SUNDAY SERMONS

 

True Spirituality

O.G. Wilson wrote, “I murmured because I had to walk four blocks from the parking lot to my office. Then I saw a man who was sick, hungry, and unable to take a step and yet whose smile was as cheery as the chirp of the first robin of spring. I complained because the light was poor. Then I met a man radiantly happy, from whose eyes all sight had been lost due to an accident. I complained about paying so much income tax until I visited a nursing home where a penniless man was singing joyously the triumphant songs of grace.”

What makes a spiritual person truely spiritual?

Dr. Padgett, Vance Havner, J. Sidlow Baxter… W.A. Criswell.

Part of it is coming to the place where you truly rely on God  every step of the journey.

Do you remember the story of the children of Israel gathering Manna every morning exccept on the Sabbath to find the sustenance needed to make their spiritual journey from Egypt to the Land of Promise?

Now for the Israelites to be consistent, they had to go out each morning and gather the food. They also had to finish using it and eating it by a certain time of the day, or it would begin to rot, smell and be eaten by worms. God had told them through Moses:

Exodus 16:4  Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

God is still delivering Holy Manna each and every day for our use: He expects us to be consistent in the reading and study of his Holy Word. For in it we find the spiritual food that we need to be strong followers of the Christ: To become a people that will share and not horde what we have; who will become a praying people who want to draw closer to God the Father through Jesus, the Christ.

I.                 Doubt leads to Disobedience

a.  Remember the Garden of Eden

Genesis 3:6  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

b.  It seems clear to me that the root of all human sin is unbelief. Doubt.

c.   This account shows that Eve first doubted God.

d.  That was her sin.

e.  After her unbelief came the outward act of disobedience.

f.    Francis Schaeffer, commenting on this, said: "By her doubting she called God a liar. Eve doubted… mankind in revolt doubts God"

g.  On the contrary, the person who is at peace with God does not doubt Him.

h.  Trusting God is the simplest way to describe true spirituality:

i.     True Spirituality is believing God.

The whelk is a this little ocean creature can ruin an oyster’s day. The whelk has an appendage that works like an corkscrew, With which it can bore a small hole in the top of an oyster’s shell. Then through this very small hole a whelk can devour an entire oyster, It simply sucks it out little by little until the oyster is gone. A little doubt can do this to a person, as well.

j.     That is what doubt does to us in our spiritual walk with God.

Matthew 14:26-33  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.  27  But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  28  "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."  29  "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  30  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"  31  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"  32  And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  33  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

II.              Communication leads to Believing

"Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness."

Matthew 7:7-11  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  8  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  9  "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  10  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  11  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

a.  True Spirituality is more than just believing God at one isolated point in life.

b.  It is believing God and having ongoing belief in Him.

c.   There must be moment-by-moment personal  communion                  with Him.

d.  God created us to be relational, not mechanical.

e.  Healthy relationships depend on good communication.

f.    But communication is an always-in-flux, moment-by-moment kind of thing.

III.          Mechanical Obedience misses the mark

1 John 1:5-7  This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  6  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

a.  That is why all our mechanical efforts at the Christian life fail.

b.  It's not about reading a set number of chapters of the Bible each day. It's not about praying for so long.

c.   What inspires trust is, throughout the day, seeing before us the most basic teachings of the Bible:

d.  We need to align our desires with God’s Will.

One day a boy’s mother decided she would make hot buttered biscuits as long as her son could eat them. He loved biscuits and always complained that he never got enough. He ate and ate and ate, and she kept pulling them out of the stove. Finally she looked around and saw him sitting there looking sort of green. "What’s wrong, son, don’t you want some more biscuits?" He answered sickishly, “No ma’am, I don’t even want the ones I’ve got." You may get what you want, but you may not want what you’ve got after you’ve gotten it! Make sure your desires are in line with God’s will.

IV.         God exists and He is personal.

1 Peter 5:4-9  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.  5  In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."  6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  7  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  8  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  9  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

a.  God is holy and sin will be judged, but Christ's atonement removes the guilt of sinners.

b.  We are saved from condemnation by the finished work of Christ, and we are brought into a proper relationship with God in a personal way.

c.   We are joined to Christ spiritually.

d.  We can enjoy communication with the Creator on the basis of what Christ has done.

This is just like the Israelites going to God EVERY day for food… we must constantly go to God for guidance.

e.  These truths don't change, regardless of how I feel at any given moment.

The rediscovery of believing God and these truths moment-by-moment is what lifted Francis Schaeffer out of a long, dark season and re-energized his life…. In our lives, what generally causes us to distrust Christ and run elsewhere is that we often think that we have a better way. We think that, somehow, God really doesn't have our best interests at heart. Like Eve, we think that God is withholding something good from us.

If you've come to see that God doesn't deserve our suspicion, seek His aid to maintain this moment-by-moment walk of faith with Him.

Isaiah 30:15 "Thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.'"

Max Lucado says the key to spiritual growth isn’t increased church attendance or involvement in spiritual activities. 

People don’t grow in Christ because they’re busy at church. They grow in Christ when they read and trust their Bibles.

Desire some “Glory Days?” 

Engage with the Bible. Think and re-think God’s Word. Let it be your guide. 

Set your sights on the unchanging principles of God. Let God’s Word be the authoritative word in your world.

Hide God’s Word deep in your heart. 

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!”

J. Sidlow Baxter …

Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.

I care not what black spiritual crisis we may come through or what delightful spiritual Canaan we may enter, no blessing of the Christian life becomes continually possessed unless we are men and women of regular, daily, unhurried secret lingerings in prayer.