03 Aug Help God! I want to change. #3

Spiritual Transformation Overview

In the third installment of ‘Help God! I Want to Change,’ this powerful sermon explores humanity’s unique capacity for transformation. Unlike animals that remain fixed in their nature, humans are created like soil – capable of producing fruit based on what’s planted within them. When we’re born again, we become ‘kanos’ – brand new creations that never existed before, not merely renovated versions of our old selves. The sermon delves into how God prunes us like fruit trees to produce abundant harvest, using the compelling illustration of an apple tree that yielded hundreds of apples after proper pruning. The message addresses the reality of corruption in our world while emphasizing God’s heart of love and His desire to bless rather than curse. Through biblical examples from Noah to Abraham, we see how faith and obedience create pathways for divine change. The pastor challenges listeners to embrace God’s transformative process, even when it’s uncomfortable, recognizing that our destiny and inheritance depend on allowing this divine pruning. This isn’t about a ‘Sunday school cartoonish God’ but the almighty, perfect God who wants to prepare us for the challenging times ahead through genuine spiritual maturity and transformation.

Spiritual Transformation Outline

• 0:00 – Humans Created for Change: Unlike animals, humans are made like soil with capacity for transformation and growth.
• 3:15 – Born Again as New Creations: Understanding ‘kanos’ – becoming brand new prototypes that never existed before.
• 6:30 – The Manual for Life: Scripture becomes our guide with eternity flowing from within born-again believers.
• 9:45 – God’s Pruning Process: Divine pruning produces abundant fruit, illustrated through apple tree transformation.
• 14:00 – Corruption vs. God’s Love: Understanding the source of corruption while embracing God’s heart of blessing.
• 18:30 – Times of Testing: Preparing for end-times challenges through spiritual maturity and divine relationship.
• 22:15 – The Need for Help: Why we need others in our transformation journey, not just ‘me and Jesus’ mentality.

Scripture References

2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 1:23, John 7:38, John 15:2, John 3:16, James 1:17, John 10:10, Psalm 139:14

Key Takeaways

• Humans are uniquely created with the capacity to change and grow, unlike animals that remain fixed in their nature.
• Being born again means becoming a completely new creation that never existed before, not just a renovated version of yourself.
• God prunes us like fruit trees – the process may be uncomfortable but leads to abundant spiritual fruit.
• Understanding the difference between God’s love and the world’s corruption is crucial for proper spiritual perspective.
• Our transformation is essential for receiving God’s destiny and inheritance for our lives.
• We need community and discipleship in our change process, not isolation with a ‘me and Jesus only’ mentality.
• Spiritual maturity is essential for navigating the challenging times we’re living in as believers.

Spiritual Transformation Notes

This transformative message begins with a profound distinction between humanity and the animal kingdom. While animals remain locked in their nature – chickens will always be chickens, cows will always be cows – humans possess a divine capacity for change. The Hebrew word ‘adamah’ for soil connects us to our creation from the ground, emphasizing our ability to produce fruit based on what’s planted within us. This foundational truth sets the stage for understanding our potential for transformation.The concept of being ‘born again’ takes on deeper meaning through the Greek word ‘kanos,’ which describes something brand new that never existed before. This isn’t mere renovation like reupholstering furniture (‘nuos’), but complete recreation. When 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares we are new creations, it means we become prototypes of divine workmanship, equipped with eternity in our hearts and God’s Word as our life manual.The sermon’s most compelling illustration involves an apple tree that produced only twenty apples until proper pruning transformed it into a source of hundreds of apples. This mirrors God’s pruning process in our lives – removing dead branches and excess growth so we can bear abundant spiritual fruit. The pruning may seem harsh, even devastating, but it’s motivated by love and designed for our flourishing.Addressing a critical theological point, the message clarifies the source of life’s difficulties. God is not the author of destruction, disease, or calamity – these stem from the corruption that entered through sin. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, while God comes to give life abundantly. This understanding prevents the dangerous misconception that God sends trials to teach us lessons.The sermon connects current global challenges to biblical prophecy, noting how Jesus said the end times would resemble Noah’s day – marked by corruption and violence. This reality demands spiritual maturity, not a childish faith. The pastor emphasizes relationship with the ‘real living breathing, eternal, all-majestic, almighty God’ rather than a ‘Sunday school cartoonish’ version.Personal testimony reveals the difference between being born again and walking in transformation. Even genuine believers can live defeated lives if they don’t engage in the change process. True transformation requires total commitment and often involves crying out to God for deliverance from unwanted patterns and behaviors.The message concludes by addressing the necessity of community in spiritual growth. The ‘me and Jesus’ mentality that rejects input from others is identified as deceptive and harmful. Biblical discipleship requires relationship with other believers who can speak into our lives and help us see areas needing change. Like babies who need diaper changes, we sometimes can’t detect our own spiritual odors that others clearly notice.This powerful message calls believers to embrace God’s transformative work, understanding that our destiny and inheritance depend not just on our salvation, but on our willingness to change and grow into the fullness of what God has designed us to become.

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