Let The Change Begin Series

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

So when Paul writes in Ephesians, "Put on your new self" he is recognizing that we have a new nature that must eventually supplant the effects of the old nature still resident our lives. BUT remember, if you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, your OLD NATURE is dead – your sinful nature is DEAD. The Bible says that when you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour for your life that you DIED with Him and were given NEW life by him.

Romans 6:6-11 (NIV)

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Colossians 3:3-4 (NIV)

3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

So the struggle we have is not with our old nature but with the leftover residue of our old nature still in our lives. That is why there is still the process of supernatural transformation taking place in our lives here on earth.

PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians is fairly clear that there is a process of transformation that takes place in the life of a believer. And it is this process that God wants every single one of us to go through. It is the process of aligning our physical selves with the new creation found in our spiritual reality which is truly who we are. It is one thing to be a child of the King – but it is another thing to act like it!

Sometimes the hardest thing to do with Scripture is apply it to your life. For many folks it is easier to make the application for other people. One pastor became acutely aware of that when a church member consistently met him after the service and said, "You sure preached to them today." The pastor frequently dreamed of someday hearing this woman take the message personally. He thought he had finally gotten his chance when a severe storm prevented all but the pastor and this woman from showing up one Sunday. After the message he knew she couldn’t quote her standard remark. Indeed she didn’t. She said, "Too bad they weren’t all here because… You sure preached to them today" (Humorous Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes, Leslie & Bernice Flynn, 1973, p.72, quoted in Autoillustrator.com, BIBLICAL APPLICATION)Many of you may know that Pastor Chris and I have been steadily trying to do some transforming in our house. We’re switching the location of our kitchen. I originally thought this switch would be a 1 month job and we would have it done in the month of July. Chris and I have had fun trying to come up with inventive excuses for our wives every time we’ve had to extend the deadline for finishing this project.