CHANGE
Notes from a sermon in a time of change
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We are in a time of change.
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You’ve probably, somewhere, seen “The Prayer of Serenity” – God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference
This “prayer” is, in fact, a very powerful statement about life – life is full of changes and we have to be prepared to be a part of change and sometimes to be instrumental in them.
There are many things in our life that are subject to constant change, yet many people spend countless hours and great amounts of energy trying to avoid or ignore change, and in the process get left behind and lose their relevance. Mark Twain said that the only people who really like change are wet babies – I put a text on the wall of our crèche in the Armidale church that read “We shall not all sleep but we will be changed” (1 Cor 15:51)
Change takes us out of our comfort zone – it can create something of uncertainty and insecurity, SLIDE OR it can fill us with awe, hope and expectation – you choose which it will do – it’s up to you.
We must be prepared to accept the unchangeable things – thus we well may pray “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change”, however we can’t ignore the second part of the “prayer of serenity”, where we ask for “courage to change the things we can”.
Christine’s grandmother died in 1997 at the ripe old age of 105 – just think of the radical changes in the world that she saw in her lifetime:
She was a witness to an era that produced Band-Aids and penicillin, Corn Flakes, Fords and Holdens, Readers Digest, jazz, the computer and the theory of relativity.
She was not only around when man landed on the moon but she was also around when the Wright bros. took their first unsteady moments in an aircraft
She witnessed the incredible despair of the worldwide Great Depression, she lived through the horror of two massive world wars, she saw the birth of the Anzacs and even the birth of our nation. She lived under 2 Queens (Victoria and Elizabeth) and 4 Kings (2 Edwards and 2 Georges)
When she was born, telegraph messages were the latest cutting edge in communication technology, but by the time she died there were millions of e-mail messages being sent around the world everyday.
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The moral climate has also seen radical change, many would say decay rather than change. Even 50 years ago, no-one would have believed that we would have abortion on demand, legalized homosexual marriage, doctor assisted suicide, graphic violence and confronting morality on TV.
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But, even though we are uncomfortable, with some changes in our generation, we must understand that this is the generation in which God has placed us, like it or not, you and I were brought into the world and we have been called for such a time as this – we have been called to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of this generation.
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Of course, some things never change – here just 3 unchanging things
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1) Jesus "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:8)
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In a world of constant change it is good to know that Jesus Christ is always the same – He is always here for us and always loves us, His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the dead will always be sufficient for our eternal salvation – and that message can never change. …. but the way that the message is delivered to the world around us changes constantly and we must be prepared to make whatever changes are necessary in our presentation of the unchanging message to make it understood by our “audience”.
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2) The Bible
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isa. 40:8)
The Word of God stands for all time as a revelation from God's mouth to our ears. It will never change or diminish.
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3) Spiritual Needs
In every generation that has ever lived, people have hungered for spiritual reality. Today the “god shaped vacuum”, so called by Blaise Pascal, is still a reality and people seem to naturally want to fill that void. The failure of the church to reach its generation is causing many to become disillusioned with church and start to look to world religions and eastern or new age philosophies to fill the void.
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Some things however, are changing as we watch. Here are 3 examples
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1. The ethnic make up of our culture is changing.
The ethnic population mix in our nation is changing rapidly. The concept of multiculturalism has become more and more significant in our language, customs, values, relationships, and processes.
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2. There are also radical shifts in our National outlook.
We have changed:
a) From a Christian world-view to pluralistic world-views.
b) From Western influence to Eastern influence.
c) From One Dominant cultural group to a multicultural society
d) From mechanical to electronic
e) From words in books to words and images on screens
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3. The very first verse of the Bible tells us that God is a God of change. "In the beginning, God created..."— God is Creator, and we are made in His image, so we should not only make sure that we don’t hinder His creativity, but we must allow Him to guide us to use our creativity find new and effective ways to reach our generation with the gospel – we need to review the way we do things. When I read through the Bible I find verses that tell me about a "new song", "a new heavens and earth", "new wine", "new life", "new covenant", "new creation", "new man", and a "new commandment." God BRINGS change whilst remaining consistent and we must be willing to change, to develop and creatively represent Him to a changing world.
We must make changes where and when we need to, and the first step in change is that we must be willing to give up the control of that which needs to change – don’t be the cork in the bottle, instead we can play our role, make our contribution in taking the unchanging gospel about the unchanging love of an unchanging God and bring it to our rapidly changing world.
In 1865 an editorial in the Boston Post read, "Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit their voices over wires, and even if it were possible, the thing would not have practical value."
In 1897 Lord Kelvin said, "Radio has no future."
Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM in 1943 said, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Ken Olson, President of Digital Equipment Corporation stated in 1977, "There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home."
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Why did they make such statements? Simply because they failed to see beyond themselves – may we not be like that, may we see the need of men and women; embrace this exciting time of change – and may we see its potential to reach the harvest that is so plentiful around us and say “God we are willing, we will take some faith filled steps with great expectation of what our God can do.”
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