Here for the last few weeks, my Pastor, Kevin Brown, has been talking about the exchanged life versus the surrendered life. I found this similar to what I have been studying for the last while myself. In other words, the surrendered life is what most Christan's are living, but the exchanged life equals the radical. To be honest, there are very few radical Christians out there, and the world's condition is desperate for these radicals. Men as fathers need to step it up as Christians, not putting so much interest and devotion on how well your child does in sports and "extracurricular activities" and start focusing on training that child to stand strong in a world with seemingly no direction and quickly fading morals. Men who are not married and not fathers need to step it up with focusing on pure hearts and taking every thought captive and not worrying so much about the latest video game, guitar, or air soft rifle, or whatever the case may be. To all Christians, we need to step it up and take so much care out of magazines, romance novels, cells phones and computers and place our main priority on indulging ourselves in His Word. Our priorities as Christian men and Christians as a whole seem to be way out of proportion just at first glance of the world and society. How to we make a change and do a 180?
After Christmas, or a birthday or just anytime in general, have you ever taken it back to the store from which it came? What is the reason for taking it back? To exchange it...I'm sure we have all exchanged something. I was listening to Pastor Kevin's messages on the exchanged life and was thinking of a good way of grasping it in my own mind and I thought I would share.
When we exchange something, why do we make the exchange? For example, lets say we have a big glass vase that we just purchased. We open it and see that it has a tiny crack in the glass, but you know that crack will grow larger and larger. When we take it back to exchange it, we are getting the same glass vase, but we are getting one without blemish or crack.
When we exchange our current lives, we are giving up the life that we previously knew for one that God has a sole purpose for. We are willing to do whatever God tells us without question or even an answer as to why. When we fully exchange our lives, we do the thing that God tells us to do, even if we do not see the whole picture. I know I'm not married, but men I want you to think about something for just a moment..when you make a decision for your family that you know is right, don't you want your wife and children to trust you fully? Even if they can't see the outcome, or even know why that decision is being made? It is the SAME THING with God. God longs for us to trust Him because after all, He is fully trustworthy. God can instruct us to do something in our lives and He just wants our full trust. We must know for a fact that God will not steer you in the wrong direction, or send you without enough strength. That is just like a great father isn't it?
Something that I personally have to remember often is the fact that God does not need my help, He just needs my obedience. He doesn't need my help with taking my life and relationship with Him to the next level, He has that taken care of. All that He needs from me is my obedience, because He cannot bless the disobedient. Fathers, if you asked your child to take out the garbage and wash the dishes, and you came home to them watching TV with neither of the two done, would you bless them? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Again, the same thing with God. Fathers if you want to understand the way that God works, just relate it to fatherhood. When we exchange our lives and make that profession, that is only the start. It is what you do after that that counts. When we hear instruction from Him, we must be obedient to do it. When we are obedient, we will be given what was promised. "And all these things shall be added to you." Words of Jesus
Here is something that I want you to think about, just to see how "radical" or "exchanged" you think you may be. If you were completely obedient and done everything He asked of you and never received a blessing, or experienced many trials, would you still do it? Because we should never exchange our lives just for what we may gain..we could follow His every command and never see much worldly gain. I want you to realize that is not promised. Your health, wealth and possessions are not promised...what is promised is His name being glorified above all other things through you if you exchange your life saying "Lord, whatever you want to do with me, here I am. Take it all if it be Your will. Because it is Your Name above all other things. Hallowed be Your name, Your will be done, in Jesus' name"
That is what it is all about. You are a representative of the King, will you make the exchange?
