Taffi Dollar - The Grace to Change - Part 1
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In part two of «Grace to Change, » Pastor Taffi Dollar emphasizes from Romans 12:2 that believers can truly change by God’s grace through renewing the mind, presenting bodies as living sacrifices, and allowing the living Word of God to transform hearts and desires from the inside out.
Grace to Change: Presenting Our Bodies
So let’s begin in Romans chapter 12, verse 2. Last time I called this «Grace to Change,» and I’ll continue with part two: Grace to Change. Because I believe that you can change. Somebody say, «I can change.» Just like Jesus saved you and brought you out of darkness, took you out of hell being your destination, and put you on a different path where you now have a heavenly destination when you receive Him as your Lord and personal Savior—so it is that other areas of your life can change. Other things in your life can be different.
When Klo and I got married, we decided we weren’t going to continue doing the things we saw in our families and different things passed on from generation to generation. We wanted things to be different. We decided we were going to change. We weren’t going to live based on hurt and old patterns in our lives. And so the Word of God gives us the grace to change. Somebody say, «I can change.»
A Decisive Dedication
And so he says, «I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.» When I got saved, I didn’t know anything about a body being a living sacrifice. I was talking with my daughter about that earlier today—about what it means for your body to be used as an instrument or vessel to please God, how we can honor our temple, honor our body, and live a life that glorifies God through the choices we make and how we are stewards over this temple: what we fill it with, who we allow it to engage with.
Making the Decision
The Amplified says, «I beg of you, in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication.» That’s what we’re talking about tonight: a decisive dedication. Because change does require a decision. It requires a decision of quality. Everything begins with a decision. Every change begins with a decision. How many know things will never be different unless you decide? Once you decide, «I receive Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior,» heaven is on notice, and hell is on notice, to begin to open up the things available for us by God.
Presenting All of Ourselves
We have to make that decisive dedication of our bodies, presenting all of our members, all of our faculties, as a living sacrifice. God’s not just concerned about our mind or our spirit being saved, but He’s also concerned about our body—this temple—being presented to Him. Maybe there were things you did before you became saved, but now that you’re in Christ, you make a decisive decision to present your faculties and members as a living sacrifice.
Holy and Set Apart
He says «holy"—that means set apart, one with God. We align ourselves with the Word, what God’s Word has said concerning our bodies, how to exist and live in this body the «zoe» kind of life—the abundant life. The Amplified says to present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, consecrated, and well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, rational, intelligent service and spiritual worship.
Renewing the Mind for Transformation
When we understand how God wants us to see our bodies and present them to Him, we have to change our mind. Maybe in the world, you just did whatever felt right, whatever the desires were. But now that you’re in Christ, by the mercies of God, make a decision to do things that are holy, yielding, honorable to God—the intelligent service we can give as our reasonable response to Him.
We serve God with our bodies. It’s not just our minds, not just our spirit that is saved, but now we serve Him with worship. We serve Him by going and doing what He tells us to do. We recognize we have the Holy Spirit inside, and wherever the Holy Spirit leads, we go, we do, we obey—because we are carriers. We’re holy because of God living on the inside of us. That’s your intelligent, rational, reasonable service and spiritual worship.
Do Not Be Conformed—Be Transformed
And then verse 2: «And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed.» Somebody say «transformed.» You know there’s this movie, this whole cartoon thing called Transformers. From what I understand, they change into all kinds of things, and as a result, what it was previously becomes something altogether different. Gro watches all this stuff, so I just in passing understand the Transformers.
The Scripture says, «Be ye transformed.» The Amplified says to be changed by the entire renewal of your mind. That word «transform» in the Greek means «metamorpho"—talking about a metamorphosis, a process, a series of events from how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. There are phases, stages the caterpillar goes through. It goes into the cocoon and ultimately becomes a butterfly. But it started off small, slow, totally different. Through the transformation, the metamorphosis, it became something different.
Change Is Possible
Somebody say, «I can change.» You can change your life. Jesus can change your life. You cooperating with Jesus can make a wonderful combination—something totally different, unrecognizable from what it was before. I look back at old tapes, old ways, old things—it’s amazing how the glory of God can change your life. You’re not the same. You’re not stuck, not stranded, not limited. In God, there are no limits.
Proving God’s Perfect Will
He says be transformed, be changed by your new attitudes, your new ideals, so that you can prove for yourselves what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God—even the thing which is good, acceptable, and perfect in His sight for you. Somebody say, «I can change.»
Let that resound in your mind tonight. Maybe there are things you want to change. Maybe you want other folks to change—they’d just stop getting on your last nerve. But sometimes it’s us needing to change. Sometimes before our circumstances change, we have to change—how we look at circumstances. We quickly point the finger, think the other person is the problem. But God’s looking at us: have a new idea, new attitude through the renewal of your mind, so you can prove the good, acceptable, perfect will of God.
Grace Given for Sobriety and Faith
Maybe there are things, people, situations at work or home you’re dealing with. But through the Word of God, if you stay with God, He will give you the grace and opportunity to experience change. Even in verse 3, he goes from the renewal of the mind to the grace: «Through the grace given unto me… not to think more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.»
Change Begins on the Inside
Now look with me at 2 Corinthians 3:18. Change begins on the inside. It doesn’t begin out there somewhere—change begins within. When change begins within, it can’t help but be manifested on the outside. Change begins with a decision of quality. Life is a series of decisions. The Bible says choose this day whom you will serve—choose life, not death.
Once we make choices, when we allow our will to be expressed, God honors our will. He made us free moral agents and honors our desire, whether we choose life or death. We have this opportunity—this intelligent, rational, reasonable service—to extend unto God and experience change as we honor His Word and allow it to become first place in our life.
A Lifelong Process
Change is a lifelong daily challenge that will end with the eternal harvest of holiness. It’s ongoing. Every day there are new things. The Word of God is pregnant, the Holy Spirit is full of revelation. There are so many things we can learn because we allow the Word to speak into our lives. This time, this season, maybe it clicks now more than before. Expect the supernatural, the manifestation, revelation as a result of desiring more of God.
Keys to Helping Others Change
Some keys for anyone wanting to help others change: ensuring the what, the why, the how of change. Change is not self-effort or self-oriented but God-oriented. Otherwise we’ll get into legalism—trying to change ourselves by natural ability, putting pressure on ourselves or others to measure up. But God never did that to us.
There’s a grace to change—goodness, favor, the Holy Spirit God sends to enable us to experience this supernatural ability from God. We don’t rely on flesh, legalism, or human ability. We’re not looking merely at human behavior but at the heart—because everything begins on the inside, in the heart.
The Power of God’s Word
We can modify behavior, resist habits, but if we allow the Holy Spirit in, the Word gets down to the depths, the crevices. The Bible says the Word is a discerner—it sifts the thoughts and intents of the heart, gets below where therapy can go. I’m not against therapy or natural things, but there’s something about the Spirit and the Word that gets to the root. Then behavior begins to change.
It’s not effort to modify behavior—God gives new desires that lead in a different direction. When I got saved and understood my relationship was heading straight to hell, full of ungodly habits, the desires left. I said, «Lord, I don’t want this anymore.» I had desire for the things of God, right relationships—because the Word went to the root.
The Living Word in Hebrews 4:12
Let’s look at Hebrews 4:12. You stick with the Word of God—it’s alive. When Jesus was raised from the dead, raised out of sin, that means we can be raised out of sin. Sin is no longer an issue—He dealt with the grave, death, separation, sickness, poverty, mourning, all that would enslave us.
It is God’s Word that equips us to experience the supernatural life from God. «For the word of God is quick"—that means alive. I used to think «quick» meant fast, but it’s alive, full of power. It has the power to change your life, just like it made you alive in Christ, the righteousness of God, accepted in the Beloved.
Active and Effective
The Word God speaks is alive, full of power—making it active, operative, energizing, and effective. I’m all about effectiveness. God knows how to find you where you are. You can run to the ends of the earth, but the Holy Spirit pursues: «I’m here, I love you, I want relationship.»
That’s why we don’t worry about changing people—just stay in rest, peace, release the Holy Spirit, release God’s Word. His Word won’t return void but accomplishes what it’s sent for. The Word is alive, active, operative—even as you’re hearing it now, seeds are deposited, the Holy Spirit stirred.
Sharper Than Any Sword
It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul and spirit) and of joints and marrow—the deepest parts of our nature—exposing, sifting, analyzing, judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.
This is powerful—the Word can go into our marrow, our DNA, our joints, the deepest part of who we are because of the Holy Spirit inside. Human will and effort only go so far. You can say, «I’m not going to eat that cake,» but then you do. But with the Holy Spirit—get before God, stay with God, trust Him to change desires, give the right «want to"—then you recognize: I have authority, dominion, power to tread over serpents and scorpions, over all the power of the enemy. Amen.