Being Transformed

OPENING

Out with the old and in with the new. We are continuing this week to think about The New Man and the Old. Last week we focused on The Need for Personal Holiness. This week we are going to take things a few steps further and look deeper into how we can ensure that we are presenting our lives to God as holy and acceptable in His sight. There is no greater peace as a child of God than knowing you are in the will of God. If you need some helping finding God’s will for your life, then this message today is for you!

SCRIPTURE

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

MESSAGE

Becoming a Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren

Therefore is a transitional word.

Paul is moving from doctrine to application in the book of Romans.

beseech = “to urge.”

brethren = Paul is writing to Christian believers.

by the mercies of God

His mercies are:

His love,

His grace,

His goodness,

His compassion.

Because of all that Christ has offered us.

Jesus has offered us justification by faith,

Jesus has offered us victory over sin,

Jesus has offered us the promise of no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,

Jesus has offered us the opportunity to be raised to newness of life,

Jesus has offered us access into the family of God through the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry “Abba, Father,”

Jesus has offered us the power to be more than conquerors through Him that loved us, and

Jesus has offered us the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Oh, when I start think about the Lord and His goodness!

When I think about how His mercies fail not!

When I think about how His mercies, His compassions are new and fresh every morning!

When I think about how He saved me!

When I think about how He delivered me!

When I think about how He rescued me!

I can’t help but to have a desire down inside of me:

To love Him,

To want to know more about Him,

To draw closer to Him,

To be more like Him,

To offer Him my life in service to Him.

Because of all that Christ has given to us, there is something we should offer to Him.

that you present your bodies a living sacrifice

present

It means “to offer” or “to place at one’s disposal.”

It carries the idea of giving everything, not holding anything back.

your bodies a living sacrifice

The word bodies here includes our physical bodies, but it also includes everything else.

These temporary, mortal bodies are currently the dwelling place for our souls and our spirits.

So when we present or offer our bodies to the Lord, we don’t hold anything back.

It means we give God 100% of who we are.

It means we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

It means we lay our lives down on the altar of His grace.

It means we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

We don’t offer our lives as a living sacrifice in order to earn our salvation, but because He has already saved us and we want to give our lives back to him in worship and service!

holy, acceptable to God

holy = [hagios] = “set apart for service and dedicated for a specific purpose.”

acceptable = [euarestos] = “something that is well pleasing or satisfying.”

In the OT, the animal sacrifices had to be perfect and spotless. God would not accept an imperfect sacrifice.

That’s why it took the sacrifice of His Son Jesus to satisfy once-and-for-all the payment for sins. Jesus was the perfect, spotless, Lamb of God!

We are not perfect, but our lives should be marked by holiness and should be presented as something that is acceptable to God.

The only way we can accomplish this is by putting on the righteousness of Christ by cooperating with the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to change and transform our lives into something that is pleasing and satisfying to God!

Because we are either pleasing God or grieving God by the way we live.

We should yield our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness!

which is your reasonable service

service = [latreia] = “worship.”

reasonable = [logikos] = “following reason or logical.”

Because of what Jesus has done for us, the only logical or reasonable conclusion that we can come to is that we should dedicate our lives back to Him as living sacrifices.

The idea is that it is expected, but should not have to be forced. It should flow naturally out of our love for Him!

Being Transformed

And do not be conformed to this world

conformed = [suschemaizo] = “a pattern or mold.”

world = [aion] = from where we get our word “eons” - refers to both the physical universe and the ages of time. However, Paul is not just talking about a place or a space of time, he is talking about the ways of the world.

We are not to allow ourselves to be squeezed into the mold of the ways of this world.

We are to come out from among the world and be separate (different).

but be transformed

transformed = [metamorphoo] = “to change to another form” and is where we get our English word metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis is the word used to describe how a caterpillar transitions into a butterfly.

The caterpillar and the butterfly are the same creature. But there is something on the inside of the caterpillar that must come to the outside in order for it to completely be what God designed and called it to be.

The same is true with us as Christians:

God has called us to be His children.

He has saved us by His grace and placed His Holy Spirit on the inside of us.

But there is a change, a metamorphosis, a transformation that needs to take place in order to bring what is holy, righteous, and well-pleasing in the sight of God from the inside to the outside and take over every single part of our being!

transformed = also the same word translated as “transfigured” in relation to Jesus on the mountain.

Peter, James, and John saw Jesus “transfigured” or “changed” on the mountain as the light of His divine glory shown through to the outside of His physical body.

So being transformed is about letting the light of the glory of Christ shine through our lives!

by the renewing of your mind

renewing = [anakainosis] = “to change for the better” or “to renovate.”

mind = [nous] = “our intellect or thoughts.”

In other words, being transformed means we have to change the way we think.

I like the definition of “renovate” used to describe renewing. When you renovate something you rip out the old stuff and throw it away. And you bring in things that are new, that are clean, and that are fresh.

We begin to undergo spiritual metamorphosis when we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to renovate our minds and rip out the old, the ugly, and the outdated and bring in some new, fresh, and clean ideas and thoughts. The Holy Spirit will change the way we think, which will change the way we act, the way we talk, and who we are. The beauty of holiness that is on the inside will show itself on the outside!

Three Steps to Being Transformed

Surrender everything to God.

Separate yourself from the influences of the world.

Saturate your mind daily with the Word of God.

Three Types of People in the Church

Sensual

They think only in the natural.

They avoid the spiritual.

They might be saved, but they are living way below their God-given potential.

Consider them the caterpillar.

Soulish

They are ruled by their intellect, their will, and their emotions.

But they are not ruled by the Holy Spirit and operating in the spiritual realm.

One can be intellectual, but that does not mean they are spiritual.

One can have a strong will, but that does not mean they are spiritual.

Once can have high emotions, but that doesn not mean they are spiritual.

Spiritual

The spiritual person is under completed control of the Holy Spirit.

They allow the Holy Spirit to control their thoughts, their words, their actions.

They are continuously being filled by the Holy Spirit.

Understanding God’s Will

that you may prove

prove = [dokimazo] = “to test or to determine the genuineness of something.”

I don’t know about you, but there is nothing more important in my life than knowing that I am in the will of God.

In fact, I spend a lot of time in prayer asking God for His will, His direction, and His guidance in my personal life and in for the church.

Notice here what Paul is saying. As we are being transformed and allowing the Holy Spirit to take control of our minds, our thoughts, our hearts, He will give us all the proof we need to know the will of God.

what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God

God’s will is always good

Every good thing comes down from Him.

He has thoughts and plans for our lives.

God’s will is always acceptable

We can accept God’s plans because they are good.

He will never lead us to something He has not already prepared us for.

God’s will is always perfect

Don’t try to improve God’s plans.

Just follow and obey.

CLOSING

When we think about all that Jesus has offered to us, it should motivate us to offer our lives to Him as a living sacrifice.

But in order for our lives to be the holy and acceptable sacrifice that God deserves, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the process of being transformed.

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your life?

Is He leading you through the transformation process?

Do you still need to undergo some metamorphosis in certain areas of your life?

Right now in your relationship with God, would you consider yourself Sensual, Soulish, or Spiritual?

If you are anything other than spiritual, are you willing today to surrender everything to God begin the process of being transformed?

Are you currently:

Surrendering everything to God?

Separating yourself from the influences of the world?

Saturating your mind daily with the Word of God?

If you admit there is some room for improvement, why don’t you come to the altar this morning?

ALTAR CALL