(Note: The outline of this sermon, and some of the content have been adapted from Rick Warren’s material on 40 Days of Purpose.)
I remember when the makeover shows started. They would give a person a new hairdo, new makeup and a new dress. That was it. But, of course, the American way is bigger and better. Now, you get an extreme makeover: a new nose, a new figure, new teeth. . . and a new dress. But even that was not enough. Now you get a new bedroom, kitchen and yard — a whole new house. Even your car gets a makeover. Interesting, isn’t it, that we want our bodies and our stuff to get a makeover, but not our hearts? You can have a made over body, but if you have the same heart what good is it? Why are we so concerned with our outer appearance and so little concerned with our inner condition? The Bible says, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). If God is truly looking at my heart, then I want my heart to have a makeover. I want him to make my heart beautiful and good. I want to have a heart like his. This is my purpose. I am not here to be forgiven and wait for heaven. I am here to be conformed to the likeness of my Savior. As our scripture stated, we have been “predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). The Living Bible paraphrases it this way: “From the very beginning God decided that those who came to him — and he knew who would — should become like his Son.” This is the glorious privilege of every believer. And those who are not seeking this spiritual makeover are missing the greatest purpose for which God has created us. In the end, we will not be judged for what we have done as much as for what we have become. You can do a great deal for God, but if you have not become more like God then it is all for nothing.
This morning we are talking about becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is more than just becoming a Christian, it is progressing in the Christian life so that you are actually being transformed into the image of your Savior. But this is the purpose of all life, that is, being changed in the likeness of God’s character. Nothing else is more important than this, and without this, nothing is important. But how do we become a serious disciple of Jesus Christ?
There are the obvious tools that can be used, like a consistent devotional life and practicing the spiritual disciplines, but let me suggest three other ways that may surprise you — three unexpected tools that God may use to grow us.
The first is: God uses troubles to teach us to trust him. I’m not sure abut you, but I have never enjoyed having troubles. They are unpleasant, bothersome and seem to be such a waste of time. I could be doing something useful while I am having to take the time to deal with the troubles in my life. But when I look back on my life, I see that the troubles I have faced have been the furnace that God has used to refine and purify me. God does not cause these problems, nor does he deliberately bring them into our lives, but he will definitely use them. This gives me great confidence and joy, because when I am faced with a problem I can say, “Lord this really is painful, but I know that you are going to use this bad thing for good. You are going to teach me lessons, and make me a better and stronger person as a result of this situation, and I thank you for it.” There is nothing so bad that God cannot use it to bring some good in my life. That does not mean the situation is good, but his plans for that situation are good.
C. S. Lewis used to say that pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Pain gets our attention. It wakes us up and gets us to do what we were unwilling to do before. It makes us listen to things we didn’t want to hear before. It makes us depend on God because we realize how little we are in control. The Bible says, “. . .troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4, NCV). What is the hope we have? It is found in these words of Scripture: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28, NLT). The troubles you experience will drive you to place your trust in God, because you know that you can’t handle them on your own. Out of your helplessness, you will seek his strength. Out of your inability to figure things out, you will seek his wisdom. Out of the horror of what your sin or the sin of others has caused, you will seek his forgiveness, help and healing. You will be driven to God and to a faith that he can work these things for good and for his purpose. You have to learn to trust God when things look terrible and everything is falling apart — especially then. What good is your faith if you can only trust God when everything is going your way?
Troubles have a way of maturing us like nothing else. They force us to depend on God and lean on him — which is the way we should live all the time. Paul wrote that we were to, “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:13-15).
Just as earthly parents do, God wants his children to grow up. When you first had to face the difficulties of paying your own rent and utilities, buying insurance, and standing in awe as the person who checked out your groceries told you your total, you grew up pretty fast. You really grew up when you had to learn to live with another person. You learned to love someone when you didn’t like them very much at times. In other words, you were maturing. Those difficulties made you a better person. All of the difficulties of life will make us better people, if we let them. God’s will is that you become a person with character, quality and maturity. Every problem has a purpose. God’s goal for you is not comfort, but quality and character. It does not matter who caused the trouble in your life, whether it was you or someone else, God can still use it. And it is his will that it become the fire that refines you into the image of his son Jesus Christ.
In biblical times they did not have refineries with highly developed technologies to let them know when the metal had been heated to just the right temperature. If a metalworker was refining gold, he had to build up the heat, and as the impurities would come to the top he would skim them off. He would keep the gold on the fire until all the impurities came to the surface. He knew the gold was refined when he could see his face reflected in the glowing metal. That’s how God knows when the gold in us is refined — when he can see his reflection in us. The gold is not thrown into the fire to destroy it, but refine it. The more refined it is, the more valuable it is. So it is with us. God allows us to be put in the fire, not because he is angry or disappointed in us, but because he sees the value in us and wants to purify us.
As we go through that process which is sometimes painful, we need to keep our eyes on the goal of what God is doing. The Bible says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
The second unexpected tool that God uses is temptation. God uses temptation to teach us to obey. Now it is important to understand that just as God does not bring trouble into our lives, but uses it, so God does not tempt us, but he can use it. God never wants us to do what is evil or wrong, so he never tempts us to do something wrong. We know this, for the Bible says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13).
Remember this: It is not a sin to be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted, but he never sinned. In speaking of Jesus, the Bible says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). So temptation is not sin. There is a difference between having a lustful thought and delighting in a lustful thought by letting it romp through your mind. Are you ever surprised by the kind of thoughts you can have? I am. I am sometimes amazed at how crude, awful or even perverse the thoughts that come through my mind are. It is not sin, because our minds can come up with the wildest things possible. That is what minds do. They were created to come up with possibilities and use imagination. When they come up with something that is unacceptable, we simply turn our attention to something else. To be afraid of those thoughts is to give them power.
However, it is in facing temptations and refusing to give in that we develop spiritual and moral strength. This is how we learn to obey. If there was never any temptation in our lives, we would never have to worry about obedience. In fact, you could not even call it obedience since you would not be putting forth any effort. Obedience is only possible when we are presented with a choice, and temptation is what presents us with that choice. Learning how to choose is how we learn to obey.
You will never outgrow temptation or get so spiritual that it will never bother you. And we are all tempted in the same ways. The Bible says, “But remember this — the wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, LB). How do we resist temptation? The way to do it is to focus on something other than the temptation. Don’t be so foolish as to put yourself in a position to be tempted, but don’t be afraid of temptation either. Simply turn your mind to think good thoughts. That is why Paul admonished his hearers by saying, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Those are the things that you should dwell on.
Sometimes when I go into a music or video store I find myself depressed thinking about the things with which people are filling their minds. It is everything that is not noble, pure or admirable. Do you want to escape temptation? Fill your mind with good things. Read good books instead of cheap magazines and novels. Stop watching television shows and movies with degrading themes and dark violence. Listen to good music. Make the Bible a part of your daily mental diet. Practice thinking about the good things in the world. Constantly give thanks to God. Meditate on Scripture and the person of Jesus. Get a spiritual partner who will pray for you and hold you accountable. The Bible says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). You, plus one other person, plus God is a cord of three strands.
The third surprising tool that god uses is offenses. God uses offenses to teach us to forgive. What are offenses? They are the intentional and unintentional things that people do that offend or hurt us. These offenses force us to grow. And if we don’t grow, we become withdrawn, bitter, angry, unforgiving people who become mad at the world. These kind of people are the cynics of the world, always expecting the worst and always finding it. They are overly sensitive. They are negative and have a steel wall around themselves to keep from being hurt any further. But those who learn to forgive are able to break out of this prison. Without a willingness to forgive other people we cannot grow in our relationship with God, because God is a forgiving God, and we are called to be like him. Jesus even forgave those who hung him on the cross. He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
But how do we learn to forgive? First of all, we remember the example of Christ. He was the most innocent person on earth. Never had he done anything to deserve any punishment of any kind, yet he was brutalized by the world he came to save. He loved the world that hated him. The Bible says, “Think of what he went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up” (Hebrews 12:3, TEV). He responded to evil with good. He stared hatred in the face, and responded with love and undeserved forgiveness. Now, if you are going to become like Jesus Christ, you have to do the same thing. We live in a fallen world. We have all offended others and been offended. Life calls for forgiveness.
The second thing you need to do is remember all the things for which Christ forgave you. Think of the patience and kindness God has shown you. Think of the sacrifice he paid that you could be forgiven. If Christ had to make a sacrifice, and you are to be like him, won’t you have to make sacrifices? The Bible says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Just so you don’t think all this talk of trouble and testing bringing growth is just so much spiritual jargon, let me share with you someone who experienced tremendous trouble and suffering and not only learned from it, but grew closer to her heavenly Father because of it. Christy Gimperline, the daughter of John and Carol Hood and sister of Tammy Dorman, died a little over a week ago, after a long struggle with a brain tumor. In going through her effects the family came across an entry in her spiritual journal. She had listed seventeen things for which she was thankful as she was undergoing treatment for her cancer. I won’t read them all, but I want to read a few things on the list that began with the words: “Lord Jesus, you have been faithful.” She wrote,
You taught me to give up control and give it over to you.
You are in control and have my best interest in mind.
You are sovereign and have a plan for my life.
You know what is best and have promised to make everything work for the best.
You will never give me any more than I can handle.
You will always be there.
I am better able to minister to others who endure th same type of illness, struggles.
You have given me a gift through pain.
You are teaching me to be more like you.
She grew because of her struggle with sickness and death. If you are going to grow in God, you have to come the place where you are willing to learn and grow through trouble, temptation and offenses.
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 15, 2004
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
