Be Transformed Series

I’ve seen this prayer shared off and on- Dear Lord, So far I've done all right. I haven't

gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm really glad about that. But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed. And from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help. The struggle is real, we need to face it by continually being transformed by the renewal of our minds.

We need to continually fill our thoughts with the things of God, let your mind be consumed by the pursuit of God. Read Joshua 1:8. God instructs Joshua to meditate on His law, day and night. By knowing what’s in God’s Word, you’ll know how God wants you to act in a situation. He promises Joshua, and I believe it extends to us, that by doing so your way will prosper and you’ll have good success. Now, I don’t think that means all Christians are destined to great earthly wealth nor that you’ll never have problems or struggle. I do believe it means that you’ll know how to navigate the trials and tribulations of this world and ultimately will enjoy eternal life. So get into the scriptures, not just to mark a check on your to do list, but to dig in, meditate, consider how it impacts you and guides you in life- your mind will be transformed.

When you stop conforming to the world and begin to be transformed by the renewal of your mind, you’ll be able to test and discern the will of God. It starts with discernment. There are plenty of fake preachers out there teaching heresy- live your best life now, your faith should be enough to bring you healing, because God is love you can love whoever you want as long as you’re faithful to that person. They put self-improvement over humbling ourselves before God, reinterpreting passages to justify their desires.

We need to take the teachings of all preachers and compare them to scripture. Even Paul expected people to confirm his teachings, commending the Bereans for getting into the scriptures to make sure he was teaching correctly. We preachers are merely men and can make mistakes, so you need to confirm that our teachings align with God’s Word. God will not contradict Himself, put it to the test, His Word will prove true.

Here is the thing- when you have discerned God’s will in your life, you must act on it. Seek the opportunities that God has given for you to put your faith into action, be a living sacrifice. Our church has several ministries with opportunities for you to get involved and serve. One of the things I like about our elders is that if you see a need that could be met, they encourage you to develop a plan, present what you need, and they will do what they can to support you in that endeavor.

That is how you become a living sacrifice. You stop following the world. You be transformed by the renewal of your mind. You discern God’s will and put it into action.

Allow me to close with one of my favorite stories. Back when I was living in St. Louis, the church we planted first met in our house. Chris lived across the street with his girlfriend and two small children, all of who started coming over on Sunday for worship. Chris was a gangsta rapper who wrote his own lyrics and created his own beats and was on the verge of signing on for a national tour with a popular rapper. He smoked a lot of weed to "help his creativity". He was baldheaded and was always mean-mugging people (constant scowl). Stuff happened and his girlfriend took their kids and moved back to California. Chris moved to a different neighborhood and I lost track of him for a few months. Then one day after we had moved the church into a storefront, we came home to find a man standing on our porch, his eyes wide open and a big smile on his face. It wasn't until he called out, "Hey, Mr. Scott!" that I realized it was Chris. He began to tell us how just a few weeks before, he was in his car getting ready to light up a blunt, when he felt a prompting that he shouldn't do that. He started to drive past a small church and felt another nudge to go inside. When they offered an altar call, he went forward and his faith finally became real. He never touched marijuana again. He went to the contract signing for his national rap tour, told them he'd have to rap about Jesus, and they told him they only wanted his gangsta rap so he walked away. He got connected with others who rapped about Christ and did community ministry. Eventually, he began starting a variety of service businesses, providing jobs to young men and women who were trying to overcome a variety of hardships in life, sharing his testimony and encouraging them to live for Jesus. He is still serving the Lord over 15 years later.

Invitation