Be Transformed
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intro
intro
foundation for living the Christian life
and some prep for God’s Master Plan for the Family
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God
at the end of the last chapter, Paul has been sharing how great and merciful God is
I urge you - I am pleading to you, implore you, beseeching you(KJV)
brethren - CHRISTIAN brothers and sisters: talking to people who say they are saved
by the mercies of God
because God has been so merciful to you
because God has given us grace through faith in his son Jesus
what as I asking?
to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice
I am begging Christians to present their bodies as a living and holy sacrifice
bodies - in other words, present your whole self, not a part, not some, not a percentage. . . . but all of you
not the hokey pokey, where you put your right arm in, you take your right are out
put your whole self in and stay there
a living and holy sacrifice - live a life of sacrifice, a life that will be holy (different from the world)
live a life of sacrifice, that will be different from the lives others are living
I am begging you to live differently
acceptable to God - life a life that is acceptable to God, well pleasing to God
not pleasing to family, friends . . . but to God
Which is your spiritual service of worship
If you really want to worship God, then live sacrificially for God
Do you want to worship God? - then live holy
Note: that’s a big ask - live MY life for God (full of sacrifices, different from most people)
but it’s not more than what God has given us, done for us
that’s why it started out “by the mercies of God” . . . we have more than enough reasons to sell out completely for God
Example of a parent: Since I pay for your shelter, cellphone, internet, electric, gas, water, food, clothes - the least you can do is clean up your room
to an immature kid it sounds like a lot, to an adult it sounds like a great deal
your view of this is a good measure of your maturity
this holy and sacrificial living does not make you saved, but it is something I
urge you to do since you are saved
and often we read all of this and say . . .
I will go to church a lot
I will give some money
I will try to be nicer than most
if I am married, I will try to stay faithful to my spouse
if I am single, I will try not to sleep with too many people
if passa assigns me a special task for the church, I will try to complete it . . .
and I will pray more . . . try to cuss less
I will make those adjustments in my life. . . . that’s different/better than most people
and if we read it at this level, we end up with a lifestyle that is half godly and half ungodly, and not even realize it
that’s why the next verse says . . . .
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
and - something else I am pleading with you to do, something that help you with that sacrificial and holy life.
do not be conformed to this world
don’t let the ways of the world shape you and make you
if you let it, the world will mold slowly but surely over time
you’re just walking through life and one day find yourself in lock-step with the world
cause the world has its way
its view of things
its set of morals
its priorities
we are surrounded by it
schools teach it
entertainment teaches it
society teaches it
friends and family teach it
social media shares it
and on top of that, the world’s way often very appealing, and full of things you want to hear
so it’s easy to receive, believe, and live by
the world has its way
but God has his way . . . and His was and the world’s way are NOT compatible, in fact in most areas they are total opposites
The world says worship the creature - God says worship the Creator
the world says have pride vs God says have humility
The world says indulge yourself - God says deny yourself
The world says we each have our own truth - God says He is the truth
the worlds says do what makes you happy - God says do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight
the world says just be you, God says you must be born again
in the world’s religions, man is reaching up to God - in God’s religion, he reaches down to us
so we are urged to NOT conform to the world’s way, system, set of beliefs
don’t give in to the behaviors and customs of this world
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind
a transformation needs to occur - transform from the world’s way to God’s way
transformation: not some adjustments, few changes, or a couple of edits, a small alteration, modification, fine-tuning, or a tweak here and there
but a transformation - big change, total redo, full conversion, greek word is related to metamorphosis (root of the greek word . . . catepillar to a butterfly)
I urge you, Christian, to make a life transforming change
how? Where does it start?
by the renewing of your mind
get a new mind
renew is an active word, not passive
so make a conscious effort to get a new mind
don’t just hope that it happens
get to work on your mind/thinking
first, what . . . do . . . you . . . . believe? about God, life, death, purpose, priorities, marriage, children, church, race relations, and every hot topic of the day
Now, WHY do you believe what you believe? Take inventory and be honest with yourself. and you will find that you believe some things because
that’s the popular and prevailing thought
you had a bad experience that made you feel that way
that’s the belief system of your culture
that’s the ideology of your nation
your circle of family and friends influenced you
you just thought about it, and you came up with that conclusion
Then take the time, make the effort to learn what the God says about those things - what God says about himself, life, death, purpose, priorities, marriage, children, church, race relations, and every hot topic of the day
Then accept in your mind with the things that are in agreement with God’s word, and reject anything that goes against God’s word
if popular thought is in agreement too, that’s a bonus
if the belief system of your culture is in agreement, that’s just a bonus
if it agrees with your logical conclusions, that’s just a bonus
renew your mind - take out the world stuff and put in God’s stuff
transformation by the right information
note: some of it will be so contrary to your former beliefs that you will have to trust that God knows more about his creation than you do
Commercial - you can learn what the Word of God says through sermons, Bible Study, reading the scripture, searching the scripture, asking someone who knows the scriptures . . . all the while praying to God for understanding
renew your mind . . .
so that you may prove what the will of God is
we have so many thoughts that have been put in our minds . . . beliefs, understandings, theories, philosophies, viewpoints, convictions, values, rules to live by, priorities, realities
when you renew your mind you will be able to determine which ones line up with the will of God
cause many of them feel and sound kinda right . . . but they are so wrong
ex. My happiness is the most important thing . . . sounds good, but so wrong
But the Bible says in Colossians 1:16b that all things have been created through him and for him
Ecclesiastes says the conclusion of what is important in life is to fear God and keep his commandments, that’s our duty
so No, your happiness is not the most important thing, you were created for God, to serve God . . . in reality, His happiness is the most important thing in your life
but if you don’t know that, you go around making decisions based on what you think will make you happy, but you won’t be truly happy because you are not fulfilling your created purpose
you want real happiness, lasting joy? Do what you were made to do . . . be a living sacrifice for God
The word of God proves what God’s will is - you must line everything up next to the God’s word
that’s the litmus test
that’s the standard
that’s the lie detector
and when you do that you will know
that which is good and acceptable and perfect
good - actually good, not looks good or feels good for a time, but good
a lot of people don’t know what’s good, and they will even support what’s detrimental to them and their families
they will mistakenly champion that which is absolutely wrong
but if you renew your mind with the word, you will know what’s good
and acceptable - you will know what is pleasing to God , since that’s our purpose, and what is . . .
perfect - perfect means complete, when you renew your mind, you will have more of a complete picture of life
without God, like having a 1,000 piece puzzle with no picture on the box to help you put it together
with God, it’s like a 100 piece puzzle with the picture on the box
Not exactly a shouting sermon
but don’t miss the significance of the word, “transform”
if you don’t conform to the world, but but renew your mind instead, you will be transformed
transformed from the caterpillar to the butterfly
transformed from barely making it, to abundance
transform from falling apart, to helping someone else keep it together
transform making bad choices to making wise decisions
transform from long term regrets to long term benefits
transform from turmoil to peace
transform from not seeing God work, to seeing God’s power all around you
transform from having no impact, to leaving a lasting legacy
transformation is our thing
because of Jesus, and our trust in his word
we transfromed from sinners to forgiven
outcast to children of the king
transformed from heaven to hell
one day we will transform from corruptible to incorruptible
mortality to immortality
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.