I'm Changed

Hello everyone, I hope all is well. My name is Thad Benson, and I have been given the opportunity to share with you what God has placed upon my heart. This past weekend, I preached in my church in the small town of Iola, Illinois. To prepare for this service, I was in time of prayer and I just began to ask God what he wanted me to preach about. I felt like he was leading me to present to the church what he's done for me. I began to feel direction for the title,“ I’ve been changed” or for the sake of this post, "I'm Changed." I began to reflect on my past and everything that I’ve done, seen, that I’ve thought, I’ve talked about. I’ve just begun to think I am not worthy enough to be where I’m at right now. Reflecting on everything I’ve done makes me say,“ Thank you Jesus.” Reflecting on the night, my life was changed. I found myself at an old-fashioned altar seeking God’s face and asking him to cleanse my mind, heart, and to forgive me for all the sins I have committed. When he filled me with his spirit, it changed my life and changed my mindset. Yes, I was young, and yes I still failed, fell short of the glory of God. My past was never meant to dictate my future, but it was just a building block for what my future held. As I began to think, God brought to my mind in Ephesians chapter two verses one through five which says: 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: The word quicken means: to quicken something; to bring it to life or restore it to a former flourishing condition.We have been made alive, changed, and restored as it was on the day of Pentecost 50 days after God ascended into heaven when the hundred and twenty were in the upper room. Scripture says, “And they were all in one mind and one accord.” This is when the spirit of God descended upon those hundred and twenty people. God changed their lives. God filled them with his holy spirit. When these people were up in the upper room, they were experiencing the power and the love of God. There were people surrounding the building where they were which heard, saw, and felt what was going on in there. The same way he did in Paul’s life but as we know Paul was not always named Paul his name was Saul in the beginning. It was on the road to Damascus when he was on his way to persecute those that were lifting the name of Jesus when he came into contact with the Holy Spirit and God started to deal and work on Saul. In this account we see that Saul had a friend with him on the road to Damascus. And just as the people surrounding the upper room began to hear, saw, and feel what was happening may have not seen, but certainly felt what was going on that trip.

Following the road to Damascus, we see that God called upon a Man named Ananias. Ananias was a disciple of Jesus Christ. He was called upon to speak and minister to Saul. He responded,“ No Lord, Saul is a murder, and he persecutes Christians.” God said, “Don’t worry about that just go.” Ananias caught up with Saul and began to speak and minister to Saul. Saul’s eyes were open to who God was and what he could do. His eyes opened to a powerful and loving God. It says that he immediately went, from that point on, he began to minister and preach the word of God. He even gave the testimony of his life being changed and how the other people’s lives could change. Saul did not allow his past to dictate his future because he allowed God to change his life. God changed Saul’s name to Paul and was one of God’s greatest disciples. When we allow God to change our minds, he will change our identity. My name is Thad Benson it is the name I was born with and the name my parents gave me, but my identity is of my future not of my past.