THE DISCIPLINE OF CHANGE

JEREMIAH 48:1

A. "MOAB HATH BEEN AT EASE FROM HIS YOUTH, AND HE HATH SETTLED ON HIS LEES, AND HATH NOT BEEN EMPTIED FROM VESSEL TO VESSEL, NEITHER HATH HE GONE INTO CAPTIVITY THEREFORE HIS TASTE REMAINED IN HIM, AND HIS SCENT IS NOT CHANGED."
  1. Moab, a small country:
    1. Was noted for its vineyards.
    2. They used the ancient process of changing wine from vessel to vessel.
  2. Jeremiah uses a figure of speech to show that Moab was dying of moral stagnation:
    1. It never had been brought into captivity.
    2. It was at ease, in spite of its moral decay.
B. THE DISCIPLINE OF CHANGE IS THE BURDEN OF THIS MESSAGE
  1. Life's changes:
    1. Our checkered experiences have a wonderful power of cleansing effect upon our lives.
    2. "We glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience" - Rom. 5:3
    3. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Heb. 12:11 EXAMPLES -
      1. Nebuchadnezzar would never have testified for the true and living God, had he not gone through experiences which convinced him of the power of the true God - Dan. 4:30-37
      2. Pharaoh would never have acknowledge the Hand of God, had not the Lord shown him the power of God - Ex. 9:27
      3. Then think of Saul before David - 1 Sam. 26:21
  2. It is in changes and surprises through which we pass continuously in this life:
    1. This is one of God's means to prepare us for translation. It is the oven in which the Lord separates the gold from the dross - Prov. 25:4; Isa. 1:22; Mal. 3:3
    2. The frequent unsettlements in our experience keep us from becoming wedded to the world and from taking root in a world that will pass away - 1 Sam. 27:1-12; 29:1-11; 1 John 2:15, 16
  3. The penalty of stagnation:
    1. This sterile, stagnant Moab, whose good wine of life is vitiated by inaction and indolence, is surely a text for a thousand sermons.
    2. We are in constant danger that our God given blessings become the curse of inaction or spiritual stagnation - EXAMPLES -
      1. Think of Meroz - Judg. 5:1-27
      2. Sodom and Gomorrah are still another warning sign on the highway of life - Ezek. 16:49
      3. The Babylonian kingdom is still another example of the result of stagnation - Dan. 5
      4. Finally, we have the parable of the rich farmer - Luke 12:16-21
C. BLESSINGS OF THE DISCIPLINE OF CHANGE
  1. It develops character: Heb. 12:7-10
  2. That was the experience of Moses after he had slain the Egyptian -- 40 years in the school of experience: Num. 12:3
  3. It purifies the souls:
    1. "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" - Isa. 48:10, 11
    2. The dregs in the bottom of our heart need to be removed to make room for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit - Jas. 4:8; 2 Cor. 7:1, 2
  4. It teaches us to rely upon the Lord at all times:
    1. Peter's experiences at the time he denied his Lord taught him valuable lessons in his relationship with the Lord.
    2. After the betrayal, he was more careful in his promises - Compare Matt. 14:30 -- "Lord save me."
    3. Paul, too remembered his daily need of leaning upon the power of God - Rom. 7:1-26; Phil. 2:12, 13; 4:12, 13
  5. Finally, the discipline of change will save us from eternal ruin:
    1. The vineyard of the Lord needs pruning - John 15:1- 11
    2. So a constant change in our lives will purify the soul.


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