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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/larry-perkins/change/
Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 10. Hebrews 1 and 10. And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.
But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Notice that expression in verse 12. And they shall be changed, but thou art the same. 1st Corinthians 15. Now I want to come back to Hebrews 1, but 1st Corinthians 15.
1st. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
And then in verse 52, and we shall be changed. I don't have to tell you we live in a changing world. Nothing stays the same. Change is a constant. Whether it's the weather, the economy, technology, so many things changing.
I was just thinking that when I grew up as a boy, that was a few years ago now, I can remember, now the young people will find this hard to believe, when the first TV came on our street. Two doors down, Percy and Doris Beard.
They had this old TV, it was about that big, and after school we'd go, and it was mostly static, but you could see a few figures. But something more, Percy Beard was a milkman. But he didn't drive a big truck, delivering truckloads of milk to Walmart.
He delivered milk to houses, right to the door, in glass bottles. Sounds almost like Neanderthals, doesn't it? And in the wintertime, whatever it was, where there was cream on the top, but they'd freeze if you didn't get that bottle in the house soon enough, and you know, it had pushed the top right off.
Been a bit of a change since those days. But let me just mention one more thing about Percy Beard. I mentioned he didn't drive a truck. It was horsepower on four legs. Percy drove a wagon that was horse-drawn.
Hard to believe. This would be in the 50s. Quite a change from today. We read in Hebrews 1, there's going to be a tremendous change. It's coming. Oh, not for a while, not to the end of the millennium, but we read in verse 12, and they shall be changed.
The heavens and the earth, the universe as we know it. And what an expression it says, as a vesture shalt thou fold them up. Just like we fold up a piece of clothing, the Lord's going to fold up the universe.
It's going to be changed, but it doesn't stop there. What beautiful words right after that. Verse 12, it says, and they shall be changed. Notice, but thou art the same. But thou art the same. And back in verse 11, it says, they shall perish, but thou remainest.
Brother, sister, how good to have an eternal relationship with the one who doesn't change. He's the rock of ages. Our Lord, the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So in this world where there's so much change, how good to be anchored on a rock.
The one who is changeless. You know, really all we have in this life that isn't temporary is the Lord and his word. Is there anything else? Our families, possessions, even health itself, temporary. But thou art the same.
He never changes. In 1 Corinthians 15, we read about another change. It's going to happen a little sooner. Not at the end of the millennium, but at the beginning of the tribulation, before the tribulation.
At the rapture, we read that we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The dead are going to be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait.
One thing tempers that is that we likely all have those that we know and love who aren't saved yet. And we're hoping they'll be saved before they die before the Lord comes. But apart from that, we're going to be changed.
The struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil, that struggle, the battle, every day, it'll be done. Be forever with the Lord. We're going to see him as he is. We've never seen him yet. And yet we love him today.
We're going to see him face to face. So not all change is bad. Some change is, but not all change is bad. In fact, not only is there going to be a change as far as this universe, a way, way in the future, not only are we going to be changed when the Lord takes us out of here, but God wants to change us now.
And he can do it at a conference, he can do it in the quiet of our homes, at work, he wants to change us. In Romans chapter 12, you don't need to turn to it, but familiar verse in verse 2, it says, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed or changed by the renewing of your mind.
Now you often hear this preached on at conferences, but we need to hear it because there's a tremendous pressure, the world, it's a silent pressure often, trying to put us into its mold. And likely the younger people feel this more keenly than those of us who've been on the road a few years.
But the Lord says, don't let the world put you into its mold. Don't let it change you, but you be changed by the renewing. That is a change for the better, by the renewing of your mind. I may have said this before in your hearing, but when I used to have hair, use your imagination, and of course, before I was saved, it was long, but I'd wake up in the morning and it'd be all over the place.
And so like most normal people, I would take a brush or a comb and try to make some sense out of it. Well, you know, the word of God is like that. That's just a poor analogy. But as we read the word of God, it just like a comb or brush will straighten out our hair.
It straightens out our thinking. God wants us to think more and more like him. And thank God he's given us his word. Brother, sister, he wants to change you and me. He wants to change our thinking. And he's given us his word.
Do we give him opportunity to do it? Now, I know what it is to have teenagers in the home and I know what it is for the bathroom to be turned into a beauty parlor. And not too many teenage girls at least would head out in the morning without looking in the mirror and running that brush or comb or whatever through their hair.
That's the physical. But how about our thinking? Am I taking time day by day to read the word of God and letting it change my thinking? The renewing of our mind. And likely not just reading the word of God, but as we pray and as we have fellowship with other believers.
You know these three pillars of the Christian life, the word of God, prayer, the Christian fellowship. I hope that they exist in your life because it is very difficult to make progress in the Christian life without all three.
Reading the word of God day by day, praying, Christian fellowship, very important. Be transformed, be changed by the renewing of your mind. You know that makes me think that I need to be careful of what I think about.
You know, most cities, there are places and streets that it'd be best for you not to go to. I know Chicago is like that. Have you learned that there are some avenues in your mind that it's best not to go down?
I know from time to time, you know, my mind will start to go somewhere. I say, Lord, that's not my business. I don't want to pursue that. I have to, because there's not only a dead end, it's worse than a dead end.
It can end in disaster. The Lord wants to change our thinking. Not only change our thinking, in 2nd Corinthians 3, it's changing our character. Verse 18 says, but we all with open or veiled face, unveiled face, beholding as in a glass, looking on the glory of the Lord.
We're changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Speaking about believers, looking on the glory of the Lord, it says we're changed into the same image, into his likeness.
Now this word changed is the same word in Romans 12, transformed. And in Matthew chapter 17, transfigured, when the Lord was transfigured on the mountain there. Someone that says we become the one that we look on.
Now, it makes me realize I need to be careful of what I look at, or who I look at. Have you been looking on the Lord Jesus recently? Nice to be able to come to a conference and be occupied with him a little bit.
I know we all daydream somewhat, but just to be reminded of him, look on him. But I'll say this, if I'm just looking at a steady stream of movies, it's going to have an effect. You say, oh, what's wrong with the odd movie or two?
Well, maybe not much. But you know, I can become desensitized to sin. I can lose my affection for the Lord Jesus because I'm not looking at him maybe as much as I could. But not just the movies. And I'm just mentioning a couple of things here.
How about websites? And I know there's a lot of websites that maybe nothing too wrong with them. But if it's a steady diet of websites, and you know, I like technology as much as most people. And you know, you can get on there just going from one thing to another looking at information.
And at the end of an hour, what's it accomplished? But the Lord says with unveiled face, looking on the glory of the Lord, we can be changed into his likeness. Don't we have the desire to be more like him?
Doesn't the spirit of God create that within us? But not only does the want to change our thinking and our character. He also wants to change our, our strength, or our ability. In other words, he wants to renew it.
In Isaiah 40, in verse 31, these beautiful words, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew or change their strength. They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength. What's mean to wait on the Lord?
I believe it has the thought of looking, looking for with eager expectation. There's hope involved. You ever lose hope? Waiting on the Lord involves enduring patiently confident that God will work. You ever lose your confidence in God?
Thinking this is hopeless. Waiting on the Lord involves trusting and depending on him. Now notice, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew, they'll change. The Hebrew word is change their strength. That is, they'll find fresh strength and ability to live for God.
Isn't that what we need? I need it every day because I can't live for the Lord in my own ability, my own strength. Can't do it. And then he says, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, strength from God to rise above our circumstances.
And then he says, they shall run and not be weary. Run. There are three brothers from the New Lennox assembly that are probably done now. But this morning, they got up very early to drive down to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
That's a couple hours south of Chicago to run a marathon, 26 .2 miles. And these brothers are not teenagers. I told my wife last night, we need to pray for these men that they don't kill themselves. I can't imagine running 26 miles.
Easy to get weary, wouldn't it? Easy to get weary in the Christian life. If we're depending on our own strength, we're going to get weary. But he says, they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.
You know, walking, you might not feel like giving up as soon as if you're running, but you know, you walk far enough. I'm not sure I could walk 26 miles, let alone run it. But they shall walk and not faint, not give up.
I hope there's nobody here that you had a point in your life when you feel like giving up. You know, we only come to points where we think about it. Life can be difficult. Sometimes we just don't know what's going on.
What does the Lord say? They that wait upon the Lord, trusting him, looking to him expectantly, in spite of circumstances, he says, they shall renew their strength. So the Lord wants to change our strength.
But what about change in an assembly? One of the great challenges likely that we face in North America. How do we deal with it? Well, there are two extremes. One is to go along with every new thing. Anything goes, doesn't matter.
Just go with the flow. And of course, the other extreme might be to try to live in our own little bubble, like a time capsule, frozen in time. And of course, there've been some religious groups that have done this.
They've taken a certain era and they just, regardless of anything else, they just live like that. It's, you know, the other extreme would be no change, no way. It's been well said that culture changes, but God's principles don't.
Culture changes. I mean, none of us here today dress the same way people did 80 years ago, talk the same way, or travel the same way. Culture changes. God's principles, the Word of God doesn't change.
The challenge is to know the difference. Cultural change. Maybe the difference between a white shirt and a blue shirt. Maybe 80 years ago, everybody wore white shirts. Maybe in a certain period of time, men wore blue shirts.
Changes. God's principles. Just one example, woman's head cover. Doesn't matter if it's 80 years ago. 800 years ago, God makes it very clear when sisters are in an assembly gathering, they'd have head coverings.
You know, part of our difficulty in having the right response to change seems to be that, and our brother mentioned this this morning, going beyond the Word of God. The Pharisees in our Lord's day were good at that.
Going beyond the Word of God. Just an example, to carry on the shirt analogy, to lay down a rule, the men must wear white shirts. I got nothing against white shirts. This is just an example. Going beyond the Word of God.
The Lord doesn't say anywhere, wear a white shirt. But going beyond the Word of God is wrong. Coming short of it is equally wrong. For example, saying, well, you want to wear a head covering, young lady, you go ahead.
It's optional. Sisters can do whatever they want. But perhaps the most important thing in responding correctly to change in assembly is each of us just being in fellowship with the Lord. Walking with Him, you know, I've been just started reading in Genesis and, you know, mentioning about Enoch and Noah, these men that they walked with God.
It's a simple phrase, but how beautiful. This is something that you and I can experience and enjoy walking with God, even though we're so failing, because of what Christ has done on our behalf. And the ability to be able to just, when we do fail, to confess it to Him.
Keep short accounts, keep no accounts. Here we are failing creatures, being able to walk with the Holy God. All because of the value of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, if we're walking with God, I believe we'll be able to understand His Word.
He will help us to understand it and we'll have a desire to bow to it, to be willing to obey it. But not only that, we'll have a real love for our brothers and sisters. We were hearing about that this morning.
And to me, if handling, responding to change is one of the challenges that assemblies face in North America today, I'd like to suggest another one. And it's just this, getting along, getting along. No easy thing, because we're all so flawed.
And we need grace from God to put up with one another. And especially smaller assemblies where you don't have, you know, 50 other pairs of eyes to look at, maybe just two or three pairs. And faults are magnified.
So God wants to change us. He wants to change our thinking. Don't let the world change you. You be changed by the renewing of your mind. He wants us to think like He thinks. And He's given us His Word to help us to see how He looks at things.
He wants to change our character. As we look on the glory of the Lord Jesus, He says we'll be changed into His likeness. He wants to change our strength. He wants to give us new strength and ability. They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength.
There's a coming day, and it could be this afternoon. We're going to be changed, totally changed. We're going to see the Lord. We're going to be forever with the Lord, going to be like Him, delivered from the presence of sin.
And eventually, this universe as we know it is going to be changed. And there's going to be the eternal state, new heaven, new earth. In the meantime, brother, sister, may the Lord give us wisdom. May He give us grace to live in a changing world and to know fellowship, to walk with the One who never changes.