Change!

Change - David Fernandes

 This message was preached at Word of Grace Church , Pune on the 11th of March 2012 by David Fernandes. David is the senior pastor of Living Word Church , Bandra, Mumbai ( the church that planted out Word of Grace ) . David has been a mentor and friend to Colin and Navaz for nearly two decades. He shares his life, his thoughts and the Word of God with us  here. To listen to the AUDIO please click here.

 Good morning everyone! ( David shares his joy and thoughts on Word of Grace church before his preach)

I will share about change in the contest of our walk with God. Change is happenng all around us.

 TEXT :Eccel 3:1-8There is a time for everything,  and a season for every activity under the heavens:² a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,  a time to tear down and a time to build, ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,    a time to be silent and a time to speak, ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,   a time for war and a time for peace.

God in his infinite wisdom built change into life itself. We are birthed in change. Growth  involves change. That’s the way we are wired. In the spiritual we have encountered change to encounter the source of life. Matt 18: 2 In order to know Jesus we have to change – and become like little children.

The kingdom of god is righteous peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Like natural birth there is also a spiritual birth. John 3 :1-7 says you must be Born Again.

2Cor 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! Becoming new creation is a dramatic, drastic and profound process. We cannot survive in the past. There has to be continual change. We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Prov29:18 – without a progression vision we will dwell carelessly. We are called to live and believe and hope through change.

We have to contend with change – but are we equipped to do so?

The world is spending millions on teaching people on how to cope with change.  We have Jesus with us – the world and life changer. We also have the Holy Spirit who is at the cutting edge of change.

There are three things about change you need to know:

1. Change is constant and inevitable

2. You need certain principles that are eternal to cope with change

3. You have a choice.

What are the principles you live by? Are they rock like that makes you solid? In the midst of change God is unchanging.

1.Mal 3:6 I am the Lord – I do not change. Heb 13:8

2. There is no other name that can deliver us from sin.

3. We believe in the Trinity – we are saved by grace through faith and not works.

4 The Holy Spirit is central to our life and the presence of God.

5 We bench mark everything against the Word of God.

4.The local church is the instrument for bringing the Kingdom of God and that is not negotiable. These are some unchanging principles we should live by.

3. Change becomes a matter of choice led by certain principles.

It must be in the context of godly vision and purpose. Do you have a progressive vision for your life? Prov. 29:18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.

Where is your life going, and what is it for? Are you changing for the God? Without the constraints of God we will perish.

• Change can be anticipated eg) Noah and the flood. Noah did something. We have a head start because we can hear God and anticipate and prepare for change.

• Change can take us by surprise. The Holy Spirit comes to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. John 15,. Is your life bearing fruit? If not what does God need to cut off? He is committed to making us like Him. That is why he prunes us. If nothing has changed in your life recently – you need to look at your life.

We need to see God in circumstances. Rom 5:3 suffering produces perseverance which produces character which produces hope that does not disappoint.

• Change is uncomfortable.
• Change is best handled by faith and hope. We need to  see opportunities in adversity.
• Change requires humility- pride and change are not bed fellows.
• In a community it requires unity. If we are not united we will slow down the change God is bringing.

Have an ambition of being a world changer. This change is missional.  We need to be pliable for this. We need to spend time in his presence.

 11th March 2012