TPTC - Week 5 Motivation to Change

Intro

Good morning! It’s so great to be back with you this morning. Jenn and I were in Grapevine Texas all week attending a Pastor’s Conference. I want to say “Thank you” to those of you who were praying for us, texting us, and encouraging us as we were there.

We received some great insight and wisdom on so many things, but more importantly there are times where Jenn and I need to get away and can worship, we can sit and receive, and be poured into by great leaders and men and women of God. I am so thankful for the leaders here that can carry the torch and not miss a step when I am away. So thank you to all the leaders for freeing us to get poured into this week without worrying or feeling guilty that we are not at the church.

I hope you also had a great valentines day with your spouse or significant others.

Valentines Story

I heard about a mother who encouraged her young adult son to invite his new girlfriend over to his apartment for a romantic candlelight dinner. And so he took his moms advice and invited her over for dinner. The next day the mother called her son up and said “Son, how’d your date go last night? The son said “Well mom, it didn’t go so well, she refused to cook!”

So I hope your Valentine Date went better than his did.

For the past four weeks we have been in a series called “The Power to Change.” And I hope that it has been beneficial for you. I hope that you have begun to define who you are not by the mistakes you’ve made or the number of times you have fallen.

We have talked about the fact that we need to take captive our thoughts, and recognize the lies of the devil. We have talked about our identities being defined by who God says we are and not who the enemy says we are.

One of the main things we have talked about if you were here with us is that Real and lasting Change is not behavior modification it is heart transformation.

We have talked about the importance knowing our Spiritual Why because just having a desire to change is not enough. Unfortunately, there are churches all over the world filled with people with great intentions yet not living a life of purpose. Why? Because good intentions are not good enough to bring about heart transformation.

We’ve talked about getting rid of bad habits, and setting ourselves up for success by creating good habits.

Why do we do all of this? Really, when you think about it. Why do we want to be transformed? I mean sure, we want to be healthier, we want to have better relationships, we want to be better with our finances and how we handle money, but in the grand scheme of things what is it all about?

Why do we want a total and complete heart transformation? Because God has called us to Holiness.

If there is one area that the modern church has forgotten about its the fact that we are called out from the world to be pure and Holy.

We’ve become all about love forgot about holiness. Love without Holiness is just an empty form of the gospel.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (CSB)

15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 (CSB)

7 For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness.

Romans 12:1 (CSB)

1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, (Or because God has had mercy on you. Because He was beaten, because he was tortured and died an awful sinners death in your place…because of these things…I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

You’re true worship does not just happen on Sundays…although it includes that. You’re true worship, is the life lived in holiness apart from the sinful culture and world. Listen, when you come to Christ, you die to yourself. You die to your sinful desires. You no longer desire anything except what is pleasing and holy in the sight of Holy God which sent Jesus to pay yours and my penalty for sin.

There is no greater motivation for Holiness than the cross of Christ!

In other words He died for me so I will live for Him!

This morning I want to quickly give you 4 Myths about Biblical Change and then I want to give you some practical steps you can take toward Holiness. If you’re with me, say “Im with you!” Alright! Let’s go

Myth number 1 about Biblical change is this.

1. Life change happens at salvation

Yes, our eternal destination changes

Comedian Yakov Smirnoff says that when he first came to the United States from Russia, he was shocked to see how many things at the grocery store were instant with very little or no prep time need. Listen to what he said:

"On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk - you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice - you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, What a country!"

And it’s funny but in our culture we think change or Biblical sanctification should happen instantly. There are denominations of Christians that actually believe you say a sinners prayer and you automatically become immune to sinning. But that’s not the case.

Sanctification happens over time only by living in complete submission to the Word of God.

Some of you are wanting to instantaneously be transformed into the image of God yet you aren’t willing to be obedient to His Word.

The average Christian wants to pick and choose what they want to obey from the Bible.

I’ll take the love, but I won’t take the creation account. I’ll take the serving one another, but I won’t take God’s plan for one man for one woman in marriage.

I’ll take the giving to the poor but I won’t take the giving back 10 % of my income to the local church.

We pick and choose what we want to obey God instead of believing the whole counsel of God! And then we wonder why we aren’t changing!

So myth number : Life change happens at salvation.

Myth #2

2. Life change continues naturally over time

Oh man! Wouldn’t that be great! The longer you’re a Christian the more like Christ you become. But that’s not true. Honestly I have friends that have come to Christ in the last year and look a lot more like Christ than some of my friends that have been Christians for 50 or more years!

Unfortunately many people in the church today just think as long as they say they are a Christian, that over time they cannot help but grow as if the prescription for growth is time alone. It’s not!

Myth #3

3. Life change is achieved largely by an act of the will.

The idea is that what doesn't happen naturally over time takes place by trying. The harder we try the more we will grow. If we decide to live a certain way and really focus our internal juices a determined behavior will result.This is the belief with time…I can make myself, I can will myself to have life change. And yes the will is involved in heart transformation and Biblical change but there is no amount of will power that can bring about real and genuine change!

Myth #4

4. Life change is best accomplished alone.

In today’s society a personal relationship with Christ has become synonymous with a private relationship with Christ.

I can’t tell you how many people I have talked to over the years that are lone rangers.

Just get alone with God, read my Bible once in a while, listen to a preacher on the radio, watch a sermon once in a while online and life will automatically change. Does it help…it can.

You want to change? You want to have a heart transformation. You want to grow in your relationship with Christ? You want to live a life of holiness looking like Christ?Listen, Holiness will never happen apart from a commitment to the local church!

Now that we know what they myths are about life change I want to give you what I’m calling The Right Formula For Life Change.

If you want to experience the Life that God desires for you, there are Biblical Steps you must take in order to change.

A better way exists and the apostle Paul outlines it in Philippians 2:13-14

Philippians 2:13–14 (CSB)

13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing,

Here Paul explains that the Christian life is not a series of ups and downs. It is a process of ins and outs. And the thought here is that

God works in us while we work out.

It is a partnership involving God, the individual believer, teachers, and fellow believers. It is a process where God works in, we work out, teachers work with, and believers work together. It can be stated in a sentence: And this is our formula today.

Life change begins with God, is about training (not trying), requires teaching, and is a team effort.

What I want to do is walk through this statement a little bit. The first thing we must understand is that the Formula for

A. Life change begins with God.

Most of us have it backwards! We think everything starts with us and is about us and evolves around us. A lot of us if we are honest don’t seek God until we get ourselves into trouble do we. But look what

Ephesians 2:10 (CSB)

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

God has a role in the life change process. We partner with God. You see,

God must work in us before he can work through us.

Anytime someone talks to me about doing great things for God the first thing I want to know is what God is doing in them! Because if God isn’t doing anything in them then God won’t do anything through them.

When we give our life to Christ, our eternal destiny is altered, there is a radical reorientation of priorities, there is a new life purpose, and there is the indwelling Holy Spirit. Rather than instant liberation from every bad habit or character flaw we've ever possessed, however, what takes place is a new partnership with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and As God begins his work in us, he uses Three primary tools for Sanctification (Holiness)

The Bible

Through his Word He teaches us how to live.

A converted cannibal in the South Sea islands was sitting by a large pot reading his Bible when an anthropologist wearing a pith helmet approached him and asked, "What are you doing?"

The native replied, "I'm reading the Bible."

The anthropologist scoffed and said, "Don't you know that modern, civilized man had rejected that book? It's nothing but a pack of lies. You shouldn't waste your time reading it."

The cannibal looked him over from head to toe and slowly replied, "Sir, if it weren't for this book, you'd be in that pot."

The Word of God had changed his life, and his appetite. You see the more you’re in the Bible the more it will change your life. And one of the ways it changes your life is by taking away your hunger for sin!

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

If you are serious about changing your life, you're going to have to live according to the Bible. All of it! What it calls sin, you call sin. What it says to do, you do! You need to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, and apply it.

The second tool God uses is

The Holy Spirit

John 16:8 (CSB)

8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment:

The Holy Spirit provides the power, the conviction, and the direction for life change. The Holy Spirit acts like an internal warning system when we begin to make wrong steps. When we sin He convicts us. When we are to act He prompts us. He gives us wisdom and He illuminates Scripture as we read it.

God's number purpose in life is to make us like Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make the child of God more like the Son of God. Let me say that again. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make the child of God more like the Son of God.

The Third tool God uses is

Our Circumstances

God uses circumstances to change us

The circumstances are the problems, pressures, heartaches, difficulties, and stress of life. Suffering more than anything gets our attention.

C. S. Lewis said that

God whispers to us in our pleasure, but shouts to us in our pain.

The painful circumstances - whether we bring them on ourselves, or other people cause them, or the Devil incites them - are used by God to help us grow in the likeness to His son.

And you may find yourself in a situation this morning that is full painful situation and it’s very likely that the same God who created the world, the same God that knit you together in your mothers womb is working in all your circumstances to bring about change in your life.

Not only does

A. Life change begins with God

but

B. Life change is about training not trying!

Philippians 2:12–13 (CSB)

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Notice that Paul doesn't say, "Work for your salvation." To work for something means to earn it, to deserve it, to merit it. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is not something we have to work for. It is a free gift of God's grace. So Paul is not implying that we devise our own plan of salvation or that we work into a right relationship with God by our own efforts.

The verb "work out" carries the meaning of "work to full completion," such as working out a problem in mathematics. The word was also used for "working a field" in order to get the greatest harvest possible. Today, we use the word to describe to physical exercise so as to get in the best possible shape. So, when Paul says, "Work out your salvation," he is talking about a "spiritual workout" or "spiritual training."

Life change is not about trying; it's about training.

Merely trying to experience life change can never bring about life change. I can try my best to bench press three hundred pounds, but that isn't what will enable me to do it. I will only be able to bench press three hundred pounds by training to bench press three hundred pounds.

Training requires discipline. To truly live a Christ-like life, we have to order our lives around those activities, disciplines, and practices that were modeled by Christ. For us training would include the disciplines of prayer, solitude, worship, giving, tithing, serving, and others which are essential to accomplish the life change that we desire.

So life change is begins with God , it’s about training not trying

C. Life change is a team effort.

I love that at Generations Church what you see is what you get. For the most part here are no self-righteous masks being put on and I want to say that for the most part, most of you are not trying to hide your failures.

We need each other! We say it all the time that at Generations Church….Church is family. You need to be at Church! You need to be in a small group. You need to be in a discipleship relationship with someone. You’ll never grow if you are not being held accountable.

As we wrap this series today, I want to say that I am so proud of all of you. You are training to run this race. Some of you have come along way and some of you still have a ways to go.

But I want to challenge you this morning from the Word of God. And as we get ready to walk out of this place in just a few minutes I want you to hold on to these words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (CSB)

1 So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, [what promises is Paul referring to? We have to look at the end of chapter 6 where we see that God had promised God would one day dwell with His people on earth, and walk among them, and be our God. God promises His presence to no longer be distant, in fact He says that He will be a Father to you and we will be His sons and daughters. And So Paul says based on these promises] let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

You see what Paul understands is that change apart from the living God and the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through you in accordance to the Word of God change will never happen! But because God is with you, and His Spirit is indwelling us, and because we are training in righteousness by being the Word of God, and memorizing the Word of God and applying the Word of God we know that change is not just possible, but it is inevitable!

When you hide God’s Word in your heart, you will train yourself to no longer sin.

His desires will become your desires. His mind becomes your mind. And holiness will no longer be seen as something far off in the distance.

Listen to what the great Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones said about Holiness. He said

Holiness is not something to be received in a meeting; it is a life to be lived and to be lived in detail.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Holiness comes when you and I surrender our lives completely to the Word of God. Then and only then will heart transformation and life transformation begin to occur in your life.

Lets pray