Intro:

• We are launching a new series entitled “change your world”
  • The world needs change
    • Poverty
    • Hunger and Thirst
    • Violence
    • Abandonment
    • Abuse
    • IT IS CRYING OUT FOR CHANGE - ROMANS 8
  • All of us know the world needs change
    • Proof that the world needs change
    • We are frustrated
    • We complain
    • We are burdened
  • We are the hope of change
    • The passion of this series is that YOU can be a CATALYST of CHANGE
    • God’s Church can be a CATALYST of CHANGE
    • We can actually bring hope, light, and change to the world.
  • Changed people can change the world.
    • Change must start in us! We can’t change the world unless we allow God to change us. 
    • They say that people don’t change. 
      • They want to spend more time with their family, but they keep working.
      • They want to work out, but they never make it to the gym.
      • They want to read more, but at the end of the year, they haven’t read any.
      • They want to eat healthier, but they stay on the same diet. 

One of the messages of Christianity is CHANGE! 

• Jesus can bring true change into our lives
• The change He brings to our lives is an infinite improvement on where we’ve been
• 2 Corinthians 5:16–17 (ESV) — 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

Jesus is a CATALYST - a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.

Jesus APPLIED brings change

Ways Jesus brings change

1. Catalyst #1: His PRESENCE 
   1. His presence on earth brought change
      1. Herod knew - Political systems
      2. Pharisees knew - Religious systems
   2. His presence in the temple
      1. Turning over tables
      2. Drawing great crowds of people
   3. His presence around people
      1. His presence in Zacchaeus home made Zacchaeus want to change
      2. His presence in Peter’s boat made Peter want to leave everything
   4. John 15:5 (NLT) — 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
   5. Applied? 
      1. Be in the presence of Jesus
      2. Get with people who are filled with His presence
      3. Get in his presence through prayer
2. Catalyst #2: His TEACHINGS 
   1. The teachings of Jesus are revolutionary
      1. How we are to relate to God
         1. He is Our Father
         2. He loves us
      2. How we are to relate to His Kingdom
         1. It is priority, it is coming, it is going to take over
      3. How we are to relate to one another
         1. We are to serve one another, prefer one another, love one another
      4. How we are to relate to this life
         1. Don’t worry, trust, let go of it, 
   2. The teachings of Jesus are the BEST WAY TO LIVE LIFE. 
   3. The teachings of Jesus are not a trophy in a case to be looked at, but the actual LOGOS of God. 
   4. John 8:31–32 (NLT) — 31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
   5. Applied:
      1. Study His teachings
      2. Obey His teachings
      3. The REAL JESUS book
3. Catalyst #3: His AUTHORITY
   1. It’s impossible to change something that isn’t under your control.
      1. Jesus does not change what He doesn’t rule
      2. Have you ever been in a restaurant and a kid is going crazy? You want to do something about it, but it’s not under your control. You can’t change what you don’t control. 
   2. He changes what is under his authority
   3. Many know Jesus as Savior, but few know Him as Lord.
   4. Peter had to 
      1. Leave his family, house, business
      2. Follow and serve Him
      3. Submit to Him
   5. Applied
      1. See yourself as a SERVANT of Jesus. 
      2. Obey His voice. 
4. Catalyst #4: His SPIRIT  
   1. The Spirit is teaching us
      1. 1 John 2:27 (NLT) — 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
   2. The Spirit is transforming us
      1. 2 Corinthians 3:17–18 (NLT) — 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
   3. A software update! 
   4. Applied:
      1. Receive His Spirit
      2. Acknowledge His Spirit
      3. Follow His Spirit

Change is POSSIBLE

Change is INEVITABLE if you:

• Get in HIS PRESENCE
• Obey HIS TEACHING
• Accept HIS AUTHORITY 
• Follow HIS SPIRIT

You don’t know how changed you are!