Metamorphosis

Thank you for that beautiful special music. I think it's always fun when there's a very natural flow between a sermonette, special music, and the sermon. So hopefully we all weave together and we talk about the journeys of our lives collectively between those three pieces.

God created amazing complexity into nature, and that was done not only to make us awestruck, which it does, not only to make it very clear that there was a master creator involved, but there are also parallel spiritual lessons that we are intended to learn from nature.

Approximately 15% of all insects go through what is called an incomplete metamorphosis.

There are three stages to an incomplete metamorphosis. First is as an egg. Secondly, the egg hatches into a nymph, which looks like a small adult. They eat the same food as the adult insect. Nymphs usually have an exoskeleton, so if you think about that hard outer casing, which they shed and replace four to eight times over this lifetime journey. The third stage — I've got to make sure I was holding up three fingers — the third stage along the way is as an adult. And then in the adult stage, the insect stops molting. They've reached their maximum size. Sometimes they grow wings. That often will happen. But in other words, the only real change from an insect through this incomplete metamorphosis is in the size. Their appearance is relatively the same. 85% of all insects go through what is called a complete metamorphosis. That has four stages. First is as an egg, which is usually planted on a leaf. The second stage is a larva, which hatches from the egg. Now, larva do not look like adult insects, but usually look like a worm type shape. You know, you could think of a caterpillar or a maggot or a grub. Those are various versions of the larva stage for insects. Not all of them, but many of them are that way. They can eat up to three times their body weight each day. Good luck trying to match that one. And they do that to gain a lot of strength over a very short time cycle for what comes next. You can, again, picture the caterpillar on that leaf that it was born on, eating that leaf like crazy, and other leaves along the way on that tree or branch, I should say. Larva can molt their skin several times, and they grow slightly larger. The third stage for an insect going through a complete metamorphosis is as a pupa. And that happens when larva grows back into itself and forms a chrysalis. Or a cocoon. Now, they don't eat at all while they're inside the cocoon, but they go through this very complex, complete change. It starts with the demolition phase, where they basically digest and break down their body into a soup that's needed to rebuild themselves. Then they go through a renovation, where their cells reorganize to form their adult body parts. And everything else is digested into a soup that enables the process of reforming into their adult shape with the wings, with the legs, with the internal organs, and so forth, that they are intended to have. After a period of time, which is anywhere from four days to months, the results of the process are changed to months. The fourth stage is as an adult. And at this stage, the insect breaks out of the cocoon and emerges as something totally different. Totally different. The young insects, they go through it all like an adult. But what they are now is they're the epitome of what they were created for. They often live in different habitats. They feed on different things. This process, the process of a complete metamorphosis, has deep spiritual lessons which link to the transformation that God brings Christians through in the course of our lives as believers. We are expected to go through a full-scale transformation of our mind, of our soul, to reach the vision God has created for us.

Please turn to 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14. There are two Greek words that are used for transform in the Bible. The first speaks to an outward change. The Greek word used for this for transform, and I'm going to mess this one up, but it's metashimatizo, and that's strong as 3 3 4 5 if you want to write that down and look it up. But it means to change the appearance or figure of something. That type of change is really a common objective for humans, right? We naturally want to appear as a different person. We want to appear more successful and happy and healthy and even spiritual. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14, though, is a little cautionary thought with that as a goal. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. So, even Satan can do this transformation and appear spiritually godly to those who only focus on outward appearances. In truth, that's just outward deception. And it's an incomplete outward-only change, and that's not what God is looking for. The second Greek word which we will focus on today is metamorpho. And that is strong as 3 3 3 9 if you want. Metamorpho is used four times in the Bible, and it speaks to a total change from the inside out. Very, very different. And it's the word from which we get our English word metamorphosis.

The lesson God intended us to connect here. If you will turn to Romans 12 verses 1 through 2, let's start looking at this word being used. You could say that God was into extreme makeovers before extreme makeovers were cool. If you remember the TV show, God's extreme makeover has little or nothing to do with externals. But it's about making us who we are, our heart, our spirit, our character. That change. That's what God is about. Romans 12 starting in verse 1.

So this first stage of spiritual metamorphosis is to relinquish our body as an offering to honor God.

A paraphrase like you could make of this verse is, I beg you as an act of sincere and reasonable worship to give God your bodies as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing to him. Verse 2 starts, and do not be conformed to this world. Conformed. The Greek word for conform is schema. Sound familiar? Think of a schematic. A schematic is the plan or diagram that shows how each component in a device connects so it works properly. If you're assembling a radio, you'd better be sure to follow the schematic, or it's not going to work. In the Bible warns us that the devil, right, the prince of this dark, darkened world, has switched schematics on us. He has a plan for us that will lead us away from God if we conform to its design. Something comes out of it, but it's not the schematic that we should conform to. We're to conform to God's schematic. Let's continue. But be transformed, metamorpho, by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, unacceptable, and perfect will of God. To conform to God's schematic, we must transform.

We must change from one form into something completely different. So this goal is a complete metamorphosis, a complete renewal of our mind. You could restate Romans 12.2, do not imitate the world's habits, but go through a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly, by the renovation of your mind into a spiritual state.

Butterflies and frogs, they have no choice when they transform. Metamorphosis is what's built into their DNA. But spiritual metamorphosis, that's not automatic. Turn to Titus 3 verses 5 through 6. Titus 3 verses 5 through 6. Mankind has learned a lot from what God has created in nature. I love watching nature shows. Carla will see me do that all the time. But the spiritual transformation God has planned and is doing within us goes way beyond what we can understand in science. Spiritual metamorphosis doesn't just happen to us, and we absolutely cannot do the transformation by ourselves. Titus 3 and verse 5. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing. Renovation, right? Of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. So we need to let God do the renovation in us to achieve the complete transformation that we're designed for. Turn next to 1 Corinthians 2 verses 9 through 12. 1 Corinthians 2 verses 9 through 12. It's the result of cooperation. It's the result of conforming with God's Spirit working in us to get there. 1 Corinthians 2 starting in verse 9. But as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Caterpillar has no clue of the next phase of its life. That little caterpillar doesn't know it's going to be a butterfly.

Similarly, it hasn't even entered into our minds what God has been preparing for us from before the world began. It may be fun to speculate at times, but this verse tells us you don't get it. But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God, for what man knows the things of a man except the Spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. So God has given us the ability to understand physical laws, right, like gravity and relativity and the laws of motion and on and on. But people cannot understand spiritual thoughts without the Holy Spirit helping. We can continue. Now, we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that we have been freely given to us by God. The Bible gives us the amazing ability to have a view into the future. It does tell us that it's a veiled view. We don't fully get it, but we have been blessed with something the caterpillars don't have. We've been blessed by the Bible and what's in front of us that gives us a feeling of what we are going to transform into. Meanwhile in this life, though, we're being transformed from the inside out as the Holy Spirit allows us to change internally. Okay, but how do we let the Holy Spirit renovate our minds, our natures?

Friends, we each have hidden rooms which suppress memories or sins that we keep heavily locked up and we want to hold on to. Human nature, isn't it? God doesn't want us to keep me rooms where we hold pride or anger or lust or dislike or anything we don't want God to influence.

We must allow for complete demolition and remodeling and we can easily say, but I want to be there, God. And God is like, yeah, it may take years. Have faith in me. I'll help you get there. Don't set terms on me and you'll suddenly start to realize you get there much quicker. We must let the Holy Spirit change us fully. So we love as God does. Understand his will. Say no to our will. Whatever, even hurts. And all of this requires us relying on and believing in God. Pick whatever's going in your life that you're fighting with. Do you have faith in God to help you get past or are you trying to fight it yourself? Are you trying to make that thing happen? I'm missing faith at that point. Awareness and acceptance are the first steps to change.

Turn to Luke 14 verses 27 through 30. We need to be aware of our need for transformation, our inability to do it without God before we can change. Once sin entered the world, then only God could stop it. And that's why God said he had things planned before the foundation of the world because he knew sin would enter. There was no way we could cleanse ourselves of our sinful desires. See, humans can be aware of what's right, even after we sin, right? We can say, well, what about now? We can be aware of what's right and still resist doing it. God created man, so now God has to recreate mankind. And that starts with us recognizing we must accept the need for the cleansing blood of Christ in our lives. That's when the renovation starts. That's when the golden ticket is made available to us. Luke 14 and verse 27 says, And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the costs, whether he has enough to finish it? Lest, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. So, as we know, baptism is an element of counting the costs. Reviewing and signing a spiritual contract of devotion, basically, you could say, and committing with God. God said it will cost everything. It's going to take your entire life. All right, sign here.

Are we willing to go through this? And for those of us who are baptized, we signed that contract. Once we come to the realization that we need Jesus in our lives, then this metamorphosis begins to take place in our lives. And if we're baptized, then my question for you is, are we still aware and accepting the terms?

Are we wanting to control the terms? Are we still aware and accepting the terms? Is our contract with God still current? Are we aware of the renovation taking place inside us and accepting and allowing it to happen? Because that was the terms. That was in the terms when we signed the contract. Let's now take a look at the second place. The word metamorpho is used. Turn to 2 Corinthians 3 verses 5 through 18. 2 Corinthians 3, 5 through 18. So we'll go over the verses leading up to it because it really presents the story that Paul was sharing here. And in these verses leading up, we find Paul referencing many of the things that we've already discussed about awareness, about acceptance. 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 5. Now that we are not, I'm sorry, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. So verse 5 is talking about reflecting on our old life and the fact that we have to move away from it. We have to metamorphosize.

We have to let go. And we have to move past our old deeds in way of thinking. Then the next verses, which we're not going to read all of them, start talking about how Moses went to top of Mount Sinai and returned after receiving the Ten Commandments. And the Israelites couldn't handle looking at the glory, even though a fading glory, that was on his face, after encountering him, after he encountered God, the Maker of the universe, one on one. Okay, let's continue in verse 11. For if what is passing away, the glory that was on Moses' face, was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away, but their minds were blinded. For until this day, the same veil remains un-lifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

It's no longer just one person, right? Like Moses, who has access to God and can reflect that glory. All of us, as followers of Christ, can reflect God's glory now. That's the golden ticket. That's the beauty of the salvation that's been extended to us. God's glory is not reflected in us so much in this outward way, like it was with Moses. It's reflected inwardly in the deep life changes that God makes in us in our heart, in our character, day by day, if we are allowing it to happen within us.

Verse 16, but we all with unveiled faces, behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, or beholding as in the glory of the Lord, are being transformed, metamorpho, into the same image from glory to glory, or ever increasing glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. So just, I mean, I should say instead, instead of just reflecting God's glory in our faces, right, we're actually being transformed, metamorphosized, by the Spirit of the Master Renovator into the same image of God through Christ. That's inspiring. And where Moses' face reflected glory that was only visual, visually, you know, on the skin, the parts that were exposed, our action should radiate, should display God's glory outwardly through our character, through our actions.

Our thoughts should change. Our words should change. The way we love God and others should change. Again, we're trying to do things on our own. Are we letting God work through us and believe that that by doing that it enables all the things that God says is possible? We're saying, God, I believe everything you say is possible, but I'm going to make it happen. Who are we relying on? As followers of Jesus, we don't need to veil our faces. Instead of the glory fading as it did on Moses' face, the glory of God increases throughout our lives as we go through our complete process of metamorphosis. This transformation is absolutely critical. It's like the cells changing into a butterfly, right? Without it, we have no future spiritually. Another thing that's clear from this passage is that we can only cooperate with this process. We cannot initiate it. We cannot sustain it alone. God, through the Holy Spirit, is at work within us, accomplishing this transformation. But it also just as clearly implies our cooperation, because it's written as a command, it happens as we yield and submit to God's Spirit metamorphosizing us. I don't know about you, but I don't want to do anything to get in the way of the changes that God is wanting to do inside me. But I do. I'm human. The goal is Philippians 2.5 says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That's the goal, right? And that marvelous transforming process takes place from glory to glory. In other words, one degree of glory after another. We humanly just want to have... Okay, God, I just want you to fix this one thing. I want to get there. I'm gonna give... Now, just... God, you didn't do it immediately. One has ever done anything immediately in our lives. That's not how things work.

Turn... Well, I guess let me continue that thought. There is no single experience in the Christian life that will reproduce his image in a moment. There is not this instant change, but growing as people, growing as partners, growing as family, growing in general, is this lifelong process. That's the extreme makeover God edition. You want to put it that way. And I'm sure you may think of a lot of other verses that fit this concept when you start thinking of this concept of metamorphosis that don't use that one Greek word. So let me just go to a couple of them that will link these thoughts because you could look at the entire Bible through this, and it's really a fascinating way to look at it. Turn to John 3 verses 3 through 7. John 3, 3 through 7. It's really critical that we fully recognize this massive change that we're going through, and we need to allow God to recreate us. Again, I go back to, are we malleable? Are we allowing God to recreate us despite the challenges that the journey may require? John 3 and verse 3. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again of water in the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Ouch! That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. Always been his fascinating verse, but if you use this analogy, it makes so much sense. Nicodemus was like a caterpillar being told that he would need to become a butterfly. He's going, What?

Yet this is what we were created for. It's the only way we will be in the kingdom of God. That out-verse in there.

We must repent. We must be baptized, spiritually reborn, right? Receive the Holy Spirit, obey, and submit to the reshaping to enter the kingdom of God.

And we're in no place to tell God that we know a better way than what he says, or tell him that he needs to do things on our timing, or that God should just let us do it our way and be pleased that we're doing it.

That's not the way it works. Turn now to Romans 8 verses 5 through 9. Romans 8, 5 through 9. God has something much greater in mind for us than a short lifetime as a human where we're worried about our health, and our bills, and our entertainment, or even our families.

The outcome of that approach is death. Dying in the flesh is not what we were created for. Romans 8 starting in verse 5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Without God's Spirit, we simply cannot live completely by God's law. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

So sometimes we're stubborn, right? Sometimes we're proud, or for some other reason, we're unwilling to change. I can't do this, God. I can't do this, God. I can't give that. I can't serve. I can't sacrifice. That mindset is, I think, well exhibited in the following story. A doctor gravely said to a patient, you're in terrible shape. You've got to do something about it. First, tell your wife to cook more nutritious meals. Stop working like a dog. Also, inform your wife you're going to make a budget, and you both have to stick to it. And have her keep the kids off your back so you can relax more. Unless there are some changes like that in your life, you'll probably be dead in a month.

Duck, said the patient. That's going to sound much more official coming from you. Could you please call my wife and give her those instructions?

When the guy got home, his wife rushed to him and wailed. I talked to your doctor. Poor man, you're going to die in 30 days.

Sometimes we're enjoying a sin too much to change.

Isaac Newton's first law of motion says everything continues in the state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.

And if we have faith, if we truly repent, if we have the Spirit working in us, then God enables us to be on the road of metamorphosis to change our lives where we see and where we think and where we act differently. And we've already read where Paul said that metamorphosis is accomplished by the renewing of our minds, right? Think of a home. Think of a home.

You can make cosmetic repairs, right? You know that you could change the paint, you could change the carpet, and it looks better. Perhaps it increases the real resale value. Or you can restore the house to its original historic condition.

You can take out the carpets and refinish the original wood. You can find windows and doors and woodworking hardware. Good condition. Just like in the original. And try to reverse the wear of aging and all people's attempts to modernize. But Paul isn't talking about restoring our minds to their original condition. We were born sinners. We did not have the mind of God. So what's there to restore, right? Both approaches may cover up smugly defects. For a while, they could increase the physical value a little bit. But aren't going to lead to transformation.

Paul is talking about a complete renovation. It's like taking a house and completely gutting it. Walls, floors, wiring, plumbing, cabinets, bath, kitchen, roof, everything in the foundation. It's all completely new. Anyone who'd seen the house in its previous condition would not recognize it now. Because each and every room must be rebuilt. Once our Creator has torn us down. And only God can do that rebuilding right. That's where I titled this message, Metamorphosis, Recreation, Not Renovation. Because we naturally keep wanting to, yeah, I'll let God renovate me some. Not going in that room. I'll renovate me some. I'm going to take control. I can do this.

So we still sin after baptism.

Maybe I need to go back. I think I went through that thought. Yeah, let's continue. We still sin after baptism, right? We're committed to God. We're aware of what we shouldn't do. But we do. We're human. We make our mistakes. But the difference is we know we need help. And as a result, we allow God to change our hearts. Now let's think through what that feels like and looks like. Sometimes that involves God having to do something. Sometimes that involves God having to teach us the same things. Over and over and over. And how proud are you, one, to be to make this happen and will yourself? Over and over. Okay, God, I'll let you— Hey! I got there!

At other times, he is shaping us by going deeper. He's dealing with things that he couldn't quite get to before because they were things that were under layers of hardness, under layers of sin. That now he can get to. So God will deal with things systematically, sometimes one at a time and other times by digging deeper and deeper. I love a statement I read because it just screams human nature. The problem with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off the altar. That just cracked me up.

We're living sacrifices, but yeah, we got that nature to crawl off. The real change in us will only happen if we're not running after those sins anymore. Turn to Ephesians 4 verses 22 through 24. Ephesians 4, 22 through 24. This self-surrendering has to be this ongoing, this daily, day-by-day offering. And that's critical to real spiritual metamorphosis. For the color in it, I'm going to read this next set of verses from the New Living Translation.

Ephesians 4, 22. Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew, right? Reconstruct, rebuild your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.

The word metamorphosis isn't written in that verse, but it screams it, right? Give you another verse. You don't need to turn there, but 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That also screams that concept. You'll hear with that mindset, so many verses are just speaking to a metamorphosis is what they're speaking about.

We're not being reformed, rehabilitated, or re-educated. We're being recreated. New creations. Being a new creation is this transformation that takes place for anyone who is in Christ. And that's radically different, or let's just say as radically different, as a frog is from a tadpole, right? As a butterfly is from a caterpillar. It's impossible to be in Christ and not experience a metamorpho. And again, we heard in the sermon that only Christ has the ability, or the special music song.

When we become Christians, we're spiritually reborn, and we begin that process of being restored and being recreated into his image. Him doing that from the inside out. And it's a privilege that we've been given. Friends, we have to look past the world. Being a caterpillar, right? Because if we look at what's seen, we're seeing being a caterpillar. And the temporary afflictions of the transformation process. This is going to be hard, God. Yeah. Instead, we must focus on the eternal things which are not seen.

Symbolically becoming spiritual butterflies, if you want to take the analogy in that way. Turn to Mark 16. And let's read the final use of metamorpho. Now, this same story is told again in Matthew 17. That's why I said the words used four times. So it's just two different of the Gospels. In this situation, the promise transformation is displayed in its fullest sense. Mark 9 and verse 1. And he said, in the last verse, the promise transformation is displayed in its fullest sense.

Mark 9 and verse 1. And he said to them, assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. Now, after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. Jesus was metamorphosized in front of them to his full spiritual state. That's the word.

His clothing became shining exceedingly white like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Matthew's account says his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Rabbi, it's good for us to be here. And let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

In essence, Peter was saying, wow, we had no idea.

And a cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved son. Hear him. Listen. Believe. Obey. Follow him. And you too can experience that same metamorphosis, in a sense. Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now, as they came down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

So, for this brief moment, Christ, the firstborn of all of the many brethren right to come, exemplified the final eternal metamorphosis being planned for all who are his disciples. And we're being made ready now for that to happen. It's exciting! And it happens by the renewing of our mind, by the renewing of our heart. It happens by our priorities and our values changing. It happens by us not wanting to have control all the time, but doing right to others, having their best interests, serving with God working through us, all the things we're learning as Christians. It happens by our priorities and values changing. If you will turn to Romans 8 and verse 14.

Friends, I hope this helps put trials in perspective. I really hope it helps put trials in perspective. Sure, we will experience suffering along the way as we are being shaped and reshaped, but it will all be worth it. God is making us ready and giving us strength for what is planned. Romans 8 and verse 18. For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. It's that half-full way of looking at life, isn't it? This says there's going to be sufferings in the present time. Oh, the sufferings! Or it's not worthy because of the other half-full compared to what's coming. We can do this! Our life is to be new and totally different from our old life. Do you see your life as completely different after being baptized? Or do we see our life as still some continuation of the past? That also connects to the sermonette that we were hearing. It's so easy to focus on our shortcomings and feel the same way we do. We don't have to do any shortcomings and feel like we don't do anything right.

We need to see ourselves as God sees us. Do we see ourselves as God sees us? Because God sees us as new creations, cleansed by Christ's blood. That is why David was a person after his own heart even though he was a murderer and adulterer. David rededicated himself to following God's way after repentance and didn't view that as himself. He saw what he was being designed to be rather than holding on to that caterpillar. Do you hold on to your past? Do you hold on to your pains, your mistakes? Let yourself be transformed.

Flip back two chapters to Romans 6, verses 1-4. Romans 6, 1-4. Again, there's so many analogies in the Bible. Think of all the areas where it talks about being a new vessel. Think of everything you're going to hear around the Feast of 11 bread, about old loving being removed and being fully replaced, and on and on. God sees our lives as completely different. And the sacrifice of Christ allows us to be a new creation, to be a new lump. All the different analogies. The Romans 6, verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who die to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

Newness of life. We must be active participants. We must offer ourselves to God and not to sin.

Don't give up or lose sight of what God is doing in us. You can think of the parable of the five virgins, right? Who didn't have enough oil in their lamp. You don't need to turn there, but let me read to you 2 Timothy 1 and verse 6. It says, Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. In other words, we aren't just bystanders, right? We must strive side by side with the Holy Spirit participating, how? Not doing it, but by our choices, by our submission, by our faith. We must do things in the transforming process to keep it going. And that means more than just bringing coffee to a church social or a Bible workshop.

We must put our effort and treasure into the kingdom. We must yield and study, pray and obey, learn how to think more like God. So when we get these choices every day, we're working in faith as opposed to what we can control in our own insecurities. We must stay excited because of the end result. I can't. How much do we value the kingdom of God? Please turn to Colossians 3, verses 9 through 10. Colossians 3, 9 through 10.

Okay, tough question. What rooms are you hiding inside yourself from God trying to renovate them?

What rooms are we hiding? Ask God for the understanding and the ability to make your metamorphosis a priority and to help your unbelief when doubts kick in. Because a lot of times we're faced out. Colossians 3, verse 9. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who was renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Put off, put on. A whole lot harder to do than to say. Put off in the Greek means to wholly put off or separate from oneself. So this old man that should be put off is our sinful nature, right? It's that willful transgression against the Almighty God of the universe.

So if you want to follow the analogy, our early sinful larva form must be undone. It must be lost in order to reach our full potential.

You've probably heard it quotes along this line, but a brave officer once said to a soldier on a day of battle, unless you kill your enemies, they will kill you. And in like manner, it can be said, unless we crucify the flesh, it will be our everlasting ruin.

The first Adam was a loser. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, in every way is a winner, and he enables us to put on, to install, that new nature. Put on. Put on in Greek means to be arrayed or clothed with.

In Christ, the Christian has everything that's needed to become daily more like Christ through the help of the Holy Spirit. And we're told we can do all things through Christ. How? Who strengthens us?

That's the how. And as free moral agents, we can accept or reject these directions to put off and to put on. It's totally to our advantage to believe in Jesus Christ, to continue to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, like Peter said. But change is difficult. It's this difficult thing for all of us. I'm there. It's certainly something we all strive to find shortcuts in as humans. There you go. That's where we set those conditions and we're like, you know what? When I get there, then I'll trust. When this happens, I'll believe. That's how it works. I think that's illustrated well by the following funny story. A man from the back mountains of Tennessee found himself one day in a large city. And the first time ever, he stood outside of an elevator. He watched an old haggard woman hobbling on and the door closed. A few minutes later, the door opened and this young, attractive woman marched smartly off. And the father hollered to his youngest son, Billy, go get Mother!

Don't we all wish change was that easy? But in reality, it isn't. An elevator will not change an individual one iota. Being sanctified into our future metamorphosis state is this lifelong process.

Not this one-time occurrence, and then it's done. It takes the blood of Jesus Christ to receive forgiveness, to wash away the sins of the old man, to make us justified, as we heard in the sermonette. And for that brief moment, we're declared righteous before God, but then we sin again. And our metamorphosis is what takes place. So for time, we're being shaped. And it's worth waiting for. But I can guarantee you, because of human nature and everything we've all experienced and seen, it will take longer and be harder than our nature may desire. Because what are you negotiating with God for now? That you want to have happen before you move, and before you do, and before you believe, and before you trust. What is there? And it's most often when we're being metamorphosized something that's very gradual and progressive.

I think that's explained beautifully by a quote I heard from a person named Fred Craddock when he was addressing a bunch of ministers. Don't know the denomination, but I think he nailed it. Here's what he said, To give my life for Christ appears glorious. To pour myself out for others. To pay the ultimate price of martyrdom. I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out and ablaze the glory. We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a thousand dollar bill and laying it on a table and say, Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.

But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the thousand dollars for quarters.

We go through life putting out 25 cents here, 50 cents there. We listen to the neighbor kids' troubles instead of saying, Get lost. We give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. We go to a church committee meeting. Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all of those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time.

It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory. It's harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.

Beautiful way of phrasing it. Our life after baptism is about this lifelong process of gradually changing into the image, into the likeness of our Savior.

And by viewing the Bible from that perspective, like I said, you could look at everything from the first chapter of Genesis to the end of Revelation, and it's all this story of people who are or are not looking more like Jesus Christ. That's really what the whole book's about.

The appearance change isn't physical, but it's seen in character, in attitude, in behaviors. And that's what the Bible calls sanctification. The English word sanctification comes from a Latin word meaning the act or process of making holy or consecrated. We were set apart to God at conversion, and now we're to live out that dedication to God through this lifetime of holiness.

Eastern dictionary said that sanctification involves more than a mere moral reformation of character brought about by the power of the truth. It is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influence of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul and regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection of the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man.

Metamorphosis. God is not interested in leaving us how He found us when He saved us.

God is about metamorphosizing us and making us ready to stay in the presence. His presence. God the Father's presence for eternity.

And so sanctification is about change. God is about change. Okay, let's be real again, right? Make this real. Sometimes change is so challenging we just wish it would be easy or easier and decide we'd rather just stay the way we are. How many times are you just saying, I'd rather just, it's too much stress, too much, let me just curl up. I don't want to go anymore. I'm done.

The lesson is we must support the renovator and be very mindful of avoiding renovation fatigue. Renovation fatigue as we go through our spiritual transformation. I was intrigued when I read that it's been estimated 80% of people renovating a home will over time experience renovator's fatigue. I bet all of us, I see heads nodding. Just so happy. How many times when you've sold a house was something not done that you just didn't get to, you wondered during day one, and you're just tired.

Renovator's fatigue is where they decide that the struggle, and they've gone through up this point, things are good enough, right? The thought process is, I'm sick of living through a renovation. I like the way it looks now. Enough!

And if we try that spiritually, it stops the effect of the Holy Spirit changing us. It actually empowers Satan to slip our human nature back into the image of what we were before. We regress. We lose ground. Every Christian will face a renovator's fatigue thought process at times. Guilty. We've all been there. When you struggle with this, remember God offers help from inside of you, if you are born again. He offers to help. He offers to help. God himself has joined us in this transformation process. He's invested in us. He gave us life, right? In ways that we can't even imagine, too, while they're happening. And we probably will only discover over a lifetime or after a lifetime. And God will say, you know when you were at your lowest, I wasn't you right there. I was the one helping you. I get it now.

The big rocks...

Well, let me come to that one in a little bit. God is making it possible for us to change, right? To put off and put on. That's the important part. Turn to 1 John 3, verses 1 through 3. 1 John 3, 1 through 3. Let's kind of think of the big picture of how this happens, right? When we first become believers in Christ, we often underwent some very radical life changes. And through those initial stages of our Christian life, God usually helped us grow spiritually as we overcame large and obvious sins that were in our lives.

But we're not supposed to stop there. We're not supposed to be satisfied with God just purging those big things from our lives.

God next takes us deeper into the ongoing changes that he wants to bring about in our lives. Sure, big rocks are gone, but you still have the pebbles and the sand and all the other stuff that has to be worked out.

Take strength knowing the end result of that transformation process is truly exciting. 1 John 3 and verse 1. 2 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is in everyone who has this hope in him. What does he do? Purifies himself just as he is pure.

So the same promise awaits us that Christ experienced. That's the end of the story. And at the end, our metamorphosis will make us to be like him, be able to be in his presence. But to get there, we must let go of self and go through this complete transformation. And that process won't be complete until we see him face to face. So, so much for setting a timeline on God. As long as you're breathing, you're not there yet. Keep going, keep growing, keep yielding. We must allow ourselves to go through that transformation. Okay, so knowing our ultimate destiny really should be a motivator, right? It should motivate us to cooperate as the Holy Spirit works in our lives. It should motivate us to cooperate with the extreme makeover that God wants to accomplish in our lives. It should motivate us to keep morally pure and free from the deceitfulness of sin. To deeply repent when we mess up, because we're going to mess up. It's important that we understand going through this is a long process.

If you watch a time lapse video, great to do, watch a time lapse video on YouTube or wherever, of a butterfly going through a metamorphosis. And I could predict probably what you're going to want to do.

Your natural instinct will likely be to help the butterfly. He's hurting. He needs help. I need to help him. I don't want to see somebody struggle. You felt that with your kids?

Maybe you'd want to pull the cocoon away to make it easier for it to escape. But friends, if you did that, there would be a tragic result. Not enough fluid would be squeezed through the butterfly's wings, so removing the difficulty would make future flying impossible. Isn't that humbling? It's through the escape that enough strength is developed for a butterfly to fly. Again, perspective when you're struggling through something. It's through the escape that it gives enough strength for developing the butterfly ability to fly. So the cocoon prepares the butterfly for life. And we as Christians have a cocoon also, and it's enabled through the death, through the burial, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So as humans, we naturally will first bring our selfishness, right? We'll bring our prickly human caterpillar to God, our spiritual master. You can even think of the parallel to the parable of the prodigal son and the first son saying, give me my share, right? That's actually how we approach God. We're trying to negotiate. And just like the prodigal son, we can't be saved until we realize how lost we are. And as we stand before this holy, this spotless Savior, He reveals the depth of our sin and the fear of judgment that we deserve and our need for His forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. And that goes back to Acts 2, right? Your natural response is, what should we do? What should we do?

Jesus made it clear, if anyone would come after me, He must deny Himself, take up His cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it, but anyone who forfeits his life for me and the gospel shall save it. Repent. Turn to God and turn your life around. How? By entering in the cocoon of Christ's death, by being rebuilt at baptism, and then emerging with the ability for God's Spirit to work in us and to help us transform. The journey that the Bible teaches. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15, 54-58 as the final scripture. 1 Corinthians 15, 54-58.

We need to collectively allow God to do inside us what needs to happen to release our potential. You're not going to do it on your own. To get to your true ultimate potential, even physical things, God can do it in your way better than you could do it. It's that area of trust and faith.

We might enter the cocoon of grace in fear of punishment, right? A lot of people start there. But God will not let us remain in fear, His perfect love casts out fear. Remember, if we are in Christ, we are a new creation. It's a beautiful realization. Reflect on the contrast between our current physical state and our potential spiritual state. And that's what we see Paul doing in 1 Corinthians 15. Verse 54. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the works of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. It's beautiful. For death to be swallowed up in victory, we need to allow Jesus Christ to metamorphosize, to metamorpho us. The result is being conformed into the image of his son, Romans 8, 29. The result is being transformed by the renewing of your mind, Romans 12, 2. The result is becoming a new creation, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17, as the disciples saw when Christ was transfigured, right? Mark 9, Matthew 17. And that metamorphosis has to happen for us to be eternal, and experience all that God has beautifully planned for us.