Transformers
Romans 12:1-6a
I. Introduction
a. What a time we had last weekend!
b. You’ve heard several stories about how God moved in mighty ways in the lives of these young people and it was exciting!
c. The theme of the weekend was centered around a Greek word… “Eikon” which came from this verse in Romans 8:29 “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness (or Eikon) of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
d. “Eikon” is defined as “a likeness or an image of someone”
e. The whole idea here being this… when we enter in to a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are to begin the process of being conformed to that image.
i. We are all created in the image of God, but sin has tainted that image, so much so that we wind up not looking like our God!
f. So what must happen for us to reflect this image more clearly!
i. We must become transformers!
ii. This summer, many of you may know, the movie Transformers hit the big screen and was a HUGE success!
g. This morning I want to put this challenge on the coat tails of REFRESH weekend and to you our church body… God wants us to be transformers!
i. But unlike the robots in the movies, He does NOT desire that we transform back and forth from the were person we were, to the person we are in Christ, and back to the person we were.
ii. No… His desire is that we become II Corinthians 5:17 in action… “Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a NEW creation, the old is GONE and the new has come!!!”
h. But how can we do that… How can we transform more and more every day into the “eikon” or likeness of Christ?
i. Romans 12:1-6a - “1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;”
j. The clear temptation that screams from this passage is the temptation to conform!
i. And let’s face it… we’ve all done this from time to time!
ii. When I was young… growing up in the south… there was a certain hairstyle that popular…
1. Flash picture of me with a mullet!
2. Yeah, that’s right… I sported a mullet!
3. Business in the front, party in the back… right?!
k. Conformity is something we talk about A LOT in the teenage world… but it is a temptation that everyone struggles with.
l. But God has called us to move past conformity and to be transformed!
m. Let me just say up front that this transformation is a process… while we are declared righteous and cleansed immediately upon faith in Christ… our transformation into His likeness on earth is a lifetime process.
n. But how can we move forward in this process? I think this passage gives us some clear guidelines from such progress.
II. Reflect often on the magnitude of Grace!
a. The open words of verse one in Chapter 12 are often brushed over with little consideration… but that is tragic mistake.
b. “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God…”
c. Before any exhortation takes place in these verses, Paul says this… “what I am about to tell you to do springs forth from grace… it will only be fueled by a response to grace!!!
d. I was once posed this question, “who are the greatest evangelist in the world?” or “Who are the most effective people in sharing the gospel with the world?”
i. Some immediate responses were… missionaries, pastors, etc.
ii. You know what the correct response is? New believers!
iii. Why?
1. Because they usually have lots of lost friends.
2. Because they haven’t yet gotten used to grace… they are still blown away by the fact that God’s Son stepped out of heaven, became a man, suffered and died so that they could have eternal life!
e. How can we be transformed? By constantly taking the time to reflect on the amazing nature grace toward us!!
i. Oh, we sing about it… but how often do we sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound… that saved a wretch like me” and are broken by the truth and power of that?!
f. In 1836, there was a revolution taking place in Texas between Texas rebels and the Republic of Mexico.
i. Many of you know of the story of the Alamo in the midst of this revolution.
ii. A small army of men fought for 13 days defending the Alamo, but eventually their lives were sacrificed.
iii. However, the phrase, “Remember the Alamo!” rose from the ashes to lead to a Texan victory and independence!
g. This morning, I’m asking you to remember something bigger than the Alamo… a sacrifice more gracious and costly… REMEMBER THE CROSS!
h. And if we do that… then we are taking the first steps of this Transformation process!
III. Live out a Life of Sacrifice! (12:2)
a. “1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship…”
b. We cannot Transform until we learn and live a life of sacrifice!
c. What exactly does it mean to be a “living sacrifice?”
i. This sounds very much like an oxymoron… living in contrast with sacrifice (often seen as the dying of something)!
d. I’m a simple man… so I sum up the meaning of being a living sacrifice in two ways…
i. Surrender and Obedience!
e. Surrender, meaning a complete surrender of our will, desires, and plans for our lives.
f. Obedience being the putting feet to the will, desire and plans God has for our lives!
g. You know who has as caught this concept of surrender and obedience… the New England Patriots!
i. Now don’t get me wrong… I can’t stand them… they’re too stinking good and the whooped my Boys last weekened.
ii. But there is no doubt that that team is so good for one reason and one reason only… they have all surrendered their agendas and have willingly submitted to the guidance of their coach, Bill Belichik!
iii. There is a guy on his team this year who is one of the most talented receivers the game has ever seen but also has a history of causing major problems on the team… some of you know who I’m talking about, Randy Moss!
iv. But this year, I’ve heard almost nothing out of Moss… except the reporters saying, “another touchdown by Randy Moss!”
v. That team has bought into this, “We have the greatest coach in the modern era… let’s listen to him and do what he says!”
h. Surrender and obedience… transformation CANNOT happen without these!
i. What in your life are you refusing to surrender?
i. Maybe a habit… maybe a relationship… maybe material things… most likely personal comfort!
j. But if we are going to be transformed into the Eikon of Christ… then we must be willing lay down our agendas and submit to the agenda of Chrsit in our life!
i. That’s not an easy thing to do!
ii. It’s much easier to say!
iii. But we can do it when we respond to that grace we just spoke of and completely trust He Who guides us!
IV. Renew your Mind!
a. “2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
b. Transformation cannot take place in our lives without a complete change in our thinking!
c. REFRESH story… me and Pork Chop and the super ball game
i. You know why we started playing this stupid game that ended in carnage?
ii. Because I had a thought… I had an idea… and every so quickly that that thought ran straight to my lips… “Dude… I got an idea for a game”… which ran straight to my hands and feet… which led to disaster!
iii. The point is this… all actions in our life and all words that come out of our mouth are results of mind… our thinking.
d. So in order to be transformed into the “eikon” of Christ… there has to be some pretty significant renewal happening in my cranium!
e. How do we do this? Let’s face it… the ol’ saying is somewhat true… “Trash in, trash out!”
i. And the truth is… there is a lot of trash being fed into our minds everyday… everywhere we go!
f. There’s only one real way to renew our minds in a fallen world… and that is to fill with the Word of God!
g. II Timothy 3:16-17 – “16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
h. Most of us are not experiencing transformation in our lives, b/c we have neglected to spend consistent time chewing and meditating on the Word of God!
i. The thing is… you begin to reflect who you spend time with!
i. Ex. Wyatt copying us
1. “Back, Back” and sticks foot out when he goes out the door.
2. “Pray” and “Amen”
ii. Ex. Danny saying “N-I-N-E” during ping pong
j. How in the world do we expect to reflect to the image of someone that we only talk to and spend time with once or twice a week!
k. We must renew our minds… by sitting at the feet of Jesus. And the most literal way that we do that now is by prayer and meditating on the Word of God!
V. Use your Gifts to Serve!
a. “4For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;”
b. We ended our weekend with this challenge… and I continue this challenge to you this morning… WE CANNOT BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE EIKON OF CHRIST IF WE ARE NOT SERVING OTHERS! (both in this body and outside of these walls)
c. And each of us have been given gifts and talents that MUST be exercising within this body!
i. You know why I’m up here preaching? B/c I dang sure can’t be up here singing!
1. When I sing it sounds like cats are being tortured!
2. If I were to try to serve through singing… you know what it would look like biblically?
a. Put shoe on hand!
d. We each have something to bring to the table and a part of our transformation into the image of Christ is learning where we are gifted and then putting feet to those gifts!
e. There are a lot of people who are serving well in this church… but a bunch of them are just worn out.
i. You know why? B/c they are doing what someone else is supposed to be doing in this church… they are filling a need b/c someone in here is not stepping up to the plate!
f. If you truly want to conform to the “likeness” of Christ… then you had better be serving!
g. That doesn’t mean you have to teach or do something on this stage… you find you giftedness and your calling and serve in that capacity.
i. If there is not a ministry that is available for you to plug into that fits your calling, then by golly… create one!
ii. Everyone in this room this morning, from the youngest to the oldest, needs to ask this question right now… “What am I doing to serve the people of this congregation AND the community that God has placed me in.”
iii. B/c you see… it’s not just about us!
iv. It’s about those outside our walls as well… it’s about those who in desperate need of the true and abundant life that we have in Christ!
VI. Conclusion
a. God wants to transform us into the “Eikon” of Christ!
b. That can happen if we:
i. Reflect often on the Magnitude of His Grace!
ii. Live out a Life of Sacrifice!
iii. Renew our Minds!
iv. Use our Gifts to Serve!
c. My question to you this morning is this… will you allow God to transform your life?!
d. Students… will you lead the charge?!
i. You were pumped up when you left the retreat last weekend!
ii. Are you still charged to be transformed and then go transform the world.
e. Adults… what commitments is God asking you to make this morning.
f. As we close with a song this morning… I’m opening up the front of this church (and the back??) for anyone who wants to lay down their life before the transformer of life this morning.
g. You come as the music plays.
