Sermon Tone Analysis

Opening

Who among you here dares to be different?

Are you different on your fashion?

Didn’t you want to drive a different-looking car?

When me and my wife were at up state New York last year, we rented a car because the place were all spread out, and ubering our way to our destinations is not the best idea.

We stayed at Buffalo because we wanted to be near the airport, and the City of Niagara Falls is about 27 miles and around 35 miles drive.

By God’s grace of chance, we got a sporty small SUV with a moonroof.

The weather that day was marvelous and so we rolled down our windows while keeping the moonroof open.

It was definitely a breath of very fresh air.

It was definitely a breath of very fresh air.

When we started our drive, I immediately noticed that the roads are “different”.

The signs looks kinda odd, at least for me.

The stop lights are old and the surface of the roads are obviously rugged.

With all these sights around me, I felt quite uneasy.

Uncomfortable because it is not what, or how I am used to.

I was apprehensive too because and I kept telling myself, that I must be extra careful.

As Christians, we are perceived by non-believers as “different” in a nerdy-sense.

They sometimes mockingly look down at us as nerds.

But in God’s sense, we must be truly different.

Our morals are different, and the way we think should be different as well.

BREATHE!

In the last couple of Sundays we were looking into the Book of Ezra

We found four principles of “Rebuilding” from the memoirs of Ezra

Embark towards living a New Life

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The exiles embarked to live a new life as they look forward to go back to their homeland

Be Zealous in Giving

Be Zealous in Giving

Heads of the families of the exiles gave their freewill offering

Reform the Way we Think

Reform the Way we Think

The Lord “reformed”/moved/changed the heart King Cyrus that he allowed the exiles to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Lord’s temple

But during the 40-year reign of King Artaxerxes from 464-424 BC, the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill

But then again, during the reign of King Darius, the Lord also “reformed”/moved/changed his attitude so that he assisted the exiles in the work on the house of God

BREATHE!

We will see here in the lives of 3 pagan kings how God’s will is fulfilled

God “Reformed the way they think”

God moved their hearts

The Lord changed their attitude

If the Lord can change the attitude of pagan kings, how much more that He could reform the way we think if we will let Him?

Let us jump to the New Testament and see how christians who lived before us were instructed on how they shall change the way they think

TEXT: Reform the Way we Think

Among the 4 letters that Paul wrote while he was in prison were his letters to the Philippians, Colossians, to Philemon and to the Ephesians

In his letter to the believers in Ephesus that was written sometime in 61 AD

Unlike in his other letters, he was not tackling any particular problem, but instead, he wrote some general teaching on the theory and practice of Christians whom Paul never met, and will never get to know because he was in prison

whom Paul never met, and will never get to know because he was in prison

It may be that this letter was taken around by Tychicus to various churches in Asia Minor where Ephesus was the capital city

Can God change the way we think?

Who says yes, raise your hands!

But the big question is how?

BREATHE!

In the 4th chapter of this letter, in verses 22-23, Paul said…

BREATHE!

Towards the completion of the rebuilding of the temple

Rebuild the Altar

Rebuild the Altar

And before its dedication, there were 3 very notable things

Diligence

In the Old Testament, it was only in the Book of Ezra that you can find the word “Diligence”

And in the NIV Translation, it was only used 5 times in 5 verses

Hebrew word for Diligence is Os-par-na

It means completely, exactly,

Diligence is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort

Diligence is the effort to do one’s part, while keeping faith and reliance in God

Diligence and faith are two sides of a mystery

Diligence when combined with faith assures spiritual success

BREATHE!

On the other hand however, the opposite (synonyms) of “Diligence” are

Laziness

Neglect

Idleness

Disregard

Negligence

In our effort to rebuild our church, we must be “diligent”

Purified Themselves

The priests and the Levites had purified themselves

The exiles who returned from Babylon had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord

What unclean practices?

Sexual immorality, Impurity, Lust, Evil Desires, Greed, Idolatry, Anger, Rage, Lies, Malice, Slander & Filthy Language

Impurity

The Lord’s words spake for itself

Lust

It doesn’t need any lawyering if those who hears them believes in the Lord and trust His words

Evil Desires

Greed

Idolatry

Changing the Attitude

It was not just King Cyrus, Artaxerxes and Darius’ attitude that was changed by God, even King Nebuchadnezzar

Many many times we heard the saying… “Attitude is Altitude!”

John Maxwell, a Pastor, an author, a speaker, and a leadership expert said these....

“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”

What Comes Naturally?

The story is told about an elderly man who retired after many years in the British Army.

One day a man who knew about his long and distinguished military career decided to play a prank on him.

As the old soldier walked down the street with his arms full of packages, the jokester sneaked up behind him and shouted, "Attention!" Without hesitation, the military man dropped his arms to his side, and every package went tumbling to the sidewalk.

Without a conscious thought, the veteran was doing what comes naturally for a soldier.

Similarly, as believers in Christ, we should respond in a manner that corresponds with our new life.

Our behavior is to be more and more in line with the example of Jesus' life.

We still must deal with sinful desires, so we need to discipline ourselves to be the kind of person God wants us to be.

Like a soldier, we need to practice repeatedly until doing what's right comes naturally.