Change in the Air
Ecclessiates 3:1-8
October 26, 2003
Morning Service
Introduction
When I took chemistry in high school my teacher, Mr. Carter, did an experiment with a piece of ice and a simple beaker. The ice was placed inside the beaker and the beaker was placed over heat. We watched as that ice cube slowly became a small amount of water and then that water slowly began to boil. The boiling water began to turn into vapor and disappear from that glass beaker.
Mr. Carter asked a few questions about the process that we just watched and we walked through the process together. I’ll never forget what Mr. Carter told us: Everything is in a constant state of perpetual change.
The change of the seasons
Recently the temperature has turned cooler and there has been a crisp bite to the air. The normal morning dew has turned to a light frost. The tree leaves have gone from a lush green to an array of beautiful colors and now those leaves have fallen to cover the ground. We are making the transition from summer and are being prepared for the coming of winter. I think that it is safe to say that there is change in the air
Change; it’s sometimes a hard word to hear because it means that things will not be as they are right now. Change is not always easy but it is necessary. It is a basic part of life and as time passes things, places and people all go through the sometimes, painful process of change.
This morning I want to share some Biblical basics on the subject of change.
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
I. Change is a simple reality of life
Life is in a constant state of change. Life is like a river continually flowing and never the same twice. Every day is filled with wins and losses, opportunities and misses, hurt and healing. It is just a part of being alive.
Think about your life for just a moment. How much has your life changed in the last ten years?
How many of you have moved to a new home? How many children, grandchildren, great-grand children have joined your family? How many cars have you owned in ten years? How many of you have changed jobs or retired in the past ten years?
Change is a necessary part of life and being alive.
What would happen if babies just stayed the same and never changed? They would never reach maturity, never grow and never become what they were meant to become.
What would happen if the weather never changed? We would have one aspect of the cycle all of the time and lose the cycle and balance that is needed to sustain life.
What would happen if couples got married and then never started their lives together? There wouldn’t be much point in marriage would there?
Change is a part of life but do we truly have an accurate understanding of of what it really is?
What is change?
For some people change is the money that is given back after they buy something or the coins that you carry or have in a dish at the house.
Webster defined change as a period of transition, a type of movement or doing something out of the ordinary.
There are times when the changes of life happen so fast or so radically that we feel overwhelmed and we become completely unsettled. In those times that change seems to overwhelm you remember that the most important things in life never change.
II. The most important things in life never change
Let me ask you some questions: Has the Word of God changed? Have the provisions for salvation changed? Has the promise of heaven changed? Have any of these facts changed in the past ten years, what about the last thirty years, how about the last one hundred years or even in the past one thousand years? Not one has ever changed and when your life swirls with change you can take these promises to the bank!
The character of Jesus never changes
Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever. When everything else in life falls apart this is the one thing you can count on. The one who lived on earth through the virgin birth, died on the cross to cover the sin of humanity and who was raised from the dead, does not change!
Jesus cared enough to call you to salvation; He still cares about you today. Jesus led you through the previous difficulties of life; He will lead you through the ones to come. Jesus answered those desperate prayers in the past; still answers them today. Jesus never changes!
The love of Jesus never changes
Jesus loved you enough to die in your place and to offer you eternal life before you ever thought of coming to Him. He died so you might live; that’s what I call laying His love on the line.
Jesus loved you that much then and His love for you never changed. There is nothing that you can do to change His love for you. Jesus never changes!
The presence of Jesus never changes
Jesus told the disciples that He would be with them to the very end of the age. His promise is one that applies to your life as well. He will never leave you or forsake you. His presence is with you always and forever. Jesus never changes!
III. Change is the only way that we can see progress
Change that works is what we call progress – John Maxwell
Jesus has called the church to look forward and to move forward that is progress. Our greatest task as Christians is to lead people to find the change that will bring them into the Kingdom of Christ! We are not meant to fear change but rather we are meant to embrace and even help create it!
Throughout the Bible God has used people to fulfill His purpose for humanity and to complete His mission. The fact that God chooses to use fallible human beings to complete His mission and purpose for this world is a testament to His grace, His love and His power.
Think about it for a few moments. God used Moses, an unwilling shepherd to lead His people out of the bondage of Egypt. God used David, a shepherd boy to do what no soldier in Israel would do, kill a giant. God used Nehemiah, an enslaved food taster to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in just a few months. God used Peter, an uneducated fisherman to preach the greatest sermon in church history. God used Paul, a persecutor of the church to plant churches all over the ancient world.
What has really changed from that time until now? Today is no different than those days. Jesus is searching right now for someone who will simply answer His call, stand for His truth follow His leading and be His change agent in this corner of the world.
Harry Emerson Fosdick said these words: Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even profit by it but to cause it.
Today Jesus is calling and searching for those who stand up for Him. Jesus is looking for those who will proclaim; yes I will be your servant and change agent in this world! Change is in the air are you going to be a part of it!
