Transformers – Maximus Regretimus

            October 8-14, 2007   

 

Day One       Transformational Patterns

The first big disappointment that I experienced with my children came after the birth of our second child, Grace.  Our first child, Caleb, had been a great cuddler.  We would lay together on the couch and he would just lay in the crux of my shoulder in the most pleasant sleep.  If he got cranky I knew that I could just put him into his car seat and he would be asleep almost immediately and would remain asleep for the duration of the car ride.  We also learned that if we were delicate enough we could carry him inside the house, in his car seat, and he would continue to sleep.  There were definite characteristics that I assumed were the same for each and every child.  I was wrong.  Shortly after the birth of Grace I learned that not all children like to cuddle with daddy.  I would attempt to hold her, as I had always done with Caleb, and she would have nothing to do with me or my cuddling.  This was until she how much I loved to cuddle with the kids so she would cuddle when she wanted something.  Even at a young age she knew how to play me.  She also did not fit the patterns established with Caleb in that she would not go to sleep on car rides.  You could almost see her shaking her head in the negative direction when we would attempt to put her to sleep in the car.  We soon learned that she was a totally different child and that we would have to treat her in a totally different fashion.  Each of our five children are incredibly different and have to be related to in a totally different manner.

 

As we have looked at the Transformation process of Zaccheus, Peter, Jonah, and Moses, how have you seen God deal with each of them in different manners?  In other ways how did the Transformation process change for each individual?  

 

What things were the same?

 

Remember Zaccheus, his Transformation process included Reaching Out (he looked for Jesus), Reaching In (Jesus reached into touch his heart), and Reaching Hearts (Zaccheus and his family were saved).  The Transformation process for Peter included Listening, Obeying, and Permitting Life Change.  Finally, we saw the Transformation process for Jonah which included experiencing God’s Undeserved Compassion, experiencing God’s Absence, and experiencing God’s Presence.  Think through each of these Transformation processes and see how God deals with each person in a totally different manner.  He custom fits the Transformation process for each individual.

 

What things are similar in each Transformation process?

 

Can you look at any of these processes and identify personally?

 

What would be you basic points in your Transformation process?

 

Day Two         Having It All

When Lily, our fourth child and youngest daughter, was in Kindergarten, she was asked to audition for a commercial.  Andrea and I thought this was an exciting opportunity and planned for the audition.  It wasn’t but a couple of days that she came and told us that she didn’t think that she wanted to do the commercial because she did not want to become famous.  She had heard enough about what famous people go through and what they give up for celebrity and she had decided that she did not want that for herself.  She had taken a look at her life and decided that gaining celebrity would mean giving up the things that were important to her.  She had decided that she already had what she needed and wanted and therefore was not drawn to the trappings of this world.  She had it all and was not willing to risk it.

 

David had it all, money, fame, power, and yet it wasn’t enough.  He had even received the promise from God and still he wanted more.  He wanted what he did not have.  What had God promised David as seen in I Samuel 7:16?

 

How had he witnessed God’s provision (II Samuel 8:13)?

 

What would you say is the promise or promises that God has given to you?

 

How have you seen God provide for you?

 

How do you see yourself as satisfied or unsatisfied with what God has promised and provided in your life? 

 

Day Three      Getting Lazy

My final semester of seminary I took a Baptist History class.  This was not an elective, most seminarians took this class during their first year, but I put it off until I was forced to take this required class.  I dreaded this class like the plague.  I knew that it would probably have a certain nature of being boring, plus, I recognized that History had never been one of my strong points.  To pass this class I knew that I was going to have to stay on top of my studies and pay extra attention in class.  The method of enrollment at that time was rather archaic.  You had to stand in line and as you stood there you would see certain class options scratched from a list on an overhead indicated that they were no longer open.  This would force you to make changes standing there in line.  To make matters worse, I missed my opportunity to enroll with seniority since I was out of town and unable to get back early.  So, by the time my enrollment was processed I was placed in a 7:30 am (that is in the morning when there is no true chance to learn anything) class.  Never has getting out of bed been tougher than those mornings at 7:30 am (once again I remind you that we are talking about the morning) three days a week in the winter semester of 1986.  I did o.k. for the first half of the semester but by the final weeks I was frequently choosing my pillow over Baptist History lectures.  This soon became a problem and I ended up have to deal with the consequences of my lack of Baptist Historical knowledge.  My final weeks of seminary were a mad rush to attempt to learn Baptist History adequately enough to pass the class and receive my diploma.  I did both but it was not easy.

 

Sometimes it is easy to choose the easier the more comfortable road than to take the tougher path.  Look in II Samuel 11:1 and see the choice that David made.

 

David had fought and won in many battles but this time he chose to stay home and let his soldiers fight in his place.   David was the leader, he needed to be in battle but he was not.

 

Our lives are filled with choices to either get up and do what we need to do or to just sit back and hope someone else does it in our place.  We can go to class and learn the topic or choose to stay in bed and hope for a miracle.  It may be in choosing to not deal with conflicts in a relationship, it may be in avoiding a fight in training our children, it may be in the way we deal with our work, our school, or our finances.  It may even be in our relationship with God.  It is always a choice to get up and do what needs to be done or just sit back and hope for the best and realistically accept the coming consequences.

 

Whether it is going to class or going to battle, we have to take the step out of our comfort zone and go.

 

Day Four        Digging a Deep Hole

Marion Jones was considered the fastest woman in the world after she won five gold medals at the Sydney Olympics.  Soon afterwards she tested positive for using banned performance enhancing drugs.  She adamantly denied the use of these drugs and insisted that the truth would come out and that she would be vindicated.  The truth did come out but it did not vindicate her. On Friday, October 5, 2007, she stood in front of countless reporters and admitted that she had indeed used the banned drugs and as a consequence she was going to quit track. She also had pleaded guilty to other crimes.  Her consequences could continue to mount as she also faces prison time.  Miriam Jones wanted something she did not have or was not willing to earn; she wanted to be faster than she was.  So, she chose the easy way out, she used drugs.  As the truth began to come out she made the matter worse by denying her use of the drugs.  As she continued in her deception she got involved in other crimes.  With each step she took she dug herself a deeper hole until finally she was as deep as she could go and she made the decision to come clean.  She decided that it was time to come up out of her hole and face the truth and the consequences.

 

The story of David includes a similar digging of a hole.  Read about his story in II Samuel 11:1-27.  What sinful choices did David make and then how did he make the situation worse?

 

What choices could David have made to avoid this hole?

 

At what point could David have stopped digging this hole?

 

What areas do you most find yourself in a hole?

 

Day Five         Living with the Consequences

The home of a friend of ours was struck by lightning last spring.  While the family was thankfully able to make it out to safety the house was destroyed.  The family was told that it would be at least thirteen months before they would be able to return to the house.  The roof had to be immediately removed and a large tarp was placed over the top to protect the house from the weather until a new roof could be built.  The experts came in and surveyed the entire damage and decided that the house would have to be mostly gutted but that it could be salvaged and that they would be able to return.  Then, in the late summer rains, the water began to be able to get in under the tarping and into the remaining walls of the house.  The result of this was mold that has probably damaged the house to a point of that it will not be able to be repaired.  They are now being told that they will have to tear it down to the slab.  While the fire was stopped the consequences from the fire continue even until today.

 

David experienced this in his life.  Even after he had repented of his sin he still had to face consequences.  When Nathan had confronted David he had told him that he would have consequences on him and his household for the rest of his life.  The result of his sin was that he had to pick up the pieces for the rest of his life.  Problems continued to develop because of his sinful choices.

 

Much like that tarp that allowed water to get in and continue to develop problems in the house so too did the sin of David continue to allow in problems in his life for a long time.  Many would have decided that it was not worth it and would have given up once they faced the consequences.  Many may even come to the conclusion that it was not wise to repent and correct their ways.  Not David, look at how he faced his consequences as detailed in II Samuel 12:13-25.  How did David live with the consequences of his sin?

 

What can you learn from the way David ended up in sin, repented of his sin, and ultimately lived with and through the consequences of his sin?

 

How can you apply his Transformation story to your life?