Imitation or Transformation?
Text: Acts 19:11-20
THE GOD OF THE SPECTACULAR
Extraordinary miracles
Healing
Evil spirits cast out
The Usurpers
Pretenders seeking personal gain
Seven Sons of Sceva
Subdued and overpowered
Fled naked and wounded
The Impotence of Imitation
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of, money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 2 Tim 3: 1-5
The Importance of Transformation
In Believers
The enslavement to sin is broken
The abandonment of sin and its practices is embraced
There is a dramatic change in the attitudes and actions of the born-again Christian
The pursuit of holiness is fervently sought even at great personal cost
The Impact of Transformation in Us
To the Community
The community will witness the power of God
The fear of the Lord will fall upon them
Jesus will be magnified
The reality of truly changed lives will be abundantly evident
The gospel will be proven powerful and relevant
Are you holding to a form of godliness, but denying its power to truly transform you? or Are you radically transformed, and publicly and fervently pursuing holiness no matter the cost?