You are not what you used to be! You have been changed - set free. You were DEAD in sin.

Of course, you didn’t know you were dead. You didn’t feel dead. Mankind is like a baby born to a drug addicted mother. The baby is addicted, but it doesn’t know it is addicted. It grows up with the craving and need for drugs, but it thinks that is normal because that’s all it knows. It was born that way. Then one day, somebody comes along with a miracle cure and sets it free form the addiction. Now it is free, and it knows, for the first time, what freedom is like.

You didn’t know you were dead until you were made to see, by the grace of God, through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, that you were dead. You didn’t know what life was like, what freedom from the power of sin was like, until Christ made you free.

In the past - you lived according to the ways of the world. But now you’ve been set free.

In the past - you lived according to the prince of the power of the air - that is, you lived under the rulership of the devil, the evil one, the enemy of our souls - the one who is out to destroy our lives.

Jesus said that Satan is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. His goal is to kill and destroy. He will promise you anything, but he will ultimately give you death.

His spirit is at work ruling the children of disobedience. In biblical terms, "children of" means you are like something. It simply reveals the nature of a person. Good men were referred to as the children of their father David. Bad ones were referred to as children of their father Jeroboam, or some other bad king. Jesus referred to the Pharisees as children of the devil. It didn’t mean their father was the devil - it meant they took after the devil, their nature was like his; destruction was their way; they were damning men to hell with their "religion" instead of setting them free with the power of God.

But note what Jesus says here in verse 3:

You were like them IN TIMES PAST. In the past you WERE like this. You followed the lusts of your flesh. You fulfilled the desires of the flesh - that is, you were ruled by your body, by it’s passions and cravings - and your mind - you did whatever came to your mind. You were driven by your evil imagination.

Jeremiah said,

Just look at the perversions men sink to when allowed to go unchecked. Pornography and debauchery have reached new lows in our day, because we have allowed it more and more freedom of expression. We never knew men could be so wicked until we allowed them to follow their wickedness to its conclusion. Now we are shocked, because we didn’t know the heart was quite that wicked.

And he reminds us that we used to be like that. Please note that, in that condition, we were children of wrath - that is, we were headed for judgment - for the punishment of God. But we used to be that way. We are not anymore!

We have been changed! If you are truly saved, you have been changed. You are not ruled by the flesh anymore. You are not ruled by the devil anymore. You used to be, but not anymore. That was then - this is now. Now we are ruled by a different spirit. Now we are alive and not dead. What happened?

I love that phrase, "but God". Those two words can make the difference between life and death - between heaven and hell. But God -

God is rich in mercy. That means He has more than he needs.

Also, God is great in love. His love can reach as far away as you can fall. God’s love reaches to the uttermost - and the outer-most.

Remember God can raise the dead. Healing is a fantastic miracle. But go one step further - raising the dead is a greater miracle. But let’s go even further - changing a person’s character is even greater than raising the dead. To restore the living is greater. To change a person from bad to good, from evil to righteous - that is a challenge only God can meet.

With all our intelligence and advanced techniques, we cannot do that. We can, through counseling, drug therapy, shock treatment, hypnotism, and whatever other techniques - we can sometimes change a person’s actions - maybe even their thinking - but we cannot change their character. Only God can do that.

I can testify to this - I am not the man I used to be. I’m not at all like I used to be. My motivations have changed. My inclinations have changed. My nature has changed. I’m not even interested in the things I used to be. I’m hardly even tempted by the things that used to rule my life. I have changed.

How? I have been totally reborn! By the power of God, he who was dead in sin has been made alive in Christ.

Since Jesus came into my heart, I am different. I have been brought from death to life.

Not only that, but I have been raised up to sit in heavenly places.

My view of life has changed - my perspective has changed. I see things in a different light now. My citizenship is in heaven. I don’t belong to this world anymore. I have been translated into the kingdom of light, and I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind.

Praise God, I’m not what I used to be!

Was it something I did? No! It was something God did. God reached down in His mercy, and He changed me. I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t do anything for it but ask.

It was his grace. It was simply because he smiled on me - He looked my way. Why? Because He loved me!

Why? Because He is love! I didn’t deserve God’s love. He just freely gave it.

What about you? Of course, you don’t deserve it either. But God gives it anyway. The same grace that saved me can save you. The same grace that saved Billy Graham can save you. Some are thinking, "But, you don’t know what I’ve done." It doesn’t matter! I don’t know what a sinner you are, but I know what a Savior His is!

Now here is my final point: When you are saved - when Christ comes in - you are different! You are not the same. You are changed - transformed into something else.

That’s how saved people can keep from going back into sin. They are changed! Their natures are changed. Their outlooks are changed. Their attitudes are changed. They truly become different.

Have you been changed? Are you saved from your sin and made alive in Christ? If you’re not, you can be. Just reach out right now and receive Him.