Sermon Tone Analysis

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHANGE

 

Todd Turner

 

 

Well, good evening.

You know here in America we expect everything instantly.

We have instant fast food, we have same day mail, we have faxes, we have satellite receptions; we expect everything quickly.

We want instant success, we want instant wealth, we want instant beauty.

We sit in front of a television, we change channels just like this:  click, click, click, click.

And, we think that because we can change channels that quickly, that we ought to be able to change our lives overnight.

And this is a myth that causes a lot of misery in your life.

It’s a myth that’s promoted by all kinds of advertisers, “Buy this product,” “Eat these vitamins,” “Use this exercise equipment,” “Read this book,” “It’s in this seminar,” “Listen to this tape and you’ll be changed instantly,” “Guaranteed, overnight change.”

The truth is change is difficult, change is slow, change in your life takes time, and change is a process.

Now, tonight I want to share with you the process that God uses to change us.

If you get this it can save you hours of counseling so you ought to pay me the fee you’re going to pay the psychiatrist.

When you understand the process God uses, then you can cooperate with it.

So, tonight I want to explain the process to you.

We’re going to have an example of a couple that’s gone through these six phases, and we’ll talk a little bit about how you can cooperate with God’s changing process in you.

Now, let me just give them to you and then I’ll talk about them.

!

I.          the process god uses to change us.

·               *Phase I:  Concern*

·               *Phase II:  Crisis*

·               *Phase III:  Choice*

·               *Phase IV:  Comprehension*

·               *Phase V:  Conduct*

·               *Phase VI:  Commitment To Continue*

Now, if you’ll study Scripture, you’ll find that these six phases are the phases God took people through in the Bible and He takes them through in your life, you just haven’t recognized it.

Look at the first one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

*1.

Phase I:  Concern.*

Now, what happens in this phase is you begin to be bothered by something in your life.

You recognize that something isn’t right.

You begin to get a little worried, a little anxious; something seems out of balance in your life and you don’t know what it is, or, maybe you do know what it is and you say, “I just don’t feel right.”

Maybe you feel like Job.  Job 30:27 (LB), */“My heart is troubled and restless.”/*

And the focus of your concern can be anything.

It can be a habit that’s bad, it could be a relationship that’s frustrating, it could be an unfulfilled dream, it could be that something is just out of whack, a stress point in your life, but you just begin to be concerned about something in your life, “This just isn’t right,” “One of these days, I’m going to have to start working on that.”

Now, the phrase that best describes this phase is *you feel uncomfortable.*

And the fact is that discomfort that you feel is from God.

That restlessness that you feel is from God.

The Bible says in Deut.

32:11 that God is, */“like an eagle that stirs up its nest . . .

.”/*

You know how a mother eagle, as the eaglets get older, she wants to get them out of the nest so she begins to poke through the straw and tear the nest apart, forcing the eaglets to fly.

So, if you feel a little restless, if you feel a little uncomfortable, if you feel a little troubled by something in your life, something just isn’t right, congratulations ‑‑ God is stirring up your nest and He’s getting you ready for the process of change.

You say, “I just don’t feel right,” “Things just don’t seem to be clicking” ‑‑ God is getting you ready for change.

Now, the sad part is most people don’t get past this phase.

They live their entire lives with unresolved pain; they put up with discomfort.

They know something’s out of whack but they’re too afraid to change, they’re too afraid to do anything about it so they just sit back and live with discomfort.

Now, why do we do that?

Because I said, we’re afraid.

We’re afraid of change.

At least the discomfort is predictable.

At least it’s dependable; it’s a stable misery, it’s a stable discomfort.

And, if I change, I don’t know what’s going to happen.

And so, most people never get out of this phase.

Why do we hang on to our hang-ups?

Because of this very reason.

So, God has to bring in phase 2. 

*2.

Phase 2:  Crisis.*

Something happens that moves the issue off the back burner and all of a sudden the pain gets so bad that you can’t ignore it anymore.

And that thing you’ve been concerned about in your marriage, or in your life, all of a sudden it’s so painful you just can’t ignore it anymore.

Maybe you get fired, maybe you have an accident, maybe you have an illness, maybe your spouse threatens to walk out, maybe the creditors start threatening you; the bottom falls out.

But, the issue begins to scream at you:  I’M A PROBLEM, DO SOMETHING and the crisis occurs.

Sometimes it happens when a spouse walks in and says, “Look, enough is enough.

We can’t go on like this.

I refuse to live this way anymore.

I’m not going to live this way the rest of my life.”

Sometimes a minor issue can cause a crisis, it can cause the apple cart to get tipped over.

Sometimes it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back ‑‑ it’s not a big deal but it’s something that has been building up and the concern turns into a crisis.

Does this make sense?

Are you following me so far?

Now the phrase that best describes this second phase is:  *Intense Pain.*

You want a good example of it go see Psalm 38 ‑‑ David is definitely in the crisis phase and he’s saying, “I’m miserable, life stinks.”

He says, “I’m in despair, I’m exhausted, I’m crushed.”  2 Cor 7:10 (LB), read this verse with me, */“God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin . . .

.”/*  Has God ever had to do that in your life?

Last week we looked at that verse that said “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change,” and God brings a crisis in our lives.

You know it’s sad but the only time, for some people, that God gets their attention is in crisis.

They’re “foxhole Christians” ‑‑ you know, when things are bad they say: “Okay God, what do you need,” and then they ignore Him any other time.

Now, when you get the stage two crisis, along comes phase three which is:

\\ *3.

Phase 3:  Choice.*

This is the turning point because you have to make up your mind.

Am I going to move ahead or am I going to retreat?

And, in the phase three of God’s process of changing you, you have to decide am I going to retreat from the problem or am I going to face the problem?

Am I going to rationalize it or am I going to deal with it?

Am I going to take responsibility or am I going to continue to blame other people?

Am I going to wake up to reality or am I just going to live in denial?

Am I going to begin the task of changing or am I going to slide back into defeat?

Now, it’s your choice.

One of the greatest gifts that God has given you is the ability to choose.

Notice this verse.

Job 34:3‑4 (LB) says, */“We choose the sounds we want to listen to; we choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right.”/*

This is the decision phase.

At this moment of decision, you can’t procrastinate anymore.

The problem has gotten so big in your marriage, in your life, with a friend, at work, where ever it is, the problem has gotten so big that you either have to face the pain or you’ve got to flee from it.

Now, the world will give you lots of ways to flee from it.

You can take drugs, you can get drunk, you can have an affair, you can drown yourself in television, you could sleep too much, you can get involved in depression.

There are lots of ways to hide, to back out, but it’s your choice.

Face it or flee from it.

So, at this phase, you make the decision.

Say, “I’m going to change, I’m going to do something about this problem, I’m going to make an effort.”

Now, how do you feel at this phase?

Real easy, one word *scared ‑‑* y*ou feel scared* because you really don’t know what’s going to happen.

When change occurs, you don’t know how it’s going to end up.

And so, when you make the decision, I’m going to change, I’m going to work on this relationship, I’m going to work on this habit, you don’t know.