Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your MInd
Introduction:
Read: Romans 12:1-2
Before Christmas we studied verse one. 
Take the first word and the last word of Romans 12:1 and you have the central theme of this verse: “Therefore…Worship.”
In view of God’s mercy, worship God!!
Worship is the goal of the Christian life. This is always our number one priority.
We are worshippers by nature but the profound change in the heart of the man or woman brought to repentance by the great kindness and mercy of God is a desire to worship God. 
Q: What is our spiritual act of worship? Based on the mercies of God what is our reasonable or logical response of worship that is pleasing to God? 
Paul answers these questions:“…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God for this is your spiritual act of worship.”
This seems a little radical and over zealous. But Paul says it is reasonable. Giving our life to Jesus as a living sacrifice is reasonable as we remember the great mercy of God. 
This is our spiritual and logical response to the great mercies of God. Give yourself to Jesus. Offer up your life.

And now in verse 2 Paul gives us two commands, one negative and one positive, that bring us a desired outcome. A desire all of us have as we step into the new year.

Repeat verse 2

This morning I want to focus on the two commands: first the negative and then the positive and on January 21st we will look more in-depth at the desire outcome, knowing the will of God.

The first command: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” Is negative because it is meant to confront known external immoral behavior. 

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.”
In love, Paul is urging the believers in Rome not to do something that we do as well and that is fashioning ourselves according to the world.

The word “conform” implies that there is pressure to do so. Like putting a piece of metal in a vice and applying pressure until it bends. You take the piece of metal out of the vice and it is contorted, maybe even cracked completely and it has been conformed to the pressure placed on it.

There are material goods made to appeal to our senses, self exalting philosophies, self gratifying pleasures that humanity apart from God, in their lust and pride create to replace Him.

There is a whole system of finding life apart from God that continuously bears down on us pressuring us to conform to its values, goals, and objectives. 

Like a piece of metal in a vice. We need energy in us working against it. 

Laugh at questionable humor, steal a look at pornography, lie to cover up a mistake, be less than honest in business dealings as others get ahead by cutting corners, give up on a marriage that has become challenging there are plenty more fish in the pond, acquire a bigger home, more furniture, more luxury, spend your money on yourself first you earned it after all, watch the R-rated film, play the violent video game it is only entertainment.

It is a challenge not to “…follow the crowd in doing wrong.” [Exodus 23:2]

The KJV “And be not conformed to this world…”
Several years ago the Peanuts comic strip had Lucy and Charlie Brown practicing football. Lucy would hold the ball for Charlie’s placekicking and then Charlie would kick the ball. But every time Lucy had ever held the ball for Charlie, he would approach the ball and kick with all his might. At the precise moment of the point of no return, Lucy would pick up the ball and Charlie would kick and his momentum unchecked by the ball, which was not there to kick, would cause him to fall flat on his back. This strip opened with Lucy holding the ball, but Charlie Brown would not kick the ball. Lucy begged him to kick the ball. But Charlie Brown said, "Every time I try to kick the ball you remove it and I fall on my back." They went back and forth for the longest time and finally Lucy broke down in tears and admitted, "Charlie Brown I have been so terrible to you over the years, picking up the football like I have. I have played so many cruel tricks on you, but I’ve seen the error of my ways! I’ve seen the hurt look in your eyes when I’ve deceived you. I’ve been wrong, so wrong. Won’t you give a poor penitent girl another chance?" Charlie Brown was moved by her display of grief and responded to her, "Of course, I’ll give you another chance." He stepped back as she held the ball, and he ran. At the last moment, Lucy picked up the ball and Charlie Brown fell flat on his back. Lucy’s last words were, "Recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things, Charlie Brown!" 
And so year after year we can make new years resolutions in essence vowing to change but we know all too well that recognizing our faults and actually changing our ways are two different things.

How do we live in this world and not become fashioned after the world? How do we make good use of the things of this world with out becoming attached to them?

How do we achieve the right balance and live in this tension between what the Bible teaches us on one hand, to be separate from the world, not conforming and on the other hand as Paul writes becoming all things to all people that we might win some?

How do we test and approve what God’s will is His good pleasing and perfect will?

This morning, at the very least I want us to where victory can be found.

We must know where to strategically concentrate our efforts because victory can only be ours when we understand on what grounds the Holy Spirit is battling in us to keep us from falling.
This is believe is what we can learn as we continue in this verse: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
I love to take our girls out for nature walks around the church. We scout around and are usually looking for two creatures. Frogs and caterpillars.
What do both frogs and caterpillars have in common? They both experience pretty significant change in their lives. They go through a biological process called metamorphosis.
A frog starts out as what? a tadpole with gills and a tale and Metamorphosis begins with the development of the hind legs, then the front legs. 
A number of things happen internally. The lungs develop, and the tapole begins to swim to the surface of the water to breath. The intestine shortens, that sounds really good doesn’t it? Ya, I really needed to know that!
And then their eyes migrate. Wow, you know your having a bad day when your eyes migrate. 
For the last stage of metamorphosis the tail is absorbed by the body. Now that is a lot of change for a little creature. That is transformation!
A caterpillar is transformed into what? A butterfly.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed…”
The word transform has as it’s root the Greek word metemorphothe from which we get the word metamorphosis.
Now for a frog and a caterpillar this transformation is something that is a predetermined biological process.
This statement implies that for a believer we are also transformed and this transformation is something that we submit to and commit to for we cannot do this in our own strength.
And how we are told to focus our energy tells us the kind of transformation the Holy Spirit is making in us and where that transformation takes place.
Paul says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
One day, Jesus promises in Matthew 13:43 that ”…the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father…”
In the next life our physical bodies will be transformed. In this life we are to be transformed internally in the way we think. That we conform to the pattern of this world is a mind problem.  
Every year when growing up we would travel from Northern B.C. to Manitoba usually in the summer and most often by car.
My brother loved animals. He had the whole collection of Natural geographic animal books. He had a bug collection. He would sit by the river as I fished journaling about the animals he was seeing and what he would observe about their behavior.
Traveling to Manitoba he would keep a diary listing all the animals seen on the journey. 
Moose, sheep, elk, deer, coyote, Hawks, eagles, pronghorn antelope, even gophers, [he would count gophers, not the dead ones on the road, their had to be a heart beat.] The ultimate was to see a bear.
He would fall asleep and I would start searching with a vengeance for wildlife.
One day, it was a great day, I saw a bear. He was extremely agitated that I had seen something he hadn’t and he fought sleep the rest of the trip.
Lets remember again what distinguishes humankind from animals.
Francis Schaeffer “True Spirituality”
”Something ‘in his head’ distinguishes man, not something external. He has a thought-life which is different from anything else we observe in our world. Man lives in his head; this [with verbalization] is the uniqueness of man.”
He goes on to say, “Moral battles are not won in the external world first. They are always a result flowing naturally from a cause, and the cause is in the internal world of one’s thoughts.”
Jesus emphasized this with great force in Matthew 12:34-35 “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” [NASB]
Shaeffer “So this is where true spirituality in the Christian life rests: in the realm of the thought life….the battle for man is centrally in the world of thought.”
I want you to be convinced of this. This needs to become revelation to you.
Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians 4:23. This is a direct parallel to Romans 12:2 but he fleshes it out more for us in this verse.
Ephesians 4:22-23 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds;”
The NASB and the KJV say we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.
We need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.
Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,”
We naturally internally suppress God honoring and Christ exalting truth in our minds. Naturally we do not want to meditate on Christ exalting truth and as believers we must discipline ourselves to fix our thoughts on Christ and we do it with effort and intentional focus and training.
Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened”
Naturally we do not think it worthwhile to glorify God. By nature our minds are not God-worshipping minds. Our minds are ego-centric. We worship self and not Christ.
Romans 1:28” Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”  
In our natural minds we do not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God. 
Now listen to the external immoral behavior, the conforming to the pattern of this world, caused by the internal natural thinking of an unrenewed mind.
Romans 1:29-31 “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”
And so John Piper sums it up well when he says, “…our mind has what we call a ‘mindset.’ It doesn’t just have a view, it has a viewpoint. It doesn’t just have the power to perceive and detect; it also has a posture, a demeanor, a bearing, and attitude, a bent…The problem is that our minds are fallen. They have a spirit, a bent, a mindset that is hostile to the absolute supremacy of God…We do not want to see God as worthy of knowing well and treasuring above all things. You know this is true about yourself because of how little effort you expend to know Him, and because of how much effort it takes to make your mind spend any time getting to know God better.”
Conclusion:
Where do we strategically concentrate our efforts even as we make our new years resolutions not to be fashioned after this world?
Our efforts must be focused on those disciplines, goals, and objectives that will have us joining the Holy Spirit in producing in us the mind of Christ.
The key question: How does the Holy Spirit renew our minds?
4. 2 Cor. 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]
We are transformed, our minds are renewed by beholding the glory of Jesus Christ.
Our minds are renewed by focusing them on that which will stimulate and produce Christ honoring thoughts and that will join rather than impede the Holy Spirit in forming in our minds right thoughts of who Jesus is.  
The Holy Spirit works in two ways at the same time.
He works from the outside in. We must pursue Christ-exalting truth through reading, meditating on scripture, reading books written by men and women of faith, listening to Christ-exalting music, or messages, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see and actually behold the glory of Jesus Christ.
And then the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out. He softens our hard hearts that cause our understanding to be darkened, that separate us from God causing an ignorance of God that gives tremendous power and force to sinful desire. 
And externally we conform less to the patterns of this world and we more and more offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God.
And we find that we are able to discern God’s will, understand what He requires of us and obey it. 
The start of a new year gives us a chance to refocus, recommit, to evaluate and make some resolutions.
Make resolutions that have you pursuing Christ-exalting truth.
Turn off the T.V. and get into the Word of God.
Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Put down the magazine and get into the word of God. Put down the newspaper and get into the Word of God. 
Get up earlier or stay up later if you have to, take your Bible to work and read it over the lunch hour, read it in the tub, read it on the treadmill, don’t fall off, but get yourself reading the Bible.
And as you read pray that the Holy Spirit will renew your mind. 
The majority of your reading, the majority of your mental energy must be spent beholding the glory of Jesus Christ.
This alone will transform your moral external behavior.
So make your resolutions, your outward list of behavior changes and then get into the Word of God.
If you do not have a Life Journal than get yourself a Life Journal.
Men 18 years of age and older there is a BSF starting here in Abbotsford with a pilot study on February 5th. This happens of Monday nights from 6:50 to 9:00 and will get you into the word of God in a powerful way. If you are interested contact Jim Woodey.
Oswald Chambers “The golden rule for your life and mine is this concentrated keeping of the life open towards God…We have to maintain ourselves in the place of beholding.”
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind and then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will.”