2nd Sunday in Lent

Reaching for the Goal

The Power of Transformation - The Power of the Gospel

Is change really possible? Can a person knee deep in the muck of sin find release and new life? How can Paul be so confident in the power of the Gospel to transform lives? To go from humiliation to glory?

Think of what brings about change. You may have a life altering medical emergency. Heart attack, stroke, a bad health report - maybe emotional stress in your home with a spouse or child. You know in your heart that change is needed. But what now? How can I move from humiliation to glory? From sin to becoming healed, renewed, and forgiven?

Change is hard beloved. Making that move to change takes courage. Real courage. It takes making the first move, stepping out in faith - realizing that there is no going back. To grasp the glory Christ offers means embracing the freedom of that the cross gives and knowing that life lived in this freedom is what Christ intends for us.

For we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We say it but do we believe it? That we have sinned against God in thought, word and deed by what we have done and what we have left undone. We have not loved God with our whole heart, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. This is the journey of Lent. That we realize our sin and that which distances us from God and know the glory that awaits us - the heavenly prize as Paul declares.

Two construction workers had taken a lunch break and opened up their lunch boxes. One of them looked inside his box and said, "Not baloney again! I can't believe it. I hate baloney. This is the third time this week I've had baloney. I can't stand baloney!" The other one said, "Why don't you just ask your wife to make you something different?" He replied, "I don't have a wife. I made these myself."

Its hard not to keep serving up the same old baloney. We are creatures of habit and masters of comfort. It is counter cultural to break from the idea that in our sin that we can be who we are and not who God would want us to be. What is it that God sees in us? If we are “made in the image of God” what now?

Applying the Texts to Daily Life

(1) Press on towards the goal of the heavenly goal.

14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you.

So often we hold on to what is comfortable. We want to look forward to what may be possible but catch ourselves looking over our shoulders at the past.

What can we hold onto when faced with change? One word, covenant.

18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates

The same God who made a promise of a future for Abram wants to grant to you and to me a new life. A life lived beyond the grasp of sin, death, and the devil. A life of glory - the heavenly crown, the salvation promised.

Take that first step today. Know that when we press on towards the heavenly goal Christ will be with us every step of the way. We need to be on the same page when it comes to sin and the reality of a new life lived in grace.

(2) Never under estimate the power of influence.

16Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. 17Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

You hold the power to change lives in your hands. In your voice, your heart, and within your reach. Years ago in an effort to engage the congregation in the confirmation journey I required students to find a mentor in the congregation, someone they are not related to. Hard in a rural community. But what happened was nothing short of transformation. Elder men having influence to encourage and engage the lives of younger men setting examples in being fathers, leaders in the church, and finding forgiveness in the cross. Elder women showing younger women the power of humility and grace, on being wives and mothers.

Be fully aware beloved of the other kinds of influence afoot. Glory is In their shame? Minds set on earthly things? Where is our citizenship? Is it in heaven? Then we need to live like it is and hold fast to what we have obtained.

(3) Stand firm in the Lord.

21He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 4Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings

Create in me a clean heart O God.