Embracing Transformation: A Journey of Renewal

 

Summary

Summary:

As we stand on the brink of a new year, it's a fitting time to reflect on the concept of renewal and transformation, both personally and spiritually. The passage from 2 Peter serves as a powerful reminder that while God's grace is the catalyst for change, we are called to actively participate in our own transformation. This isn't a passive process; rather, it requires our intentional engagement and effort. The idea of "A New Year and a New You" is not about quick fixes or superficial changes but about a deep, ongoing process of becoming more like God.

Peter emphasizes that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of God. This knowledge isn't merely intellectual but experiential, a practical understanding that multiplies grace in our lives. We are called to supplement our faith with virtues such as self-control, steadfastness, and love. This process of adding to our faith is not a one-time event but a continual effort that requires diligence and perseverance.

The transformation into the likeness of God involves developing virtuous habits, a concept rooted in both Greek philosophy and Christian theology. These habits become second nature as we repeatedly engage with God's grace through spiritual disciplines. This is not about earning God's favor but about positioning ourselves to receive and multiply His grace. True transformation is gradual, requiring patience and sustained effort, and it is best pursued in community, where we can support and encourage one another.

As we enter the new year, let us commit to this journey of transformation, understanding that it is a cooperative process with God. By actively engaging with His grace and cultivating virtuous habits, we can become more like Him, reflecting His love and goodness in our lives and to those around us.

Key Takeaways:

1. Active Participation in Transformation: God's grace initiates our transformation, but we must actively participate in the process. This involves a cooperative effort where we engage with God's grace intentionally, supplementing our faith with virtues like self-control and love. This active participation is crucial for becoming more like God. [02:50]

2. The Role of Knowledge in Multiplying Grace: The knowledge of God is not just intellectual but experiential, and it plays a vital role in multiplying grace in our lives. This practical knowledge helps us understand God's character and how to respond to His grace, leading to a deeper transformation. [08:33]

3. Virtuous Habits and Spiritual Disciplines: Developing virtuous habits is essential for spiritual growth. These habits, cultivated through spiritual disciplines, help us actively receive and multiply God's grace. This process is gradual and requires patience, effort, and intentional engagement. [24:34]

4. Transformation in Community: Engaging in spiritual practices within a community enhances our ability to transform. By supporting and encouraging one another, we can better sustain our efforts and remain motivated on our journey to becoming more like God. [39:36]

5. Gradual and Intentional Transformation: True transformation is a gradual process that requires intentional and realistic efforts. Starting small and integrating spiritual disciplines into daily life, while relying on community support, can lead to meaningful and lasting change. [36:23]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:40] - Introduction: A New Year and a New You
- [02:50] - Active Role in Transformation
- [04:26] - Reading from 2 Peter
- [06:38] - Becoming Like God
- [08:33] - Knowledge and Grace
- [09:59] - Grace Calls for a Response
- [12:10] - Partakers of the Divine Nature
- [13:44] - Effort in Receiving the Gift
- [15:46] - Virtuous Cycle
- [18:04] - Knowing Christ More Deeply
- [20:02] - Conformed to the Image of Christ
- [22:13] - Walking by the Spirit
- [23:42] - Habitual Transformation
- [24:34] - Virtue Theory and Spiritual Habits
- [27:16] - Cooperation with God
- [28:41] - Knowledge that Transforms
- [30:03] - Spiritual Disciplines
- [32:02] - Historical Context and Modern Recovery
- [32:43] - Practical Application
- [36:23] - Intentional and Realistic Steps
- [39:36] - Community and Support
- [41:15] - Closing Prayer

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: A New Year and a New You

Bible Reading:
- 2 Peter 1:1-11

Observation Questions:
1. What does Peter say we have been given through our knowledge of God, and how does this relate to life and godliness? [04:26]
2. According to the sermon, what is the role of knowledge in multiplying grace in our lives? [08:33]
3. What are the virtues Peter encourages us to supplement our faith with, and why are they important? [13:44]
4. How does the sermon describe the process of transformation into the likeness of God? [24:34]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of "active participation" in our transformation challenge common misconceptions about spiritual growth? [02:50]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that spiritual disciplines contribute to our transformation? [30:03]
3. How does the idea of transformation in community enhance our spiritual journey, according to the sermon? [39:36]
4. What does the sermon imply about the relationship between grace and effort in the process of becoming more like God? [13:44]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a specific area in your life where you feel called to actively participate in your transformation. What steps can you take to engage with God's grace in this area? [02:50]
2. Consider the role of knowledge in your spiritual journey. How can you seek a deeper, experiential understanding of God to multiply grace in your life? [08:33]
3. Identify one virtuous habit you would like to cultivate this year. What practical steps can you take to develop this habit through spiritual disciplines? [24:34]
4. Think about your current community or small group. How can you support and encourage each other in the journey of transformation? [39:36]
5. Transformation is described as a gradual process. What small, intentional changes can you make in your daily routine to align more closely with God's character? [36:23]
6. Reflect on a time when you felt the support of your community in your spiritual growth. How can you offer similar support to others in your group? [39:36]
7. How can you integrate spiritual disciplines into your daily life in a way that feels realistic and sustainable? What might be a first step in this process? [36:23]

Devotional

Day 1: Active Engagement in Transformation
Transformation is not a passive experience but an active journey that requires our intentional participation. While God's grace initiates the process, we are called to engage with it actively by supplementing our faith with virtues such as self-control, steadfastness, and love. This cooperative effort is crucial for becoming more like God, as it involves a continuous commitment to personal and spiritual growth. By actively participating in this transformation, we align ourselves with God's purpose and reflect His character in our lives. [02:50]

2 Peter 1:5-7 (ESV): "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."

Reflection: Identify one virtue you feel called to develop more deeply. What specific steps can you take this week to actively cultivate this virtue in your daily life?


Day 2: Experiential Knowledge of God
The knowledge of God is not merely intellectual but deeply experiential, playing a vital role in multiplying grace in our lives. This practical understanding helps us grasp God's character and respond to His grace, leading to a deeper transformation. By engaging with God on a personal level, we open ourselves to His transformative power, allowing His grace to work more profoundly within us. This experiential knowledge is a key component in our spiritual journey, guiding us toward a more intimate relationship with God. [08:33]

Colossians 1:9-10 (ESV): "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent experience where you felt God's presence in a tangible way. How did this experience deepen your understanding of His character and grace?


Day 3: Cultivating Virtuous Habits
Developing virtuous habits is essential for spiritual growth, as these habits help us actively receive and multiply God's grace. This process is gradual and requires patience, effort, and intentional engagement through spiritual disciplines. By repeatedly engaging with God's grace, these virtuous habits become second nature, allowing us to reflect His love and goodness more naturally in our lives. This journey is not about earning God's favor but about positioning ourselves to receive and multiply His grace. [24:34]

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV): "Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

Reflection: What spiritual discipline can you incorporate into your daily routine to help cultivate a specific virtuous habit? How can you commit to this practice consistently?


Day 4: Transformation Through Community
Engaging in spiritual practices within a community enhances our ability to transform, as we support and encourage one another on this journey. Community provides accountability, motivation, and a shared sense of purpose, helping us sustain our efforts and remain committed to becoming more like God. By participating in a community, we can experience the transformative power of God's grace more fully, as we learn from and grow with others who share our faith. [39:36]

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Reflection: Think of a person or group in your community who inspires you in your spiritual journey. How can you engage more deeply with them to support each other's growth in faith?


Day 5: Intentional and Gradual Transformation
True transformation is a gradual process that requires intentional and realistic efforts. By starting small and integrating spiritual disciplines into daily life, we can achieve meaningful and lasting change. This journey is best pursued with the support of a community, where we can encourage one another and remain motivated. By committing to this process, we align ourselves with God's purpose and reflect His love and goodness in our lives and to those around us. [36:23]

Galatians 6:9 (ESV): "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Reflection: Identify one small, realistic step you can take today to further your spiritual transformation. How can you ensure that this step becomes a consistent part of your daily routine?

Quotes



Just like this won't fix you overnight, we know that. We also know, most people here know, that the grace that's offered by God, we can't fix ourselves. It can only be by God. But, one mistake that's often made in the church is to think that we don't really have a role in it, that we can just sit back and be passive, that God does all the work to transform us. And that's not right either. [00:01:42] (29 seconds)


His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. [00:03:57] (29 seconds)


For this reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge and knowledge with self-control and self-control. With steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [00:04:26] (32 seconds)


There's two kinds of grace generally. One is called operative grace, at least by theologians. The idea is that God operates on us whether we like it or not, right? When we're first born, when we first come to faith, it's God acting on us. God grants us that faith. It's operative on us. The other kind is called cooperative, and it's God operates, but we have to cooperate with him in order to take hold of it. We have to actively receive it. [00:13:09] (28 seconds)


And love is sort of a summary of God's life and his being and all of his goodness, all of his character. And so, we have to make sure that we're supposed to put on. So, essentially, what Peter's saying is God gives you this grace of faith. We come to know God and how to be blessed by him, and then we're supposed to make every effort to supplement that, and if we do, we become like God. [00:14:53] (29 seconds)


And Peter is picking up on that and he's saying, yes, we're creatures of habits. We do things over and over and over again and they become like a second nature. And what God intends for us is when He gives us His grace that we multiply it by doing it again and again and again. And then we start with the faith that's given to us and we multiply it until we become like God. That's the Christian walk. [00:24:52] (33 seconds)


So, what Peter has done, and I think Jesus and Paul too, but in our passage, Peter, by the way, I think it goes all through the Old Testament too, but what they've done is they've seized on this idea of virtue theory from Greek culture, and they baptized it, and essentially what Peter is saying is, we have to do the same thing, but with the graces that God gives us. [00:30:03] (28 seconds)


Spiritual disciplines, this idea is not very prevalent in Protestant churches today, and that really goes back to the Reformation historically. You know, during the Reformation, the Protestant Reformation, looked at the church in the West, the Catholic church, and said, there's too much emphasis on human effort. It's by God. It's by grace alone. It's by faith alone. It's God's Word, not our intellect or anything. They purged human effort, by and large. [00:30:58] (35 seconds)


The idea is that God's grace comes to us, and then we, in an informed and intentional way, take hold of it and receive it. We engage with God's grace in the manner in which God designed us to, to cultivate it and multiply it in our lives. And that will transform us. The second is practical knowledge is the key. We must know God and know what he's called us to. Peter makes that clear. [00:33:08] (31 seconds)


True transformation is gradual. It's step by step, including some steps backwards. Okay, number five, we must be intentional and realistic. We have to start small. If you're not doing any of these things, start small. Don't make a whole laundry list to try and fix yourself in one year. Not going to work. Pick two or three, maybe one, maybe four. I don't know, but start small. [00:35:54] (29 seconds)


This is my encouragement to you. This is my prayer for our church. If we do this, we will all be new creations. We'll be closer and closer to it. And if we do it together, we're much more likely to be successful. Let me pray. Father God, we thank you. We thank you for your word. We thank you again for your love. We thank you for Peter's clear instruction. [00:41:15] (26 seconds)


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Transcript
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