FAIRY TALE DREAMS:
Be Morphed
One of my son Michael’s favorite shows when he was younger came as an overnight success here in the U.S. This particular show was already a hit in Japan. But in a country where children’s television is dominated by puppets and cartoons the show’s producers were not so sure that the show would even survive its first season.
Survive it did. In fact the show seemed to thrive. Children across the country piled onto couches, flung themselves into beanbags, and flopped onto the floor every time it was on. It wasn’t that this was a great show by any means. In fact, most adults that sat down to watch it with their children were appalled by the bad acting and poor scripts.
What drew most children to it though was an idea. The characters were normal teenagers most of the time but when trouble began they were able to save the universe. These teens had special abilities that would allow them to turn into something other than what they really were. When they did there was almost always the same words in every episode. “It’s morphing time.”
Yes. In case you haven’t already guessed the show I’m talking about is the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And I can already see the questions starting. Some of you are wondering what in the world the Power Rangers have to do with fairy tales and gaining the life you’ve always wanted.
It was Fredrick Buechner that said every generation has its own fairy tales. For my generation those fairy tales came in the form of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Narnian Chronicles, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The tales often reflect something of the society in which we live. It has become my opinion that if Buechner is correct then The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Pokemon, Sponge Bob, Harry Potter, and Dora the Explorer reach into this new generation. The stories that are seen and heard will affect the way a person thinks, feels, and acts about the world.
So we’re going to continue with this series this morning by really talking about our need to be changed. In order for you and I to find that life that we desire we have to be different than we are right now. In order for us to achieve that fairy tale life we’ve been discussing over the last few weeks we have to be changed. We have to morph into something.
If you’ll take a moment to recall what we’ve already talked about in the previous two weeks you’ll remember that we discussed how most people would like to have a happy and contented life that we think only exists in fairy tales. And we said in the first week that there is only one way to begin this fairy tale lifestyle. That’s by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You and I can only do that by asking for forgiveness and inviting Jesus into out lives. Then we said that this life would include a journey. That there would be an adventure. We talked about how every single one of us has been called into that adventure.
Now I can already see the questions all over the room of people wondering what being changed has to do with adventure and relationships and heaven and fairy tales. Well I’ll tell you. There are hundreds, if not thousands of fairy tales out there that deal with transformation.
And I just heard that thought. “Oh yeah. Name one.”
How about the Ugly Duckling?
Oh but Time you can’t call that transformation. That was merely the act of being confused. The duck was really a swan all along.
That may be true in a sense, if we only look at the beginning and the end of the story. But if you remember the story at all you know that the swan had the mentality of a duck. It certainly wanted to be a duck. It acted like a duck. It tried desperately to fit in with the other ducks. And then the day came that it realized its true beauty and purpose and then it was changed into a swan.
Not good enough for you? OK. Let’s talk about Cinderella. That story was full of transformations. Mice became coachmen and horses. There was the pumpkin that turned into a carriage. Then at the end a peasant girl, really little more than a slave to her family becomes a princess.
Or how about The Little Mermaid? Here’s a girl that really transforms. She’s a mermaid, used to swimming around all the time. Chances are that because she spent all her time below water she had gills to start with. Then she sees this handsome man. With a wish and the help of an evil witch she turns into a human. Her fins into legs. Her gills are gone and she has lungs now. Everything about how she’s lived has to change. Her entire body has to change to its new surroundings in order for her to survive.
There are hundreds and hundreds more stories about being changed from one thing into something else. In fact, it seems as though we’re fascinated with the idea of becoming something other than what we are. The need to change becomes one of the biggest driving forces behind fairy tales.
But if we set the fairy tales aside there comes a reality that you and I need to be transformed creatures. We have to be changed into something other than what we are right now.
What is that something?
Easy. We have to become Christ-like. We have to become holy. In fact Peter tells the church this over in 1 Peter 1:15 – 16. “But just as He who has called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Our instructions here are simple enough. We’ve got to be holy. We’re supposed to be like God is. In fact this point is so important that Peter says it once and then he points back at the Old Testament scriptures to say it a second time. It’s so important that I found it written four times in the Book of Leviticus alone. It’s repeated several more times throughout the Old Testament. The same theme again continues into the New Testament. That’s how important this transformation is to God.
Now I know it’s great to hear something like that. We’d all be holy and everything would be perfect. But let’s be realistic here. We live in a fallen world. We can’t possibly be like God. We can’t possibly be holy.
Can we?
Here comes the tough answer.
No. We will never be completely holy while we are still on earth. However, I do believe that we can be changed while we’re still here on earth. Why else would the words, “Be holy, because I am holy” be written in the Bible?
The problem isn’t really that we can never achieve complete holiness. The problem is that we don’t even know where to really start. We’re not sure how to go about striving to be holy.
Let’s take another look back at 1 Peter and we’re going to back up just a few verses. Take a look at 1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Peter starts out by giving some instructions here. In order for you to be transformed, in order for you to be changed you’ve got to do some things. You want to be holy? You want to follow God’s instructions for us and be like him? Here’s a place to start.
The first thing he says is, “Prepare your minds for action.” We’ve got to get our minds and our hearts ready for change.
If you really want to be changed, you have to be ready for that change to take place. You know those thoughts about how much more money you desire or that nice car or that huge house you want? Get rid of those. Quit thinking about possessions so much. You know those thought of lust that go beyond the thought of “That person is attractive?” Get rid of them. They aren’t doing you any good anyway. You know those thought of revenge for the person that has wronged you somehow? Get rid of those. Let God take care of vengeance there.
Instead you need to begin by setting up your mind for change. You have to prepare yourself mentally, in your heart and in your mind for a changed life. You have to clean the thoughts, clean the desires, and get ready to become more like God.
Solomon, the wise king of Israel knew the importance of having your mind and heart in check when he wrote Proverbs 4:23. “Guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.” He knew that those thoughts of the heart and mind would determine how you think and how you act. They determine what comes out of your mouth.
Secondly Peter tells us to be self-controlled. You still need to have some kind of influence over what goes on in your life. You have to be able to be in control over what goes on in your life so that when the change does come you’re a part of it.
Finally Peter tells us to set our hope on the grace that we’ll receive in full when Christ returns.
Now I’ve got to be honest with you. When I first read this verse I was having some problems with it. You see, I know what God’s grace is like. I’ve been forgiven of my sins because his son died on a cross for me. I didn’t have to do anything to earn that. I know I have a place in heaven reserved in my name because God has promised me those things. I have a loving wife. I take a new breath every day because of God gives it to me. I can stand here and deliver a sermon because God has given me enough grace to allow me to share him with other people. I know what grace is.
And yet here’s Peter telling me to set my hope on grace that is still to be received. Here’s Peter saying, “There’s still more to come.” How is that even possible?
Because you and I haven’t received everything that God has to give us yet. We think so often in earthly terms. But God thinks on bigger terms than you and I can even imagine. I think of Isaiah the prophet in the Old Testament. When he sees God, the angels are around God singing, “Holy. Holy. Holy.” Because God isn’t just holy. God isn’t just holy, holy. God is holy, holy, HOLY. When can’t even begin to wrap our minds around that concept. Even Isaiah couldn’t because he cries out “Whoa is me for I am condemned.”
God has so much more in store for us that I can’t completely understand grace. But I can set my hope on the fact that one day, when Jesus comes again, I’m going to see grace completely. God is going to show me what I can’t understand now.
The next thing that you need to know is that this change, this act of becoming holy is an ongoing occurrence. You don’t just become a Christian and over night become holy. The change starts when you really, honestly give your life to God but it’s not going to end until Christ comes back again.
Let’s take a look at 2 Corinthians 3:18. “But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord.”
This passage tells us that the transformation you and I go through is continual. We are being transformed. Not that we have been transformed. It’s continual.
I love the way the Message Bible puts it. “Are so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
It’s a gradual change. It’s a process. It takes time.
In my own life I look back at the road I’ve come down. I see in the distance a man that was hurting, alone, angry, and bitter. But then as God comes into my life, I begin to change. It begins slowly with occasional attendance in church, occasional Bible reading, and occasional prayer. Then growth occurs. Like a growing child I l discovered and learned new things about God and about me along the way. My passion for God and for people continued to grow along the way. Then there came a day when God told me he had a specific task for me. Even there was a need for change in me. I didn’t want to become a pastor. But God continued to work in and around me to change me. I’m not even the same man today that I was three years ago when that call really came into my life. I know that I won’t be the same man next year spiritually that I am today. I’ll have changed even more.
It’s a process. Your process will be different than mine. Just like children grow and mature and learn at different rates. So do Christians. You will not be the same person five years from now that you are right now.
Finally you need to know this. You’re going to have days when you feel like nothing is changing at all. There will be days when you feel that you’re farther away than you were when you started.
Here’s a promise. You will be transformed. You’re going to morph into something else. The change you are now going through is one day going to be completed.
Look at Philippians 1:6. “Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Some versions say, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
You won’t see the results in you lifetime. But one day you will be made perfectly. You will be made completely holy.
Everything that is wrong with you right now will be gone. All the defects of your aging body, the glasses, the joint pain, the arthritis, and the bad hearing are going to disappear. Your hang-ups, your sinful nature, your failures and disappointments will be gone. Every single thing that you may or may not hate about yourself right this moment will be made whole in Christ Jesus.
You’ll be changed. Forever.
You and I are designed for change. We’re created for it.
As we grow as Christians we will become more and more and more and more and more like Christ.
We will be morphed into something different.
Something holy.
