No Pain, No Gain

Intro

When I was in the service, specifically basic training, the purpose was to mold me into a soldier.

To take a mind that didn’t think like a soldier and reshape it to think like one. To take a body that didn’t move and perform like a soldier and re-mold it to do so.

But this wasn’t an easy process. It took time, training, and pain. Both mentally and physically.

Pain was just part of the process and there really was no way to avoid it. Even the most physically fit among us experienced the grueling pain of pushing our bodies to their breaking point at times.

The most mentally tough among us experienced the mental exhaustion that came from a lack of sleep and being put in positions to think critically and decisively about a challenge.

And as we experienced that pain our Drill SGTs used to tell us to embrace the suck. Enjoy the pain because pain was nothing more than weakness leaving the body.

And wouldn’t you know it, that in the end, through the pain, change happened.

Sure enough our minds and bodies were conformed and molded into that of a soldier. But that change didn’t come about without pain and discomfort.

Put another way, maybe you have heard the phrase, “no pain, no gain”.

This phrase stresses the idea that growth comes about painfully, through hard work and sacrifice.

This is certainly true for physical growth, but the same thing can be said about growing as a Christian.

Do any of us like growth and change when it is painful? Most of us would probably say no.

I think the reason we are so cautious of change and growth is because we are conditioned to avoid pain and seek what feels good.

If it feels good, then eat it, take it, or do it.

If it feels bad, then spit it out, get rid of it, or avoid it.

Last week we started a new series titled “I’ll do it tomorrow”. The phrase that many of us say when we want to avoid doing something.

And the something we are focusing on is change. Change is hard and many of us tend to avoid it. But as we discussed last week, it is inevitable.

Either we will be intentional and make changes in our lives that draw us closer to God, or we will allow changes to draw us further from him.

We are always moving in one of those two directions, never staying where we are.

So I hope that I established last week the need for make the right kids of changes. This morning I want to look more specifically at what those changes should look like.

Power in the Text

Paul, in his letter to the Church in Rome addresses the idea that change isn’t easy. That it is a process that requires a person to undergo a transformation that is only possible through pain and discomfort.

Romans 12:1-2 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 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.

Here Paul is pleading with the reader to do something. I don’t know about you but when someone is pleading, they are doing so because they believe that what they want you to do is up the utmost importance.

He is pleading, urging, admonishing Christians here to give their bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice.

What does this mean? Does this mean that we sacrifice our lives, deprive ourselves of comfort, live joyless, painful existences?

No, not at all. To understand what he means, one must understand the Old Testament practice of offering animal sacrifices as worship to God.

These sacrifices we done with animals that had been raised for this specific purpose and set apart from all other livestock.

They were to be the best of the best, perfect in every way. The Bible describes them as being without defect, spot, or blemish.

Only these animals were worthy of being sacrifice. A set apart offering for a set apart, Holy God.

Here Paul is saying to the believers in this Church that it is of the utmost importance that they offer their lives as living sacrifices.

Meaning that unlike the animals of the Old Testament who had to lose their lives as an act of worship, as New Testament Christians our sacrifice isn’t one of death but life.

Our act of worship is to live, but to do so in a set apart, or Holy way.

Paul is saying that they way we worship God is to live differently than everyone else around us. In fact he says this is truly the way to worship him.

He goes onto to describe how this set apart, holy life is possible.

Don’t act like the world.

Don’t copy their behavior and customs. The world’s way of doing things runs in complete contradiction to God’s.

In order to worship him, our lives should look nothing like the world

Instead, let God transform you into, not a better version of yourself, not a cleaned up version of yourself, but into an entirely new creation.

How, by change the way you think.

Big Idea/Why it Matters

That’s it isn’t it. Change is more than just adjusting our actions. If that is all change is, then it won’t last. Change, for it to last, must first take place in the mind.

Out actions are nothing more than extensions of what we think. If our minds still value the things of this world and the way the world lives then our actions will demonstrate that fact.

But if our minds value the things of God and place his will at the top of our priority list then likewise, our actions will demonstrate that fact.

The goal of the Christian life is not just to go to heaven some day. The goal of the Christian life is not to be a good person. The goal is not even to learn as much as can about God.

While all good things, the ultimate goal of the Christian life is to reflect Jesus. But this is only possible through change. And more specifically through a specific type of change we call sanctification.

Sanctification is defined as a separation to God. Sanctification begins when we come to faith in Jesus and God sets us apart as his Children.

However, sanctification is also progressive and ongoing as God continues to transform us from the inside out so we can reflect Jesus to the world more and more.

Paul in chapter 12 of Romans in verses 3-14 goes on to describe some of the changes that are expected as we go through the sanctification process. As we are transformed by changing how we think.

verse 3 Don’t think you are better than you really are

verse 5 We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other

verses 6-8 he goes only describe some of the gifts of the spirit that he desires all believers to exercise in some capacity or another.

verses 9-14 NLT 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

None of what I just read to you is possible unless we allow God to change the way we think.

But understand something, the kind of change I am talking about doesn’t happen in an instant. There is no “microwave spirituality”, which means growth takes time and effort.

Its like the difference between fast food and a home-cooked meal.

Fast food is quick and will temporarily fill your stomach, but it’s highly processed, unhealthy, and nowadays, fairly expensive.

But a home-cooked meal, one made in an oven, or in my case a smoker, gives the food time to marinate and absorb all of the flavor.

Yes, it takes for time, more effort, maybe even more frustration, but in the end it’s worth it, and it typically better for you.

Application/Closing

Sanctification is the lifelong growth of the believer, with all the complexities and messiness that entails.

For modern Christianity, easy answers are the norm. But sanctification is not easy. It relies on trust, community, and an ongoing work of the Spirit.

Romans 8:11-13 NLT 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

The Spirit renews and transforms believers from the inside out. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives inside every believer.

Sanctification is not “behavior management” but a transformation of a person at the core.

Instead of changing only the behavior, God changes our thoughts, emotions, and habits. By the power of the Spirit, believers “put to death” sin and unrighteousness.

But what does this look like practically speaking.

One way Christians can grow in Christ is to cultivate spiritual disciplines.

Prayer, service, study, and meditation are just a few of the practices Christians have used for centuries to cultivate spiritual growth.

Theologian Richard Foster describes the importance of these disciplines, saying, “Disciplines do not earn us favor with God or measure spiritual success. They are exercises which equip us to live fully and freely in the present reality of God—and God works with us, giving us grace as we learn and grow”

We are going to spend some time in a future message in this series talking more about spiritual disciplines.

But for this morning I am focused more the fact that as we look at our lives and we consider the changes we are embracing or avoiding, do they draw us closer to God and cause us to better reflect His Son?

The question you have to answer for yourself is will you allow your life to be changed to reflect Jesus.

Only you can make it. Your parents can’t make it for you, your spouse can’t make it for you, your Christian friends can’t make it for you. Only you can decide if you are willing to be changed.

Next week we are going to talk about the danger or putting that decision off until its too late.