What Are We Becoming?
One of the overarching goals of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is to allow the process of change from inside out to take place in the life of that follower. In opening one’s self to this end, one has to submit, obey, commit and be faithful to the instructions of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. One cannot be a Christian without allowing this process of change to take place in one’s life. This process of change is called ‘Transformation.’ It is important that every Christian understands that this process is vital and necessary for us to be utilized as tools in the hands of our Master. Since we have already been taught, disciplined and cultivated in the earthly realm, we now have to break away from many of our learned [or inherent] behavior patterns and reset to the new instructions of God for our lives. Remember that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than ours… So, to fully embrace Him, we also have to embrace His Word, His Spirit and His Body [The Church].
Our Scripture Text for this Morning is: Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Even as we look at nature and learn from it, our illustration can be visibly seen in the transformation that takes place when a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. If one takes a caterpillar and places it next to a butterfly, one would never in their wildest imaginations vision that the caterpillar – a crawling worm, would transform into that beautiful, attractive butterfly. What is so amazing is that many would not want to touch that ugly crawling worm, but they would stand and admire that beautiful butterfly. Why? That which was is no more! All that ugliness and base characteristics have been transformed into this beautiful dainty flying creature which many would love to open their palms and allow it to sit on. What was repulsive to many now seems attractive – simply because of the outward change and presentation. This process is called metamorphosis – and God has the exact process in store for us! God wants to remove all the ugliness which represents the pains, hurts, scars, sufferings and torture that we undergo in this life and He wants to re-place it with His love, joy, peace and happiness, if we would allow Him to?
What would it be like to go through such drastic and amazing changes? To be changed from the slow-moving treadmill existence that seems so pointless into someone who soars with purpose and joy! To be able to conquer the cycle of sinning with the accompanying accusations of Satan so that we can experience freedom in God – freedom from sin! To become so much more than we once were through the extraordinary inner work of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures tell us that this change that takes place from the inside-out ought to be the experience of every true follower of Jesus Christ. Since God changes us from the inside out, what exactly does Christlikeness look like on the inside? And how is that expressed in our lives? In Ephesians 4:2, Paul gives us four attitudes that are the foundation of the Jesus-life, that God means to live through us. The four attitudes that show a worthy walk are: Humility, Gentleness, Patience and Bearing with one and other. Jesus probably emphasized this the most – “Whoever humbles himself like this child – this one is the greatest in the kingdom of God.” [Matthew 18:4]. Humility is the gift of being able to bring yourself down so that you choose to look up to those around you. It is important in the Christian life that we realize that we don’t have to have our way – it has to be His way!
One might describe the word ‘gentleness,’ as “power under control.” Practically, we could say that humility is expressed by not insisting on our rights, not being easily offended, and not holding grudges. We see gentleness expressed by Jesus when the mob came to arrest Him in the garden. He could have called on the legions of angels to rescue Him, but He did not! When Pilot pushed Him for answers, Jesus remained silent. In everyway possible, Jesus resembled gentleness! When it comes to patience – James lays down the rule for this: “My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” [James 1:19]. Jesus endured the cross, the punishment and torture and we also need to follow that example of our Master. When the first three that we spoke about today – humility, gentleness and patience becomes a part of the way we choose to live, bearing with one another becomes easy. We see Christ in our fellow brothers and sisters and we hold back from condemnation and ridicule which allows us to be like Christ and it also gives us the opportunity to lift those around us up by building them in the faith and strengthening them by His Word! Is this who we are becoming? If not, there is still time to allow the adjustments to start taking place…
If you are blessed by this message and would like to support Ekklesia Family Church, our Banking details are as follows: STD BANK, SAVINGS ACCOUNT 220620873. God Bless
Be Blessed, Go Blessed and Stay Blessed,
Pastor Rickey Naidoo
Ekklesia Family Church
Elandspark, Alberton.
Email: [email protected]