Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Transformation

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Transformation is always the work of the Holy Spirit.

It’s what we’re always invited to participate in.

What prevents transformation

Background of Exodus 1-5

Moses is called by God to liberate the Israelites

Moses confronts Pharoah

Exodus 6:1-9

English Standard Version (Chapter 6)

But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”2

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.

5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

I will give it to you for a possession.

I am the LORD.’

” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

“Listen”

שָׁמַע

shemuh.

It can mean listen or hear.

“Broken Spirit”

קֹ֫צֶר

qo-ser ruah

ruah - spirit

qo-ser - literal translation is “to come up short”

Like not having enough money to pay for your meal or a football player not quite making it into the endzone.

God wants to bring about restoration in our lives, but we miss the activity of God’s Spirit because of the opposing messages that drown out His voice.

Construction story

What we need -> Holy Imagination

Not fantasy or escapism

Reminder of our identity

When we talk about identity in light of what God has called us to be, it is always rooted in being the Image of God

God’s representatives in the world

Post-Jesus world

the trajectory of scripture

Image of God -> Tainted by sin -> Jesus restored the image -> The Church reveals

For the Israelites, they had forgotten who they were.

Openness to the Spirit

Using John 8 for our example of this openness

John 8:7-11

7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Conviction

Conviction is the revelation that our life is out of step with our identity

The woman’s sin and the sin of the accusers were prominently on display.

They had forgotten who they were supposed to be.

Grace

The conviction/revelation is not met with condemnation, but Grace.

A Holy Imagination doesn’t stop with Conviction, but accepts that God is making a way into a new reality.

Repentance

A Repentant heart is one that accepts the grace of God and chooses the new way of living.

Transformation

This is the new life we are living.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom -> God’s Spirit is always working on our lives in a way that restores our identity -> We are saved and restored, not just for ourselves, but for the sake of others

It takes a Holy Imagination is needed to enter into the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.