"YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE" HEBREWS 8:6-13

INTRO: John Maxwell said, "When it comes to change, there are three seasons of timing: People change when they hurt enough that they have to, when they learn enough that they want to, and when they receive enough that they are able to" (John Maxwell. Leadership Wired. June 2003). Friend, "You can't change the past...But with God's help you can change the future" (Billy Graham. The Journey, p. vii).

If there was one thing you could change about yourself what would it be? Is it your attitude? A bad habit? Your appearance? Some weakness you have? All of us desire to change something about ourselves. Today there are all kinds of self-help, self-improvement, and self-enhancement books, seminars, programs, and videos to help us improve ourselves. Someone wrote: "My body keeps adjusting Under middle age attack My waistline's pushing forward While my hairline's failing back. Hey diddle, diddle, I've got a bulge in my middle And hope to whittle it soon. But eating's such fun That I won't get it done Till my dish runs away with my spoon." We desire and expect change instantly. We live in a day of fast food, e-mail, text messaging, instant success, wealth and beauty. Infomercials promise that if we will only, buy this book, take these vitamins, use this equipment, eat this food, then we can change. But Friends, change is a difficult and lengthy process. Change does not occur overnight. One of the ironies of our desire to change is that we also resist change. One congregation needed a new building and passed the following resolutions: "We shall build a new church. The new building is to be located on the site of the old one. The material in the old building is to be used in the new one. We shall continue to use the old building until the new one is completed."

"God has given us a blueprint for living—but we must know what it is and the put it into action" (Billy Graham. The Journey, p. viii). Our text givens us the terms of God's new covenant with Israel. Moses announced the covenant of the Law. He sprinkled the people with the blood of animals and said, "Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." (Exodus 24: 8). Hebrews 8:6-13 gives us the terms of the New Covenant. The terms of this covenant are faithfully carried out when anyone turns in faith to Jesus Christ. This covenant shows us how we can change. It answers the question, "Can life be any different?" (Billy Graham. The Journey, p. 6). Our text gives us three things that God can do in our lives. "God not only put us on this journey but He wants to join us on it, if we will only let Him." (Billy Graham. The Journey, p. 8). Friend, YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE because... (1) GOD CHANGES PERSONALITIES HEBREWS 8:lOa—"For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts..." A. CHANGE IS MINISTERED BY GRACE. A covenant is an agreement between two parties usually containing promises and conditions for both. The Old Covenant, which was delivered by Moses, was written on tablets of stone and was imposed from without. It was a condition of Law not Grace. The New Covenant is a covenant of grace! When a person places their faith in Christ Jesus God assumes all the obligations. This New Covenant can be likened unto a Will that indicates all the heir most do is either accept or reject it. I want you to notice the repetition of the phrase—"I will." When we trust in Jesus Christ as our Saviour God works in our mind —the basis of intellect and our heart—the seat of the will and desire. Friends, lasting change comes from the inside and this change requires God's help. God begins to work on our attitudes and our affections conforming us into the image of Christ. B. CHANGE IS MEASURED BY GROWTH. "The first things that happens when we give our lives to Christ is that God gives us a new relationship" (Billy Graham. The Journey, p. 56). But the new birth is not the end but just the beginning of our spiritual journey. Being born again doesn't mean that our lives and everything in them are perfect but it does mean that. «.„ God's presence is with you and working in you to produce change in your life. Psychologists tell us that our personalities are set by the age of 4. But God can change patterns in our lives! He makes us a "new creature in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 5:17). He establishes our hearts with His presence. Colossians 2:6-7 says—"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Does that mean that everything in our lives are now perfect? Far from it! But it does mean that God is in our lives and for the rest of our lives He will set us free, as we grow in His grace, so that we can be what He wants us to be! When we are saved He begins to write His law upon our minds and hearts by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. "One of the Bible's most comforting truths is that when we come to Christ, God Himself comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit" (Billy Graham. The Journey, p. 60). Friend, YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE because GOD CHANGES PERSONALITIES but also... (2) GOD CONQUERS PROBLEMS HEBREWS 8:l0b-l1—"...And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." A. GOD DESIRES A RELATIONSHIP WITH US. Friends, something that always has amazed me is this: God knows all about you and I and still desires to have a relationship with us! Many times we say:  NOBODY KNOWS WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH. Friend, God knows! Psalm 31:7 says—"I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities."  NOBODY KNOWS HOW HARD I STRUGGLE WITH TEMPTATION. Friend, God understands. Psalm 69:5 tells us—"O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee."  NOBODY KNOWS THE FEAR AND DEPRESSION I FACE. Friend, God sees. The psalmist said in Psalm 56:8—"Thou tallest my wanderings: put thou my tears in thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" Friends, nothing is unknown or unseen by God. Nothing is off the record. And yet, He still desires to fellowship with us and be in an intimate relationship with us! He knows what we have done, what we are going through, and what we will face tomorrow! And He invites—"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30). B. GOD DESIRES A RELIANCE FROM US. The appeal of the New Covenant is "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us holdfast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Friends, in the midst of our cares, we must look to the Lord! He wants to help us! He desires to help us! He cares! ILLUS: "The longest 24 hours of my life were those after my daughter's death. When making funeral arrangements with her husband and his parents, I had to listen to a salesman who was an incessant talker and who told us 30 times he wasn't a salesman. Twice while we were making decisions about her casket and burial, I had to leave the room; I simply couldn't handle him. The night before I had hallucinated. Half asleep, half awake, I kept thinking my daughter was wondering when her daddy was going to come get her. The next morning I took a walk and was praying and crying the whole way. When I returned, the Lord spoke in such a distinct way: 'She's fine. She's with me. And you're going to be fine, too. I'm all you need. You just keep walking. Keep talking. Keep praying. Keep crying" (Zig Ziglar, "More Oxygen To The Flame," Leadership. (Fall 1998), pp. 22-23). Friend, YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE because GOD CHANGES PERSONALITIES, GOD CONQUERS PROBLEMS, and finally... (3) GOD CANCELS THE PAST HEBREWS 8:12—"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." A. FORGIVENESS IS PROMISED. All of us have suffered from sins, failures, and mistakes. Many times people let their past limit their possibilities in the present and spend their life feeling sorry for themselves, "If only I had not have done this or that." Regret over past sins and failure leave many unhappy and unproductive in their Christian lives. But thank God for His promise—"...I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." B. FORGIVENESS IS PERMANENT. According to the New Covenant, because of Christ's shed blood, God can forgive and forget all our sins, mistakes, wrongs, and failures. When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper He said— "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." (Luke 22:20). Hebrews 10:14 says—"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that believe." And 1 John 1:7 tells us—"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleaneth us from all sin." The Lord here in Hebrews 8:12 says—"...their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." CLOSING: Friend, YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE because GOD CHANGES PERSONALITIES, GOD CONQUERS PROBLEMS, and GOD CANCELS THE PAST. But friend to see real change take place in your life you must being willing to cooperate with what God wants to do in your life. NASA space engineers say that most of the fuel used in a rocket launch is burned in the first few seconds of lift-off. It takes a tremendous thrust of energy to get the rocket off the launch pad. Once it's moving and headed for orbit, it requires much less fuel and is easier to control and direct. It has overcome inertia. Friends, it is one thing for me to tell you that Jesus can change your personality, conquer your problems, and cancel your past. But it is quite another for you to overcome inertia and actually let Him do that! Jesus can give you the power to get started and keep going. The question is, "Do you really want to change?" I truly believe that some believers are content to offer God lackluster and lazy service. They don't want to change! Friend, what about you? Do you desire to give God your best?

PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 2008.