Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Nov/94

Contributor - Regional Synod Executive Committee

Title - A Vision for Canada: Draw Near to God - RSC

Topic - Reformed Church Of Canada

A favourite chorus being sung in the Church these days was composed by Eddie Espinosa in 1987 and is entitled: "Change My Heart, 0 God." The words are based on Psalm 5 1: I 0 and they go like this:

Change my heart, Oh God, make it ever true;

Change my heart, Oh God, may I be like You.

You are the Potter, I am the clay;

Mould me and make me, this is what

I pray.

Change my heart, Oh God, make it ever true;

Change my heart, Oh God, may I be like You.

As we look at the Reformed Church in Canada today, how much is it really as the Lord would like it to be? True, we all acknowledge that there are many accomplishments for which we all can be proud. However, if we are totally honest, there are also a number of things for which we must hang our head in shame.

Yes, the Reformed Church exists in Canada today largely because of the dedication of Dutch immigrants who came to this land in the 1940's and 1950's, establishing a place of worship for their families. Yet, even at the beginning, there were power struggles in our churches and classes, fractured relationships, and prideful hearts. "Change My Heart, Oh God," must become our prayer if we expect the Reformed Church to be here for future generations. We, the settlers and pioneers, yes, even the leaders and teachers need to have a change of heart, and a change of attitude.

Scripture clearly indicates that God wants our lives to be supernaturally different from the lives of those who do not walk with Him. He wants us to live as new creations in Jesus Christ:

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). He wants our lives to be conformed to the image of His Son. We can be like Him if we are willing to live "in His will and for His glory." The apostle Peter said: "To you therefore who believe, He is precious ... you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people . . .", and here's the reason why: "That you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:7a,9).

Christ's residence within our lives should demonstrate to the world that we are different. Peter was not talking about a religious piety that gives us a sense of being more worthy than others, nor was he talking about a weirdness that makes us offensive to the world, and neither was he talking of a change that can be explained in terms of what we are doing for Christ, rather it is a change that can be explained only in terms of what God Himself is doing within us.

Well then, how does a person become a changed individual? For that matter, how does a church become a changed church? And how does a Synod become a changed Synod? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." Hmmm. When we examine the word "changed" we see that it is derived from the Greek word 'metamorphowneta' from which we get the word metamorphose. Metamorphose refers to a change you can't explain, but it happens. This powerful word speaks of a supernatural change, worked by God in the life of the believer, and the local church, and the Synod, being transformed into His likeness.

But as you have undoubtedly heard many times before, this change, this transformation, is not something we are able to accomplish on our own. Even if God gave us 10,000 years to live, we could never change our lives so that they would be supernaturally different. God has to do it! And God WANTS to do it!

The problem of course, is that some of us don't want to cooperate. We don't want to be changed. We refuse! And if we refuse to be transformed, that means our local churches will not be transformed; and that means our Regional Synod will not be transformed either.

Your Executive Committee is calling the Regional Synod of Canada to take a moral inventory. When we take an honest look at ourselves, what do we see? Do we see pride? Stubbornness? Self-righteousness, envy, jealousy? What do we see when we look at our churches? Know that our God's desire is to change us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. He will cause us to be more humble, more submissive, more sensitive, more powerful, more self denying, more joyful, more gracious, more confident, and always seeking to please and honour the Father.

And that is exactly the kind of church we want to be, too. A humble church. Teachable, willing to learn, grow and change. A gracious church, willing to love the lowest and the least, regardless of colour, smell, or background. A church whose highest goal is simply to please the Lord.

God changes us as we behold His glory. We behold His glory in the Word and as we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. We must be willing to go to His Word day after day for one purpose, and one purpose only; to behold the glory of God. He changes us when we go to His Word not just dutifully to prepare a sermon, a Sunday School lesson, or lead another Bible study. And not just to prove a point, or worse still, find ammunition to cut down our theological adversary. Rather, we go to His Word simply to know Him better and see Him more clearly, and know how we must live to glorify Him.

It is the same with worship. We must worship Him not out of duty, but our of desire. After all, He is the One True Living God!

"There is none like You, Oh Lord!" He has established the heavens, the furthest reaches of space and there is no other God, no other Saviour, only He! When we understand that there is absolutely no other god - anywhere! - how it then behooves us to love this One True Living God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength!

If that is your desire, then God has already begun the process of changing your heart and life into the image of the Lord Jesus.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.