What Difference Does Christ Make?
- Details
- Sunday Morning Service
- Pastor James Richards
- Copalis Community Church
- 15 March 2026
- 1 Corinthians 6:17-20
- 1 Corinthians 2:9-16
- Philippians 3:8-11
- Hebrews 12:5
Just from a personal, personal perspective, it's just a real joy to be able to come up and be able to share the Word with you. And I didn't know if that was going to happen anymore or not. So I thank God and praise him for this opportunity to do that. So before we start, let's pray. Father, as we come before you, we're just thankful for all the blessings that you poured into our life.
We thank you for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. We thank you that your Holy Spirit is working in our lives and preparing us to spend eternity with you. And Lord, as we look into your word, we pray that your Word would speak to our hearts and help us in this journey that you called us to walk with Christ. Pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
Well, one of the things with being sick is you have a lot of time to sit around and think. And if you're not careful, your thoughts can run away with you, can't they? Like, what's going to happen? Oh, no, blah, blah. But on the other hand, if we're in Christ, as we think about the things that he's leading us through, we can know that he's working for our good.
And I really believe that in my life that this is for my good, and I'm thankful for it. But one of the things I've pondered as I've gone through this sickness, and it's been a couple years now, and it comes at times just wondering, okay, am I gonna. Am I gonna make it till next week or not? One of the things that I pondered is, what difference does Christ make in your life?
What difference does Christ make in your life? We all face circumstances, decisions, trials. We can go on and on. And that really is the bottom line. What difference is Christ making in my life?
And so I wanted to look at that. As I was thinking about, I couldn't help but think about.
Jesus. Dad was Joseph, right? Yeah. I couldn't help but think about Joseph. And here's a man, we don't know how old he was.
There's a good chance he might have been middle age and not married. And he's made this commitment to marry Mary and he gets word that she's pregnant. And in that society, that's a big deal. No one's saying, oh, boy, you know, you're gonna have a little child, you know, a possibility of being stoned to death as a result of that. And so he's faced with this predicament of what he's going to do.
He decides that he's going to put her away quietly, do the right thing. He's a righteous man. And of course we know that the angel appeared to him and said, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. And so all of a sudden, going from a single man, taking care of himself, he's going to be responsible for a new wife and a baby boy. And I just can't imagine the changes that that would make in him.
We're no longer making decisions just based on what do I want to do. I'm responsible for my wife, I'm responsible for my child, and I've got to do what is right. And of course, those of us who have gotten married and have children, we understand that, don't we? Life gets a little more complicated than it was when we were just by ourselves and we got responsibilities. And so in the same way, I believe that we need to look at the differences that Christ should make in our life.
Hopefully he is, but should. So we're going to look at a few passages and regard to this.
So first of all, I want you to turn to First Corinthians 6, 17, 20 First Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 17 to 20. Now, as we read this, be thinking, what difference should Christ make in my life? And so beginning with verse 17.
And Paul had been talking about physical immorality. To flee from that he says in verse 17, but he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body. But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, you are not your own. You were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body. And if you have come to Christ and he's working your life, there should be this sense, I'm no longer my own. I don't belong to myself any longer.
I belong to Christ. And that should be a growing sense. And we may understand it a little bit at the start, but as we get to know him better and better, we realize that everything is his in our life.
And so when Paul shares this message with him, he's asking people to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. Not just to self, but to Jesus Christ and to be true to him. And when we come to Christ, there should be this bond. Just like in a marriage, when a man and a woman get married, there is this bond that happens between them. And the same way with Christ, there should be this bond with Christ.
And so when that's made, it's a bond that can never be broken. It's for life, it's for eternity. And apart from that, nothing else matters. In the same way, when we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we become one with Him. He is in us and we are in Him.
And there's a progressive element to that. We don't understand everything at the start, but more and more, we should see our lives in relationship to him, that we're no longer our own, that we belong to him, that we no longer do just what we want to do, we do what pleases him also. And. And so one of the differences that should happen when somebody's come to Christ is we should glorify God with our bodies. God has given this body, and, and we use it to live for him and to give him glory.
No matter what state we're in, how do we give him glory? So that's the first sense of no longer our own. We see a second one over in First Corinthians, chapter two, if you'll turn there. First Corinthians, chapter two.
And verse 9 through 16, He says, but as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man, imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. These things God has revealed to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the Spirit of a person which is in Him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God.
Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are unspiritual, who are spiritual. And so the second thing we should see, the difference that Christ makes is there should be a growing comprehension who Christ is. I remember Sunday school, and back in those days, we had high tech, we had flannel board.
I'll tell you what. And those teachers could do a great job with that flannel board. And I remember being, you know, a little guy in Sunday school and the story of Jesus, you know, how God sent him into the world and being born in Bethlehem, in the cradle, and all those stories. So your comprehension of him, the more you learn of him, the more you know about Him. And the more you know about him, the greater he should be in your life.
And when we first came to Christ, you know, our thoughts of him were great. You know, he's going to save me from my sins. You know, I'm not going to go to hell, praise God, you know, I'm going to go to heaven. But the more we're with him, the more we get to know him, the more we love him for who he is and for what he's done for us on the cross. And there should be a growing comprehension of that, our life, and out of that, a tremendous thanksgiving that God who created me, came and died for my sins so that I could live forever with Him.
And what that does is there's an enduring argument. Thank you.
There's an enduring argument in theological sermons on does Jesus have to be Lord for him to be Savior in your life? And a lot of people say, no, I believe in Jesus, I accept Jesus, and I go about and do everything I want to do my own. I don't have this, any obligation to follow Him. And the thing is, the more we get to know Christ, the difference he should make is not just His Savior, but see him as our Lord, the One who cares for us, the One who loves us, the One who knows our future, the One who is preparing everything in our lives so that we would know Him.
And, and, and according to this passage, this is not something we could have naturally, it's got to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. And so one of the, the objects in the Christian life is to let the Holy Spirit speak into our lives. And of course he does that through His Word. He does that when we spend time in prayer with Him. He does that when we listen to someone sharing a message or the Gospel.
And, and, and, and, and every time we hear that we should know Him a little bit better and love Him a little bit more as a result of that. And, and we see that in a Christian life, people that are just kind of, kind of limping along and oh, I guess I'm going to make it somehow, you know, and, but not seeing the glory of Jesus Christ, working that with all his authority. And, and so it should bring a knowledge of what is real into our lives and, and start to understand that the things that around us are only temporary. When I'm going through, there's times, there's times at night, and thank God, not lately, but kind of like, am I going to make it through the night, you know, and just feeling really poor and kind of losing hope. But, but the, the thing that I rest on is Jesus Christ has prepared a place for me.
And whether I go there today, or go there a month from now, or 20 years from now, or 70 years from now. The only thing that matters is I'm his and I'm going to spend eternity with Him. And so we should have this greater desire to know Christ. That's what Paul said. He said all the things that used to be important to me, and it doesn't mean they weren't important, but all comparison to knowing Christ, they're garbage.
They just don't last. Only Christ lasts. Only he has promises that will sustain you no matter what you're going through. And the more we know him, the more we should hold on to Him. And so, first, there's we're no longer our own.
Second, greater desire to know Him. Third, there should be a growing change in our desires. Growing change in our desires. Turn over to Philippians.
Philippians chapter 3, verse 8 through 11.
And it says, Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ, my Lord. For this sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, that the righteousness from God that depends on faith. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection of the dead. And so one of the differences that Christ should make in our life is this desire to know him and to bring him glory by what we've gone through. Sometimes that's through good things.
We praise God for good things. Don't discount them. They're a gift from God. And you can be happy and not feel guilty. That boy.
I feel good today, God. Thank you. But at the same time, if things aren't going well, we can still give glory to God because we know that he's working his purposes out in our lives and preparing us to spend eternity with Him. And so I think one of the greatest tragedies in the Christian life is the acceptance of a shallow relationship with Christ. I know Jesus.
I put my faith in Him. I asked him to come into my heart. I go to church on Sunday. That's good enough, isn't it?
And hopefully it will be. But I think we should all desire more than good enough, shouldn't we? We should desire God's best for our lives. And as we go through things, that's one of the differences he makes in us. So Fourth thing.
There should be a growing appreciation of God's discipline in life. A growing appreciation of God's discipline in your life. Turn over to Hebrews.
Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 5.
Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 5, 11. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure.
God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom His Father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of our spirits and live for they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness.
For the moment, all, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. And the fact is we should not only welcome the discipline of God in our lives, we should desire it.
God, if I start to get off track here, bring me up short. I do not want a long leash here. I want short leash. I want to be back on the straight and narrow and walk with Jesus Christ. And whatever we're going through, we have the opportunity, the difference he makes.
We have the opportunity to let others see Christ in us. Christ in us. I know as I'm going through this and at times not feeling well and kind of weak and, but, but I'm conscious of, of the fact that I'm not doing this alone. And it's not just for. Look at Jim, he's still here.
Blah, blah, blah. I. I really want it to be. Look what Christ is doing in his life and sustaining him in the midst of whatever he's facing, whether life or death. And that ultimately he be glorified in the same way we should be desiring that whatever we're going through in our life. And again, sometimes that's good.
Sometimes it's okay. And sometimes it's really hard. And I know, I know we could tell story after story here. Hard things that, that many of you have gone through. And yet because Christ in you, he took you through that.
He brought you out the other side and you've got a testimony to share how he was enough in the midst of that. And so we need to be Like David after he sinned with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up. Of course, the little boy died, and Nathan the prophet confronted him, and you're the one. And David admitted, I'm the one who has sinned before him. And we have David's prayer over in Psalm 51.
And one of the things he prayed is, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. And he valued the discipline of God in his life. And it didn't change what had happened, but it changed his heart. And he wanted his heart to be loyal to Jesus Christ no matter what.
He valued that discipline more than not having to confront his sin in the same way. When we have opportunity to repent, we do that. Changing directions, acknowledging that God's way is the right way and the good way, and that I want to glorify him with the choices that I make in my life. So in the same way, we should have a new desire for God to work in our lives, even if it means his discipline and it's evidence of his love. And so what difference does Christ make in your life?
I hope you can look back and look at circumstances you've gone through and where maybe the world would have fallen apart. You were able to lean on Christ and to hold on to him and to trust him to help you get through that situation. And again, it's not easy. I was thinking, I see Paul over there. And he and his wife Patty were married how many years, Paul?
How many years were you and Patty married.
This month? That spent 62 and a half years of their life together, raised a wonderful family, was faithful to God in this church, taught the adult, taught the high schoolers for many years, went into the mission, and it was really hard to see your wife slipping away. And yet, as hard as it was, he made a commitment to stay faithful to Jesus Christ. And I could go on and on with stories of what I'd seen. And you don't want to be in a place where later in your life you go, you realize, oh, I should have.
I wish I'd. How come I didn't? And again, that's where we need to turn to Christ and tell him to make a difference. I started out, what a difference does Christ make? You can say that a little different, can't you?
What a difference Christ makes in our life. And none of us know how long we have. Noah, one of the things that even in the midst of this, with all of the health care people coming to our house on Hospice. And I don't know how many nurses and caregivers and different people come through. Well, I give each one a copy of my book and share a little bit how these are stories that God ways that he worked in my life and that he can work in your life also.
And so even though I'm confined to the home, I still have that opportunity to share Christ makes. And several of the people have said, hey, no one's ever given us anything before. Just amazed.
But that's because I'm not here just to receive, I'm here to give. And that's the difference that Christ makes in our life. And so I'd like every one of us to just. It's something you need to contemplate because I know we're all going through stuff and it affects us, doesn't it? Affects our attitude, affects the way we feel.
And we just really need to be praying. Christ, I want to be faithful to you no matter what. I want to show people, others and testimony that you have made a difference in my life. And there's no way I could be sitting here today sharing this message except for the difference that Christ has made in my life. Beginning when I was a little boy, continuing when I was a young man with a family and deciding to be involved in the church services, teaching Sunday school, and then eventually hearing a call from God to serve him.
And that's up to him. That's up to him. But we just want him to make that difference in our life. And so let's pray.
Well, Father, just pray that for every one of us here, God, that we would contemplate just the difference that Christ can make in our lives as we trust him and God. Going through hard times, going through good times, but staying focused on. We're here for a purpose, for a reason, to know Christ and to be reunited to you, our heavenly Father and Father. We realize we have an enemy that wants us to think that Christ is not making a difference, that what's changed, nothing seems any better. But help us to see that he is working for our good and for your glory and God, you know, again, each one of our hearts, you know what we face on a daily basis.
And I pray that you, Christ, would be making a tremendous difference in our life, giving us hope, giving us joy in the midst of whatever we go through, and a peace in the midst of it. Pray in Christ's name. Amen.