one of the ways of following our family’s example and of following Jesus was in cherishing the family he’d blessed us with. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us, “If any do not take care of their relatives, especially the members of their own family, they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.” This is written in the context of taking care of widowers but, if you don’t take care of your family now, what makes you think you’ll somehow step up and take care of them later? We all need someone to tell us what we believe is impossible is possible. Someone to reveal potential we don’t yet see and point us in a new direction. The Bible has a word for this. Metamorphoo. It’s where we get the word metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is defined as a radical change from one life stage to another. Metamorphoo signifies a profound, inward transformation of character or appearance rather than just an external change. We see this word used to describe the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:2) Paul, a follower of Jesus who wrote most of our New Testament, used the word in Romans 12:2 when he wrote, “Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” – ERV No one knows better than Paul what a transformed mind can produce. The best source of info for something you’re trying to achieve is a person who has achieved it.Paul isn’t just a spokesperson for change; he’s a changed person speaking. Here’s where we first meet him in Acts 7:55-8:1 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of their killing him. Then in Acts 8:3 and more in Acts 9:1-3. But look at what he’d say later in Philippians 1:21,“Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I’ll have even more.” NOG version What could possibly transform a person so completely that he would go from killing followers of Jesus to willing to be killed as a follower of Jesus? Acts 9:3-22 Tells the story Paul stopped doing one thing and started doing another. Following Jesus is as much about something as it is about something. How is your belief in Jesus changing the way you are living your life? What have you stopped doing and what have you started doing? The change in you is the proof someone else needs to see to trust Jesus. People aren’t often as worried about the as much as they are worried about the . If it hasn’t changed you, are you sure you’re following Jesus? Look at what Paul reminds Timothy of in 1 Timothy 1:13-16 - Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. Paul knows what we need to know because he, like us, had heard the message of Jesus several times before he’d heard the message from Jesus. Change is available to us all, but this revelation doesn’t automatically lead to the change. It’s up to us to move towards the truth revealed to us. Believing and following are different things. How are Believing and following different things. Paul believes this kind of change is possible for you. Paul writes in Romans 12:2 what he writes because he believes the change that has occurred in him is possible for anyone who hears the truth about Jesus. Even the ones of us who’ve done violence to the faith by the way we’ve treated others or talked about God. Even the ones of us who’ve badmouthed other Christians and have been tearing down their good efforts. Even the ones of us who’ve come to church all our lives playing church while never being truly changed by Christ. Even the ones of us still trying to earn salvation by our right practices as a form of self-righteousness. Jesus bet his life on you experiencing his change in your life. As we prepare to take the bread of his fellowship with us and drink the cup of his saving blood spilt for us. Let’s think about the way he has changed our future. Let’s pray for a fuller realization of his presence. Let’s ask him to search our hearts and give us the courage to do the difficult thing he has called us to do. How has choosing to follow christ changed your current reality and your future as well? Group or Personal Questions: Can you recall a moment when someone else’s encouragement or vision changed what you thought was possible for you? Why do you think God so often uses people to help us see what He is doing? The word metamorphoo describes an inward transformation, not just behavior modification. How is that different from how people often think about “change” in church? What makes Paul’s transformation in Acts 7–9 so convincing or powerful to you? What role does obedience—especially risky obedience like Ananias’s—play in God’s work of transformation? The message says, “Following Jesus is as much about starting as it is about stopping.” What does that mean for everyday faith? How has your belief in Jesus actually changed the way you live—not just what you believe? What is one thing you’ve stopped doing—or need to stop doing—because of your faith in Jesus? What is one thing you’ve started doing—or sense God calling you to start doing—as a result of following Jesus? Do you agree that changed lives are the proof people are looking for? Why or why not? What truth has God already revealed to you that you haven’t yet acted on? Is there an area of your heart you’ve been guarding from change? Why? Paul heard about Jesus many times before he encountered Jesus personally. What’s the difference between hearing the message about Jesus and hearing the message from Jesus?