THE FEAR FACTOR: Fear of Change
Haggai 1:5-6 – 5Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Consider your ways!' 6You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.
Luke 9:24 – For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
I. THE FEAR OF CHANGE: Why Do We Resist What We Need?
• We prefer a known problem because it asks nothing new of us.
Proverbs 26:14 – As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed.
• Familiarity feels like security.
Jeremiah 6:14 – They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace!' when there is no peace.
II. THE COST OF DELAY: What Happens While We Wait?
• We create a “change gap”: Time, Distance, and Deterioration.
Proverbs 24:33-34 – 33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; 34so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.
• The cost of inaction compounds.
Ecclesiastes 10:18 – Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
– TIME IS LOST: We spend months or years postponing the work that could already be underway.
– PROBLEMS DEEPEN: Uncorrected patterns continue producing their consequences.
– OPPORTUNITIES DISAPPEAR: Doors available in one season do not remain open indefinitely.
– POTENTIAL REMAINS UNREALIZED: Abilities that should have been developed remain dormant.
– OTHERS PAY THE PRICE: Our families, relationships, organizations, and future generations experience the consequences of our decisions.
Numbers 14:30 – Doubtless you shall not enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
• We wait for Pain to teach what Wisdom would have prevented.
Proverbs 22:3 – A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 – He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
III. CLOSING THE CHANGE GAP: How Do We Move Before Crisis Forces Us To?
• Take responsibility for what you already KNOW.
James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
• Renew the thinking that makes change threatening to you.
Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
• Take authority away from your fear.
Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
• Increase the speed from conviction to action.
Psalm 119:59-60 – 59I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. 60I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.
• Make the first step specific and immediate.
Proverbs 4:26 – Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.
1) WHAT CHANGE HAVE YOU ALREADY RECOGNIZED?
2) HOW MUCH HAS IT COST YOU TO DELAY?
3) WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT TODAY?