Under New Management

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Text: I Cor.6: 19, 20

Intro: All of us from time to time have noticed the words “Under New Management” over the door or in the front window of some place of business. Those words convey a series of thoughts and impressions to our minds.

When we see those words, we know immediately that this business has experienced a change. The most obvious change is that of leadership. But with new management comes new motivation and new methods in the way business is conducted.

One likes to think that a change of management will bring with it an improvement in the overall function of the business. However, in the reality of the secular world that is not always the case. Sometimes new isn’t necessarily better.

In today’s text, Paul has declared the believer in Christ to be under new management. This change of ownership has produced vast differences, and all of them for the better. Little remains the same after Jesus takes the reins of our lives.

I want us to consider three thoughts that are implied by our text. By doing so, we will learn what it means to be under the management of Christ.

Theme: Since the Christian is under new management, there is:

I. A CLAIM TO BE CONSIDERED

I Cor.6: 19b “…ye are not your own?”

A. We Belong To God By Purchase Rights.

I Cor.6: 20a “For ye are bought with a price…”

I Pet.1: 18 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Acts 20: 28b “…feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

NOTE: Perhaps this story will illustrate my point:

Marred Hands Settled the Issue

The price Jesus paid for our redemption was terrible indeed. When we think of the extreme suffering He endured to purchase our freedom from sin’s penalty, our hearts should overflow with love for Him. Leslie B. Flynn told a story that illustrates this truth.

An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.

Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.

Many voices are calling for our attention. Among them is the One whose nail-pierced hands remind us that He has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences. To Him belongs our love and devotion. –D.C.E.

Our Daily Bread, December 26

B. We Belong To God By Possession Rights.

Rom.8: 9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

II Cor.6: 16 “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

NOTE: [1] It is commonly stated that possession is 90% of the law. But just because we possess something doesn’t guarantee that we won’t eventually lose it. German reformer and theologian, Martin Luther, once said: “I have held many things in my hand, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands that I still possess.” --Martin Luther

[2] Man might lose possession of things, but Jesus will never lose possession of us.

John 10: 28 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

C. We Belong To God By His Personal Responsibility.