Skyscraper Ministries/Lectures/Annual Baptisms/The Other Seventy Training Academy
The Word vs. The World
Southside Church of Christ
Youth
Revival
Richmond, California
Transformation
Romans 12:1-2
In
Romans 12:1-2 the apostles Paul makes it clear, in approaching God, one must
be conscious, proactive, and conceptually sound in several areas. He/she must
present self before God, be a living sacrifice, be Holy, maintain that all
Christian service is reasonable, shun conformity, continually seek transformation
through mind renewal, proving what is good, acceptable and perfect will of
God.
In this brief lecture and essay it
would be impossible to exhaustively address each critical concept of Paul in
Romans 12:1-2, therefore the focus is dedicated to the concept of
transformation and the severing of ties with conformity. For the theme of this
sermonic tower, the Word is what causes transformation and the world is what
promotes conformation.
On many levels, in schools,
neighborhoods, families, and misguided denominational movements, the Word of
God is being exchanged and refused because of the ways and whims of the world.
However with a stern warning, the apostle Paul said, “Be not conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...”
Through biblical exploration, the
transformation processes of Job, Jonah, Moses, and Jesus Christ will be
explored to help humanity understand that spiritual transformation is a
necessity if a person desires to be pleasing to God. Before the exploration,
notice the chart below, which contrasts worldly positions with biblical
refutations.
Chart 1. The Word vs. the world
|
The World |
The Word |
|
God can be prioritized as
second! |
Matthew 6:33 |
|
You do not need to wait on the
Lord! |
Isaiah 40:31 |
|
God is limited and cannot help
you! |
Ephesians 3:20-21 |
|
God does not care if you attend
worship! |
Hebrews 10:25 |
|
Jesus is the Head of every
church! |
Matthew 16:18; Matthew 15:13 |
|
You can love God & break His
mandates! |
John 14:15; John 15:14 |
|
You can follow the ways of the
world! |
Matthew 7:13-14 |
|
It does not matter, all are
going to heaven! |
Matthew 7:21-23 |
|
It does not matter whom I hang
with! |
1 Corinthians 15:33-34; Proverbs
6:27-28 |
Every person seeking God must one
day unite and meet face to face with the process of spiritual transformation.
Nicodemus asked the Messiah about the process and he was instructed, “…Except a
man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”
(John 3:5). In reaching a level of spiritual maturity, Job, Jonah, and Moses
had to endure a process of spiritual transformation. Jesus being the author and
finisher of the Christian faith manifested the fulfillment of spiritual
transformation, pre and post resurrection.
Job
The life of Job is one of endurance
and divine triumph. Although Job sinned not through his encounter with the
devil, he reached an increased level of spirituality at the conclusion of
the episode. To truly understand the book of Job, one must understand its
characters, chronology, and systemization. In chapters one and two of Job,
it is recorded that after his satanic attack, which resulted in the loss of
all his children, servants, cattle, and sores from the top of his head to
the bottom of his feet, he was bombarded by four self righteous visitors:
Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu. The key to understanding Job is deciphering
the cycle of their discourse. They spoke in cycles of three, one after the
other, and Job responded to each address, while yet sick and in pain. His
friends ridiculed him and blamed him for his condition. They had a sick Job
trapped in his home, forced to listen to their cantankerous speeches. Below
is a detailed chart of their addresses to Job.
Chart 2.
Addresses to Job
|
Speaker |
Chapter |
|
Eliphaz |
4 |
|
Bildad |
8 |
|
Zophar |
11 |
|
Eliphaz |
15 |
|
Bildad |
18 |
|
Zophar |
20 |
|
Eliphaz |
22 |
|
Bildad |
25 |
|
Elihu |
32 |
|
God |
38 |
After each man spoke, Job defended
his innocence. After God spoke in chapter 38, Job responded in chapter 42. The
words of a spiritual Job indicated that he had leaped to a new spiritual level.
He said “I have heard of the by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth
thee” (Job 42:5). In all of Job’s righteousness, he was obedient based upon
what he heard of God, but after his spiritual experience he was transformed
because his personal encounter with God. After Jobs encounter with the
providence and protection of God, his mind was changed and renewed.
Jonah
Before Jonah could be holistically
pleasing to God, he had to go through a transformation process. He was
instructed by God to go preach to the lost souls in Nineveh. However, Jonah was
fearful, his thinking and faith toward God needed an upgrade. Instead of
traveling to Nineveh to preach, he went to Joppa, paid for his boat ticket, and
attempted to sail to Tarshish. He was running from the Lord (Jonah 1-3).
While on the boat the judgment
of God surrounded him and he was awakened out of his sleep. After no reprieve,
the men on the boat tossed Jonah into the tempestuous waters and he was swallowed
by a great fish prepared by the Lord (Jonah 1:17). After three days and three
nights in the Hadean belly of the fish, Jonah began to pray. Once his soul
fainted in him, he realized from whence his power came (Jonah 2:7). Jonah,
after much reflection and retrospection confessed and repented and the fish
returned him back to dry ground. The experience renewed the mind of Jonah
and he was transformed and rapidly traveled to Nineveh to preach the good
news of God (Jonah 3:1-3).
Moses
Moses was a man God put through a
mighty workout before he was noticeably transformed in the presence of Israel.
God insisted that Moses travel up and down, up and down, Mount Sinai to
complete his transformation process. At Moses’ last trip down the mountain in
Exodus 34:29-35 his face shined so brightly that he kept a vail on his face.
Observe the chart for the activity of Moses up and down the mountain.
Chart 3. The activity of Moses up & down Mount Sinai.
|
Up/Down the Mountain |
Passage |
Activity |
|
Up |
Ex. 19:3 |
Went up to the LORD. |
|
Down |
Ex. 19:12 |
Returned back down to sanctify
the people. |
|
Up |
Ex. 19:20 |
Went up the mountain for a brief
meeting with God. |
|
Down |
Ex. 19:21 |
Returned down to warn people of
God’s visit. |
|
Up |
Ex. 24:12 |
Informed to go up with tablets
to receive written laws. |
|
Down |
Ex. 32:7,15 |
Returned because of corruption
of Israel. Broke tablets out of frustration with the sins of the
congregation. |
|
Up |
Ex. 34:4 |
Returned up for new tablets
& meeting with God. |
|
Down |
Ex. 34:29-35 |
Returned down with a visible
renewed spirit & mind. |
When God transforms a soul, people
cannot help but see the difference. When Moses returned from the mountain his
face was glistening with transformative spirituality. Moses had been touched by
God and was renewed in his leadership. His experience was similar to that of
Christ.
The Messiah
In Matthew 17:1-9, Jesus took Peter,
James and John on a journey up a high mountain. Upon arrival, Jesus was transfigured/transformed
in their presence. His face shined as the sun and His clothes were as white
as the light (John 17:2). In the process Moses and Elijah appeared and began
conversing with Christ. Enamored by the sight, Peter quickly decided to build
three tabernacles, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. However, God intervened
and published the supremacy of Christ, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased, hear ye him” (John 17:5).
Through this process Christ
illustrated that He was different the same way every earthly soul today must
strive to show their difference in Christ. Christ manifested His transformation
before and after His physical resurrection. It simply indicates to the world
that long before individuals are physically resurrected, they must be
resurrected on an earthly level, as explained to Nicodemus by Christ.
Luke 24 reveals the state of
Christ while He walked in the resurrected after His death on the cross. As two
men walked He suddenly appeared beside them, began to teach, broke bread with
them, and vanished out of their sight (Luke 24:15,27,30,31).
The apostle Paul put forth the mandate
that all people must be transformed before they can be pleasing to God (Romans
12:1-2). Under the Christian dispensation of grace and truth the transformation
process begins with the teachings of Christ, believing in them, repentance
from evil, acknowledgment of Christ as the Son of God, and baptism in water
for the remission of sins (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6; Luke 13:3,5; Romans
10:9-10; Acts 2:38,41,47; Mark 16:15:16, 1 Peter 3:20-21). After which a person
must continue to live and walk in the Spirit and continually grow in Christ.
As set forth by Christ and illustrated in the life of Job, Jonah, and Moses,
let God transform you today. Choose the Word over the world. God has
paved a way to save you today!