Power to Change

Everyone is wanting to change. People are having plastic surgery, liposuction, face lifts, etc.. people are caught up in exercise and dieting, because they have seen some commercial depicting a very skinny man or woman who does not have an ounce of fat on their body selling some new diet plan or exercise machine saying just 30 minutes a day and you will look like this in 6 months.
Oh please.........
And the sad part is that many people fall prey to these schemes only to find out that their now new expensive hardware makes a pretty good clothes rack.
But why do we fall prey?
Because there is something on the inside of you that wants to be better than what you are!
Now that is not necessarily a bad thing, but the question is to what are you comparing and how do you hope to get real joy and happiness. Will it be getting those abs or losing 10 pounds, is that the source of true happiness?
Don't misunderstand me, eating healthy and exercise is very important, but that is not the source of happiness.
Some people think that appearance will make us happier. Oh if I could only look like so and so.
This stems from and an attitude of dissatisfaction.
If we reject God's basic design in making us, it may be difficult to put confidence in the designer for other areas of our life.
The Bible says; For we are His workmanship... Ephesians 2:10, and Psalms 139:14 states; I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.
The change that brings happiness is not change on the outside, but rather change on the inside.
I had a sister come up to me at church and told me that in the middle of the night God had spoken a word to her, and she saw the word vividly; ALCHEMY.
Now she didn't know what the word meant or even if it was a word. So she began some research; alchemy is the attempt to change base metals into gold. It was a medieval philosophy that tried to bring change through transmutation.
Now please understand me; Change is Good if we are changing to be more like him! But the power to bring that change can only come through the power of the cross.
You and I should be changing every day of our lives, but it cannot be a futile attempt to take the old metal and change it into Gold. It does not take transmutation, it takes TRANSFORMATION.
Transmutation - a change, or the process of changing, from one form, substance, nature, or state to another
Transformation - a complete change, usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness.
In order for us to be completely changed we must die! There is no real change without the cross!
Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead in Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.
Romans 6:6-8
The Power to Change comes from not adding to this old man but rather seeing this old man die!

In HIM
Pastor Buck