Why don't we change?
We don't change because we lack true repentance; transformation comes when, through daily obedience and without seeking shortcuts, we offer our lives to God as a living sacrifice and let His Spirit renew our minds.
Notes from a message by Ivan Ferreira
- Sermon
- ICISP - Norte
"Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 'Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.' Then Jesus said, 'Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.'"
Mark 4:1-9 (NIV)
Introduction
We all carry something that seems ingrained in us. A habit that keeps coming back, a way of reacting that repeats itself, a weakness that insists on staying even after so many promises that this time it would be different. We want to grow, we want peace at home, in our marriage, in life — and yet we keep standing in the same place.
It is easy to put the blame on others, on the situation, on anything outside of us. But the more honest question is a different one: what is missing in me for change to happen? Why is it that, even though I want to be different, I cannot change?
The good news is that change does not depend on our willpower alone. The one who brings transformation and growth is God. The question is to understand what opens us — or closes us — to what He wants to do in us.
Historical Context
The parable of the sower is told by Jesus at the beginning of His ministry in Galilee, by the shore (the Sea of Galilee). The crowd was so large that He had to get into a boat and teach from the water, with the people gathered on the beach. It was a rural setting, familiar to those listeners: everyone knew the work of the field, the different types of soil, and the reality of a harvest that could be lost.
Jesus uses this everyday image to speak of something deeper — the way the human heart receives the Word. The parable is not only about planting; it is about why some lives bear fruit and others do not.
If we could choose, we would all choose to be the good soil — the one that produces a crop of thirty, sixty, a hundred times. We want good results, we want to grow. But the soil does not choose itself; it is worked. And it is precisely this inner work that this lesson seeks to confront.
Part 1 — The root of the problem: the lack of repentance
Before looking for a method to change, we need to look inside. When the Spirit of God searches our heart, what does He find?
"these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NIV)
The Spirit of God reaches the deepest part of our soul. He searches every corner of our mind and heart. And many times, in what matters most, He does not find repentance. That is the reason. It is not God's ability that is lacking; what is lacking, in us, is the repentance that opens the way for transformation.
But what is repentance? The word used is metanoia — literally, a change of mind. It is not merely feeling bad about what you have done. John the Baptist made this clear:
"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same." Even tax collectors came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
Luke 3:8-14 (NIV)
Notice how John always points to a concrete action. Melancholy is not repentance. Lamenting is not enough. If you are selfish, be generous. If you are dishonest, become truthful. If you are not content with your pay, be content. There is no repentance without a change of attitude.
That is why we often prefer to turn our backs and not listen — but that is dangerous, because it closes the heart. When God calls us to repentance, it is time to face our own heart, not to run from it.
Part 2 — The will to change is born of obedience
It is not enough to recognize the problem; we must want to change. But true willingness is not a vague feeling — it is proven in obedience.
"Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."
John 7:17 (NIV)
Jesus reverses the order we usually expect. It is not "first I understand, then I obey," but "as I decide to obey, I find out." Without obedience, there is no way to truly know the will of God. It is an interactive path, of two parts: as we live our daily life with God, He reveals Himself to us.
None of this is religious or mechanical — it is companionship. Going to church on Sunday does no good if there is no fellowship with God during the week. If we live only off the Sunday service, we will never change. The honest question is worth asking: how was your week? How is your relationship with God from Monday to Saturday?
Part 3 — The danger of shortcuts
The great enemy of change is the search for the easy path. The world is always offering us a shortcut.
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)
Why do easy and harmful things have so much success? There is even a natural explanation: our brain consumes about 20% of our energy, and so the body adapts to spend the least possible effort. The lie, the shortcut, the path of least resistance — all of this is, in part, our flesh pulling us toward what costs less. Easy money, reward without dedication: the shortcut is always dangerous.
Jesus already warned us about this. He does not call us to a shortcut, but to a daily relationship. Shortcuts never lead anyone to God. Through His Spirit, God teaches us discipline and repentance, and encourages us not to run away.
Part of this journey is not running from tribulations. Paul shows us that they are not accidents to be avoided, but a place where our trust in God is tested.
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)
Tribulations are part of the process. To reach God, we need to go through the path — repentance, relationship, and trust. Our goal is heaven, and there is no shortcut that gets there. Pray for patience, for strength, for courage, and do not seek the easy path.
Part 4 — Stay at the altar: life as a living sacrifice
This whole journey comes down to one decision: to offer your own life to God.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
The image of sacrifice was clear to the people of that time: people would go to the altar bringing an animal to be offered. Paul gives a surprising twist to this image — now we are the sacrifice, a living sacrifice. This means changing our whole life, not treating faith as a religion, a club, or a comfortable lifestyle.
We must make the decision to be the living sacrifice and go to the altar to stay close to God — and not to step away from Him. Paul says exactly the same thing that Christ had taught: the relationship is daily.
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Our relationship with God is not just on Sundays: it is in daily life, everywhere we are, in everything we do. This must be our true worship — life offered as a living sacrifice. Shortcuts offer us the pattern of the world; the living sacrifice reveals the will of God and brings the repentance, obedience, and change that we need.
And when we surrender completely, we are surrounded by the love of God — like the sea that embraces us when we enter the water. This love surrounds us through the Spirit who lives in us, because God wants the best of us.
"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us."
1 Corinthians 2:12 (NIV)
Application
Changing is not gritting your teeth and trying harder. It is a sequence of daily decisions that open the heart to the work of the Spirit:
- Make the decision of repentance — not the melancholy that laments, but the metanoia that changes direction and produces concrete fruit.
- Make the decision to cultivate a relationship with God throughout the entire week, and not only on Sunday.
- Make the decision not to run away, to face your own heart and go through tribulations instead of seeking the shortcut.
- Make the decision to be the living sacrifice and to remain at the altar, close to God.
And do all of this with joy, knowing that you are not alone: God gives us His own Spirit to help us along the way.
For the Week
- When the Spirit of God searches your heart today, in what specific area does He not find repentance — and what concrete action would that repentance require of you?
- Has your relationship with God been a daily companionship or only a Sunday commitment? What would change in your Mondays if it were truly daily?
- What shortcut have you been seeking to avoid a process that God wants to use to transform you?
- What does it mean, in practical terms this week, to offer your life as a living sacrifice and "not step away from God"?