You’ll need:
· Aladdin
· Copies of Habits Help for each person
· Transformer Toys ?
It’s Morphing Time!
Today, we are taking a look at spiritual disciplines or spiritual habits like Bible study, prayer, Scripture memorization, worship, and so on. Most people view disciplines negatively as something that has to be done, like taking gross medicine, or as a way to earn brownie points with God. “If I read my Bible then God will like me. But if I don’t, God will be mad at me and not love me as much.”
These ideas come from a distorted view of God or they can come from a poor teaching of God’s word. Spiritual disciplines are more about transformation than information. So, today, the title of our discussion is, It’s Morphing Time!
Before we go on, can anyone give me a definition of the word morph or morphing?
Well, the word morph is form the Greek word morphe, meaning shape or form. For example, the word metamorphosis means to change in shape or in form.
The Opening Act:
If you could, what is one thing that you would change about yourself?
(Looks, clothes, money, friends, popularity, etc.)
Okay, now what would you like to change about your Spiritual Life?
Do you have a sense deep down that something is missing? That you’re not all you were created to be? That God has something more in mind for you? Well guess what, He does. God wants to morph, or to transform you into something new!
The Main Event:
1. What is spiritual morphing?
Is it something like we see in the movie Aladdin? How many of you have seen the Disney movie Aladdin?
Well, at this time, allow me to show you a clip from the movie Aladdin. In this most memorable scene from Disney’s animated comedy Aladdin, the genie, with Robin Williams’ voice, explains his powers to Aladdin through a spectacular song and dance number, during which he morphs into dozens of objects and characters. Enjoy this clip!
Well, morphing is God working in us, changing us from the inside out, and making us to be more like Jesus. If you have your Bibles with you, go ahead and turn with me to II Corinthians 3:18. In that passage, Paul is talking about being transformed. Listen to what he has to say. II Corinthians 3:18 says, “1”
God wants to transform you into something new. That’s good news because for most of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, there are grimy parts that we want to get rid of. Do you guys remember these toys?
These are transformers. I use to have some that started out as a tiger, but after twisting a few parts it became a flying superhero with a built in bazooka. They were pretty neat things. But when it comes to God, His desire is to take us, and transform us. He wants to twist a few parts and cause us to come out as a super Christian.
2. Most people want to change; but few know how.
Can you think of any examples of this fact?
Well, I can remember a time when I was in High School, one of my brothers had a read bad drinking problem. One night…(Tell Story)
But sometimes, we try to change people in different ways. I can remember another time that one of my brothers put a rope around my neck and pulled me around the house yelling “C’mon puppy, C’mon!”
Soren Kierkegaard once said, “Now with God’s help I will become myself.” And if we are honest with ourselves, we are pretty lousy at changing ourselves. We can’t choose to morph. We need God’s help, and that is what some people don’t understand?
Go ahead and turn with me to Galatians 3:1-5. In this passage, it tells us the secret to being able to morph. Listen to what it has to say. Galatians 3:1-5 says, “2”
In that passage, Paul calls the Galatian church “fools.” That’s pretty strong language. He says they’re idiots to think that they can change themselves with their own efforts.
God wants you to trust Him to change you more than He wants you to try to fix yourself. When you trust Him to change you, He will! But when you try to fix yourself, the change won’t last.
3. So how does this morphing thing work?
Most often God brings about spiritual change through positive spiritual habits. What are some positive spiritual habits or disciplines that might be able to help us to morph into what God wants us to be?
Prayer Submission Simplicity
Bible Reading Confession Worship
Solitude Mentoring Study
Service Fasting Meditation
Well, here are what these habits are not for:
Spiritual habits aren’t a way to earn brownie points with God.
Spiritual habits aren’t a ticket to Heaven.
And spiritual habits aren’t boring and painful, or at least they don’t have to be.
Now, let’s look at what these habits are:
First, what is the purpose of a greenhouse?
Well, the purpose of a greenhouse is to control as many plant growing variables as possible. It controls light, temperature, humidity, water, all to be able to create a perfect environment for growth. Spiritual habits are a greenhouse for us, they create an environment for spiritual growth in our lives. So, spiritual habits create an atmosphere for God to change us.
Secondly, spiritual habits are like training. If you are going to succeed in anything in life, you have to prepare and train for it. If you were going to participate in an Iron Man event, you would train in running, swimming, and biking. You would work on strengthening each muscle that you will use. And you will work on developing endurance. You will go into a great deal of training in order to succeed in what you are doing. Spiritual habits act as a preparation for the morphing work that God wants to do in our lives.
Go ahead and look at Romans 8:29 with me. In that passage, we are reading about this change. It says in Romans 8:29 that, “3”
We can’t morph ourselves, but we can choose to be disciplined about spending time with God, giving Him the opportunity to morph us.
The Grand Finale:
God loves you as you are, you don’t need to change in order to “get His love working.” Stop trying to win God’s approval by doing things for Him. Instead God wants you to fix your attention on getting to know Him. Take some time this week to begin developing spiritual habits or to find a spiritual mentor. It’s morphing time, and the only way to do that is to get to know who God is, and allow Him to make a change in your life.
At this time, I am going to give you about 5 minutes to think about some things that you could do to create an environment for God to morph you into what He wants you to be. To help you in this time, I am going to give you a handout that it titled, Habits Help. On this page you will find several things that can help you develop habits that will allow God to cause growth in your life. Realize that you will probably not do all of these, but by choosing a few, you open yourself up to God. Read over this, and then with the time remaining, ask God to help you to morph into what it is that He wants you to be.
(Pass out Habits Help, and give 5 minutes of quiet time.)
Encore:
Get It?
· It’s not like your face is going to morph into someone else’s face! So what did I mean by morphing?
· Why does God want to morph you?
· Sometimes people feel guilty for not having a devotional time with God. Why do people feel that way? Have you ever felt like that?
· Think about how you’ve grown in your relationship with God. What have been some things that have helped you?
· What does it means that God wants you to trust Him to change you more than He wants you to try and fix yourself?
· Would you say you—
- Trust God to change you?
- Try to change yourself?
- Try a little of both?
What If? The Big Picture:
· Which spiritual habits—if any—do you practice right now?
· How can you make sure these habits don’t become boring and empty?
So What? It’s Your Life:
· What is the difference between letting God change you and trying to changing yourself?
· Does anyone have anything that they would like to add?
Well, if there is nothing else, just remember that it is something that God has to do in each of us. But we can do things to help and create an environment where God can morph us into what it is that He wants us to be. So I challenge you this week to try a new spiritual discipline. Let’s Pray!
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