From the Desk of Pastor Toby Powers
Truth Baptist Church
Bremen, GA
I Change Not
Malachi 3:6
Intro: God speaks to Israel concerning his willingness to judge their oppressors in verse 5. Verse six he says that the reason Israel is not consumed is because the Lord changes not. He has always been and will always be the same. But nothing else is that way:
1. The earth changes
2. Customs change- ex. Used to be customary for men to greet one another with a kiss
3. Churches change- some for the good and some for the bad.
4. People change- think about how different you are now than 10 or 20 years ago (Both physical and spiritual)
But God never changes. He was just, holy, righteous, pure, and powerful in the beginning, and he is just the same today. Friends and family may change. Jobs or careers may change. You and your spouse may change, but God never changes. He is immutable. He is forever the same. He is forever God. He never changes.
Ps 102:27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
God never changes, and his attributes and tools remain constant as well. He has not changed in:
I. His Word
A. Inspiration, II Tim 3:16, II Peter 1:21 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
B. Infallibility, Matthew 5:18 “not one jot or tittle” Matt 24:35 “Word not pass away”
C. Inerrant, Ps 33:4, Ps 146:6, John 17:17, Romans 3:4
D. Impact: “It still works every time it is used!”
II. His Will: Ephesians 5:17 “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” He has not changed in his
A. Public Will: Every sinner be saved (I Tim 2:4), Every Saved Man to be separated (II Cor 6:17), Every Separated Person to be Spirit-filled (Eph 5:18), Every Spirit-filled Person to be a Soul-Winner (Proverbs 11:30)
B. Personal Will: God still works personally on individual saints to show them his will for their life concerning their: church, companion, calling, and career.
C. Perfect Will: It has always been so that in his perfect will there is spiritual peace, spiritual perception, spiritual power, and spiritual productivity (bear fruit).
III. His Way: His way is still:
A. Straight Way: Matthew 7:13
B. Strange Way: The Lord does move in mysterious ways. I Cor 1:14, 1:10
C. Salvation Way: John 3:7, only by the blood, Heb 9:22
IV. His Work: He is not on a cloud taking a vacation, but God has actively been at work in this universe and particularly in the lives of men. He is still at work in:
A. Conviction, the awareness of sins and guilt. John 16:8 “And when he (the comforter) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgement.”
B. Conversion, II Cor 5:17
C. Cleansing, I John 1:7, 9
D. Changing, “The very best thing I ever did do was when I took off the old man and put on the new.” The old song said, "It’s different now... oh, so different now!"
E. Caring For Our Needs, Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 10:29 says he sees the sparrows that fall from the sky, and are you not of much more value than the sparrow. Matt 6:28 says that he clothes the grass of the field with lilies that neither toil nor spin, but Solomon in all his splendor was not as fair as they. How much more will he care for us. Luke 12:24 “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” I Peter 5:7
Conclusion: God has not changed, but he has surely changed me. And he keeps changing me. He keeps working on me. He patiently molds and makes me into what he wants of me. I am glad he still cares, and he still helps. Do you need to enlist his help today?
