SOME EVIL PEOPLE CAN CHANGE

PROCLAMATION

“In his distress he sought the favor of The Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before The God of his ancestors.  And when he prayed to Him, The Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew that The Lord is God.”  2 Chronicles 33:12-13 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

When Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh succeeded him as king of Judah.  Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king and he did that which was evil in the eyes of The Lord.  He rebuilt the high places, the idols, and the Asherah poles that his father had torn down and he worshiped them. (2 Chronicles 33:1-3)  He sacrificed his own children in the fire in the valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and he consulted with mediums and spiritists. (2 Chronicles 33:6)  Eventually, The Lord God allowed the Assyrian army to attack and capture him.  They put a hook in his nose, put him in shackles, and took him to Babylon as a prisoner. (2 Chronicles 33:10-11)  Then Manasseh humbled himself and prayed to The Lord God who allowed him to be brought back to Jerusalem.  There he worshiped The Lord God and he removed all of the idols which he had erected. (2 Chronicles 33:13-16)  When Manasseh died, his son Amon succeeded him as king, and he did all of the evil things that his father had done before he humbled himself before God. (2 Chronicles 33:20-23)  Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him, but then they were all killed by the people for killing the king. (2 Chronicles 33:24-25)  

APPLICATION

There are a lot of lost, sin-sick, evil people in this world.  The good news is that there is still hope for them.  Some of the people will change their evil ways.  The Lord God has a way of getting our attention and causing us to rethink our beliefs and behavior.  However, not all of the lost will be saved.  As believers, we should pray for all of them because we do not know which ones will heed the call and have a change of heart.  We should also pray for our political and community leaders.  Pray that they will make decisions which are in the best interest of the people and not their own self-interest.  We should pray for those people who meant us harm for we know that The Lord God can protect us and use whatever they had planned for us to our benefit. (Genesis 50:20)  The Lord God can make even bad things work out for our good. (Romans 8:28)

WE ARE NOT THE PERSON WE USED TO BE

Proclamation:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.  The old has gone, the new is here.”  2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Corinth.  Paul wanted the people of God to know that once a person accepts Christ as their personal savior they become a new creature, or a new creation.  They are no longer the person that they used to be.  The corrupt old nature is still present but the person is different because of the implantation of new principals of grace and holiness.  This gives them a new spirit and a new heart which results in new desires, new affections, new delights and joys.  They now see things differently and they behave differently.

Application:

All of us have done some things in the past that are an embarrassment to us now.  It does not matter how many skeletons there are in our closets, God can still use us.  All of the great men of the Bible were sinners, except Jesus, The Christ, and God used them.  We should not let our past sins get in the way and stop us from serving God now.  We have changed, we are new creatures.  Thanks to The Holy Spirit we are not who we used to be.  The fact that we have stopped doing some of the things that we did in the past may help us reach someone who is lost in sin where we used to be.  However, we are not perfect.  We still struggle with some of our sinful ways.  That is why we pray daily to ask God to forgive us of our sins and to help us as we walk this Christian walk.  God has a plan for each of us, and I am sure that part of that plan involves helping someone else and sharing with others what we know about Christ.

A CHANGED LIFE

Proclamation:

“… As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’  ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.  ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied…”  Acts 9:1-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  The Apostle Paul, while he was still being called by his given name, Saul, had a life altering encounter with The Lord on his way to Damascus.  He had gotten letters from the high priest which authorized him to arrest any believer that he encountered.  On his way there, a light from heaven blinded him and then he heard a voice from heaven. 

Application:

After he had an encounter with The Lord, Paul’s life changed from being a zealot persecutor of Christians to being a zealot for The Lord.  He changed from a persecutor to a preacher.  The experience humbled him and changed how he saw the world and how he saw himself.  When you have a personal encounter with Christ, you cannot continue to live your life as you did beforehand.  You become a new creature, not perfect, but definitely different. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  Paul lost his sight for three days.  (Acts 9:17-18)  The experience for each believer is different and the change that we undergo is unique for each for each of us.  The people who knew us beforehand should notice a change in us afterwards.  When we do sin we no longer enjoy it as much and we feel guilty afterwards.  Some things we no longer do, some things we do differently, and some things we still struggle with letting go.  If we cannot identify the change in our life, then we should question ourselves regarding our belief in Christ.

WHAT EFFECT DID THE WORD OF GOD HAVE ON YOU?

Proclamation:

"Then He told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:3-8 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as He spoke from a boat to a large crowd which had gathered on the shore.  In this parable of the sower, The Word of God is the seed and the people that hear it are the ground upon which it fell.

Application:

What did you do with The Word of God when you heard it?  Some heard The Word and rejected it, some liked it but it did not change their life, and some let their friends and the world have more influence over them than The Word.  What kind of "ground" are you?  The best way to answer this question is to look at the "fruit" that it has produced in your life.  When the seed, The Word, fell on good ground, it produced good fruit.  The fruit that we produce is the evidence of God in our lives.  The fruit of The Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)  We need to cultivate within our lives a greater receptivity to The Word of God in order for it to grow within us, to produce good fruit, and produce a changed life which will give God glory.

Meeting The Lord God Will Change You

"As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'  'Who are you, Lord?'  Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," He replied.' "  Acts 9:3-5 (NIV)  (Read Acts 9:1-9)

These words were recorded, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, by Luke, the physician and travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, here called Saul.  He had an encounter with The Lord on the road to Damascus, and his life was completely changed.  He went from being a persecutor of Christians, to being a preacher of the gospel.  Paul became the human author of thirteen of the twenty-seven books in The New Testament of The Bible.  

It does not matter how bad we are, or what sins we have committed, an encounter with The Lord will change our life.  No one is so bad that The Lord God cannot save him, or use him.  Each person's encounter is personal and for them only.  The men who were with Paul when this occurred, heard a sound but din not understand it as words. (Acts 9:7)  The purpose and plan which The Lord God has for each one of us is unique and special.  We just have to believe and be willing to let Him use us as He sees fit to do. 

Don't Let Past Sins Stand In Your Way

"At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is The Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name?  And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"  Acts 9:21-22 (NIV)

When he received his sight, after being struck down and blinded on the road to Damascus, Saul, who would later be known as the Apostle Paul, changed from persecutor of Christians to preacher for Christ.  He never denied his past actions, in fact he began one of his letters to the believers reminding them of his past sins. (Galatians 1:13)  He even claimed to be the chief among the sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)   Then he told them that God changed him. (Galatians 1:15-16)

The Lord God turned life of the Apostle Paul completely around and took him from being a well known persecutor, to being a prolific preacher, writer of the biblical epistles, and founder of churches.  He did not let his past sins stand in the way of being used by The Lord.  Some people think that they are too bad for God to want them, or to use them.  Jesus came into this world for the purpose of saving lost sinners. (Romans 5:8)  We all have a past life of sin (Romans 3:23), but thanks be to God, believers have a future gift of eternal life. (Romans 6:23)  Don't let your past sins stand in your way, or hold you back.  God loves you. (John 3:16)  God has plans for you. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)  People will remind you of you past sins when they cannot handle you present situation, and when your future is brighter than theirs.

Only God Can Change A Life

"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against The Lord's disciples.  He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'  'Who are you, Lord?'  Saul asked.  'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,'  He replied ... The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.  Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.  So they led him by the hand into Damascus.  For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.  In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision ... Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul ... Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength ... At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is The Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name?' "  Acts 9:1-22 (NIV)
  Luke, the physician and travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, here records the conversion of Saul, which was Paul's given name.  Paul went from prosecutor to preacher after his encounter with The Lord on the road to Damascus.   This Bible story should teach us several things.  One, only God can truly change someone's life and heart.  Two, those people who used to run with us will notice the change in us, but they will not understand it, and they will not be changed.  Three, God must change us before He can use us, and we must go through something as part of it.  Four, we don't know how God plans to use someone so don't judge them by their past.  Five, it does not matter what kind of sinner we were beforehand, God can turn our life around and use us to be a blessing to others.  Jesus said that Saul was praying (verse 11), and maybe that is what we should do so that God will us us as He sees fit to do His will.

You Are Not Who You Used To Be

"... Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.  At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is The Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?' "  Acts 9:19-21 (NIV)

While he was still known as Saul, the Apostle Paul was well known as a persecutor of Christians.  Because of his prior well earned reputation, he frequently had to tell people of his Damascus road conversion.  Some believed him and some didn't, but he continued to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All of us have done some things in the past that are an embarrassment to us now.  It does not matter how many skeletons there are in our closets, God can still use us.  All of the great men of the Bible were sinners, except Jesus The Christ, and God used them.  Don't let your past sins get in the way and stop you from serving God now.  You have changed, you are a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), thanks to The Holy Spirit you are not who you used to be.  The fact that you have stopped doing what you did in the past may help you reach someone who is lost in sin where you used to be.  God has a plan for each of us, and I am sure that part of that plan involves helping someone else and sharing what you know about Jesus.

Rules For Holy Living

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things ... Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other ... clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:2-14 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Colosse while he was in prison in Rome to warn them about heresy that threatened the Church, and to encourage them to exhibit good Christian conduct in their lives. They were to think heavenly thoughts, put aside their earthly nature, and act Christ-like.

We also must put off our sinful nature and put on "Christ-likeness". We must pray for God's help and work at being less sinful each day. Doing good is not hard, the hard part is avoiding sin. That requires our constant conscious effort and commitment. We know the difference between right and wrong, we just need to choose to do and say the right thing more often.

We Are Special Protected And Blessed

"I sought The Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and The Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of The Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that The Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Fear The Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing." Psalms 34:4-9 (NIV)

David again thanks The Lord for saving him from his enemies. He states that those who encounter The Lord are not the same. And as for protection, Christians have a guardian angel with them. He knows that God is good, and that He blesses believers and supplies all their needs.

Once we meet The Lord, we are never the same After we accept Christ, we are given special status. God hears and answers the prayers of His saints when we call upon His name. We are protected and blessed. He will supply all of our needs if we only believe.

What Effect Did The Word Of God Have On You?

Jesus taught "... many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:3-8 (NIV)

What did you do with The Word of God when you heard it? Some heard The Word and rejected it, some liked it but it did not change their life, and some let their friends and the world have more influence over them than The Word. What kind of "ground" are you? The best way to answer this question is to look at the "fruit" that it has produced in your life. When the seed, The Word, fell on good ground, it produced good fruit.

The fruit that we produce is the evidence of God in our lives. The fruit of The Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) We need to cultivate within our lives a greater receptivity to The Word of God in order for it to grow within us, to produce good fruit, and produce a changed life which will give God glory.

Don't Let Go And Don't Look Back

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in The Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of The Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace." Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV)

If a person has received The Word of God and then rejects it, and returns to their previous philosophies and beliefs, they will not be forgiven for their severe unfaithfulness. "It is impossible for those ... to be brought back to repentance..."

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62 (NIV) Once we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we may mess up on occasion, but there is no letting go, no looking back wanting the past, and no turning back. We may remember the sinful things that we did, but there is no wanting to return to our previous non-Christian beliefs. Don't let go of God, and don't look back.

Remember Lot's wife, when The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah for their wicked ways, she looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:24-26 (NIV) Her problem was not just looking back, but longing for what she had left behind.

There is a cost for following Jesus. We must let go of our previous beliefs and lifestyles.

Why Are Times So Hard For Us?

To Adam God said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life ... By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:17-19 (NIV)

After the original sin in the garden of Eden, man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the serpent. God gave us free will and we did not choose wisely. For this reason we will suffer
hard times all the days of our lives. In sin we are conceived (Psalms 51:5), and we are servants to sin (Romans 6:6) until we give our lives to Christ. Every man born of a woman woman will live but a few days and those will be full of trouble (Job 14:1).

Things will not really get better for us until we change, humble ourselves, and pray, and turn from our wicked ways, and seek Him (2 Chronicles 7:14), then God will hear and answer our prayers.

A New Beginning # 2

May The Good Lord bless you to have a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year filled with His peace, the courage to do the right thing, and the wisdom to know what the right thing is.

"But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given you as well." Luke 12:31 (NIV)

Want a new and improved you in the new year? "... If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Believe and ask for forgiveness, and "Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit." Ezekiel 18:31 (NIV)

May you have a blessed new year.

A New Beginning

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

The beginning of a new year is a good time for a new beginning within your life. A change in you to go along with the change in time. There are things, habits, and people in all of our lives that we should let go of. We need to live our lives to please God. We need to stop acting like the unsaved people in the world. We need to change our way of thinking, transform and renew our mind, in order to be more consistent with the will of God.

With the beginning of the new year, let us renew our minds and begin a new beginning, a life dedicated to being more Christ -like.

Are You Built On Solid Rock Or Shifting Sand?

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

Our house, our religious life, will be tested and judged. Only those whose house is on the foundation of belief in and obedience to The Word of God will stand through the tests of life and the judgement. Just going to church once in a while or once a week is not enough. We need to believe, read, and live The Word of God.

The rock is The Word of God. The shifting sand is human opinion and the doctrines of man. Is your foundation built upon the solid rock or on shifting sand?

A Changed Life

The apostle Paul, while he was still called Saul, had a life altering encounter with The Lord. The experience humbled him and changed how he saw the world. Acts 9:1-9

"And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" Acts 9:6

When you have a personal encounter with Christ, you cannot continue to live your life as you did before. You become a new creature, not perfect, but definitely different.

Saul lost his sight for three days. When the man of God put his hands on him, he received his sight and he saw things differently and much clearer as a changed man. Acts 9:17-18

Paul changed from being a zealot persecutor of Christians to being a zealot for The Lord. He changed from persecutor to preacher. How has your life changed since you became a Christian?

A New You In The New Year # 4

"... And ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh."

"And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgements, and do them." Ezekiel 36:25-27

As human beings we have a sinful nature and we tend to put things in our life before God. We are hard hearted and hard headed. Only God can change us but we must want to be changed.

If you are not happy with the way that your life is heading, then change it and try Jesus. He can make you into a 'new you' in the new year. All you have to do is ask Him to come into your life.

A New You In The New Year # 2

"... And I will put a new spirit within you ..." Ezekiel 11:19

If you want things to be better for you in 2011 than they were in 2010, then you need to do different things in the new year than you did in this year. You cannot expect to get different results if you do the same things.

Just like the children of Israel, we have not walked in His statutes, neither executed His judgements, bur have done after the manners of the heathen that are around about you. Ezekiel 11:12

We are not supposed to act like the worldly people that are around us. We are in this world but not of it. We are different and we should act like it. When we accepted Christ as our personal saviour, we became a new creature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 We need to ask for forgiveness and renew our commitment and our minds. Romans 12:1-2

We need to ask God to put a new spirit in us, or renew His Spirit within us, so that we may be more Christ-like in the new year.

A New You In The New Year

As we move closer to the new year and change from 2010 to 2011, why not make a significant change in yourself and move from darkness into the marvelous light. Begin the new year as a new you.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

All of us have some bad habits and sinful ways that we need to let go of and leave behind. All of us also have room for improvement with respect to behaving, speaking, and thinking in a Christ-like manner.

Let's not just make a 'New Year's resolution', let's make a life-changing commitment to be more Christ-like.

May The Good Lord grant you a blessed, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year.