Worship in Spirit: Transformation

Introduction

I want to be commend our men who are leading worship this morning. I think I could actually scrap the sermon and just talk about various elements of things that have already taken place in this worship this morning, and we’d be greatly benefited. Justin did reach out to me yesterday and asked me what the topics were. I didn’t give him an outline or anything, but it perfectly aligns with where I want to go this morning. That happens more frequently than you may imagine with the good work that our song leaders do. But even with the very first song that we sang this morning, it was a call to worship. A call to worship that’s going to align almost precisely with where I want to go in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 here in just a moment.

You sang together, come and behold him, the one and the only.

To God, and according to Scripture, worship doesn’t just connect us, it transforms us, it reshapes us from the inside out, it reorients us in connection and relationship to God’s glory. And that brings us to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. There’s a lot going on in this text, and I can’t spend the time to go through all of it. Essentially, Paul is working on some things that have to do with the old covenant and then the new covenant in Christ. And he says some really interesting things about this. Part of it is that in the old covenant with Moses, the glory of God is veiled. And there’s a couple echoes that go on in this section. One of them, and we’ll talk more about these later, the biggest one is to Moses in Exodus 34, where he would come into the presence of God.

The Spirit of God dwelt in the holy place. It descended in the temple and it filled this temple because it is representative of God’s presence on earth. That’s important. And when he would go into the presence of God, he would come back out with his face glowing, and it scared the people, and so he veiled his face. Thus the glory of God was veiled before his people. And this interesting point Paul makes is that only through Christ is the veil removed, and the fullness of God’s glory can now be seen through the face of Jesus Christ. And so he says this, beginning in verse one, and we’re going to read a couple sections. I’ll try to let you know where we are. But beginning in verse one, it says, Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?

Or do we are do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation written in our hearts to be known and read by all. And you show that you were a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. Drop down to verse eleven. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, so he’s speaking of the old covenant, it would it came with glory, but it was going to come to an end. Much more will what is permanent have glory, since we have such a hope. We are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face, so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being.

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, or literally from glory to glory. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. The context continues on with appropriate language, but we’re gonna come back to that maybe later if we have time in this.

But I want us to understand something. Even in earnest prayer this morning, he used a phrase that is in connection to what we’re talking about here. The idea of the concern about those who have turned from the Lord. And what we’re gonna see as we work through this text, what it means to turn from the Lord, is that our spirits are like a mirror, and we are no longer reflecting the image of God. When we have turned from the Lord, we have turned to other things, and now we are reflecting those things in our life. And so, in essence, the idea of turning from the Lord just means we’re no longer taking in the things of God. We’re no longer connected to his will, we’re no longer aligned with God, who is spirit, with our spirit.

Now we are aligned with the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience, that which is in the world, and that is being reflected in the things that we do in our life. Paul says, now we can, with unveiled face, we can behold, and the word there actually is a term that has to do with mirrors. And it actually, some of your versions may even say reflect. Right? Now we can reflect the glory of the Lord. And in doing so, we are transformed into his image. The idea of this text is really that those who are in Christ have opened their hearts to be the canvas for God’s work. And his spirit is the tool that works in our heart. That’s the idea in the first part of this reading.

He says, this is not something that’s written with ink on tablets of stone, but it is the spirit of the living God writing in tablets of human hearts. Now he’s doing something a little different here as he’s making this argument. There’s others going around teaching things that are false and demanding that Paul needs some kind of letter or some kind of recommendation to prove who he is. He says, I don’t need that. What I have is your hearts, and the spirit is written on your hearts, and you’re doing the things of God, and that is a testimony to the reality of who I am as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

But the idea is the working of God in our life. Specifically, what I’m working on this morning is in the function and the form of worship. And last time we talked about this idea that worship only happens when spirit touches spirit. And we spent a lot of time working on that. And so you can come, and you know this, you probably know this well, as do I. You can come and you can sing words and you can say words, but if you’re not in the right frame of mind, you may leave and not even remember what you said. And the whole point of that idea is that’s because worship hasn’t happened. Because the heart is a fundamental part of what’s taking place when we are actually and truthfully worshiping God.

We’re worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. And the songs that we sang this morning talked all about this idea of the heart and rendering our heart to God and submitting our heart to him. And so worship is not just expressive, it is. It is the expression, it is the emotion that comes from us, but it is also transformative. It also works on the other side coming in. As we glorify God and we honor Him and we recognize Him for who He is, the mirror is pointed. When the mirror is pointed toward God, we are reflecting the things of Him, and it begins to transform who we are. And so I want us to talk about a few ideas that have to do with worship.

1. Worship Brings Us Into the Presence of God

And this is sort of connected to what I’ve been doing about spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines most often relate to how we use the physical form. You know, things like I mentioned last time, fasting, or we get away to a quiet place. And those things in and of themselves don’t necessarily do anything unless we use them properly. But used with frequency and used with the right mindset, right with the right heart, those kind of habits or functions then can work and allow God to work within us to transform and change who we are. And what we need to understand, first of all, about worship and true worship is that it actually brings us into the presence of God. That’s what scripture conveys to us. This is the most real thing that we experience in life.

Adam and Eve are in the garden. They’re in the presence of God, and through sin, that is then separated and removed. And the rest of the story of scripture is about then coming back into the presence of God. But as I mentioned earlier about the temple, the temple is a physical representation of God’s presence. And we are that temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we’re told in Ephesians chapter 2, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. We are God’s temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. What that means is when we come together and we worship God together, we are coming into his presence. Hebrews chapter 12 makes this very point, actually. He’s talking about this idea of what you come to when you assemble, and it’s not a physical mountain.

It’s not like Moses and the Israelites who came to Mount Sinai and they’re terrified by the presence of God in physical form with the lightning and the thunder and all of that.

This is what’s taking place. You’ve come to God, the judge of all, and you’ve come to Jesus, who is the mediator of the new covenant. That is what is happening when we join together, when we are one as a body of Christ, worshiping God together. We are in the presence of the Almighty God. And the temple was meant to convey that from the very beginning. It is designed as if it’s Eden. You go read about the temple description, and it is designed like it’s a garden itself, coming into the presence of God. And of course, you go into the holy of holies where the mercy seat is, and that’s where God’s presence dwelt. And so they’re coming into the presence of God when they come together to worship and to sacrifice.

But I would suggest to you that the cross itself connects heaven and earth. Worship unites heaven and earth. That’s what’s happening. When the Israelites came into the temple and they’re worshiping God, heaven and earth are being united in that moment. And the cross itself is an intersection of heaven and earth as Jesus is suspended there between the ground and the sky. It is intersection of death and eternal life, of sacrifice and salvation. And those who worship, as we’re doing this morning, draw near to the cross and experience divine communion most directly when we partake of the meal of Christ, as we’ll do a little bit later. The fundamental aspect of worship, though, is coming into the presence of God, and there are various ways in which that is portrayed.

The temple, the cross, other means and methods, even physical form in which that takes place. Baptism itself, I think, is another one of those. Where some of the things that we do, they are meant to bring heaven and earth together. And so, yes, baptism is a physical demonstration of the reality of who Christ is. We are buried with him, and then we are resurrected with him to newness of life. All of that conveys an idea where heaven and earth are brought together. And that’s why we’re told in Colossians chapter 3 if you are in Christ, seek the things that are above. Set your mind on the things that are above. That’s where Christ is.

Worship is our response to divine longing. And so last time we mentioned James 4 5, or it talks about the reality that God yearns jealously for the spirit that he made to dwell in us. And it tells us then to draw near to God, and he will draw near to us. As I work through this, I want to kind of bring out the other side of this for just a moment. Because I do want us to focus on the heart and on the mind, on the spirit and the connection of spirit to God. As I mentioned earlier, you recognize just as I do, there’s times when maybe you come to a worship like this and you’re tired.

You’ve had a long week, or you’ve had something stressful. Maybe you’ve had trauma in your life, or you have health difficulties, or whatever it might be. There’s something there that’s an obstacle. You may even not want to come. Have you ever been there? But then you do. And sometimes in that moment, even in the distress, even in the worry, the concern, the sadness, the tiredness, whatever it is, when you come into the presence of God and you lift your voice and praise to him with others, and you pray and you hear scripture, it changes your perspective. Psalmist talks about this very thing in Psalm 73. Right? He believes all kinds of lies. He’s looking at the unrighteous people, those who are greedy, and those who are taking advantage of others, and he’s saying, How come they have it so good?

Until he comes into the sanctuary. And when he comes into the presence of God, his perspective changes completely. And so I want us to understand that is what is meant to take place when we come to a place like this and we submit our will to God’s and we behold him and we reflect him. It’ll even change our perspective in a matter of moments. From before we enter this place to when we leave, things can be completely different, even though the situations in our physical life may have not changed at all. Our perspective can have changed because we’ve come into the presence of the Almighty God. And so our worship is a response to that divine longing, that connection that he so desperately wants. That one day this body will go away, but the spirit will return to the one who has given it.

2. True Worship Shapes and Transforms Our Heart

And so it is with that mindset and that reality, then, that we understand the importance of worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Secondly, we worship, if we have true worship, it shapes and transforms our heart. This is part of this process. We’re coming into the presence of God, but as I just indicated, by how you can come in tired or sad or feeling lonely or whatever it might be, and you can even be transformed in that moment to feel completely different. That is the essence of what worship is meant to do. As I see in scripture, there’s really two fundamental purposes for worship. The first, and they’re related, the first is to honor God, to glorify him, to recognize him for who he is. And of course, in that process, that’s when our mirror is pointed to him.

And this is the importance of doing this frequently. When we turn from the Lord, we lose sight of reality. When we turn the mirror away to other things and begin reflecting other things, we lose the reality of who God is and the glory of who God is, and we begin to no longer reflect that in our lives. And so part of this is honoring God, just simply recognizing him and extolling him and praising him for who he is. And the other part of this is remarkable. John says, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another. That spirit-to-spirit connection and worship is not just this way. It is also this way. When we are aligned with God who is spirit, we will be aligned with others who are aligned with the Spirit of God.

That’s what fellowship is about. We are connected. We are one in Christ because our hearts are aligned with Him. This is the picture of what God wants for His people. And this is a transformative sort of idea. It means we take the selfishness, the pride, whatever it might be that is within our own heart, and it is being transformed and changed into something completely different. Transformation or metamorphosis is something that is a change from the inside out. It is a change of your very being. What God is after in us when we approach him and we behold him and we begin to reflect him in our life. True worship involves body, mind, and spirit. And it can even impact unbelievers. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 14, that very thing.

And they’re all caught up in things like tongue speaking, and they think that’s you know super important. And Paul is trying to help them understand that’s not nearly as helpful as prophesying, just speaking truth, speaking the truths of God. And so he’s working through this idea, and he talks about this idea of an unbeliever, right? So the two purposes worship God, build up the church. That’s what worship is about. 1 Corinthians 14, go read it’ll say it over and over again. The purpose here is that we are being built up. However, if an unbeliever comes, if an outsider enters, and he hears prophecy, he hears truth being spoken, which is part of what worship is about too. In worship, it is the greatest reality. We are speaking truths into the world.

We are saying the things that are right. And so Paul says, but if all prophesy, this is 1 Corinthians 14, 24 and 25, but if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an outsider enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. It is all elements. When God is in this place and we are beholding him and we are reflecting him, and an outsider comes in, he is convicted in mind and spirit, and so much so that the secrets of his heart will then be revealed. And he will fall down. This is an eye-bodily response, right? He will fall down and he will worship God.

And he will declare that God is really there. That’s what we’re after. That’s what should be the definition of what’s happening in this place. That our hearts are attuned to God and our spirits are connected to him so much so that when an outsider enters, they are convicted in their heart. And all the things that they’re holding within, the secrets and the sins and the things that they know don’t really align because God has created us with eternity in our heart. Even atheists understand that. They’re seeking something more. They might not understand all the details or how it all is structured, but they want something more than this. And so they seek after various other things. And so somebody comes in, they hear the realities, they hear the truths.

They are made to behold the glory of God because that’s what we are doing. And in that moment, their hearts are convicted. It’s the power of the gospel in life. The healing power of Jesus Christ with unfailed veiled face, that He is the glory of God and its fullness that we can behold. And so we reflect what we worship. This happens no matter what you worship, though. We worship God, we reflect the things of God. But when we worship that which is not God, we then reflect that. The psalmist makes this point in Psalm 115. He’s talking about the worthlessness of idols. They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see. They have ears, but they don’t hear.

So do all who trust in them. And I want us to understand this morning that idols are not just metal objects. They are anything that supplants God in our life. Whatever it is that we give priority, that is an idol. I want to talk about the idea of not forsaking the assembly, because that is a phrase that’s used frequently from Hebrews chapter 10. But I want us to understand, in connection to what we’re doing here, about the transformation that comes and our connection to God and connection to one another, that is not just a rule to keep. It’s not just something to come here and make sure you’re here every week. And you know, so you can say you’ve done what you’re supposed to do. There’s actually a purpose behind it, and it is filled with temple language, actually.

So it talks in the very beginning of this text in verse 19 about entering the holy places by the blood of Jesus and drawing near to God with confidence. And then he says, Let us consider how to stir up one another, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another.

Someone probably made it up sometime. I’m not really sure. I don’t usually tell these, but this one’s really effective. Guy hasn’t been coming to worship for quite some time, and the preacher goes to see him and walks in, he’s got a fireplace. There’s a bunch of embers sitting there. So he doesn’t say anything. He just walks over, takes one of those embers and just puts it to the side, and they just sit there for a while. And over time, that ember begins to fade. And eventually the fire goes out. Preacher gets up and walks over and takes the ember and drops it back with the other embers, and in just a moment, the flame is back. The man thanks the preacher, says, Thank you for this great visit.

I’ll see you on Sunday. The point of worship is to fan that flame. It’s to be engaged. It’s to have the fire in your heart. It’s to make that connection, not just with God, but with others. And so neglecting it is not just you haven’t kept a rule. Neglecting it is your mirror has turned from the Lord of glory. You are no longer beholding God’s glory and who he is. You’re no longer reflecting the God of all the universe, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. It’s no longer coming in, and so it’s therefore no longer going out. And slowly over time, that’s going to fade more and more and more until the flame is completely gone. And so maybe you’re here this morning and you’ve struggled with that in your life.

3. Transformation Is Divine Work

Understand when an elder or a true friend comes to you and is concerned about you not being here very often. It’s not just about keeping a rule. It’s not just about checking a box. They’re worried about your flame going out. They’re worried about that connection, not just with God. Obviously, that’s very important. The connection with God is vital, but their connection with you. This is fundamental to who we are as God’s people as we reflect his glory in the world. And so the final part of this that we need to understand is that transformation is divine work. When we behold the glory of God and we come into his presence, you can’t do this on your own. You can’t sit at home, not come to worship, not engage the things of God and transform your life.

That completely defies everything in Scripture. In the old testament and the new, you are the light of the world, Jesus says. You know where he gets that? Isaiah 59 and 60. Isaiah 59, verse 21. As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord, my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring, says the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples, but the before the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

The moon does not transmit its own light. It reflects the light of the sun. And Malachi tells us the sun, S-U-N, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. I am not healing myself, and you are not healing yourself. The transformation does not come because I work so hard and I do so many things. It becomes because the power of God working in me, that Christ is dwelling in my heart, that the Spirit of God is with me, that I’m led by the Spirit, that I’m walking in step with the Spirit. These are all things in Scripture that have to do with the fact that God is working in my life when I open my heart to him and I allow him in.

And he comes and he delivers his people, and his light then shines into darkness, and he says, You will reflect that. I in you are not the light of the world because we have transmitted that light, or we have generated it. It’s because we reflect the glory of God and his light. In him was life. And the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. I am the light of the world, Jesus says. We are only light because we reflect him, if that’s what we’re doing. Only because we behold him and we see his face. The second image here within 2 Corinthians 3 and 4 is one of creation. He goes on to talk further about this in chapter 4.

He concludes, for God who said, The light, let the light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Before that he talks about how their gospel is not veiled, it’s only veiled to those who are perishing. They are blinded by the God of this world to Christ, who is the image of God. But I want you to understand what he’s doing here in this reference to creation. He’s saying, just like the Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters, and God created the heavens and the earth, and then he says, the word of God says, Let there be light, and there was light, in the same way God has done all of this in this new creation.

And you are a new creation if you are in Christ. And he said, Let there be light in your life, and that life was the light of men, and it is Jesus Christ, and that is what is being reflected in chapter 5, verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. Who did that? Who gives life? Who has creative force and power? Who transforms?

It is not me, and it is not you. It is the power of God working in our life when we reflect his glory. And when we refuse to do that, we make ourselves God. They exchange the truth about God for a lie and liar and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans chapter 1, verse 25. The problem with idolatry is that actually it’s self-worship. Self-worship in whatever form. And yes, Scripture in 1 Corinthians says demons stand behind that. I believe that’s true as well. But what they play into is selfish humanity’s heart and mind wanting to do what it wants to do. And so idolatry in essence, and you’ll notice all the things that happen in idolatry, all the corruption and the debauchery that takes place, is all things that men want to go after because they’re not reflecting the glory of God.

And so all their idols are some sort of creature, often kind of elevating the things that men think are great. And so it is the worship of self. People will be lovers of self, Paul said, Proud, heartless, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Avoid such people. Last time I used an example about a lamp.

I have. But if it’s not plugged in, it has no power.

So that lamp might be amazing. But if it doesn’t have that invisible force of electricity running through it does no good. It is not connected to the source. Maybe an easier way for us to understand this. John 15, I am the vine, you are the branches. Without me, you can do nothing. If we aren’t connected to the vine, the source of life, we’re worthless. We’re just going to be broken off and thrown into the fire. That’s what Jesus says. If God isn’t transforming you through worship or things like worship, the power is shut off. This week we’ve, for whatever reason, we’ve had the power keep going off at our house. And you know what that’s like. You know, it goes on and off, and you walk and you flip a switch, and light doesn’t come on.

Conclusion

That switch has no problem. You know? The lamps, the lights, they’re fine. You know the problem? There’s no power in that house. It may look great. It appears really good. The power is denied. And so I have to ask, am I allowing God to work in my life? Let’s look at some scripture that have to do with this as we close this morning. I’m just going to read some of these and make a few brief comments. I’m going to start in Ephesians chapter 3. And I want you to remember what we’re talking about here is the spirit that God has created in us. We want to align that with his spirit, God is spirit, and we are to worship him in spirit and truth. Are the signals matching?

He’s seeking such people to worship him, it says in John 4. Are we seeking him? And are those signals connecting? And what is that doing in my life? Or not, if it’s not happening. Paul says this in verse 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints. What is the breadth and length and height and depth? And to know, listen to this phrase. Amazing. And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

How do you do that? I don’t know that I can give you an answer. Something beyond my comprehension, because it’s beyond knowledge. What Paul says. But he goes on that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. Is God working within you? Is Christ working in your heart to bring change in your life? If not, the power shut off. And you will know them by their fruits, Jesus said. We could go to Galatians chapter 5 and talk about that reality. The works of the flesh are all sorts of evil things that can be born in our life. But then he talks about the fruit of the spirit.

You will know them by their fruits. The sort of things that are being produced in our life, they will demonstrate whether or not the power is on. Whether or not God is actually transforming us and working in us. Philippians chapter 2. Just a couple pages over, most likely in your Bible. Philippians chapter 2 in verse 12. It says, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Some of my friends would like for God to construct the lamp and put it all together and plug it in and give it power.

It’s just not how it works. Here he says, you’re to work out your own salvation, for it is God that works in you. It is a mutual effort where I bring who I am and I open myself up to God and allow him to work in me. That’s what Paul’s saying here in Philippians chapter 2. And so maybe this idea sometimes people have, well, I’m just going to give it to God. Just let God do it all. Well, that doesn’t really align with Philippians chapter 2, but it does say that God will work in us to will and to do for his good pleasure. I can’t do that myself. How do I even know the right thing to do? Except that the Spirit of God has revealed the mind of God to me.

There’s no way I could know how to do this without God revealing it to me. That’s just the basic level of this. But Paul says, we are to work out our salvation, for God is working in us. What about baptism? Baptism is important. It’s a time where we demonstrate we’re giving our life to Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice what Paul says about this in Colossians chapter 2. He says in verse 11, Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11, in him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. This is the circumcision of the heart. This is talked about in the Old Testament as well. And it’s done by God because we submit our will to him and we are obedient to him.

It’s not something we can do, right? It’s something that is within. It’s on the spiritual plane. It’s not physical, right? You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead. Who’s doing the working in my baptism? Who is cleansing me and renewing me? Paul says in Titus 3 5, that’s the Spirit that does that. And so I’m submitting to the will of God, and I’m trusting that as I am working out my salvation with fear and trembling, that he is going to work in me and transform my life in the process.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

Lots of interesting things said here in this text.

Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Give me just a second to stop here. I just want to say this real quick. Giving thanks in all circumstances. We know, we are imperfect humans. And one of the things, this is really hard to do, and I try to do this. You know what? I mess up. Other people mess up when they do things up here. Man, in worship, let’s just try to focus on the things that really matter. Rather than trying to pick apart everything that’s done and every person who does whatever. I mean, just separate from that and realize what we are doing and coming into the presence of God. What an amazing thing.

And so, yes, God works through imperfect humans to go about this process, but let’s just give thanks. Maybe the kids are loud, or maybe someone gets up and leaves, or whatever. We can choose to allow those things to distract us, or we can choose to stay focused on what truly matters. So, just a quick exhortation there. Do not quench the spirit, verse 19. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Hold fast what is good. It’s abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. God is faithful. We sang about that earlier, too.

Do we trust that? Do we trust that God will work in our life if we submit our will to Him? If we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, do we trust that God will also work in us to transform us from within? Because Scripture tells us we should be doing this over and over and over. It is the God of peace who will sanctify me completely. And he’s going to keep my whole spirit and soul and body, all of those matter to him. He’s going to keep them blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If I submit my will to him and I align my spirit with his, these are the powerful workings of God in my life. Do you believe that?

Because that’s what Scripture says. And so my encouragement to myself and to you this morning is that we trust in the powerful working of God in our life, the ability to transform us. And we believe that this is the reality of what happens if we believe in a God who is spirit. If we believe in a God who has created everything that we see, and he has done all these things through Christ Jesus.

He parted the Jordan River.

Seek the things that are above where Christ is, Paul says. Reflect the image of Christ and be transformed. Part of this beholding of Christ means we will go through a process. We see him and we see ourselves and realize something’s not right. I need to keep changing. I need to get rid of this, and I need to add that. That’s all part of this process in Colossians chapter 3. You put off what doesn’t reflect the glory of the Lord, and you put on what does. And it may be for you this morning that baptism is where you start that process. You connect yourself with the Spirit of Christ by dying with Him, giving yourself to Him, and then being resurrected in newness of life, ready to live a transformed life, changing who you are from the inside out.

To become a person who wants to reflect the glory of God by looking at the face of Jesus Christ and everything you do. Paul says, Everything you do in word and deed, do all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks. That’s what I want us to do. Maybe you need to come and make that known this morning that you want to give yourself to Jesus Christ. Can we help you? Why don’t you come as we stand and we sing?