When Change Happens

I was blessed to give this part 1 of 3 message last week at Community of Hope church in Sidney, Ohio. Tomorrow is part 2!

I will give thanks to you,?Lord, with all my heart;

????I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and rejoice?in you;

????I will sing the praises?of your name,?O Most High.

My enemies turn back;

????they stumble and perish before you.

For you have upheld my right?and my cause,

????sitting enthroned?as the righteous judge.

You have rebuked the nations?and destroyed the wicked;

????you have blotted out their name?for ever and ever.

Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,

????you have uprooted their cities;

????even the memory of them?has perished.

The?Lord?reigns forever;

????he has established his throne?for judgment.

He rules the world in righteousness

????and judges the peoples with equity.

The?Lord?is a refuge?for the oppressed,

????a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name?trust in you,

????for you,?Lord, have never forsaken?those who seek you.?(Psalm 9:1-10, NIV)

This is the Word of our Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Good morning, Community of Hope. I want to start today with a question. And, I learned long ago that when I ask questions here, people answer, which is pretty cool. I do a lot of public speaking for my work and I have learned over the years that I might as well not even ask questions from up front because no one will answer. People will avoid eye contact with me, they will slink down in their chairs, even leave the room to go to the bathroom or to make a phone call if I start asking questions – anything to not have to talk in front of others.?

But I love everyone at Community of Hope because if I ask questions, you give me answers.??And that is incredibly cool. So, here’s my question …

Think back on your life …?what?have been some of the biggest moments of change in your life? Times when suddenly it seemed like nothing was the same any more.

As I think back on my own life, there are a number of things that really jump out to me.??One of the first major times of change I recall was when my family moved from a little town of about 300 people up near Lima to Sidney which was about 18,000 people at the time the summer between fourth and fifth grade.??That was pretty major change for me. Changing schools was a big thing.??Anyone ever go through that??

Meeting?Lisa when I was a junior in high school – that really changed things for me in a great way. Getting my drivers license was a big change. Then when I left my parents house to go away to?college – that was big change. Buying my first?car and taking on bills and responsibility. Moving out on my own after college and having my first full time job. Getting?married. Buying into a business. Moving that business. Starting to?travel a lot for my job. The?birth of our son. Watching loved ones go through health problems. Getting diabetes myself.?Losing my dad and losing Lisa’s parents. Losing beloved pets. Beginning to see classmates pass away because, well, we’re old! Having our son get a job and move 90 minutes away on his own. All of these things were major changes in my life and, as I get older and look ahead, I see more changes.?Retiring. Maybe downsizing our home. Who knows what all the future will bring but changes are going to happen.

And some of those changes were good – great – things! Others were more difficult, even painful. Paths I did not really want to have to walk. But change in life does happen.

Sometimes we don’t like the?changes?in our lives, do we?. Sometimes the things that happen to change our lives are difficult. And it’s about that time that some smart alec will say “Oh, life would be so?boring if it was easy, if nothing ever changed”??Hmmm, would it really???What do you think? Well, we can’t lose sight of course of the fact that some change is good even from the get go.

Think about this a moment.??What?are some of the ways that you have seen others, or perhaps even you yourself have dealt with change in the past? Have you ever known some folks who are?afraid of change .. they??just seem to freak out whenever even the possibility of change enters their life???I have known a few folks like that. They get all anxiety-ridden and fearful at just the mere thought of change.

Have you ever known anyone who has?run?from change? We’ve all heard of that, haven’t we? I mean it’s a real painful one and I hope you never experienced it but have you ever heard of dads or even moms who just ran away when that first baby came? They were so fearful of the change in their life that all they knew to do was get the heck out of Dodge as we used to say in the olden days.

Some people get?physically ill when change comes their way, don’t they? Have you ever seen that? Lisa and I discovered that even animals can do that believe it or not.??Several years ago we had our first ever dog pass away and, yes, it was difficult for us but, you know what, our other dog got physically ill for over a week due to the stress of losing her older sister. And honestly her sister dog didn’t even like her!??Would hardly even look at her!

On the other hand, have you ever known folks who always stay?cool, calm and collected even in midst of stress and change? I was thinking the other day … yeah, just for a couple of seconds – didn’t want to exert myself for too long. But I was thinking the other day, I have never had any sort of major surgery in my life but, if I do, I sure want?a surgeon?who stays calm, cool, and collected even in the midst of stress, don’t you? I mean, if he accidentally knicks something inside of me and I start bleeding, I sure don’t want him to throw up his hands and scream, “Oh no, we’re gonna lose him – he’s going to bleed out – he’s a bleeder!” I don’t want that, do I? Instead I want him to stay calm, fix whatever happened, and move on.

Lisa and I have gotten into watching?the Cincinnati?Reds play a lot lately. Have you been following them???They were pathetic for the first several weeks of the season, weren’t they???They couldn’t hit, they couldn’t pitch, they couldn’t field. That pretty much covers it all when you’re a baseball player, doesn’t it? But, for the last two or three weeks they’ve turned things around a little bit, haven’t they???They’ve been playing much better and even winning some games.

Well, a few evenings ago during a game, the sports announcer commented how the player who was pitching for the Reds had ice in his veins. It was Luis Castillo and the announcer was talking about how he was always calm as could be.??It could be bases loaded bottom of the ninth, no outs, and the opposing team’s best home run hitter was up to bat and this pitcher would be calm , cool, and collected as a cucumber. Never let ‘em see you sweat. Now, I have had folks tell me many times in my life that I stay pretty calm under pressure but, I have to tell you, if I was that baseball pitcher, yeah, you’d be seeing me sweat. But not this guy, ice in his veins.?

Anyone remember this guy???Vanilla Ice. A couple of months ago I thought that perhaps I was going to have the opportunity to meet Vanilla Ice in real person and I thought that was going to be kind of cool. (No pun intended.)??Do you think he’s as cool in real life as his name implies???Vanilla ice in his veins? I don’t know.??He might be.

Today is the first in a series of three sermons on Change and how we deal with it.??And, if there’s one thing I want you to think of when change hits you smack dab in the middle of your forehead, it’s this …

When Change Happens, ICE It!

And I am going to explain what I mean by that but here’s something else to help you remember.??When you hit your head on something and first you see that redness and then a?big?old bump forms, what do you do???You put ice on it, right? Well, that bump on your head is a pretty big change for you, isn’t it? And ice is the answer.

But in this case when change happens here’s why I want you to think of ICE as the remedy:

Change is Inevitable

God is in Control

Embrace the Newness

And this week we will talk a bit about The I – Change is Inevitable.??It’s unavoidable. You may love change or you may hate it.??You may have ice in your veins and always stay calm or maybe your veins are like they’re full of poison ivy and you’re always on the edge – makes no difference because Change is Inevitable. It’s gonna happen. We have to face it.

Think of it this way, too – when you made the decision to follow?Christ in your life (and I hope you have made that decision – if not, I am always here to talk) but when you made that decision, things changed, didn’t they? You started changing your behavior. Maybe changed who you hung out with. Changed what you read or listened to. Hopefully started going to church regularly. And, over time, you found that your heart changed.??You cared more for others. You saw others in your life not as individuals to argue with but as other beloved children of God.

Fact is,?the?very act of being Christian is based on change.??So change is not only inevitable but this is proof positive that change is not necessarily a bad thing, right???In fact, it can be a great thing, can’t it?

2nd?Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) tells us?

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!

No matter how anxious the prospect of change may make us, we certainly can’t condemn all change, can we???Our lives as Christians are in fact based on change.?

Probably the most famous passage from the Bible that addresses the subject of Change is this:

For?everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.?Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NLT

This scripture is often used during times of change as a reminder that change is Inevitable – it’s going to happen. And yet by saying that there is a time for each of these things, there is a reason for change, we are also reminded that it’s going to be okay.??Life is full of change and it’s going to be okay.?

In?fact, the changes we go through in our earthly lives are experiences that prepare us for the final change when we go to spend eternity with Jesus. God wants us to experience certain things here on earth and He wants us to grow in life.?

2 Peter 3:18 (NIV) says

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever!

Our life experiences are bring us to where God wants us to be.

Our life?experiences also allow us to relate better to others, to share better with others.?

Here’s a scenario we’ve all experienced before – we’re going through a tough time and someone comes alongside us to try to help us through it and, well-meaning and wonderful and caring as they may be,?if they have never walked the path that we’re walking at that moment – if they have never experienced the change that we’re experiencing – then it’s really hard for us to see them as someone who can help us, isn’t it? Don’t judge my path if you haven’t walked my journey.

I mean, there are certain things that I could never possibly talk to you about with any credibility because I have never experienced them. Divorce is a good example.??Now I can talk to you about damaged and stressed relationships because I have walked alongside folks dealing with those at times, but I can’t really talk to you with credibility about divorce.??I’ve never been through it. My parents didn’t go through it. I’ve never had a child or really even a close friend go through it.

On the other hand, based upon the changes that I have experienced in my life, I can talk to others with credibility and hopefully give some helpful input about things like changing jobs, getting married, having a son, illness, diabetes, financial difficulties, moving communities, starting a business, losing parents … these are all changes that I have experienced so, because of what those changes have built into my life, perhaps I can be a blessing to others when they go through those things.?Because I have experienced a certain change in my life, I am now qualified in many ways to come alongside and help someone else when they go through the same change.?

Keep the big picture in mind when thinking of change.??Change is less challenging for us when we see the big picture of what change means and does to us over time and not just the small picture of the pain of change at that moment.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. There will be changes in our lives that bring fear, stress, anxiety, worry, even anger. And that is normal.??I never intend to take away from that. But somehow we can hopefully find comfort and reassurance in keeping in mind the big picture of what God can do in our lives when we inevitably encounter change and different circumstances. He can grow us, He can mature us, He can develop us to be more Christ-like, more loving, more understanding, better at comforting and relating to others.

Also, let us keep in mind that?God?calls us to be content in all situations. So, yes, we may have worry or anxiety but we can still be at peace.?

2 Corinthians 12:9-11 (NIV) says:

But?He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) says:

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Romans 8:28 (NIV) says:

And?we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.?

So, even when we do go through change. Even when it does bring about anxiety or uncertainty in our lives, we can go on knowing that we can still be content and at peace, because we know that?God?works through those inevitable changes in our lives. Change never surprises God. In fact, it is during times of change in our lives that we are most likely to see God at work – those times when we have to always depend upon Him.

I pray that as you think about this, you have a little more comfortable perspective from which to live this week. Change may hit any one of us this week. We just never know, do we? But we can keep in mind:

When Change Happens, ICE It!

Change is Inevitable?

And next week we will talk about how God is always in Control, followed in a future week by discussing how we can Embrace the Newness.

Be?still and trust God when change is hard.?????Let’s pray.