So You Want to Change God's Mind ( A Play on Words)

Objective:

To teach each member that there are three intangibles that God responds to. These intangibles are they primary intangibles that draw a person closer to God.

Diagnosis:

What if you could change God’s mind. Now the bible for the most part teaches us that God doesn’t change his mind, but if we look at things systematically and we study scripture we can deduce that God mind can change.

Intro: The question today is how do you change the mind of God. Now this is a play on words, but it does seem as if it could be done. I want us to look at 3 intangibles , each one plays a significant in how we relate to God and how he responds to us. Now, the goal to is to focus on one of the 3, but I will mention all 3 and how each one puts God to action.

The First intangible is Faith

Faith is the only intangible that God feels. If we ever wanted to reach out and touch God it would be through the act of unyielding Faith. For example, Luke 8:43-48

Luke 8:43–48 ESV

And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

The next intangible is the taught language of God, which is prayer.

No matter what anyone says prayer is the ultimate way of connecting with our God, true prayer is the language in which understands, and it is the language in which he responds to. For example, let us look at our dear brother Daniel . In Daniel 9, Daniel begins to pray, and he confesses Israel’s sin to God, However in Daniel 10:12-14 when found our that Daniel’s pray was not only heard by God, but he is also responding to it Daniel 10:12-14

Daniel 10:12–14 ESV

Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

However, this morning I want to focus on the third intangible, in which God changes his direction on lifts his consequence. Now I want us to look at 3 incidents in which God changed his direction or lifted his consequence. However, our main Character of today is that of Ahab, because of who Ahab represents.

First incident:

I want us to take a trip back to the Wilderness. Numbers 25:7-8

Numbers 25:7–8 ESV

When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped.

First Proper Repentance must be immediate. Insert Childhood Story

Not to say that a person fall again, but to be delivered from that stronghold, you have to be immediate in turning and stopping sin. However savage you must be, it is important to slay your sin.

Second Incident:

Let us look at Nineavah. Jonah 3: 6-10

Jonah 3:6–10 ESV

The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Second Proper Repentance must have reverence.

Repentance is not Repentance if you don’t fear the one that you are repenting to. The fear of what God can do or has done should bring a man humble and contrite.

Third Incident:

The 3rd incident brings us to our focus verse this morning

Sermon:

1Kings21:25-29

1 Kings 21:25–29 ESV

(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.) And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

Ahab is our main Character because the bible viewed him as the worst King ever. However, God was so impressed with Ahab’s repentance that God didn’t bring his wrath upon him.

Third Proper repentance includes remorse:

The bible said that Ahab was walking around dejectedly, or better yet meekly. Your remorse should produce a meekness in you That meekness shows that you are now ready to be controlled.

Number four, proper repentance is always God-ordained. It is true that we have choices, but God’s sovereignty surpasses our choices. As we look at the major theme of each story, we can clearly see that God has to chose you and allow you to repent. Disscuss