"Transformation"

Series: “Jesus, the Provocative Teacher”

Sunday, August 31, 2008; Matthew 18:1-9; Romans 12:1-2

Introduction: This last week I came across this transformer. If you don’t know what a transformer is, it is an object that can be turned into a robot (or more appropriately, an autobot). So, the autobot is their real identity. They disguise themselves as everyday machinery. So this jet is the disguise that is used by the transformer to hide its real identity. At first transformers were just toys, but then they became so popular with kids, that this toy idea was turned into a movie in 2007. The movie was so popular that a sequel is being made to come out in 2009.

Today we conclude our series in “Jesus, the Provocative Teacher.” It has been interesting to see the many ways Jesus provokes us. Today I want to talk about how Jesus wants us to become who we were really meant to be, and for this to happen we need to transform ourselves spiritually.

I. Stumbling Blocks- (Matthew 18:6-9)

a. What they are- I want you to think for a moment about your life.

Each day you get up, and seek to do your best in living the life God has given you. Each day you go to bed, and maybe you reflect on the day that you had. Maybe it was a good day (you got a lot accomplished, there were no major struggles); OR maybe you had a difficult day (there were many struggles, you didn’t accomplish what you wanted, it was a long tiring day). Either way, the day is over and you get ready for bed to get some sleep so that you can live out the next day.

What we tend to forget, is regardless of whether we had a good day or a bad day, we experienced stumbling blocks in our life. Now what are stumbling blocks? Stumbling blocks are anything that gets in our way and keeps us from doing what God desires for us to do. We know that stumbling blocks are not good, because Jesus says in Matthew 18:6,7- “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones…it would be better…(if) you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks…”

The stumbling block that Jesus is talking about here is “SIN.” Sin is a huge stumbling block, because it keeps us from being right with God; it keeps us from following the path God sets before us; it keeps us from becoming who God wants us to be. Jesus is telling how us terrible it is to cause a child to sin. We hear this, and we want to immediately speak out: “I would never do that!” And that is true. None of us here would purposely seek to lead children into sin.

But there are many ways that we inadvertently lead a child into sin. EX. There is a story of a family who was eating dinner together. The father said a blessing, thanking God for the food, and then the family began to eat. During the dinner the father complained about the freshness of the bread and how the coffee was bitter, among other things. After a while his daughter asked him: “Dad, do you think God heard your grace today?” The father answered her: “Of course God did.” Then his daughter asked him: “And do you think God heard what you said about the bread and the coffee and the meal?” Not so confidently, the father responded: “Why yes, I believe so.” Finally, the daughter said: “Then which do you think God believed, Dad?” At this the father was struck with conviction, as he became aware of how his mealtime prayer had become such a habit, that it didn’t really take root in his heart. (Illus. Unlimited)

b. How they affect us- We as parents, as adults, as Christians set an

example for others around us. How we live our lives can affect the thoughts and actions of others around us. Illus. One example of this, is when I was a youth director, I was over 21, and could drink if I wanted to. It is legal to do so, and I was of legal age. But I began to think about the problem teens have with drinking. And it concerned me to think that if one of my youth saw me drinking, what might they think? I didn’t want to set an example to them that it was okay for them to drink. I didn’t want to be a stumbling block. So, I chose not to drink at all.

Now you might think that this is extreme. How can drinking when you are of age, cause someone who is not of age to think it is okay to drink? Unfortunately, it has been seen that kids whose parents drink, will tend to drink as well, even before they are of age. Kids watch what we do, and do what they see. This happens in fun ways, like when Tyler and Tiffany (when they were little) would pretend to cook whenever Tami was cooking.

But this plays out in the bad things in life as well. When we say we are Christians, but we are judgmental toward others, we will not only set off a bad example for Christ, but we could lead others around us to be judgmental as well. When we have sin in our life, that sinful behavior can lead others to sin, especially children. And this is why Jesus speaks so emphatically against stumbling blocks.

But Jesus goes on to talk about how we can be a stumbling block to ourselves as well, in verses 8 and 9: “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” Here we see Jesus’ provocative way. Here Jesus speaks in extremes to prove a point. Your own body can cause you to sin; your hand, your foot, your eye. If this sin would lead you away from God, then you would be better off not having this part of your body, for going to heaven is more important than anything else. The point is, that we need to recognize what are the stumbling blocks in our life, and remove them (if not literally, then spiritually). And, we need to make sure that we are good examples for the children around us!

II. Humility- (1 Peter 5:5-6)

a. Proud vs. Humble- We just finished the 2008 Olympic games a

week ago. In the second week of the games was the track and field events. And it was amazing to see how so many of the athletes were very prideful. But overall, it seemed to be the Americans who were the most prideful. They would have this attitude about themselves. They would wear sunglasses (even though it was night). They just had a way about them that wasn’t appealing. Now it is one thing to be confident, and in fact it is important to be confident when you are competing. Being confident helps you to believe in yourself, and to do your best. But confidence can turn into arrogance. And arrogance is hard to accept. In fact, the night they were showing the 4 X 400 relay race, they were showing the American team, and Tami remarked to me how cocky they looked, and how she could see why all the other countries wanted to beat the Americans so bad, and were happy the times we lost!

On the other side of the coin is the humble. 1 Peter 5:5 tells us: “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” Peter tells us that the mark of a Christian is humility; the denial of self. Humility is like a garment that we wear. Because we battle with our sinful nature, which seeks to lead us to be selfish, we have to constantly “put on” the garment of humility. We have to constantly remind ourselves of the need to be humble.

How can we do this? By holding up examples of others who are humble. Of course, first and foremost is the example of Jesus. You need to go no farther than Jesus to see what humility is about. Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, the name above all names, could have exalted Himself over all. But the opposite is true of Jesus. Instead of seeking power, instead of seeking fame, instead of seeking to have others bow down to Him, Jesus instead came into this world to love, and serve, and give of Himself, and die for our sins!!!

You see, Jesus understood what this life is about. It is about giving of yourself. It is about caring for others. It is about sharing and loving and not thinking too highly of yourself, or thinking that you are more important than anyone else.

b. The kind of person God seeks- Illus. There is a story of a group of

English tourists who were visiting the house where the great composer Beethoven spent his last years. They went from room to room. When they came to the conservatory, they could see Beethoven’s piano. The guide spoke to the group with a quiet and reverent voice: “This is the master’s piano.” With this, a woman who was very excited about this opportunity, pushed her way through the group, sat down at the piano, and began to play. After a few minutes of playing, she remarked: “I suppose a lot of people enjoy playing the piano.” The guide responded: “Well, miss, Ignacy Paderewski was here last summer with a group who wanted him to play, but his answer was: “No, I cannot. I am not worthy.” (…The Tardy Oxcart, by Chuck Swindoll, p. 279)

If we were to ask the question, what kind of people does God want? The answer would be: “Humble people.” Peter continues to tell us in 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.” First, we are to humble ourselves under “the mighty hand of God.” This phrase, “the mighty hand of God” is common in the Old Testament, and it is most common with passages where God has delivered the Israelites out of bondage. The idea is that God’s mighty hand is in on the destiny of His people.

Second, we have the idea that God wants humble people, because those are the kind of people God can use. That is why Peter says “so that He may exalt you in due time.” When we are prideful, we tend to live for ourselves. When we live in this state, we do not make ourselves available to live for God. When God seeks to direct us, if we see that it is in our best interest, then we might follow. But if it is not, then we will make our own decision. However, if we are humble, understanding that the life we have is a gift, and how we live is our gift back to God, then when God has a work for us to do, He can lift us up and accomplish wonderful and glorious things!

III. Transformation- (Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 1:6, 2:12)

a. The foundation of transformation- Humility is the foundation of

all spiritual transformation, which is what God desires of us. And because we cannot change ourselves without God’s help, we need outside help to accomplish this inside change. And the outside help needs to come from God Himself. When it comes to transformation, the Bible is clear; it is the work of God. As the apostle Paul says in Philippians 1:6- “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We cannot do this work alone. And so we need to partner with God. The apostle Paul tells us later in the book of Philippians, 2:12- “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

So, we begin our transformation with a spirit of humility, acknowledging that it is God who transforms us, but this transformation takes our work as well. Meaning, that God can lead us to where we need to change, but we need to make the change happen. EX. In my pre-marriage counseling, I always try to help the bride to be, and the groom to be, understand that they need to feel confident in the love they have for the other person, even if that person were never to change. I say this, because often times people go into marriages thinking: “I love this person, but I will love them more if I can only change this one thing about them.”

The problem is, that you cannot change someone else. They have to want to change, and then change themselves! That is why we partner with God. We have to understand the need to change, and then work it out with God.

b. Finding our way- The apostle Paul reminds us that our lives are to

be living sacrifices for God. How we live our life matters to God. How we live our life shows our spiritual maturity. Romans 12:1-2 tells us: “Therefore, I urge you,

brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer 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.”

So, we need to find out our “humility factor,” which will help us to determine how ready we are for God to transform us: (which statement best describes you?)

1- I rise each day asking God to show me how I can serve him and others.

2- Most of the time I have an attitude of submission and willingness to learn.

3- I begin each day with a desire to follow God, but soon discover that I like being independent and self-motivated.

4- I don’t need any more “humiliation” in my life, and I see no need to get stepped on all day, so I have taken control of my own life!

Hopefully, you are at least at #2 (Most of the time I have an attitude of submission and willingness to learn) working your way toward #1. But even if you are at #4, if you allow yourself to be humble, then God will lead you to #3, then to #2, and ultimately to #1.

To find our way to transformation, we have to understand that our life is not our own, but is given to us by God. If we can humble ourselves in this way, then we will be able to let God give us the desire/ to not be conformed to the world/ but He will transform our minds to be able to do what is good and pleasing.

Conclusion: Story: Mount Everest is over 29,000 feet tall. It is said that once you reach 26, 250 feet, you reach what they call the ‘death zone.’ The dead zone is where the altitude is so high it can’t sustain human life. The body is unable to acclimate to such a low level of oxygen. So if you are a climber, and you stay in this death zone too long, you will die. This is what happened to a climber in May, 2006. He had gotten into this death zone and was literally dying. He was passed by some climbers, but they assumed he was part of another group, and that someone else would help him; and so they left him, and he died…..Not too long after this, another climber named Lincoln Hall was found in the death zone. But he was rescued by a party of 4 climbers, who gave up their own summit attempt to help him descend. Hall later fully recovered. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE? The difference was unselfishness!! In the second story the group gave up their own climb to help another.

When Jesus gave His command in Matthew, chapter 28, He didn’t say, “Go and make converts.” NO, He said: “Go and make disciples…” A disciple is not just someone who believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but one who seeks to humble themselves, and give themselves over to Christ to mold; to be transformed. Jesus provokes us today to not be a stumbling block to anyone, and to remove the stumbling blocks in our lives. When we do this, we can follow Christ, and be transformed. I hope you will open up your heart and desire this for yourself. Amen.