Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
Change is hard, but it is in our eternal destiny to change. If we are not changing for God, then we are conforming to the world. No one stands still in life.
Rom.8:29 “For whom (all believers) he did foreknow (proginosko, knew beforehand), he did also predestinate (decree) to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn (to be preeminent) in first place among many brethren.”
12:2 “And be not conformed {present middle imperative} (squeezed) to this world’s mold through psychological conditioning, but be transformed (metamorphosis, changed from one form to another) by means of the renewing (renovation) of your mind (why believers must be thinkers above emoters) for what purpose?, that he may prove (have spiritual discernment) of what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Spiritual growth opens us up for changing our attitudes toward God’s will; attitudes that at one time were ill equipped to accept change. If we are not growing in grace and the knowledge of God’s word, we are not changing upward.
We see in Rom.8:29 the perfect will of God is for believers to be conformed to the character of Jesus Christ. Everything else will fall into place when this changing process is going on. When your mind and heart is occupied with Christ what could be better?
Rom.12:2 tells us where this process happens; it happens in our minds.
Accurate biblical thinking along with the Holy Spirit’s direction is paramount to understanding God and life as God wants us to know it.
But we know change is often hard to make. We can get comfortable with where we are even if it is uncomfortable. Have you ever taken a walk and gotten small gravel in your shoe and you kept walking hoping it would shift to a more comfortable spot, until finally you stopped and removed your shoe and shook that little gravel out. Have you ever put off going to the doctor over a nagging ailment until you said enough is enough?
We do not like to pause in our course of life for anything, but we have to from time to time.
We do not like to move to a new dwelling. We have to make all the arrangements and make all the financial decisions and sign the papers. We have to pack all the things we own and find a mover and get change of address cards for our mail. Lots of things have to take place and they can be mentally and emotionally exhausting, but we find ourselves making the change. My wife and I have gone through this process many times. Our move to the church parsonage was our thirteenth move since we married.
Our former pastor, Dr. Richard Frampton used to say life is about transitions; about adjustments to change. The child of God, who successfully makes these transitions to changing circumstances, is the child who has established a sound relationship with God. This believer in Christ has matured in the faith, subsequently he or she handles change with little fear or trepidation.
Eph.3:17-19
As long as you are grounded in the word of God the changes in life will not uproot you from your faith. You take that faith with you into any situation. If you are not grounded in the faith (the word of God) you have nothing permanent to anchor to while going through the changes of life. The spiritually maturing believer ( this doesn’t mean you have arrived, but you sure are working on being faithful to the word); this believer sticks to Bible doctrine when family relationships fail; when loss of income occurs; when health fails; and when friends fail. This believer even sticks with the word when he cannot put a finger on something that puzzles him. Job said “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:8-9.
Oh, the benefits of remembering the Creator in the days when you can study and learn, when you feel healthy and sore trial is kept from you, Ecc.12:1. Oh, the foolish habits some Christians can get into of ignoring the word of God and being absent from the word of God. The price they pay when the whirlwinds of change knock them off their feet and they have no inner strength for hope and consolation. And what a tragedy to miss out on glorifying God in the midst of trials and being rewarded handsomely at the Bema Seat of Christ for exercising faith in heavy trials. Do not let your eternal blessings evaporate due to a lack of biblical faith during testings and trials. Fellow believer, do not let your adversity, or your prosperity steal your heavenly crowns.
The spiritually maturing, Spirit filled, child of God is aware of this danger. You have enough respect for God to believe that He works all things for the good to them that love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose, Rom.8:28.
When this believer doesn’t know what to do the one thing he doesn’t do is scrap the word of God. When family trials come and you want to pull the covers over your head and stay in the bed, you don’t. You get up; you get ready and come to church just like others have when family trials have visited their homes. Unless you have a communicable disease, work at it to get to church even if you don’t feel well. I have seen elderly saints with oxygen tanks and some with walkers struggle through those doors to hear the word of God. I have seen saints on crutches; people with back problems and so forth find the strength to get to church. I watched our previous pastor, Dr. Richard Frampton, who while ministering to this congregation as he suffered for twenty years with severe chronic tinnitus make it up to the pulpit and preach his heart out when he was sick on his stomach and hadn’t had a decent nights rest for days. It’s amazing how the grace of God supplies the necessary strength to those who are humble; who love the Lord.
I have seen families on fixed incomes and families with children to feed when dad had lost his job put an offering in for the Lord’s work, even when things were tight. I have seen folks come to Wednesday night Bible study and prayer service who were worn out from working hard all day and some who had to rush home to go to an all night shift at work. These are the Lord’s silent heroes.
Knowing where you belong is critical to maintaining your walk with the Lord.
I was reminded of the importance of face to face teaching as my wife and I listened to a Bible teacher on the radio Saturday morning. Years ago before TV and cassettes and CDs and even radio; people had maybe a few books, but the Bible was one of them. People read and memorized much of the Bible. Years ago in America you were considered illiterate if you did not know the books of the Bible and much of its content. People in America would travel for an hour or two to get to church and no competent preacher would preach less than one hour, some up to three hours to hungry men and women who wanted to know more about God. The Bible was their only medium for learning and so they went in droves to churches. Big churches were filled in the cities and little churches were bursting at the seams throughout the countryside. When changes in life occurred years ago people didn’t stop going to church, they made the adjustments and remained faithful. They got through the hard times because they were faithful during the good times. They were more obedient years ago and the blessings of the Lord on this nation and our homes was much greater. Let’s get back to those days. Let us simplify our lives and let God be a bigger part of our days. Amen.