Changed, Part 1: Changed Heart

(2 Corinthians 5:17) (GW) “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.” The title of my message is: Changed Heart (Philemon 1:1-2) “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home: (Philemon 1:7-9) “Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people. That is why I am boldly asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do. But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:10-12) “I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us. I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.” (Philemon 1:10-14) “I wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and he would have helped me on your behalf. But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced.” (Philemon 1:15-16) “It seems you lost Onesimus for a little while so that you could have him back forever. He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40) “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.” My current heart condition: Drifting. (Luke 21:34)  “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Dying.(2 Corinthians 1:8-9)  “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” Stages of Death ·     Physically fatigued. ·     Emotionally fatigued. ·     Spiritually fatigued.Deceived. (Revelation 3:1-2)  “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.” (John 11:25-26)  “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” The Pathway to Life: 1.  Make a decision to live. (Deuteronomy 30:19)  “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” 2.  Renew your vision for life. (Philippians 3:13-14)  “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 3.  Expose the enemies of life.(Hebrews 12:1)  “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” 4.  Protect life with accountability. (Ecclesiastes 4:8-9)  “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” 5.  Live for God. (Romans 8:13-14)  “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”