CHOICES BRING CHANGE
Spiritual growth is not automatic. Change is a matter of choice. We can’t just passively sit around doing nothing and expect to grow. We must make three choices if we really want to change. First:
1. We Must Choose Our THOUGHTS
Did you know that God is concerned about – what you think about? He is! The Bible says:
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians (KJV) 4:8
The New American Standard Bible tells us to “dwell” on these things. That is because what we think about is important to God.
Let me ask you, “How does a person become a Christian?” Some would say, “By repenting.” That is true but repentance is often a misunderstood term. I used to think of it as a man standing on a street corner with a sign that says, “Turn or burn!” In other words many think of repentance as changing their behavior. However, the Greek word for repentance is “Metnoia, and it means to change your mind or perspective. Romans 12:2 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)
The Bible teaches that the way we think determines the way we feel and the way we feel determines the way we act. So if you want to change your actions – you have to go back to the source and change the way you think.
Sometimes you may act resentful. Why? Because you feel resentful. Do you know why you feel resentful? Because you are thinking resentful thoughts. The same is true for anger and worry and many other kinds of destructive thought patterns.
It is interesting that while I was in the Army some terminology changed. We used to talk about “mental health” – but somewhere we changed the terms to “behavioral health”. Why? Because the experts realized that your mental health – determined your behavior health.
Let me illustrate it this way – imagine you have a speedboat and the speedboat has an automatic pilot. The boat is heading east, and you decide you want to go west. You want to make a 180-degree turn. There are two ways you can do that. The automatic pilot is heading the boat east, but you can grab the steering wheel and turn the boat around by sheer force. Now the boat is heading west, but the whole time that you’re forcing it by willpower to go west – you are constantly under tension. That’s because the boat is naturally inclined to go the other way. You are tense and uptight and soon you become tired. You know what happens then. You let go of the “wheel” and …you go off the diet, or you start smoking again, or you stop exercising, or you slip back into your old patterns of relating to your family. The truth is, trying to force yourself to change by sheer willpower seldom produces lasting results.
The other way to change the direction of your boat is to adjust the automatic pilot. You reprogram it. You tell it to go east because that is where you need to be. Now, the “automatic pilot” in your life are your thoughts. That is why Paul wrote:
“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)
Don’t focus on your actions. Don’t focus on your feelings. People often say, “I’m going to be more loving” or “I’m going to be happy if it kills me.” But forcing a feeling doesn’t work. Simply focus on changing your thoughts.
When you change the way you think – you also change the way you feel. Stop thinking the thoughts that are getting you into trouble and start thinking thoughts that will get you where you want to go.
God gives us things to think about. He has given us his Word. He has wrote to us – stories to think about – poems to listen to – parables to contemplate. He has given us an entire book to change the way we think about things.
I challenge you to read His word – study His word – meditate on His word – and if you do that – it will change the way you think about things.
In Psalm 1 we read:
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-2 (NASB)
God says that when we meditate on his Word – we will bear fruit. We will be fruitful, productive people – people full of love, joy, peace, patience and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit. He also says we will prosper.
What does it mean to meditate on God’s Word? It means to go over and over and over it again. It means to think about it and then think about it then think about it some more. The eastern concept of meditation is to empty yourself. The biblical concept of meditation is to fill yourself with God’s word. Meditation does not mean that you put your mind in neutral and think of nothing. Meditation is thinking seriously about what you are reading. You take one verse and ask, “What does this mean for my life?” Talk to yourself about it and talk to God about it.
Colossians 3:16 says:
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Col 3:16 (NASB)
We need to spend regular time every day – a minimum of ten to fifteen minutes – in which we sit down and read a portion of the Bible and think about what we have just read. We can choose what you think about.
2. We Must Choose to Depend on THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Bible says that God puts his Holy Spirit in us to give us power. All Christians have God’s Spirit in their lives – but not all Christians have God’s “power” in their lives. Jesus gives a beautiful illustration of this in John 15 where he says:
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NASB)
In this passage of scripture the branch is totally dependent on the vine – it cannot produce fruit by itself. Fruit growing comes with the connection to the source. If I went out in the spring and tied apples on the branches of a dead tree and then took my wife out and said, “Honey, look at our fruit tree.” She would say, “You tied those things on. That tree produced – nothing!” That is what it is like when a Christian says, “I’m going to tie on a bunch of fruit in my life – a little patience here, a little goodness there, al little self-control here. I’ll do it on my own.” It can’t be done! Remember – if you want to produce fruit you must be connected to the vine.
Now you might be saying, “How do I know whether I am abiding in Christ? How do I know if I am depending on his Spirit?”
Simple – do you have a desire for godly things? Do you have a desire to be more like Christ? When you sin – do you feel guilty about it? Do you strive to walk in the light rather than in the darkness? Do you have a desire to produce the fruit of the Spirit? The Bible says:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” Gal 5:22-26 (NASB)
If we depend on the Spirit – we will be led by the Spirit – and He will lead us to godly things.
3. We Must Choose to Respond Wisely to CIRCUMSTANCES
In addition to choosing our thoughts and choosing to depend on God’s Spirit we can also choose how we respond to the circumstances of our lives.
Viktor Frankl was one of the Jews sentenced to the Nazi concentration camp. He says that while he was in the camp, the guards stripped him of everything. They took his identity. They took his wife. They took his family. They took his clothes. They even took his wedding ring. But there was one thing that no one could take from him. In a classic book he writes, “The last of human freedoms is the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.” The guards could not take his freedom to choose his attitude.
We cannot control all the circumstances in our lives. We do not know what is going to happen tomorrow, or even today. We cannot control our circumstances but we can control how we respond to them. We can control whether an experience makes us a bitter person or a better person. What matters in life is not so much what happens to us but what happens in us.
Paul talks about this in Romans 8:28 where he says:
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28 (NASB)
God is untimely watching over us – in good circumstances and in bad – and He has the power to “cause all things to work for our good.”
Paul also said:
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Php 4:11-13 (NASB)
God also uses the situations and circumstance to help develop our character.
This is a lesson pictured in the life of Joseph as told in the Old Testament. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. Years later he said,
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
(Gen. 50:20)
This holds true in your life. Maybe there is someone right now who is trying to hurt you. Don’t worry. If you are a believer, if you have put your life in God’s hands, God can use even such a painful situation for good. He will develop within you a mature character. And that is what the fruit of the Spirit is all about. God wants to produce the character of Christ in our lives because he knows that the more we become like him, the more fulfilled we will be.
When God created man, he made him “in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). That was God’s original plan and it has not changed. He wants to make us like himself – not gods – but godly. He does it by working on our character through his Word, through his Holy Spirit, and through circumstances.
Do you remember the luggage commercial that featured a gorilla? A suitcase is shown going out on a conveyor belt at an airport, and instead of being picked up gently by a nice gentleman, it is manhandled by a gorilla. He hurls the luggage around the room, stomps on it, jumps on it, and throws it up in the air. Now, that luggage has character. It is reliable and stands the test. This week you may feel you have been beaten up at work or pushed around at home, but God can use even these kinds of situations for good in your life.
Here is a key truth: God produces the fruit of the Spirit in us by allowing us to encounter situations and people with characteristics that are exactly the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit.
Consider, for example, how God produces love in our lives.
Loving – loving people is easy.
Loving – unloving people is godly.
Jesus said it this way:
"Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35-36 (NASB)
To teach us real love – God puts some unlovely people around us. We learn real love by loving that cantankerous fellow at work or that pesky neighbor. God teaches us to love by letting us practice on the “unloving”.
The same is true for peace. Anyone can be at peace in calm situations – that does not take character. God teaches us about peace in the midst of total chaos – when everything is falling apart – the phones rings –the doorbell rings – something is boiling over on the stove and the dog bites the cat all at the same time. That is a situation in which we can truly learn inner peace. God works that way for each fruit he is developing in us.
One last point I want to make about life change – it takes time.
There is no such thing as instant maturity or instant spiritual growth. Time is essential. When you try to rush fruit – it doesn’t work. You have to give it T I M E.
How can you grow spiritually? You can begin by telling God right now that you want to be a productive, fruitful Christian, that you want to cooperate with his plan. Commit yourself to reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible. Ask God to use his Word to change the way you think. Invite the Holy Spirit to have free rein in your life. Don’t hold anything back. Pray and talk with him about everything. Accept your circumstances as a part of God’s plan to change your life. Ask him to help you respond to difficult people and unpleasant situations as Jesus would. God wants to produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Will you cooperate with him in that life-changing process?
(I want to thank Rick Warren for the sermon starter ideas.)
