Unlocking Spiritual Transformation- Part II "Full Grown"

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16, Ps 51:1-12
Thank you for joining us this week, for part two of our series on spiritual transformation. 

Last week was an interesting week. If you missed it or just plain ole’ forgot it, we discussed the story and trials of King David, and how his issue with lust got him into a lot of trouble; and how the sin that David committed quickly snowballed out of control, as sin often does.

We talked about how we all tend to have that “one thing” that holds us back. That major thing we battle with, that keeps us from truly growing spiritually and experiencing God and our faith in ways like never before.  We spoke about some practical steps to overcoming this barrier; and about laying down our lives before God and fully giving it all to Him.

Last week was about a major thing that we are to DO, if we are to truly be changed and be used by Jesus. 

There are things that MUST be done if we want a Christian faith that is more than a smile and a handshake on Sunday morning. We don’t necessarily always want to do it- I understand that. But they MUST be done. What happens if I put off staining the deck year after year? It ROTS! It becomes useless. Eventually it gets to a point when it needs to be torn down and rebuilt. And like we learned from David last week, isn’t getting torn down and rebuilt much harder; and costlier? The same is true of our spiritual lives! We need to put in the work to see the reward!

In taking a look at today’s scripture, we can see that today is about the next step. It is about what we want TO BE, and even more; what we are called to be. Today we are challenged by the Apostle Paul to “live a life worthy of our calling”. In the scriptures this morning Paul speaks out to us about the truth of Jesus in words shared by the Psalmist in Psalm 68 Verse 18:

When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives, and gave gifts to his people

Christ Descended to the world. He lived, he toiled. Like you and me he was tempted and suffered. But yet, when his work was done, he ascended and he is bringing you and I with him- but now we are No longer captives of what has been keeping us from God, from the heartbeat of true life, and the arms of Jesus.

I spent a great deal of time this week, in contemplation on spiritual transformation, on the decline of church in America, and what it is that I feel the Apostle Paul is getting at in this section of the letter. So I would like to share with you a story. Use your imagination with me. You can follow along, close your eyes if you want to- just don’t fall asleep. 

There are two men. They are young men in their early twenties, and they are neighbors, living across the hall from each other in an apartment building. They have built a friendship, mostly over a common interest. Both men want to become professional athletes. But both are living in the apartment building because, so far, it hasn’t gone well. Although both have been given gifts that could enable them to become great athletes, so far they have fallen short. They are doing decent in life, but the full potential of what could be has not been discovered.

One of the young men, Matt, we will call him, is an exercise fanatic. Early in the morning he goes off to the gym. After work he goes to the gym. He keeps up the neighbors up at night doing jumping jacks, pushups and pull-ups. He exercises so much that he never has time to eat. So to save time he often cooks ramen noodles, or something quick and easy. But regardless of how much exercise he does, it never seems to make much of a difference. He is weak, and he makes little or no gains.

John, on the other hand, dislikes exercises. He is often bored with doing repetitive exercise alone, so no longer bothers. Instead, John prefers to eat only healthy, nutritious food. Because of this, he feels that the exercise isn’t necessary. So every day John heads out to find the best organic, local ingredients and cooks the very best, healthy meals.

One day the two men meet in the hall, and discuss how they have been struggling as Athletes.

“Come over for dinner tonight, and we will talk more”, John says. So that night they get together over a healthy meal and give each other pointers on how to become better athletes. And the conversation becomes so interesting that John decides to join Matt on his nightly workout regime. The next day, both men have their best days as athletes yet. 

So what happened?

It’s obvious in these terms, is it not? When we are talking about wellness, its clear to see that Matt needs to eat better food and John needs to exercise. Its easy to see that in their friendship, they boosted each other up by supporting each other as athletes. Most everyone can tell you that if you want to be professional athlete, you need to have a good combination of healthy diet and lots of exercise. 

So how is this different from our Christian walk? How is this different from our relationship with God? With becoming a mature Christian? If you want TO BE something in Christ, you chase after God will all you have. You commit to it. You partner with other Christians to build each other up. You use the spiritual gifts that He has given you. If you want to use them well, you need to train yourself.

We train ourselves by taking in spiritual food. Like listening to sermons, reading your bible, meditation, learning about the theology behind our faith. I could go on and on. Exercising your faith, in contrast, is about employing your spiritual gifts, praying with people, chasing after God in every area of your life.

 If you don’t eat enough spiritual food, your faith is anemic. You become weak. If you only consume lots of spiritual food but never exercise it, you may become fat and happy; but it never counts for anything. You can’t score if you’re not in the game.  You may be the best at something that can be used by God, for the transformation of yourself and of the greater world. But like these men you haven’t met your full potential. In teaming up, like Matt and John, sharing our gifts, graces and knowledge, we become better equipped and better trained.  

Paul talked about much in this section of his letter to the church in Ephesus. But this is the key. BE what God wants you to be, BE someone different- through the gifts and graces that you have received. Live a life worthy of the calling. Grow and mature as a Christian, seeking to someday become “full grown”, and Christ calls you home.

This morning I want to challenge you to create a list of the “To Be’s”. A list of the areas of your life that you wish to improve on, or be remembered by. These items will symbolize both where you want your relationship with God to be, as well as your legacy once God calls you home. Where do you want to be? What do you want to be remembered by?

It might sound like this:

11.)  To be someone with a strong prayer life.  Who feels a very real connection with God while you pray.

22.)  To be someone who walks with humility and servant leadership.

33.)  To be someone who holds close the truth of Jesus Christ. Someone who stares down adversity and crisis situations and lives in a comfort and hope, even when faced with the toughest situations life has to through at them.

Get it out on paper. When its down on paper you are more likely to do it. Then take a real honest look at your items, and figure out, What do I need to do to get there? Who should I team up with? Take the next steps necessary to live like no one else, so that you can experience God in a real and true way like no one else.

Many, many times have I gotten into conversations with people and they have said “Well you know, I used to go to church but I never got anything out of it” or “It didn’t make a difference in my life”.  My answer to these folks is usually two questions- “What did you do to grow closer to God” and “Did you try to become like Jesus with every ounce of your soul?” The answer is usually silence or an unsure no. Somehow our society has bought into this idea that you just come to church and God transforms your life like a spiritual genie. Or not. But the truth is that although the transformation of life through Christ is a gift, yes; we need to go through the effort of unwrapping it. Who would leave a million dollar check in the mailbox but not go through the effort to get up, go out and check it? Don’t let a priceless gift go to waste by inaction.