Sermon Cloud

Glorious Change: (Part I)

SET FOR CHANGE

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
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.

Romans 8:28-29 (NIV)
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

            The Bible explicitly claims that genuine faith in Christ produces a changed life. The apostle Paul himself who experienced the changing power of God declared in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  In other words, the people who really have been saved are people who are changing.

            After our series on Celebrity religion, wherein we examined the religions of Oprah, Tom Cruise and Madonna, I felt that the next series should be on practical holiness. You see, it is easy for anyone to talk about his or her religion, but everyone who does it must recognize that he or she must have the life to validate it.      

            Here’s a good example. Many of you have probably heard about Charles Colson. He was known to be the most brutal, ruthless, presidential aide to Richard Nixon’s political team. Within that administration, he was considered the “evil genius.” In 1974, however, Colson’s whole world came crashing down. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Watergate case and served seven months at Maxwell Federal Prison in Georgia. He was shamed before the whole world.

            In the midst of that, Chuck Colson found a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As he went into prison and began to share and grow in his faith, many people thought that it was just a big joke, and it’s not going to last. But Chuck proved them wrong. He said, “I don’t just want to be saved, I don’t just want to be forgiven, I want to be changed.” He has been changed and he emerged as one of the greatest Christian leaders in our world today. His life is touching hundreds of thousands of men and women in prison every year through Prison Fellowship. He has remained to be tireless in his effort to proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ. And he continues to impact the whole world.

            How about you? Is your faith being validated by change? Because the truth is: A faith that saves is a faith that changes. Unfortunately, many today don’t get this. What do I mean? According to a Gallup poll, nine of ten Americans say they pray daily, and 84 million Americans – almost a third of the population – say they have made a personal commitment to Christ as Savior. But as William Iversion writes, “A pound of meat would surely be affected by a quarter pound of salt. If this is real Christianity, ‘the salt of the earth,’ where is the effect of which Jesus spoke?”

            Something is not right, and perhaps it would help if we take the time to examine our kind of Christianity. For this month, our theme is Glorious Change, and our key text is 2 Corinthians 3:18 where the apostle Paul teaches about spiritual transformation. The word comes from the Greek where we get our English word metamorphosis. In biology, this refers to a change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, such as the transformation of the caterpillar into an adult butterfly.

            Spiritually speaking, transformation is a glorious experience. If you examine the verse, it literally suggests that those who are in Christ are being changed into the likeness of God that the people around them would see the glow of His presence shining out from within them. The context of that passage is Exodus 34, when Moses stayed in the presence of God for several days. Coming down from Mount Sinai, his face was so bright that the people had to put a veil to cover it. Evidently, for Moses the glow or the glory was the natural result of his close communion with God.

            I believe God wants the very same thing to happen to us. He wants us to “ever increase” in His glory. So for this morning, I would like to establish some foundational truths and share to you some key elements of true spiritual transformation. Let’s begin with:

 I          THE AIM: (Romans 8:28-29)

            We often love to quote Romans 8:28 that God will work all things for good, but we often neglect the last part – called according to His purpose. Yes, God is going to work all things for good only those things, which fit with His purpose. So when things in my life are not working out for good, is it possible that I haven’t connected my life with His purpose? Maybe I’m still trying to get everything to work together for the good of my purpose.

            But, what do you think is God’s purpose for us? God has not left us to guess the answer on our own. In verse 29, He clearly states His ultimate aim for all His children – “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” Clearly, God is telling us that He’s looking for only one thing from you and me: To be just like Jesus Christ.

            I think we really need to clarify this. I’m afraid there are a lot of believers who have the wrong ideas with regards to what God is trying to accomplish in their lives.  Let me remind everyone that God’s goal is not about our happiness. It’s not about having a great job, or a perfect health. It’s not about having a wonderful family. Those are wonderful benefits, and can be a part of our blessings in the Lord. But we should be clear that God’s aim for His children is Christlikeness. Meaning, it’s being conformed to the character of Christ, whereby His values and conduct will become a part of our humanity. And sometimes to accomplish this, He will need to discipline us or correct us:

Hebrews 12:10 (NIV)
¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

            The good news for us is that God is actively involved in the process of transformation. With His power, He can take all the pieces of our lives – the good, the bad, the ugly – and orchestrate them together for good, for our maximum benefit and abundant life.  The Bible assures us that at the end of the day, we will be God’s masterpieces:

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
¹⁰ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

            Take that word workmanship. Literally, it means masterpiece. We are God’s work of art. Originally, when God created us, we were the most glorious of all creation because He gave us His very own image. But sin destroyed that. We lost our beauty or glory. When you and I surrendered our lives to Jesus, God has begun His perfect work in us and He’s determined to restore His very image in us. We should be sensitive in how He is molding us, and freely allow Him to do what He needs to do so we can be more glorious in His sight.  As we increase in His image, we will also increase in giving Him glory. For in His image, we fulfill our ultimate purpose – to give Him glory:

Isaiah 43:7 (NIV)
⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

II         THE AGENT: (2 Corinthians 3:18)

            Change is never easy. It is always difficult and sometimes painful. Praise the Lord because our transformation does not largely depend on us, but on God’s own Holy Spirit. Notice our key text - 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.         

            The Holy Spirit being a part of the Trinity possesses equal powers with the Father and the Son. Today, He resides in our lives so He can assist us in all our struggles with sinful nature. Do you have any idea how significant this is for us as believers? Allow me to explain.

            A short time before Jesus went to the cross, Jesus promised His disciples:

John 14:16-17 (NIV)
¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--
¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

I’m sure everyone of us would agree that if Jesus is with us personally or physically, He could help us do a better job when it comes to living the Christian life. He knew that beforehand. So, He decided to be with us in the person of the Holy Spirit. He was given to us so we can learn and apply the Word of God, so we can have the power to overcome our sins, and so we can go out and make a difference in the world around us.

In addition, because the Holy Spirit lives in us, our transformation begins from the inside. His focus is on changing the inner you. You see, there are some people who believe that change can come by:

· Having the right environment

·       Having the right motivations/incentives

·       Having the right rules

·       Having the right education

Unfortunately, in all of these, change is shallow. Only God can truly change the heart. Paul had recognized this truth:

Romans 7:24-25 (NIV)
²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
²⁵ Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

            If you study the background of this passage, Paul was talking about his personal struggle of sin, which is present in his body. In a way, He expressed his frustration in verse 24 because even in his best efforts, he was not able to change his sinful behavior. But, in verse 25, he acknowledged that God is there to deliver him. Knowing we have the Holy Spirit in us,  the question now for us is: Would you allow Him to change you?

III        THE ALLEGIANCE: (Philippians 1:6) 

            Lastly, I would like to end this message reminding us that God is committed to finish the work of transformation:

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
⁶ 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.

            How many of you have experienced being abandoned in the middle of a project? I’m sure it was so frustrating. I’m glad to tell you that God promised to stay until the His masterpieces are finished, until He has completed our transformation into the image of His Son, Jesus. What would happen if He did quit? Here’s the problem:

Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

            According to this verse, there is no way we can enter heaven and see the Lord without holiness. This is the reason why God is not stopping His work in us until the very last day that we are on earth. It’s the process of transformation, and it is the only way to produce holiness.

            Beloved, if you know Jesus, you are set to change. I trust that you are ready to commit yourself to full cooperation with the work of transformation that God wants to do in you.