Teaching Notes

Embracing the Change, Part 4

                                                                                                                        Challenges to being transformed

Let’s look at the scripture from Romans 12:1-3 in this last installment of this lesson.


Romans 12:1-3 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God

1-2 So here's what I want you to do, (God helping you): Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.


3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.


This scripture talks about three key points of where we are to change or be transformed.

1. Commitment – in verse 1 it states, “here’s what I want you to do”. This talks about making a commitment to do something. Also Paul gives them this instruction with a very important clause, he says “with God helping you”. This means that the apostle Paul was talking to the people of Rome to make a commitment to the things of God but not in their own power but by God’s power. That is a word called “sanctification” that means becoming more godlike in our life. So, what is this commitment to?

The commitment is not to what people expect, but what God is requiring from you. This does not mean that you are not to obey rules, but it is stating that you seek God’s truth first, and then you obey rules that are in keeping with the will of God.


2 Corinthians 8:5 –And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.



2. Living sacrifice – Paul was asking the people to allow God to change them from the “inside out”. What this meant was more than “doing” things in front of people. You know what I mean. You won’t curse around the church people, but you curse around your friends. You do things in front of your parents but you are another way in front of others. Paul is saying don’t live a double life. Let the change be from a changed heart and mind.

1 Corinthians 6:20 - you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Romans 6:13 - Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.


3. Respond to the will of God. – In the verse it reads that we are to “readily recognize” what God wants and then respond accordingly.

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Ephesians 4:22-24 - You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Exodus 23:2 - "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,


Why do we need to be transformed? – To prove what is good, acceptable and God’s perfect will


2 Timothy 3:16, 17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Phil 1:10-11 - so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.


As you reflect on the lessons over the last weeks, what do you take away from this lesson? What do you want to change? Let me pray for you at this time:


Lord, we thank you for this opportunity to help these that are now reading the lessons presented earlier. I ask that you would help those reading this lesson to make the commitment they need to be all that you have called them to be. Transform the minds and help them make the commitment to live for you, your way, amen.

Teaching Notes

Embracing the Change – part 3

Last week we talked about what we eat regarding spiritual food. This week we look at what those “foods” are. We will now look at the wrong food (the garbage, the worldly thinking) and the good food (the godly thinking).

About truth

Lies the world says
You cannot know what is true. Truth is relative, there is no absolute truth.

What God says
God is truth. His Word is the standard for truth. (Psalm 119:142, 151, 160)

Lies the world says
Lying is sometimes good or best. White lies are okay.

What God says
God hates lies (Prov. 6:17)

About language

Lies the world says
You must tolerate contradictory views; don’t speak against the opinions of others.

Truth
Fear God and not man (ps. 111:10, Prov. 29:25)

Lie
Swearing is okay. Vulgar language can be funny.

Truth
Do not swear speak only words that build others up (Matt 12:36)

About pride

Lie
Take pride in yourself and your talents.

Truth
God is the source of all your talents (James 1:17)

Lie
You can do anything you set your mind to

Truth
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil 4:13)

View of self

Lie
Think of yourself first

Truth
Treat others the way you wish to be treated (Luke 6:31)

View of authority

Lie
Question authority

Truth
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority (Heb. 13:17)

Lie
Not all rules apply to you.

Truth
God has established the authority in our lives (Rom 13:1)

Respect

Lie
Respect those that respect you and those who treat you well.

Truth
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44)

As we just looked over these few scriptures we see that the word of God tells us to be different that what the world tells us to be and do. If we do not continue to feed ourselves on the word of God we will begin to live out the worlds view and we will be conformed to this world and not transformed to the ways of God.
Come back next week for the last installment of this lesson.

Teaching Notes

Embracing the Change – Part 2

People face many things in life, some good and some bad. How we face those challenges determines if we want to be better or if we simply want to fit in to the world around us. When people change to be more like others around them, this is called conforming. The change that took place in Ashley Pearson (a young girl that God spared in a car accident) was a transformation. She began to allow God to transform her life into what he wanted her life to be. She did not become bitter because of her difficulty, in fact she allowed God to use it to help her worship him. What does it mean to be transformed? (It means to be altered, for the better in this instance, from the state something was once in.) We were once lost and sinners. When Christ changed us he not only gave us the righteousness of God but he transformed our lives. He changed us from a sinner to a child of God.

John 1:12 – Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

God gives us the power to be transformed, but there are things that we allow to get in the way that keep us from allowing ourselves to be changed. What do you think gets in the way of us being changed? The greatest thing that gets in the way is our thinking. We have to move from what I call “stinking thinking” to “holy thinking.” What we think is very important to how we live out our values and our faith. If we allow the world’s views or our view of the world to direct us, we will have faulty thinking.

Let’s look at the belief test. What do you think about these questions and the results?

Do you believe that the devil or Satan is not real but a symbol of evil? 41 percent of teenagers who seemed to be Christians believed this lie.

Do you believe that all religious faiths teach equally valid truth? 45 percent wrongly believed this.

Do you believe that Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and all other people pray to the same god, even though they use different names for god? 52 percent wrongly believed this.

Do you believe if people are generally good, or do enough good things for others during his or her life, they will earn a place in heaven? 52 percent wrongly believed this.

Do you believe when Christ was on earth he committed sins, like other people? 58 percent wrongly believed this.

What makes these beliefs wrong? Not because I said so, but because they are contrary to the word of God. If we are to be changed we have to feed our spiritual man on the truth of God’s word.

What are you eating?

What if I invited you to come to church with me and then told we would be eating lunch out of the garbage can? Why would you not want to eat from the garbage can?

These are some responses the young people gave:

Bad for you

Make you sick

I'd tell you to eat it first

I wouldn’t want to come to a church that makes you eat out of the garbage can.

Eating spiritual food that is not good for you is the same as eating from the garbage can. It does not help you grow spiritually, it will make you sick because you will not be able to resist sin and it does not help you to become stronger. Also, if you would tell the person to eat from the garbage can first, then why don’t you tell your friends that try to tempt you with sin to eat it themselves? Or when you go to church why do you get angry if the church talks to you about living right (which is only done by “eating” right things). You said you would not want to go to a church that fed you garbage, so then accept the good food they church gives you to grow. The way to embrace the transformation, the change is to begin to change the way you think. This is done by changing what we fed ourselves on.

(come back next week as we discuss some of the good and the bad spiritual food we eat)

Teaching Notes

And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began everone of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. Matthew21-25

And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said is it I? and he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish. St. Mark 19-20

I was struggling with a situation in my life and I had to seek God's direction on what I should do. I asked God, how do you handle someone trying to murder your name and who you are? How am I to treat that person or persons? I thank God for His spirit. He took me to His son. Jesus knew how to handle betrayal. How did He handle it?

First, Jesus being God Himself (all knowing) picked Judas to be one of His disciples. So He knew from the beginning who Judas was and what He was capable of. And even knowing this, He did not cast Judas away from Him. Judas was in His inner circle. He knew what the Master said, and He saw what the Master did. Judas was there hearing everything, taking notes on Jesus situation. Yet Jesus did not keep any good thing from him.

So now I asked the question, as only our human minds can think of, why didn't you get rid of him? You knew what he was going to do, so why not get him out of your business. Let me share with you what I believe God showed me.

He did not cast Judas out because the gracious God that we serve wants everyone to have a chance to come to know Him. He allowed the traitor to walk with Him and see Him to give Judas a chance to come to a place of salvation. Judas chose not to take it.

We also have to understand that Judas didn't take Jesus's life. Jesus willing gave it up. Jesus could have stop the process at anytime He wanted to. We have to also understand that Judas wasn't the only possible way that Jesus could have given up His life. So Judas didn't have to betray Jesus. He chose to allow the enemy to use him.

Secondly, even though Jesus did not cast Judas away, He did call him out. He let the truth of the situation be known. He boldly told everyone who the betrayer was. See Jesus had a mission to fulfill and that was what He did. Judas was amongst the followers. He looked like a disciple, he talked like a disciple, he wasn't really a follower of Christ. Oh even when the others were concerned if they were the ones that would betray Jesus and asked in a manner of sorrow, Judas asked as well, to keep up appearances. And Jesus called him on it.

So what is the lesson I learned? God wants me (and I can say us as well) to be Jesus in the situations where we are being betrayed. It is a difficult place to be, but we must continue to be that light, that path to God. God wants everyone to have an opportunity to receive His forgiveness, even the betrayer. So we have to be Jesus to them. They may walk amoung you, they may sit next to you, they may even be in your family. Yet God wants us to be Jesus to them. Because the grave they are digging, isn't really for you anyway. It is for themselves. For God has a purpose for your life and you must fufill it inspite of and because of what is going on. However hear this, Jesus did not cast Judas out, but He called him out.

Let the truth be the truth. Don't back down from the truth, stand in it and stand for it. Jesus let Judas know He knew all about what he was going to do. Even in that, Judas still didn't heed the warning. But Jesus had a mission and that is what He did, fulfill His mission. We have a mission from God and we must fufill that mission.

So what will I do? I will be loving with the Love of Christ. I will fulfull my mission for Him so that He can receive the Glory, for I am assured that no weapons formed against me shall prosper. But I will stand for the truth at all times and in all situation. I will do it with boldness and with the assurance of God that He is on my side.

So I encourage all today, that inspite of what's going on in your lives, stand boldly for the truth, but be ready to love those in your midst, that even seek to kill your name.

Praying for all that read this, that God would receive all glory from your lives.