Embracing Transformation: A Journey with God

1. "In the Bible, transformation is pretty much replete throughout the Old and New Testaments. The word that's oftentimes used in the New Testament is metamorpho. So, of course, the English word metamorphosis is what we get from that. And so similar. Similar to how a butterfly literally changes its essence, its nature from an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to butterfly, biblical transformation is real, practical, pragmatic, and palpable change from being one person to another person." [20:40] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "When our minds are renewed, they are completely overhauled, completely changed. New ways of thinking and new ways of acting and new values. And verse 2 ends by saying this. When we do so, when we're not conformed, but we're transformed, he says we will be able to test and approve what God's will is. And so if you find yourself confused like I do, if you find yourselves conflicted, unsure about what to do about a relationship, what to do about a big decision, where to go, what major to choose or what program to get into and so and so forth, how to live, how to date, who to marry, how to make good choices, then according to Paul in Romans 12, 2. We must be transformed and transformed and transformed by the renewal of our mind." [24:13] (62 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "The world that we have fashioned, so to speak, the life that you and I have created the problems that we have created and the way that we operate cannot be solved by the people, you and me. Who created them. Ergo, not only do we need other people, you and I need God to come in and help us with what are oftentimes fallen perspectives, incomplete and imperfect world views, the dilemmas, the crises, the confusion and the chaos that sometimes either we create or that we encounter." [25:18] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "When we contemplate and when we meditate, when we ruminate on the Lord's glory, then we are transformed. When we look at his nature, his character, his deeds, when we meditate on the stories of his goodness and his faithfulness, we become like him. And I think about my kids, I think about how my kids have, for better or for worse, my appearances and my mannerisms. And even some of my expressions, you know, when you hear that some good and not sense, I'm not so good. And as we continue to spend time with the Lord, we begin to reflect him in our mannerisms and our expressions in our values." [27:27] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Suffering is not just a way that Christians transform. It is one of the greatest ways. And how many of you know that your life with God was kind of coasting along and then all of a sudden, you like encounter something really painful, really difficult, like we lost a very, very good friend last week, Happy Seasack. And her family was just blown away. I mean, she was fighting cancer and had been successful and then all of a sudden, she just literally died on the steps of her, you know, of her house. She never regained consciousness from that." [33:50] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "Conflict is, again, a major way that God transforms us. There's incredible opportunity for us to grow spiritually, emotionally, and, you know, relationally in conflict. Proverbs 27, I didn't put this on the slide, but Proverbs 27, 17 says, as iron, sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Now, I don't see John Tilton here today, but he's a blacksmith, and he understands what it's like when a hard surface is rubbing against a hard surface. So when iron sharpens iron, follow the analogy here in scripture, it is noisy. It is messy. You got pieces of hot metal shooting all over the place, and the sound, I'm sure, is not very pleasing to the ear, however poetic it might sound like." [37:21] (47 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "The question this morning is, are you alone? Do people know you? Do people know the real you? Like the you that doesn't, you know, that you don't like? Do people know that you? Or are you in community? Well, the final question I'd like to ask is, what obstructs it? And some of these are pretty obvious. The first is just a lack of relationship with God. I mean, you can be changed so fast, so quickly, and I have stories in my own life of what God has done, the healing that he has done so quickly. Or you can labor along without God, trying to grow." [40:33] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "Pride thinks more about information, and God says, I'm more about transformation. Pride thinks only of us. It says, oh, do I really need this? Instead of saying, hey, how can God use me for other people? Billy Graham says this, when pride controls our lives, we end up thinking we are better than anyone else. So have little love or compassion for others and are only interested in themselves. Most of all, a prideful person thinks they have little need for God. Believing their way is always best. This is why he says, pride is at the root of almost every other sin because we think we can ignore God's ways. No wonder the Bible says, the Lord detests all the proud of heart." [43:36] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "Lethargy is apathy, essentially. Apathy is apathos, no feeling, no passion. God says in Revelation that he wishes we were either hot or cold, and I've been thinking about that a little bit. He says, you're lukewarm. I wish you were hot or cold. Why is this? That's so interesting to me. Well, because when something is hot, it shocks you. You pull your hand away, you burn your hand. When something is cold, it also shocks you. It's extremely cold. In fact, extreme cold, if you've ever experienced it, feels like extreme heat, and extreme heat can feel like extreme cold. But lukewarmness is neither. It's not shocking. It just draws you to sleep. Lukewarmness is just dull, and that's the way that some of us live our spiritual lives." [45:10] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "The good news is that this every day god waits patiently inviting us to his table i had a conversation with a person who's not been to worship um in a while and they had run into robin at the grocery store and they said that she was such an encouragement because she didn't look sideways at them she just was like so glad to see them she texted me that about her interaction with robin and i said you know jesus is the kind of person who says who doesn't say you didn't show up five weeks in a row he's the kind of person who says welcome back i'm so glad you are here he invites us back even if we've been the prodigal son and we've done some really stupid things he invites us back if we're like the older brother and we've been there but we're still estranged from the father and so wherever you are as i close whoever you are whoever you've been or whatever the status of your relationship with god we are all on the same level and that's why i love when we kneel to pray that we're all on the same level no longer professors and students no longer rich or poor no longer educated or not educated we are all the same we're all sinners in need of a god of mercy" [48:23] (75 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)