Q: If I let God come into my castle (my life)…and then I let him into a room…will I change?
A: I still need to obey what is said.
Q: What is the difference, then, between one castle (one life) that has God inside, and another that doesn't? Does the difference depend all on me?
A: No! When God comes in, he brings forgiveness…not by anything we've done, but as his gift. He also brings his Holy Spirit.
**A huge difference between Christianity and other religions:
* Others will give you rules to live by, and then it's up to you to do it.
* Christianity - starts with God doing something for us - the forgiveness of our sins.
We celebrate that!
Then God gives you his way to live
BUT - he also gives you his help to do it
Ex: Difference between your teacher assigning math homework, or assigning it and then sitting down and guiding you, individually, through each problem
Ex: My mom and her new Mac. New programs, systems are great…as long as she's shown how to use them.
Ex: Changing the oil in a car: it must be done. Would you rather: be told you have to do it (you don't know how, so you'll probably do it wrong), pay for someone else to do it ($30), or have someone teach you how to do it (least cost, best option)
God doesn't just give us "The Rules"; he also gives us his help to live the way he wants us to
Think of something you know God wants you to do, but you don't want to or it's hard…the Spirit is there for us.
What the Bible says about the Holy Spirit (partial list):
John 16:7-8 - the Spirit will tell the world when it's done wrong
John 14:26 - the Spirit will teach us things and remind us about who Jesus was
Romans 8:26 - the Spirit helps us pray, especially when we don't know what to pray for
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 - the Spirit gives gifts
A motto: On my own, I can't; but with God's help, I can
How would we live differently if we followed that?
Like being towed behind a boat with a rope, or up a hill on skis - you have to hang on, keep your skis straight, but also let the power (the rope) do its work
In Matthew 14, Peter was able to walk on the water, until he doubted - then he sank.
