[Some thoughts adapted from Max Lucado's book 'Just Like Jesus'.]
Makeovers are the IN thing today. People from all walks of life are trying to look better.
• There is a reality TV programme called “Extreme Makeover” that shows ordinary men and women undergoing ‘makeovers’ – changing their looks through hairstyling, make-up and clothing, or exercise regimens and even plastic surgery.
• Each episode ends with the participants' return to their families and friends, showing the reactions of their loved ones, who were not allowed to see the incremental changes during the period of absence.
• We also had a local show called “Home Makeover” where designers and renovators work together to transform actual homes, usually homes of the poor and marginalised. The new looks can really surprise the family.
God is also in the makeover business.
• His kind of makeover is extreme – He takes the very worst of who we are, heals and restores us to become just like Jesus on this earth.
• We are made into a NEW creation (2 Cor 5:17), but this is just the start. He is transforming us from the INSIDE out.
• In order words, if you do not like what you see on the OUTSIDE – your behaviour, attitude or conduct - we need to ask God to show us what is happening on the INSIDE.
• Something is keeping you from being all you are called to be. This is the objective of this series – an examination of our heart.
God works on the INSIDE. Men can only work on the OUTSIDE. God fashions your heart.
• It is not enough for Him to own you; He wants to change you.
• If the Lord dwells in our heart, then He will beautify the place and decorate it up. After all, this is His house. No expense is spared, no corners are cut.
• He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (cf. Phil 1:6)
God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be JUST LIKE JESUS.
• This might explain why we are facing challenges and experiencing some discomfort in your life – you are a ‘work-in-progress’.
• Remodelling of the heart is not pleasant. Any surgery is a discomfort.
SEEING THE DENTIST
C.S. Lewis relates, “When I was a child, I often had a toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother, she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother - at least not till the pain became very bad.
And the reason I did not go was this: I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist the next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from my pain; but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists; I knew they would start fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache.”
Our Lord is like the dentist. Many go to Him to be cured of some particular problem. We want a simple aspirin and quick relief of pain.
• Yes, God will cure the problem, but He will not stop there. God is not content to simply remove the pain.
• He wants to deal with the true problem – your heart. And He will not be finished until we are fully “conformed to the likeness of His Son.” (Rom 8:29). The verse says we are predestined for this.
• Your Creator is remaking you into the image of Christ. This is His desire.
SO IMAGINE THIS WITH ME - for one day, Jesus was to become you.
• For the next 24 hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, and assumes your schedule? Your lecturer becomes his lecturer, your boss becomes his boss, and your stress becomes his stress?
• Nothing in your life is different. Your body is the same. Your circumstances remain unchanged. Your problems are still there. BUT ONE THING IS CHANGED – YOU HAVE TAKEN ON CHRIST’S HEART.
• Jesus lives your life WITH HIS HEART. Your life is directed by the heart of Christ.
• His priorities govern your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behaviour.
What would it be like? What would YOU be like? Would people notice a change? Will your family see something new? Your colleagues – would they sense a difference?
• What about you? How would you feel? Will this transplant change your stress level, your mood or your temper or your interest?
• With Jesus taking over your heart, would anything change?
We want to work on this over the next 2 months in this series JUST LIKE HIM.
• We want to look at Jesus and adjust the lens of our imagination until we get a clear picture of Him leading our lives.
• Phil 2:5 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…” Chinese version uses ‘your HEART should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…’
If you were a car, God would want control of your engine. If you were an airplane, He would take His seat in the cockpit. But you are a person, so God wants to change your heart.
• God’s plan for you is nothing short of a CHRIST heart. My heart must beat as Christ’s heart – with the same passions, desires, motivations and loves.
• We have already started on this journey the moment we accept Christ as our Saviour, because He has taken resident in our heart and doing His makeover.
Why is this process so slow? Why aren’t all believers living exactly like Christ today?
• There are TWO reasons for this. Read…
Eph 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
(1) We need to CHOOSE transformation – it must be INTENTIONAL
It has to do with a conscious choice to ‘put off’ and ‘put on’ – dropping the old and taking up the new. It has to do with the attitude of the mind.
• The transformation is not a one-off thing; it is not a sprint, but a marathon.
• It is a daily, consistent choice to ‘put off’ and ‘put on’; the deliberate choice to choose godly attitudes and ways over ours.
The transformation process is not passive; it is proactive, and it involves us.
• It is not something that simply happens to you but something that you choose to happen. We must honour God with our choices, both in private and in public.
• We make decisions every day, countless of them. Each time you choose to BE like Christ and DO things like Christ, you are a step closer to His likeness.
(2) We need to COOPERATE with God – it must be SPIRITUAL
2 Cor 3:18 “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.”
It has to do with our relationship with Jesus. Anything short of that will not do.
• We need to understand the truth of what Jesus said in John 15: “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”
• Ultimately lasting change does not come through a good programme or good counselling. It comes from Him.
• Time spent with God opens our heart to the work of God’s Spirit.
Max Lucado shared this story:
A lady had a small house on the seashore of Ireland at the turn of the century. She was quite wealthy but also quite frugal. The people were surprised, then, when she decided to be among the first to have electricity in her home. (Cost money)
Several weeks after the installation, a meter reader appeared at her door. He asked if her electricity was working well, and she assured him it was.
“I’m wondering if you can explain something to me,’ he said. “Your meter shows scarcely any usage. Are you using your power?”
“Certainly,” she answered. “Each evening when the sun sets, I turn on my lights just long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.”
She has tapped into the power but doesn’t use it. Her house is connected but not altered.
• Many Christians are in such a state today – connected but not altered.
• We have our souls saved but our hearts unchanged. We occasionally flip the switch, but most of the time we settle for shadows.
What would happen if we left the light on? What would happen if we live constantly in the light? Isn’t that great, to have every one of us here living just like Christ?
• The same God who saved your soul longs to remake your heart.
• Time spent to nurture your relationship with God is crucial.
• Moses spent 40 days alone with the Lord and his face shines. It was radiant for a long time (Exo 34) and he had to put a veil over his face. The people saw and knew that he had been with God.
CONCLUSION:
Suppose the Formula 1 race has 30 laps. You are one of the excellent driver and you get to the head of the pack.
At the 25th lap you have a comfortable lead, so you pull into the pit-stop. You get out of the car and start shaking hands with those around and talking about what a great race it was. Something is wrong? You shouldn’t be celebrating yet? You will get fired!
The race is not over until all 30 laps are completed! That’s the goal.
It is not finished until God says it is finished.
• Our goal is not be to become religious. It is not be to be well-respected. It should not even be to become a leader in the church.
• Our goal should be to be like Christ. Our challenge is to follow Him more closely today than we did yesterday and more closely tomorrow than we did today.
• If we lose sight of the goal, we will stop before the finish line. No wonder the average Christian lives no differently from an unbeliever.
REMEMBER – it is intentional and spiritual
1. Transformation comes because you CHOOSE it. You want to.
2. Transformation happens because you COOPERATE with God. You are serious about your relationship with Him. You are committed to it.
THINK THROUGH
• How is your heart condition today? On a scale of 1-10, how close would you say it reflects the heart of Christ?
• How is your power usage, on a scale of 1-10? How much of His light do you reflect today?
