August 29, 2025
Transformational Principle
This morning I want to talk
about spiritual transformation and how it is fundamentally an ongoing change in
our inner life, especially in our beliefs, values, and sense of purpose
involving a deeper connection with Yahweh. It encompasses a process of
self-awareness and growth, leading to a more conscious and unified sense of
self. In a spiritual context, transformation signifies a profound shift in one's
inner being, leading to a more conscious and aligned connection with one's true
self and Yahweh. It involves a deep change in one's understanding, their
relationship with Yahweh, and the way they perceive and interact with the world.
Yet I want you to know that there is no single, map for spiritual
transformation, as the journey is deeply personal. Therefore, it is an
infrastructure of practices and stages drawn from different traditions to guide
your personal exploration and growth. The spiritual path can be generally
understood in two parts: a process of clearing away old patterns and beliefs,
and a practice of cultivating positive inner qualities. After saying that you
meed to know that this transformation can also manifest in various ways, such as
spiritual awakenings, shifts in values, and a deepening of one's connection to
their inner self. It really can be complete new way of hearing the word of
Yahweh. So first off I want to talk about, how Yahweh has a problem with us. We
know this from scripture Roman 1:18-3:20 "or the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the
truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest
in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without
excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the
truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto
vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which
is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which
is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which
was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers,
without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment
of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the
same, but have pleasure in them that do them."
Roman 2:1-29 "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that
judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou
that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God
is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou
this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that
thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart
treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his
deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and
honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew
first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man
that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no
respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall
also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged
by the law; 13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the
doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not
the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the
law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in
their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean
while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16 In the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 17 Behold, thou art
called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 18 And
knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being
instructed out of the law; 19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of
the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 20 An instructor of the
foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth
in the law.21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 Thou that sayest
a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest
idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law,
through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 24 For the name of God is
blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 25 For circumcision
verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy
circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the
righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for
circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil
the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision,
which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God."
Roman 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of
circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed
the oracles of God. 3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief
make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but
every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy
sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. 5 But if our
unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God
unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) 6 God forbid: for then how
shall God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through
my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 8 And not rather,
(as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do
evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. 9 What then? are we better
than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles,
that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no,
not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre;
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their
lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift
to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of
peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19 Now
we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Now we can see that Yahweh’s problem with us,
is that we are unrighteous. We have suppressed the truth in
unrighteousness and rebelled against Yahweh’s holy will. As a result all men are
condemned by Yahweh’s holy law, and are under His wrath. However, Yahweh has a
solution for us. I thought you might like to hear that. The solution is that He
imputes His very righteousness to us as a gift, that is for those who believe in
Yeshua The Messiah. For those who trust in The Messiah there is no condemnation.
We are justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in The
Messiah Yeshua. Yahweh has a plan for us. His plan for those who believe is to
free them from slavery to sin, send His Spirit to indwell them, so that they put
sin to death, and look forward to eternal glory with The Messiah. Further,
Yahweh plans to use the conversion of the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to
jealousy, in order to bring them to salvation. However, first we must give
unconditional surrender. That's right, we are to present our bodies and lives to
Yahweh as living and holy sacrifices. This unconditional surrender which we are
to give to Yahweh every minute of every day is our spiritual worship, not the
pretense of go to church or singing of praise songs for 45 minutes on Sabbath
morning. We actually need to dedicate our whole life to Yahweh, so we can
experience spiritual transformation. Now you may be wondering what I mean by
that, so let me try and explain. I truly enjoy how Yahweh uses creation to shine
a light on His glory and on His word. I am talking about the things in the
heavens and the earth which teach us more and more about how amazing Yahweh is
and what He is doing. I mean let's talk a look at the butterfly. It is stunning
and delicate yet there is no reason why a butterfly needs to exist. Yet it does.
Now most bugs I do not really care for, however a caterpillar looks something
like a worm. And I like to fish so they don't bother me. However, a caterpillar
although born spends the first portion of it’s life existing only to fill it’s
stomach with food. There is nothing about a caterpillar that would really draw
our attention to it, however when I was a kid I use to find them and pick them
up. I was fascinated by the way it would cling onto my finger. Anyway, moving
right a long, at some point in every caterpillar’s life, it creates a cocoon.
Remember we are talking about transformation today., and they do not form that
cocoon just to get some sleep. The cocoon lets us know that something is
happening, but only on the inside, and that something is called metamorphosis.
In the cocoon a caterpillar undergoes complete metamorphosis by breaking down
most of its body into a nutrient-rich fluid, which then fuels the growth of
adult body parts from special clusters of cells called imaginal discs. These
discs, containing the genetic instructions for the adult form, develop into the
butterfly's wings, legs, eyes, antennae, and other structures. Once the
transformation is complete, the adult butterfly emerges, expands its wings by
pumping fluid into them, and then flies off . The parallel here is between the
emerging butterfly and the transformation that Yahweh brings to the life of a
Believer. In fact, even the word metamorphosis comes from the Greek word
transformed which occurs 4 times in scripture. Twice it refers to Yeshua when He
is transfigured before Peter, James, and John on the mountain top. We see this
in Matthew 17:2 “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as
the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” and Mark 9:2 “And after
six days Jesus taketh
with him
Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by
themselves: and he was transfigured before them. “Yet
I feel it is important to also warn you that evil can also transform, so
be careful to you are truly listening to. We see this in 2 Corinthians
11:13-15 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall
be according to their works. One of our values here at Divine Word
Ministries is the idea of self transformation. We want to be transformed daily
in that way we will live in obedience to Yeshua. But we also want to see people
transformed by the power of His word. Now, I know that no one is born a
Believer. Nor does everyone become transformed by the power of the gospel, as we
all know. However, for those who believe and make the journey through pain,
struggles, happiness and love find that it is a life worth living. Please turn
with me to Romans 12:1&2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." We see that Paul gives us
two commands and a reason for obeying them. He gives us one negative command 'do
not be conformed to this world'. Now conformed
is a Greek
word which means to assume a similar outward form. It is much the same idea as
taking cake mix, pouring water into it, and then pouring it in a square cake
pan. Then putting it in the hot oven. When you pull it out later, the liquid mix
which is now cake has taken on the same outward form as the pan. Or it is much
like taking a box of dry jello and mixing in water then pouring the liquid jello
into an unusual shape mold and putting it in the refrigerator. When you pull it
out of the fridge the jello has taken on the same outward form as the jello
mold. Paul is telling us not to allow the world to squeeze us into its mold. You
may be wondering what Paul meant by, the world? I am pretty sure he was not just
taking about the planet earth, because we are told not to be conformed to it.
Obviously it must have to do with the thoughts, opinions, values and priorities
of those who live in the world. Yet since we are told that we must not conform
to it, it must be talking about the portion of the world that is not following
Yeshua The Messiah. The Greek word for (world) means (age.) Therefore, when we
are told not to be conformed to this world, the meaning must be that we must not
be conformed to the thoughts and values of those who are living for this present
age, without reference to Yahweh or the age to come. We see that the (world) is
used in this sense in 1 John 5:19-21 "And we know that we are of God, and the
whole world lieth in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in
him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and
eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.",
Therefore we know that we are of Yahweh, and that the whole world lies in the
power of the evil one. We must understand that conformed is a present tense
verb. Which means, do not be conformed, is in the present tense and speaks of
continuous action. Paul is saying, “keep on every day refusing to be conformed
to this world.” We must be continually on our guard not to adopt the
philosophies and values of the world. However, each day we live there is
pressure on all of us to conform. Of course, all of us want to be liked by
others and well thought of too. So, we feel an inward pressure to go along, not
make waves for anyone. For example, if the world changes its mind on what
constitutes marriage, we feel pressured to conform. It doesn’t matter that the
entire world has known for thousands of years that Yahweh made Adam and Eve to
be partners. Yet, if the world now decides marriage can be between 2 men, or 2
women, there is now a social pressure for us to go along. If the world decides
that there is nothing wrong for two young people to just live together instead
of getting married, all of us feel a certain pressure to go along with it.
Remember, we are not yo judge. Of course, for the Believer, the real issue is
not what the world thinks, but what Yahweh thinks. We must obey Yahweh rather
than man made up laws. I mean please think about it. Yeshua said that His
disciples were in the world, but they were not of the world. This world is not
our home. We are pilgrims and strangers here for our home is heaven. Now, of
course, we need to more closely define worldliness. Now we know that
fundamentalists tend to see worldliness as smoking, drinking, dancing, and
gambling. As you can see, these are all we do outwardly. However, I want you to
take notice of Paul’s words, “Do not be conformed to the world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind” The opposite of being conformed to the
world is not to stop committing all the external sins of the flesh. It is to
renew your mind. Therefore, I submit that worldliness is primarily a way of
thinking. It's a matter of global values and principles. It is to consider all
of life like the rest of the world does. You may be wondering just how do they
consider it? Well, I would say that they view life without reference to the
lordship of Yeshua The Messiah. They see life as an opportunity to do their
will. They live life for the here and now, without reference to eternity at all.
They value self-esteem, and self-gratification. And self is the center of their
universe. Do you remember the old Schlitz beer commercial, “You only go around
once in life; you’ve got to grab all the gusto you can.” Well that beloved, is
the essence of worldliness. Living supremely for this life, and neglecting
Yahweh and the life to come. It is setting the supreme value upon material
possessions, money, comfort, earthly pleasures and neglecting Yahweh, The
Messiah, is the Spirit of faith, love, holiness, sanctification, suffering and
perseverance. He is speaking of the opinions, attitudes, values, and priorities
of the world. I'd like you to take a moment and ask yourself the following four
questions.
1 For the most part, what does the world think?
2.For the most part, what does the world believe?
3.For the most part, what does the world value?
4.For the most part, what does the world pursue?
Now that you have thought about it, I ask again, are you worldly? How much do
you value your present life and devalue eternal life? Do you consciously live
each day under the leadership of The Messiah? How often do you go to Him ask Him
what His will is concerning your spending of time, money, helping of others and
possessions? If you are not, you are being conformed to this world. So, Beloved,
I plead with you to give your bodies to Yeshua the Messiah because of all He has
done for you. Let your body be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind He will
find acceptable.
Let's move on to one positive command 'but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind'. This you would have to say is a positive command. That's right we
must refuse to be squeezed into the world’s philosophies and value system. On
the contrary, we must be transformed. Now, that word transformed is the same
Greek word that is used in the gospels for the transfiguration of Yeshua The
Messiah. What was happening when Yeshua was transfigured? The inner glory of The
Messiah’s deity was being manifest outwardly. He was Yahweh all along, but for
the most part, people couldn’t see it. Now, The Messiah was allowing His Deity
to go on display. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white
as light. Do you see how being conformed to something is very different from
being transformed? When you are conformed, you change your external actions to
fall in line with others. When you are transformed, you are changed on the
inside, with the effect that the inner beauty and glory finds expression on the
outside. Conforming highlights the external, while Transforming highlights the
internal.
Metamorpho is
the Greek word for transformed, but we get our English word metamorphosis from
it. When a caterpillar spins a cocoon around itself, and then later emerges as a
completely different creature on the outside, a butterfly, it has gone through a
metamorphosis. It has been transformed from one thing into another thing. It
didn’t conform to anything. It was transformed. The same thing happens to a
tadpole. When it is hatched from an egg, it looks more like a fish. It has a
body and a tail. But as it gets older, it grows legs and arms, and loses its
tail! Now, let me ask you, how does a creature, just grow arms and legs? It has
been transformed, because of its inner nature, into a different creature! That
is exactly what takes place in a Believers life. Because we have been born
again, and are a partaker of the divine nature, we change, and this change shows
up on the inside. A true Believer in Yeshua the Messiah has a life of spiritual
change which forms and grows on the inside and eventually expresses itself on
the outside.
Present Tense is a verb and
speaks of something that goes on continually in
our lives. This is not a one shot deal. We are being transformed day after day
after day.
Imperative Voice is a verb, and this
verb is an imperative, it is a command. We do not have the option of ignoring or
refusing this. It is not just Paul’s advice or suggestion, but a direct command
from Yahweh.
And since we
are not the ones doing the acting; we are being acted upon. We are not
transforming ourselves. We are
being
transformed. So, if we are not transforming
ourselves, who is transforming us? I would have to say the Holy Spirit. I mean
that is what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even
as by the Spirit of the Lord. ” So, you might be thinking, “Great, Yahweh is
the one who does the transforming. Therefore, I’m not responsible for this; He
is.” Well, with that way of thinking I say let's read on. I say it is imperative
that you let Yahweh transform you into a new person by changing the way you
think. Only then will you learn of Yahweh’s will for you, which is good,
pleasing and perfect. I believe we all are prone to conform; therefore we must
let the Holy Spirit transform us by renewing our mind. This is our part in our
transformation. True, Yahweh is the One who does the transforming. However, we
must actively renew our mind. You may be wondering just what do that mean. It
means we must reshape our thinking so that it is informed by scripture. We must
not allow our minds to think in the everyday worldly way. We must renew our
minds, and reshape them. You may be wondering, How do we do this? We do this by
thinking Yahweh’s thoughts after Him. We do this, by allowing Yahweh to purge
out wrong, non-biblical thinking, and replace it with true biblical thoughts. We
learn to see all of life from Yahweh’s perspective. We learn to adopt a
Yahweh-centered view of all of life. And, the only way we can do this is by
reading and meditating on the word of Yahweh. The key to transformation is the
renewal of your mind! So you must spend time in scripture, learn to see the good
in a person, love everyone including yourself and remember not to judge that is
not our place. The time you spend in scripture must be regular and consistent.
If you seldom read the scripture, or read it one day, wait three or four, and
read a little, then don’t read for a week or two, and then read one day, you
will not renew your mind. You should look forward to reading scripture for every
time you read Yahweh’s word, you are giving Him an opportunity to speak to you.
That’s why I say we need to read scripture expectantly. I know a lot of us have
very odd work hours as well as house work and children to care for, so to you I
say it may be easier to schedule a date with the Lord every morning or evening
of your life. That is your time to commune with and worship the Lord. You should
be excited to see how the Lord will speak to you on each date through His Word.
Beloved, remember to read the scriptures humbly, for if you come to the
scripture with your mind already made up, how is your mind every going to be
renewed? If you have faulty thinking, you need to be corrected, so you can
change your thinking. However, a proud person, does not come to the scripture to
be corrected. Remember, the scripture is the authority, not you! Let what you
read in the Word challenge any preconceived opinions you may have. You will
probably find that you have a pretty good understanding of this or that
particular truth, but your understanding needs to be refined. You need to take
this scripture or that scripture into account, so that your understanding of
this doctrine is complete. James told us to put aside all filthiness and all
that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is
able to save your souls. We see this fact in James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart
all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” Now scripture should be
read consecutively.
What I mean
by this, is start at the beginning of a book and read straight through to the
end. I know a lot of people dip into the scripture here in Psalm for a few
verses, and the next day they read a little from Ecclesiastes, and the next day
they are in John, and the following day they are in Revelation. The problem with
that is that you never get the context of what you are reading. You never see
the author’s flow of thought, and what they were trying to convey from one
paragraph to the next, and from one chapter to the next. Too often we treat the
scripture like a magic book. We close our eyes, flip open the scripture, and
start reading, without any understanding of the historical background or the
context, and we think Yahweh is really speaking to us. Would you read a Disney
plays or Alfred Hitchcock fictional stories in the same way? Would you turn to
page 79 and read a paragraph one day, then on the next day turn to page 22 and
read another paragraph? Of course not, that sounds ridiculous, then why do you
want to read scripture that way? Learn to read through the scriptures
consecutively from beginning to end. Finally, one reason for obeying them is so
that you may prove what the will of Yahweh is. Paul gave us two commands; one
positive, and one negative. Now, he finishes by telling us what will happen if
we obey the commands. We will prove what the will of Yahweh is. Now prove
in Greek
contains two ideas in it. The King James has translated it well in Roman 12:2
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his
good, pleasing and perfect will." The idea is to test in order to approve.
As our minds are renewed, we will be able to discern Yahweh’s will, and approve
or delight in it. When we went to school, the teacher tested us. Why? Not so
that she would have the pleasure of failing everyone! No, she tested us so that
we would be approved when we passed the test. That’s the idea here. Sometimes
The Believers think that if they want to know the will of Yahweh in a particular
area, all they have to do is pray about it and Yahweh will give them a
revelation of His will. Now, of course Yahweh can, and sometimes does this. But
His normal way of guiding us in difficult decisions is for us to thoughtfully
test and discern Yahweh’s will as our minds are reshaped by scripture. Our
ability to discern the will of Yahweh will grow as our mind is renewed by the
scriptures. This is very different from living our life by trying to hear voices
telling us to do this or that. People who try to live their lives by hearing
voices are not in harmony with Romans 12:2. Yahweh’s aim is not to just give us
new information ie divine revelation. His aim is that we grow spiritually by
learning to apply scripture to new situations in our life. Sometimes the
scripture uses “the will of Yahweh” to refer to Yahweh’s sovereign will. By that
I mean what Yahweh is going to bring to pass. We can not divert this will of
Yahweh. The sovereign will of Yahweh always comes to pass. This is the sense in
which the will of Yahweh is used in Daniel 4:35 “All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the
peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have
you done?” In other words, this will of Yahweh is unstoppable and
invincible. Paul says in Ephesians 1:11 “In him we were also chosen,[fn]
having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in
conformity with the purpose of his will,” Again, this will of Yahweh is His
sovereign purpose which always comes to pass. And again in Proverbs 16:33
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”
Also in Proverbs 21:1 “In the Lord's hand the king’s heart is a stream of
water that he channels toward all who please him. ” Sometimes the scripture
uses “the will of Yahweh” to refer to Yahweh’s commands. It is the will of
Yahweh that we not lie, steal, cheat, murder, or commit adultery. Roman 13:9
“For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be
any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” And
in everything give thanks; for this is Yahweh’s will for you in The
Messiah Yeshua. We see this fact in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
So we see Yahweh commands us to give
thanks in everything, it is His will. Paul states, For this is the will of
Yahweh, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.
This is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;” When the
scripture uses the phrase “the will of Yahweh” in these places, it is not
talking about Yahweh’s sovereign purpose, but rather His commands. I believe
that Paul can’t be talking about Yahweh’s sovereign purpose because we can’t
test that. And Yahweh has not told us what most of His sovereign plans are. The
secret things belong to the Lord our Yahweh. We gind this statement in
Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those
things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we
may do all the words of this law."
Therefore Paul can’t be talking about Yahweh’s commands either,
because we don’t need to test Yahweh’s commands. Yahweh’s commands are clear. It
is not my place to test the 10 Commandments or yours. It is my place to obey
them though. Well, then what is Paul talking about when he speaks of “the will
of Yahweh”? I believe he was talking about making
Yeshua like decisions when we
have no direct command from Yeshua.
There are many situations in life where we will
not have a clear command in scripture. You may be wondering, What do we do then?
I believe that’s what Paul is talking about here. He is telling us that as our
minds are renewed, we will be transformed so that we are able to discern and
have the wisdom to make the best decision in a given situation, even though we
have no clear command in scripture. However, this requires maturity. We need to
grow in our ability to make wise and Yeshua like decisions. We face decisions
like this quite often and scripture gives us no verse about who we are to marry,
what kind of employment we should seek, where we should live, which church we
should be a member of, where our children should go to school, or a million
other decisions. However, as we renew our minds, we will gain wisdom to make
Yeshua like choices in these areas. I believe this is what Paul is talking when
he said, And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real
knowledge, so that you may judgment in Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that
your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and
in
all judgment; “ Or where he says, trying to learn what is acceptable to the
Lord in Ephesians 5:10 “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”
That which is
good and acceptable and perfect.
This points out the truth that as our minds are
renewed, we are not just able to discern Yahweh’s will in new situations.
Rather, we approve of Yahweh’s will. We take joy and delight in His will. We
find that His will is good. His will is acceptable and pleasing. His will is
perfect. Are
you growing in your ability to discern the will of Yahweh?
When you don’t have a specific
verse of scripture that pertains to a decision you need to make, are you
learning to apply biblical principles in order to make wise and more like Yeshua
decisions? Do
you approve, rejoice and take pleasure in Yahweh’s will?
It is one thing to be able to
discern what Yahweh’s will is. It is totally another to take pleasure in it. We
approve of Yahweh’s will because we know that of all the ways we could respond
to a situation, this one is best. This way will glorify Yahweh. This way will
cause you to walk as Yeshua walked. Can I invite you to take that step today.
Spiritual disciplines are practices and principles for spiritual growth that
train one for godliness and a deeper relationship with Yahweh. Examples include
prayer, fasting, bible study, meditation, service, worship, and solitude. To
practice them, one engages in regular, intentional activities like making a
journal, engaging in worship, and dedicating time to rest and quiet reflection,
not as a means to earn salvation, but as a way to grow in spiritual maturity and
character. Scripture tells us that we can do nothing on your own. We cannot deal
with our sin or do anything to transform ourselves. We must look only to Yeshua,
who dealt with our sins on the cross. Remember always.
Surrender.
Believe in Yeshua the Messiah,
Repent of your sins.
Keep yourself undefiled from the world,
And let Yeshua the Messiah transform you and conform you to be more like Him
each and every day.
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face to shine ypon you and be gracious to you,
May the Lord lift up His counyenance upon you and give you peace