his sandals, right?

A couple chapters later, John also says that he must become greater and greater

and I must become less and less.

It's what Jesus himself communicates to the crowds as they follow him,

that there is someone here who is greater than the temple, that the Son of Man

is Lord even over the Sabbath, that there is something greater here with you.

And you see, Philip isn't drawing attention to himself. Philip is disappearing

into the message of Jesus.

Philip's not trying to make for a name for himself. He is pointing to the name

who is above every other name.

The true power that amazes even Simon the sorcerer here.

And it's such a contrast. It's so different from Simon.

Simon is there promoting himself, amazing the people, trying to captivate them.

And so when Philip comes along, he isn't replacing Simon in like a one-to-one relationship.

He's pointing to Jesus. He's name-dropping God. He is seasoning every conversation with the gospel.

He's gospeling the gospel. and when someone has changed your life,

you can't help but to talk about it.

You can't help but to share what he has done that has changed you so completely,

so radically, so drastically.

So let me ask you this.

If changed people change people, if Jesus is the one who transforms us,

Why is it that it's so difficult for him to enter into our conversations?

We have to try so hard to bring him up?

Do we really believe that he's changed us? Do I believe that I'm changed?

Do I believe that I'm being changed?

Why is it so hard for us to bring that up, to gospel the gospel in our conversations?

Am I amazed by Jesus? Am I just going through the motions?

Am I showing up? Am I singing? Am I raising my hands?

Am I just getting by? or am I actually experiencing the power of God in my life?

The power that changes, that transforms.

The power that gives us victory over sin.

Am I living a victorious life? The power that empowers our witness.

The power that transforms us from the inside out.

Am I amazed or am I changed? Now these two things are different.

You can be amazed and still never be changed.

I don't think the opposite is true. I think if you're changed,

then you're standing in awe. You are amazed as well.

But you can still just be amazed, and that's where it stops.

Not all belief is saving belief. Look at this guy, Simon, right?

He believes. He's even baptized.

And I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I really do.

Despite the fact that if you look this up in any source, they're going to say

that he wasn't a true believer.

I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that even when it seems like he's,

even when he's trying to buy the power of God from Peter and John and is rebuked for it,

I want to believe that he's truly moving forward in repentance,

that he's really sincerely asking for Peter to pray for him and that he would be changed.

And I remember when I was in college, I heard about a guy that I went to high school with.

Who, let's say he wasn't living the most godly life in high school.

He was popular, but the things that he chased after were not God.

The things that he was known for were not for being godly.

And I heard that he got saved. He gave his life to Jesus.

A youth worker brought him into his home and he was transformed. He was changed.

And I want to believe it. I want to be excited about it. It's hard though,

because when all you remember of that person is the life that they had before.

And so I want to believe that Simon had changed, but at least in his case,

it seems like that wasn't the case.

It seems like Peter had a little bit more insight into a spiritual condition

than we did. The people, they were changed.

They go from being amazed at Simon to being transformed by the gospel.

They're no longer captivated by Simon's magic anymore. But it,

Simon might've stayed the same. Like he might've been some rocky soil that shot

up quickly. He made a decision.

He wanted to believe, but there was no root there. So then he just went back to his old ways.

In church history, let's not depend too much on church history,

but the belief is, the apostolic tradition is that Simon was the first apostate.

And so Philip is considered to be the first missionary.

Apostolic tradition says that Simon was the first apostate and that he began

some of these Gnostic traditions that conflicted with the gospel.

I don't know if that's true or not. It's not worth diving too much into.

But his heart didn't seem to be rooted. He seemed to be amazed,

sure, but he didn't seem to be changed.

Because you can raise your hand, you can sing, great is our Lord,

and you can still not be changed. You can still just be consumed by your idols.

And I know that's a hard truth for us to face, but it's real.

And We talked about idols last week, these counterfeit gods that consume our

hearts, as Thomas Aquinas categorized them in the four, money,

pleasure, praise, power.

If I had to pick one for Simon, I would probably pick praise.

I can be convinced that it was power, but it seems like for me it was praise,

that he lived for the applause.

He lived for the appreciation, the admiration, the recognition.

And so when he couldn't buy the power of the Holy Spirit, we see Peter exposing

sort of the reality of his heart.

He says, your heart is not right with God. So listen to this.

Peter says in verse 21, you can have no part in this, but your heart is not right with God.

Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your

evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.

To me was praise and our idols might be different, but you know,

they still grip us in the same way.

They still captivate our hearts. It's the I generation, instant gratification,

instant pleasure, insta-famous.

We're all searching after these perfectly curated lives of perhaps what we hope

our life is like, but not a reality, not something true.

And that leads to bitterness, not to joy.

If we take on the definition that sin is anything that robs us of God,

robs us of Jesus, robs us of joy, bitterness robs us of joy.

You've heard that saying before, that comparison is the thief of joy.

It's another pop psychology thing.

The Bible has much to say with regard to bitterness.

It says, watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grow up to trouble you, corrupting many.

And of course, James warns us too. If you are bitterly jealous and there is

selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying.

For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom.

Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.

For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

Bitterness robs you of joy. It eats away at you.

But the gospel, the gospel doesn't leave us empty. It fills us full.

It spreads joy wherever it goes. If you want to know what my favorite verse

in this section is, it's verse 8, Acts 8.8.

It might be only more perfect if it was chapter 3, verse 16.

I don't know if you've ever done that before where you see different verses

in the Bible or memorize them.

It seems like on 316, there's always a verse that somebody memorizes.

It's one of those life verses, always falls on 316 for some reason.

Acts 8.8, there was great joy in that city.

Leads to real joy. And the gospel spreads joy wherever it goes.

It's not just a surface level happiness. It is a deep and abiding joy.

In Nehemiah 8.10, it says, the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Romans 14.17, we read that the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and

drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 37.4 tells us to delight ourselves, to take delight in the Lord, to find our joy in him.

So the people of Samaria went from being amazed by magic, Simon,

to being changed by the gospel.

And now the result is that they are filled with joy, joy that doesn't just sit

at the surface, but that goes down deep, and the joy that comes from lasting transformation.

Let me ask you this. What is bringing you joy? Is it Jesus?

Is it abiding in Christ?

What is bringing you joy? Do you have the joy of the Lord in your life?

There are four things in this passage that are bringing these new believers joy.

They're brought joy as the gospel is preached by Philip.

They're brought joy as signs are performed, confirming the truth of the gospel.

They are filled with joy as people are saved and as lives are changed.

These are the things that bring joy to them. What's bringing you joy today?

What's the source of your joy?

Christians set their hearts on how good it will be in the age to come,

in the presence of Christ after death.

This is why Christians rejoice. They can rejoice in tribulation,

not just in health and peace and security.

Because tribulation drives the roots of joy deep into hope.

And that future joy streams back into our present and it lightens our loads.

That real joy, lasting joy, abiding joy, deep joy comes from knowing the gospel,

from knowing God and from Jesus changing lives, our lives, your life,

and the lives of those around us. Fills us with joy.

Here's the thing as we wrap up our time together. Two scenarios.

One is that some of you might be afraid to have joy.

You might be afraid to rejoice, to give yourself to that,

and maybe it's because rejoicing might feel like invalidating your sadness,

or like that your grief isn't real.

But rejoicing in the Lord doesn't make our grief not real, it gives our grief perspective.

Philippians 4.4, rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again, rejoice.

And this is a man who knows suffering. He knows pain. He knows loss.

He was imprisoned and still nothing could steal his joy from him because he

had been so deeply changed and transformed by the gospel.

I remember sitting with a friend many years ago who was going through a really

difficult time, a lot of uncertainty with the future, a lot of conflict in relationship,

a lot of dissatisfaction.

For some reason, because I'm the most emotionally qualified person to ask this,

I asked him if he still had joy. I don't know why.

Probably not a question I normally ask to ask, but I asked him.

Thankfully, he said, you know what? I still have the joy of the Lord deep in

my heart, deep in my heart to stay.

And I'm so, no, he didn't say that, but he did say, he did say,

yes, I still have the joy of the Lord. I still have the joy of my salvation.

And it, it didn't mean that their lives cleared up and became easy.

They made some difficult decisions that were great, were hard,

and that lost them a lot of friends. No.

He entered the army at 32, and a lot of people were not happy about that,

what he did to his wife as a result, and the pain he put her through.

But life didn't get easier because he still had joy.

But still to this day, when we get to see them in the rare occasions that it

is, he's a very joyous, happy person,

even though those hard times haven't disappeared. He hadn't lost his joy.

The gospel changes us. It brings us joy, even in hard circumstances.

Some of you, some of us might be afraid to change.

And so we hold ourselves back from really diving in headfirst to being changed, to being transformed.

Because you know what? What if it doesn't work? So it's easier to hold ourselves

back and rather risk the chance of proving ourselves incapable,

of proving the Spirit's work in our life unaffected.

We hold ourselves back and we settle for this impotent, powerless Christianity

where everything stays the same and nothing ever changes.

And I'm tired of that.

Maybe you're there with me this morning.

It's like, there's no difference between us and our neighbors down the street,

except maybe we go to church once a week and maybe they're nicer than us.

It's all the same. It never changes. Here's the truth.

The spirit of God is alive in you. And the same gospel that transformed the

Samaritans and the Ethiopians is here to transform us.

And the same spirit that fell back then is falling on us today.

And God is not lifeless. He's not impotent. He's not powerless.

He brings us power to change, to be transformed. We're not supposed to just

get by in our Christian life.

We're not supposed to just show up and call it good.

We're supposed to have so much more than that. And so many times we settle for less.

We settle for the same old routine and I'm tired of it. We're supposed to be

more to the Christian life.

I'm tired of the same. I want to change. Don't you want to be changed?

I want God to change me so deeply that other people are changed.

Changed people change people. You know what? Maybe you need to give yourself

a little pep talk. I have to do this.

A couple weeks ago, I walked down the street and invited some of our college,

kid neighbors to Easter. They didn't come.

That's fine. They were playing beer pong, doing their thing.

I had to pray and trust and say, God, you know what? You're in control.

And you said that I would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to me,

and I would be your witness.

So this is all on your hands and.

I talk about my fear all the time, but I'm tired of the same.

I'm tired of playing it safe. I'm tired of the status quo, of having this powerless faith.

And according to countless motivational posters and mugs, Albert Einstein said

that the definition of insanity is, he never said that. Let's clear it up.

Albert Einstein did it. I think some lady named Ruth or something said it.

Oh, Rita. Some lady named Rita Mae Brown. She's an author. She said it.

Albert Einstein said it. say it, but you hear it everywhere,

right? The definition of sanity is doing the same thing over and over again,

expecting different results.

It's not less true that Albert Einstein didn't say it.

I'm tired of pouring in the same effort and expecting different results.

I'm tired of settling. I'm tired of an ineffective faith. I want the spirit to move and power.

I want him to change us. I want to be changed, don't you?

And maybe that's where you're here this morning. Maybe that's you.

And you're just tired of the same old Christian routine of being amazed but

never truly transformed. Maybe that's you.

And we don't have to stay stuck. Like I said, the same gospel that changed Samaria is here to change us.

The same good news is available for us today.

The same God, the same spirit, the same power that moved then is still moving today.

So here's what I want to do for us this morning. in our time of response.

I just want to give you some space for you to sit with Jesus and be changed by his word.

And so I've got some verses that are going to come up. They're going to scroll

automatically. So Sammy, you only have to click the first one and then it'll go to the end.

And as they come across the screen, just let them wash over you.

Reflect on the gospel, meditate on the joy of the Lord and in the quiet,

ask him to do what only he can do, to change.

Music.