Be Transformed
Notes
Transcript
Acts 9:1-9
Acts 9:1-9
At a young age, John Newton embarked on a maritime career. Like many sailors of his era, he led a life marked by rebellion and depravity. For several years, he was employed on slave ships, engaging in the transportation of slaves to plantations in the New World. He descended to such depths that, at one point, he became a slave himself, held captive by another slave trader. Ultimately, he attained the position of captain of his own slave ship. A severe storm at sea, combined with his reading of Thomas á Kempis’s seminal work, "Imitation of Christ," planted the seeds of his spiritual conversion. He subsequently became a prominent leader within the evangelical movement in eighteenth-century England, alongside figures such as John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and William Wilberforce. His tombstone bears the following epitaph, authored by Newton himself: “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy” (Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 Hymn Stories [Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1982], 28). When he authored the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace,” he was acutely aware of the truths it proclaims.
Mel Trotter was a professional barber and unfortunately battled alcoholism. His excessive behavior reached a low point when his young daughter died; he stole her burial shoes and pawned them to sustain his drinking habits. One night, he staggered into the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, where he experienced a profound spiritual salvation. Deeply concerned for the men on skid row, he established a rescue mission in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Subsequently, he founded over sixty additional missions and became the supervisor of a network extending from Boston to San Francisco (Elgin S. Moyer, Who Was Who in Church History [New Canaan, Conn.: Keats, 1974], 411).
One day in August 386, a professor of rhetoric named Aurelius Augustine sat despondently in his garden. Although the son of a Christian mother, he had abandoned his mother’s faith in favor of the Persian religion known as Manichaeism. He also took a mistress, with whom he lived for thirteen years. Abandoning Manichaeism as unsatisfactory, he continued a futile search for truth. Through the preaching of the church Father Ambrose, he became intellectually convinced of the truth of Christianity. Yet he held back, “prevented from accepting the faith by weakness in dealing with sexual temptation” (R. S. Pine-Coffin, “Introduction,” to Saint Augustine: Confessions [New York: Penguin, 1978], 11). Now, in the midst of his turmoil, he heard a child’s voice singing in Latin tolle lege(“take and read”). In his Confessions, he describes what happened next:
I restrained my flood of tears and rose to my feet, instructing myself that this must be a divine directive to open my Scripture and read the first passage that my eyes encountered. Accordingly, I hastened back to the place where [his friend] Alypius was seated, as I had previously set down the book containing Paul’s Epistles when I stood to move away. I grasped it and opened it, and silently read the first passage my gaze fell upon: 'Not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness, not in quarrels and rivalries. Rather, arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ; spend no more thought on nature and nature’s appetites [Rom. 13:13–14].' I found no desire nor necessity to read further. For in that very moment, as I reached the end of the sentence, it was as if the light of confidence flooded into my heart, eradicating all doubt’s darkness.
Let us walk properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Having been liberated from a life of sin and confusion, Augustine subsequently emerged as the preeminent theologian the Church has recognized since the apostle Paul.
A caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis into a butterfly. Do you know what the butterfly is unable to do? It cannot revert to a caterpillar. A life transformed by Christ cannot return to the old life from which it has been saved. There are differences between TRANSFORMATION and PERFORMANCE. Three characteristics of a transformed life, compared to a performative life, are Encounter, Obedience, and Action.
Encounter:
Encounter:
When you have an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ, a transformation begins. Paul is the mastermind behind the persecution of the followers of the Way. He wants to end this revolt against God. He is a man on a mission for God; the problem was that it was his mission, not God’s. Paul is about to find out who Jesus really is.
I want to ask you a question. Do you remember your salvation? I can tell you mine to every little detail, including the date. That is how significant a life-changing event it was for me. Nothing will ever come even close to that day. Not the birth of my daughters, the wedding of my wife, or my graduation with my degrees.
I promise you, Paul never forgot the moment he encountered our Lord and Savior. He is charging ahead, and suddenly, the Light of Christ befalls upon him. Acts 22:6 tells us this encounter took place at noon, which makes it not anything from the material creation. Those who traveled with Saul heard the voice but could not make out its meaning. Why? Because it was a message just for Saul. Saul actually saw Jesus in His glorious brilliance, which he repeatedly testifies, while his co-persecutors only saw the light.
“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,
Not everyone will have such an experience as Paul, but when you have an encounter with our Lord, you remember. That encounter is the difference between being transformed and someone performing (Col. 3:9-10). It is manifested in their obedience to Christ.
Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices,
and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—
Obedience:
Obedience:
Obedience represents one of the most challenging qualities to instill in a child. The underlying reason pertains to the inherent sin nature present from birth. This challenge is similarly encountered by believers, as they often pursue personal desires and pleasures. However, as Paul explicitly states, this sinful nature has been crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6). Given that we have been redeemed at a great cost and have experienced a profound encounter with our Lord and Savior, our lives ought to demonstrate visible signs of obedience.
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
Christ commands Paul to “rise up” and “enter” the city. Does Paul question the Lord? No. So why are people who think we can question our Lord? He has told the Church to do two things. Pray and make disciples. Nothing else! Why are we living lives of our former life? Why do we care more about worldly desires than heavenly orders? Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 4:20-24.
But you did not learn Christ in this way—
if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
When was the last time you asked yourself, "Who do you serve?” You cannot serve two masters, for you will love the one and hate the other (Matt 6:24). Remember what Joshua told the Israelites (Joshua 24:15)? Obedience to Christ is this: denying self and picking up your cross, and following Him. This is not for the faint of heart. You cannot be of the world and a servant of Christ. You cannot even be a friend of the world that makes you an enemy of God (James 4:4). See those who are transformed don’t want anything from this world. Those who are performers act as if they want Christ but indulge in worldly desires. How can we know? By their actions.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
“If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God.
Actions:
Actions:
Jesus is very clear about a tree and the fruit it bears (Matthew 7:16-20). Remember the fig tree that was cursed? Why? Because it bore no fruit. Paul showed obedience by his actions. He got up and went into the city as he was commanded. We are saved by faith in Christ and not by our works, but James was correct when he said (James 2:14-16). Paul’s salvation was evident by his actions and his obedience. What he encountered transformed him, and obedience and actions were the first fruits of this transformation. Performers will say all the right things, but there will be no actions. The old adage, “All bark and no bite.” I don’t worry about the dog that just barks; I worry about the dog that will bite. Satan is not worried about the Christian who talks; he is worried about the Christians who do.
“You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“So then, you will know them by their fruits.
What use is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
Listen to what Christ said (Matthew 7:21-23). Those who do my Father’s will. What is the Father’s will? To be His Son’s witness. To break down the gates of hell. To be soldiers of Christ. To spread the Good News of Jesus. To live for Him and not self. To stop storing up treasures on earth and start storing treasures in heaven. To be believers who are action-oriented.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
If we say we love our Lord, then do what John told us (1 John 3:18). Be the true believer who allows their actions to speak louder than their words.
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
We are going to do two things. Pray and Evangelize. That is it. God commands us to do those two things. Those two things are evidence of a transformed life. It is time we became dedicated to God and each other, not to self and the world.
