Being Transformed Part 2
Being Transformed • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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From Dust and Rust to Heaven or Bust
From Dust and Rust to Heaven or Bust
Do you desire fellowship with those who call you to righteousness or do you condone carnal Christianity? Are you a man of the dust and rust or are you a man of that which is eternal?
A caterpillar’s transformation is a four stage process to include the egg, larva, pupa and adult. They do not hide in a sack or cocoon. That in which they are transformed (chrysalis) is partially the caterpillar’s own body from which comes a butterfly. If they emerge too early they die. If they are damaged in the process infectious things can kill them. The Apostle Paul speaks of such stages of the growing believer.
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Notice the stages of growth and transformation the Apostle presents. He is not referring to the physical stature relative to growth plates, nor the aging process of time. He is referring to the maturing process of receiving redemption, increasing in the knowledge of God, maturing in spiritual and moral discipline and overcoming temptations in life. He is talking about growing as sons and daughters in deeper relationship with the Lord. He is talking about perseverance in the faith and being molded and shaped by the Word of God in your hearts and minds.
The day is coming when this fleshly body, that has taken on corruption of this world, will cease to exist as we know it and those who are alive in Christ Jesus will be transformed.
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
There is a transformation to come but there is also a transformation that should have, or should be, currently taking place in the follower of Christ even now. If you have accepted Christ’s life, then you must have also accepted His death that you might know His resurrection. His resurrection was a demonstration of the transformation that should take place in those who receive Him as Lord. There is transformation in His resurrection.
The caterpillar’s transformation does not happen in isolation. It takes place as part of the larger picture of the entire created order and God is right there with the caterpillar. As such, your transformation in Christ takes place in the context of Kingdom community. Kingdom transformation does not take place in isolation. Isolation hinders transformation. Christ-like transformation takes place in the context of relationship with God and others. Kingdom transformation takes place in the Biblical context of family.
Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle explains a transformation process between the natural and supernatural. And the last statement he makes, speaks not only of a that which is to come, but that which should be. He states, “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be a dusty old man but a Man of the Heavens. I do not want to live as a man of this earth but a Man who has encountered the supernatural power of Heaven and has been transformed into the spiritual image of the Second Adam (Jesus Christ) and delivered from the death dust of the first. For me it is heaven or bust! The phrase “or bust” is an idiom that means I am going to do everything possible even if it cost me everything. And that is exactly what it will cost you to follow Christ.
But it is so worth it. The things on this earth are only temporary and everything I am and have is borrowed. From that which I own to the air in my lungs.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We live in a time where masculinity is despised because it has been perverted and not demonstrated for generations. What has been seen by generations are males who seek their own pleasure, their own good and wants at any cost to include the expense of their marriage, their children, and even themselves. We have seen men who will compromise everything for power, desires of their flesh, their eyes, and their pride in this life. They are lovers of pleasure and themselves more than lovers of God.
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yes, in the midst of this crazy world we need Jesus. But we also need true fathers who are being transformed by Jesus to be like the Father. Good fathers love the Father and follow in the Father’s ways. Good fathers are full of mercy and compassion. They are gracious and loving. They nurture and teach. But they also set boundaries, confront and challenge provoking to righteousness instead of wrath. They instruct in righteousness and sound wisdom. They impart, mold and shape intentionally the will and way of their children pointing them back to the Lord. They demonstrate how to seek God, trust God, know God, and honor God. They fashion in the expectations of the Lord not their own.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Even in the church, we have generations of pharaohs not fathers. Imposters not pastors. Pretenders instead of prophets. Ambitious men instead of apostolic leaders, tyrants instead of teachers, and men of evil agendas instead of evangelists of the Gospel. As a result, men have used the Gospel as a Pop-Culture platform instead of building the Father’s House.
Understand this, the Love of God and the Law of God are not a contradiction but covenant fulfilled in Christ. We do not preach God’s love apart from God’s Law. Lawless love and loveless law both lead to death. The Word of Truth brings both into balance.
Without God’s Law we cannot understand the Love of God. So then, how are we to love as He loves?
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
If the Law alone could transform us it would have done so with Israel. But the Law reveals His love to those who would seek Him out. And it is His love that transforms us to desire holiness that we might know the depths of His great love. The masses have had a Gospel of Heaven void of Holiness taught to them because they have listened to false fathers.
The nature of our Heavenly Father, demonstrated through His Son Jesus Christ, is the framework of Kingdom Fathering. This is what should transform you and shape you. One without the other leaves you lopsided and half transformed. It’s like half and half tea. Is it sweet tea or unsweet tea? Or is it sweet tea but just a little less sweet than real sweet tea? Either way, you do not want to be a half and half Christian. You do not want to live as part old Adam and part new Adam. There is no half and half Adam in the Kingdom of God. You cannot live partially as a man of the dust and a Man of Heaven. Either be a Man of God or quit pretending to be one.
Keep in mind that the only reason there was a Goliath, that David had to fight, is because there was a half obedient Israel. The only reason there was a Haman that Mordecai had to stand against was because there was a King Saul who half obeyed God. Wherever there is half obedience in your lives men, your children and their children will have to deal with the consequences.
I have preached a lot of great Father’s Day messages about how great fatherhood is and bless all the fathers in the house. Today, I am challenging fathers. We do not have time for you to just be baby daddies. Step up and be Godly Fathers. Get over yourself, your wants, desires, needs, inconvenience, and whatever childishness remains in you and be the Man of God you are called to be. Stop the excuses that your temptations find to compromise and become Godly Fathers.
It does not matter what your father was or was not, did or failed to do, you have this opportunity to be fashioned into the father that God desires and your family so desperately needs. When there is true faith among fathers, nations are transformed. This culture cannot steal our families if we will step up and be fathers.
If you want to accept this challenge today fathers, then join me and lets let the Lord lead us. If you are here today, man or woman, and there has been father failure in your life, in your home or in the church, come and join me and let’s let the Father lead us from people of dust to people of destiny.
