weekly sermon
8-19-07
Keeping Up!
The past few weeks we have discussed talking the talk and walking the walk. To
achieve this we must do a few things. One of these things is learning to keep
our mind stayed on God. Keeping our minds stayed on God and grow in grace,
installing the virtues of grace and of God.
It states in Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed upon thee: because he trusteth in thee." This is a promise to all men of
all ages who will meet the condition of keeping the mind stayed on God and who
trust in Him at all times, in all things, and in all places.
We talked in the first of this series about believing every word of God. Now we
are looking here about keeping our minds stayed upon God and trust in Him at all
times. If we are going to believe every word of God, then we would HAVE
to trust God at all times. If we are going to trust in God then we MUST
believe in every word He has given us in the Bible. As it says in Psalms 91:1-2
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty. (2)I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my
fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." The secret place that it speaks of here,
in Hebrew is Sether, a hiding place, a covering, or a place of protection. We
have a promise here of protection, if we just put our whole trust in Him. But,
and not speaking for the rest, I want this total trust because He is my friend,
and a friend is one that you are supposed to trust. This is my best friend, in
whom I trust with my soul, and hope you do to.
Next we said we should grow in grace and install virtues of grace and of God.
Turn with me to Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." God
gave us a divine nature to live by here. As the Bible states, out of the mouths
comes the heart. If you are thinking on the above things, then that is what is
in your heart. If you look in 1 Peter 2:11-12 "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as
strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
(2)Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak
against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold,
glorify God in the day of visitation." This states here that as our virtues go,
we should NOT fall into temptation of the evil lusts of the world. The
fleshly lusts are of the world, meaning they are not of the soul, as it states
here, they are in a war against the soul. We are to keep our minds forever on
the condition of the souls of man. If we look away from this, that is when the
war shall be wagered against our souls. Then it says, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles. This is saying here to make sure we are truthful, so
that they can NOT say anything against us, as that we are doing anything
evil. And to show our good works, first an foremost, that it may glorify God,
and second that those who see it, will understand that we are the living walking
Bibles and see our true virtues.
If we look in 2 Peter 1:5-8, we see eight Christian virtues that guarantee
security in Christ. (5)"And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; (6)And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience Godliness; (7)And to Godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (8)For if these things be in you,
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." You can see what the true virtues should be
that we may abide in the place of the most High, as stated above. Notice that it
states for us to give all diligence to, first of all, faith. Next after faith is
virtue. Faith and virtue here go hand in hand. We must first have faith in our
most precious Father and all He teaches. Then keep the virtues as He states, and
live by the faith we have, to guarantee this security in Christ that it speaks
of here. It goes on in verse 9 to tell us how it will be if we lack these
virtues. That we are blind to knowledge, and that our sins can not be purged
from us.
Lastly let us look in Jude 1:20-24, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on
your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (21)Keep yourselves in the love
of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
(22)And of some have compassion, making a difference: (23)And others save with
fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the
flesh. (24)Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present
you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy," This is the
last commands to Christians given in the Bible. To build daily in the holy
faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep in the love of God, look for the mercy of
Jesus Christ, have compassion for the weak and ignorant (here it is talking
about weak in faith, and ignorant as in not knowing), and know the difference
between them and the proud and arrogant, save the willing by pulling them out of
the fate of eternal hell, and hate even the garment spotted by the flesh. This
is basically saying what we stated at the beginning of this, keep your mind on
God at all times. If we will just simply keep our minds where we know it should
be, God will, as He states in verse 24, keep us from falling, and then, most
important, present us as faultless to Himself. Now you tell me, when you are
standing before God on that final judgment day and He tells you a list of all
your sins, who better would you like to have in your corner to vouch for you? I
can tell you that I would want nothing more than to have Gods only Son, in my
corner, to tell Him, "his sins are all forgiven, allow him to enter into the
glorious kingdom". If not then remember, it states in the Bible, that Jesus will
have to say, "I knew you not".
I can stand before you and proudly proclaim that I love the Lord Jesus Christ
with all my heart, mind, body, and soul, and that I KNOW that my sins are
forgiven by the precious blood of my Saviour. If you are not able to make this
proclamation, you have NO idea of the feeling of knowing that you are
secure in the hand of God. That, just as he states here, He will keep us in His
protection. It is a feeling like no other to know that you are protected from
eternal death by a true living and loving Almighty God. If you have never
experienced this feeling and would like to know you will spend eternity with a
loving God instead of in a fiery hell, then please say this simple pray with me.
Dear Lord, please come into my life, show me the virtues, save my soul, and wash
my sins away with your cleansing blood. Amen.
If you said this little prayer then please find a church home that preaches the
word of God and tell the preacher there that you have accepted Jesus as your
friend and saviour. Also drop me a line to let us know that you have accept
Jesus so we can rejoice with you and send you a few things to help you with your
Christian walk.
With Love in Christ,
Pastor Stone