Lasting Transformation
This Sunday Pastor John began a new mini-series within The Gospel of Luke Series on Real Love. This week’s sermon was largely taught from Luke 6: 27-31. In these passages Jesus is teaching how we as believers are called to respond to our perceived enemies who hate, curse, and mistreat us. Let me start by first stating the obvious:
There is no hope for us to accomplish this in our own strength.
As we continue to go through the Sermon on the Mount together as a church we must submit to this truth, that apart from God we cannot do this. Having submitted to that reality, I want to encourage you this week on how we are to partner with God to see this fruit come to fruition in your hearts. Since we are called to grow up into all things in Christ, we must understand biblically how we are called to do so that will produce authentic and lasting transformation.
First thing is first, abide. We must learn to trust in the power of Christ in us and to let God lavish us with His agape love. If we are out striving to perform this call (Jesus’ call for us to love our enemies from the heart and respond accordingly), then we will be self-producing disingenuous actions that are not from the heart nor are rooted in the power of the love of Christ. We must remember that we can only love, because He has first loved us (See, I John 4:19). Striving to accomplish moral perfection or to obey the Sermon on the Mount in our own ability will only lead us to burnout and failure. Remember, Jesus’ sermon was designed brilliantly for this intended purpose: To bring the self-reliant religious person to his knees in the hope of the mercy of Christ and to empower the believer to live out of a righteousness that Jesus has already given us in Himself through His finished work. See, we must first seek to know by truth and experience the love of God and who He says we are before we can ever begin to genuinely partner with Him to walk this new life out; for this new life is produced from within through Christ in us the hope of glory (See, Colossians 1:27 & Philippians 2:13). So, first and foremost we continually abide. Abiding in Jesus for life and love is the very core of our faith in Jesus Christ, it is to discontinue trusting ourselves for salvation, life, and truth, and to surrender to Jesus for all things.
Once, through abiding, we have come to a place of deepening love and awareness of our union with Christ, we can then begin to walk naturally as who He says we are as His sons and daughters in Jesus. His love causes us to love others, even those who hate, curse, and mistreat us. This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (See, Galatians 5:22-24) which comes to and through us out of our relational union with Jesus in first love. Loving our enemies is the result of the love of God first filling our hearts (See, Luke 7:47). This does not mean that we are not to be proactive, as Pastor John stated we must learn how to respond to those who are mistreating us. This instruction is in line with the second way of which we are called to grow up into this call, and that is through the renewing of the mind. We must participate with God in His word to renew our minds from the worldly and cultural influences unto His biblical and spiritual truth and knowledge. As abiding in Christ is an act of faith and builds our faith as we trust in Him, what He has done, and who we are in Him, so renewing our minds helps us to stay in alignment with that blessed reality.
The Apostle Paul in Romans 12: 1-2 calls believers to submit to God and His loving power of grace that works within us and to actively renew our minds to the truth. This is a call to continual repentance. The Greek word for “repent” is metanoia, which means to change our minds. So, as we see the stark differences in the attitudes and responses that Jesus teaches on how we are to behave towards worldly hatred and mistreatment, this is an invitation for us to abide and align our minds with Jesus’ truth that sets us free (See, John 8:31-32). As we continue to abide in Christ and renew our minds to His truth, we will begin to experience genuine transformation in our lives. We will begin to experience freedom from hatred and fighting fire with fire in the world. We will begin to know true peace.
Another aspect of renewing our minds as we journey together through the Sermon on the Mount, is to take time to learn skills that are available to train us on how to perceive conflict as well as how to effectively respond to and resolve conflict. These are very important to grow in as healthy Christians and they serve as a tool belt that assists us with being effective as healthy communicators to others while we grow in our union with Christ and renewing our minds. See, my hope this week is to encourage you to not place the cart before the horse, but rather to have things foundationally in place for your growth in Jesus. To place the cart before the horse in this instance would mean to run after the tools and the behaviors instead of first learning to abide in relationship, union, and the renewal of your mind to the truth that sets you free which is the only stable foundation for adding effective methods to your tool belt. We must always keep first things first, and biblically that means to place our faith in Christ alone who saves and to transform through our union with Christ, knowing Christ, and the renewal of our minds. If we put first things first, we can begin to experience authentic transformation from one degree of glory to another that lasts.
I like things to be practical, so for this week, would you consider reading the following scriptures with Jesus and asking Him to reveal to you His love, union, grace, and truth that He has given you in Himself to release transformative change that lasts in your life? I believe that if you will spend time with Him in these scriptures allowing Him to love you and reveal truth to you, that you will begin to experience an increase in fruitfulness in your life. I also believe that this will assist you with better understanding how to interpret and follow Jesus’ teachings through the Sermon on the Mount series. Also, do not beat yourself up! This growth takes time and you will fail at times of course, and you will usually do so because you take the reins into your own hands rather than resting and trusting in Christ and His truth and ability within you to bring it about. So if you find yourself struggling and failing, just rest and let Him love you all over again with His mercy and grace. Remember, Jesus has saved you apart from your works, so enjoy and trust the journey and the process with Him free from fear and condemnation (See, Romans 8:1). Be blessed this week church, and here are the scriptures for reflection:
Luke 6: 27-31
John 15: 1-5
Philippians 2:13
Galatians 5: 22-24
Romans 6: 6-14; 18
Romans 12: 1-2
Romans 12: 14-21
I Peter 4:8
I John 4:19
Philipians 1:6
-Shane
