May 6 , 2007
Based on Psalm 51:1-18 and John 13: 31-35

“London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling.  The building had been empty for months and needed repairs.  Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash all over the place.  As he showed a prospective buyer the property, he took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garage.  The buyer said, “Forget about the repairs.  When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different.  I don’t want the building; I want the site.”
That’s God’s message to us!  Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball.  When we become God’s, the old life is over.  He makes all things new.  All He wants is the site and the permission to build.  There are still some trying to “reform,” but God offers “redemption.”  All we have to do is give Him the “property” and he will do the necessary ‘building.’”

Don Shelby tells us in the “Miracle of Change” : When we tell ourselves “I can never change,” or “That will never happen,” we presume too much and believe too little.  In Jesus Christ God renders all of our final conclusions premature and all of our talk of determinism as simply bad faith.  In Christ, God opens closed doors, brings resurrection, reveals possibilities, reclaims the lost, liberates the cursed and possessed, and changes the unchangeable.”

Did you ever think you would hear Bob Dylan singing “The Times They Are a Changin' (click on the link to see the lyrics) in church?  Well, the song is relevant for the church.  This song was a folk song sung in the sixties.  Yes, there are those of us who can remember the sit-ins and rallies and marches on different cities.  Yes, it was a radical time as we voiced “The Times They Are a Changin’.”  But they were!!  And they still are …. The times they are a changin’.

Is there anything that is the same since the beginning of time?

Of course not!

God created the earth and all that was in it and He said it was Good!  What happened next?  Something not so good … human disobeyed God, and everything changed.

The world got so bad things were about change: Hear the words from Genesis 6:5-8  7:11-13, 24 (page 6).  Now that’s change.

It didn’t end there.  We entered into the time of the Patriarchs, when heads of households were called by God to be his leaders: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also known as Israel.  That ended with the story of Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son.  That story ended up with the folks moving to Egypt, where they ended up in slavery for four hundred years.

Enter Moses who came and freed the Israelites and took them on a forty year journey to the promised land.

Then we went into a cycle of judges and then kings and then prophets.  So far nothing has stayed the same.

The prophets spoke God’s words …. People did not heed the word of God so
The times they changed.  God said … OK, I guess I’ll just have to go down there and into the world came a new way:  Jesus Christ.  Here was a really new thing … a baby king born of a virgin girl.

Jesus talked of change all the time.  He was here to do a new thing and boy did he: miracles of water to wine; walking on water; feeding thousands with food that was really only meant for a few; challenging the authorities; hanging out with the least, the lost and the lonely and finally at the young age of thirty three giving his life for human kind.

When Christ was gone, it was the acts of the apostles that kept the church going.  Then a very different thing takes place:  God calls out a killer of Christians, Saul, to plant churches all over the lands: Rome, Philippi, Corinth, Galatia, etc.  And in the final chapter of the Bible, once again a change … from Revelation 21: 3 and 5:  Read the cover of the bulletin.

“See, I am making all things new.”

In seminary I was asked by a professor, after reading Revelation 22:20-21, (“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.”)  These are the final words in the Good Book.
“Is this God’s final word?”   Well, is it?

If it was, then what do we have to say of Martin Luther or John Wesley or Pope John the 23rd, or Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa?

The church is always in the state of change.  If it weren’t it would die.  When folks say, “I want traditional worship and hymns”  I would say no you don’t, not really.  The real question would be from what tradition and from what time?  Traditional church music can either be chants or very lively tunes, with many instruments and dancing … that is real tradition. Psalm 150 says it all: page 624. 

If the church does not change it will die!  Just as I showed the children and youth about the changes we like and enjoy in our daily lives; God expects to see change in the church.  Check any statistic and you will see that we are becoming a minority in the country.  Unchurched folks out number Christians by an ever growing margin.  We don’t even have to go as far as looking up stats, look around the room.  Who do we know that could and should be here and is not?  Where are our relatives, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors and classmates.  I heard this week that we are in the E time of the church.  E stands for elbow, and if we don’t invite folks and bring them on our elbow, they won’t just drop in on their own.  In the 40s and 50s the church was the highest of social places.  As we all sadly know that is not true today.  On Sunday’s folks are sleeping in, working, playing on organized sports events, going out for breakfast and a host of other things.

We must change!  Let’s look at Bob Dylan’s song:

The first verse brings to mind the flood.  God was looking for some good and righteous people and he couldn’t find them, except in Noah.  Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among people of his time, and he walked with God.”

“If your time to you is worth saving ….”  Others had the chance to be good, righteous, blameless and God fearing, but they chose not to.  Therefore, God destroyed them.  We can see the writing on the wall for us, so we too better get right with God.

The prophets were the writers and critics in verse two.  No one really wanted to hear or heed the messages.  We don’t want to heed the messages either….  the messages that warn us to change or close shop.
We allowed those “others” to remove prayer from schools and The Ten Commandments from public buildings and Mangers from Public places.  No need to say they let that happen .. we are the they. 

The third verse warns our political leaders about what’s coming.  Jesus warned the Scribes and Pharasees and they surely didn’t heed the warnings … they made sure Jesus was condemned to death.  Are we condemning him, again, every time we stand fast in our stubborn ways and refuse to vision to the future and/or even address the present.

We send our youth off to camp, retreats, training sessions, gatherings, conferences, rallies and they come back all pumped up.  We love what they report they did.  We get a little uneasy with the challenge for us to do something about things that are relevant that they witnessed.  But if they want to incorporate new ideas in the church … well now that’s just too much.   All we need to do is look around this sanctuary …. How many folks between 18 and 35 do we have worshipping with us?  How many between 13 and 18?  The Gospel of Mark chapter 10 verses 13 – 16 says: (page 1002)

“The line is drawn the curse is cast.”   In the sixth line, I see a familiar line:
“And the first one now will later be last”:  Matthew 19:27-30 (page 976).

“See, I am making all things new.”  Jesus turned the world upside down with his radical ministry.  We have come to a time when we need to do some radical ministry.  We no longer have time to belong to a familiar Holy Club.

God has gone before preparing the fields, we now must seek ways to harvest the crop.  I was appointed here in July of 2001.  We have been in change since, at least then.  There has been birthing pains.  There has been growing pains.  Change is never easy, but it should be constant.

We have merged two congregations.  We have closed a facility.  We have opened a facility in a new land.  We are about to go full force into a building project.  We have been led by God through it all.

Now, we stand on the brink of a promised land.  Moses didn’t get to go in.  Joshua led those ready to follow God’s leading no matter how big the giants might be.  Others chose not to go and they were blessed along their way.  New Hope is just that … new hope.  We are standing at the threshold of a promised land.  We are ready to face our giants. 

What does this mean to us right now?  We may have to make changes in order to grow God’s kingdom. 

In dating, there is a thing called a deal breaker.  When getting ready to make a commitment to another person there are certain things that are deal breakers.  What will I not tolerate in another human being as a partner: it may be I won’t be with a non-Christian; I won’t be with a smoker; I won’t be with someone who doesn’t like pets or children; I won’t be with someone who is clingy or smothering … ok, you get the idea. 

We are ready to grow the kingdom of God.  What is your deal breaker:

1. I won’t change worship style.
2. I won’t change worship times.
3. I won’t sing new music.
4. I won’t go to another location.

What is your deal breaker?  “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16 & 17).

What do you think God’s deal breaker is?  He gave His Son and His Son gave his life for us.  All through the Bible the deal breakers came from the human side … Humans sinned and therefore were banned from the garden.  Humans sinned and therefore were destroyed by flood.  It seems on God’s side the deal breaker is sin.  Sin of pride, sin of deceit, sin of whatever ….
Is the deal breaker to grow God’s church so important to you that you would desert God’s plan for new hope? 

The times they are a changing ………

A few weeks back, I traveled with some sisters in Christ to a Tres Dias weekend closing.  Rick Ackerman had been on the weekend and we went down to celebrate the joy of that event.  As each person on the weekend shared a bit about themselves, one young man said he had been at the “changing table.”  I said, “Hey that will preach.”  He gave me their poster.  I share it now with you.  If you can’t see the picture, it is the communion table set with bread and wine and the table reads, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” 

Today, we have been to the changing table.  How was that for you?  Are you changed?  Incase you aren’t sure, I’m giving everyone a second chance.  Folks, the times they are a changing and so is the church.
This is decision time for all of us.  Are you ready to change for the sake of Jesus Christ?