Has anyone ever wished your life was "normal?"
I believe we all have at some point, especially when things seem to go upside down in our lives..
But normal, what does that even mean?
Is any one's life "normal?"
And how do we know for certain, what "normal" is?
The definition, according to the Oxford dictionary, I'd have to say we are all normal.
"Normal - conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected."
Merriam Webster defines normal as
"according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle."
So I'd say by definition, we would all to some degree, qualify as "normal."
But I believe, what we're really asking for, is a life, that is what other's appear to have.
A life without bad experiences, tragedies, or other disturbances.
But is their life really normal?
Or like so many that I have known, they simply do not choose to share the gory details with others..
I think most of us would say "normal" is:
Normal is how we respond to situations.
Normal is what people expect of us in given parts of our lives.
Normal is our spiritual condition.
It is our disposition
It is our character
"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6
Within our Normal, however, is our expectations of Life.
It’s our dreams
Our hopes
Our desires
It’s what satisfies us and causes us to be happy.
Our Normal.
And yes, we all have one.
But each of our "normal" is different, and I'm fairly certain, in many ways they are alike.
So what are some of "your normal"?
Hopeful, that's good
Happy! Yes, I think many of us agree with that one.
Satisfied... yes, but are we humans ever satisfied?
We always seem to want something a little more than what we have..Don't we?
Engaged in Life! Also a good answer..
Anything else? No.. okay.
Well, whatever our normal is, John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came to make our normal better.
And Jesus described it as More Abundant.
I know a few people who are Amish, they live in a small community.
Their world was pretty small. They didn’t travel much beyond their farms, church, and their businesses.
In fact, they really cannot tell me about anything outside of the area in which they live.
It's all they've ever known.
But, their religious beliefs and way of life keep them pretty well isolated from the
rest of the world so their normal is very different than your normal or mine.
Yet, to each and every one of them, it's normal.
And from all that I have seen, they quite enjoy their normal!
Though I'm sure they would have a different take on it, but it all seemed very peaceful, quite simplistic and serene to me.
But we are talking about our spiritual condition and God’s desire to give us a new normal.
I have people say to me,
Pastor:
I wish things could be different in my spiritual life, I just feel spiritually fulfilled.
I wish I could be closer to God.
I wish I knew Jesus on a more personal level.
I wish my life was different, I could serve God more.
I recall when I spent a lot of time in the gym..
I liked to bench press.
When I first started, my bench press wasn't a lot.
For illustration purposes, we'll say it was 100lbs
That was my normal..
But each week, I would gradually increase the amount of weight by 10 or 20 lbs
and that new amount of weight, became my New Normal..
As I continued to work out,
My normal kept increasing.
My normal kept growing.
Where I was at last week, was not where I was at the next week.
But I kept at it, and it took some time.
It seemed like a long time to me, but after a while
I was way past my old normal, the one I was at when I first began
My New Normal kept increasing too!
And here’s where many people trip up in their walk with God.
They think that normal has to stay the normal.
Since they don't attempt to grow, they can’t grow beyond the normal they are at.
They are stuck!
Stuck spiritually, stuck in their life!
Stuck in their walk with God..
They're just plain STUCK!
Some people become so stuck..they are unable to move forward, and their lives are trapped right where they are for the
rest of their life.
But aren’t you glad you know Jesus Christ today?
Aren’t you glad you know the one who came to give us Life and
that more abundantly?
See, here’s the deal..
There is no one but you who can put limitations on you.
Your life is simply that – your life!
You control it by your own choices, your decisions.
And what you do with your life is also up to you.
You can decide to stay stuck spiritually until Jesus comes back,
never growing.
Never going beyond the boarders of where you are, or where you’ve already been.
Or you can choose a new normal.
You can decide that today, something is going to change in your
life.
That new boundaries are going to stretched.
That new horizons are going to be reached.
That who you were this morning when you woke up is not going
to be who you are when you go to bed this evening.
Jesus is not interested in helping people stay where they are.
He wants us to be changed, transformed.. A New Creation.
And with a new normal!
If you are comfortable and not really wanting to grow spiritually
or experience the Abundant Life, I just want you to know that you
probably are not going to be al that comfortable.
Jesus doesn’t do normal.
He was constantly shaking things up for the religious folk.
Because they were stuck in their normal.
Healing on the Sabbath, that’s not normal!
Eating and drinking with sinners – who even does that?!
Jesus, that's Who!
You see, very little about Jesus was Normal!
His birth was not normal.
His childhood was not normal.
His adolescence was not normal.
His ministry was definitely not normal!
His death, burial and resurrection sure was not normal.
And yet, His absence of Normal is what we hang our hat on when it comes to our salvation.
Resurrection... Who does that?
And yet, we all know that without His resurrection, we have no
hope!
But resurrection was not normal!
Aren’t you glad Jesus didn’t stick to normal?
I certainly am!
Where would you and I be if Jesus stuck to the normal..?
We can only have hope today because Jesus didn’t stick to normal.
So why do we think we’re supposed to be normal?
"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:37-39
Being a conqueror was not normal.
But then Paul goes on to say that we are “More” than conquerors.
Other words, if your “Normal” is a conqueror.
Verse 37 says " Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
I've found a New Normal.
Say it with me:
I've found a New Normal!
Get ready because Jesus has a “new normal” for your “new normal.”
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17
"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:14
Remember the lame man, at the gate Beautiful, his normal was just laying there.
But when Jesus healed him... His normal changed.
He got up, leaping, dancing and praising God!
Acts 3:1-10
He didn’t wake up the next morning.... and just go back to laying around.
I imagine, that he woke up, overjoyed with his new normal, he got himself dressed, he fixed breakfast, and he went looking for a church to attend.
And there was the adulteress woman thrown at Jesus feet. Jesus literally saves her life by not judging her.
What do you think happened after that?
I imagine she got up, she moved, then went shopping for a less revealing wardrobe, went looking for a church to attend and new people to hang out with, since her normal had changed!
The question is now, "Are you ready for a New Normal?
Are you ready for your old person, the old normal to die out and your new person to come alive with hope and Abundance?
If you are ready for a New Normal, in Christ Jesus, I'd like to invite you now to come forward and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior..
I tell you this, your decision has caused a celebration here among us and in heaven!
Afterwards, those of us here, who are now part of your New Family in Christ, are ready to receive you and welcome you into our family!
"Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:10
And now may the the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries