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Healing Rain School

Manasa Faatoe

Transformation

Well, if you have your Bibles, I'll get you to turn your Bibles in the book of Romans.

I promise you I won't keep you long this morning.

Romans chapter 12, reading verse 1 and verse 2.

And as you're turning a Bible stay I want to say thank you again for your head out for inviting me to be here in this platform.

I know it is difficult to those who we're allowed to be here to share the Word of God because every time I preach the Word, preaching is serious to me.

You know every prayer I pray when I preach the Word of God, I say, Lord, if this is not your will for me to stand here to present you, do whatever it takes for me not to be here.

1 of my prayers is, Lord, if you cause an accident for me not to be here then let it be because I take the Word of God seriously.

Romans chapter 12 reading verse 1 verse 2 and then we're gonna shift our reading to Luke chapter 4, verse 18.

Romans chapter 12, and you're reading with me verse 1 it says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a what everybody Notice Paul is not talking about a dead sacrifice.

I'm sure every single 1 of us are a farmer back home in Fiji, right?

You understand, being a farmer, if you plant a dead seed what would happen?

I mean we like to imagine it will grow but it won't grow.

Paul here is saying, present your body as what?

And then he extend the verse, he said, not only living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

I notice here Paul is speaking to the Christian people.

He is not talking to those who are outside of the faith.

He is talking to the Christian faith because the Bible says, I beseech you therefore brethren.

We used that in the church so Paul here He is challenging the faith And he challenged him he said percent your bodies as living sacrifice Paul is saying be careful what you you allowed your hand to touch Paul is saying, be careful what you allow your hands to touch.

Paul is saying, be careful what you allow your eyes to watch.

Because the moment those who are outside listening, the moment we attach our bodies, our hands, our ears, our nose, our mind to the things of this world, Paul says it becomes a dead sacrifice.

Then Paul says, and do not conform to the what everybody?

Do not conform your eyes, do not conform your ears to businesses and gossip.

Do not conform your nose to somebody else's business.

Don't walk where God is telling not to walk don't conform to the patterns of this world and then Paul give a beautiful solution he said don't be conformed to this world, but be he, what everybody?

Now say it like you really want to be here, transform.

He said, don't attach to the world, but be he transformed.

You know when I prepared for this sermon I was in trouble.

Imagine if you can read my mind, I'll be fired from standing up here and preach the word.

He said, the way, because we surround ourselves with a toxic world am I right but Paul say in order for us to survive our bodies in the world he said renew the mind go with me to Luke Luke chapter 4 Luke chapter 4 and look at verse 18.

I'm going to get someone to read that out loud for me if that's okay.

Anyone who has a loud voice can you read that nice and slow?

And this phrase right here, Luke chapter 4 verse 18, is connected to the great commission.

What was the title of your sermon last week?

I want to connect the last sermon to the sermon because it goes together.

The Great Commission starts with the word, what's the word?

But you cannot go, you cannot invite people here, we need to go, right?

I believe that the Church of God has tools to share the faith.

But I'm gonna go a little bit a step back and talk about in order for us to use the tools, in order for God's people to go out and do the work, the Bible and transformation needs to take place.

By the renewing of the mind, For a few moments, I want to speak to you about transformation.

We live in the world that is always changing.

I like to walk around because I don't want to fall asleep in my own sermon.

So I'm going to try to stay here on the pulpit for those who are listening.

Back in the days, the way we used to communicate with each other is writing letters.

The young people are looking at me right now like, what is this guy talking about?

Back in the days when I remember when I moved from my beautiful paradise, Western Samoa, my home, to the freezing cold of New Zealand.

I remember when I used to communicate to my folks and my parents back in the islands was writing letters.

But now we have Facebook and FaceTime and every other faces out there and Twitters.

Those who are laughing because you know what I'm talking about.

Some of them are black and some of them are red, right?

I remember when I used to live in Samoa, we used to travel 2 hours into the city because you see, If you want to use the phone back in the day in the Samoa, there was only 1 place where you can use the phone.

So people in the villages that can't afford a phone like myself, we have to travel 2 and a half hours into the city.

And when we get there, it frustrates me because young people, you know what I'm talking about.

I get there and then I have to wait another hour before I use the phone.

But now, we have these, can I use your phone, honey?

We have these smartphones where we can just punch the numbers in and we will be able to speak to our friends and those who are around the world.

In matter of fact, we don't have to punch the numbers in.

We can just speak to the phone and the phone will do all the work for you the world is always changing Back in the days if the 15 year old girls marry a 30 year old man.

It was fine by the law But in 2021 you can go to jail for that.

The world is always changing and that's why god is saying, you will go crazy trying to match up to the world.

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Transformation

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