Romans 12:1-2
1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
My brothers and sisters in Christ:
For the past several weeks the Lord has been dealing with me on this topic – transformed. Our Church recently went on a forty (40) day fast (from Resurrection Sunday through Pentecost). It was challenging and yet rewarding. I felt so blessed to see the saints calling, emailing and texting one another as we went through. Then it ended. We had a great service that Sunday, but the next day it appeared as though everything was back to normal – what happened? Some of the saints called and asked, “Pastor, now what do we do?” At first I did not have a response, but the Lord prompted me with this thought.
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Are you familiar with the caterpillar and the process by which he becomes a butterfly? The Lord showed me that was what he was doing amongst the saints at HTC. At first the caterpillar is very worm-like. It is often fat, moves very slowly and doesn’t see well. He eats nearly everything in sight and is easy prey for other animals. Then something happens – he spins a cocoon and disappears.
I am not an entomologist so I am not sure how long he stays in the cocoon; I don’t pretend to know what happens in the cocoon, but when the caterpillar re-emerges, he is no longer a slow moving, near-sighted meal for other animals. He has become a butterfly. He is colorful, he is light and he can even fly. What happened? He was transformed. How is that applicable to us?
I have literally seen a transformation in myself, our congregation and, I believe, in the body of Christ. We were expecting and looking for an instantaneous change after our fast, but that is not what happened. However, over the past several weeks I am beginning to see God working in a marvelous way. I cannot identify when it happened. I can not define what He did. All I know is I am not the same, the saints are not the same and neither are our services. God has worked a transformation in us.
In the text the Apostle Paul admonishes us to give ourselves totally to God – and we should not think of this as a big sacrifice. He continues to say in order for us to accomplish this, we cannot be like the world, but our minds must be transformed by becoming brand new. Much like the caterpillar, in his current state, flying is out of the question. However, after his cocoon experience, flying is part of his nature.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has called us to a great work. There are feats He wants to accomplish in us, but until we are transformed we will not see it. We have witnessed people being delivered from Crohn’s, strokes and back injuries, and others being filled with the Holy Ghost. We have learned we have the ability to transform our services into upper room experiences. We have learned we have power to transform others around us. However, it first begins with us – until we are transformed in our minds, we will be near-sighted and easy prey. After spending some quality time with God (our cocoon experience) we can soar to heights unknown in Him.
I bless you in the Name of the Lord.
Pastor Eddie B Pruitte, Jr.