BECOMING A BETTER ME
Part 3 – Be Transformed
Philippians 2:14-16
March 21, 2021
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor
INTRODUCTION
Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life… (NKJV)
1. IN JESUS, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF A TRANSFORMATION.
A. Ephesians 2:5 God embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on His own, with no help from us! (MSG)
B. 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)
C. The key word in Philippians 2:15 is the word, “become.” It means it hasn’t fully happened yet, but it is in process…it is becoming.
D. 1 John 5:4 …for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (NIV)
E. 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He (Christ) appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (NIV)
2. WE ARE TO ACT LIKE THE SONS / DAUGHTERS OF GOD.
A. Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation…(NKJV)
B. One Old Testament Name of God is Jehovah Shalom.
Judges 6:24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace.
C. Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
D. Luke 6:27-35 But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be SONS of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (NIV)
E. When we are loving our enemy, we are more like God than at any other time.
3. WHEN WE ARE ACTING LIKE GOD, WE ARE LIGHTING UP THE DARKNESS.
Philippians 2:15b-16 …among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life… (NKJV)