Being a Young Disciple: The Christian Transformer

Being a Young Disciple: The Christian-Transformer

Romans 12:2 says “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable and perfect.”

We, as young believers, are cautioned not to be conformed to this world. We are conformed to the world by people, various types of music, television, certain conversations and more. Every encounter that we have with worldly things and people brings us a step closer to becoming more like the world. Being conformed to the world is a process, it takes time. If we are going to be Christian-Transformers, Young Disciples of Christ, we must stop this process that leads to our conforming to the world. We must be intentional about ending this process. Just as we were intentional to turn to the wrong channels, wrong websites, and answer or call the wrong person on the phone we must be intentional about ignoring and staying away from those things.

Christian transformation is an alternative, it’s a choice. You either look like the world; look forward to the consequence of looking and acting like the world or you choose to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. It’s like DVR. You have been programmed to do certain things and live a certain way, but you must now remove the old program and upload a new station and programming. Renewing the mind, getting a new way of thinking, a new way of being is a process. It was a process in the area of sin and it’s a process as well with your spiritual walk with God. You must be intentional about spending time with God so your mentality can be renewed.

You maintain your transformed state by doing what Paul said in Roman 13:14, every day “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.” You have to put on Christ every day. You put on Christ when you read and apply his word. You put on Christ when you pray before you go to school. You put on Christ when you take a stand for God when nobody else will. You put on Christ when you put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). You put on Christ by “making no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.” Every time you say no to temptation you are putting on Christ. Every time you tell that guy or girl he or she can’t come over when your parents aren’t home, you are putting on Christ!

My prayer for you is that you be a Christian-Transformer and maintain your transformer state. Change the way you think and act by having a different mindset than the world. Yes, you truly maybe surrounded by negative things and negative people, but the truth is God has given you an inner power to tap into so you can be different from your environment, so you can have a different outcome than those you are surrounded by. Romans 8:5-6 says “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” So where ever you “set” your mind, flesh or spirit, negativity or positivity, you will become that place. When I was younger I made sure never to set my toys in the reach of my little sister or brother because if I set it in the wrong place my toy would be in danger. It is the same with your mind. Where ever you place your mind it will be at the mercy of where you place it. If you are constantly thinking negatively you will experience negative results. If you keep thinking lustful thoughts and occupy your eyes with lustful things you will lust. You are a product of the mental environment where you set your mind. To be a Young Disciple, a Christian-Transformer, you must set your mind on the things of God like His word, His praise, and His love. You must set your mind on ideas, thinking, and people who are of the Kingdom of God.

 

Where is your mind? Did you forget where you last placed it? Ask yourself what kind of things you have been involved in. What kind of things have you been thinking about? Then follow the path from that place and you will find where you mind is. If it’s in the wrong place choose to place it on things above;on Godly things.



Illuminating the Love of God (Sept. 14th Lesson)

How Do I Really Be a Young Disciple of Christ? Illuminating the Love of God

I John 4:7-21

4:7 Dear friends let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered 3 by God and knows God. 4:8 The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 4:9 By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. 4:10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.4:11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. 4:13 By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit. 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
4:15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God. 4:16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. 4:17 By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. 4:19 We love because he loved us first.4:20 If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 4:21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.

Being a Young Disciple is not easy, but it is edifying (builds lives) to others as we strive to be more like Christ. One of the ways we become Young Disciple is by “Illuminating the Love of God”; by revealing or being a witness of the Love of God. 1 John 4 shows us that we, as Christians, should show love to others because God is love. Everything God does goes through His Love. God’s justice, mercy, grace, and even His wrath have to go through His love. Jesus did not merely come to save us but Jesus was sent through the divine motivation of Love as it is written “For God so loved… He gave”; Jesus is the written love letter to Humanity and Love is the Message!

Since God is love, and God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, dwells in us according to 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 we have the ability to operate in God’s love. The same message of love that God gave us through His Son Jesus, we now send out through the Spirit of Christ that lives in us. You as a Young Disciple should love, must love and can love because God is love and God is in you!

I John 4 also tells us that we should love because it reflects our relationship with God. My wife and I do almost everything together and we spend a lot of time together. When we used to go out to restaurants I would always get chicken tenders because I loved chicken tenders and I was comfortable eating it. As I continued to hang out with my wife I began to try some of the different dishes she ordered. Now, I love want my wife loves to eat. My wife and I talk and laugh, and sometimes I find myself saying her little phrases and sometimes laughing like her. You usually act like who you hang around. It is the same with God. As you hang out with God in prayer, reading your word and in worship, you should see yourself acting more like God. You should see yourself operating more in love. God so loved the world, so you should love people too. God loves sacrificially, unconditionally and consistently, so you should too. Young disciples should love because it reflects your relationship with God.

Lastly, John shows us that Christians should love others because our love for God can only be real if you love other people. You can’t love God whom you’ve never seen if you don’t love people you see every day. If you want to measure how much someone loves God, observe how they love people. As you come to know love (God) you should love like love. If you don’t love all people, even your enemies then you do not love like love (God) because you don’t know love (God) for real.

It is my prayer that you would chose to love for God is love, it is a form of your witness of God who is love, and your love of God becomes real as you love others. Love is the message!

Rev. Max