Paul tells us that, “all who are led by the Spirit of God, the same are sons of God.” Those still operating under slave and orphan identities cannot yet experience God’s marvelous plan of transformation. Like Ishmael, they can be blessed but they cannot receive the inheritance of those walking as sons (Isaac). Why? One was the son of slavery and the other a son born free by the Spirit of God. Only the work of the Spirit brings life and freedom.
These are days in which it is imperative that God’s people walk in the power, guidance and joy of the Holy Spirit. It takes God’s Spirt to do God’s work God’s way. To experience this, all belief systems, “sacred cows” and pet doctrines will have to be laid on the altar. While they, dead and useless, cease speaking, we will begin to hear the precious voice of the Spirit saying, “this is My way, walk in it!”
Whether it is personal, church or city transformation, the pathway is the same; get your ideas, your instruction and the power to carry them out directly from the Spirit of God he has supplied to you. Thankfully, there is no pressure to do anything the Father has not revealed by His Spirit for us to do.
The Transformation Process:
Admit your need for more of the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
Invite the Spirit to reveal the things in your life and calling that are not birthed by Him. These things may be “old friends,” but inviting the Spirit to root them out will allow you to joyfully surrender each item of conviction the Lord supplies to you (don’t dig). (13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Lu. 11:13)
Embrace the ensuing journey to the cross. It is meant to be ruthless, depriving us of any vestige of ownership and control over any aspect of our lives. The fruit of this dark journey is resurrection and resurrection is the expertise of the Holy Spirit.
Begin to accept your New Creation self – a son of your heavenly Father. Son’s only do what they see the Father doing. Spiritual orphans wait to feel loved before moving, while slaves push ahead by shear human personality and ambition – a litany of scriptural references in their wake. When it is unclear what to do – sons wait! When there is pressure -son’s pause and receive “the peace that passes understanding” before they take another step. Sons have no desire to run red lights in order to get somewhere faster. Sons aren’t heroes.
Search the scriptures by the Spirit for Jesus’ transformational framework for the church and the “new creation mandate” – one that will bring “social holiness” to all aspects of life. This is best done with a “cohort” of hungry friends.
Keep looking toward Jesus, the beginning and end of everything. Despite the fog, the dark and the weariness, He, the Spirit of God, will come and reveal the true resurrected and ruling King Jesus to your spirit. (Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. Prov 3:6-8)
Commit to becoming an expert disciple, walking each minute of each day in the fellowship and power of the Holy Spirit – it’s available now, yet takes a lifetime!
I love cigars! I love the camaraderie of friends that accompanies it -the open dialogue and relaxed nature of “raising a glory cloud” together. Yes, it is a freedom I enjoy, but any freedom exercised without the oversight of the Spirit leads us back into slavery and addiction. The Lord convicted me of this sometime back. As weird as it sounds, I now check in with my Spirit Guide to see whether I should enjoy a cigar at any given time – especially when I’m alone and a bit bored.
This, then, is how the world around us will be transformed into His New Creation reality. Earth will start looking more like heaven because we’ve been “face to face” by the power of the New Creation Spirit. Like Moses, we will enjoy veilless friendship with God without which we will shrivel up into religious irrelevancy while the Kingdom of God passes us by.
I have a passion to see God’s people transformed by a revelation from the Holy Spirit – a revelation of themselves, the family of God, and the hopeful possibility” that our cities will witness a tangible demonstration of heaven on earth – through us!
Like Moses, it is when we are face to face with God that we engage the transformation process (“from glory to glory”) and become like Him (which is the whole point of being on earth.).
12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (“metamorphoomai”) by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Ro 12:1–2.
Here again, (as in 2 Cor 3:18) the word “transformation” (“metamorphoomai” = metamorphosis) is used in reference to “changing the essential nature of something.” When we enter metamorphosis through the cross and resurrection of Christ Jesus, we emerge as something we never were before the Spirit was given to us. The worm does not say, “I am a worm, saved by grace.” The worm had in fact become an entirely new creation, a butterfly. There is no resemblance of the worm left, no going “back to the Egypt” of worm-hood. It was in the darkness and isolation of its cocoon that it broke free into newness of life. Worms don’t improve themselves to finally show up as butterflies, No, there, in the darkness of the cocoon, full transformation takes place, worm-hood ceases, and a new creature flies away in freedom.
The sending of the Spirit to the new community of faith at Pentecost, was only possible because Jesus rendered Adam’s identity null and void. The cross and the resurrection of Jesus were the prerequisites on which the intended transformation of the church, the new kingdom community, was built. The Church was to be a people that “entered into his death” and “was raised in newness of life,” by the Spirit. In short, the people of God were enabled to “see” him as he is and be transformed into an entirely new creation.
Transformation is always preceded by complete and total surrender. Plans, finances, families, careers, ministries and fears are all being summoned to the cross. Nothing can cross the divide into the new creation kingdom realities until full metamorphosis has been experienced. This is true both of individuals and of churches. This explains the true beauty of trials. They are the toll stations on the redemptive highway of God.
We in the church have to surrender our cultural and traditional pictures of church and receive a revelation by the Spirit of what Jesus intended for his rescuing community to love like Him and to live lives of “social holiness.”