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Sunday 28 July 2002 - "A life transformed by God" - Funeral of Aunt Sybil Dahl (mother-in-law of Erlo Stegen)

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

Is 35

1 ¶ The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

This wilderness we read of here, is a description of a life without God. Spiritually, there are no springs of water breaking out into rivers of life.

Many people profess to know God, yet they live in sin. Their life is just a mirage. From far it looks like their is water, but is is a parched desert. Their profession is just lies and falsehood.

God's grace in a life must bring about a difference. It must change you to the opposite of what you were. There must be a night and day difference. This is not an exaggeration but a reality. God's working in a Christian's life is for all to see. He changes the person's will, desires, likes and dislikes, etc. He becomes a new creature, old things have passed away and all have become new (2 Cor 5:17). Let us not be childish and deceive ourselves. There is a clear difference between a sheep and a goat, it is visible to all.

In verse 3 it says that he hands that are weak in the faith need to be strengthened. In Hebrew the word for strengthen is qzx (chazaq), which means to grasp, hold on manfully without letting go and to conquer - to persevere to the end. It is similar to the word used in Rev 3:11, "hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."

A life transformed by God is like a strong river that just gets deeper, wider and fuller with time. Here we read of just such a transformation, where God's glory is revealed in a parched life.

This transformation is compared to

• the glory of Lebanon with its cedar trees.
• the excellency of Carmel with its beauty. There is an unfathomable, but real beauty in the life of a person that is walking with God. Many women use makeup to look beautiful, but a woman that walks with God, and stays at the feet of Jesus, surpasses them all in beauty. Heaven's beauty is upon her.
• the fertility of Sharon. Those that walk with God bear fruit abundantly.

Those that have been redeemed by the Lord will walk on a highway, the way of holiness. It is a holy way. It is a highway that is raised above the level of the world. Those that walk on this way can be clearly distinguished that they are on the way of the Holy One, and are truly saved. This way is for the wayfaring pilgrim.

Those that walk this way count all else as rubbish for the excellency of knowing Christ. The founder of the Salvation army said that he wished he could bind his workers above the flames of hell for one hour. Let that be their theological training, then they will know what to preach to a world that is perishing and on its way to hell. How are you walking? Are you walking as straight as a die in the center of this way of holiness? Will you persevere in God's way, or turn aside after a time and end in hell?

In this way of holiness, you must say with Paul,

"... I count all things but    loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but  dung, that I may win Christ," (Phil 3:8)