Got Change?Sample

HEEDING GOOD ADVICE Probably many of us can recall times when someone has given us good advice and we have not heeded it, resulting in terrible mistakes. There was a king in the Bible called Rehoboam, who happened to be the son of the wisest king who ever lived. He fell out of favor with his subjects when he heeded the thoughtless advice of his peers whom he grew up with, rejecting the wise counsel of the elders. The terrible consequence of that rejection: The kingdom was divided into Israel and Judah. The reason he rejected the advice of the elders was he didn't want to lose his temporary control and comfort over the long term loyalty of his friends. And you can imagine how many times after that, he murmured to himself, "If only I had heeded the advice of the wise elders". In our case too, many times we are not open to good advice because we don't want them to interfere with our plans and temporary satisfaction. We have been told things like, "do not gossip or backbite", "do not get into relationship with an unbeliever", "no intimacy before marriage", "do not get into debts you cannot repay", "careful with your credit card" etc. Of course, this list deals with very obvious moral issues, but there are certain life situations where we need godly counsel to get the bigger picture we otherwise don't see. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes (Prov. 12:15) and carelessness always has its consequences. In the words of Randy Alcorn, "God need not suddenly invent gravity to punish a careless driver who speeds around a snowy cliff". Wise advice can come mainly through our pastors, elders, parents, life group leaders and mentors. As important as it is to have them, we must always remember to put God's advice above all. The wisest of human advice can sometimes be susceptible to error but Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor. He wants to teach and instruct us, and for this, we need to build intimacy with God in prayer and the study of His word. Sometimes we think of wise elders as restrictive, but they are the walls of protection God has given us. The CHALLENGE to Change: Think of how you can heed wise advice today, before you regret wrong choices.