The Hope of Transformation2010 New Year Message preached by Tan Kok Liang on 10th
January 2010 THE HOPE OF
TRANSFORMATION An authentic church should not only stress about
God’s grace but with equal emphasis on the importance of change,
scripturally call transformation. If we profess to be disciples
of Christ, transformation in our lives is not an option. A classic illustration of transformation is the life of
Apostle Paul. The Bible describes Paul as intelligent, persuasive and dogmatic
but he was a man that opposed the name of Jesus. He was a man breathing out
murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples, destroying the early
church, dragging off men and women and putting them in prison. He was so bent
on destroying the church and even obtained letters from the religious leaders and
travelled 140 miles (at those time, it is a long journey) from Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute
the Christians. He was an accomplice to the murder of Stephen and the Bible
describes Paul as a blasphemer, persecutor and a violent man. But when Paul met
with Christ Jesus, his entire life changed!! Paul had the most to say about transformation in the
NT. He knew what he was talking about, he had experienced transformation; he
knew the difficulty to change but he also knew the importance of change –
transformation is not an option. This is the man who said: (1) To Christians in Rome : Roman 12 : 1-2 Therefore
I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. (The
Greek word for transformation is metamorphosis and the analogy of a caterpillar
changing to a butterfly.) (2) To Christians in Galatia Galatians
2 : 20 I have
been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me. (We are
full of excuses we have no time to pray, no time to be involved in ministry, no
time for the things of God. It is not wrong to study very hard, work very hard
to earn for our living, etc etc to achieve
our goals and expectations, but sometimes we live as if there is NO TOMMORROW.
Though we profess as Christians, yet we seem to live ONLY for this life We ought
to live by faith and not by sight
and our life in this world is temporary). (3) To Christians in Ephesus 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 (Scripture
speaks about personal spiritual formation in our life from verses 25-32). (4) To Christians in Corinth 2
Corinthians 3: 18 And we,
who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit. Question: 1.
How has belonging to Jesus Christ changed
you as a person? 2.
Would you be different if you did not
believe Jesus was the resurrected Christ? 3.
Can someone who has known you for years
look at your life and see the ways Christ has changed you as a person? 4.
Is it very obvious in the ways you behave
that Christ is in control of your life? May our lives experience transformation from this day
henceforth, for the year 2010 and beyond. Do you like to change? Year 2010 resolution. As each year comes and goes, virtually everyone would
strive and wish for something better, especially something closer to their
heart. People talk about their goals, expectations and hopes. I like reading
the daily news on NEW YEAR’S resolution of various people from all walks
of life and these are what they expressed. Wish for World peace, Reduce stress, Aiming for 6As,
More support for local artistes, Minimum wages for all employees, Want
corruption curb, Getting more students, Mastering Japanese language, Better dad
& husband, Improve my advocacy skills, more business, Work harder earn
more, Better economy, Start food business, Get better pay, Problem free year,
More successful year, pushing my standard of performance higher. Year in year out we make Resolutions to change but
usually there is no progression. BUT IS THERE A WAY OUT? Some say that by their mid-30’s most
people stopped acquiring new skills/new attitudes in any aspect of their lives.
If you are above 30, think, how long has it been since you acquired a new
skill? How many brand-new attitudes have you adopted – personal, political,
social, spiritual, financial? My life has been full of disappointment and even disappointed
with God . When I reflect back, how I wish God could
turn the time back so I could have a second chance. I remembered in 2
Kings 20 : 5-11, God moved the shadow 10 steps back.
But the reality of life is that we got to move on and the promises of God in Ephesians
2 :10 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The story of the human
race is not just one of universal disappointment, but one of inextinguishable
hope and GOD holds out the possibility of transformation. Moses was called to deliver Israel from Egypt. In his
40 years of training he learned science, medicine, astronomy and mathematics.
He learned the ingenious language of hieroglyphs. The Bible recorded Moses as
educated in all wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action
(Acts 7 : 22). But this greatly gifted man turned out
to be a failure. A murderer, because he could not control his
anger. For the next 40 years of his life, Moses was a sheep herder and
living in disappointment. The desire for transformation lies deep in every
human heart. This is why we make New Year’s resolution, attend
motivational seminars, join health clubs amongst
others. In the unforgettable scene in Exodus 3: 1 – 15,
God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. Moses had not heard a word of hope for a
long time and now the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from
within a bush He had probably seen the bush perhaps a hundred times but this time he
turn aside and met with God. God often shows up when we are engaged in the
ordinary things of life. For 14,000 days Moses carried out his duties as a
shepherd, father and husband. I believe he lived in disappointment but the
difference is his willingness to turn aside and listen to God. When God calls us, He moves in Power and compassion. In
Exodus 4: 1-17 God demonstrate his power with signs, staff to a snake, leprous
hand and blood on the ground. But God also shows compassion to Moses by
providing him with a helper (Aaron) as his mouthpiece. When God called us to
start a church in City Mall, I was overwhelmed with anxiety and fear. Where are
we going to get the finance? Who are the musicians? Where are we going to get
preachers every Sunday? The anxiety list goes on and on but praise be to God! HE PROVIDES!!!. CONCLUSION The burning bush was a powerfully transforming moment in
Moses’ life. His willingness to turn aside and meet with God made all the
difference. Like Moses, we need to turn aside and meet with God. We need to
arrange our lives in such a way that there is space for God to speak. We should
be intentional about taking time to slow down and notice how God wants to move
in our hearts and lives. When God speaks to us, it is TIME for us to turn aside
from our prejudices, complacency and memories of past failures. In the first 40 years, Moses thought HE WAS A SOMEBODY
and end up a failure. There are Christians who thinks they are perfectly alright
and filled with a “righteous attitude”. We need to repent from our
prejudices and complacency. In the next 40 years, Moses learnt HE WAS A NOBODY.
Friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we are living in disappointment for
the past years, there is a hope. But we need to meet God In his 3rd 40 years, Moses discovered WHAT GOD CAN DO
WITH A NOBODY. Lets us allow God to transform and shape our lives for 2010 and
beyond. Tan Kok Liang |
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