Tackling Your Transitions

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Mount Paran Church, Dr. David Cooper, 12- 27-09

Rev. 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Life is a series of beginnings and endings.

Transition—move from one place or state to another. A conversion. Triggers transformation. Life is full of transitions. It's important to move through them. Embrace change. Learn to discern what God is doing in your life.

The garden/the flood (Gen. 6:5-6) / the end of the age.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Cor 15:26, 2 Peter 3:14, Rev. 21:1

Life is marked by transitions.

  1. Historical Transitions
  2. Life Transitions—8 stages of development (Went in to detail on Erik Erikson's 8 stages of development http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm, plus one added by Dr. Cooper)
    1. Infant—Trust vs Mistrust
    2. Toddler—Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt
    3. Pre-school—Initiative vs Guilt
    4. Elementary—Industry vs Inferiority
    5. Adolescence—Identity vs Role Confusion
    6. Young Adult—Intimacy vs Isolation
    7. Middle-Age—Generativity vs Stagnation
    8. Senior Adult—Integrity vs Despair
    9. Final Transition—Heaven (Eccl 12:7, Jn. 11:25-26, 2 Cor 5:8). Believer's death=relocation.
  3. Spiritual Transitions (2 Cor 5:17, 3:18, Eph 4:22-24). Don't be resistant to change. Get comfortable with it. The old is gone, the new has come (frightening as it may be). We reflect the Lord's glory.

    You can't have a Spirit-filled experience and keep things the way they are.

    Moody-"I've had more trouble with myself than any man I ever met."


    Some Notes on Beginnings and Endings

    1. Beginnings have endings (Eccl. 3:1-14, Mark 2:22). Failure to understand this prevents people from navigating through till the end. They live in a fantasyland. A season=a limited time. Understanding this is crucial. Let go when it's over. Don't put your dreams on life support. Life support is expensive.

      Is your purpose-driven life just one pulled plug away from being dead altogether?

    2. Endings lead to new beginnings. Jeremiah's sign of hope (Jer 32:1-15, 29:11) Is. 42:18-19
    3. Some changes come naturally; others come by choice. What do I need to choose this year?
      1. We can choose a new beginning. Don't plan to start tomorrow—do something today. There is incredible power in choices.
      2. We can choose to end certain things.

The Prodigal son "came to his senses". "Change comes when a man comes to his senses." Get to the point where you say, "this is enough of that!"

[listen here when it becomes available: http://www.mountparan.com/newsitedev/services.asp]

Happy New Year!

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