Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
The Essence of Spiritual Transformation
Coaching young basketball players taught me more about transformation and the power of unity than I ever expected, and these lessons mirror a deep truth in the Christian journey. Just as these young athletes grew and changed on the court, we too are called to renew our minds and embody the teachings of Jesus. Our episode unpacks how the early church, guided by Paul's letters to the Romans, navigated the complexities of a morally flexible society. It's a narrative of transformation, not just for self-improvement, but for living a life truly set apart, supported by spiritual mentors and disciples who guide us along our faith journey.
Unity in Christ is more than a concept; it's a call to action that requires sincere love and humility. By focusing on what unites us, we explore how understanding our identity in Christ can transform our interactions with others. Through personal stories and spiritual insights, we reflect on how our worth is derived from God's love, which should be evident in our actions. This episode challenges us to embody peace, demonstrate faith through deeds, and embrace a life transformed by the gospel, moving beyond mere words to reflect the true essence of Jesus in our everyday lives.
You know I have the privilege of. Currently both older boys are playing basketball and Griffin has gotten pretty good in basketball Ever made his first shot on Saturday so that was like a huge thing for us. When he scored I think I screamed louder than anybody else in that entire gymnasium and it was really kind of neat to watch and to have that kind of conversation with him. But one of the things that I love about coaching is there's supposed to be if you're a decent coach, there should be transformation. That happens right. So one of the things that, especially with Everett never playing basketball, we've had to kind of go back to some fundamental things. So one of the things that, especially with Everett never playing basketball, we've had to kind of go back to some fundamental things. He's never really even shot a basketball, so for him to make a shot is really important because he's been working at it and so just kind of offering him tips and things like that. And one of the things that I really like is his team. So their third through fourth grade is to see how much they've transformed throughout the season. And that's been really fun to watch because I remember, like the first game, there was a lot of me going don't do that, don't do that, do that. Okay, don't do that. Right. And so you kind of watch this progression and I remember yesterday's game. I was watching these kids and for a moment I kind of stepped back and I stopped talking. You know, I'm like the coach on the sideline, it's like shoot the ball, like I'm a little louder than I need to be, but but I remember kind of stepping back and stopping and just watching them play and realizing that they were cohesive, they were working together, they were making good passes, they were paying attention to what they were doing, they were making their shots and it was really exciting because you're like I remember you guys on day one and to see where you are now, seven short weeks later, is really neat to watch.
Speaker 1:And I was thinking about that as we get into the text this morning, because one of the greatest things that happens in the life of a Christian is transformation. That's one of my favorite things to watch in the life of people who follow jesus is that they go from point a to point b, to c to d, to whatever that looks like. And and I think about that in my own life because if I go back to who I was when I was 15, I didn't really like that kid very much, right, I was not exactly who I needed to be. But over the course of my life I've seen God change me and he's brought people into my life and he's allowed me to become the man of God that I need to be, with the realization that there's still more to learn. Right? I'm a firm believer that as a follower of Christ, you don't arrive until you die, until the moment I walk into heaven. There's still growth, there's still maturity, there's still things I have to learn.
Speaker 1:And Paul is talking to this early church and he lays out the gospel for them, he reminds them who Jesus is, he gives them everything they need. From chapters 9 to 9, 10, and 11, he actually takes kind of a sidestep and he laments for a little bit of the brokenness of Israel. And he laments for a little bit of the brokenness of Israel. Paul feels overwhelmed that the nation of Israel has walked away from their God, and so he laments this falling away. But he talks about how this disobedience has actually led to the Gentiles hearing the message of God, and so there's been some kind of a benefit. And then he kind of comes back around and he talks about this idea that there's coming a day when God's going to have this remnant, this nation of Israel. There's going to be a part of them that accepts Jesus as their Messiah. They're going to understand, like Paul did, because Paul even says you can't say they're lost, because I was them, I am them and I found Jesus.
Speaker 1:And then he gets to chapter 12, and he starts out by saying Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, so in view of everything that I have said to you thus far, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. So Paul is talking to them. He says listen, I urge you. I urge you, brothers and sisters, in light of everything that I've given you, to be transformed. Your mind, the way you live, the way you act, the way you talk, is not supposed to be like everybody else. You have the power of Christ in you. He says this in Romans 8, that in Christ, you have the power to overcome sin. He says. Therefore, be transformed in the way that you think, don't settle for anything less and listen.
Speaker 1:As Christians, I think we have to take that seriously. The moment we met Jesus, everything started to change. It doesn't mean that it happened overnight, because it didn't. It doesn't mean that there's not things that we don't have to work on because we do, things that we don't have to work on because we do, but it means that if we are in Jesus, we are supposed to live differently than the rest of the world. That's what it means to be set apart.
Speaker 1:This early church. Their biggest struggle was they found themselves in a culture that really didn't accept what they were trying to do. In the hub of Rome is a church that's focused on Jesus Christ, in a place where religion was. Every religion was accepted and approved except for this one, in a culture that had run rampant and run wild and morality was flexible and everything was accepted and the idea that it made you happy, just do it. And here you have a church who's trying to live like Jesus, and Paul is encouraging them to be that, and Paul is encouraging them to be that.
Speaker 1:He says, brothers and sisters, let your mind be transformed, because the mind that you now have is empowered by the Spirit of God, everything you have. And so he continues in verse 3. He says For, by the grace given to me, I say to every one of you do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. So Paul starts to lay out what that transformation looks like. He says Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith that God has distributed to each of you. And then he continues for just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have all the same function, so in Christ, though, many form one body and each member belongs to the others.
Speaker 1:We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If it's serving, then serve. If it's teaching, then teach. If it's to encourage, then give encouragement. If it's to give, then give generously. If it's to lead, do it diligently, and if it's to show mercy, do it cheerfully. And Paul is saying listen. Whatever God has called you to do in the moment, in this church now. Do it, but do it with a humbleness, with a realization that every person who's part of this church in Rome there's a reason they're here. So, for those who are Jews, you need the Gentiles, and if you're a Gentile, you need the Jews, because all of you collectively are under the Lordship of Christ. That's what makes the church so amazing.
Speaker 1:The church is supposed to be this body of believers who come together from different backgrounds, different cultures, different ethnicities, different workplaces. We all come together for the sole purpose of worshiping God. That's what makes the church beautiful, because when the world tells us that things can't work together, when the world divides us against each other, we come into the church and we realize that in Christ we're all the same. That's what sets us apart, that's what makes us different. That's why, on a Sunday morning, no matter who walks through that door, we show them love and we show them mercy and we meet them where they are. That's why it's so important that when we come together as believers, that even if we disagree politically, we still find common ground in Christ, because, at the end of the day, jesus is the only thing that lasts anyways. Everything else will fall apart. That's why Paul talks about this in a couple of his letters, about not being divided, not allowing division to destroy you. He says here to be humble, don't think of yourself more than you ought to. With sober judgment, realize that your purpose in the body of believers might not be the exact same as somebody else's, but they belong here too. That's what makes the church work. You know, when we talk about transformation, I think that's probably one of the things as a Christian that sets the stage more than anything for sharing the message of the gospel.
Speaker 1:I talked about this last night and we had the privilege of our worship team was at the foundry. They have like a last Saturday worship night, so we went up there and I was able to share a little bit out of Romans 8. And I was talking about when I was younger. In the late 90s, early 2000s, there was like this brand of clothing called Caruso. I don't know if you guys remember them, but they were like t-shirts. They were Christian t-shirts. They would take like really popular logos and like they would like make it say something like Christian-y, right. So there was one that had a Nike check that Jesus did it. There was one that, like for Coca-Cola, like God is refreshing. And so there were these shirts, right. And I remember this because when I was younger I thought I was really cool because I had, like, almost every one of these shirts. So every time I got money I would buy a shirt and I would wear it proud. I would walk around and I'd have the shirt and I'm like surely these people know that I love Jesus. They have to, right. I mean, look at the shirt, it says it, right.
Speaker 1:And so a lot of my early faith was this outward appearance of the things that I did. It mattered to me because I wanted people to know that I love Jesus, no matter what. But here's the problem with that. I had anger issues in my early 20s and there was one time that I had one of these shirts on and I lost my temper in public and someone said to me yeah, jesus, huh. And I was like oh man. And I say that because it kind of put this part in me. My initial response now is oh man. My response then was like don't judge me, you don't get to do that to me, right? But the more I thought about it and the more that I reflect back on it, that shirt represented what I wanted to be in Jesus. But I hadn't quite caught up to that yet. That transformation in my life was still taking place.
Speaker 1:And so when we were talking about this last night, when you talk about transformation, transformation is a process that takes time, but transformation as a follower of Christ is necessary, it's bound to happen. There's no and I know I've said this before there's no such thing as sitting on the bench. If you're a follower of Jesus, you're on the field, you're active, you're out there, you're living it, the way you live, the things you do, how you speak to other people. And Paul is talking about this with this church. He says listen, you are called to be a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice means that everything that is of me has to die on the altar, so that everything that is jesus becomes who I am, and and that's a hard thing to do sometimes, because we're human and and and, and we make mistakes and sin creeps in. But Paul says remember what you're living for. Remember he says in chapter eight, remember the power that is in you. Raise Christ from the dead. That same power now resides in you. You're no longer a slave to sin, you're no longer supposed to be of this world. You're supposed to be transformed Church. We're supposed to come together in humbleness and humility serving the kingdom of God. And then we walk out these doors. People should know that we love Jesus, even if we don't have a t-shirt that says it. That's what it is to be transformed.
Speaker 1:And Paul continues, starting in verse 9,. He says Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. He's talking to the church. He says be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. He's talking to the church. He says be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Speaker 1:Now listen, this is where it gets hard. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with another. Do not be proud, but willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone for evil, but be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Speaker 1:And Paul writes this in light of everything he gave them in Romans 8. You go back to Romans 8,. It says remember the message of the gospel, remember that you've been saved, remember that the Spirit of God lives in you. He goes back to Romans 6, and he reflects on their baptism. He's like remember that in your baptism you were buried and raised to life in the same way Christ was. As you experience his death, you experience life with him. And he gets the roman 12. He says now go and live it out. Don't get caught up in all this division. Don't get caught up in in being divisive. Don't. Don't get so caught up in all of the conflict that you forget that everyone who sits next to you is in the same Jesus that you are, and that matters Because at the end of your life, that is the only thing that's going to last. And he's talking to Romans and Jews.
Speaker 1:The Jewish side of this was having a really hard time with some of the laws. I talked about this, I think, last week. They wanted the Gentiles to become circumcised because that's what they were taught. And the Gentiles were like we're not doing this. I can't imagine being 38 going to church and someone saying you have to get circumcised. I'd be like I don't think I'm coming back, appreciate that, but but they, they were so fixated on what was dividing them that Paul says stop it.
Speaker 1:Every single one of you is in Christ. Jesus has saved you. Now go live it out. Show humility, have zeal for the kingdom of God. Give everything you have to the forward movement of this church, of this gospel message. Don't worry about what divides you. Focus on what unites you. He says you have everything you need to be exactly what God is calling you to be, so go do it. Transformation is the plan.
Speaker 1:Listen, I remember what my life was like before Jesus. I don't ever want to go back to that. I remember the brokenness, I remember the burden. But I also remember that I thought I had it all figured out. It took a change of heart, a change of mind for God to help me realize that everything I thought I had was nothing compared to what he had for me. And that's what Paul is saying to them Remember who you are, remember what has been done for you and go live it out in such a way that it's undeniable.
Speaker 1:Listen, I don't need a shirt. I shouldn't need a shirt for you to know that I love Jesus. I shouldn't need to post all over my social media just so you think that I follow Jesus. I should live my life in such a way that it's evident by how I talk, by how I treat people, by how I love people, by even how I view myself. Can we talk about that for a second?
Speaker 1:How you view yourself is a direct reflection of how you understand God views you. If you're in Christ, you're a child of God, which means that he created you exactly the way he intended for you to be created. Your worth is based on the fact that he was willing to die on your behalf because you needed saving. That is something we should rejoice in. The world tries to convince me that somehow I have to earn the favor of God. And God says stop it, I love you. I love you, I need you. I will move mountains to get to you because I created you. And so how we view ourselves, how we talk about ourselves, is a reflection of that, and people need to see that in us. And people need to see that in us. People need to understand that, yes, I know who I was, but I'm not that person anymore. I've got the power, the spirit in me. How I treat people, man, that matters.
Speaker 1:Those conversations we have, by the way, in public and private, not just the public ones how we think about people, all of this is part of transformation, paul says as he writes his letter. He says love your enemy. If your enemy is hungry, feed them. If they're thirsty, you give them something to drink. You meet them where they are and, as much as it's possible for you. He says, live at peace with everybody. You and I are supposed to be different. That's what sets us apart. The world should look at us and look at the church and realize that the only way they're ever going to find this is through Jesus. Paul says it.
Speaker 1:Romans 8, in Christ. In Christ, you now have all of these things at your disposal. So, transformation if we're in Jesus and transformation is not happening, it's not because the Spirit's not working. Transformation requires you and I to look inside and say what are the things that I need to get rid of? God brings people into our lives. I talked about this last night too. God brings people into our lives. I talked about this last night too. God brings people into our lives sometimes that help us course correct and they mentor us and they disciple us, and we're called to do that for other people.
Speaker 1:When we see people living in sin or living the way that they shouldn't, we have to lovingly come alongside them and help them navigate that. I saw something the other day and it was a valid question, and I don't remember where exactly I saw it. So if this is someone, if something that someone posted don't take it personal. I really have no recollection of. I do know something that was posted on someone's wall, but I was thinking about this and the question was why can't we just live in peace and let everyone live their own life?
Speaker 1:And I think that that's against everything Scripture teaches us. It's not that we go around bashing people in the head or or anything like that. But the goal in christ is to help other people be like jesus. So if I love someone I should be willing to come alongside them and help them learn that and to kind of navigate that, because I want them to experience everything that I've experienced in christ. So that's kind of the struggle and the challenge as disciples is we go into the world and we say listen, we know you're living the wrong way and we know that because the Word of God has told us that and I love you enough to tell you about this, because I've seen what it's done in my own life and I've seen what it's done in my own life and I've seen the transformation that comes. And I can't sit back and idly let you continue down this path, because if I love you, I'm supposed to come alongside you, I'm supposed to help you find transformation because I myself need it. So it's not about encroaching on people or trying to cause problems or judgment, but it's about if you only knew what God could do in your life, you would realize that everything else the world has to offer you means nothing.
Speaker 1:Why, 15 years old, I had my friend Ryan Wachowski loved me enough to tell me about Jesus. He didn't have to, but he did. He helped me realize that the way that I was living was not what God was calling me to do. And Paul is telling them in Rome, chapter 12 you're a living sacrifice now was not what God was calling me to do. And Paul is telling them in Rome, chapter 12, you're a living sacrifice now.
Speaker 1:Whatever you think you've been doing, you've been called to something much greater. The Spirit of God is in you. Transformation of your heart and your mind. Come in Christ, because the goal is not to be a better version of me. The goal is to be like Jesus. It's not how does Jason improve, it's how do I become more like Christ in everything that I do? That's transformation. That's what Paul is calling for. So, therefore, offer yourself up as a living sacrifice for the transformation of your heart and your mind Romans 8 because in Christ, the spirit that is in you, the spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, is the same spirit that now lives in you, and you no longer are slaves to your old self, but you're called to be something new. All right, let's pray.