COURAGE TO CHANGE

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Courage To Change When I think of courage, I think of… William Tyndale Who in the early 1500’s translated the Bible into English, which at the time was forbidden and punishable by execution. For his controversial views and belief that everyone should be able to read the Bible in their native tongue, he was later arrested and executed. Winston Churchill. When in 1940, Britain stood, alone against Nazi Germany. Some in Britain wanted to seek a deal with Hitler, but Churchill wanted to fight on, and he inspired his country and the rest of the world through their darkest hour. Rosa Parks who On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger. Her act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement in America. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. Helen Keller - Overcame her dual disability of being both deaf and blind and championed to improve societies treatment of deaf people. The Unknown Rebel at the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests who faced-off with the tanks of the People’s Liberation Army on June 5.  Stuart Franklin’s famous photo of the stand-off went on to become one of Life’s Magazine’s "100 Photos that Changed the World" and TIME listed the obscure and Unknown Rebel as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Malala Yousafzai (1997) - Pakistani schoolgirl who defied threats of the Taliban to campaign for the right to education. She survived being shot in the head by the Taliban and has become a global advocate for human rights, women’s rights and the right to education. Jesus Christ who in spite of the shame suffered the death of the cross for you and for me. The thing that limits so many people to a common, normal, ordinary life is fear. Fear of an undesired outcome Fear of other people’s opinion Fear of failure But understand something, these are all natural fears. We all have these fears. But the difference between someone being fearful and someone being courageous is the fact that in the face of their fears, they attempted and even accomplished what they were afraid of. Courage. It takes courage to stand up for what is right. It takes courage to make a difference. And it takes courage to live a life that is pleasing to God when the rest of the world would condemn you for it. Change does not come easy. Most people do not like change. Change exposes some things Change reveals some things Change means that what we had before was not enough. Change means something better has come. John 3:19 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. I found out the day I was baptized that not everybody was going to understand my decision. My friends laughed at me. My family made fun of me. My own father called me a fool. No one else in my entire family went to church or lived for God at that time. I stood alone in a dark place. Just me and my little light. But change was needed. My life couldn’t continue in the direction it was going any longer. I couldn’t allow my soul to be destroyed by what was going on in my life at that time. Change had to happen. Repentance had to happen Regardless of what other people thought Regardless of how it would affect their thinking Regardless of the family traditions Regardless of how they were brought up Regardless of who their God was or what their religion was I needed Change in my life. My world was a pretty dark place and I needed God to shine some light into my life. It takes courage to say yes to God when everyone around you is laughing and pointing their fingers. It takes courage to do what is right not only for yourself, but for the people you love even when they don’t understand your actions. These 12 people here today who have made a decision to be baptized are heroes in my book. Some of them are facing ridicule from their family and friends. Some of them are facing the generational curses of their life and saying, "It stops here." It takes courage to step out of the crowd and say "I want change!" It takes courage to admit that you need His help! It takes courage to face your demons and say I choose Jesus Christ. It takes Courage to Change.