Change Through Faith
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Illustration - Miners and settlers in British Columbia, engaged in stripping abandoned Forts of lumber, electrical appliances, and plumbing, made an amazing discovery. While dismantling the jail they found that the mighty locks were attached to the heavy doors, and two-inch steel bars covered the windows, but the walls of the prison were only patented wallboard of clay and paper, painted to resemble iron. A good old heave against the walls by a man not as strong as a football tackle would have burst the wall out. Nobody ever tried it because nobody thought it possible. Many Christians are prisoners of fears that are nothing when pushed against. Satan cannot do anything against a child of God, but he loves to put barriers of paper-mache in the path of a believer to make him/her think that there is no progress in the direction of the will of the Lord. When by faith we push against it we will be free.
Today what we will be looking at is the concept of change. The Bible talks a lot about change, what do bible characters do when they experience change? What kind of change am I talking about? We’re not looking at superficial changes, you know, things on the surface, choosing to eat a banana instead of a bagel. Maybe wearing a different kind of shoe than you’re used to. When I say change, I’m talking about a life-altering change. When your life won’t be the same after it happens. Change should be expected, sometimes God let’s us decide the change that takes place. To choose to date someone, to lose weight, to get smarter, to be more organized. On a spiritual level, to trust God more, to pray more, to really grow in God. But there are changes that happen, that we don’t get to control. Sometimes, we don’t get to choose. And those are the changes that we’re going to talk about tonight, turn with me to the book of Colossians. Colossae is primarily a gentile town, but was racked with Judaism. Jews loyal to the old ways and refused the new Gospel of grace and the teachings of Jesus. Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians to defend against false teachers and to not be afraid of the change that is ahead. I don’t have a lot of time tonight, the theme of this sermon is change, and we’re going to be asking simple questions, what is change, and how do we change? Before we go any further let us pray.
We’re going to be in chapter 1, starting in verse 24, “24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
In the past couple months I’ve grown to realize the mindset Paul had when doing ministry. Can you imagine? Having to write letter after letter, sermon after sermon, exhorting and imploring people to stay faithful with the true Gospel? And then hearing later that the first time didn’t work? Why can’t people just do it right the first time? But that wasn’t Paul’s way of thinking. He wasn’t trying to save people. If that was his goal, he would’ve stayed longer at these places and waited until he believed they were fully ready. Paul was suffering for people. Christians have a wrong mindset when it comes to suffering. We tend to think of suffering on an individual level. That Christ’s death and suffering saved us from physical pain and hardship, don’t ever believe that, we are meant to share in Christ’s suffering, not be saved from it.
One of the reasons why we refuse to change is because there’s suffering and hardship. I don’t know about you but I do not enjoy confrontations. Especially when it comes to family. My sister told that it was her, and my older brother’s job to protect me. As well as my parents. They suffered for me, they had to hide things, they kept from me going down the wrong path and they loved me as much as they could. Of course one day I would have to grow up and figure out things aren’t as okay as they appeared, I had to change.
Why do you come to church? Why are you here tonight? Because it’s required for school? For those of you who aren’t students, do you come here to feel encouraged? Because it’s home? This church, this specific church has been around for decades established by believers and continued by Christians, how much did they have to suffer, in order for us to be here today? They did not do it save us, they did it to show us the riches of the glory of the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope glory. I come to church, to change. If you want a more powerful word, to transform.
I specifically asked Jon to preach tonight. To kick off the new year, not only for the students but as a whole congregation, this message is not only for them it is for all of us. I want you to ask yourselves two questions, and really think hard about them. Do you believe you can change? that’s the first question, and second, do you believe that other people can change? Wednesday night we come to pray for the sick, we pray for school, and we pray for those who have lost loved ones, but how often do we pray about change? The changing of the soul and the growth of the spirit? “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we maybe present everyone mature in Christ.” Are you maturing? Are you growing? Are you changing? Or are you furthering embedding yourselves in your old ways of thinking and doing? “That’s just how it is.” No, it’s not, it doesn’t have to be.
(Christmas break)
3 rules of change:
Number 1: You will never be ready to change. The first step is simply to do it. When I was talking to my father he wanted to put off the change. He wanted to wait until it felt like he was ready to change but that did not satisfy my sister and I. We told him no, we don’t like that answer. A promise to change later is simply a promise to continue in sin until it’s either too late to change, or there’s nothing left to do but change. It’s scary, it’s unfamiliar, it’s different but wait to be ready, because the honest truth is, God does not want us to be ready, He wants us to trust Him. Change is not passively doing the same thing until the situation works itself out, change is actively working to find a resolution the way God intends it.
Number 2: Change is not a chance-based game. It’s not a gamble, you don’t make deals with God because He’ll always win. There’s no point. Christians give the excuse of not changing because it’s always risky. I had a buddy of mine who graduated from the old school I attended. We were good friends and he loved the school and the surrounding area. So after he graduated he came back and lived in the area. After a couple months, I talked to the guy, and it turned out he did not enjoy his life in the area, he ended up moving back to his home and eventually came here to ABC and graduated. He’s back in California and he’s on track to become a camp director. It’s not whether or not you win or lose, God is still sovereign. He uses both success and failure.
Number 3: Change is an issue of faith. Just how you believed God for your salvation now you must believe that He powerfully works within you. I read a quote the other day from Howard Hendricks, who if you haven’t heard him (you should definitely check some of his old sermons on the Youtube). He passed away in 2013 but he was a powerful advocate for teaching. He inspired me to keep learning and to keep growing. One of his quotes is very simple but convicts me to this day, “The day you stop learning, is the day you stop teaching.”
I wasn’t ready to become a counselor for my parents. Because normally, your parents are the ones that help you, not the other way around. It felt weird, it felt strange, it felt like it shouldn’t be this way but it is. And when the day finally came I had anxiety. It was all I could think about and you could feel the tension in the air whenever our family got to together. If I failed, things could go from bad to worse. I remember texting Stephanie about my condition. What am I supposed to do? What happens if we lose more? She said don’t worry about it Josh, find joy during this time. The Lord changed me, He empowered me and He gave me peace. And now I’m back here with you all and as much as Stephanie and I want to be back in Arizona with our parents, we are like Paul, we have other ministries to go to for tho we are absent in body, yet we are with them in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ Jesus.
So again, I ask the two questions, “do you believe you can change?” and “do you believe other people can change?” It’s a new year, full change. Be ready for change Christians, we are a church body, as it is written our sufferings are the church sufferings, as Paul once said to Timothy, “come suffer with me”, so that the hope of glory may be shown. We do not come to church to hide our problems or run away, we come to church to share our problems and suffer together and be changed by them, through faith. (PRAY)