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Change is Required
The first mainframe computer system was introduced in 1964. The manufacturer enjoyed very healthy profits for decades. In the early 1980’s, an idea rumbled through the computer industry. The idea was that each person could own their own computer.
The mainframe manufacture’s reaction? Looking at their past success, they concluded, “Why would anyone want that? Besides, the average person doesn't want to learn programming.”
While these manufacturers were in the best position to mass-produce personal computers, they allowed themselves to be blinded by their past success and would not change their way of thinking. They refused to see and help create the computer revolution—the personal computer. Bankruptcy was waiting right around the corner.
Several years ago, I visited a couple whom I hadn’t seen in over fifteen years. While I enjoyed spending time with them, after a few hours I was saddened by something. The wife was still a busybody and a gossiper and the husband still had lust in his heart. I was privy to the knowledge that these issues in their lives were addressed many years previously, yet they both had not changed.
Change is easy in those things that we don’t care much about. Change is hard in those things that we have affection for.
We need to be willing to change if we want to hear God’s voice more often and more clearly.
We can find many people in the Bible that refused to change and encountered harsh difficulty and even early death. Others though, were willing to change:
Moses
For his first forty years, Moses was trained in the Egyptian educational and political system. After fleeing
Moses lived in
Nicodemus
In John chapter 3, Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling counsel and fearing rebuke from his peers, went to Jesus secretly at night. From the conversation they had, one of the longest recorded in all four of the gospels, Nicodemus heard some of the now most-quoted statements by Jesus (e.g. John 3:16).
In chapter 7, Nicodemus protested the plot by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus. Although Nicodemus did not overtly defend Jesus, he did quench the Pharisee’s plans by stating that their law does not convict a man before going to court.
By chapter 19, Nicodemus is a changed man. He helps take Jesus’ body to the tomb, in public and during daylight hours. The fear of man is gone. Nicodemus’s heart changed from insecure before man to secure before God—from a ruler of the people to a servant of Jesus.
The change in Nicodemus was gradual, unlike Matthew, for example, who walked away from everything when Jesus simply said, “Follow me.” Nonetheless, Nicodemus allowed Jesus’ words to change him.
John
John was arrogant, had misguided zeal, and was prideful. He tried to stop another man from casting out demons, he wanted to kill a whole village of people because they did not accept Jesus, and he asked to be seated next to Jesus in glory.
Approximately sixty years later, when John wrote his gospel, he revealed how much he had changed by referring to himself five times as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. It wasn’t that Jesus loved only John and no one else. And it wasn’t that Jesus loved John more than anyone else.
John referred to himself by that phrase because he saw how sinful his heart was during those three years that he walked with Jesus. John could only see how much Jesus loved him by the patience, understanding, and affection that Jesus gave him when he was being ungodly. In essence, John was identifying himself as, “I was a mess, yet Jesus loved me. My identity is simply that for all of my life, Jesus has loved me. And His love has changed me from following my foolish ways to becoming a faithful servant and friend.”
A Sign
As we pursue God and learn to hear His voice, He will bring to our attention aspects of our character that we need to change. This can happen in many ways and many times.
For example, someone makes a comment that we are too focused on money. The next day, we see the movie, Scrooge, and all we can think about for the next couple days is the principle that it’s better to give than to receive.
This is a sign that God wants us to change.
That example might sound very simple, but signs can be very easy to ignore.
In the Heavens
How can we discern if we are changing or not? Here’s an analogy. The visible stars and constellations have been named and mapped. We’ve named eighty-eight patterns from the positions of stars, such as the Southern Cross and the Big Dipper. Now, if we were suddenly transported into space to the current location of our earliest radio waves (approximately 80 light-years away) and looked back towards Earth, all of our familiar constellations would be very hard, if not impossible, to recognize. Why? The stars have not changed and their positions are still the same. What has changed is our viewpoint.
Back to Earth
When we allow ourselves to be changed—when we allow change in our character—our viewpoint changes. We begin to see other people differently. (Sometimes it even seems like they are the ones who are different.)
To those people we have bad feelings for because they have repeatedly lied to us, our ill feelings change to compassion and concern for their eternal security, knowing that all liars have their place in the lake of fire.
To the person who slandered our character, we no longer entertain thoughts of revenge. We now see that person as someone being used by the Accuser of the brethren and we pray for their deliverance.
Change in the Church
The Roman Catholic Church was the first predominant Christian religion for centuries. Then God released revelation knowledge that the just shall live by faith, not by works. He gave this revelation to a man named Martin Luther. God wanted everyone to understand that we can freely receive salvation and freely receive forgiveness for our sins, yet many did not want to change and they remained in the old doctrine.
Later, God released another revelation through the Wesley brothers known as, “holiness, sanctification and separation”. It was time for Christians to change again, many did, yet many did not.
And so the trend continued, God poured out a major revelation, a new denomination was created, many changed, and many did not. Today, we have basically four major groups: the Roman Catholic, salvation by faith, holiness, and Pentecostalism.
Many people hold only to the revelation of God that was given many centuries ago. But God wants His church to change and to grow in Him, not stagnate on old revelations.
When we want to hear God’s voice, He will reveal things to us that require us to accept change.
One of the worst things for us to hear when we meet someone we haven’t seen in many, many years is, “Man, you’re the same ol’ guy I remember! You haven’t changed a bit!”
When we are willing to change, we become more like Christ. When we are like Christ, our hearts become pure. And it’s the pure in heart that shall see God.
It is my prayer for you that Father will continue to help you to hear His voice, and more and more frequently.
With God’s grace and in His peace,
Gary
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Gary (gary@ears-2-hear.com), Author, Web Designer, www.ears-2-hear.com.
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
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