New York UBF – NY University Bible Fellowship (NYUBF)

Be Transformed

Romans 12:1,2 “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind.”

Have you ever seen a caterpillar crawling on the branch in real life? How did you feel? Especially hairy caterpillars look really ugly. However, a beautiful butterfly comes from an ugly looking caterpillar. This is a perfect model for transformation in nature. Is it possible for us to be transformed from ugly caterpillar level of Christians to beautiful butterfly-like Christians? Is it possible for us to be changed from self centered, greedy, powerless, weak, impatient Christian to forgiving, patient, gentle, courageous, and powerful Christian? The Answer is Yes. If not, I don’t need to deliver this message. And also Apostle Paul didn’t need to say to us “Be transformed.”

Whenever I pray, I envy Moses in the Bible. He was a man who talked with God face to face. I envy David. He was a man who looked after God’s own heart. I envy Apostle Paul’s passion and spirit. I envy Elijah’s power. Can we be like them? No! They are something special and I am ordinary. Yes I am very ordinary. However I reject the idea that we cannot be like them. We are all called to be like Jesus, the Son of God. God’s plan is not just to save us from eternal punishment. His plan is to change us from insecure to secure, from dishonest to honest, from perpetually angry to consistently peaceful, from selfish to generous children of God. Most of us who are impatient want to be patient, and we want it right now. Then, there will be a question to be answered. If God wants us to be changed and we ourselves really want to be transformed, why those changes do not come to us right now?

First, Therefore, I urge you, brothers

People don’t change because change takes effort and it takes time. It requires making decisions that we don’t want to make. Let me ask you a question. If there were an “Apostle Paul” pill, or a “Billy Graham” pill, or a “Mother Teresa” pill and if by taking that pill you could become like that person, would you take it? If there were a “Christian” Pill that would make you be kind, generous, thoughtful, loving and courageous. Would you take it? I imagine that most of us would. The reason we are not as good as we should be or as good as we could be, is because change isn’t as easy as taking a pill. It takes effort. That’s why Apostle Paul said in the beginning of chapter 12 “I urge you brothers.” If everything happens automatically, Apostle Paul wouldn’t need to urge us. However, Changes require our decision and faith.

Second, Be transformed by renewing of your mind

Then what should we do to be transformed? Apostle Paul urges us to renew our mind. We can not change our soul. It is not easy to change our hearts. However, we can change our mind relatively easily. So, we often say “I changed my mind.” Mind is the place that our willful thought is processed. Mind also can be translated as “thought.” Renewing our mind means changing our thought. Changing our thought brings change of our choice. There are something that we cannot choose. We did not choose to be born. We could not choose who would be our parents whether they are rich or poor, strict or generous. We could not choose our nationality or ethnic background. However, after birth, we can choose what kind of life we live on earth. Likewise our spiritual birth does not come from our choice. Spiritual birth is God’s gift. However, what kind of Christian we would be is a matter of our choice. spiritual growth depends on our effort and our choice.

Our effort doesn’t mean only physical effort, rather mental effort. This we call as spiritual struggle. We casually think or say or sing that I love you, Lord. However, do we really love the Lord than the world in our action? We think we want to be changed. But deep down in our heart, we hesitate because we don’t want to lose what we want to have or we fear that we should do something we don’t want to do. In order to be changed, we have to change our mind. We have to make decision of faith whether we really serve God only or serve God and the world at the same time. Then what kind of choice should we make to be changed?

Third, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.

In order to belong to this world, we don’t need to do anything, because we already belong to this world. We just need to take it easy and do what ever we want to do. However, Apostle Paul said, ‘’Do not conform any longer.” Any longer means “not any more.” Paul urges us to get out from where we are now although it feels comfortable. In order to fly, we need to overcome the pull of the gravity of Earth. Likewise in order to take off spiritually, we need to overcome the drag of this world, which is the pattern of this world.

What are the patterns of this world? What are the general patterns of life of unchanged Christians? We study hard, hoping that they could have better job in the future. After start working, sometime later we get married and purchase the house for the family. Since then, we have to work harder both husband and wife to pay the mortgage of the house, car, and student loan for the rest of their lives. Job security becomes our first priority. We always feel tired and busy. In the meantime, we could attend the church meetings regularly, but we find that we are not changed as we are supposed to. We still remain anguish, feeling insecure, irritated easily and unfulfilled. We begin to seek small pleasures that are available to us, instead of choosing the cross that will bring future glory. We don’t think about values or purpose; rather we live according to their feelings. If things make us feel good, those are good. If things make us feel bad, those are bad. We act as if we were the owner of our lives and our possessions, not knowing that we are only steward of all things. When time comes, we have to return our life, health, money and talents and have to give an account to God. We spend our money for ourselves very generously without regret. but we hesitate to offer to God because we regard offering as donation to God. God doesn’t need our donation. God wants our heart and devotion. We put absolute values on human freedom, without paying attention to the fact that we are already slave of sins. We take care of our physical and mental health and security with urgency, but we ignore and abandon our spiritual security. Those are the pattern of this world. We should get out of these patterns of life.

Fourth, the pattern of Christian life that brings transformation

Now as Christians, we have different patterns to conform. We have different principles to follow. There are many important principles to follow. I want to mention only a few here.

First, we should love our God with all our heart and strength by putting God in the first place in our lives. Many people in the Bible expressed their love for God in many ways. Someone loves the words of God. They meditate and memorize the words of God. David confessed that he woke up in the middle of night to meditate the words of God. I have one Muslim Bible student in high school. He said that his 17 years old cousin memorizes the entire Quran and there is millions of Muslim who memorizes the entire Quran. I was shocked and I found the reason why these days Muslim expands throughout the world while Christian population recedes. People spend time with God in prayer because they love God. Someone loves God by serving others. Although we have desire to love God, we cannot love God unless we determine to really love God, and start to do one practical thing to love God.

Second, We should live by faith, not by feelings. When a person gives his life to Jesus Christ, he is overcome with peace and joy and happiness and love. He can sense God’s presence in everything he does. Then, after a while, the feelings fade. We feel discouraged. We feel frustrated. God allows this happen because he wants us to learn to live by faith, not feelings. We move forward in God’s direction whether we feel like it or not, whether we can sense his presence or not. We show our trust in God whether we are in favorable situation or not. Feelings come and go but faith remains. Faithfulness to God remains. Christians are the one who live by faith not by feelings.

Third, we should live by God’s grace. Living by God’s grace is not to take it easy expecting God would understand me or take advantage of his grace. Living by God’s grace is to confess, “but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. NO, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Fifth, the pattern of Jesus’ life

Mark 1:35-42 offers us a concise look into the Jesus’ daily life. We can summarize Jesus’ life pattern in two words; early morning prayer, preaching. What does Jesus’ life pattern mean to us now?

V35 says, “very early in the morning while it was dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Did Jesus do early Morning Prayer because he had a lot of time? No! I think I don’t need to explain why we should do Early Morning Prayer. Instead I want to talk about how we can start early Morning Prayer. First we have to get rid of the excuses about why I can not do morning prayer from our heart. “I am not morning person.” “I need to take care of my health by sleeping more.” “I have to go to work.” People think Morning Prayer is overall losing business. However, early Morning Prayer is absolutely gaining business. Before anything comes into my heart, we can fill our heart with the spirit of God through prayer. Then we can live a day by the Spirit of God not by our strength. This is my experience. I experienced that my unruly students became obedient when I prayed in the Morning. We can pray in other time of the day. But offering the first time of the day to God is very meaningful. Morning Prayer gives us power to overcome our sinful nature. Morning Prayer make us physically strong too if we do every day. With all these benefit, if we don’t decide to do it, we cannot do it.

We learn that we should be born again through the morning lecture. However, we should not remain in born again Christian. Spiritual Birth is only the starting point. After spiritual birth, there will be three different paths we can take. We can be a cultural Christians or ritual Christians or Transformed Christians. We should not be cultural Christians who enjoy the benefit of being a Christian. We should not be ritual Christians who have outward appearance as a Christian but who have no content. We should be transformed Christians. Transformation doesn’t happen unless we struggle and take an action practically. Let’s wake up our morning and bring our knees to God’s presence every morning. If we have victory in the morning, we will be victorious throughout the day.

Jesus said, “so I can preach there also, that is why I have come.”(Mk1:38b) What does Jesus’ preaching mean to us? All Christian living is preaching. We preach the gospel by deed as well as by word. Our daily life is making a statement about things in which we believe. In the family, we should be a transformed Christian father and mother and children. In our working place, we should be a transformed Christian. If we become only born again and not be transformed, God’s name will be an object of mockery from unbeliever. As someone said, when people drive slowly in front of us, let’s not say to them any more “stupid driver.” When people drive faster than us, let’s not say, “Crazy driver.” We should be a transformed driver.

I was a country boy who was playful and active. I don’t remember that I did even one homework in my entire elementary school years. I respected General Hannibal who crossed over the Mt. Alps to attack the Rome and King Alexander because of their challenging and never giving up spirit. So I took my bike out every weekend and began to bike to the next city which was around 30 mile away. When I became a 7th grade, I realized that I got behind academically. So I woke up 4 am and sometimes at 2 am to study. Two years later, I became a top student and began to think that I could to everything if I wanted to do. I became arrogant and proud, goal oriented and selfish. I got into good college but my heart was formless and empty and dark. God had mercy on me and saved me through John ch3:3. Heavenly peace came into my heart and I became a disciple of Jesus. After graduate, I worked as an Engineer and served one fellowship which has 70 members under my care. I worked hard. I finished my day at 1 am and woke up 5 am to have Morning Prayer meeting. I thought I had to pay back the grace of God by working hard. 10 days before my wedding, I got an accident in my working place. I had 180 stitches on my right side face and later got 8 hours of another surgery. One day while I was on the hospital bed, I saw the vision of Jesus who was bleeding on the cross. Jesus asked me, “do you think that you can pay me back for my grace?” At that moment, I realized the meaning of God’s grace and began to live by God’s grace, not by my strength. When I came to America, I became a teacher, hoping that I could serve many college students with one to one. From the first day of my teaching, I found that something was wrong. High school class didn’t look like a class. It was like an animal kingdom. At first, I tried to fix them. But they weren’t fixed by me. Later, God taught me that I should be changed first. God taught me that I should lower my level to the student level and understand them just as they were. Jesus didn’t not try to fix Samaritan woman by saying, “you are too immoral.” Instead he said, “Will you give me a drink.” Jesus didn’t say to the 38 years invalid man, “You are too sick, do you know that?” Instead, he asked “Do you want to get well?” I didn’t understand students who were overjoyed when they had passing grade 65. But now I understand. When they get 70 on the test, I say, “You did good job.” I began to understand their family background and cultural background. Now I feel like I start all over again my life as disciple of Jesus at the age of 47. God blessed me a lot through Early Morning Prayer during last two years. I could see that so many uncontrollable students were changed through prayer. Recently God sent me a Muslim student. When I opened my heart to understand the Muslim, he showed his interested in Jesus. We study bible everyday in the classroom and he always say to me that “I wish I could have more time.” I still pray that I would be changed like Abraham, whom God called, “my friend.” I want to be like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

New York City is a great city because we can meet all kinds of people in one place. We meet Korean, Jews, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Spanish people, African American, Muslim, Hindu. Etc..everyday. People have their own religion and cultural background. How can we persuade them to believe in Jesus? Although we fail to persuade them in words, our changed life will be an immovable message to them that God is alive and God loves. Jesus said to the disciples “you are the salt and light of the world. ” “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”(Mt 5:16) We can be a salt and light only when we are transformed. May God bless us to be transformed.

By Moses Kang

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