Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E46 | Everyday Eurasia | Chad Gibbons

Transcript

S1-E46 | Everyday Eurasia | Chad Gibbons · Eurasia Region Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
• 0:04
  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
• 0:08
  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
• 0:13
  many different places around the world.
• 0:16
  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
• 0:20
  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
• 0:24
  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
• 0:28
  day. Through this podcast, you'll
• 0:30
  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
• 0:34
  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
• 0:44
  This week, we'll be journeying together with Chet Gibbons.
• 0:47
  Chet serves as the Nesserine Discipleship International
• 0:50
  Coordinator for the Eurasia Region.
• 0:52
  As a missionary, he lives and serves alongside his wife
• 0:55
  Crystal from the regional office in Business, Germany.
• 0:59
  Today, Ted will be thinking with us about the new year that is in
• 1:03
  front of us. I think the new year should be
• 1:05
  something that is very natural for Christians to celebrate.
• 1:08
  Not for any secular reason, but because Jesus came to make all
• 1:13
  things new. Newness is something that Jesus
• 1:16
  talked a lot about. It should be something that
• 1:18
  Christians are very comfortable with.
• 1:20
  Sometimes it feels like the opposite, though.
• 1:23
  Sometimes it feels like of all the people in the world,
• 1:25
  Christians are the ones who want to keep the old.
• 1:28
  The old is good, the old is tested.
• 1:31
  It's true and all that's certainly right.
• 1:34
  But what about all the newness the Bible talks about?
• 1:37
  What happens when Jesus comes bringing new wineskins and we
• 1:41
  want to hold on to our old wine? There's lots of verses, lots of
• 1:46
  places we can go to in the Bible that to look at this idea of
• 1:49
  newness. But I want to read Ephesians
• 1:51
  chapter 4 is the words of Paul the apostle.
• 1:55
  He says since you've heard about Jesus and have learned the truth
• 2:00
  that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your
• 2:04
  former way of life which is corrupted by lust and deception.
• 2:08
  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
• 2:13
  Put on your new self, created to be like God, truly righteous and
• 2:19
  holy. Stop telling lies.
• 2:23
  Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of
• 2:26
  the same body. And don't sin by letting anger
• 2:29
  control you. Don't let the sun go down while
• 2:32
  you're still angry, for anger gives the devil a foothold.
• 2:37
  If you're a thief, stop stealing.
• 2:40
  Instead, use your hands for good hard work and then give
• 2:44
  generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive
• 2:48
  language. Let everything you say be good
• 2:50
  and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to
• 2:53
  those who hear them. And don't bring sorrow to God's
• 2:57
  Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you
• 3:01
  as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of
• 3:05
  redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage,
• 3:09
  anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of evil
• 3:14
  behavior. Instead, be kind to each other,
• 3:17
  tender hearted, forgiving one another just as God through
• 3:21
  Christ has forgiven you. These are the words of the Lord.
• 3:27
  There's an important step I think we sometimes miss when we
• 3:31
  want to make things new here. It's the new year and we're
• 3:34
  tempted to add lots of new things to our lives.
• 3:37
  And like I said, newness is great.
• 3:38
  I think it depends on what the newness is, but newness in
• 3:41
  general is good. But in order for new life to
• 3:46
  work, in order for our new life in Christ to fit, something
• 3:50
  first needs to happen. Otherwise, you're going to be in
• 3:52
  the exact same position next year, even if you've added lots
• 3:55
  of new things. Paul talks about this new life
• 3:59
  in Christ and uses that phrase in Christ a lot like putting on
• 4:04
  new clothes. That's kind of the metaphor he
• 4:06
  uses to explain it. We have to put on Christ if
• 4:10
  we're putting on new clothes. But here's how this works.
• 4:14
  Jesus comes right in the middle of our old life.
• 4:18
  He comes right in the middle of the old creation, just like he
• 4:21
  came into this world. He he came right into the
• 4:23
  darkness of it. And he comes with a great
• 4:25
  promise for his disciples and for the world of his coming
• 4:29
  spirit that will be poured out on to all people.
• 4:33
  And they try to cling to Jesus after he's resurrected, but he
• 4:36
  says to him, don't cling to this.
• 4:38
  Better things are coming. And then he ascends.
• 4:42
  And the disciples wait to see what happens.
• 4:44
  They're unsure. And finally, at Pentecost, the
• 4:47
  Spirit arrives in a way that none of them could have
• 4:49
  imagined. Now in order for all this to
• 4:52
  happen, the thing that sometimes we forget is there has to be a
• 4:58
  death first. Sometimes we skip over that
• 5:02
  part. Not just the death of Jesus,
• 5:05
  which is our foundation, but the death of our old self.
• 5:10
  The Bible also calls us to die to that as well.
• 5:15
  If we're truly going to be new people, this means we have to
• 5:18
  let go of the old. When Paul talks about putting on
• 5:22
  Christ as we put on new clothes, he doesn't just mean keep
• 5:26
  putting on new clothes over your old clothes and you're just
• 5:29
  going to have more clothes to wear.
• 5:31
  You put Jesus on over your old self, but that that doesn't that
• 5:35
  doesn't work. He says take off the old, put to
• 5:39
  death the old and put on the new.
• 5:43
  Now you and I have been many different people over the years.
• 5:47
  We've done a lot of changing over the years.
• 5:49
  One of the things that we sometimes neglect to do is put
• 5:54
  to death that old self that we've grown out of.
• 5:58
  There are many Christians right now carrying around a bunch of
• 6:02
  corpses of their old lives, holding on to old dreams, old
• 6:07
  hopes, old desires, old habits, old memories.
• 6:10
  And instead of dealing with those things, we just keep
• 6:12
  adding more, keep adding more. Well, that's not how the newness
• 6:16
  of Jesus works. For Jesus, the new comes right
• 6:19
  into the middle of the old, and then there needs to be a death,
• 6:24
  and then the new can come fully. I don't know what you might be
• 6:30
  clinging to right now, but it might be time for some of us to
• 6:34
  stop clinging to the old. God has something new for you.
• 6:39
  Be honest with God about where you are.
• 6:42
  And the good news is, God has grace for exactly the person you
• 6:46
  are right now. As long as you don't continue
• 6:50
  pretending you're someone you're not or living in the old, put it
• 6:53
  to death. Take time to mourn the old and
• 6:56
  grieve what was lost in your life, but get ready for what God
• 7:01
  has for you today because His mercies are new every morning.
• 7:06
  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
• 7:10
  Inspiring Fate for everyday. For more Everyday Stories,
• 7:14
  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
• 7:17
  Facebook and Instagram, or our newsletter Snapshots.
• 7:21
  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
• 7:24
  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.