Transformers Change The World

If theres one thing you will learn with this talk, it would be this: when the Holy Spirit
moves and touches your life, youll definitely change. It might be too broad but it is
what it is. It has been proven since the beginning of time. The moment the Holy
Spirit moves, somethings changed.
To make a better understanding of this, we will take an example from the scriptures
and follow the transformation that occurs after the action of the Holy Spirit. I will be
looking at one essential character in the New Testament, St. Peter. I will take you to
a journey and follow how Jesus changed his life and later on became the First Holy
Father of the church.
Alright, since everything is clear, lets get the ball rolling.
First, Jesus called Peter. In other gospels, He was with Andrew. And they were called
to become fishers of men.
Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon the
son of John;[a] you will be called Cephas (which is translated Peter). - John 1: 42
Second significant event on this topic is Peters revelation of who Jesus was.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18
Third event would be Peters denial of Jesus.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, You are not one of this
mans disciples, are you? He said, I am not. John 15:17
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, You
are not one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. One of the
slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
Didnt I see you in the garden with him? Again Peter denied it. And immediately
the cock crowed. John 15:25-27
Fourth event in Peters life is when he was asked by Jesus if He loves Him.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John,
do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love
you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He then said to him a second time, Simon,
son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John,
do you love me? Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, Do you
love me? and he said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love
you. [Jesus] said to him, Feed my sheep. John 21:15

The Fifth event will take place during and after the Pentecost. Its found in the
entirety of Acts 2. Though Im compelled to place the entire passage here, I will not
since its too long. However, in summary, the whole chapter speaks about the
coming of the Holy Spirit in the upper room where they were filled with His power
and began to speak in different languages. Immediately after, St. Peter made his
first encyclical or speech among the people of Israel. On that day alone, 3, 000 were
converted.
Whoah!
Amazing, right? From a simple fisherman, Simon was called and became Petra, the
rock on which Jesus built His church. As sinner as he was, he was still loved and held
a very important role in the early church. In fact, this sinful man was able to convert
not hundreds but thousands of people in a day.
Through St. Peters life, we see certain points which we could also apply in our time,
in our reality. And at the end we will be able to do what he did, not necessarily to
convert 3, 000 people per day but to touch lives as young as we are through the
power of the Holy Spirit. One by one, with the help of our transformation, we will be
able to change the world.
Based on St. Peters life events, here are the lessons that we could learn.
1. We are CALLED (John 1: 42). Upon knowing Jesus and learning about His
life. We are called to evangelize. However, the term evangelize is such a
heavy term for the young people. Yes, it involves responsibilities, it involves
work but lets pass that heavy work to our ordained shepherds, the Priests
and Bishops. But it doesnt mean that we arent going to do our part.
We dont have to learn deep theology. Lets leave it to the experts. But lets
be open to Gods calling through giving our time, showing our talents and
sharing our treasures.
2. We are APPOINTED (Matthew 16:18). Not only are we called but we are
appointed. No, were not to become Popes and church leaders. But we are
appointed to a special task called touching lives. Protestants say that key
thats mentioned in the passage symbolize the gospel thats to be preached
to the world. Of course its not. We know as Catholics that the key is the
symbol of authority. However, in a sense, we can accept this as a special
appointment for us the moment we become Christians. That we should be
bringer of people closer to God by touching lives and not away from Him. And
that is done through becoming an example to other people particularly the
young.
3. We FALL (John 15:17 and John 15:25-27). Now it does not mean that we are
already perfect after being called and appointed. Eventually and almost daily,
we fall into committing sins. Basically we become far away from God as

though we are denying Him. We are weak and vulnerable and its not a
surprise why at some point we fail to do what we are called to do.
4. We are FORGIVEN (John 21:15-17). The good news is, we have the
sacrament of confession. This enables us to restore our relationship with God
and enables us to be in the state of grace. Our assurance that we love Him is
through our humility of going back to Him and asks for His forgiveness and
His mercy. Thats the best way that we could ever respond to his question
Do you love me?
5. We are SENT (Acts 2). After being called, appointed and knowing that we
are subject to failure but at the same time coming to realize that we are
forgiven, we are now ready to be sent. And before we reveal this good news
to people, we need a fuel. We need a driving force. We need a source of
energy that will keep us moving. And this is where the Holy Spirit comes in.
When He touches our lives, we begin to change. Our timidity becomes
confidence. Our weaknesses become our strength. Our doubts become trust.
We go out of hiding as we have been given the power to transform others just
like how the Lord transformed us.
This entire process doesnt happen overnight. It takes time. It takes effort, a lot of
prayer and hard work. But we have to realize that its what our purpose is as young
people, as young evangelizers. Our modern world is tough to beat. Too much
secularism, liberty, promiscuity, unhealthy living, technology, gadgets slowly eats
up our humanity. Without us who carry the light of Jesus, this world will ultimately
become chaotic.
But I pose this as a challenge. Not because we are young, we dont have the right,
or the power or the ability to change the world and bring it closer to God. We can
and we should. Its not for our sake anyways, its for our future.
Finally, I will quote what a Catholic convert named Mike Cumbie said in one of his
talks about the Eucharist. The Church preserves the sanity to a world thats lost its
mind. I pray that this call to transform be our priority regardless of where we are
and what we do. So, as Optimus Prime says, lets roll!