i was re-listening to a past sermon at our church by Larry Randolph, who came for a couple days in November, to share some things with us.

Don't despise transition.

All of us have heard the story of butterflies before and their metamorphosis from worm to cocoon to transformation into some of the most colourful of God's creation.

He parallels the Christian life, and our struggle. We eat and eat and eat, prepare, prepare, prepare, struggle, struggle, struggle most all our lives.

Some of us make it and some of us don't.

He spoke about many scientific studies with different stages of the insect and how environment plays such a huge roll in our development. Who we are surrounded by, who is leading, going in circles and starving to death.

We should be excited about transition, the squeezing, molding, growing up, development, character, becoming the real church.

Many times God forces change, simply because we don't want to, are not willing to change.

The cocoon is a special length of time, like a child in a womb. Designated time for 9 months to complete the process. This 9 months to us could be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years.

The birth process is messy, and usually loud.

Discern: the spirit of religion could have you bound to old stuff, past, dead, unwilling to move into something new.

God is a God of the positive, linear, progressive, does not live in the past.

Joshua and Caleb got hold of God's thinking, while the others were stuck.

Jesus spoke in Jn 14, about not letting our hearts be troubled or afraid, right before he went off to be crucified. Something new was about to happen and Peter had tried to stop him when he said, "get behind me Satan".

Positive thinking sends the right chemicals through our bodies and promotes health and well being. Phil. 4, Paul encourages us about the things we should be thinking. We should be talking God talk not our talk.

God's truth is absolute but it is also progressive, developmental, growth faceted and we should always be ready for the unfolding of God.

Museums have a museum mentality. God doesn't live in a museum.

God is extraordinary, extravagant and we need this to pour out of the church. The church is filled with God likenesses, creative, incredible people who should be leading the world.

During economic uncertainty Joseph rose to his destiny, his blessing.

There are gold fish that will grow within the confines of their specific environment and no more.

Jn 3:16 "For God so loved the WORLD", not just mankind.

The church has the ability to change the landscape.

We are each a unique piece of God's personality, a special individual given the ability to think God thoughts, with Godly mindedness and each of us have a place and are needed to fill it. Enough of us together with the courage to enter into the provision of God, and who knows what could happen. We are given permission to succeed.

(These thoughts were taken from my notes on the subject)