Ever feel that every now and then in your Christian work you need to get back to basics.
I was reading a review of Pilgrims progress this week and it struck me that every now and then in the Christian life we need some Christian revision. Our view of God our view of our faith has drifted and we need to get up to date. Get back to basics that is what Pilgrims progress does.
Sometimes in our Christianity we get so embroiled in just living so tenuous in our faith that we forget the very basics.
Over 50 years ago Mazda introduced the rotary engine an entirely new concept but by2011 rumblings were heard and by 2013 in an interview with Automotive News, Mazda's new CEO Masamichi Kogai painted a bleak picture about the rotary's future:
It's kind of depressing to hear, especially since we just celebrated the 50th birthday of the Mazda rotary engine. At the same time, it's not terribly surprising. While the rotary has fantastic performance advantages, it also tends to be awful in terms of fuel economy and emissions, two of the biggest concerns for automakers these days.
What are most cars using today?
Compared to other technologies we use every day, it seems like car engines haven't really changed much. The engine in an old Ford Model T has plenty in common with the engine in a modern Ford. car engines still use the same basic principle: The combustion of air and fuel to create rotational force and move a car.
Sometimes we can get all kind of cute ideas about our faith but moving away from the basics in Christianity is far more dangerous than living with an emission breathing mazda rotary engine.
The internal combustion motor will undoutably pass away but Jesus said – “heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.”
Matthew chapter 24 verse 35.
This morning I would like to suggest to you some areas of review that we could well explore in order to work out if our faith is as healthy as we think it is.
Let us read together Psalm 1Psalm 1[a]
1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.
2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].
4 Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].
6 For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).
Psalm 1:1 This has been called “The Preface Psalm” because in some respects it may be considered “the text upon which the whole of the Psalms make up a divine sermon.” It opens with a benediction, “Blessed,” as does our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3).
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
1. Living outside the not’s – Getting back to the basics in Psalm 1 is identifying and clearing up the areas where you should not be living.
Basically if you live in the not’s your spirit will end up in Knots.
1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.
“Living outside the not’
"Another said, 'I will follow you, Lord, let me first say farewell to those at my home,' Y'shua said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Luke 9:61-62
Someone identified four types of sin. Two of these find their expression in things that we do action and intent and two of them are sins that we do not – Attitude and neglect. Attitude, Action, Neglect, and Intent
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Some of these like intent and Action produce sins like theft, dishonesty and adultery but the others like neglect and attitude produce the kind of sin that is evident in Luke chapter 16 between the rich man and Lazarus verses 25 & 26 . In verse 25 the rich man could not be helped because his character has now become unalterable. “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.” What had the rich man done – Nothing!!!!
That is the point Christianity is not passive. That passivity in itself is sinful. What passivity indicates is lack of second birth.
Psalm 1:5 Charles Haddon Spurgeon (The Treasury of David) said, “Sinners cannot live in heaven. They would be out of their element. Sooner could a fish live upon a tree than the wicked in paradise.” The only way they will ever be able to endure heaven is to be born again and become new creatures with pure hearts able fully to enjoy the presence of God, His holy angels, and the redeemed.
Our task is to live in not the nots but to be active in the commission that God has given us. God has commissioned us and it is that commission that will deliver us from the neutrality that ultimately leads us outside of the blessing of God.
The counsel of the wicked these days is not just the let and let live philosophy behind the death produced through immorality in all shapes and sizes but also the drawcard of the advertising industry that entices us to luxiourious and wasteful living while people in the world perish physically from lack of nourishment and –
spiritually from the want of a saviour.
"Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you damned?"
- Leonard Ravenhill
Read more: https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-author/leonard-ravenhill-quotes/#ixzz4esqH5tI1
We need to deal with the nots.
Secondly put down our roots. 3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. Where your roots are will define you. The willow tree aravah was part of Jewish life and it put down it’s extensive root systems and drew water up into itself. We too need to be planted firmly in God.
Jesus once said “Out of your heart will flow rivers of living water!”John 7 verse 38 In order for this to happen we need to ensure that we are firmly rooted in Christ. On Friday I was sharing about Jesus with a young man and he shared with me that he wanted jesus but he wanted other religions as well. To do that is to be poorly rooted. Being rooted in Christ means your life will take on real meaning and you will go deeper and deeper with him.
Hudson Taylor was an outstanding missionary to China once having returned to England he became convinced that a special organization was needed to evangelize the interior of China. He made plans to recruit 24 missionaries: two for each of the 11 unreached inland provinces and two for Mongolia. It was a visionary plan that would have left veteran recruiters breathless: it would increase the number of China missionaries by 25 percent.
Taylor himself was wracked with doubt: he worried about sending men and women unprotected into the interior; at the same time, he despaired for the millions of Chinese who were dying without the hope of the gospel. In 1865 he wrote in his diary, "For two or three months, intense conflict … Thought I should lose my mind." A friend invited him to the south coast of England, to Brighton, for a break. And it was there, while walking along the beach, that Taylor's gloom lifted:
"There the Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God for this service. I told him that all responsibility as to the issues and consequences must rest with him; that as his servant it was mine to obey and to follow him."
This was a man who was deeply rooted in Christ.
We too need to be deeply rooted in Christ.
Colossians 2:6-7New International Version (NIV)
Spiritual Fullness in Christ
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
We also need to understand that putting down our roots involves also repentance. Repentance is a matter of not the emotions but the will. We need to conquer our will to do the will of God.
As you know there are two main languages in the bible Greek in the New Testament and Hebrew in the Old.
The Greek word is changing your mind in the way you have been living. I have decided to please Jesus – Emotion may be involved but is not dominant.
Hebrew word literally is turn around. You have been living one way and you turn around 180 degrees.
So you put the two together and you have a complete picture of repentence.
Faith comes after repentance – it is a foundation stone for Christian faith.
Why do I mention repentance because it is essential for us to put our roots down into Jesus Christ.
The most critical moment in any human life is when God says to us repent.
Repentance is a huge part of putting down our roots it goes hand in hand with what we are not doing – the turning is towards God. The native groups in the Peruvian Amazon have only known Christ for one generation. Just one generation ago they were fearful, aggressive, and animistic; all their contacts with outsiders were marked by violence. But now there are transformed. One missionary writes that since embracing faith in Christ, the men are more tender with their wives and children. These native believers have problems like Christians anywhere else, but they, more than most, can appreciate the difference between "before" and "after" Christ.
An anthropologist recently visited the Bora people and started criticizing the missionaries. "Christianity is for the white man," the anthropologist said. "You people should go back to your old religion and your old ways." An indignant Bora church leader, remembering the old days, eyed the anthropologist. "Yes, and if we did, you’d be the first one in the pot." (Christianity Today Oct 2 ’95 p29)
The third point in refreshing our faith is getting into the word of God. 2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
Smith Wigglesworth – it is said – read only one book in his life – the bible.
He said
The Message
“Fill your head and your heart with the Scriptures. Memorize passages from the Word, with the name of the book, the chapter, and the verse, so that you can quote the Scripture correctly in addresses or in open-air meetings.
As you do this, you are sowing in your heart seeds, which the Spirit of God can germinate. He can bring to your remembrance from time to time that which you have once memorized. You must be so soaked with the Word of God, you must be filled with it, that you yourself are a living epistle, known and read of all men.
Believers are strong only as the Word of God abides in them. The Word of God is spirit and life to those who receive it in simple faith, and it is a verifier of all who own its sway.
Know your Book, live it, believe it, and obey it.
word.
The psalm says = 2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
Smith said.” Be filled with the Word of God. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit...” (Heb. 4:12). Listen, those of you who have stiff knees and stiff arms today, you can get a tonic by the Word of God that will loosen your joints, and that will divide asunder even your joints and marrow. You cannot move your knee if there is not any marrow there, but the Word of God can bring marrow into your bones. Anything else? One of the greatest things in the Word of God is that it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Oh, that you may all allow the Word of God to have perfect victory in your body, so that it may be tingling through and through with God’s divine power. Divine life does not belong to this world but to the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of heaven is within you. God wants to purify our minds until we can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. God dwells in you, but you cannot have this divine power until you live and walk in the Holy Ghost, until the power of the new life is greater than the old life. Jesus said to His disciples, if ye will believe in your heart not only the tree will wither but the mountain shall be removed. God wants us to move mountains. Anything that appears to be like a mountain can be moved. The mountains of difficulty, the mountains of perplexity, mountains of depression or depravity. Things that bound you for years. Sometimes things appear as though they could not be moved, but you believe in your heart, stand on the Word of God, and God’s Word will never be defeated. Notice again this Scripture: “...What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). First, believe that you get them, and then you shall have them. That is the difficulty with people. They say: “Well, if I could feel I had it, I would know I had it,” but you must believe it, and then the feeling will come; you must believe it because of the Word of God. God wants to work in you a real heart-faith.”
Just before I left home I was in Norway. A woman wrote to me from England saying she had been operated on for cancer three years SMITH WIGGLESWORTH ON PRAYER, POWER AND MIRACLES 128 before, but that it was now coming back. She was living in constant dread of the whole thing as the operation was so painful. Would it be possible to see me when I returned to England?
I met her and -Then I began with the Word. Oh, this wonderful Word! We do not have to go up to bring Him down; neither do we have to go down to bring Him up. “...the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Rom. 10:8). I said, “Believe that He took your sins when He died at the cross. Believe that when He was buried, it was for you. Believe that when He arose, it was for you. And now at God’s right hand He is sitting for you. If you can believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you shall be saved.” She looked at me saying, “Oh, it is going all through my body. I know I am saved now. If He comes today, I’ll go. How I have dreaded the thought of His coming all my life! But if He comes today, I know I shall be ready.” The first thing was finished. Now for the second. I laid my hands upon her in the name of Jesus, believing in my heart that I could say what I wanted and it should be done. I said, “In the name of Jesus, I cast this out.” She jumped up. “Two things have happened,” she said. “I am saved and now the cancer is gone.” Faith will stand amid the wrecks of time, Faith unto eternal glories climb; Only count the promise true, And the Lord will stand by you. Faith will win the victory every time! The ‘Much More’ of Faith 129 So many people have nervous trouble. I’ll tell you how to get rid of your nervous trouble. I have something in my bag, one dose of which will cure you. “...I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exod. 15:26). How this wonderful Word of God changes the situation. “...perfect love casteth out fear...” (1 John 4:18). “There is no fear in love...” (1 John 4:18).
The alternative to this is to be like a vagabond. The Hebrew word for
4 Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.
I was reading about wandering people and there are wandering Christians
The Hebrew word for Vagabond means:
- A person without a permanent home who moves from place to place.
- a vagrant
- a wanderer
- a tramp (prostitute) a person who gets intimate with many but stays with none
- irregular - someone contrary to rule, accepted order or general practice - departing from the usual pattern, not belonging to a permanent, organized military force.
(sermon Central.)
Revision of our Christian walk is really important.
Could you take time this week to revise your faith?
