Sunday Sermons
Preparing for Victory
Preparing for Victory
Paul said that in reference to all the obstacles that the Christian encounters in this life as one seeks to follow Christ, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). The book of Revelation equally describes the faithful as, “He who overcomes” (3:21), and men and women who have been victorious over the great dragon (12:11). In looking back upon his life as a Christian, Paul described his life as a battle, “I have fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7), a struggle in which he had been victorious (4:8). Yet living a victorious life against temptation does not happen by accident. There are things that the Christian must do to ensure success, “Put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). In this lesson we want to examine in very practical ways what is needed to prepare for victory, because if we are not preparing for victory, we are probably preparing for failure.
Endurance: How to keep from spiritually drifting
Drifting away from God is a real, and not an imagined, danger, “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1). Not only does the Bible mention individuals who drifted away from God (Philippians 3:18), it also mentions entire generations (Judges 2:9-10), and congregations (Revelation 3:16). In fact, in both Testaments, the pattern that we often find even among God’s professed people is one of drifting (1 Corinthians 10:1ff; 2 Timothy 4:3). The following are practical ways to prevent drifting:
· Trembling at His Word: Isaiah 66:2. I need to realize that when I read a verse God is speaking, not man (1 Corinthians 14:37), and that God is going to uphold and enforce the teaching of a verse just as it is written on the last day (John 12:48).
· Treating Holy things as Holy: Leviticus 10:1-3. This means that anytime we mention the name of God it is done with respect (Exodus 20:7), as well as being diligent to preserve a respect for God during our worship services (Ecclesiastes 5:1ff. Worship services are not a time for being careless or inattentive (1 Corinthians 11:28 “Let a man examine himself”).
· Stand up and do not be silent even when friends might be proclaiming something that is false (Galatians 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 4:2 ”Be ready in season and out of season”). Let us be careful about repeating the mistake of Eli or Solomon, who honored others instead of honoring God (1 Samuel 2:29 “And honor your sons above me”). Jesus plainly said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37).
· Pulling the spiritual weeds from our lives: Luke 8:14 “Choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity”. Is your spiritual life one in which everything seems to be “half-done”? Or where desires never seem to find fulfillment in any concrete action? Chart your day—where does your time go? Is reading the works of men taking precedence over time spend in Scripture? Are we spending so much on ourselves that we have very little to give to others? (Ephesians 4:28).
· Remove the obstacles that those things that cause us to stumble: Hebrews 12:1 “Let us lay aside every encumbrance”. Have we fallen into the trap of unrestrained television viewing or computer gaming or surfing? Are we involved in dangerous relationships (1 Corinthians 15:33), where we are now admiring the wrong voices? Are we becoming numb to the vileness of the world, or becoming trendy or fashionable to the point of being worldly? Do we still have a healthy abhorrence of evil? (Romans 12:9). Can we still blush and be embarrassed? (Jeremiah 8:12).
Foresight: Anticipating and Preparing for our Future
Carpe Deem: Learning to number our days and prevent regret: Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom”. As former sinners, we have enough regrets (Romans 6:21), without needlessly creating any more. In fact, the new life in Christ should be one that is lived without regrets (2 Corinthians 7:10 “A repentance without regret”). Let us look at our daily and weekly schedule, and our plans for the year; does this schedule reflect a life that is putting God first?(Matthew 6:33). If we knew that we only had a year to live, how would we spend that time? Are there many important things that we have been putting off, such as showering the people we love with love? Taking the gospel to lost friends? Or getting rid of a sinful habit? If something is preventing us from being the Christian that God expects us to be—what is that something? We need to discontinue today anything that we are going to regret tomorrow. What are we doing today in our homes, marriages and our personal and public lives that will prevent the future from being filled with regrets?
· Being watchful for Christ’s Return: “From which we eagerly await for a Savior” (Philippians 3:20). Everyday we need to ask ourselves, “Am I prepared for the Jesus to return and for all second chances to change to end?” Paul reminds us, “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed” (Romans 13:11). Have we settled into a kind of spiritual slumber with the rest of the culture and forgotten that Jesus could appear at any time? Have we bought into the devil’s little sales pitch that we are going to live for a long time, and that Jesus will not come back in our life time, so there is no hurry when it comes to repentance or spiritual growth? How do we want Jesus to find us? Do we want to be caught in compromising circumstances, in a state of anger, jealousy, or lust? Do we want Him to come when we are selling out at or being stained by sin? Or are we living in such a way that He will find us working and without spot or wrinkle? “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing” (Luke 12:42-43). Like this steward are we using our time and talents wisely for the master, or have we become rather careless, abusing our privileges and responsibility? Do we want to be caught off guard like Aaron, who when Moses showed up, he was there with the golden calf? (Exodus 32:21) Are we ready for the Lord, or like Aaron, are we ready with only a feeble excuse as to why we could not remain faithful for such a short time (32:22)? Are there any “golden calves” presently in our lives? Anything that we should not be involved in, should not be cooperating with, should not be endorsing or supporting? Or simply, should not be doing?
Male Spiritual Leadership: Shepherding daily the souls in our care
“So that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord” (Genesis 18:19); “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15); “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Being a shepherd involves keeping our sons and daughters with us when possible, and keeping our sons in the presence of good and upright mature men, and discussing the “big” issues with them. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Our sons and daughters are surrounded enough by a culture of sinners and scoffers, and we need to do what we can to surround them with righteous men and women ( Psalms 1).
· Valor: Doing the right thing when it’s the hard thing: This would include calling someone who is spiritually weak even when you know that it might result in an unpleasant conversation, “So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16). Writing an editorial, even though you know that you might be in the minority, or siding with the vulnerable and powerless even when this puts you at odds with the powerful (James 1:27). It may include spending your time with the weak and less fortunate instead of trying to court the favors of the influential (Luke 14:12-14).
· Contending against the liberal mindset:
This could include refusing to back down that homosexuality is a sin (1 Corinthians 6:9), and it is not natural and neither is it love (Romans 1:26-27). In an article entitled The ick factor the writer Andree Seu describes her experience in encountering two older lesbians. She writes, “Scrutinizing my hostesses, I saw women of about my dowdy age, one looking a perfect 50s schoolmarm, the other a little iffy with her hacked-off sleeves revealing chiseled biceps to rival my 21-year-old’s. But neither fit the bill of the Romans chapter 1 picture of fist-shaking rebels burning in sweaty lust. Evil should have an uglier face” (World Magazine 1-8-2005, p. 95). Yet, the Bible is right, they are rebels, and behind an seemingly harmless exterior can be a wolf(Matthew 7:15), hypocrisy, lawlessness (Matthew 23:28), even one of Satan’s employees (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). This is what the Hebrew writer meant by having our senses exercised in the Scriptures so we can tell the difference between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). We live in a world where evil often comes packaged as “good” (Isaiah 5:20). There are seemingly religious people who claim that the death penalty is ungodly, yet the Scriptures teach otherwise (Romans 13:4). What this means is that we need to have a ready answer (1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:6), and point out to people the devil when he appears incognito. Some want illegal drugs legalized and argue that “we have lost the drug war”, yet we also have lost the murder war and the rape war as well. Others want to blame crime on the existence of guns. Ann Coulter observes, “Guns are our friends, because in a world without guns, I’m what’s known as ‘prey’. All females are. I especially want criminals to have to worry about that I might be armed, and why it is that the same people who have the least confidence in the police and military are the most willing to allow only the police and the military to have guns?” (How to Talk to a Liberal (If you must) pp. 306, 307). Concerning feminism she observed that feminists “have been at the forefront in tearing down the very institutions that protect women: monogamy, marriage, chastity, and chivalry. And surveying the wreckage, the best they have to offer is ‘Call me Ms.’” (p. 324).
· Hating every false way: Psalm 119:105. For us, sin does not have an entertainment value, when it appears in the form of movies, sitcoms, and best-selling fiction.
Conclusion: True measures of success: How God sees it
· Healthy, fulfilling relationships with other Christians (Colossians 4:11; 1 Peter 2:17).
· Good communication with God: Listening, mediating, reading, praying.
· Absolutely loyal to the teaching of Jesus (Jude 3).
· Living a joyful, productive, and fulfilling life in His service.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
