1. Fashioned for greatness
God has big, not small purposes for people – Eph. 1 and 2 Cor. 6:1-13
In order for these to come to fruition then there needs to be signs of growth towards maturity so that we are carrying ourselves as those who are becoming what we are – daughters of the King
This involves guarding our hearts, governing our minds and controlling our responses.
I preached on something similar to this in East Mains a while back when I was looking at the theme of holiness. Much of this came out of reflections for one of my courses, theological reflection. Here is an excerpt from a couple of the journal entries:
“…Have been thinking for the past dew weeks about how we practically apply the ‘be holy as I am holy’ verses. Want to balance what transformation God does in us, and what God calls us to be, with how we practically engage in that ourselves, so that we are not just being spoon feed all the time but really growing. Feel God’s led me to share some verses from Romans and Philippians to do this. Here are my thoughts that will begin to be shaped into the sermon.
Romans 12:1-2
The passage begins ‘therefore’, again meaning in light of all that has been said before. In light of how sinful we are, in light of how Jesus has saved us, in light of how nothing can now separate us from the love of God, here is how we are to live as Christians. We are to offer ourselves as living and holy sacrifices, set apart for God. Not living the way we used to, but living radically new and different lives. As Christians we live under a new rule, that of Christ, and therefore we live a new kind of life. We become holy as we set ourselves apart to live under the rule of Christ, becoming living sacrifices offering God ourselves completely and wholly. Often we talk about these verses in terms of being in the world but not of the world. J.B Philips puts it like this: ‘don’t let the world squeeze you into its own mould.’ In other words allow God to transform you from the inside out.
The key to the transformation is on the inside. Now God has changed our hearts, we need to allow Him to transform our minds. Though people may help us, the process of God renewing our minds is down to God and us. Only we can decide to let God renew our minds; it’s an internal thing as well as a personal thing. Renewing our mind means allowing God to alter the way we think, our mindsets. This in turn will change the way we act, as it springs from how we think not the other way around. Often our actions are unchanged because our mind is unchanged. Renewing our minds allows us to live as holy people, not just say we are holy people, regardless of how we feel or the circumstances we find ourselves in.
However, renewing our mind is a process. Yet the more we actively engage in it, the more we will be transformed. We do this by taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Anything that might come against us and stop us being the holy people God says we are to become, we need to bind in Jesus’ name. Our thoughts and actions therefore have Jesus as their benchmark, and it is Jesus power that changes us. There is no room for laziness in our thinking. No room for the enemy to get in and form a stronghold. No room for pacing ourselves. We take every though opposed to Christ captive, sending it to the cross where Jesus will deal with it.
Philippians 4:8
Meditating on the Word of God is key to renewing our minds and being transformed. We reflect on, think about, ponder and grapple with the Word of God until it becomes such a part of us that its like we take it and in and put in on, discovering what God says about Himself and what God says about ourselves. God calls me His child … God says I am bought with a price … God calls me precious … God loves me. Renewing our thoughts leads to freedom and growth.
Truth is key, especially with so much around us lying to us and trying to deceive us. We need to know, to put on, the truth of God. In the armour of God, the Word is described as the sword of truth … its what we use to battle. The enemy doesn’t like it when we’re growing in holiness, and so will try to stop it in any way he can. He may plant thoughts in our minds but he can’t be in our minds. Knowing truth and then speaking it out is using our sword to do battle and stick it to the enemy. Jesus said ‘you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free’ (John 8:32). Free from what and for what? Free from what the world tells us to be, and free to be the people God made us and Jesus redeemed us to be. Truth transforms. Renewing our minds enables us to be holy as God is holy...”
Bobby also shared some thoughts from Psalm 144 and 145 about the daughters (women) being called to uphold society and the House (church) as well as the son’s (men) also being part of the story. She linked this to Isaiah 42:10 and covenant relationships, firstly with God and then secondly with others. There were some good points that need more unpacking, but won’t do that just now, maybe some other time.
2. Fashioned to be ourselves
We are not to be clones and deny our personal uniqueness, yet equally we need to realise that it is Christ that defines us.
God is creative, and we are made in God’s image, therefore we have permission to be our beautiful redeemed selves. After all the most beautiful and profound women are often those who know who they are and are happy to be themselves.
The enemy loves to attack our personhood because its attached to confidence which is in turn attached to our fruitfulness – don’t draw back from who God has made us to be.
Think this is a particularly good point. Am often frustrated, when it comes to girls and women in particular, as we so often settle for second best and less than all God has for us. At times this is because we believe lies, at times it is because of insecurities, at times it is through fear. Yet Jesus said we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. The truth is that we are made in God’s image. The truth is that we are redeemed. The truth is that the Holy Spirit dwells within us enabling and quipping change and growth. The truth is God loves us with a deep, lasting and profound love. Knowing the truth, meditating on truth, is what enables us as women, and as children of God in general, to be who we are made to be – ourselves – and to be comfortable with that. Some of this all is the subject of the book I am beginning to write … its coming along much slower than I imagined!
3. Fashioned to rise up and overcome.
Bobby made an interesting point that life is a series of rise up moments and we need to learn to engage in them. Otherwise we end up coming around the mountain again, merely wasting time getting back to the same point we were at before. God’s call to us is “Come on honey, rise up” – though in my head God says it in a Scottish accent rather than an Australian one, lol.
God’s Spirit infuses, empowers and strengthens us, bringing revelation of God and real truth into our lives. Both of these we need to be open to in order to rise up and overcome.
This is interesting I feel because it does not deny the circumstances, nor belittles them. However, it does shift the focus within them from the circumstances and ourselves, to the One who is above them all and in control of them all.
4. Fashioned to fulfil prophecy.
Isaiah 52:1-2
Psalm 68:11
Not captive anymore, but free in Jesus.
The whole theme and nature of the prophetic is one that interests me greatly. Again it has formed some of my reflections in the past couple of months. Probably most interesting and captivating of all my thoughts has involved something from my favourite theologian, Walter Brueggemann. He writes this in his book The Prophetic Imagination that fulfilling prophecy or acting prophetically involves nurturing, nourishing and evoking a consciousness and perception that is an alternative to the dominant one around us. This idea shaped not only my journal reflection, but the morning prayer I led at college this semester:"Read: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Walter Brueggemann talks about how we are called to the prophetic ministry of nurturing, nourishing and evoking a consciousness and perception that is an alternative to the dominant one around us in his book The Prophetic Imagination. That is a challenging call, yet as pastors and would-be pastors, if I may use that term, it comes with the job. When we minister to and with people often it is to proclaim an alternative to that which they currently find themselves experiencing, and in that sense it is prophetic.
Ezekiel was told to do the same thing. The Lord took him to speak prophetically to dead bones that they would one day come to life again. Come to life because God, Creator and Sustainer God, would breathe life into them. And so Ezekiel prophesied. And this is what Brueggemann has in mind as he writes about the role of the prophet and the nature of prophetic witness.
He ends with the question, where do we begin? That is a good question. Garry Brotherston has a song called ‘Let Glasgow Flourish’, and as I was pondering that question I listened to it and began to formulate something of part of an answer. The tune is really simple, as are the words, yet they have a potentially profound insight to offer about what it means to offer a prophetic alternative, especially when he talks about belonging to Glasgow.
We are called to proclaim prophetically, to announce the Kingdom of God, to proclaim freedom, salvation, and restoration … to breathe new life into dead bones. Where do we begin? We begin where we are. We begin by seeing the ‘valley’ into which the Lord has taken us. We let God take hold of us, and we listen to what God wants to say to them, and then we preach and praise God’s name in that valley. In doing so we prophetically nurture, nourish and evoke a different reality. It takes many different forms, but the goal and the desired result is the same. We don’t need to ask if change in the places is possible, we just need to let God take hold of us and open our eyes in such a way that we can begin to once again imagine it. After all these dry bones are souls that Jesus died for and for whom Satan will fight. Are you ready to do battle … are you ready to speak prophetically of a new reality? "
If we are to take the idea of warrior, princess, daughters seriously these are points well worth considering. Then we really will be fashioned for greatness!
