The desire for a change

"...You have changed my regret into dancing, you untied my cilicio and you girded me for joy..." When I saw this text, it has been a sequence of many situations, but there is a word that caught my attention, the word 'change', changed , it says here. And I titled this sermon 'The Desire for Change'. Everyone in one way or another, we want a change. Either way, when fall comes winter comes, then spring. Some of us want a physical, urgent change. We go on a diet to be able to wear a t-shirt even in the summer, otherwise, some of us need a change in our character, in our personality. We are always struggling with something. The world needs a change.

This reflection was born a few months ago when I called my church to a time of fasting, 21 days of fasting, and we put 'I want a change'. Always when we talk about change, Lord, and we spiritualize it, Lord, change the pastor. Sir, this cell leader, open me another cell or change it to me, Sir. Lord, change my brother who has no sympathy at all.

We always pray for God to change others. Lord, change him, look how he sings, Lord. Lord, leave him mute because he sings ugly. When we talk about change, the ones we least pray for are often ourselves. Others always have a problem. It is the others who cause the problem to society, to the church. Look at the brother, look at the sister, how she is dressed. Look how the brother did his hair. Look, how they cut the pastor's hair, he could sue the barber.

But this expression of desire for a change is nothing more than submitting myself before God and recognizing that I am the first to be and that I have to produce changes in my life. Let's read the text again:

“…You have changed my regret…”

which regret? Mine. You have changed Lord, the lament of my brother Pedrito, thank you, Lord. As if we were the joy of the world. Lord change my anguish. You can translate that in many ways. You can paraphrase it in many ways. Change my character, my personality to get in the way of what you want to do with me. Change my way of speaking because some Christians here are going to heaven, out there, we are the first on the list to go elsewhere. Change my way of thinking, because while we are singing here the glory of the Lord fills even our bad thoughts. Let's not just go out, because it's already gone.

Change my way of looking, feeling, thinking. Change me Lord, change my regret, change my regret into dancing. We must be the first to express that wish. We must ask ourselves some questions regarding a change. What is change? How is it born? What implications does it have in my life? A very important one, am I willing to assume the changes that the Lord wants me to assume? When should I change? Where should I change? Why do I have to change? Why do I have to change? And another very important question, do I really want a change before the Lord?

Look, some meanings of the word change. When you read this text you will realize this meaning, it is a modification, it is to modify one thing to turn it into something else. In other words, our regret becomes what? In a dance. And our hair shirt is covered with what? Of happiness.

A second very interesting meaning is, it is to vary or alter one state for another. It also has to do with emotions or a proper spiritual character. It is substituting or substituting one thing for the other. It is giving up one thing for another, look here, the concept is a little deeper. It is giving, God is giving you a process in your life that will bring about radical changes in who you are.

Second Corinthians, 5:17 says that; “…So if one is there, what is it? And what happened? Old things were changed for what? For something new. How many things were changed? All. But they weren't just changed, they were made new. The Lord's work in our life is never half done. Tell your brother, the Lord never does things by halves.

And there is also a fifth concept that caught my attention, the change is a mechanism that is used to modify the speeds. Does anyone have a standard car? There you were looking, right? First, second, there are some who stay in third and there they go down the road, miles and miles. This car that wastes gasoline, he says. And this concept caught my attention because it has to do with a concept of speed.

When I want a change and I want that change from God, I want to tell him one thing, God does not have the same speed as us. So the change that we must experience is also a change of speed in our intimacy and in our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Defining a change and its relevance in our life depends, listen to me carefully, solely and exclusively on our relationship or intimacy with God and an active experience with the Holy Spirit.

Look, when the Holy Spirit came to the first church in the book of Acts, in chapter 1 in verse 8 he said, “but you will receive what, for what? So that? “But you will receive power for what? Acts 1:8, to be witnesses. And being witnesses causes changes in our way of seeing and in our way of presenting.

When the Lord comes to us it is as if the Lord put dynamite in your heart through the Holy Spirit and it explodes and the shock wave that brings and generates that presence of the Lord brings changes around you. I don't know if you have experienced the presence of the spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I recommend them.

If the Apostle Peter were there, he would tell him, “Do it, it worked for me. I never denied it again." The changes provoke in us or necessarily the changes proposed by the Lord must provoke in us an expansive wave that will still affect those who are watching us from outside.

Look what Psalm 51:10 says, do you know it by heart? Here it will appear. “Renew in me a new spirit of righteousness.” How does it say there? Create in me, O God, a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.

Renew, change. I have it in another version, "renew in me a spirit of righteousness." Look, what Ezekiel says in chapter 36, verses 26 and 27. I'm going to read it in the version I have, don't think that I'm talking about another Gospel.

“…I'll give you a heart – I mean, he's going to get what? The heart, do not say old because some may be offended, some will think that they are going to be kicked out of the house. It is not like this. I will give you a new heart. Therefore it is understood that there is a change of what? From heart. They're going to take out the old heart for a new one. “And I will put in you what? A new spirit, therefore there is another statement about what? Because? Because our spirit is aging, it is getting old.

I will take away the heart of stone that they now have and I will give them a sensitive heart, a heart of flesh, says the version. I will put my spirit in you and I will make you fulfill my statutes and obey and put into practice my precepts.

When I want a change, God wants to change my heart, my spirit so that his spirit comes within me so that we can experience a true and powerful change in our lives. In order to carry out a series of changes that in the process make a total difference in us, we must consider some things, two at least: conquer and subdue.

What must we conquer? And what should we submit? Our emotions, our soul, our spirit, our body, to the lordship and the government and the power of the Holy Spirit of the Lord. Humble ourselves before the Lord so that God establishes his changes in us.

In the book of Joshua, chapter 24, verse 15, there is a statement of change, not only for his life in the case of Joshua, but for the people, at the end it says, "But I and my house will serve the Lord." Josué makes a change statement. He is faced with what many of us face on a daily basis. We surround ourselves with people, even we, who bring family heritage, religious traditions, world heritage, the teachings of our friends to the path of the Lord, in the dialogue that Joshua has here in chapter 24 of Joshua, he tells the people:

"I do not know, if you want to continue living in the model of Egypt, if you want to continue living in the model of your parents, a model that has already passed, a model that God does not like, but I do not know how you are doing to want to continue living from here on out, but me and my house, we are going to serve the Lord. Me and my house want a change, we don't want religious models to come and hold us back. We do not want social and cultural models to slow us down. We don't want familiar models to hinder us. We want to serve the Lord with all our hearts, with all our confidence, with all our conviction.”

To make changes, to desire changes, you have to declare the changes. Even Gideon in the book of Judges, was a man tired of the situation that his family lived, his people, and God meets him. The Midianite empire represents today the spirit of Midian, since the spirits of Jezebel and many other spirits are so fashionable, the spirit of Midian is the one that takes away the blessing that comes to you. He expects you to be full and he steals it from you just like – I'm not going to let you enjoy the blessing.

And there are many of us who for some reason leave the service and something happens, and this Midianite spirit comes to steal the spiritual harvest that we have gained in this time. How many of us hasn't that happened to? Anything, the simplest, a bad driver crossed us and we already lost the blessing, because we not only told him things but also showed him.

A bad word, or a bad thought, Midian comes and steals our blessing, that Midian spirit that rejoices. He does not live happily and he does not let anyone live happily. And if they are Christians, that is the main target, it is aimed at them. This is a Christian, whatever steals his blessing. And Gideon was tired of it and he believed the Lord, do you know why? Because he wanted a change for himself, for his family and for his generation.

And there one of the first expressions that you can assume, is not with force or with power, but with the holy spirit of the Lord. Gideon with 300 men was able to defeat an army that was like the sand of the sea. Look, do you know how he did it? Declaring praise to the Lord, blowing trumpets, breaking pitchers, he caused the spirit of Midian and the Midianites to be confused.

Today you have the opportunity that Midian does not take away your blessing. If you want to change tell him, God, I want to change, I want a change. And Midian, the spirit of Midian is not going to stop me from changing into the image of the Lord.

There is a need to understand that without God in our lives everything dies. The desire for a change is for our human nature a different experience and something very important, all these changes begin with oneself. Create in me, O God, a right heart.

In Ephesians chapter 4, verses 13 to 16, he tells us about a measure, up to the measure of the perfect man, and that is Christ. Do you want a change? Let the Holy Spirit bring the convictions into your life and let him bring about those changes.

Thank my Lord. There is no specific time, there is no specific time. You don't necessarily need to be young for God to act in changes, but let's ask Sarah, Abraham's wife, already very old, God brought changes to her life. And to the mother of Samuel and Jochebed, the mother of Moses, do not miss the opportunity to make the changes that God is bringing about in your life.

This the best time. It is God's time. It is God's time. Tell your brother, it's God's time. Close your eyes for a moment. Thank you Lord Jesus, it is time to make changes. Do you want to be a better husband? Do you want to be a better wife? Do you want a better marriage? Do you want a better family? Do we want to be a better church? We begin to cause those changes in us.

Thank my Lord. Lord, renew us. Renew us with your Holy Spirit. Renew us, Lord, let's stand up. And we are going to say to the Lord, renew me, renew me, Lord Jesus.

Take your brother's hand. You know, at the end of the day, we are all always struggling, in different areas, but always in almost the same way. And we are going to say to the Lord, Lord, renew my spirit. Renew my heart. Renew my way of speaking. Renew my way of thinking. Renew my actions. Lord, change in me what you don't like. Change in me, Lord, what prevents your glory. Change me, Lord. Tell him, tell him.

You really think you need or want a change, tell the Lord. You know me Jesus that no one your life. None of us can guess, maybe some prophetic word that someone may have about their life, declare it to them. You don't expect someone to come and tell you a book of prophecies. You, the Lord, have given you a word so that you build yourself through the spirit, that you remove the mental and spiritual models that contaminate what the Lord and God's purpose wants to do in us.

Lord, renew us and may your Holy Spirit, Lord, lead us to that renewal.