Transformation is not a passive experience; rather, it's an active engagement with the truth that requires our full participation. In this episode, we delve into the often misunderstood nature of spiritual transformation, contrasting it with the theatrics that can sometimes masquerade as genuine change. Many within our religious landscape have been lulled into believing that transformation is merely a mystical experience—akin to a microwave dinner, where all they need to do is press a button and wait for the Holy Spirit to do the heavy lifting. However, we explore the reality that true transformation demands not only our awareness but also our willingness to respond to God's work in our lives with a heart of repentance and obedience. As we navigate through biblical examples, including the poignant reforms of King Josiah, we uncover that the essence of transformation is rooted in inner change, rather than mere outward appearances. So, grab your favorite drink, and let’s dig deep into what it truly means to be transformed!

Takeaways:

• True transformation is not a passive process; it requires active participation and commitment from individuals.
• Many people confuse emotional experiences in religion with genuine transformation, mistaking feelings for faith.
• The real essence of transformation lies within the heart and mind, not merely in outward appearances or rituals.
• A genuine humility and a sincere response to God's word are essential for true transformation.
• Transformation cannot be reduced to mere rituals or emotional high points; it must involve a change in thinking and behavior.
• Religious practices without true heart change can lead to a superficial faith that lacks depth and authenticity.

And good day to you.

Welcome to our study.

We have been introducing our thoughts for the next several months, actually about the call for true transformation and to be able to distinguish between that and what I would call religious theatrics.

We live in a religious world that loves the idea of transformation but really don't understand the real meaning of it.

They speak of being spirit led.

And clearly from their lives that they live and the illustrations that they use in their teaching and the statements and comments they make in just small talk reveals just where their hearts are.

It reads much more than anything they can say.

But people want the language of transformation.

They like the image of transformation, the aura of it all.

But very often what they really want is it to be very passive, automatic, like sticking some food in the microwave and out it comes, or getting on Amazon and placing an order and expecting that what, what we want in the mail when it comes to us.

Or they're looking at religion and transformation as being somewhat mystical and it's related to the work of the Holy Spirit, as if it's all very passive to them.

God comes into their lives, the Holy Spirit enters their hearts and does all this transformation for them.

And so very little is expected of them as they perceive of it.

They give God the glory, they say.

They say, God will change me when he's ready, the Spirit will do that.

Or they'll talk about an experience they had at the altar.

And that must mean that I'm transformed.

And so religion is sort of accomplished, an accomplished task that the Spirit has done.

And there's really very little work that needs to be done.

Someone says, well, I felt something in the service, or someone said something over the phone or some experience that they had through the week that really stood out in their mind as being spirit led and spirit moved and God moved and something must have shifted in their lives.

And it's, it's all very inner feelings and highly emotional responses.

And so they will put that slant, that interpretation on various things in life as they come up as being spirit led or God moved.

But meanwhile, all of their thinking, the way they act, their habits, that hasn't changed at all.

Their relationships haven't changed, their love, their loyalties haven't changed.

Their willingness to spend and be spent on the behalf of brethren has not changed.

They still have bitter envying, bitter jealousy and envying in their hearts just as divisive as they ever were, ladened with the burdens of this life, very divisive, whose attitudes of the past are still in the present.

Nothing has really Changed.

Oh, they've changed the image they project.

They may even change the people that they surround themselves with on special occasions, like on Sunday morning.

They bought the T shirt at this concert, religious concert.

They've learned all the right phrases and the things to say to reach this emotional high that they seem to want and that the world around them seemed to want.

And they follow all the right teachers.

They know when to raise a hand and when to say amen and how to even sound spiritual.

But inside, the old man is still alive and well.

And so our theme today is very simple, but very uncomfortable.

Transformation is not passive.

It's not automatic, and it's not mystical.

It is God work in us.

Yes, it is his work in us.

We are his creation, or should be.

That's the.

That's by design.

But it's God's powerful work in us as we respond actively to that revealed truth.

We must do so with a full heart of repentance, a renewed thinking, and a desire to be obedient to him.

We have noticed several different times where we have Talked about Romans 8 and the thought of the spirit bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the sons of God.

It's not the other way.

He doesn't say that my spirit bears witness.

He's not saying I get up and give a testimony that my heart has been changed to be like the spirit's leading.

It says that the spirit bears witness with my spirit, that we are the sons of God, that I am a child of his.

Well, naturally, the spirit knows what I'm thinking.

He knows what's on the inside.

He doesn't read things by appearance.

That's man's problem.

You know, we're told that in Samuel, when Samuel describes the attitude, or at least the mind and the heart of the people who are focused on appearances, while God looks on the heart.

The people see Saul as the kingly figure that really fits the image that they want to project as the king, their king.

He carries himself as a king.

He looks like a king.

And if he does things that act like a king, that's what they want.

And so God looks at the heart.

David was a man after God's own heart, and God chose David over Saul.

He might not have had the appearance.

He may not have looked kingly.

I don't know anything about that, but from what I hear of Saul, it was all about appearance.

Now, I say that only to emphasize that man doesn't look at things the way God does.

He can't see the heart, for one thing.

And so what his focus is on is totally on the appearances.

If we can create the right appearance, if we can project certain behaviors that others can see and can convince them that we're on that path.

But let me make this clear.

The Spirit can see through that.

The Spirit knows whether that's accurate or not.

And so he knows what's in the heart.

And so he bears witness.

He testifies.

You can give your testimony all you want about how you think God saved you and what experiences you have, but the Spirit knows.

He knows.

He cuts across all of that.

He knows really if that's the truth or not, because he is the Spirit of truth and he reveals the truth.

And so when we think about this theme, this thought transformation is not what a lot of people see it to be.

I want to then walk you through some ideas and thoughts, some biblical patterns of real transformation, not this theatrical external transformation that keeps people delusional and convinced that they're on the right path and that there are Christians.

But to walk through the biblical pattern of real transformation.

We want to start by just comparing, for the moment the way man thinks and the problems that existed with King Josiah.

Certainly, as we read about the reading of the law and the reforms of Josiah, we can pick that up, and we can't read it all, obviously, but I just want to hit some key points.

And so if you have a Bible, I want you to turn to 2 Kings 22 with me.

I'll not do a whole lot of reading, but I'll point to verses for you.

I want you to read them.

You can see them much quicker than I can read them to you.

I will point them out, however, and express the key points as we go through this rather quickly.

But what we're trying to do here is again, make the distinction between true transformation and what happens with man most of the time.

Transformation is not passive, it's not automatic, and it's not mystical.

So let's start with how many believers have been taught, sometimes directly, sometimes by implication, to think about it.

For many people, it's very passive.

Now, let me just give you some things that we would typically hear that I've heard all of my life, that really express man's testifying to what they think the Spirit would agree with.

In other words, it's not the Spirit bearing witness with our Spirit, it's our Spirit attempting to bear witness with the Spirit.

And this is how it comes out.

Well, if God wants me to stop this sin, then he'll just take away the desire.

Praise be to God.

God does it all.

Or if the Spirit wants me to be more devoted, then he'll move me.

All I need to be is just submissive and let God, right?

Just let God, let him move and he'll move me when he's ready.

Or what about this one?

If I don't feel led, I'm not going to do anything.

I'm not going to act.

I'm going to wait on God, right?

These are things that you hear.

It makes transformation very passive.

For others, it's almost automatic.

It's like, well, I prayed the prayer and I gave the sinner's prayer something, by the way, that you don't read in the Bible.

And so I must be transformed.

Or I got baptized, someone else might say, and I've arrived.

I'm that new creature.

When in fact what they may have only done is get wet.

No transformation taking place at all.

No death of the old man, no crucifixion, no denying of self.

Or how about, well, I joined, I got back into the church.

I got to get back in there.

I got there, I joined the church, and oh, I feel so much better.

And I'm really going through transformation.

In fact, in some people's case, it's a done deal because they've gone back to church.

And for others, it's almost mystical.

I went down to the revival service last night and I fell down and, oh, I shook and I cried and people laid their hands on me and I must be transformed through the Spirit's renewal.

The preacher laid his hands on me and I felt heat.

I felt electricity.

Something deep must have happened to me that night.

Whether I can see it or not, I just know this reminds me.

Years ago, a good friend of mine was talking to a lady who was trying to convince him what evidence she has to show or prove that she's a Christian.

And I believe there was certainly evidence in the New Testament scriptures.

I believe it's somewhat slightly different.

But there should be always the proofs that bear witness to our faith and our confidence.

We should have that confidence.

But it's not a blind confidence.

It's not just something we want to make up.

It has to be real.

There has to be some basis for it.

So what's the basis for that?

And as he began to explore and ask, he said, well, I just know.

I just feel it.

And when you experience it, you just know it.

And everybody that of course adheres to that idea can shake their heads and say, you're absolutely right, sister.

That's right, that's right.

It's a better felt than told experience.

We've heard these expressions before.

And of course, the brother wasn't trying to be ugly.

But he said, you know, feelings are always matters of interpretation.

You're trying to now interpret something that you felt.

He said, how do you know it wasn't indigestion?

Well, that was an insult to her because in her mind the Spirit has borne witness that she's a child of God.

And she's just convinced.

She knows in her heart that she's saved.

But there's no evidence, there's no proof of it.

So what?

The proof of salvation and the proof of sanctification is a life that's changed.

Now, I don't mean a perfect life.

I mean a life that's changed.

The thinking has changed.

It's an inward transformation.

That's what I'm after today.

I want you to see the difference between the two when you listen to how the New Testament describes transformation.

It's all about inward transformation.

I appeal to you, brethren, Paul said in chapter 12, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Now that's something that you do.

You do that.

Present it holy and acceptable to God.

That is your spiritual service.

Do not be conformed to this world.

Now, that's something that you're actively doing.

Do not do that, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

Now that takes some effort on your part.

You see that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

That's the objective measuring stick by which we can measure that transformation takes place.

Nothing passive about presenting your bodies, nothing automatic about do not be conformed.

There's nothing mystical about be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

As we noted last time, Ephesians 4 says, Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, which is corrupt through deceitful desires.

Be renewed in the spirit of your minds.

Put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and and holiness.

Again, the put off, the put on, be renewed.

These are commands, not feelings.

What are they?

They are responses to truth.

And the Spirit is the Spirit of truth.

That's why he bears witness with my spirit, whether I am his child.

It's not mystical events that happen while I'm asleep in two Timothy three, five warns us about people who have the appearance of godliness, but they've denied the power thereof.

You see, if transformation is only about appearances and notice I'm making a distinction between appearance and the Heart.

God looks on the heart.

Man looks upon appearances.

He's moved by how he feels, by what he sees.

But it never gets into the mind.

And if it never gets into the mind and restructures that inner self, then it will never produce obedience at a cost.

It'll never be a sacrificial life.

Then all we have are appearances of Godliness.

We've denied the very power of God that actually changes people.

And so the very first thing that we have to say today is transformation is not God decorating your old life.

It's not acting out this crucifying of the old self.

It's the renewing, the true renewing of your mind in the truth.

Now, that standard of truth is not your truth.

It's not what you want it to be.

It's not what you want to believe.

It's the truth that has been revealed.

It's objective truth.

You can read it, you can ingest it, and you can make it a part of your life.

It's not something that you've trumped up.

It's there for your benefit.

Now, when we look at 2 Kings 22 and compare Josiah's reforms beginning there in that text, Israel was in spiritual ruined.

Decades of idolatry and compromise and rebellion.

The temple had been neglected, and the Book of the Law was lost, as if it was thrown into a closet somewhere and neglected.

The people had religion, though, don't mistake that.

But they didn't have truth.

They were serving and worshiping gods and other religious forms that they had borrowed from their neighbors.

They had rituals, they had religion, they had sacrifices, but they didn't have the revelation from God.

It was religion without God in it.

In chapter 22, while repairing the temple, Hilkiah the priest finds the Book of the Law and gives it to Shaphan the secretary, who then brings it before King Josiah and he reads it.

The Bible says that when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he.

He tore his clothes.

Now, please understand, this is not theatrics here.

This is not someone acting out what he would expect Chaphan to see a man do once he heard about the law being found.

He's not trying to keep up appearances.

This is a broken man.

Verse 19.

God describes Josiah's response.

He says, because your heart was penitent and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I spoke, you see?

And then he says, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me.

I also have heard you, declares the Lord.

Now Listen, this is beautiful, right?

The word is recovered.

The king is cut to the heart.

Genuine humility.

This is how true transformation always begins.

It's not with music.

You know, some people, I can't understand this, but they can't worship without music.

Now, I'm not saying you should worship only with music necessarily.

I'm just emphasizing the fact that someone says, we're going to worship God, you want to join us?

And everybody brings their banjos and pianos or their guitars or whatever they can bring in.

They can't think in terms of worship without it.

What that means, therefore, is they can't worship when they're driving down the road in an automobile.

They can't worship when they're in the stall of a restroom or going to a restroom or restaurant.

They can't worship until they're in these.

This environment, this setting.

That's very disconcerting and certainly is not true about true worship.

But anyway, they have to have these things and these prompts you might call them, in order to worship.

In fact, they can't really think of worship without it.

It also always begins with that, but not with God.

True transformation begins with a genuine humility and appealing to and depending on the word of revelation, it's not with fog machines, not with a celebrity preacher, not with all that hype, but just the simple word of God being heard and then taken seriously.

Now then, in chapter 23, Josiah launches an enormous national reformation.

Let me just mention them to you as we look.

In chapter 23, the first few verses, he brings the book before the people and renews the Covenant.

In verse 4, he destroys the vessels made for Baal and the Asherah.

In verse 5, he deposes those idolatrous priests and puts them down.

No longer would they serve as priests.

In verse 8, he breaks down the high places.

He tears down the altar of Bethel that Jeroboam had built.

In verse 15, in chapter 23, 24, he removes all the household gods and the idols and all the detestable things, the abominations.

And then he restores the Passover in a way that hadn't been done since the days of the judges.

Now, if you looked at Judah from the outside, if you were there as a witness to these things, you would say, wow, that's transformation.

This nation has changed.

Look at all what Josiah's reforms.

But friends, if it's not from the heart, it's so shallow and empty.

And God doesn't honor that.

Listen to the verdict of scripture in verse 25, beginning this is 23 before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all of his heart, with all of his soul, with all of his might, according to all the law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath by which his anger was kindled against Judah because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.

And the Lord said, I will remove Judah out of my sight.

So you have Josiah turning, seems to be sincere, brings about all of these reforms.

They were real reforms.

But as you read through the text, you learn that nothing has changed from within, and therefore nothing is going to change in putting down God's great wrath, the burning of his great wrath.

And so while the people had been shaped by generations of idolatry, their focus was again on appearances.

Outward religious life, though it had been corrected at this time, all of the deep seated corruption, the loyalties of their hearts, their focus, their priorities, that had not changed.

You see, what we have going on here is the scenery has changed, the system has changed, the stage may have changed, but the heart of the nation is still corrupt.

It has not changed.

There is a sobering picture of what can happen, and I would say what does happen in churches today.

You can change the decor, you can even change doctrines, you can change styles, and you can change the language, the brand can change, even some obvious sins can get cleaned up like it did in Josiah's day.

Changes can occur and you can say, oh, I could never have done that without God.

And you can to that extent praise him, you could acknowledge him.

But the inner life, the way you think love, the way you choose, the way you respond to life's uncertain events, the way you worship all that remains largely untouched.

And so that's religious renovation versus biblical transformation.

Now bring that picture into our day for a while.

We live in a religious culture obsessed with appearances.

We've learned how to look spiritual.

We wear the right clothes, we have the right vocabulary, we have the right emotional tone on stage, the right spiritual brand.

Preachers can get up in some environments, in some denominations, and you know you're in the right place.

Why he gets up and he preaches real hard and he real loud and he gets all excited and he builds up the frenzy and he can quote scripture and he can touch the heartstrings and people can think, well, he's spirit led, listen to him, and they might even say, help him, Lord.

And it's theatrics, it's emotional driven.

Well, I can Anybody can do that.

We can put on a play.

We can use the right gestures, we can tell the right stories and even have the right kind of tears, show the true boldness and have all of that tone.

I mean, we're good at appearances.

We live on appearances.

That's what man does.

We know how to produce the atmosphere that feels spiritual.

You can do the change.

The lights and the music has to come in, and some people may even use some staging.

But props like fogs and the preachers can pace up and down.

And the tone of his voice and the way he projects himself, all of that can tug on the heart just enough to make one feel like, well, he's spirit led.

Jesus saw this same spirit in the pharisees in chapter 23 of Matthew.

He says they do all the their deeds to be seen by others.

That's their motivation, that's what drives them to do the things they did.

And it may look good, may have all the right appearances.

I mean, really, it's phenomenal.

It's great.

Look at how much time they spend with the Bible, with the Word.

They pray anywhere and everywhere.

In the streets, on the corners, there are prayerful people.

But they do it for the wrong motives.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.

For you're like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.

And so you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you're full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

That's what happens when carnal man takes hold of idea of transformation.

We turn into a look, we turn it into a style.

It's a theatrical performance.

Our sermons can become just as externally driven.

The carnal man who gets up in the pulpit, you know, he preaches, he uses stories to illustrate things that he thinks illustrates the truth.

But often they reveal his carnal mind.

They stay on the surface, very surface material that doesn't really draw out the intent of the writer.

We know we can offer tips and tricks, but never confront the idolatry of our hearts.

We can give inspiration, but not crucify the flesh.

We can sit firmly on this earthly plane.

We can talk about therapy and behavioral techniques and positivity and life management, but never actually call people to set their minds on things above, to die, to self, to be renewed in their thinking.

So you end up with churches that are busy, emotional and very religious.

But it's all external, it's not transformation.

Paul writes to Timothy about this in his day.

The time is coming, he said, when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth.

This, my friends, is tragedy.

Religious theatrics can keep people comfortably delusional.

Well, our time is up.

I hope that we've made the distinction, and I trust you have a good day and a pleasant week.