Transformed, part 1

We started a new series last Sunday, (Sept. 20, 2015) here is the first message in the series.

I’m super excited to be kicking off a brand new series called Transformed. Over the next 8 weeks we are going to look at the 7 areas of our lives that God wants to transform.

The 7 areas are: our Spiritual health, Physical health, mental health, Emotional health, Relational health, financial health and Vocational health.

Believe it or not, God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus, and as we allow Him to transform us in these 7 areas of life, we will become the men and women He intends for us to be.

So an obvious question needs to be asked—and answered first thing-is How does God transform us?

Do we simply wake up one morning and Poof! We’re exactly the men and women God wants us to be! I WISH!

I wish I could wake up one morning and be the most patient person in the world.

I wish I could wake up one morning and have no more struggles…. But unfortunately, transformation doesn’t work that way.

It doesn’t work that way, because Transformation is a process. It takes time for us to become the men and women God wants us to become.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says this: “As God’s Spirit works within us, we are being transformed to become more like Christ. This change, from one degree of glory to another, comes from the Lord.”

As we allow God to work in our lives; when we give Him permission to go there in our lives, we will be transformed.

Spiritual transformation is a process; it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes, weeks, months, and even years.

ILLUSTRATION- I would like to believe that I’m not the same person I was 22 or so years ago when I came to faith in Jesus.

            I’m different today than I was then, because of the work of God in my life.

But that doesn’t mean that I have arrived. There is still work to be done in my life, and, the truth be told, God isn’t finished with you either. 

There is still room for all of us to grow, room for all of us to be transformed into the men and women God intends for us to be.

Our text for this morning comes from Ephesians chapter 4, and it highlights the transformation process that God uses to grow us into the people we are supposed to be, so if you are keeping notes, the first thing for us to know today is that:

1. Transformation requires coaching.

We grow better together. When we have someone cheering us on, we do better.

This is the truth of Hebrews 10:24: “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (NIV84).

Athletes need coaches, vocalists need coaches, and you and I need a coach if we are going to become the people God wants us to become.

When you look at the Bible you’ll find out that all of the great leaders in the Bible had coaches.      

For instance Joshua was coached by Moses.  Elisha was coached by Elijah.  Solomon was coached by David.  And David was actually coached by Samuel. 

The twelve disciples were coached by Jesus. Paul coached Timothy. Timothy coached others. 

In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul says this to Timothy: “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (NLT)

Paul wanted Timothy to share the things he had learned from Paul to other people, so they could grow in their faith.

ILLUSTRATION- Each of you have benefited from the coaches that I have had in my life, and I have had several, from Professors, to mentors, they all have taught me a little bit more about what it takes to pastor a growing church.

While I have been in this season of life, I have endeavoured to coach Pastor Mike in some things as well.

Transformation requires coaching, and we all need someone in our lives that we can invest in and we need someone who is investing in us.

Look at how Ephesians 4 describes this process: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (NIV)

Paul reminded us that coaches had been given to the church to help the church people become the people God intended them to be.

These are men and women who teach the Word and help us grow up in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

We’ve got 4 great coaches who are ready to help you in your journey with Jesus during this new series.

We all need someone who is investing in our lives; because Transformation requires coaching.

2. Transformation (also) requires learning the truth.

John 17 is a wonderful chapter in the Bible. It records for us the High Priestly prayer of Jesus, the prayer He prayed the night before He went to the cross.

In verse 17 of this chapter, Jesus says something very interesting: “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” (NLT2)

Notice what Jesus didn’t say. He didn’t say the newspaper is truth. He didn’t say the magazines and the books we read or the TV shows that we watch are truth. Jesus said God’s Word, the Holy Bible is truth.

One way that we are transformed is by spending time in the Word of God. The word of God, according to Jesus, is truth, and if we want to become men and women of God, we’ve got to know the truth.

Jesus said: “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NLT2)

As we know God’s truth: “we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” (Eph. 4:14, NLT2)

Knowing God’s word will keep us from going places that we have no business going to. 

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9, NIV84)

God’s Word is truth, and for us to become the men and women He wants us to become, we’ve got to spend time in His word.

That’s why we’re encouraging you to pick up a copy of the Transformed series journal.

It contains daily devotions, readings that will get you into God’s word, because God’s word is truth, and transformation requires learning the truth.

Here’s the Third truth about Transformation: It requires new thinking.

In God’s economy, change begins in the mind. Change doesn’t begin by changing our actions, change beings in the mind, because the battle is won or lost in our minds.

If we want to be transformed, we need to think new thoughts. How do we do that?

Our key verse for this entire series lets us in on that secret... It’s found in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV84)

I love how the NLT translates this verse: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NLT2)

To be transformed, we’ve got to change our way of thinking.

(It’s interesting to note, that after we’ve changed how we think, we will be able to know God’s will for our lives… not before.)

Let’s jump back to Ephesians chapter 4 and see what that passage says, look at verse 17: “Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” (NLT2)

Now jump down to verse 23: “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” (Eph. 4:23-24, NLT2)

We are not to conform to this world, we are to be transformed, and the way that we begin to be transformed is by changing the way we think.

We've got to get rid of our stinking thinking, and begin to think Godly thoughts, because transformation requires new thinking.

4. Transformation (also) requires cleaning house.

Ephesians 4:21-22 reads: “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.” (NLT2)

In order for us to live the transformed life, we have to get rid of the trash. Allow me to illustrate what I mean…

ILLUSTRATION- We have been known, from time to time, to leave the full trash bag in the trunk of the car.

         We have every intention of placing it in the garbage box when we get to the bottom of our driveway, but sometimes we forget, often on the hottest days of the year….

            As soon as we get in the car again, we are reminded that we forgot to take out the trash.

       In order to get rid of the smell, we’ve got to get rid of the trash.

            The same is true in our lives. If we want to be transformed into the people God wants us to become, we are going to have to take out the trash in our lives.

 We might have to block some TV channels, maybe we'll need to cancel the newspaper subscription, we’ll have to avoid going to certain stores in the mall, we might even have to avoid certain foods…

Hebrews 12:1 says it the best:  “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, (The men and women of the faith who have gone on before us)  let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Heb. 12:1, NIV84)

This verse has the idea of literally taking the thing that is tripping us up, and throwing it away.

Jesus speaks to this issue as well: “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”(Matthew 5:29-30, NIV84)

While Jesus is not advocating self-mutilation, He is telling us to do whatever needs to be done so that The sin that is tripping us up will not trip us up anymore… and that requires cleaning house… getting rid of things that serve no purpose, other than to bring us down.

Sometimes, getting rid of the things that trip us up is easier said than done. Have you ever wondered why?

We’ve had our bad habits a long time. Someone once said: “it took you a long time to get into this mess; it will take you a long time to get out of this mess”.

This why transformation takes a while… because we’ve been programmed one way, and we need to be re-programmed another way...

But the major reason bad habits are hard to break is because Satan fights it.

The last thing satan wants from you is for you to be transformed. He will fight you tooth and nail. He wants you to be just as you are. He wants you to be bogged down with the sin that trips you up; he doesn’t want you to be free.

Eph. 6:12 reminds us that: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (NIV84)

Satan fights our transformation, but thankfully our God is greater, and our God is bigger and our God stronger, and He beat Satan with a big ugly stick and “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4, NIV84)

Transformation requires cleaning house, its hard work, but it’s worth it. 

5. Transformation requires community. 

Eph. 4:25 says: “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” (NIV84)

To get the most out of this series, we want you to join one of our life groups. We’ve got 4 of them, and they are meeting at different times each week, so you can be involved in one of these life groups.

Some of my best learning moments have come out of my involvement with Life groups, and PM and I want to encourage you to get involved in one of the 4 groups that are being offered.

Complete information, such as times and places can be found in your bulletin.

When we remember that no one in this church is perfect; when we remember that: “Either you were a mess, are a mess or are one dumb decision away from becoming a mess” (Stanley, 2012, 82,) we will be open and honest with those in our life group, because transformation requires community.

Eph 4:32 gives us one last piece of wisdom: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (NIV84)

Because God has been gracious to us, we are going to be gracious to others, especially those who are in our Life Groups.

So what do I want you to do with what you’ve just heard?

I want you to give prayerful consideration to committing the next 8 weeks to your spiritual growth. 

• In just a few moments, I’m going to ask you to come up and pick up one of these commitment cards that are on the alter. (read it)

• Pick up a copy of the Transformed journal. It’s broken down into 7 weeks of daily devotionals, and spend some time, starting next Sunday, learning the Truth that is God’s word. If you don’t think you can afford one of these journals, just write your name down as having taken one, and merry Christmas to you.
• Commit to clearing out the junk that is in your life.
• Allow God to go there in your life.
• Believe that God wants to, and can do something great in your life!