RENOVATE MY LIFE
Curb Appeal
Eph. 5:8-11 NIV
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For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children
of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and
truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.
Rom. 12:2 NIV
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.
2 Cor. 3:18 NIV
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit.
A. INTRO:
1. Series theme: RENOVATE MY LIFE.
a. God has changed us on the inside, in the deepest part of our being. He has
forgiven us and made us new. We are now part of whole new creation. God
has given us His righteousness as a gift. He has freed us from the power of
sin.
b. Today, we are going to discuss how that inward change works itself out into
everyday lives – our behavior, how we act and the way we use words.
2. Curb Appeal. People who renovate the inside of a house (gut the kitchen
and bathrooms, new flooring, new architectural features) always also do
something to the outside appearance of the home, to give it curb appeal.
They want people to know from the curb appeal that some wonderful changes
have been made on the inside.
a. God changes us on the inside.
 We were once darkness. This was our spiritual identity. But we aren’t that
way anymore.
 Now we are light. This describes our new spiritual nature. In the Lord.
b. Our behavior changes. We allow that inward change to be reflected in an
outward change - the way we behave changes.
B. BE TRANSFORMED = Changed! Greek word = a change that is visible, one
that is outwardly observable.
1. This means changed behavior. New ways of acting, new ways of speaking.
Change that is observable, noticeable. Not just change on the inside, but
change on the outside. Curb appeal!
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a. We were acting one way, but now we’re starting to act in a different way.
Paul’s converts were mostly Gentiles. Their old patterns of behavior didn’t fit
the new reality of new creation.
 Put off the old man and it sinful ways.
Be renewed in your thinking. Put
on the new man, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
 SO …
Stop lying and tell the truth, get control of your anger, stop
stealing and work, don’t use foul abusive language with each other, don’t hate
but be kind and
b. That’s transformation
 When people prone to lying start consistently speaking the truth (even if it
costs them), that’s transformation.
 When a person who has stolen from others so easily and thoughtlessly, starts
serving instead of stealing, starts giving instead of taking, that’s
transformation.
 When a person whose life has been dominated by hatred starts to forgive and
release people, when that person begins to do acts of kindness toward those
who have hurt them, that’s transformation.
 When someone who verbally rages against those around them stops blaming
others for their outbursts, starts to control their temper, and seeks help to
make lasting change, that’s transformation.
2. Changed behavior comes from a new identity. –
a. Make a distinction between changed behavior and new creation.
 The root of transformation is the change God produces in our hearts when
we receive Jesus. We are born again. We become children of God.
 The fruit of transformation is changed behavior.
 Don’t confuse the root with the fruit.
b. Behavioral changes are not the source of your spiritual identity. You don’t earn
God's love by these changes. You don’t earn your identity as God's child
through them. You don't have to earn anything to be loved. You don't have to
prove anything. God changes us within by His grace. As a result of this
inward change, we change the way we live. E.g. Zacchaeus – Jesus went to
his house before he changed.
c. Behavioral changes are the fruit of the inward change. These changes are
the outgrowth of your spiritual identity. New Creation (identity in Christ) is the
root, the starting point of this behavior change. The transformed heart that
comes from faith in Christ should be increasingly evidenced by the
transformed life. E.g. Zacchaeus – after receiving and experiencing Jesus’
love and grace, he made some dramatic outward changes of behavior.
C. A DIVINE PROCESS
1. We are transformed by God’s grace, not by religion.
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a. Religion attempts transformation by implementing more and more layers of
religious rules or making ever more resolutions to grit our teeth and do more
and try harder.
 Transformation doesn’t happen simply through human will power, trying
harder to follow Jesus’ example, to somehow muscle our way into spiritual
growth.
 All that kind of thing is external. It doesn’t get at the heart. E.g. It’s like
trying to change by sticking more and more Post-It notes on yourself – I will
read my Bible more. I will pray more. I will love others more. I will love God
more. I will pray even more. I will serve more. I will give more. I’ll stop doing
this. I’ll start doing that.
 For most people, this is not sustainable – the resolutions will fall off, we fail,
and feel like spiritual losers.
 For some, something even worse happens. They succeed (or think they do),
and then are filled with a blinding religious pride and an insufferable sense of
moral superiority – and that’s the most dangerous outcome of all.
b. Our new spiritual identity is a pure gift from God. We are forgiven and
righteous in His sight because of His grace. We are His daughters and sons
because of His mercy. We are now light in the Lord because of what He did
for us. He gave us this new standing with Him.
c. Our journey of changed behavior also comes by His grace. It’s His power
that changes us. It’s His Spirit that enables us to change.
d. It’s a divine process – something that God does in us and for us, from start to
finish.
2. We are transformed through a process that takes time.
a. “Be transformed” - present tense "be being transformed" = process.
 Being "born again" (change of identity) happens instantly – God does this
work in our hearts. But instant inward change (from darkness to light, death to
life) is also the beginning of a journey. It's the starting point for life change.
 It takes time. No one grows up instantly. No one who receives Christ stops
every wrong and sinful activity all at once.
b. Paul doesn’t assume that all our old patterns will change instantly or
automatically. He has to tell us to change them, and gives us clear reasons
why we should and how we can.
c. What matters is that there is progress, that there is a trajectory of change.
3. We are transformed from the inside out.
a. Jesus said: Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and
its fruit will be bad. (Matt. 12:33 NIV).
 You don’t make a tree into an apple tree by pinning apples onto its branches.
You have to change the nature of the tree, change it on the inside. Then it
will naturally produce apples.
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 Jesus has come to make the tree good. To change us on the inside, to
change our hearts and minds, to change the way we think, change our values!
b. We are “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” “Mind” indicates
more than just mental processes. It’s a Greek synonym for the Hebrew word
HEART. Both words mean
 That place deep within us where our MOTIVES originate, ‎
 that place within us where we WANT things,
 that place deep inside where we establish the REAL PRIORITIES of our lives.
D. LET GOD TRANSFORM YOU. How NLT puts it. Don’t copy the behavior and
customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing
the way you think. Rom 12:2 (NLT)
1. We are in partnership with God.
 We are not told “Transform yourself” but “BE transformed” or “Let GOD
transform you.”
 One scholar says that this Greek verb form conveys the perfect blending of
two ideas: divine action and human decision.
a. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be transformed. It takes more than
will power. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit. 2 Cor. 2:18b NLT And the
Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are
changed into his glorious image. We need God every day if we are going to
become the people He wants us to be who live as He wants us to live.
b. We need to cooperate with God. We must join forces with God’s working.
He won’t simply take over our lives. We’re not just passive recipients. This
will involve us making deliberate decisions to change things in our lives. It’s
God who transforms us, but we must cooperate by choosing to change.
2. God wants us to train ourselves to be godly. The Bible says: Train
yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has
value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to
come. (1 Tim. 4:7b-8 NIV)
a. Commit to regular training through spiritual practices. How can God change
our thinking, our world view, if most of the input we get comes from the world?
 Every Member… All of us need to regularly reflect what the Holy Spirit is
saying to us through the scriptures.
 Regular prayer life. One of our spiritual goals for 2015 – More people praying.
People praying more.
E. APPEAL. God wants to transform our lives from the inside out. That begins
when a person puts their faith in Jesus.
1. To the religiously inclined person: Following Jesus doesn’t mean trying to
change your own life and modify your behavior so that you can earn a place
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2.
a.
b.
3.
as God’s son or daughter. So many confuse following Jesus with that kind of
religion. Following Christ means giving up our self-salvation project, and
trusting in Jesus’ gift of forgiveness and right-standing with God.
To the irreligious person who doesn’t care very much about what God
thinks, and just wants to live for all the pleasure they can get:
If you’ve come to the end of your self-indulgence, if you’ve found that you’re
feeling emptier than when you started…
God loves you and want to forgive you. Jesus died for you to change your life.
And the life you live for Jesus will be infinitely better than the life of selfindulgance you’ve been leading up to now.
For both of you (and for everyone in between), I urge you to receive God’s
free gift of forgiveness. God will give you a new heart, a new kind of life. And
He’ll start you on this incredible journey of growth and change. You’ll never
be the same, and you’ll never regret it.
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