Sunday, April 5, 2020,
Online lesson
LIVING GODLY IN THIS
PRESENT AGE
(2 Lessons)
In our lesson last week, we addressed assembling in
these distressing times. My
goal was to give us a little comfort while we are in a situation where
we cannot come together as we normally do.
I believe this is a
circumstance where we strive to do the best we can – it is a matter of
loving our neighbors, letting our light shine, and being respectful to
governing authorities that, in this case, they are looking out for our
good.
Today, I would like to talk about us as individual
Christians as we deal with our “new normal” which includes staying home,
“social distancing”, massive sanitizing, and electronic communications,
etc. I briefly mentioned a
few things toward the end our last week’s lesson, but I want to develop
this a little more. I want
to remind us of some Biblical principles that will help us to keep, and
perhaps even strengthen our faith.
What we will talk about today are all subjects I
have addressed from our pulpit in times past, and some fairly recently.
So these things serve as reminders to many us, UNLESS this is
your first time joining us in this study.
And if so, welcome.
Just a reminder – all of our lessons are recorded
and made available on our website, www.roseavenue.org .
There you can find audio, detailed outlines and presentations
made with each lesson. And
now, I am trying some new things as well – with video streaming.
a.
The life of a Christian is one of
faith. That is
something that is not always easy to explain, but it is crucial that we
understand it.
2 Peter 1:5-7 notes that faith is the foundation upon which we build
everything that we are as Christians – our character (virtue), our
knowledge, our discipline (self-control), our endurance (perseverance,
patience, longsuffering), our holiness (godliness), our relationships
(brotherly love) and our love (agape).
But what exactly does it mean that ours is a life of faith?
Let’s think about this a little.
b.
What is faith.
Faith is defined as a trusting confidence and reliance on
something or someone.
Hebrews 11:1, describes what faith is, “the substance (assurance – NASB
– the idea of the word being a guarantee) of things hoped for, the
evidence (conviction – NASB – proof) of things not seen”.
This text in essence is saying that even though we have not seen
God, we know He is there and we believe in Him because of what He has
told us in His word (and we understand that this is not a blind faith as
He has given us plenty of evidence to accept both His existence [Romans
1:20, Psalm 19:1-6], and His Word [cf. 2 Peter 1:19-20 – we have the
prophetic word confirmed…, Hebrews 1:1-2, 4:2 – God has borne witness in
various ways; evidence for the Bible being the word of God is highly
established]).
I often define the term faith as believing God (not simply believing IN
God) and trusting Him completely.
c.
Romans 10:17 – it comes by hearing.
Why can we trust God?
Look at what He’s done in the past – that’s what we find in the
Bible. We find the
workings of God throughout time and what has been accomplished by Him.
We find His instructions and what really IS best for us and this
world. His pattern for the
church is a pattern that cannot be improved upon and it shows His
manifold wisdom (Ephesians 3:10-11).
If we establish that the Bible is the word of God and thus truth (John
17:17), what it says gives us reason to believe Him and trust Him (the
definition of faith).
And there’s PLENTY of evidence to give us confidence in the Bible.
We have the unfolding of God’s plan for our salvation as it
developed over thousands of years – something that only God could will
and accomplish. We have the
culmination of that plan through the coming of Jesus and His
resurrection. Prove the
resurrection and you prove God, the Bible and everything in it – and
thus a reason to TRUST Him.
Friends, this is why we need to study God’s word – it will increase
our faith. Romans 1:16-17.
d.
This is a time of testing of our faith.
How are we handling these times? Do we really trust God?
I want to encourage you to consider tests of faith in scripture.
Look at how various individuals through faith acted.
Hebrews 11 gives us a great list of such examples – Abel, Enoch,
Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the Israelites, the conquest of Canaan
with Rahab and Joshua, and so many others.
They faced great challenges and kept trusting in God.
Consider Abraham – Hebrews 11:8 – He left Ur of the Chaldeans (and
Haran) and went to a land that God showed Him and promised to give to
his descendants. He went
out not knowing where he was going.
- He dwelt in that land as a stranger, all the while believing God’s
promise though it would not be totally fulfilled for more than 400 years
(Hebrews 11:9-10). But he
also knew that following God would result in something better (vs. 10,
13-16).
- At the age of 100, he gave birth to a son, Isaac, which God promised
(Genesis 21:1-7)
- And finally, when God asked him to offer up his only begotten son,
Isaac – he willingly obeyed God without question (Hebrews 11:17-19,
Genesis 22:1-19).
When you study his life, you can see what it means to TRUST GOD!
You see genuine and mature faith.
e.
So, how is our faith?
It’s easy to have faith when
things are going well. But
what about when things are NOT going so well?
What about when faith means trusting God through uncertainty and
difficult decisions? How about
when our world has been turned upside down?
Will we still believe God’s word and His promises?
Consider Psalm 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, A very present
help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be
removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with
its swelling.
This is just one of many great texts that remind us that God is in
control and no matter what we are dealing with in this life, we must
trust Him.
When you are dealing with uncertain times, let me encourage you to
read the Bible and texts such as this.
Let them give you comfort and strengthen your faith.
As Paul said in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be
against us?” And read
the rest of that chapter to see Paul’s faith. (8:31-39)
f.
What if your faith is not as strong as it
should be?
i.
As we have already noted, turn to God’s
word and study – especially about faith.
ii.
Pray about it – Mark 9:24 – a man
pleading with Jesus to cast a demon out of his son is told if he
believes. The father cried
and said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Luke 17:5, the apostles asked Jesus “increase our faith”.
This after they had been with Him for some time.
We can do the same.
iii.
Act in faith – it is something you don’t
develop until you do it.
You have to do something trusting that God will be with you.
iv.
Just make up your mind that you are going
to trust Him James 1:5-8 –
speaking of wisdom, but the point made is we must ask in faith –
believing what He has promised.
Will we?
g.
2 Corinthians 5:7 says that we walk by
faith, and not by sight.
We may not physically view God with our 5 senses, but by faith we
KNOW he’s there, and we believe Him.
Let us determine that such is what we are going to do.
And understand that the world is watching.
This is a great time for us to show our family, friends and
others what true faith is about.
a.
These are apprehensive times and they
easily lend to worrisome lives.
It is no secret this is something that I struggle with.
b.
Worry is not a good thing.
It means that we are letting the cares and troubles of this life
consume us. It leads to all
sorts of problems – physically, mentally and spiritually.
Proverbs 12:25 says, Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression,
But a good word makes it glad.
Psalm 37:8 says, Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not
fret—it only causes harm.
c.
Worry shows, at least to some degree, a
lack of faith in God. Not
necessarily a complete lack of faith, but to the degree we worry, our
faith is weak.
So we must learn to not worry.
d.
Jesus addressed this subject in the
Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:24-33.
i.
Notice in that text begins with by saying
we cannot serve 2 masters. Worry
is about the things of this world – when we are holding on too tightly
to them. Note that in vs.
25, it begins with the word, “therefore” tying to vs. 24.
The NASB says, “For this reason I say to you…”
ii.
He then proceeds to challenge us to not
worry. 3 times in this text
Jesus uses the expression, “Do not worry” (vs. 25, 31 and
34).
iii.
And He also talks about worrying
throughout noting the futility of worrying.
He notes there are things you cannot change – so why worry about
them? We might also
address, what about things you can change? INSTEAD of worrying, step up
and do what you can. This
is WHY worry is futile and worldly.
iv.
BUT Jesus also in this text addresses
faith – trusting God. He
notes:
1.
There are more important things than the
cares of this life (including necessities) – vs. 25
2.
God takes care of His creation (vs. 26 –
birds, lilies – vs. 28-29, and even grass – vs. 30)
3.
You are of MORE value than these
creatures (vs. 26)
4.
God knows what you need (vs. 31) – if He
can clothe His creation, He can take care of you.
5.
After these things the Gentiles seek (vs.
32) – the world does worry about these things.
Can I say one word here – HOARDING?
6.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and He will take care of you (vs. 33).
In essence, Jesus is saying – TRUST GOD, when times are good AND
when they are bad.
e.
When our faith is what it ought to be, we
won’t worry. We will put it
in God’s hands and let it go.
Image the peace of mind WHEN we do that.
Consider Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing…”
Notice when we are not anxious, the peace of God guards your
hearts.
Just this past week, I heard the following concerning this text,
“Worry about nothing, Pray about
everything, and think about the right things” (Marshall McDaniel).
f.
Difference between worry and concern.
It is worthy of note here that worry and concern are two
different things. We
ought to be concerned from time to time, and about many things.
When things are not right, we are concerned.
But worry is about obsessing over distress, often about things
you cannot control in the first place.
That is where we are in danger of sinning.
Don’t let worry consume you!
We understand that Christianity is a way of life – it is 24/7/365.
Even if times alter the way you serve Him, you must still serve
Him. That is what letting
our lights shine is about.
Romans 12:1-2 notes that we are to present ourselves as a living
sacrifice to Him. We are
transformed. Romans 6:15-18
describes how we are servants of righteousness.
2 Timothy 2:3-4 – Paul compares our lives to that of a soldier.
You are “enlisted” in the “Lord’s army” and such you cannot let
the affairs of this life keep you from serving.
We have plenty of soldiers in the reserves who in the past few
years have learned that.
As Christians, we need to give considerable time to godly activities.
Spend time:
a.
Listening to Him – Bible study – 2
Timothy 2:15 – handle His word accurately…
b.
Talking to Him – prayer - 1
Thessalonians 5:17-18 – pray without ceasing, with thanksgiving.
c.
Say something about Him to others
– think of the blessings of our times – we are critical of many of the
negatives of social media, and rightly so.
We are seeing some ugliness now (but that is not unusual).
But think of the good that can be accomplished now.
How did Christians communicate in their “present distress” in the first
century? “Very snail mail”, extended travels to speak face to face
(except within a community – and even that was very limited – no cars).
We have phones, the internet, email, etc.
Use it for God’s glory – let others know of your faith.
Again, that is what letting our lights shine is about –
Philippians 2:15-16 – shining as lights, holding fast the word of life…
d.
Do something for someone else –
this is a great time for us to serve others in whatever way you can –
Galatians 6:9-10, let us not grow weary in doing good.
1 Corinthians 9:19 – Paul made himself a servant to all, that he might
win some.
e.
Do something to build yourself up
spiritually – many now have a little extra time while they are home
bound. Use some of that
time to make yourself better spiritually.
2 Corinthians 13:5 – examine yourself, test yourself
1 Corinthians 9:27 – discipline your body and bring it into subjection
Romans 12:3 – think soberly, etc.
Use this time to draw closer to God in some little
way.
IV.
Count your blessings – the final
point I want to observe here is this – count your blessings.
a.
We can obsess about everything that is
wrong and be miserable, and make others miserable with us (both in our
homes and online, etc.)
b.
OR we can look at how truly blessed we
are. There are so many
blessings around us – most of us are in good health and have NOT
contracted this virus.
We have comfortable homes and plenty of food available to us.
We have access to medical resources if needed
We have ways to communicate with each other as brethren that were not
available just a few decades ago.
We have so many ways to read and study God’s word and even opportunities
to build each other up.
We still have God who sees us and knows our hearts
In Psalm 40:1-5, David said, I waited patiently for the Lord; And He
inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a
horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And
established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our
God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord. Blessed is
that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud,
nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful
works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be
recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They
are more than can be numbered.
c.
As we have noted so often, it’s about
attitude. You may not be
able to control the circumstances outside, but you can control how you
respond to what is going on.
Christians should always count their many blessings, naming them one by
one, “and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
These are a few things to consider as strive to
live godly in these trying times.
Of course, these things should ALWAYS be present in our lives.
But, as we have seen, this virus, or anything else should not
stop us from serving God. I
close with a verse I alluded to earlier,
Romans 8:35-39 which says,
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other
created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Think about it and the lesson is yours.