;">The following is an excerpt from a sermon Series I began today at Cool Springs Church. Join me the next four weeks for this exciting Sermon Series entitled: “Life Transformers.” You can also listen to the sermon by clicking on the link to the right.
Introduction:
Let me ask you a question. What do you believe is God’s ultimate desire, His ultimate plan for your life? Do you believe God’s ultimate plan and desire for you is for you to be wealthy? Healthy? Prosperous? A person of influence? Some people measure their value by their titles or their net worth. So, what do you believe is God’s ultimate desire for your life?
Friend, I can tell you according to the Word of God, His grand desire for you is that you be transformed! My friend, God wants you and I to be transformed into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. NKJV
This is why the Lord Jesus came from heaven, died on the cross, was buried and arose three days later. Jesus is all about Life Transformation.
Everyone that ever came into contact with the Lord Jesus who was open to Him, their life was transformed. The blind saw, the deaf heard, the mute spoke, sinners were forgiven. Jesus is all about Life Transformation!
After His resurrection from the dead, the Lord Jesus gave this wonderful responsibility to the Church in a passage called the Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." NKJV
This command so impacted the members of the first church that they went to Jerusalem, locked themselves in an upper room and began a 10 day prayer meeting. They knew that if God didn’t go with them, they would fail! They needed the power of God to empower them to be Life Transformers!
I. Who are Life Transformers?
Some churches believe that the pastor should do the ministry and the congregation should be feed and cared for. If that church is too large for the pastor to do the work alone, they hire staff to help do the work of the ministry. Friends, that is not a Biblical Church!
According Ephesians 4, the Church Leadership is to Lead, Feed and Equip the congregation to do ministry! Every Christian is expected by God to do ministry, to help transform the lives of men, women, boys and girls for Jesus.
God did not call a select few to serve and others to relax. God has called every born again believer to use the gifts and talents that He has given to them to serve in the ministry of His Kingdom!
So, who are the Life-Transformers?
a. Every Christ-Follower is to be a Life Transformer!
When you read Acts 1:12-16, you will see the names of the Apostles recorded, but not just their names. You will also find that in the upper room was women, the Mother of the Lord Jesus and His brothers. In total, there was 120 believers in the upper room all seeking God to help them transform the lives of others.
II. What do Life Transformers do?
a. They Proclaim the Gospel!
As the disciples were praying in the upper room, God baptized the church with His Holy Spirit. We call this the Birth of the Church.
The great event of Acts ch. 2 was not the Gift of Tongues, although it gets much of the attention. The great event of Acts ch. 2 was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached to everyone within listening distance. Barriers were broken that day. Social, economic and the language barriers were all broken.
In the crowd were the rich, the poor, the educated, the uneducated, the young, the old, the married and the single. Even those from other countries who spoke other languages and yet each of them heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached!
Read the report of the crowd.
Acts 2:11-12: …we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" NKJV
i) What is the Gospel?
The Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ! The Gospel is the message of how God so loved this world that He sent His only begotten Son. That Jesus left the glory of the Father, came down to this earth, was born of a virgin, lived 33 years of sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sin debt, was buried and three days later arose from the dead. The Gospel is that you are a sinner and without God, and yet, God offers to you forgiveness and grace if you will receive Him through His Son the Lord Jesus.
This is what we do as Life Transformers, we share the Good News of Jesus with people!
III. Where do Life Transformers go?
a. To where the People Are!!!
Now remember where the disciples had gone at the beginning of the book of Acts, they had gone into an upper room for prayer. But when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they couldn’t stay in that room. God wanted them to preach the life-transforming Gospel and the people were not in the four walls of the upper room, NO! the people were out on the streets. So, where did Peter Go??? To the Streets!!!
Acts 2:14: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. NKJV
Where was Peter, surely he was in the street were the people were.
IV. How Do Life Transformers Live?
a. They live with their priorities in order!
In Acts 4: 31-35 we read of how the members of the first church sold their possessions, brought their money to the apostles and divided out their resources to those in need. Why did they do that? Because the members of the early church were not caught up in materialism. They knew that life is temporary and that souls hang in the balance. They had eternity on their mind, not the things of this world.
Friend, let me ask you; “Do you know that life is temporary?”
An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone over a hundred years old that says,
Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by, As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be, So prepare for death and follow me.
An unknown passerby read those words and scratched his reply below: "To follow you I’m not content, Until I know which way you went."
One final question…
V. Are Life Transformers Effective?
Are they effective? They were in Acts chapter 2. In verses 37-41, we read of how Peter stood and preached the Gospel to the crowd. They were so pricked in their heart that they asked what they must do. That day, Peter lead about three thousand people to faith in Christ.
And I can say, that they were when I was a little boy. I heard the Gospel of Jesus and at fourteen years of age, I walked the isle of a one-room church, repented of my sin and was saved by the power of Jesus Christ. Since that day, God has been working to transform me into the image of His Son.
How about you my friend? Are you a Christian? Are you saved? If so, praise the Lord. Now, are you working for Jesus? Are you working to transform other lives? You should be.
How about you my friend? Are you not a Christian? You can be. Jesus died so that you would be. If you will come today and repent, turn away from your sin and open your heart to Jesus. He will forgive you and save you today.
