Become – the process
It’s been more than a year since I last preached here. A different church I’m standing in front of today. Not because of new faces, although there are those. A different church because Holy Spirit has been working in our church.
A recent prayer time Megan prayed for “the more.” Holy Spirit seems to be more here now. There’s more of Him working in us. There’s more of His influence. There’s more of His presence.
Holy Spirit is always present. But He can be more: Lk. 11:9 …how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” More Holy Spirit is something I ask for frequently.
Jentezen Franklin’s church opened the year with a 21-day fast, just like we did. Here’s what he said: “This coming year—2019—is going to be powerful. It's going to be the year of a thousand times more.”
Anyone mind if I steal this promise for us?
This is important. We have to keep working and praying. We can’t become comfortable. The gains we have made, the hard-fought victories we have won, the lessons we have learned, we need to stand firm in what Father has accomplished here, and not let them be stolen by the enemy.
Help us persevere, not only to victory, but also through it.
I’m going to put up statements like these this morning. They are things that have come from some of my prayer times.
So, I want the more. A move of God. Healings. Salvations. Deliverances. I want the more, the Holy Spirit more, the “thousand times more.” How about you?
If we want the more…
This church must change.
We must make Holy Spirit as welcome here as we can. 6 - Do not quench (1Th. 5:19) or 7 - grieve (Ep. 4:30) or 8 - resist (Ac. 7:51) Holy Spirit.
This church will change.
We must become the husbands and wives and families we He wants us to be. We must become the friends He wants us to be. We must become the ministers of the Gospel He wants us to be. We must become the church He wants us to be.
This church is changing.
We’re becoming something. Something better. Something more conformed to God’s desire. We’re becoming more conformed to Christ. So keep going deeper.
You’re calling us deeper, not for the experience, but for the fellowship with You.
Belong, believe, become. That’s what the elders have been asking us to focus upon. That’s what many of us have been praying for. That is what Father is calling us to. And that’s what the elders asked me to speak about this morning, become.
I intend to call you forth into new levels of faith and vision and holiness. Maybe I can turn your eyes upward a little more. Maybe I can fan into flame a greater sense of purpose in you. I’m hoping that you will be able to say, "Yeah, I get that. It speaks to me. I believe that. I’m on board.”
Say this with me: There’s something going on here… and I want to be a part of it.
***
Change is not a natural thing for most people. We don’t like change. But we need to do it anyway.
If it’s God, I want it. There’s nothing I have that is better than Father. I want to be like Jesus. Become what Father wants us to be, no matter the discomfort. I think it’s worth the cost. Would you agree with that?
But change for the sake of change is not what we want. It’s not about tweaking the church here and there. Rearranging the furniture is not what I’m talking about. Holy Spirit becoming is fundamental, foundation-affecting change.
And becoming is not trouble, though trouble may sometimes come. Becoming is not chaos, though at times our lives might feel overwhelming. Becoming is not pain, although change can be painful. Becoming is good, because Holy Spirit is working in us.
Holy Spirit change is always good.
Become is intentional. It comes from a Holy Spirit empowered, purposeful change towards the “God things” Father wants to form in our lives and in our church.
Become is the destination, the place where Father wants you to be.
Become is the goal of the journey Father wants to take you on.
Become is destiny.
Becoming changes our thinking, changes our actions, changes our relationships, changes our doctrines, changes our church, changes our community.
Say this with me: Let me become… what Father’s vision is for me.
***
David said that we have a choice between static and growth. I’d like to take it farther. I think being static is not possible. Why not? Because it isn’t possible to not change.
Not changing is change backwards.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics describes the operation of organized systems. There are only two possibilities: Closed or open. The SlofT tells us that a closed system, that is, a system that is absent additional energy, will degenerate into disorder. That’s called Entropy. A system must be open, that is, receiving energy from outside itself, to not entropy.
So for example, maintaining a house requires inputting energy. Someone has to expend energy to paint and clean. Left alone, a house will begin to disassemble. Eventually, it will simply be a pile of dust.
It’s the same thing with this house, our church.
A church without Holy Spirit is a closed system and will degenerate into a spiritually disordered state.
Decay. Degenerate. Disorder. That sounds like death to me. A church without Holy Spirit is death. So. I want to encourage you to open our church's system to Holy Spirit. Fling wide the spiritual doors.
Ps. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Let’s prepare the way for the move of the King of glory!
***
There are four focus items I want to touch on from this passage. The first is
1) Encounter
You might remember from Acts that Paul had an encounter on the road to Damascus, a revelation of Jesus. Jesus had a bone to pick with him. He asked Paul why he was persecuting him. The encounter was so intense Paul fell to the ground and was blinded.
Years later, Paul writes what he used to be like. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
Paul had credentials, a resume, he had a track history. He thought his account to be in good standing. He was doing holy work protecting the one true faith. But this encounter with the glorified Son of God showed him that what he thought was good and holy was anything but.
A man named Ananias lived in Damascus and had heard about Paul’s resume. This is in Acts chapter 9. I have heard many reports about this man. So when God gave him a vision to go find Paul, he was afraid. But he went, and he prayed for Paul. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. Scales fell off his eyes. Father changed his lens. These encounters changed Paul’s’ life.
I would want each of you to experience a Holy Spirit encounter. Perhaps a revelation, a teaching, a dream or vision, or a word from a brother or sister would bring you to an encounter. It might be some sort of direction, conviction of sin, or maybe a ministry call. We need at least one, and preferably many, encounters.
We will be changed by Holy Spirit encounters. And that’s the only real way to change. A revelation from Holy Spirit will change our priorities, perhaps even upend our lives, and set us on the road to become.
Say this with me: When revelation comes… I want to act on it.
…
2) Encounter, Repentance
The second focus item is repentance. Paul’s encounters led him to a kind of reckoning, a moment of decision. He writes: Ph. 3:7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish…
Paul compared his old credentials to the new thing set before him and realized that the new was better. That’s what Holy Spirit encounters do. I consider them rubbish… “Consider.” That is, Paul made an assessment, he (re) considered. Now the old stuff is a loss, it’s garbage.
Paul is making a Repentance statement here. Repentance doesn’t always have to mean that we’re involved in egregious sin, though that certainly can be true. If you have an addiction, involved in sexual immorality, a lover of money, or if you’re stealing from your employer, well, you’d better repent.
Repentance literally means a change of mind in the inner man. First, turn away… abandon; second, turn towards… embrace fully in devotion. Turn away from sin, turn towards Father. Change the pretty good things we value for the better things God values.
When we repent we stop agreeing with death and start agreeing with life.
Repentance is part of become. So we forsake the sin and everything that so easily entangles, leave behind our rubbish, we abandon the former things like our failures, our sins, our hurts, and things we thought were good, and devote ourselves to pressing on towards the goal of Christ-likeness.
Repentance comes from revelation, Father is showing us His better. Repentance is part of how we become what Father wants us to be.
Say this with me: Father, tell me… what you think is good.
***
Passion
Paul’s encounter led to a reckoning, which led to repentance, which led to embracing what Father had set before him. And now Paul has a single-minded passion: Ph. 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…
I love the intellectual pursuit, as many of you do. But this isn’t about the accumulation of data. Paul wants to know the surpassing greatness. Surpassing greatness is greatness that exceeds everything else. He wants to know every detail he can discover about Jesus’ greatness.
The Greek word for “knowing” is gnosis, knowledge gleaned from first-hand personal experience. This is not mere intellectual assent. It is knowing Christ direct and up close. It’s intimate, personal, and experiential.
***
In Christ
Ph. 3:8b I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him… In Him. Something that got my attention recently is the number of times that Paul writes, “in Him,” or “in Christ.” These phrases appear 24 times in Paul’s letters. Just in Ephesians, my favorite book:
In Christ we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Ep. 1:3
In Christ God chose us to be holy and blameless. Ep. 1:4
In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Ep. 1:7-8
In Christ God made known to us the mystery of his will. Ep. 1:9
In him we were made heirs. Ep. 1:11
In him we were marked with a seal, the Holy Spirit. Ep. 1:13
In Christ Jesus we are seated with God in heavenly realms. Ep. 2:6
In Christ Jesus we are created to do good works. Ep. 2:10
In Christ Jesus we have been brought near. Ep. 2:13
In him we are a holy temple where God’s Spirit lives. Ep. 2:21
In him we can approach God with freedom and confidence. Ep. 3:12
In Christ is the place Paul wanted to be, and, wants us to be. That’s where we gnosis Jesus.
The Greek word is en. En denotes a fixed position in location, time or status. I can sit in a restaurant, but that conveys nothing about my status or any connection to the restaurant. I don’t belong to the restaurant, the restaurant conveys no identity or position to me. I am not fixed there.
But to be in Christ is positional. Our status is changed. In Christ is where we live out a life of faith. In Christ is belonging, revelation, and purpose.
To be in Christ is to be contained in His exact same place and position. To be in means we are no longer out. Not only saved, but in. We have His identity. We belong to His family. We are sealed. We bear His righteousness. We’re in Christ.
To be in Christ was Paul’s passion.
Say this with me: I want to be in… and not out.
***
3) Encounter, Repentance, Time to die
Third focus item, time to die. Back to our text: 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Remember the Old Dead Man? This is variously known as the flesh, the carnal man, or the sinful nature. It’s the “you” that died when you got saved. When you become like Jesus in His death, that’s where the Old Dead Man dies.
But we tend to still want to carry him around. Jesus’ burden is light, but not the Old Dead Man. Nope, the Old Dead Man is dead weight. In the becoming you need to dump him.
You are a new man or woman. What you were is not you anymore. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. That’s your reality now. Michael spoke about this a few weeks ago. We live in a new reality. Our life is in Christ. It’s not our own life, because the Old Dead Man was the life (actually, the death) we had before.
Koinonia
Again, Ph. 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death…
That word “fellowship” here is koinónia. You probably have heard the word, but maybe you’re not sure what it means. It means partnership, participation, sharing in, communion, spiritual fellowship.
Here, the context is that we connect ourselves, we link with, we bind ourselves to Jesus’ suffering. His suffering, His death becomes our death.
We have to die in order to live. You don’t get to escape death. Jesus didn’t die to take your place. He died to carry our sin. He died to nail it to the cross. He died to nullify it. He died, and we must die with Him.
We koinónia (participate, fellowship) in His death in order to experience the power of His resurrection life. He takes us down into the grave and right back out in resurrection as new creations.
There is no resurrection without death.
Brothers and sisters, I invite you, come and die.
Say this with me: My death… is a good thing... for my life.
***
4) Encounter, Repentance, Time to die, Resurrection Power
Our fourth focus item, Resurrection Power. Verse 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection… This is the pivotal point. It’s all about the resurrection. Creation itself hinges on it. It is the singular event of history. It’s big.
The resurrection, it's one of those things we Christians can easily become accustomed to, because it's been so familiar. We might even take it for granted. But how did we allow this amazing thing to become routine and unremarkable?
The Resurrection is crazy. Coming back to life is crazy. Rising from the dead is crazy. I’m amazed all over again by this crazy thing, the power of his resurrection.
The Greek word for power is dunamis, which means miraculous power, might, strength. Know (gnosis) the power (dunamis) of his resurrection.
Here’s what I mean by power: Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game. Michael Jordan didn’t just beat his defender and make the shot. No, he leaves the defender in his tracks looking like an amateur, he spins around, makes a fake, and slams it home.
The defense is not just beaten, it is humiliated. It leaves everyone speechless. That's a dunamis move.
It’s the difference between being just sufficient as compared to lavish, exorbitant, or even flashy. Jesus' resurrection was much more than adequate, it was over-the-top. Incomparable. Unprecedented. Victory over death and the grave may be the top expression of Father's dunamis ever. That’s the power of the Resurrection.
***
Resurrection power is all over the NT, so we’re going to detour to a couple other Scriptures.
Col. 2:13-15 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
We had what seemed like an insurmountable problem. The law condemned us. The whole of the kingdom of darkness was arrayed against us. But he took away that condemnation by canceling the law. He circumcised the Old Dead Man away from us by the cross.
When he did that, the evil forces were disarmed.
Notice, it says, 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities… "Disarmed” is apekduomai (ap-ek-doo'-om-ahee), to completely strip off.
Let’s put the actual definition in the verse. It would read like this: 15 And having completely stripped off the powers and authorities… The resurrection did much more than disarm the enemy, it stripped him off of us.
The law comes to bear to condemn the natural man. That’s what you were, a dead man. So when your dead man died, the law no longer has effect. It was stripped off by the cross. The enemy was stripped off. The Old Dead Man was stripped off.
The cross killed us and resurrection power gave us new life in Christ.
His triumph made a public spectacle of the enemy. deigmatizó (digh-mat-id'-zo): to expose, make a show of, ridicule… Humiliate. Public shaming. Totally defeated.
This is like there being 3 seconds left in the game, and Michael Jordan beats all five defenders plus everyone on the bench, jumps from center court, does three spins, literally changes direction in mid air, and slams the ball through the hoop from an altitude of 20 feet.
Plus, he shatters the backboard.
Game over, we win. That's the Resurrection.
Say this with me: The resurrection… is my victory.
***
The resurrection is so big, it’s not only for our benefit, it’s also for the farthest reaches of creation. Detour #2: Ro. 8:21 …the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
No more decay. No more entropy. No more death. Freedom. The first law of God-dynamics. Resurrection dunamis is something new introduced into the system, the system we call creation. Holy Spirit invaded the system and death no longer reigns. Anywhere. That is the magnitude of Resurrection power.
Say this with me: Father’s promise to me… is Holy Spirit power.
***
Our last scripture detour: Ep. 1:18-20 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…
The King of kings reigns in power. Power over sin, death, and the grave. Power to save completely. Power to deliver you from your sin and your disease and your hopelessness. Power that glorifies Father and gives life to men.
Paul wants the eyes of our hearts to be opened up, to know (gnosis) this power. He wants us to personally be acquainted with this power at work in us. It’s for those of us who believe. Get that? That power that raised Christ from the dead is for us who believe. That power is for today.
Power to become. Resurrection power is the means by which we live victorious Christian lives. Resurrection power is the equipping force working through us to overcome. Resurrection power is the replacement for the futility of human works.
This power is not to pretend you are a super-saint, or so you can impress people, it’s so you can minister according to His purpose, live a Spirit-filled, victorious life, and touch people with the Gospel.
We need this dunamis in our lives, our marriages, our families, our church, our community. The process of becoming can only happen one way: Filled with Holy Spirit. Filled with resurrection power. It’s the only way to do the works He has set before you.
Do you hear what the Spirit is saying to the church?
Say this with me: Father, would you empower me… to do your works?
***
It’s Work
Paul says he hasn’t taken hold of it yet, so he going to keep working toward what Father has shown him. A walk of faith requires us to work out our salvation. Verse 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, 14 I press on towards the goal…
13 …straining towards what is ahead…
14 …I press on towards the goal…
“Straining” is epekteinó (ep-ek-ti'-nom-ahee). It means to stretch out to or toward; to stretch oneself forward to. It’s from the same root word as when Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stretch it out. Stretch out your hand. Strain toward what is ahead.
“Press on” in the Greek is diókó, (dee-o'-ko) which means aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch.
It’s exertion. It’s focus. It’s not passive. You extend yourself into places that are beyond your boundaries. If you’re interested in becoming, you’re going to have to strain. Stretch out. Dig deeper. Press on. Expend some effort. Not by human strength, but by resurrection power.
Becoming just doesn’t happen.
Say this with me: Father, fan into flame… my desire to go deeper.
***
Let me pause for just a minute. Are you wondering if there really is something more? Or maybe you just can’t believe there is a way to God, or even if there is a God. Jesus died for me? Really? Yup.
You’ve ignored or resisted to this point, but now maybe you’re thinking. Let me ask you, do you know (gnosis) Jesus, or are you still dead in your sins?
I think God is speaking to some of you, beckoning you. “Come out of the darkness and death, and find life and a future.” Father wants you as His own. He wants to save you.
You too can live by the power of the resurrection. Father made a way, the only way, by giving His son Jesus to die, and then live again. That’s good news, that’s the Gospel.
There are people all over the room who would be happy to help you enter Father’s family. Would those of you who are prayer people or in the leadership of the church raise your hands?
Ok, look around. During the last song, as the service winds down, seek out one of these people and ask them what you must do to be saved. Or, if you’ve already been saved, ask for someone to pray for you that you might be filled with Holy Spirit and resurrection power.
Today is the day. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. There might not be another one.
Also, for the rest of you, Holy Spirit may give you Words of knowledge. Pay attention. He might lead you to pray for someone, or bless someone. Have your spiritual ears open, would you?
***
The Mature View – Paul’s conclusion
The last part of the text I want to mention is verse 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.
I think Paul is chiding his readers. It’s like, “dude, grow up. Don’t you get it? You’re still messing with the Old Dead Man if you aren’t doing this. You should be pressing on towards the goal and leaving the garbage behind! Get some power, and live a life pleasing to God!”
It’s been a constant prayer of mine that we all would begin to hear from Father in a way we maybe didn’t think was possible.
Break through our self-imposed boundaries and preconceived notions.
Break out of bad habits, bad thinking, and bad doctrines, stake out new ground, move out in faith, and do the works Father has called us to.
Break forth with courage into places we didn’t believe we could go.
We need to become life-givers and not just life-receivers.
So, it is the mark of maturity to become. The mature view is to keep the goal of Christ-likeness in your sights. Don’t let anyone or anything cut in on you. Mature people operate in resurrection power. This is what grown-ups do.
Say this with me: I want to be… a grown up.
***
Our four focus points, Encounter, Repentance, Time to die, Resurrection Power, are about individual and personal transformation, how we become. Now I want to focus on what I think we can become.
I mentioned that it feels different. My faith is rising. There’s something in the air. I know that’s a nebulous statement, but I think many of you feel it, too.
Many of you know we’ve had a pretty rough go of it over the past couple of years, or maybe even longer. Not many churches survive what we’ve gone through.
It’s distracted us, took us off stride, and turned our focus inward to our troubles as a church. Our vision was vague. Our purpose was uncertain, if it was talked about at all. Our foundation felt shaky.
But now, I’m going to say right here that This trouble is done. The way has been hard, but Father is faithful. He has taken us through. We are not abandoned! He has not passed us by!
We survived difficult times as a church for a reason. I believe that Father has plans for us as a church. There are Holy Spirit stories, our HS stories. There’s more going on than you might think. I love testimonies, like Karen a couple of weeks ago. We need to know what God is doing here. You need to get inspired by them and get going yourself.
Here’s how important it is. The church is the revealer of God: Ep. 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms…
Through the church. That’s every believer everywhere. We are God’s plan. So this church cannot be a typical church. We cannot be average. There are average churches all over town. Through us Father wants to demonstrate to powers and principalities His manifold (many-faceted) wisdom. It’s His intention.
That is not average, brothers and sisters.
We are learning what it means to be a church. We’re stronger. We’re getting back on stride. Our vision is clearing. The foundations of this church are going to be made plumb and square. The ministries will be fruitful. He will add to our number those who are being saved.
I’m calling you forth. Rise up, church! Awake, O sleeper! I am calling forth
The foundation builders.
The prophets.
The fathers and mothers.
The soldiers of worship.
The warriors of prayer.
The evangelists.
The pioneers and trailblazers.
The ministers of the fellowship of the saints.
The songwriters.
The painters and sculptors.
The dreamers.
The friends of God.
The lovers.
Now, it’s time to forget what is behind and press on towards the goal. Now, it’s time to lift our vision higher. Now, it’s time to get to work. Now, it’s time to get some hope, move in resurrection power, and minister with purpose and vision.
Each of us has a place in that, if we’re willing.
Say this with me: If it’s God… I’m in.
***
So what should we do?
1) We need to embrace the spiritual disciplines. S.D.s are the self-imposed regimens. Devote ourselves to be people of worship, prayer and fasting, devotion to the Word, and service to each other and the community. It’s time to go deeper, deeper than you have ever gone.
2) We need God’s character formed in us. 2Pe. 1:5-7 …make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. “Make every effort.” Do the work. Discipline and train ourselves. Expand our capacity.
3) We need to encourage one another. One thing you’re already pretty good at is encouraging one another. Your love for the brethren is plain to see. Kick it up a notch.
We are His body. Father has installed you in His Body and wants you to act on that with your spiritual gifts. No bench warmers. No hiding. No excuses. Every one of you is a critical part of what Father wants to do here. You have something to offer. Even little things are important. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t sell others short.
***
Last thing. I had this visual of a neon sign over the doorway, “Open for business.”
Henceforth, we are open for Kingdom business. That’s my declaration: Open for business! We were fixing broken things. We were back on our heels. We were wondering what else could go wrong. But no more. This trouble is done. We are open for business.
So my vision is for a 24/7 kingdom center. Services every day of the week, and multiple services on Sunday. Prayer rooms continually filled, where people always get their prayers answered. A dedicated praise room overflowing with worshipers. A healing room where everyone who walks in, walks out healed. Crowds every night and day. A full parking lot at 3 am. Salvations by the thousands.
People getting delivered from addictions, defeat, discouragement, and diseases. People grabbing hold of us and asking, what must I do to be saved? Marriages restored. Families healed. Our businesses prospered. Missionaries sent out overseas, as well as into the halls of government, local bars and restaurants.
Worship teams sent out to churches to assist them and teach them worship. In fact, listen to this. I believe that this move of God will be carried by musical worship. This is more critical than you might think.
I am persuaded that what Father does in this house is contingent on how far we are willing to go to make sure Father is pleased by our worship. I appreciate Jeff and Megan, and all the worship team, for their efforts here. We have the tools thanks to them, now we need the will.
We will be the ones other churches emulate.
I’m not trying to cheer lead or play with your emotions. But I do want to get some hope flowing, fan into flame the gifts you have been given, and encourage some thought and prayer about holy possibilities.
Is Father is able to do this?
Does this sound like something you would want to be a part of?
What will we become? You decide.
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