02 August 2005 Devotion for Today “What A Change!” Ezekiel 36:25-29
How many of us this morning would like to change something about ourselves if we could? Most people know something about themselves that they don’t like even if no one else knows that about them. We desire change but change is so hard to come by. We try to change and it lasts a little while and then we go right back to our old ways. And we just reason to ourselves that I just will not be able to change that about myself that I don’t like. In Ezekiel 36, God tells us that He is in the changing business. Today, He will tell us how He changes us and how we can know that He has changed us.
“I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanesses. I will call fro the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.” Ezekiel 36:25-29
The first principle of this passage teaches that I can not change what is wrong on the outside of me until I first change what is wrong on the inside.
This is the Lord speaking through Ezekiel, the prophet, and I want you to notice the order that gave for change. Before He was going to remove the idols, God was going to clean their heart. God knew the heart must be changed before the idols are removed otherwise the idols would just return.
Our problem is that when we attempt to change something we generally start with the wrong thing first. If I having a drinking problem I want to quit, I start with trying to drink less. But for me to be successful, I need to start with my heart because if I don’t change my heart I will never change my drinking.
Think in your life when you try to change something, you generally start with the external. But the change will never last if you don’t change your heart first. Change must be from the inside outward.
How many times have you confronted your spouse with a problem they have that is destroying your relationship and they plead for another chance and promised they will change. But yet they never change. It is on the outside that they try to change but do nothing on the inside.
As preachers, we see people all the time to desiring to change their church attendance. They come for several weeks in a row and then they drop off. What happened? They attempted to change the external without first changing their heart. So the change will not last.
The second principle is I can’t change what is wrong on the inside without God changing me.Vs. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Real change in my life can only come about through God. Notice in the Scripture what part God has and what part I have.
God is the one that needs to do the work. He is the one who gives a new heart and He is the one who gives a new spirit. I don’t believe that change I make will be lasting if I don’t allow God to do his work. When God changes my heart, I become more sensitive as to how expects me to live. Vs 27- And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow decrees and be careful to keep my laws.Whenever I go to the dentist and have work done on my teeth, for several days my teeth are sensitive to hot or cold beverages. Something has been done to my teeth and as result I am much more sensitive.Whenever God works on my heart, I become much more sensitive as to how God wants me to live my life. I become more aware of God as I live each day. When I become dull as to how I am to live my live, it is evident that I have not allowed God to work on my heart in a while.
When God changes my heart; God shifts my attention from dealing with the problem to building relationship with the Father.Vs 28- You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people and I will be your God. The problem that God addressed through the prophet was that the people were worshiping idols . God did not focus on the negative thing: worshiping idols. Instead, he focused on the positive thing: building relationship with the Father. When we want to overcome the problem, we focus our energy on the problem. God tells us that we need to focus our attention on building relationship with Him. When we get ourselves in relationship with God things will fall into place.
Suppose you have a drug problem; the answer to your problem is building relationship with the Father. If you are having a martial problem the answer is mutually building a relationship with the Father. When you build a relationship with the Father, all the mess in your life seems to fall in line.
When God changes my heart, I become aware that I am not the only one with needs and problems. Vs 26- I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. When God changes my heart, I am aware that there are other people with problems equal to or greater than mine. And now, because I have a heart of flesh, I focus on trying to help them rather than focus on my problem. When I try to help other people with their problems then my problem looks a whole lot smaller. Sometimes our problems get big because all we do is focus on our problems. God shifts our attention to the needs of others by giving us a heart of flesh.
When God changes my heart, I believe that my success to dealing with my problem lies in God’s hands and not mine.Vs 29- I will save you from all your uncleanness .You may be here today, knowing that you need to change but not willing to allow God to change you. Then I am here to tell you that you will not get lasting change.
But if you are here today thinking I got problems and I need God to help me that then you will be successful. The verse says He will save us. It makes it quite clear that change in my life is more dependent upon God than it is dependent upon me.
We all have things we would like to change about ourselves. Any real change has to occur on the inside and that is where God gets involved. And when God does get involved, you will easily recognize the signs that your heart has been changed.
Have a blessed day!
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