CHAPTER 1
TRANSFORMATION
The Greek word for biblical transformation is metamorphoo, from which we get the English word metamorphosis--a complete change, such as a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Biblical transformation is based on Romans 12:2, ”and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
Why does God not want us to be conformed? When we conform to this world, we become adapted to the sins that are against the Word of God. It is easy to adjust to the things we see. Sin is as a tailored suit--custom made according to your liking. The world has many things that can turn your heart against God’s commandments. Let us start with The Ten Commandments. If you were to take a survey, most people will say, “I abide by the Ten Commandments.” That is impossible because when you break one commandment, you voluntarily break them all. God knew we could not follow it so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross so that we can receive forgiveness for our sins. The Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with God and others. God said, “…betransformed,” changed--to re-think how we do things, and be renewed in our mind. Scripture focuses a lot on the mind.
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy Father,
and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts:
if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him,
he will cast thee off forever.”
(1 Chronicles 28:9)
Matthew 22:37 – “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Romans 8:27 – “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 12:2–“Andbe not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:16 – “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:23 – “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Philippians 2:5 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
I believe the reason God requires our mind to be renewed is that we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity; therefore, sin is in our nature. Let us see what God’s word reveals to us.
It started in the Garden of Eden. God created male and female and He planted them in the garden to cultivate and guard it. The first sign of disobedience was when humankind believed what the serpent said versus what God already taught humankind in advance. The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat and she thought of how wonderful it would be to be wise (capacity of intelligent application of knowledge). Her eye gate was the first thing the enemy attacked. Let us compare the Bible with some of today’s sins:
GUARD YOUR EYE GATE
Anger (Genesis 4:5) - Anger is not something the physical eye can see. This form of anger comes through in the bodily form. “God required an offering from Cain and Abel, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. Jealousy entered Cain’s heart when he saw Abel’s offering was received. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
Today: Man becomes envious of another’s success and wants to kill the person who is succeeding.
Men’s evil repeated (Genesis 6:5) – “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Today: Repeated rape, murder, hatred, envy, sexual sin, unforgiveness, relationship abuse, etc.
God cleansed the earth (Genesis 7:22-23) – “All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” Everything on earth that breathed died, except Noah and his family, and some animals.
Today: Capital punishment for humankind; brutish attacks against each other. God made covenant (Genesis 9:11-12) not to destroy humankind again by the flood. He established a rainbow as agreement about His promise. God has allowed many floods throughout the land as a warning about sin, but will not destroy it again by water. Thank you Jesus, for your mercy.
Mankind trying to reach God their way (Genesis 11) – Man made an agreement with each other to build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven and make a name for one self.
Today: Man is still trying to reach heaven by cult practices, out of body experiences, contacting the dead, tarot cards, and psychic hotlines. As God confused their language, He is still confusing man’s ideal, He will not let anyone steal His Glory.
SIN SEPARATES YOU FROM GOD
Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 14:1-29) – The men of the city tried to have sex with Lot’s guest. They did not want Lot’s daughter, they wanted to sin with the two angels.
Today: Men want to mate with animals, little children, and family members. Men have sex with men and women with women.
Families getting drunk and mate with each other (Genesis 19) – Lot’s older daughter persuaded her little sister to get the father drunk and have sex with him so they could have a child.
Today: We have become drunk with sin. Parents are having sex with their kids; and the talk shows parade this sin on television. God is not pleased with our immorality.
Selling your birthright to satisfy a hunger (Genesis 25) – Rebecca had two sons, Jacob and Isaac, in her womb and there was a struggle. Esau became hungry and sold his birthright to his brother, Jacob, to get instant gratification.
Today: We have lowered our standards to get quick money from selling drugs, kids, and sex. We have lost our dreams by selling ourselves short.
Men deceive each other (Genesis 29) – Jacob loved Rachel and wanted to marry her, but Laban tricked him into thinking he was going to get his heart’s desire, but his desire was exchanged for somebody he did not desire.
Today: When you try to trick someone to get what you want, it has a way of reversing itself back on you.
Trying to bless self instead of waiting on the promise (Genesis 16) – Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not bore him any children. She had an Egyptian slave girl named Hagar bear Abram a baby. She told her husband the Lord kept her from having children, “Why don’t you sleep with my slave girl? Perhaps she can have a child for me.” Abram listened to his wife. The child came but the war between the two families was not what they expected.
Today: If husband and wife cannot produce a child, or their relationship is not producing love, they go outside of marriage to get the love their hearts desire. The affect it has on the family is painful, because sometimes a child is produced and this can cause a family to separate. The suffering becomes great because this was not God’s will. We need to wait on God to give us the best.
Set-up by another’s lust (Genesis 39) – “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had bought him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of the master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.” Joseph was well built and good looking, a ladies’ man. After a while, his master’s wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her. Joseph refused to betray his master; he refused to commit sexual sin. The wife got mad because her lust for him was not fulfilled. She then made a decision to set him up. The wife lied to her husband that Joseph tried to be with her. He was incarcerated because of her lust.
Today: How many people are in jail or killed because of someone else’s desire to have them? They believe, ‘If I cannot have you, I will make your life miserable.’
Holding a grudge (Leviticus 19:18) –“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”
Today: We as human beings can go days, years, or a lifetime with a grudge in our heart.
Kill the green-eyed monster - Jealousy (1 Samuel 18:6-15) – David was returning after killing Goliath. In their celebration, the women started to sing Saul killed thousands, but David tens of thousands. Saul did not like this; he became very angry and tried many times to kill David.
Today: People are jealous of the clothes you wear, your house, car, career, and even your relationship with others. The heart of man is filled with wickedness.
Calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20) – “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Today: Things are occurring in the land that God has allowed to get man’s attention. Just as a father corrects the child he loves, so God corrects us. We get up early in the morning to get drunk; we have a corporate lunch and get drunk; we get drunk on weekends; we have orgies, drug parties, and commit other sins with no fear of Jesus’ return. Humankind is having a hard time with giving up sin. Hollywood shows us how to eat, drink, and be merry. They show movies on witchcraft, demons, devils, violence and hatred like it is a normal lifestyle. Hollywood has programmed their view with sin, sin, sin. Things are invented to get our mind and heart away from God’s word. We have from I-Pods to pop ups, flashing sin to the eye gate. Why does the news show only bad things? Why is it easy to talk about someone than to love them? Why is cursing someone out easier than blessing them? We let guilty men go free, and prevent the innocent from getting justice. We lock up street prostitutes, but applaud TV prostitutes who sell themselves on movie channels. We send people to jail for gambling but we praise lottery tickets and casino gambling. Drug dealers on the street go to jail, while corporate users and business officials pay people off and work the system. One race can do the same crime as another but their punishment is less due to racism. Sin is something that has become a popular thing to do without conviction.
GOD RAISED UP PROPHETS TO TELL HIS PEOPLE
THEY NEED TO BE TRANSFORMED
Did you know that God is rising up His prophets to give the nation a word from the Lord? Did you know God is developing your assignment right now? Someone is in need of the testimony experience from your life. You are about to walk into something great this year. Do you feel God’s hand resting over your life? You cannot explain it but you see in the Spirit an awakening is about to hit the nation.
RAISE UP PROPHET
Awaken Isaiah
Isaiah answered God saying that he will go and God told him to give the people this message, “No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening.” Then He said to him, “The minds of these people are dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so they cannot see or hear or understand. If they did, they might turn to Me and be healed.” God is looking for a transformed heart, a people who would listen to Him and warn the people of the coming judgment. You are to explain Jesus Christ so they may be saved.
Transformation Nuggets:
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found,
call ye upon him while he is near.”
(Isaiah 55:6)
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
(Isaiah 55:8)
