Game-Player or World-Changer? 4 Marks of a Transformed Man

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. 

Henry V, Shakespeare

 The choice for every man is clear - invest his life in what matters, or spend his days in what fades. Or, to use Shakespeare's image, to shed blood in a noble cause, or lie drowsily (and fearfully) "a-bed".

History is built upon the courageous shoulders (and redeemed hearts) of men who have resisted the siren song of trivial amusements, and heeded the bracing call of godly virtue.

The choice is clear - playing games for the moment, or producing fruit for eternity.

Sadly, its easy for men to find that their lives are nothing more than playing games. Intense games. Fun games. Athletic games. Electronic games. Games with relationships. Games with careers. Adult, approved-by-culture, winning-the-applause-of-many games. 

But games, nonetheless.

Years ago, the words of Jesus stopped me dead in my game-playing tracks ...

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

Matthew 7. 21-23

Chilling, isn't it?  

To find out at the last day that your involvement with Christianity was less about allegiance, and more about activity. That it was more about "you" than it ever was about "Him". That you were more a "fan" than you ever were a "follower".

Want to know what is tragic? To find out that your life was a game, a game that you eventually lost. In fact, the word "tragic" does not even begin to describe that condition.

Thankfully, God's Word gives us key markers to avoid the alluring deception of game-playing, and press toward the reality of real transformation. 

It helps us answer the question - am I a game-player, or a world-changer?

For this we turn to the prophet Isaiah.

In the life of Isaiah, let's consider THE momentous event of his life, and how it radically shaped his understanding of himself, the Lord, and his mission in the world.

The setting is, well, dramatic. Isaiah goes to the Temple (as usual). But on this particular day, he meets the last person he really ever expected to meet in worship - God! The encounter was life-changing, and world-changing ...

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

⁸ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

 Isaiah 6. 1-8

Four Marks of a Transformed Man

1. You have a more astonishing view of the Lord than you ever thought possible.

Why was Isaiah so radically impacted that day? Surely he "knew" God. In fact, he was a prophet of the Lord, representing the interests of God to a rebellious generation. If anyone shouldn't have been surprised by the Lord, surely it was Isaiah!

But in this passage, we see him ... overwhelmed! Every prior category in which the Lord had been contained in the mind & life of Isaiah was exploded.  As he lay trembling at the threshold of the temple, he saw a scene more astonishing that he ever thought possible.

As the holiness of the Lord was declared by the seraphim, as His glory over the whole earth was pronounced, every portion of the formidable Temple shook. For Isaiah, God was no longer the One who had merely called him, no longer the One to whom the nation owed its service. Rather, this was the holy-holy-holy God over all the universe.

Let me ask you - has the person and character of God astonished you recently? This is more than intellectual interest, or passive praise. This is astonishment! 

As you consider the Word of God and the works of God, do you sense you are a mere midget in the presence of colossal other-worldly greatness?


2. You have a deeper awareness of your own sin than you have ever admitted.

Only one thing in the Temple that day trembled more than the foundations of the thresholds. Isaiah!

As Isaiah encounters the absolute splendor and holiness of God his immediate reaction is one of despair. "Woe is me ... I am lost..." Consider the words of Charles Spurgeon:

“Then said I, woe is me!” All God’s saints do this when they get a view of him. There was never a boastful thought in any man’s mind in the presence of God. They that talk of their own purity have not known God, neither seen him. How could they! This is the cry of all the purified when they come into the presence of God.

Even the lips of Isaiah - those lips that were used to speak of the Lord to His people - were viewed in a new light. Unclean! All boasting was gone, all preening ceased, all self-adulation was arrested. Isaiah had seen the "King, the Lord of hosts", and it had "undone" him.

Brothers, have you been ever undone by the Lord?

Have you come to the point of admitting that all of your failures, as well as all of your successes, wither in comparison to the absolute standards of a holy God?

Are you eager to have your sin exposed, or do you still play the game of blaming, excusing, rationalizing, and avoiding? And, when it is exposed, do you rejoice (see Proverbs 9.8, 15.31).

Do you by faith embrace this admission - "I am worse than I could ever imagine?" If so, rejoice - the transformation has begun!


3. You have a richer view of forgiveness than you ever imagined.

The transition between Isaiah's guilt and the Lord's forgiveness is almost instantaneous.

Note the progress in verses 5 & 6. Isaiah confesses his sin, and immediately an angel flies to him, bringing the fire of God (note that even the angel uses tongs because he cannot touch the fire and live!).

The judgment of God touches Isaiah's lips and ... he is cleansed!

Atonement has been made. Guilt has been pardoned. Forgiveness has been extended. Justice has been met! The needed sacrifice has been made, and the sins of God's people are covered!

Amazing! At the instant of Isaiah's most humbling admission of utter guilt is his most astounding experience of utter forgiveness.

Brothers, do you know the reality of complete forgiveness? Are you resting in the knowledge that you are both deeply known (through and through) and deeply loved (over and beyond), at the same time?

Do you regularly struggle with guilt  and shame, or have you learned to sing the song of gospel freedom ...

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought,

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It Is Well With My Soul

4. You have a fuller commitment to service than you ever dreamed.

Isaiah's response to his life-changing encounter with the holiness of God, the wretchedness of his own sin, and the astonishment of complete forgiveness is nothing short of amazing.

"Here am I. Send me!" 

He doesn't know the task before him. He has no idea of the scope or demands of the job. He hasn't run a cost-benefit analysis. In fact, Isaiah knows nothing more (and nothing less) than what is absolutely essential for any world-changer - God has forgiven him completely, and now God invites Him graciously to be part of the task of reaching the world. 

In that moment, the "needs" of Isaiah fade into the background. His interests lose their ... interest. And the agenda and glory of God emerge to dominate his life.

And, just so we are clear - if you were to read further in Isaiah 6 you would see that the task before Isaiah was formidable. No one would ever listen to him. No one would ever understand. Isaiah would be God's instrument of judgment to a rebellious nation.

Isaiah, that's the job. Still want it? "Here am I. Send me!"

Brothers, has the reality of the gospel transformed your life? Are you living in the claustrophobic world of self-protection and self-interest, or have you broken through to the world of selfless abandon and radical sacrifice?

As you think about the future, is your mind more dominated by issues of comfort, success, and security, or have you entrusted yourself to a God who calls the unlikely to do the unbelievable?

Have you put aside the games that so easily preoccupy our minds and sap our energies, and are you eagerly (and fanatically) embracing every opportunity to lose your life for the sake of the gospel?

A final (and much-needed) word about hope. 

The hope for the godly man is never found within. It is never attained through self-effort or self-discipline. No amount of sweat nor tears can achieve it.

At least not ours.

Isaiah's hope was found outside of him. As it is with us.

Centuries after Isaiah's time there was another earthquake. There was another disruption in the Temple. There was another man undone by sin and impending judgment.

Jesus, the perfectly righteous One, took upon Himself all the sin of His people. When He died upon the cross the earth shook, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two (see Matthew 26).

And the guilty were set free. Free to confess, free to embrace, free to serve.

Brothers, rest on Jesus as your only hope. Let Him free you from the tyranny of small games, and equip you for the freedom of changing the world, one life at a time.