When Change Is Good

Introduction

Sometimes you hear people say about other people. People don’t change. Well, I’ve been around for a few decades now, just a few. And my experience has been that’s pretty much accurate on the most part. People don’t change. And some change on such a minuscule scale that it might take a microscope to really see such changes. But despite heritage, genetic traits, the tendencies that we developed in our youth, and various influences that come to bear on our lives. In spite of that, some people do indeed change. And you and I need to be some of those people. I could tell you through my three decades of preaching of all the people that I’ve met who have made amazing changes in their lives. I would not have recognized what they were formerly from what they are now as they have described that change to me.

When I lived in Beaumont, there were so many people of the Dallin Road Church who were the product of the radio program that Max Dawson did for many years, and they’ve done periodically in the last decade or so, but for years, so many people came to the Lord and experienced vast changes in their lives. And I can tell you the story of many people that I’ve met who have changed. And I can tell you one biblical story of tremendous change, could I not? The story of the Apostle Paul.

And he does so as evidence of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. That in his own life he has undergone tremendous change due to the resurrection of Christ. He is now a new and resurrected person in him. But we hear people say, well, that’s just the way I am. And when people say that, oftentimes that’s excuse for behavior that will not work. And then there’s the popular mantra and slogan that we hear in the religious world today. Come as you are. Basically, any behavior, any kind of behavior in which you want to engage, it’s okay with us. Come as you are. It may be a way to grow a church, but not a church that is pleasing to the Lord. Now, as we talk about change and its importance in our lives, there is one statement that we must absolutely realize, and that is that truth does not change.

1. Repentance: A Change of Heart

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 8. Thankfully, truth does not change. And there are serious consequences to attempting to change his blueprint for our lives. But that having been said, change must be a part of our lives. It’s not only possible, but it is demanded. And this lesson is going to talk about some areas where change is good and where change is necessary. And it starts with this biblical concept of repentance. The tenet at the very core of Christianity. Repentance speaks to the need of change. Christianity without change is not Christianity at all. I’ve been doing some study this week as I’m preparing some new Bible class material on 2 Timothy chapter 3, where he warns about the difficult days that would come.

People would be lovers of themselves and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And there’s certainly some thought that we need to give to a statement like that in 2 Timothy chapter 3. But then he says something interesting in verse 5 when he says, these people will be those who hold to a form or an outward shell of godliness. They hold to a form of godliness. In other words, they possess some religious guard, they wear some religious guard, do some religious things. They hold to a form of godliness, but then notice this.

That is an indication of the change that must accompany true religion. The power of the gospel to change our lives as it did in the life of the Apostle Paul. And again, it’s at the very core of everything, at the very first gospel sermon that is preached after the resurrection of Christ, when those people were convicted of the sin in their lives. The sin that had caused the Son of God to be put to death, to be murdered. You put him to death. That’s the conclusion of the sermon in Acts 2 and verse 36. It says, They were pierced to their heart and said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? And the answer Peter and the apostles gave was repent. Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the promise or the gift of the Holy Spirit, the promise of salvation to all who believe.

There’s one more passage I want to draw your attention to before we sum up this point. In 2 Corinthians 7, as Paul is speaking to those who are already in Christ, who have already responded to the instruction to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. There were significant problems in the church at Corinth, as we’ve studied here not very long ago, as we’ve studied 1 and 2 Corinthians. Significant problems have developed, and Paul is challenging them to repent. Repentance will be an ongoing act in our lives as we find things in our lives that are amiss. Things have developed among the people in Corinth that Paul is addressing and correcting. And he says, they have expressed godly sorrow for their sins, which produces repentance.

In 2 Corinthians 7 9 and 10. And then in verse 11, he says this about their change. What earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you. Vindication of yourselves. Indignation, fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong. Notice the changes that have resulted in everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. So what is this tenet of repentance? What are we talking about? That’s a big word. It’s simply this. It is a change of heart. I have been here, but I need to be here. I need to go here. It is a change of heart about the way one has acted or conducted himself or herself or the way one has thought. It is a change of heart that then leads to some real changes in your conduct.

A transformation of life. That’s what every sinner, so regarded by heaven, by heaven’s accounting by God. That’s what every sinner must undergo to receive the remission of sins. And so, if you have sinned, you will need to change to be pleasing to God. It is not a, well, that’s just the way I am, or come as you are. This is a message, this gospel message, if it would perform its work in you who believe, if we would not deny its power, it is going to change you. It’s going to change the way you think. It’s going to change your affections, more on this momentarily. It is going to change your behavior. And it absolutely has the power to do that, and you absolutely can accomplish that in your life.

2. Ongoing Spiritual Growth

Does not the story, the familiar story of the prodigal son, suggest that change is doable. As Jesus Himself tells the story of this young man who said, Father, give me my inheritance, and he goes off and he spends all of that inheritance in a riotous way, unapproved by the Father. A morally reprobate existence. But in the story, he comes to himself and returns to his father and says, make me one of your hired servants. He changes. And we can too. Oh, and our repentance at the outset, at the beginning of our confession of faith in Jesus Christ and our immersion into Him, is just the beginning. Change will further result in our lives as we talk about, as the New Testament talks about ongoing spiritual growth, as knowledge increases, as one develops into maturity, more is expected and even demanded.

The Hebrew writer writes in Hebrews chapter 5 to believers who have been believers for some period of time. He talks about that in chapter 10. He talks about their beginnings and how things are not going as well as they did earlier on. And he says in chapter 5, he says, by this time, you ought to be teachers. So more change should have occurred from that initial change. For by this time you ought to have grown or matured to the point that you ought to be teaching, but instead you’re still needing instruction and the elementary principles of teaching. Solid food is for the mature who have had their senses trained to discern between good and evil. That’s a part of your spiritual development. Training our senses to be able to discern even better, because we don’t know all of that at the very beginning, to discern between good and evil.

3. Transformation Into the Very Likeness of Jesus

And let me give you a couple of things here. In Ephesians 4 and verse 15. Speaking the truth in love, it’s the foundation, the truth of God is the foundation of everything. We are able to what? Grow up into all aspects. See, at the beginning, we haven’t even discovered what all the aspects are. But as this process of change continues in our lives, we grow up into all aspects, into him who is the head, even Jesus Christ. Change continues. What kind of change is it? It is a transformation into the very likeness of Jesus. There are so many passages, and I’m not going to go over all of them this morning. There are so many passages, I cannot begin to touch them all in one lesson.

But in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18, earlier in 2 Corinthians, if you’re already there, with unveiled face. Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed. It’s the glory of the Lord because his image is perfect. Because his image was completely good. He did no sin, neither was there any guile found in his mouth. We behold in the mirror the glory of the Lord, and we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. He predestined us. God’s whole plan from eternity. This business of being his church. Here Johnny came lately in the 21st century. We have been predestined to be conformed. And that’s interesting. The word conformed is often used in a negative way. Do not be conformed to this world.

But he predestined us to be conformed, which is really our transformation, interesting, to be conformed to the image of God’s dear son. That’s our business as Christians. What’s it all about? We read the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. That’s the image of Christ. That’s what it is. Blessed are they that mourn. He was acquainted with grief. Blessed are the pure in heart. They shall see God. All of those beatitudes, everything we read about in the New Testament, it is all about the example of Jesus. And that’s why we have all of these Bible studies, folks. Because we need to learn better what that image of Christ was that we’re to be transformed into. And how does that play out in our lives? Well, Paul says, let me tell you what salvation is all about.

Present your bodies, a living sacrifice to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Let me give you a couple of areas for that. One clear indication that we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ is how we use our tongues.

Is your tongue becoming a sharpened instrument for the Lord? Not employed in the deadly seas of criticism, complaint, or cursing. The tongue has such power to produce good. A soft answer turns away wrath, we read in Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 1. The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer. Verse 23. The fruit of the lips is what God desires from the righteous. That’s one of the ways that we indicate that change in our lives, but like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances. But more than that, it has to do with our practice, the qualities that we’re demonstrating in our lives, being doers of the word, as James talks about in James chapter 1. What areas in your life are in need of change or progress?

Are you as dependent upon the Lord as you think you should be? Is that evidenced in the amount of time you spend in prayer and communion with God in your life day by day? What about how you think about yourself? And one of the things that militates against our change is constantly interjecting selfishness in our thinking and behavior. What about a humility, humbling ourselves before the Lord? That is an ongoing pursuit. You know, I’ve been at this for a long time. Over three decades, nearly four decades of life as a Christian. And I’m not there yet. Where every day is a molded image after Christ. It’s ongoing. It’s a daily pursuit. Is my life characterized by acts of service? Hospitality toward others. Or again, employed in teaching.

4. Assemblies Are a Conduit Unto Change

And this is just the beginning of all the New Testament describes that this likeness is supposed to be. Let me tell you what I think assemblies are. Beyond the fact that they are praise and adoration of a worthy God. Beyond the fact that they cause us to be godly and focus on spiritual things, and I derive great benefit from this focused hour of worship to God. But I’ll tell you what else these assemblies do and what my teaching is designed to do and what I hope this sermon does for everyone here. It is a conduit unto change. And I’ll tell you what we struggle with.

Especially if you’re like me and you’ve been at this a long time. We find ourselves in a rut. We become complacent with how much we’ve grown and how much we’ve changed in the past, and we begin to think it’s enough. And I was telling this to Sherry yesterday. I was far more energetic a decade or two ago. And now that I’m learning more and more and more, and my mind is able to grasp concepts better than it was when I was 20 or 30. Now I’m getting old. And I don’t have the energy that I had when I was younger. But we’ve got to keep at it. It’s ongoing change. Don’t get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing the same way all the time.

When you could be doing more and perhaps should be doing more. Have you cut yourself off from some of these occasions that are a conduit of change? Perhaps you’re missing some things by your Sunday morning only attendance that could help you to experience important change, not just for your betterment, but to the glory of a deserving God who paid the uttermost for you and your salvation. He deserves this.

And perhaps we could accomplish more and more efficiently by going to one service and making an extended service. And I’m okay with that if that’s really what is best for a local congregation, and each local church has to decide. But I want to tell you what I see in all of that is people wanting to do less. That’s what I see.

And I’m talking about myself.

5. Christ Is Going to Be Magnified in My Life

When we’ve been called to perfection, a perfection that we will never reach ultimately in this life. So we say, oh man, now you’re talking like this is the impossible task that we’ve been given to do. It will be an ongoing work for all of us, but I want to suggest something to you as to how we’re going to get this done. Number one, Christ is going to be magnified in my life. That’s what Paul says in Philippians 1 and verse 20. Christ is going to be magnified in my life. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gained. To live is Christ. This is my life now. It is Christ. My death is coming. It is imminent. Oh, maybe a couple of decades, but that’s still imminent.

But while I am still here, for to me to live is Christ, I have been redeemed unto him. I will magnify Christ in my body. And let me tell you what else. I’m not doing this alone. One of the things I want you to put on your prayer list this week, and I hope you have one, if not written down mentally. Who’s going to help us in this change? The Lord will. Let’s pray to him that we might experience this change that he desires in us. Let us invoke his help and assistance. He is our advocate. He is our intercessor. He is our help. Would you pray specifically that the Lord will help you to change in the areas and in the ways that you must change.

6. Change in the Local Church

Put on the full armor of God. At all times, praying in the Spirit. Ephesians 5, Ephesians 6 and verse 18 suggests. One more outgrowth of this, and I’ll be done this morning. Let me tell you about change as it relates to us as a group. Not only must we undergo personal spiritual change, but that’s going to involve, as we change, a change in the local church of which we are a part. And that will be manifest in a couple of ways. Have you ever noticed that membership in a local church changes? If we would look at a membership roster of this group five and a half years ago when we got here to right now, wow. The faces I’m looking at today are very different from the group that we had here five and a half years.

Some of you are the same. It’s amazing how much change happens. In regard to those who are teaching in our classes, those who are leading in our assemblies, the those who are serving by providing meals and all of those kinds of things that help people. I mean, the workforce of a congregation changes. Our productivity changes. I tell you one thing I’m really impressed with in regard. I cannot, I started thinking this morning about all the changes that have happened at Decker Prairie in the last five years. I remember when I came here, we had this projector sitting here, putting an image on the screen that everybody was sort of squinting to be able to see.

Tony, what do you think we need to do? And this is what I suggested. And they were on board. And now we can see.

He said, unfortunately, instead of encouraging self-initiative, some congregations have become very adept at killing it. I’ve been in those groups. Tragically, the work suffers when it could have thrived. A group of members are willing to sacrifice and work hard to bring an idea to fruition, but even though it is scripturally right, they run into a stone wall because it varies from the comfort zones of longstanding tradition. The prevailing attitude is it won’t work. Or we don’t do that here. So it is shot down without a fair hearing. Well, I think Mike hit the nail on the head. Change is good. As long as truth is not compromised. Change, doing things better, doing things more efficiently. Have you noticed our singing lately? Since we started putting the words on the screen, and our faces are not buried in a book.

Yeah, but I like the old way of doing it. I like people. No, I don’t, but I’m just, I’m saying that’s what some people think. Our singing is better. It is better. Finding more efficient ways of serving the Lord and encouraging others. That’s going to require change. We have deacons that are all about making the changes that need to be made in just our facilities.

Our lighting has changed. Things have been upgraded and improved. All of that change is a part of the personal change that we’re undergoing as we try to make what we do in this place the most efficient and glorifying thing to God that we possibly can. Embrace it.

Conclusion

Don’t fight it. Not all change is healthy. But we will never exhaust our full potential for change. To whom much is given, much is required. Luke chapter twelve and verse forty-eight. Not all change is healthy. Negative change is when we deviate from God’s truth. But let us not say of ourselves that change is impossible. It all begins with change. In Galatians chapter 3 and verse 27, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ. That’s where the change commences. Have you responded to the message of salvation that can change your heart and your life? Or are you stuck in a rut?

Sin is on your account. And you’re thinking that one day, perhaps you might do something, but it’s not today. But what if today is all you have? And look at the promises and blessings the Lord will give you if you embrace his change for the better. And we seem to encourage that response. Let’s stand.