Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

At the time that John the baptist appeared in the wilderness with a new message from God, the religious ruling class was stuck in the muck. They had control and had no intention of loosening their grip.

To be fair with these learned men, the prophets had been quiet for 490 years. They had seen fakes come and go without anything new taking control of the narrative. John was crazier than most and did not look like a threat. They did not see God’s hand upon him. The message, new as it was, was finding its way into the hearts of the people. Repent.

The ruling class had no intention of repenting, they had the robes, John wore animal skins. The fact that Adam wore animal skins when he was cast out escaped them.

Going against convention can be difficult. There is comfort in consistency and affirmation even if those with the robes hold themselves above the common man. John avoided them and went to the common man. His appearance said he was common and void of pretense. 

Humility was an uncommon characteristic during those days. It was a new thing.

Then John said the one thing that upset the ruling class more than just preaching repentance.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

The ruling religious class was in the sacrifice for sin business. Everyone came to them to offer up sacrifices and that was their primary function. If Jesus could take away the common man’s sin, the priesthood could end. The whole reason behind the ruling religious class was to be elevated up the ladder of success to become the Chief Priest.

Look around today and ask yourselves this one question. Has mankind’s ambition really changed all that much? Won’t those in power do anything to maintain control?

At this point that comment placed politics in view. Please do not assume this is about political power. It is about sin and the hold that sin has over mankind. It is pervasive and exists in every arena of life.

The only cure for the stranglehold that sin has over mankind is Jesus Christ. Those caught up in it will defend their position rather than repent and break those chains. The stronger that hold, the louder the noise they make in defending their sins. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Romans 12:1-2 English Standard Version

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The mind is a bodily part. In this sacrifice Paul is not asking us to commit mental suicide. This is a transformation, forming a new way of looking at the data. He is asking us, without being specific in how it is done, to look at the data from God’s point of view.

The testing of our faith will produce results that are within the will of God or going against His will. We will learn by making mistakes. The issue more than anything in this sacrificial effort is to keep looking at things differently than the way we have in our past that didn’t work.

We often overlook Paul’s encouragement “by the mercies of God”. He doesn’t punish us for wrong thinking, He exposes erroneous thinking by allowing the Holy Spirit to speak truth to us rather than slapping us around for wrong thinking.

As we speak these truths sent to us by God we should remember this message of grace. We did not get it right the first time we tried. That is why we need to return to the Word to hear by faith what God is trying to reveal.

It is not that easy to read His Word with a blank slate, as if we had never heard it taught before. His Word does not change but as we are transformed, from grace to grace, we will discover that God’s will comes into focus as what is good, or acceptable, or even perfect.

Good was fine when we were babes, acceptable was fine when we were children and perfect is discovered in maturity. His will did not change, we do. A baby has limited abilities and God does not expect the same thing from them as He does those who have matured.

One important aspect of revisiting the scriptures is not to believe you got everything out of the Word just because you have read it before.

1 Corinthians 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

What God calls us to do will change as we change. His will is personal and applicable to a moment and will change as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Don’t get stuck in the rut created by repetitive thinking. Listen in case He has new instructions.