Active response to God's will
involves constant change because His will is progressive.
This means we must constantly adapt to changes in
our lives where the will of God is leading us.
Many Christians fail to respond
to change as God directs because of two primary reasons:
1) They lack the motivation to change, 2) they desire
to, but they are not quite sure how to appropriate
the changes.
MOTIVATIONAL KEYS THAT
ARE NEEDED TO HELP INITIATE CHANGE.
1. Our Desire to Change
Is Something That Pleases the Lord.
In our desire to have a walk
that is worthy of our calling we see in the passage
below that we are to walk in lowliness and gentleness,
with longsuffering, bearing with one another etc.
To have a walk that encompasses these attitudes involves
submitting ourselves to the changing process that
God has ordained for our lives.
2. Change Brings Forth
a Greater Measure of Our Spiritual Inheritance.
Since change is an act of obedience,
we reap blessing upon blessing when we respond to
God in obedience.
Listed below are just a few
of the by products of our inheritance that we receive
through our obedience to submit to the changing process
in our lives.
| Joy vs.
Grief
Peace vs. Trouble
Hope vs. Fear
Happiness vs. Misery |
Love vs.
Hatred
Plenty vs. Poverty
Health vs. Sickness
Forgiveness vs. Resentment |
This is a major portion of
the promised land that God has given to us as New
Testament Christians. These promises should motivate
us to bring forth the kind of fruit God desires in
our lives. Let us be like Abraham who did not waver
at the promise of God through unbelief.
THE PRACTICAL DYNAMICS
OF BIBLICAL CHANGE.
1. We must Maintain
a Proper Attitude Towards Change.
We do this by keeping in mind
that God is the Potter and we are the clay.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O
LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You
our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
We must allow God to do with
us whatever He desires. Biblical change will not come
until we place ourselves in God's hands in this manner.
2. Learn to Recognize
the Symptoms That Represent a Need for Change.
| Having
a feeling of being unsatisfied
Having a feeling of being resisted.
Having a feeling of uselessness. |
Having
a feeling of lacking
Having a feeling of being out of date with the
move of God. |
If you have any one of these
feelings, it's probably a good indication that you
have a need for Biblical change in your life; because
the Christian life is not static, it is a life of
change.
3. Understand What
True Godly Sorrow Is and How it Works to Your Benefit.
There must be a godly sorrow
for your sinful condition, realizing that failure
to respond to Biblical change is sin.
4. Seek to Walk in
the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 I say then:
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the
lust of the flesh.
It is when we are walking in
the Spirit; praying, reading & meditating in the
word, worship, keeping our mind stayed on the Lord,
that we are more sensitive to the convicting power
of the Holy Spirit. As we experience the conviction
of the Holy Spirit we are more motivated towards the
changes the Lord is requiring of us.
5. We must Understand
How Habits and Life Patterns Work.
A bad habit must be replaced
by a good habit.
Habits are part of our makeup.
The key to change is to start becoming aware of your
habit patterns.
You must focus on and practice the new habit with
diligence and exercise.
Change will not take
place automatically, it must be exercised.
We all have the capacity to
change and learn new things. The question is do we
have the motivation and the understanding to do it.
