John K. Jenkins Sr - Transition Requires Change

Open your Bibles to Second Kings, chapter 18. I want to talk about my subject today. My theme is «Transition Requires Change.» Can y’all say that? Transition! In order to transition to the new place that God has for you, it’s going to require some change. A person who demonstrates change significantly is Hezekiah in the Bible. Hezekiah became the king of Israel, and in comparison to how his father acted-who was probably one of the worst kings -Hezekiah became one of the best kings. He demonstrates what it means to be willing to make a change. I want to talk to you about this today because God is seeking to move some of you. That 's why I say this is the season of transition. God wants to move you from one place, one element, one dimension of your life to a more significant place in your life. Amen? But you have to be willing to change.

Some years ago, my wife had a terrible back problem. We kept going to the doctor, but things didn’t get any better. So, I suggested that we find a new doctor. We found one and, within five minutes, he said we had been diagnosed incorrectly and that the treatments we were doing would not help her back. In just five minutes, he explained what to do. She followed his advice, and now she has not had any back problems since that diagnosis. Someone who can tell you what’s wrong can facilitate change for you.

Ray Rhodes is the name of the man who used to be the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks football team. One day, he was having a stroke. While in the middle of the stroke, he told his daughter that he would be okay, that he didn’t need to go to the hospital or anything, and that he was going to be fine. After the stroke and after he was treated, he realized he could no longer work 20-hour days. He recognized that he could no longer stretch himself to that degree. He said, «Either I have to be willing to change or I’m going to die .»

Can I say that to you today? Either you should be willing to make a change, or you’re going to die. Tell your neighbor, «Change or die .» Tell them on the other side, «Change or die.» Say it with attitude! Roll that little thing around your neck if you’re unwilling to change. Some of us get so stuck in the way we’ve done things, what we’ve been doing, how we have functioned, what we are used to, and what we like, that we don’t recognize that if we don’t change, we’re going to die. Some of you, if you don’t change, you’re going to die spiritually. I’m preaching better than you are saying amen!

I can go through the Bible and find so many people who were willing to make a change and alter the course of their lives, and it brought about significant change. I want to challenge you today to do the same. In our text, Second Kings, chapter 18, Hezekiah becomes king. Here 's a guy who made some drastic changes in the country. In fact, his changes were so drastic that I want you to see verse 3 of Second Kings 18. They were so drastic that the scripture gives us this commentary about what he did: «And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord .» What he did was so drastic that the scripture specifies he did what was right. The question is, what did he do? Somebody say, «Pastor, tell us what he did.» I’m going to tell you.

When you read this passage, you might not understand the significance of what he did, but here’s what he did. Look at verse 3: «He did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places, broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days, the children of Israel burned incense to it and called it Nehushtan.» You might not follow the significance of this, but let me back up and tell you what happened 700 years earlier.

During Moses’s day, the children of Israel angered God. They made Him angry because they worshiped false gods and idols. God sent serpents among them, and when people were bitten by the serpents, they died. Moses went to God and made an appeal, and God told Moses, «Okay, I’m going to forgive the people and heal them.» He instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole .