We Exist to Transform Lives

Flips vs. Rebuilds

Abby and I love looking at houses for sale. It's a fun hobby for us. But here's the thing. We look for completely different stuff.

I look at the land. I want to know what's around it, how much of it there is. And I like unique houses. Give me something with character. Abby looks at two things, and only two things. How old is the AC and heating unit? And, does this house look like a flip?

Let me explain why that second question matters. A flip covers up problems. A rebuild fixes them.

On a flip, somebody bought the place cheap, put in three weekends of work, and made it look great in photographs. New paint. New light fixtures. Some peel and stick flooring over whatever was underneath. But the wiring is still sixty years old. The foundation still has the same crack. Nothing underneath actually got dealt with. It just got covered up so it would sell.

A rebuild is different. You take it down to the studs. It's more expensive. It takes longer. It's messier. But when it's finished, what you have is actually new, not just newly painted.

Some houses only need a touch up. Some houses need to be torn down to the studs. People are the same way.

Can people really change? Be honest. Most of us would settle for a touch up. A slightly better version of ourselves. A little less angry. A little less anxious. A fresh coat of paint on the same house.

God isn't in the touch up business. God's specialty is not touch-ups. It's rebuilds.

The Worst King in Judah's History

2 Chronicles 33:1-2: "Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations."

He became king at twelve. Think about a sixth grader running a country. And he ruled for fifty-five years. That's the longest reign of any king in Judah's history.

Verse 3: "He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles."

Start with that first line. His dad was Hezekiah, one of the best kings Judah ever had. Hezekiah tore those shrines down. And his son went right back out and rebuilt every one of them.

Baal was the storm god. He supposedly controlled the rain, the weather, and whether your crops came in. Israel came into Canaan after forty years in the desert. They had never farmed this land. But the Canaanites had, and they credited their religion for it. So the temptation was practical. If you want your crops to grow in Canaan, you'd better keep the god who runs Canaan's weather happy.

That's how it started. Not with people deciding to abandon God. With people deciding to hedge their bets.

But Manasseh went further. He filled God's house with altars to other gods. Not out in the countryside. In the temple.

Verse 6: "Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom."

This man burned his own children.

Verses 9-10: "But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed. The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings."

Look at that word "led." Leaders multiply whatever is in them. Whatever is in you comes out in the people who follow you. Under his leadership, God's own people out-sinned the nations God had cursed.

But look at verse 10 from the other direction. God warned them first. He didn't drop the hammer without a word. God warns before He disciplines.

Rock Bottom

If anybody in the Bible was too far gone, if anybody was beyond changing, it's this man. So what does God do?

Verse 11: "So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon."

The ring through the nose isn't a figure of speech. The Assyrians really did that. They would run a hook through a prisoner's nose or lip and lead him with a cord. The humiliation was the point.

The most powerful man in Judah, fifty-five years on the throne, ended up being led around like livestock.

Verse 12: "But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors."

There it is. One word turns this whole chapter. "But."

Distress can be the doorway to God if we allow it to be. Manasseh had spent fifty-five years asking everything else to save him. It took chains for him to finally seek God. How many of us can relate?

Verse 13: "And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!"

God was moved by the prayer of the worst king in Judah's history. He listened to the man who filled His temple with idols and burned his own sons.

Notice the order. God heard. God was moved. God brought him back. And then, at the end, Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God. God moved first. The new thinking came after.

That's exactly what Paul says in Romans 12:2: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."

Look at the verb. Let God transform you. Not, transform yourself. He's the one who does the work.

When the Rebuild Actually Happens

How many of us have found ourselves in a similar situation? We're in a hard spot. Sometimes it came out of nowhere. Sometimes it came from our own dumb decisions. And in that moment, we reach out to God. We say a prayer. God, if you get me through this, I'll change.

And then the crisis passes. Does it lead to real life change? Or did we just put a fresh coat of paint on the same house?

God transformed Manasseh. So what did that look like when Manasseh got home?

Verses 14-16: "Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord's Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord... He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the Lord."

Think about what that took. Every one of those altars was his idea. He paid for them. He put them up. He had defended them for years. And now he's out there tearing them down with his own hands.

Then verse 16. He restored the altar of the Lord. He didn't just clear out what was wrong. He put back what was right. And the same man who dragged a nation into idol worship is now out in front of them saying, worship the Lord.

This is what makes the difference between a flip and a rebuild. A flip looks different. A rebuild actually is different.

2 Corinthians 5:17: "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

Manasseh is an Old Testament picture of what Jesus makes fully possible. When God does the work on the inside, it shows up on the outside. It shows up in your marriage. It shows up in how you treat people at work. It shows up in every aspect of your life.

The Son Who Didn't Humble Himself

I wish the chapter ended at verse 16. It doesn't.

Verses 21-23: "Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king... He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. But unlike his father, he did not humble himself before the Lord. Instead, Amon sinned even more."

Same sins. Same idols. Same family. Same throne. Two years and it was over.

The Bible tells us plainly what the difference was. "But unlike his father, he did not humble himself before the Lord." What separated Manasseh from Amon wasn't their sin record. It was their willingness to humble themselves before the Lord.

Which are you going to be? That's not a rhetorical question. You can sit in a room like this and hear about the grace of God and never humble yourself under it. Amon watched his own father get rescued and stayed exactly where he was.

Our Third Mission

We exist to transform lives. We are not here to help people become slightly better versions of who they already are. We believe the gospel has the power to genuinely change a person from the inside out, and we want to be the kind of community where that kind of change is expected and celebrated.

We are not a self improvement club. We're not here to help you get seven percent better at being you. If that's all this is, we're just doing a flip. New paint, same wiring.

We believe God still does what He did for Manasseh.

Tear Down, Rebuild

First, tear down. Tear down the altars in your life that are keeping you from God. What's your Baal? What's the thing you're counting on to make life work, alongside God or instead of Him? For some of you it's money, because money feels like the thing that actually keeps the lights on. For some it's your job or your reputation. For some it's a bottle, or a screen, or a relationship you know isn't right. For some of you it's control, because if you just manage everything well enough, nothing bad can happen.

Name it this week. And then remove it. Manasseh didn't negotiate with those altars. He dumped them outside the city.

Second, rebuild. Don't just tear something out and leave a hole. Manasseh didn't stop at verse 15. He restored the altar of the Lord in verse 16. Pick one practice and put it back. Prayer. Scripture. Your Life Group. One thing, and start it this week.

Third, and this is the most important one. Some of you are thinking this all sounds good for people who already have a foundation to build on, and you're not sure you have one.

Romans 5:10: "For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son."

While we were still His enemies. That's Manasseh. That's you and me.

The rebuild Manasseh got, Jesus paid for. If you've never started this new life, the rebuild starts with Jesus. Do what Manasseh did. Humble yourself before the Lord.

Small Group Questions

ICE BREAKER QUESTIONS

1. Have you ever bought or considered buying a "flip" house (or seen one on TV)? What's the difference between something that looks fixed and something that actually IS fixed? Have you ever been fooled by cosmetic changes that covered deeper problems?

2. Think about a specific area of your life where you've tried to "fix" yourself with small changes but the deeper problem kept coming back. Without sharing details you're not comfortable with, what did that pattern teach you about the limits of self-improvement?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Pastor Nate introduced our third mission statement: "We exist to transform lives. We are not here to help people become slightly better versions of who they already are. We believe the gospel has the power to genuinely change a person from the inside out." How does this vision differ from a self-improvement club or a personal development program? What would change about Colfax Christian Church if we truly lived out this mission?

2. Pastor Nate distinguished between a flip and a rebuild: "A flip covers up problems. A rebuild fixes them." He said: "God's specialty is not touch-ups. It's rebuilds." Which does most of your life feel like right now, a flip or a rebuild? Where have you been settling for cosmetic changes when God wants to take you down to the studs?

3. Manasseh became king at 12 and reigned 55 years, doing "what was evil in the Lord's sight." Pastor Nate said his father was Hezekiah (one of the best kings), and Manasseh "went right back out and rebuilt every one of them," referring to the pagan shrines Hezekiah had torn down. Why do we sometimes tear down what previous generations faithfully built? How do you protect the legacy that was passed to you from being undone in your own life?

4. Pastor Nate explained the appeal of Baal: "So the temptation was very practical. If you want your crops to grow in Canaan, you'd better keep the god who runs Canaan's weather happy... Not with people deciding to abandon God. With people deciding to hedge their bets." Where do you "hedge your bets" in your own life? What "practical" god are you counting on alongside (or instead of) the Lord to make life work?

5. Manasseh filled God's temple with altars to other gods, sacrificed his own children in the fire, and consulted mediums and psychics (2 Chronicles 33:4-6). Pastor Nate said: "If anybody in the Bible was too far gone, if anybody was beyond changing, it's this man." Who in your life have you decided is beyond changing? What does Manasseh's story say to that assumption?

6. Pastor Nate observed: "Leaders multiply whatever is in them. That's just how it works. Whatever is in you comes out in the people who follow you." Manasseh dragged a whole nation into sin. Who are you leading (kids, employees, friends, family, church members)? What are you currently multiplying in them, for better or for worse? What needs to change internally so that what multiplies through you is life-giving?

7. Manasseh sought God only when he was "in deep distress" with a ring through his nose and bronze chains binding him (2 Chronicles 33:11-12). Pastor Nate said: "Distress can be the doorway to God if we allow it to be... A lot of people find their way to God at the bottom." When has rock bottom been a doorway to God for you? Why does it often take chains before we finally seek Him?

8. Pastor Nate pointed out the order in 2 Chronicles 33:13: "God heard. God was moved. God brought him back. And then, at the end of the verse, Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God." God moved first, and new thinking came after. How does this order challenge our assumption that we need to "get right" before God will act? Where in your life are you waiting to have things figured out before you come to God?

9. After his transformation, Manasseh personally tore down the altars he had built and hauled them outside the city (2 Chronicles 33:15). Pastor Nate emphasized: "Every one of those altars was his idea. He paid for them. He put them up. He had defended them for years. And now he's out there tearing them down with his own hands." What altars in your life did YOU build, that you now need to tear down? What would that look like practically this week?

10. Manasseh's son Amon watched his father get rescued but "did not humble himself before the Lord" (2 Chronicles 33:23). Pastor Nate said: "What separated Manasseh from Amon wasn't their sin record. It was their willingness to humble themselves before the Lord... You can sit in a room like this one and hear about the grace of God and never humble yourself under it." Which are you going to be, Manasseh or Amon? What specifically does humbling yourself before the Lord look like for you this week?