CHANGED TO BRING CHANGE Acts: 22:15: "You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard." Scripture: Acts 22: 1-16 Subtopic: What About You? One night a man was having a dream. He dreamed that he was having a conversation with the Lord. He was angry about all the suffering and evil he saw around him -- aids, killings, wars, divorce, children having children, crime and his list just went on and on. So he complained to the Lord, "Why don’t you do something about all of this mess?" God gently replied, "I did. I created you." Now, the question is "What About You - What will you do? God uses us. He carries us through valleys and storms so that we can help change someone else in a positive manner and encourage them to get to know Jesus Christ. Has becoming a Christian helped you to change in a positive manner? Have you shared your Christian experience with others? Has your change encouraged others to come to Christ? Let’s look at some examples God has given us to show how change, helped others to change. Let’s look at Stephen. Stephen was one of God’s early warriors. God created Stephen to let us know that even when people are stoning you to death (Acts 7:51-60), for telling them the truth, you can look up and say, "Lord lay not this sin to their charge." And after this statement, Stephen fell asleep. Stephen’s change should bring about a change in us. A change that says it’s all right to slay me, a change to forgive others in spite of what they do and what they say, and a change to stay with the Lord -- who will give us an eternal home. God created Job (Job 1&2) so He could show the world that even when you are wealthy and you lose everything -- your health, sheep, camels, oxen, she asses, children and wife, you can still say, "Even though you slay me, yet will I serve you." Job taught us that if you wait on the Lord, He will bless you with twice as much. Job change should bring about a change in our lives. Job experience of having everything - then losing everything, yet staying with the Lord and regaining twice as much is an illustration that it is good to stay with the Lord. And then there is Paul -- God changed Paul from a persecutor of the church to "His witness to all men" (Acts 22:15). Paul’s life and letters taught, inspired, and comforted the church in its early days, and they still do so today. It was the power of God that changed Paul, and then used him to change the world around him. What about you? Have you been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ? Have you had a valley experience that changed you? Are you obediently serving Him so He can use you to change the lives and destiny of people like you? I suppose the main question is, "How can I change in order to bring about a change?" First of all, you must be totally transformed by being born again. Secondly, you can bring change about in others by being a witness to others. Each of us should have a testimony. The best thing we can offer each other is not learned arguments, but a good heart wrenching testimony of what God has done for us. Our personal change can certainly help others to understand God’s miraculous power. Change will come to American not by powerful sermons, but by us -- Christians. We must start telling the story to others of what Jesus means to them, what changes God have made in our lives, and how He can make changes in their lives. A very simple example of change and witnessing is one that we see every day -- advertising on television. Think with me for a minute. Folk who are on television explaining the value of a product are not all Ph.D.’s MD’s, D.D.’s. Who generally are they? They are children, construction workers, teenagers, housewives, the elderly, the guy next door giving testimonies talking about how fluffy and light Hungry Jack Biscuits are, the real fruit flavor in Fruit Loop Cereal, the detergent that cleans out any stain - Tide, the newest and best car being made -- the Hummer, Windex, etc. The key word they all use is "It works for me." What a testimony. Now the next thing we do is run out and purchase the product because someone whom we don’t even know says, "Its works for me." Remember these are ordinary people like you and me. This parable is only a demonstration of what we should be doing every day to bring about change -- witnessing for the Lord and pray that someone would "try Jesus." Someone put it this way, "A Christian should talk to the Lord about his neighbors and then talk to his neighbors about the Lord." This starts change -- when we experience change, that change can help change lives in a positive way. In the scripture this morning, Paul does what we have been called to do -- share our experiences with the Lord. Put simply, Paul had been worshiping in the temple, where he was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile inside the temple. A riot followed. The captain of the Roman guard broke up the riot, and bound Paul with chains. Paul asked the captain for an opportunity to speak. What Paul said changed his situation. Paul gave a personal testimony. We too must be like Paul changed to bring about change. We should be willing and most of all able to share our experiences with the Lord. In Luke 8:30, Jesus healed the man and instructed him to return to his own house and TELL the great things God has done for him. The man went his way proclaiming throughout the whole city the change God has made in his live. This was change that surely resulted in the changing of others. Two Sunday’s ago, a young lady came because she had been told that she must be born again. She made a decision to change by giving her life to Christ. She was changed because of someone else’s change and someone else’s testimony. If you have made a change in your life and you want to live for Christ, confess your sin to Christ the Almighty and take a stand to live for Him so that your living will help others to join this Christian army. "It is my prayer that this sermon will be an encouragement to you to be a witness for the Lord." Elder F. R. Rush, Pastor New Zion Primitive Baptist Church 3845 Miccosukee Road Tallahassee, FL 32308