“The Transforming Power of Christ”
September 8, 2012
2 Corinthians 3:17-18:
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Romans 8:29:
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son...”
A couple of weeks ago I preached a sermon on Jesus calling His disciples. It was called “Follow Me”. Jesus walked the dusty streets and the sandy beaches looking for 12 willing men who would follow Him. He found them. 12 men willing to be discipled by Jesus dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus.
Jesus said, at one time, that many are called but few are chosen. I wonder if that was the case as He gathered His little band of followers together. He mentioned a couple of times when He invited people to follow – but they were not willing for one reason or another. Let’s look at those times.
“He said to a man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:59-62
There was an incident in Jesus’ life where a wealthy young leader came to Him asking about eternal life. He said he kept the commandments. Jesus didn’t argue with him. He simply said,
“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 18:22
Two had a different priority than immediately following Jesus. They procrastinated. One had a greater love than Jesus and went away sad.
Each of us has heard the call of Jesus to follow Him. It was in different ways. Some of you responded to an alter call or to a friend who shared the Gospel, or like me, you read it in the Bible and responded in your own home. Some of you many not have recognized it was Jesus calling you – but it was - in the form of the Holy Spirit. In our Scripture it said “the Spirit is the Lord and the Lord is the Spirit”. And whatever means Jesus used - it was still Him offering that invitation. Some didn’t hear the call. Some put off the invitation for a better time; a more convenient time. Some may have bluntly refused. But you didn’t. You are here and that indicates that you said yes.
But I am concerned. Most Christians are in the half-hearted group. They want to follow but procrastinate. Some have greater loves – loves other than Jesus. And if you would ask them they would passionately say they are Christians and Jesus is number one in their lives – but their actions refute their words. They are not following Jesus. They are not obeying Him. They are not passionate about Him. Going to church once in awhile; reading the Bible occasionally; throwing a few coins in the offering plate is about all they can muster up. That is not what Jesus had in mind. What Jesus had in mind is that we be conformed to His image. Jesus wants us to be in a state of growing more like Him. He is our example. He is our goal. And He wants to mentor us.
You say, “How can that be? Jesus is ascended to heaven. He is not here.” Yes, He is. Remember when He told the disciples this?
“But the fact of the matter is that it is best for you that I go away, for if I don’t, the Comforter won’t come. If I do, he will—for I will send him to you.”
John 16:7 (TLB)
Jesus said it would be better for us if He left and the Holy Spirit came. That seems unbelievable. How often we have wished we could walk and talk with Jesus. And we can – through the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit Jesus wants to talk to you today. He wants to disciple you. He wants to teach you His ways. He is willing to do that – if you are willing to follow. ARE you willing to follow?
We believe that the Holy Spirit lives in willing hearts today. We believe that He gives us power to live as He asks us to live. We believe that He will lead us and speak to us today. In fact, I think He is speaking all the time. That is not the problem. Our problem is that we aren’t listening. If we do hear His voice – we aren’t doing as He asks. But when Christians DO listen to His voice, believe and obey – then His power is made flesh in us. The Word actually becomes flesh again. When Christians hear His invitation to get out of the boat or stand up and walk or preach to the multitudes - and they obey in faith –then the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do what otherwise we would not be able to do.
Folks, we need to believe that the Holy Spirit will speak directly to the hearts of true Christ-followers. He speaks directly to our hearts and through the Word of God and through His Body (other Christians). This can be one on one or in a Church service or even through books and magazines. But Christ can and does speak through other Christians to us today.
When Jesus collected His Faithful Few – what did He do with them? Didn’t He disciple them? That’s why they were called ‘disciples’. For three and a half years Jesus taught them daily. They asked Him questions. They observed Him daily. He taught them how to pray and how to serve and how to live. He wants to do the same with you. The problem is that too few people get it. They don’t want to be discipled. They resist the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I hope you are different. I hope you have a great desire to be the man or woman that God wants you to be. I hope you consider yourself a disciple and in the process of being discipled by Jesus Himself. I believe that He fully intends to disciple us today as much as He did two thousand years ago. But we have to be willing. Are you willing to be discipled?
This process begins with us inviting Jesus to save us; to come into our hearts; to take over the reins of our heart; to take the place as King in our hearts. And He does. He will not control you even if you ask Him to – though He could. He wants you to control yourself – with His help. He will not take away your will. He wants you to cooperate with Him freely. You are responsible to see that His power and truth are received and used to do His will. The indwelling Jesus longs to strengthen you and transform your life – but He usually does this with your - on purpose, intentional, cooperation.
And that isn’t easy. It doesn’t take long as new Christians to realize that we do not have the strength to walk the way Jesus wants us to. We aren’t smart enough. We aren’t strong enough. We aren’t holy enough. And we find ourselves failing constantly. We try. We try really hard – but before we know it we are doing that thing we vowed we wouldn’t do. So we have a little talk with Jesus. We confess our weakness. We confess our failure. We tell Him we are sick of running things. We may even plead with Him to take over. We may ask Him to run our lives. We may tell Him to just tell us what to do and we will do it. And we, symbolically, give Him the crown and the throne to our hearts.
Jesus accepts them. Then He does something unexpected. He gives them back. He doesn’t need them. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. One day every knee will bow before Him. One day every tongue will confess that He is the King. But Jesus doesn’t force people into His Kingdom. Jesus doesn’t force people to submit to Him. He could. He has the power. But He prefers to rule mostly by love. Those that follow Him must follow out of love and faith.
See – Jesus desires a real, caring relationship with you. Caring relationships do not force or coerce or dominate or intimidate. Love doesn’t do that. We are saved as we willingly set our wills to do His will.
We can only do that as we trust Jesus. We can only do that as we believe that He truly cares for us – that He loves us. And if we do we will be committed to doing whatever Jesus calls us to do.
I think it is important to realize that Jesus created us to rule and reign with Him some day. Have you realized that Jesus wants to partner with you in this thing called life. He wants to face every trial, ever temptation, every tribulation and – together- overcome. Jesus does not want you to be a robot. He wants you to be a prince. He gives you your crown back and asks that you partner with Him in choosing, over and over and over, to find out and do what He tells us to do.
Sometimes we think that all we have to do is to “let go and let God”. We think we just need to take our hands off and let Jesus take the wheel. But we are off base if we think that. There are countless numbers of people who say they have faith in Christ but really don’t. They think it is entirely up to Jesus to save them. They are only partly right. They think Jesus will coerce and manipulate His will over theirs and thereby save them.
Jesus doesn’t work that way. Jesus coaches and disciples us. He guides us into all truth. People say they have faith in Jesus but they hardly ever seek Him. They don’t know how to listen to His voice. Consequently, they do not set their will to follow at any cost. If they do not listen to Jesus and if they do not seek His will and do what He says – they in fact do not have faith in Him. Real authentic faith means you will listen to Jesus and give yourself to believing and doing what He says. Anything less is a phony faith.
We need to commit to believing in Jesus. Be careful to not be deceived into believing that you have faith in Jesus if you do not give yourself to being His disciple and are not being discipled by Him; or not listening what He says and doing it. There are many, many people who call themselves Christians; who say they have faith - who pay very little attention to Jesus. They do mostly what they think and want and end up ruining their lives. Often they blame Jesus when in fact, they did not trust Him enough to even listen to Him – must less obey Him.
The Christian walk is a whole new way of living. You have been living your whole life not seeking Jesus or His will. It is tough changing a lifetime of bad habits – but Jesus will help us get better and better if we will let Him disciple us.
One wonderful benefit of following Jesus is that we are no longer ever alone. Jesus lives within our hearts and because you have faith in Him – you will learn to consult with Him before allowing other forces to rule your life.
Let me conclude by asking you some questions. 1. Is being a disciple of Jesus optional or necessary for Christians? 2. Can a Christian be a disciple of Jesus unless that Christian is being discipled by Jesus? 3. Is it possible to be discipled by Jesus now – and if so – how does He do it?
Jesus certainly DOES disciple today. He does it primarily through three ways; His Word; His Spirit and His Body. It is your heart; your will, that determines both your eternal destiny and your present experience. God so loves every person in the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not have to die but have eternal life. But the majority of people are dying in their sin. Is it because God’s love and plan is insufficient? No. People are dying because the condition of their heart keeps them from responding to God’s invitations to relationship with Him.
Christ is inviting you to be discipled by Him. How will you respond? It is a daily battle. It a moment by moment battle. It is a battle for the attention and affections of your heart. Will you give yourself to be discipled by Christ as He speaks into your hearts to transform what is in your heart to what is in HIS heart?
