GOD’S POWER CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Did you know that God is in the life change business? He will take that which is broken and fix it. He will take that which is bent and straighten it out. He will take that which is shattered and put it back together. God is in the life change business.
Over the years, as a minister, many people have asked me; “How can I change my life? I really want to change – but I don’t know how? I have tried – but I just can’t do it on my own.”
The truth is folks – people go to seminars and conferences looking for a painless way by which their lives can be zapped and changed by instant self-discipline. People join health clubs with high hopes and expectations but their enthusiasm runs dry after about two weeks. People read self-help books – yet they often find no help at all. The good news is – God has the power to change your life.
The word “power” occurs one hundred and one times in the New Testament (NASB). It is used to describe the most powerful source in the universe – God’s power. It is God’s power that caused the blind to see. It is God’s power that made the lame to walk. It is God’s power that healed the lepers and made them clean. It is God’s power that resurrected Jesus from the dead. It is God’s power that can take us and transform us into the people God wants us to be. It is God’s power that can change lives.
The Greek word for “power” in the New Testament is dunamis. It is the word from which we get our word dynamite. It is powerful – it is explosive – it is life changing. Paul wanted to know this power when he wrote:
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings…” Phil. 3:10 (KJV)
The Contemporary English Version says it this way:
“All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life.” Phil. 3:10 (CEV)
Yes, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead two thousand years ago is available to us right now to transform us – to take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. What can God’s power do?
1. God’s Power Can CANCEL Your Past
First, God’s power is powerful enough to cancel our past – our failures, mistakes, sins, and regrets. When I say “cancel”, I’m not talking about denying the past as if it never happened. But what I am saying is that with God’s power you do not need to be chained to that stuff. You are given a second chance.
Have you ever gotten halfway through a project and wished you could start over? Suppose you are painting the living room, and you step back and look at the color that seemed perfect at the store. But on the wall – it doesn’t look so perfect. You wish you could start over.
A lot of people feel that way about life: “I’ve made so many mistakes. I wish I could just wipe them out and start over.”
Failures, problems, bad decisions – we have all suffered from them. But some people just can’t seem to let go of the past, and as a result, they let their past limit their present opportunities. They live in a constant state of regret saying, “If only I had done this – if only I had done that. If only I hadn’t made so many mistakes.” They are tormented by painful memories and they can’t seem to get past them.
God says it is unnecessary for us to go around with a heavy load of guilt – hurts and bad memories. In Colossians 2:13-14 God says he has forgiven all our sins and canceled out every record of the debt we had to pay. Colossians says:
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven
us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt
consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has
taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Col 2:13-14 (NASB)
Jesus Christ knows the things we have done wrong but he did not come to rub them in – He came to rub them out.
He did not come to condemn us – he came to change us.
A clean slate is possible! Think in terms of an Etch-A-Sketch. What do you do if you don’t like the picture you have made? You flip it over – shake it a little and start over. You start out with a clean slate.
The Bible says this is what God does with the mistakes we have made. When we come to him – he wipes the slate clean. The Bible says:
“Let us draw near (to God) with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Heb 10:22 (NASB)
How can we draw near to God? That’s because – in Christ – we can be forgiven. He can cancel our past. The Bible says:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (KJV)
If God is willing to forgive us – don’t you think that we should be willing to forgive ourselves? If Jesus was crucified on the cross to pay for my mistakes – don’t you think we should stop crucifying ourselves. He was hung up for our hang-ups. That folks is the good news! God’s power can cancel my past. But that’s not all.
2. God’s Power Can CONQUER Your Problems
God’s power is also the power to conquer our problems. Everyone has problems. You have problems – I have problems – we all have problems.
The real problem is what we do with our problems. Most of us try to solve our problems with our own power – but that just leads to fatigue and frustration. How do we know when we are trying to solve all our problems with our own strength? Because we are tired all the time!
A man who was fatigued and frustrated summed it up this way, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” We get this way when we try to solve our problems on our own. God wants us to stop trying and start trusting him with our problems.
I have met lots of people who feel as if their lives are out of control.
They feel there is nothing that they can do about their situation and circumstance. When asked, “How are you doing?” They respond, “I’m doing okay, under the circumstances.” Well the question is – what are they doing under them? I have heard it said, “Circumstances are like a mattress. If you’re on top of it, you rest easy, but if you get underneath, you suffocate!” A lot of us are under our circumstances. Although we cannot always control them – we can control how we respond to them.
You might be saying, “But, Pastor Tom, you don’t know all the problems I’m going through. My problems are huge!” Maybe they are – but have you ever heard – God is Big. He is bigger than anything you are going through. The Bible tells us:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
Rom 8:35 (NASB)
The answer is nothing! Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Nothing can swallow us up or destroy us. No matter how dark a situation may be – God can turn on a light. No matter how hopeless life seems - God is there to help.
But that’s not all:
3. God’s Power Can CHANGE Your Personality
God’s power enables us to cancel our past and conquer our problems but that’s not all it does. God’s power also helps us change our personality. What would you like to change about yourself? Change is not easy but how would you complete this sentence: “If there is one thing I could change about myself it would be …” I know at the beginning of this year I wanted to lose weight – so I went on a diet. I was bound and determined to lose weight. I planned to exercise. I planned to eat less and eat more healthy food. My plan lasted about two hours – it just didn’t last. But when we are talking about real change it takes T I M E.
Did you know that God uses a two-step process to change us? The first step is explained in Second Corinthians chapter five verse seventeen. It says:
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2 Cor. 5:17 (NASB)
The initial turning point is when we commit our lives to Christ. We are not the same anymore – a new life has begun. This is why the Bible calls this step being “born again.”
Being born again doesn’t mean we are reincarnated – it simply means we get a chance to start over. It is not turning over a new leaf but getting a new life – a fresh start. It is a new beginning with a big difference. We now have a new nature and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Being born again is like being born the first time – it is only the beginning. We have a new life and we are being changed. In Romans chapter twelve it says:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
I like the way the Message Bible puts it – it says:
“Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:2 (Msg)
But there is only one thing will keep you from changing and becoming the person God wants you to be. It’s not the devil. It’s not other people. It’s not circumstances. It’s procrastination. In other words – it’s you!
I meet many people who are getting ready to change but never do. They say, “I’m aiming to change one of these days. “ But one of these days never comes. They just go on and on the same way that they have been living. They put it off and put it off and put it off. They live in a constant state of procrastination. But procrastination can be fatal.
One of these days I’m going to get in shape. One of these days I’m going follow my dreams. One of these days I’m going to have that surgery I need. One of these days I’m to spend more time with the family. One of these days I’m going get serious about being a Christian. One of these days…
How many of you have seen the movie; The Ten Commandments? You know the one staring Charlton Heston, as Moses.
Do you remember the scene where Moses goes and talks to Pharaoh to ask him to let God’s people go? Pharaoh refuses to let the people go. So what happen then? Aaron takes Moses’ staff and puts it in the river Nile and it is turned to blood – the fish die and more than that – no one can drink the water anymore. It is so bad that they have to dig wells to get drinking water. A week later Moses shows up at Pharaoh’s court again. This time he says, “Frogs. There is going to be frogs. The land will be covered with frogs.” Pharaoh refuses to let the people go – so Aaron waves the staff of Moses over the river and ponds and lakes and frogs cover the land. They are everywhere.
Finally, Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “All right, Moses, I give up – get rid of the frogs.” So Moses asked, “When do you want me to get rid of the frogs?” Now Pharaoh’s answer was classic. He said, “Tomorrow. Get rid of the frogs tomorrow.” He must have been crazy! Why would anyone wait any longer to have the frogs removed? But that is what he asked for.
There is a famous sermon based on this text called “One More Night with the Frogs.” How would you like to spend one more night with the frogs? Why in the world would anyone put off a change that was going to be so beneficial? So positive? We would have expected Pharaoh to say, “Get rid of the frogs right now!” But, no, he said, “Tomorrow.”
You and I do this all the time. We procrastinate by putting off changes that we know will be good for us. Why? Maybe we are complacent. Maybe we are too lazy to change. Maybe we are afraid because we don’t know what the changes will involve. Maybe we are too proud or just stubborn. Whatever the reason, we procrastinate – we wait – we avoid.
The NASA space engineers tell us that most of the fuel used in a rocket launch is burned up in the first few seconds of lift-off. It takes tremendous energy and thrust to get a rocket off the launching pad. Once it’s moving and headed for orbit, it requires much less fuel and energy to control and direct.
It is one thing for me to tell you that Jesus Christ can cancel your past – to help you conquer the problems – to bring about life change – but it is quite another matter for you to commit to it.
Although you may agree with everything I say – you may still wait and you still say, “Let me spend one more day with my problems. Let me spend one more day – just the way I am.”
It is interesting that later on in the story of Moses and Pharaoh that this verse is found:
Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.” Exodus 14:13 (NASB)
God has the power to make changes in your life now. He will give you the power to cancel your past – to conquer your problems – to change your personality – but you have got get started. Why not start today?
If you have been unable to let go of your past – God offers complete forgiveness. You may feel like Humpty Dumpty – so fragmented that nothing can put you back together. He can put your life back together again. It is never too late to start over! You are never a failure until you give up.
Maybe you are overwhelmed with your problems. God’s power reminds us that no situation is hopeless. Relax. Trust God. You don’t have to be controlled by your circumstances. No problem is too big for God. He is still in the life change business.
What are you waiting for? Right now you can say, “Jesus Christ, take my life. Take the good, the bad, and the ugly. Take every part of me.” Open your heart to his love right now and let God’s power become a reality in your life.
(I wish to thank Rick Warren for the sermon starter ideas.)
