If you take one of the bulletins and turn over the flap, you’ll see a list of eight "core values". These core values identify what we’re about as a church. They describe our basic identity, our DNA. And like DNA, which is found in every cell of the body, our intent is that we would see these principles operating in all the ministries of the church; that they would guide our planning and decision-making; that they would influence the way we do worship, and small groups, and children’s programs, and outreach. So, for instance, when you read that we value "community," you should be able to see evidence of people coming together; building supportive and caring relationships. Some of these things we do better than others, and that’s OK. We’re not claiming to have "arrived". It’s a process. But by God’s grace, this is what we’re aiming for, this is what we’re striving toward.
Today, I’d like to address one of these core values: transformation. Transformation. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? But what does it mean? It means that when it comes to our relationship with God, we’re not satisfied with just maintaining the status quo. We’re not content to continue year after year, with the same ideas, and attitudes, and habits that we’ve always had. On the contrary, we believe God wants to change us, that he has the power to change us, and that he is changing us. Yes, it’s true that God accepts us completely, just as we are. But it’s also true that he isn’t willing to leave us just as we are. He wants to change us, through and through, top to bottom. He wants to shape and strengthen our character; he wants to clean the muck out of our souls; he wants to rework our values and priorities; he wants to give us wisdom and insight and understanding. What he wants to do is make us more like Jesus Christ. Listen to these verses from the hand of Paul the apostle:
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." - 2 Corinthians 3:18
We are being transformed into the likeness of Christ! I like the way the New Living Translation renders this verse: "… as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory more and more." That’s the goal. Not that we will lose our unique personalities, or become little cookie-cutter Christians. That’s not what God wants. If you’re concerned about that, just consider the incredible variety of creation: the thousands of different species of insects, and plants, and animals; everything from ants to panda bears to hammerhead sharks. We serve a God who loves diversity, not a God who wants everything to be the same.
But he does want to change us, for the better. That process began on the day when we first trusted in Christ, and it will continue throughout our lives.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
– 2 Corinthians 5:17
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy . . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." – Philippians 1:6
And so transformation is not just a core value for this church. It’s a core value for the Christian life. This is what God intends for every believer. Being a follower of Christ means that you keep learning, and keep growing, and keep changing your whole life long. It’s a journey that will be complete only when Christ returns. Until that time, we are all works in progress. As Paul wrote even of himself:
"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." – Philippians 3:12-14, NLT
I hope this sounds like good news to you. I hope you hear this promise of change as something wonderful; something to be anticipated with joy and hope. Because it is wonderful. It means that we can be better than we are. That this is not as good as it gets. Wherever you are spiritually – whether you’re a newcomer to the faith or a mature saint – you can go farther, and deeper, with God; you can see Him do greater things in your life than you have seen thus far. Whatever your experience in the Christian life has been, God is saying to you today, "I’m just getting started. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet."
Let me put it another way. Most of the adults in this room are a bit past our physical prime. Sad, but true. I’m not even sure I HAD a physical prime. Maybe a couple of weeks there in 1979. But since then, it’s all been downhill. Just this year, I started noticing that I had to hold the newspaper a little farther away in order to read it. Last week, the woman at the salon complimented me on my "full head of hair," and I just knew she was lying. Every day, it gets grayer and thinner. My high school yearbook photo – now THAT was a full head of hair. I looked like Farrah Fawcett. But those days are gone. Yes, diet and exercise can help, and the drugstores are full of pills and potions promising to restore youthfulness and vigor, but they’re only delaying the inevitable decline. Now, fortunately, my mental faculties are still as sharp as . . . what was I talking about? Oh, right. But it doesn’t matter. Not really. Because in the realm of what’s truly important – eternally important – decline is not inevitable. In fact, just the opposite. As Paul puts it:
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." – 2 Corinthians 4:16
The changes God wants to make in our lives are good ones. We know that. Still, it’s human nature to be apprehensive about changes, even positive ones. There may be things in your life that you readily admit are not as they should be. Perhaps a heart attitude of resentment and bitterness toward some person who wounded you. You know it’s wrong, but you can’t seem to get over it. Or maybe you’re experiencing some unhealthy fear and anxiety. Or it could be a tendency to anger and rage that you’d like to overcome. I’m sure each of us could name a dozen things we’d like to see changed in ourselves. The problem is that even when we recognize our need for change, we may still be reluctant to actually make the change. And what do we do about that? After all, it’s not much good to hear a sermon on how to change, if we’re unwilling or unable even to begin.
And so that’s what I want to talk about. Not the process of change itself, but what has to precede it, the decision to change. Why does this matter? Because positive change is not automatic. It’s not a matter of God doing everything while we just go along for the ride. Nor is it a matter of us taking matters into our own hands and doing it all ourselves. It’s a cooperative effort between us and God.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." – Romans 12:2
The verb tense here is passive, indicating that it’s something God does to us, yet it’s in the form of an imperative; a command, which means that it’s also something we do. "Be transformed."
"[C]ontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." – Philippians 2:12-13
Now, when we see the words "work" and "salvation" in the same sentence, warning lights start to flash, because we believe in salvation by grace, and not by works. Yet here Paul puts them together. Why? Well, let me explain. What he is not saying is that we need to earn forgiveness, or merit a right standing with God. Those things happen once for all when we first trust in Christ. God does them to us and for us. Our only part is to accept them as a free gift. No work involved. We are changed; we are brought to life spiritually; we are made righteous and holy in God’s sight. But it’s not because of any good works done by us; it’s due solely to what Christ did for us. His sacrifice paid the penalty for our sins. He gave Himself as our substitute on the cross. And when we believe in Him; when we receive Him by faith as Savior and Lord, we are forgiven, forever. We have eternal life, forever. Nothing else from us is required. Am I clear on that? Good.
However, that’s not the end. God doesn’t stop there. Because the instant we come to faith, we enter a new phase of salvation, called "sanctification." And that’s what Paul is referring to in this verse: sanctification, the lifelong process of transformation that God intends for each of us. And that phase does involve our work. We have to labor, and strive, and persevere, if we’re going to experience positive spiritual change. And while we are exerting our wills and acting, God is working in us to will and to act. It’s a cooperative effort. And because it’s a cooperative effort, we can sabotage it. We can ignore God’s call; we can turn a deaf ear to his voice. We have a choice. We can cooperate, or we can resist. And often, to our detriment, we choose to resist.
Why are we so reluctant to make even positive changes? (1) Well, usually there is some benefit to maintaining the status quo, no matter how miserable we are, and no matter how desirable the change may be. After all, there was some reason why we went down that road in the first place. Take resentment, as an example. It almost always hurts us more than the other person. The bitterness poisons us, instead of them. In fact, they may be blissfully unaware that we are nursing a grudge against them. If that’s so, then what’s the point? Why do we do it? Perhaps because hatred gives us a feeling of strength, and letting go of the hate would make us feel weak, and helpless, and victimized. Perhaps because feeling hatred helps anesthetize us against feeling the pain they’ve caused us. Or perhaps there’s another reason. But usually, there is some emotional payoff motivating even our most self-destructive behaviors. If not, we would have already changed. (2) Not only that, but change means uncertainty. It means loss. Even good changes involve some kind of loss. Getting married means losing the freedoms of singlehood. Getting a better job means leaving the friends at your old job. And so anticipating loss can make us slow to change. (3) Another roadblock to change is fear of the unknown, or fear of the pain involved in the process of change. (4) And sometimes pride gets in the way. We don’t want to admit that we need to change. (5) Finally, there’s just plain old inertia. We get in a rut. Even though we know we need to change, we’re not quite uncomfortable enough yet to actually do it.
There’s an episode in the gospels in which Jesus comes across a man in need of healing. Listen and note carefully the question he asks.
"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked." – John 5:1-9
This seems like a pretty ridiculous question. Of course he wanted to get well! He’d been crippled for thirty-eight long years! But as always, Jesus shows deep insight as he interacts with this man. Certainly, it was a great inconvenience to be crippled. Unable to walk, to care for oneself, to earn a living. And yet, it was the only life this man knew. As an invalid, and probably therefore a beggar, he at least knew what was expected of him. He had a place in society. He had friends there at the pool. But once he was healed, his world would be completely changed. All the things which others had done for him he would now have to do for himself. He would have to leave the pool and his disabled friends, find a job, make a living, build a new life. Many difficulties and uncertainties lay before him. Now, these are tradeoffs that almost anyone would be happy to make, but tradeoffs nonetheless.
Let me suggest that Christ is putting the same question to you this morning. "Do you want to get well?" Think about it. Think about the one thing in yourself that you would most like to see changed. Not what you desire to see changed in your circumstance, or in some other person, but in yourself. And then ask yourself, do I really want freedom from this sin, this character flaw, this destructive pattern of behavior? Do I really want to grow in this area? Your first response might be to say, "Of course I do! Of course I want to change!" But do you, really? Because change is going to cost you something, and you need to count the cost before you begin the journey. You need to look into your heart and ask, "Why am I doing this? What’s the benefit? What’s the payoff?" And then, "What am I going to lose if I make this change? What is it I don’t want to give up? What am I afraid of?" At minimum, change is going to cost you the security of having things stay the same. It may cost you some peace, in the short run. It may cost you some pride. But it will cost. Make sure you’re willing to pay that cost.
Change is not free. But it’s worth it. I can guarantee that the cost of following Christ is insignificant compared to what you will gain. I can say with absolute certainty that obedience will always be worth whatever price we must pay. What did Paul say?
"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ." – Philippians 3:8, NLT
Knowing Christ is worthy any cost. But still, there is a cost. And so you have a choice. You can stay just where you are, holding on to what you’ve known, even though it’s making you miserable, even though you long for something better. Or you can say to Christ, "I want to get better. I want more of the abundant life you promised me. I don’t care what it costs. I’ll give up anything you require; I’ll do whatever you ask; just change me." That is the attitude of a true disciple; that’s the attitude that God requires. And when we finally come to Him on that basis, yielding ourselves up to him as clay to the potter’s hands, then he can begin to work with us, to mold us into something strong and beautiful. And we will never be the same again.
All right. That’s the beginning of the process. Embracing the need for change, desiring the change, determining to submit to God as he makes the change.
In closing, I want to focus our thoughts on what’s to come. Listen to these promises:
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." – 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
"Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure." – 1 John 3:3, NLT
None of us will reach perfection in this life. Even Paul didn’t claim that for himself. We will all struggle, all our lives, with sin and weakness. We will all know failure as well as victory. But someday, our transformation will be complete. Someday, Christ will return. And when that day comes, we will be changed. Utterly, irreversibly, gloriously. No more struggle with sin. No more weakness or weariness. No more sorrow, or tears of regret. But only joy unending. For we will be like Christ, and we will be with Christ, forever and ever.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
