DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS

MONDAY - VERSES: 1 Corinthians 15:35-44 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for the transforming power of the Gospel.

TUESDAY - VERSES: 1 Corinthians 15:45-52 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you take advantage of the transformational power available to you.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: 1 Corinthians 15:53-57 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to forgive you for the things in your life that you have allowed to be conformed to the world.

THURSDAY - VERSES: 2 Corinthians 3:11-18 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you overcome the temptations that pull you to be like the world around you.

FRIDAY - VERSES: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for those who have been good influences on you to help you become what God wants you to be.

SATURDAY - VERSES: 1 Peter 2:1-12 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for being patient with you through the process of growth and transformation.

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People cannot change truth, but truth can change people.

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A woman testified to the transformation in her life that had resulted through her experience in conversion. She declared, "I'm so glad I got religion. I have an uncle I used to hate so much I vowed I'd never go to his funeral. But now, why, I'd be happy to go to it any time."

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Stanislav Grof said, "In the kind of world we have today, transformation of humanity might well be our only real hope for survival." That is why Jesus came, it is nothing unique to today.

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ASSIGNMENTS

1. Daily read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture where you will see it each day.

3. Think of times and ways you have conformed to the world.

4. Write down the ways you have resisted conforming to the world.

5. Plan to tell the class how you have been transformed by renewing your mind, or tell how you have given in to conforming to the world.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 38

TRANSFORMATION - 4-7-13 TO 4-13-13

SCRIPTURE - ROMANS 12:2 - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

COMMENT – As Christians we are to be different from the world in our thoughts, attitudes, actions, motives, hopes, goals, etc. This difference comes from a change in our mind about the kind of life we had been living to a desire to live for God.

SONG – NONE OF SELF AND ALL OF THEE

1. O, the bitter pain and sorrow That a time could ever be, When I proudly said to Jesus "All of self and none of Thee," All of self, and none of Thee, All of self, and none of Thee, When I proudly said to Jesus "All of self and none of Thee."

2. Yet He found me; I beheld Him Bleeding on th' accursed tree, And my wistful heart said faintly, "Some of self, and some of Thee," Some of self, and some of Thee, Some of self, and some of Thee, And my wistful heart said faintly, "Some of self, and some of Thee."

3. Day by day His tender mercy Healing, helping, full and free, Bro't me lower while I whispered "Less of self, and more of Thee," Less of self, and more of Thee, Less of self, and more of Thee, Bro't me lower while I whispered "Less of self, and more of Thee,"

4. Higher than the highest heavens, Deeper than the deepest sea, Lord, thy love at last has conquered "None of self, and all of Thee," None of self, and all of Thee, None of self, and all of Thee, Lord, thy love at last has conquered "None of self, and all of Thee,"

THOUGHTS

"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others." - Jacob M. Braude

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When you think of 1 John 3 (We shall be changed) consider the analogy of the popcorn popper. The kernels are cooking away in the hot oil, complaining of the heat, but the wise old popper knows that even by means of the painful process the kernels will be transformed from something small and hard to something expansive and glorious by comparison. They will fill the popper with their transformed reality. They will be changed radically beyond all recognition. They will find a new beauty and a new usefulness they could not imagine.

An unknown monk around 1100 AD wrote: When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

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There is an old story about two brothers. They were likeable enough young men but they had a little bit of a wild streak. It got so wild that they became sheep thieves. They earned their money by stealing sheep from the local farmers. As happens to all thieves, one day they were caught. Rather than kill them, the villagers decided to brand the two brothers on the forehead with the letters S. T. for sheep thief. The action so embarrassed the one young man that he ran off, never to be heard from again. The other brother was so filled with remorse that he chose to stay and try to reconcile himself to the villagers he had wronged. At first the villagers were skeptical. Most of them wouldn't have anything to do with him. But he was determined to make reparation for his offenses. Whenever there was sickness, the sheep thief was there to help care for the sick person. Whenever there was work that needed to be done, the sheep thief showed up to help. It made no difference whether the person was rich or poor, the sheep thief was there to lend a helping hand. Soon he was an integral part of the community, never accepting pay for anything he did. His life was lived for others. As a consequence, he was a friend of all and well-respected. Years later, a traveler came through the town. As he sat at the sidewalk café eating his lunch, he noticed the well-respected old man with the strange brand on his forehead, sitting at a table nearby. It seemed that everybody in town stopped to pay their respects or share a kind word. Even the children stopped to play or give and receive an affectionate hug. The stranger's curiosity was peaked and he asked the café owner about the old man, "What does the strange brand on his forehead stand for?" The café owner, a contemporary of the old man, thought for a moment then said, "It happened so long ago that I don't rightly remember. But I think it stands for Saint."

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You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi

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A dialogue between a recent convert to Christ and an unbelieving friend: "So you have been converted to Christ?" "Yes." "Then you must know a great deal about him. Tell me: what country was he born in." "I don't know." "What was his age when he died?" "I don't know." "How many sermons did he preach?" "I don't know." "You certainly know very little for a man who claims to be converted to Christ!" "You are right. I am ashamed at how little I know about him. But this much I do know: Three years ago I was a drunkard. I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and children would dread my return home each evening. But now I have given up drink; we are out of debt; ours is now a happy home; my children eagerly wait for my return home each evening. All this Christ has done for me. This much I know of Christ!" To really know is to be transformed by what one knows.

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DO NOT BE ____________________ TO THE ____________

INTRODUCTION - ROMANS 12:1-2

I. DON'T BE _____________ TO THIS _________ - 1 JOHN _:15-17

II. BUT BE _____________________ - ___ CORINTHIANS 3:18

III. BY THE ___________ OF YOUR ________ - EPHESIANS __:23

IV. THAT YOU MAY ________ WHAT IS THAT _________ AND

______________________ AND ____________ ________ OF GOD

- 1 THESSALONIANS 4:___-___

CONCLUSION – WE MUST NOT BE CONFORMED TO THE

WORLD, BUT TRANSFORMED TO INWARDLY BE LIKE GOD.

DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THE WORLD

SCRIPTURE - Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

INTRODUCTION

A. If You Were Arrested for Being a Christian, Would There Be Enough Evidence to Convict You?

B. If an Impartial Person Was Asked to Judge Who Were Christians and Who Were Not out of the People in Your Neighborhood, What Would They See in You That Was Different from Your Neighbors?

C. Have the Lines Between Christian and Non-Christian Blurred Too Much in Our Society?

D. Are We Conforming Too Much to the World?

I. DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD

A. The word "conformed" (sunschematizo) comes from the root word schema which means fashion, the outward form, the appearance of a man. It is the appearance of a person that changes from day to day and year to year. A man dresses differently for work than he does for an evening out. A man looks different as a young man than he does as an older man. His schema, his fashion, his outward appearance differs.

B. The story is told of a generation ago when an old farmer brought his family to the big city for the very first time. They had never seen buildings so tall or sights so impressive. The farmer dropped his wife off at a department store and took his son with him to the bank the tallest of all the buildings. As they walked into the lobby, they saw something else they had never seen before. Two steel doors opened. A rather large and elderly woman walked in, and the big doors closed behind her. The dial over the door swept to the right and then back to the left. The doors opened and a beautiful young lady came walking out. The farmer was amazed. He turned to his son and said, "You wait right here. I'm going to get your mother and run her through that thing."

C. We are not to conform to the loves of the world - John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. {16} For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. {17} And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

D. WE ARE NOT TO FOLLOW THE CROWD OF THE WORLD

1. Exodus 23:2 "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.

2. Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. {14} "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

II. BUT BE TRANSFORMED

A. The Greek root of the word is morphe. Morphe means the real being of a man. It is the very nature and essence, the inseparable part, the unchanging shape of a man. The man in evening clothes looks different than he does in work clothes, but he is still the same man inwardly. The elderly man is the same man inwardly that he was as a young man.

What the Bible is saying is clearly evident: the believer must undergo a radical change within his inner being in order to escape the world and its doom. The believer must be transformed and changed inwardly. His real self—his very nature, essence, personality, inner being, his inner man—must be changed.

B. There is an old story about two brothers. They were likeable enough young men but they had a little bit of a wild streak. It got so wild that they became sheep thieves. They earned their money by stealing sheep from the local farmers. As happens to all thieves, one day they were caught. Rather than kill them, the villagers decided to brand the two brothers on the forehead with the letters S. T. for sheep thief. The action so embarrassed the one young man that he ran off, never to be heard from again. The other brother was so filled with remorse that he chose to stay and try to reconcile himself to the villagers he had wronged. At first the villagers were skeptical. Most of them wouldn't have anything to do with him. But he was determined to make reparation for his offenses. Whenever there was sickness, the sheep thief was there to help care for the sick person. Whenever there was work that needed to be done, the sheep thief showed up to help. It made no difference whether the person was rich or poor, the sheep thief was there to lend a helping hand. Soon he was an integral part of the community, never accepting pay for anything he did. His life was lived for others. As a consequence, he was a friend of all and well-respected. Years later, a traveler came through the town. As he sat at the sidewalk cafe eating his lunch, he noticed the well-respected old man with the strange brand on his forehead, sitting at a table nearby. It seemed that everybody in town stopped to pay their respects or share a kind word. Even the children stopped to play or give and receive an affectionate hug. The stranger's curiosity was peaked and he asked the cafe owner about the old man, "What does the strange brand on his forehead stand for?" The cafe owner, a contemporary of the old man, thought for a moment then said, "It happened so long ago that I don't rightly remember. But I think it stands for Saint."

C. Transformed into the image of the Lord - 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.

D. In Heaven, like the Lord - 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

III. BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND

A. Roger von Oech in his book "A Kick in the Seat of the Pants", suggests: "Take a look around where you're sitting and find five things that have blue in them. Go ahead and do it. "With a 'blue' mindset, you'll find that blue jumps out at you: a blue book on the table, a blue pillow on the couch, blue in the painting on the wall, and so on....In like fashion, you've probably noticed that after you buy a new car, you promptly see that make of car everywhere. That's because people find what they are looking for." At times in our lives, God seems strangely absent, but the problem is not that God has disappeared. We simply lack a "God" mindset. When we develop our sensitivity, we soon begin to see his work everywhere.

B. How is a man transformed within his inner person? The Bible declares as simply as can be stated, "by the renewing of your mind." The believer's mind is to be renewed, which means to be made new, readjusted, changed, turned around, regenerated.

C. Renewal starts at baptism - Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

D. Renewed in mind - Ephesians 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

E. Renewed in knowledge - Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

F. Inner man renewed - 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

G. Renewed spirit - Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. {11} Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. {12} Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

IV. THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD

A. The reason why the believer is to be transformed is extremely significant. The believer must prove (dokimazo) the will of God. The word "prove" means both to find and to follow God's will.

B. The only conceivable way a person can ever find and follow God's will is to focus and keep his mind upon God and upon the things of God.

C. God's will is said to be...

1. good (agathon): beneficial, rich, bountiful, suitable, moral.

2. acceptable (euareston): pleasing, satisfactory, welcomed.

3. perfect (teleion): without error or mistake, flawless, complete, absolute, free from any need, short of nothing, completely fulfilled.

D. Never confuse the will of the majority with the will of God.

E. God's will is that we be sanctified - 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: (4) That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; (5) Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: (6) That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. (7) For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

CONCLUSION – We must not be conformed to the world, but transformed to inwardly be like God.

A. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." {18} "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty."

B. James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

C. What do you look like, inwardly and outwardly?

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.