How People Change--Part 3

There are two basic schools of thought about change. One focuses on the emotions and one on the will. The religious world focuses on the will most of the time. If you are down on yourself they say, “Buck up, be strong, grit your teeth and bear it, hang on you can get through it, tough it out, it will be ok.” They place all of the emphasis on the will, your ability change things. Your determination to not settle. And we even say these things, “I am not going to do this anymore. I am not going to keep sinning like this.” You see understanding that something is wrong and applying your determination will not bring lasting change. It does not work. Why? The second school of thought, which is often found in the secular world focuses on the emotions. They tell you that you are practicing self-defeating thinking. You need to change the way you think, you need to do something nice for yourself. They try to get you to feel better about yourself by focusing on your emotions. They try to bring real change by changing your thinking and for those of you who have suffered emotional stress, this may change you for a while, but you will relapse back into it again. Because real change has not occurred. Now, that’s a lot of stuff to think about. I have been thinking about this for several months and it is still a lot for me to grapple with. Don’t miss this right here. If you are totally confused about everything I have said this morning, make sure you get this. Read 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 again. Listen to this. This is the key to real, lasting change. “Beholding the glory of God brings real change.” Listen to me, do not miss this. Josh Martin was converted to Christ when he beheld the glory of God. Seeing that changes you. Here is what I mean. I had heard the gospel many times as a child and it did not change my heart. Why? I didn’t get it. I believed Jesus was God’s son. Of course I believed he died on the cross for sin. I believed he rose from the dead even. But it didn’t change me. Why? Because I knew the facts, but I was yet to behold his Glory. The eyes of my heart were veiled. But when I actually turned to the Lord in faith and repentance, not just knowledge, I could behold the glorious truth of who he is and what he had done and I was transformed. God removed the veil and I could see him in all of his glory and it changed me. When you see him as glorious it will change you. You will experience true repentance because you will turn from your sin in sorrow and to Christ in faith. You don’t want that anymore, you want Him. This is not just true of conversion, but it is true of all of life and it is true of all change. All real change occurs this same way. Let’s break down these verses for a second and see the truth of what is being said here. v.15 Moses was not glorious. The glory on Moses’ face will fade but the glory in the face of Christ will not. V16 You must turn to the Lord, not your determination, not your emotional fix but to the Lord V17,18 When the veil is removed we can see him and it will change us. And it doesn’t end with conversion. But from one degree of glory to another. In all of life. This is how we are sanctified in heart and body. Look at other places where Paul does this. 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 When Paul wants the Corinthians to be generous he doesn’t just scold them. He takes them to the Gospel. He explains how Christ tasted poverty so that we could be rich. When you see that, you will want to give. And you will do it without any pressure. It will indeed be of your own free will. Ephesians 5:22-27 Wives, Because Christ is your savior and you have submitted to him, and he holds your life and you following Him, submitting to your husband shouldn’t be an issue. Husbands, because you know the spousal love of Jesus Christ, when he could have left and probably should have left you, he stayed and gave you everything. Loving your wife this way shouldn’t be an issue. It always go back to the Gospel. The Gospel is what will change us. Seeing that glory will change us. I want to end today the way Paul ended this thought in 2 Corinthians 3:18“For this comes from the Lord who is Spirit.” I want us to acknowledge the glorious truth that this change only occurs because of the working of God. Let’s be sure that he gets the credit for this. Let’s be sure that he gets the glory so that others may see who we credit this work to and then they, with unveiled face, may behold this same glory and be changed. If there are any questions, feel free to ask. I can say, "I don't know" as well as anybody. But who knows, I may have an answer.