What Radically Transforms a Man?
A revelation on New Year's Day that struck me to my knees.
It’s not baptism.
It’s not even the Holy Spirit.
You can be David-Goggins disciplined.
You can fast for 40 days.
You can read through the Bible cover to cover ten times a year.
You can prophesy, and it all comes to pass.
You can dream dreams and speak in tongues.
You can heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons.
You can check every box of being a "good, good Christian"—and not only that, but also the boxes of a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led son of God.
You can outperform all your brothers and sisters.
But if you lack this one thing, you have not been radically transformed.
You will backslide. You will start cussing. You will be quick to anger. You will take offense. You will boast, envy, slander, and gossip. You will lie, steal, and cheat. You will drink, fornicate, and call your soul ties. You will return to your vomit—
it’s only a matter of time.
It’s not discipline that radically transforms a person. Discipline must be present, of course, but the power does not lie in discipline.
You may think you’ve heard this a thousand times, but I promise you, you haven’t heard this one.
In this article:
Discipline, therapy, or sentimentality
Four fruits of love
What turns a son prodigal
Discipline, therapy, or sentimentality
That one thing—the power that can radically transform a person—is the love of Christ abiding in them.
The love of Christ abides in a man.
Love.
Discipline does not cleanse us—the blood does.
Discipline does not purify our hearts—the love of God does.
On the first day of 2025, God struck me to my knees in His presence, and burned my heart with His love.
I thought I understood this, just as anyone can quote, “The greatest is love.”
I thought I knew that the one word that epitomizes Christianity is love.
But I had never associated radical transformation with abiding in the love of Christ.
I only understood that an encounter with Jesus and a devotion to Christ—meaning offering the body as a living sacrifice and abstaining from carnality—would radically transform a man.
And it does. But discipline or an encounter alone does not bring about radical transformation. What truly happens is this:
When a man encounters Jesus and offers his body as a living sacrifice, the love of God begins to abide in him. It is this abiding love that radically transforms him.
I criticize Christian sentimentality—and by no means am I taking that back—because sentimentality is a performance of love. A counterfeit. Hypocrites are always sentimental—this applies to both the world and the House of God.
There are many types of Christians. Some are demon-slayers, tongue-speakers, incredibly gifted and disciplined. Some are so lukewarm that their lives are no different from those of non-believers. Others are sentimental about Jesus but remain distracted and wearied by the concerns of this world.
None of these matter.
Disciplined Christians can bare their teeth and twist scriptures. Sentimental Christians can fold their arms while they can give a hand. Lukewarm Christians merge perfectly well with the world.
I bring this up in different content—discern the spirit by its fruit. Discern if a “born-again” Christian is truly born again.
I thought discipline is fruits. Keeping God’s commandments other than love is fruits.
As long as a man has no love of Christ in him, his old self has not died, and that means he’s not yet safe to be trusted as the man he identifies himself with.
How can we know if the love of Christ has abided in us?
Four fruits of love
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
First of all, “perfect love casts out fear.”
If you fear loving people out of insecurity—what if I’m mocked for loving more and giving first? What if my love isn’t reciprocated? What if they betray me? What if they change their minds?
All of this is the language of fear. Let me be more offensive—it is cowardice.
Jesus Christ never asked those questions before He went to the cross.
He said, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.”
For men who want to be "alpha" but fear to love—you’re still a coward. Jesus Christ defines “alpha”: wisdom and dare to love.
Second, love “rejoices with the truth.”
“Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Psalm 119:165
If you take offense at the truth, you have no love. If you have itchy ears that can only hear agreement, flatteries, and validation, you have no love. Love without truth is poison. Truth without love—not without a sugarcoat—is brutality.
Third, love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Why do marriages fail? People have no love. Take back your profuse "I love you" and cover the mouth that speaks it. Observe this so-called "love" when trials come. It’s merely emotion.
Love is a decision.
Last but not least, “love never fails.”
Gifts can fail—prophecy, tongues, discernment, or healing. Business can fail. The economy can fail. Ambitions can fail. Love never fails. The love you give, you shall receive tenfold. Giving means having, and whosoever has, to him more shall be given.
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What turns a son prodigal
We can preach discipline to all young men, calling them to quit sexual sins, alcohol, parties, smoking, etc. We can educate them on the holiness of marriage and family. We can cast demons out of them. We can teach them how to pray and inspire them to fast.
All of these are important and necessary.
But if they have no love, if their fear of love prevails over the fear of God, if they fast, pray, and worship only for selfish purposes, it’s only a matter of time before they become the prodigal son.
What turns a son prodigal is not a lack of discipline. It’s a lack of love, a heart of stone, and a stiff neck.
Many people may have questions about this verse in 1 Corinthians 13, the famous chapter on “love”.
“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:11-12
I never understood it until today, when the revelation struck me.
I will know fully the secret and knowledge of God, just as I also have been fully known by Christ.
For now, we see in a mirror dimly, as children, but when we become sons who are led by the Spirit, we will see face to face.
Here’s a prayer for you:
Our Father in heaven, give me a new heart that is filled with the love of Christ, purified from double-mindedness, a heart that desires to know You and love people as Christ has loved me. From this moment on, I proclaim that I am truly born again in spirit, in Christ, in truth and love. I am now radically transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
An invitation:
Jesus never said, “If you fast,” or “If you give.”
He said, “When you fast” (Matthew 6:16) and “When you give” (Matthew 6:2).
We humble ourselves through fasting and giving.
Many people ask me, “How can I be transformed radically?” “What did you do to kill your old self?”
My answer is fasting. Fast regularly. Fast when led. Fast until I have a breakthrough—and I always do.
Tithing will transform your finances. Even if you’re struggling to make ends meet, if you don’t want to continue struggling, tithe—like that poor widow who got Jesus’s attention. You will, too, get His attention.
I’m fasting this January. Join our subscriber chat or my Patreon if you’re determined to change your story forever in 2025.
Join as a free member➡find the Fast🍽️ and Speed⚡️ Group chat➡️say hi and tell us about your fasting plan.
So good!
Ye, true transformation is the greatest, yet challenging thing for us to achieve.
It helps i found to continually surrender, introspection and daily meditation to be close to god and clense ourselves with perseverance and pure desire to grow. It is also heapful to have a teacher or teachers and support of others who are on this path.
Just remeber you can't pay for this knowledge and awakening as its a free gift of nature , as we don't pay for air we breath or transformation in nature. It all happens spontaniously, as like of a flower into a fruit when the time and conditions are ready.
May god bless you and happy new year :)