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Remember

Gallery June 20, 2004 David

Remember
June 20, 2004	Sermon by DRW	Passage 2 Peter 1.1-15

Father,

As each of us enter your throne, let us glorify You by seeking Your Truth and by doing it. Help us to walk out of this room as changed people.

Amen.

I am not too sure how many people in this room remember Karen’s grandmother. She was a wonderful woman who, in the waning years of her life, was plagued with a disease called Parkinson’s Disease. She found it difficult to remember much. She had glimpses of her old self, periodically; but, overall, she couldn’t remember who she was, what she had done in life, nor who the people were that were taking care of her. She had it difficult. She was unable to understand what to do and couldn’t recognize what was happening nor who it was that loved her. I see this in out passage before us today. We have been called to remember certain things, but find it difficult to do so at times. We have been called to know who it is that loves us and to follow him, but forget who it is that loves us. We are plagued by a disease that keeps us from recognizing who we are, what has happened in our lives, and that keeps us from seeing the Lover of our souls. This disease is called sin.

Our passage sets before us great truths for us to overcome this terrible disease. There is only one cure and that is a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s read verses 1-15, making comment on the way.

1 “Simon Peter” is the Apostle Peter. The one who couldn’t say that his overwhelming passion in life was Jesus when asked in John 21. By this time in his life, he could answer the question Jesus asked with a “yes”. Yes, You are more than a friend, You are my overwhelming passion in life. I realize that at the ages most of us are at, we desire to love Jesus with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. But, it is difficult. Be of good cheer, keep on seeking Him and you will be consumed by Him as the years go by. Be warned, forsake His Word, forsake prayer, and you will be consumed by this world as the years go by.

“To those . . . as ours.” He is writing this letter to Christians. He makes mention that their faith is as precious as the apostles faith. That is, they have the same faith, the same Lord, the same Holy Spirit, the same Father, they each have all that is necessary for living the life that God created for them to live.

2 “Grace and peace . . . Jesus our Lord” Peter is letting us know the only way for us to have growing favor before God and a relationship with God as He intended us to have it (this is encapsulated in the word “peace” or the Hebrew equivalent “shalom”). That is salvation leading to a life lived according to His plan. The only way for this to happen is we are growing in our understanding of who God is, of what Christ has done. This is the truth that James 1.22-25 presents to us as-well-as 1 John 2.3-5.

3 “His divine power” God has the ability to provide everything for us to live the life that He created for us to live. It comes only through our knowledge of Him. We need to understand that our lives need to be lived for His glory. We also need to see that whatsoever happens to us, as we seek His face, as we seek after His righteousness, according to Romans 8.28, will become good. We need to understand that all of our life’s circumstances pass through the loving hands of our God. All that we need is found in Him. We need to remember this. We need to understand this. We need to know this.

Karen and I, as-well-as Mike and Jamie, have experienced the need for this knowledge. I believe that God is a sovereign God. Which means God is in control of all things. If He is in control of all things, and, I know from Romans 8.28 and other verses, He is seeking to receive glory from my life and that only good would come, no matter the circumstance, because He is good and because evil doesn’t glorify Him, then I know that I can trust Him no matter what befalls me. I become troubled and in disrepair only when I do not focus my life on Him. When I see the circumstances: my house isn’t selling, I have no job, I won’t be able to pay the mortgage next month, and the like, I can be overwhelmed by them. When I focus on God, I see that He has a purpose for each of these things, although I may not see nor understand what it is—I still trust Him. As Job of old said: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” I say all this to illustrate what the knowledge of God can produce.

4 read As we are growing in Christ, we begin to see the advantages that salvation bring to us. Each time we turn from sin to God we have escaped the corruption of this world. Positively, we have grown in fellowship with God that is what participate means. We will receive great promises from God. For a sampling of these promises read Ephesians 1-3, realize that these only come to us as we grow in Christ.

Before we go much further, I would like to comment on what a promise is and peruse some of the promises found in 2 Peter. A promise, according to American Heritage Dictionary, is a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. A promise can be characterized by these three things:

1 What is promised is in the power of the one who promised

2 The one who promised can make a promise as it pleases him

3 The promise is received only from him, through no effort on our part

As we read through this book, we find a variety of promises:

1 What we need to live a godly life, the one God created us for (1.3)

2 Christians seeking after God will be fruitful in our life (1.8)

3 We have forgiveness of all sins (1.9)

4 We will receive rewards in eternity for what was done here, mostly a “well done” my good and faithful servant because you lived the life I had created for you to live (1.11)

5 Deliverance from trials or protection through trials (2.9)

6 The return of Christ to make all things right (3.4)

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list. We know there are thousands of others through Scripture.

5-7 This is a list of characteristics that each of us need to study in a way that we recognize what we are growing in and where we are lacking. We each need to read this list before God, asking Him to show us where we need Him. He asks us to work, to make an effort in our lives so this fruit will grow. Each of these characteristics must be found in our lives, must be growing. We need goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. We know from Galatians 5, these come only through the Holy Spirit. It is as we relinquish our desires and seek Him, that these things will be produced in our lives. We need to speak as John the Baptist spoke: “He must increase, I must decrease.” And as Jesus Himself spoke: “Nevertheless, not what I want but what You want.”

9 What happens to those who do not seek God, who do not live the life God created for them to live? What happens to those who fail to work to develop these qualities in their life by turning to God and His Word, and live by it? Read They become nearsighted. They become spiritually blind. They cannot see the things of God because they can only see what is in front of them, which is the world. They see only the circumstances and not the Savior. They live a life that doesn’t see God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5.8 that only the pure in heart see God. We know from John 17 that the Word of God purifies us and from 1 Peter 1.22, that obeying that truth purifies us. Our only remedy from shortsightedness is to seek after God. This is the advice Jesus gave the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2 when He reminded them to remember and do what they know to be truth.

This person also forgets that all his sins have been forgiven the moment they became a Christian. They go forth living life as if they have not escaped the corruption of this world and are then overcome by it.

8, 10-11 What happens for those who seek after God? What happens to those who desire to live the life He created them for and then diligently seek to do His Word? Verse 8 tells us “you will not be ineffective nor unproductive”. Jesus promises us that we will bear much fruit as we abide in Him (John 15). Verse 10 lets us know that we can be sure of our salvation, that is we will not doubt if God has saved us. Verse 10 tells us that we will not fall if we are walking in His will as seen in His Word. This is the truth Jesus presents in the parable of the man building his house on the rock in Matthew 7.24-25. We have already mentioned verse 11.

In the passage before us, Peter is aware of his circumstances. He wants to remind those he has been ministering to about their privileges and duties in Christ. He so much wants to remind them, that in the four verses before us, he uses the word “remember” three times. He is actually pleading with them from a personal standpoint. He uses the word “I” over and over again. These are brothers and sisters that he loves and believes it is his obligation to tell them truths they should already know. We have seen what Peter wanted to remind his friends of Salvation (1.1-4), Growth (1.5-7), and Assurance (1.8-11).

12 I will always remind you

of these things-the things listed from verse 1 to verse 11.

even though you know them-do they know them in their head or in their heart? The actions they display will show where the Word of God is held. If they have them in their heart, this will lead them to do them.

and are firmly established in the truth-this solid foundation, the one upon the rock.

you now have-this is very keen. Philippians 3.12-16.

13 I think it is right

to refresh

your memory

as long as I live-Colossians 4.17 reminds us to do what God has equipped us to do, and to complete it.

in the tent of this body-for me it is EFCC

14 because I know that I will soon put it aside-for me it is next week

as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me-I believe that God has called me to a different, a new stage in my life.

15 And I will make every effort-I was going over the list of almost four hundred messages, three hundred CEs, and two-hundred fifty FNFs I have taught. Wow, we have come a long way haven’t we. It has been a good work, I pray that it is also a fruitful work. As I look out across this room, I see that it has been. More on that next week.

to see that after my departure

you will always be able to remember these things

I believe many of us are at the point where we do not need to know new things, we are at the point where we need to remember what we know. It is when we begin to do what we know that God will bless us with greater understanding of His Word and His purpose in our lives. The was a missionary to the Philippines who was trying to help a young convert grow. He encouraged him to memorize the Sermon on the Mount, particularly Matthew 5.3-10, what we call the Beatitudes. The young man became upset after trying to memorize these great truths after two weeks. He was unable to do so. He went back to the missionary who encouraged him to continue to memorize those 8 verses. The young man left. The missionary didn’t see him for a few months. When he did, the young man was overjoyed to quote all of Matthew 5-7 to the missionary. The man was impressed with the memory work. He asked the young man how he did it. He told him that he couldn’t memorize the passage and was getting ready to quit trying. One day, he decided to memorize it in a different way. He would do what it said. He figured if you did one verse a day he could memorize the 8 verses. His life was changed, the verses memorized, and many people were blessed.

This is where we stand today. We are trying so much to memorize the Bible or know about the Bible that we forget to do it. We want the Word of God to be so much a part of our lives that we read, listen, and memorize, but forget to do it. The CYA’s CHAT group has been studying the purposes God has created us for. In each lesson, Rick Warren reminds us that Jesus promised us that we would be blessed if we did what the Word of God said, not merely heard it. That is so important, we need to do whatever the Word of God tells us in order to be changed by it.

Turn with me to James 1.22-25. Read

My question for you today is, “What is God wanting you to do in your life?” It could be something as simple as reading His Word, being baptized, joining the prayer meeting, going on a mission trip to something as difficult as surrendering your heart, soul, mind, or strength to Him. We all have that one thing that God calls us to do. What is it that God is calling you to do? Let’s go back over that list in verses 5-7 and prayerfully choose one we know we lack and ask God to develop it in us this week. Remember, as you ask God to do this, He will but only as we seek the opportunities that He will provide for us.

For instance, if I ask God for knowledge or a way to express my knowledge, I need to be seeking those opportunities to express the knowledge He has given me in a loving and godly manner. I was listening to the radio last night on the way home for our fellowship night. The man basically said that people give up their intellect when they become Christian. I was fuming, I wanted to call in and give the announcer a piece of my mind. That wouldn’t have been

Let’s say that God has called me to self-control. What would this mean? In the area of our lifestyle, we would need to ask God to show us areas that we are doing things on our own power and then seek the Holy Spirit during those times. Do we dress appropriately, are our hobbies godly, is our entertainment pure, what bad habits do I possess, is my speech proper, how do I present myself to people? The list can go on, but you get the picture.

Each of us need to ask God what area we need to work on, to ask God for the strength to overcome that sin, and then go out and do it in His strength.

Father,

As we go from here to CE and beyond, help us to remember our salvation and how great it is, help us to remember the growth You have brought about in our lives already and the life You have called for us to live and let us grow in it, and by the fruit we see, let us gain assurance that we are following the Truth that sets us free.

Amen.

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Hebrews, New Testament, Sermons

Running the Race

Gallery May 16, 2004 David

Running the Race
May 16, 2004	Sermon by DRW	Passage Hebrews 12.1-3

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside (Romans 13.12, Ephesians 4.17-32) every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run (1 Corinthians 9.24-27) with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Galatians 6.9).

Introduction

I use to be a runner. Not many people believe that. I have slowed down some but I use to be fast. I can reflect back on my senior year in high school and a few years after that and recall many races won. I could do the 100 meter in just over 10 seconds. The 200 meter in just over 22 seconds. The 800 meter in 1 minute 50 seconds. My mile was pretty slow, just under 6 minutes. My three mile run was in the low 16 minutes. I only ran one 10k and that was pacing a man in a wheelchair. And I personally think Nancy is crazy. My most memorable race was the 200 meters.

Each year we went to an invitational and every year I cam in second to the same guy. This was the fourth time we had done this invitational (through the church I attended). This year I knew I was going to win. There was nothing that could stop me. I looked for the guy that beat me every year and felt sorry for him. I had my church in the stands cheering me on, my coach was giving me final words of comfort and strategy. The starter told us all to get in the blocks. We set ourselves, he raised the gun, he fired and we ran like the wind. Going around the curve, I was in the lead. I knew I had him. Fifty yards to go and the victory was mine. A thought crossed my mind. Despite my church and my coach’s encouragement, I listened to this voice in my head. In one split second I found myself doing what no runner should ever do. The voice in my head told me that I couldn’t win the race. The voice told me that I would never beat this guy. The voice told me to look back because the guy was getting ready to pass me. I listened, I looked, I lost.

It is my desire that this look into my past will help us in our present and future walk in Christ. Let us pray.

Father,

We ask that Your Holy Spirit show us the truth contained in Your Word. Allow us to see what Your Word has for us. We seek Your presence in this service and Your Holy Spirit to be actively teaching us as we look into Your Word, please look into our hearts. Help us to see what You created us for and how we can live that life that You have created for us to live.

In Jesus name, amen.

If you haven’t done so as of yet, turn in your Bible to Hebrews 12. We will be looking at verses one through three. I would like to discuss and present for you today a look at our Christian walk as seen in the eyes of a runner.

The first thing we notice in this passage is that there is a crowd surrounding us, cheering us on, who have lived their lives as an example for us. This crowd is comprised of those people in Hebrews 11 and all who have lived their lives for Christ.

A. The Crowd (1)

Let’s read that verse again:

1. The Saints Before

This passage provides us with a reminder that there are those in Heaven who are looking at our every move, seeing what God will do in and through us. Peter reminds us that the angels long to see what is going to happen to God’s people (FIND REFERENCE). With this in mind, we need to live a life that brings Him glory, living a life of purpose (1 Peter 2.21).

a. Old Testament

b. New Testament

c. Post New Testament

2. Brothers and Sisters

We should also see that those who cheer us on are our fellow brothers and sisters today, who are alive and sit beside us on a day-to-day or week-by-week basis. Our Christian friends are looking to us to be an example of one who runs the race well, just as we are looking to them for an example of the same.

a. Christian friends

b. Our Church

One of the biggest opportunities our church offers for encouragement to run the race well is our Friday Night Fellowship for the younger groups and CYA (CHAT) for the collegians and up. It can also be evidenced in our activities as each of us lead a life to glorify God. I see the forum at efccerritos.com being used, for the most part, for this purpose. People are posting questions, doubts, concerns, and are asking for help. For the most part, many of us are seeking to bring biblical advice into these discussions and this is what will help each of us press on in the race that God has set before us.

c. CHAT or FNF

3. Satan

There is another in the crowd. Not being the best cheerleader. He is Satan. He provides us with doubts, fears, he places people in our paths that will give us the wrong example, and he seeks to keep us from running the race that has been set before us.

If you remember the voice that came into my head when I was running that told me that I couldn’t beat the guy I was running against, that is what Satan does for us. His entire purpose is to keep us from the purpose that God has for us. Most of the time, as we are running, he places doubts and fears into our minds. He tempts us to doubt God’s goodness and promises or to live in fear through believing a lie. A good acronym for fear is Falsehood Existing As Reality. He places people in our lives that will lead us astray. He places temptations in our lives to cause us to stumble [REFERENCE STUMBLE FROM ISAIAH 40 FROM LAST WEEK AS THIS PART OF THE VERSE COMES UP IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RUNNER].

When we believe his lies, when we follow his examples, when we fall into temptation and sin, we lose. His desire is for us to believe his lies. Second Corinthians 4.3-4 tells us that Satan wants to blind our eyes from the truth because that is how he holds us captive. When this is done, 2 Timothy 2.24-26 tells us, Satan has us trapped. The only way to be freed, according to Jesus and Paul, is through the truth that is found in God’s Word not in the wisdom of this world (2 Corinthians 4.1-4; 2 Timothy 2.24-26).

Allow me to is illustrate this with two balls. As you can see, I can palm both of these balls but it is easier by far to palm the one with less air in it. I can control this ball with the greatest of ease. It is harder for me to grip the ball filled with air, and harder, therefore, to control it.

Satan cannot indwell us (possess us) for the Spirit of God does. When Satan tries to control Christians, he does so through what is called oppression. He places pressures in our life that make us think it is coming from God or from ourselves. An example of this is when David took a census in 1 Chronicles 21.1-8. It says that Satan moved David to take a census of the military men which was against God’s express will. He wanted David to rely on Him not on his army. When David spoke to Joab to number the troops, he didn’t say that Satan told him to do it. He told Joab that he made a decision to count the army. When this happened, God was displeased (7) and David confessed that he had sinned. Although David knew the truth he didn’t live it out, because of this, David sinned.

Back to the two balls. Satan can only get a grip in our lives as we are deflated. Let us compare the air in the ball to the Holy Spirit, who is called the Spirit of Truth. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives (pump up the Infusion ball), the less Satan can grip our lives. The more we have the Word of God (continue to pump the ball) in our lives, the more we can resist Satan, the more he loses grip in our lives.

That is enough of a description of the crowd, let’s look at the course that we are called to run.

B. The Course (1-3)

Let’s read those verses again:

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Galatians 6.9).

One of the first things we notice is that a course has been created for us to run. It is our duty to understand that course to the best of our ability. I remember running cross country in High School at Pierce College, in the San Fernando Valley. This particular meet was the preliminaries to the finals. If we won this race, or came in second or third, we would have gone to the CIF finals. It was an important race. I recall it being a hot day with a lot of smog. The job of each runner is to walk the course to familiarize ourselves with the turns, the hills, and the finish line. Remember, it was hot and smoggy. Most of the team from my school, Narbonne, walked the hilly part of the course. It was hot so we looked for shade to sit in. We said we would look at the rest of the course after we rested. Well, we never did. We didn’t know where the finish line was nor what the course looked like before it. In order for us to qualify, I had to finish fifth overall. That was it. My pattern for running was to run in the middle of the pack until the last half-mile of the run and then do my 1 minute 50 second half-mile sprint. I was getting ready to do just that. I said that I would begin my sprint when I turned the next corner. The corner came, I sprinted around the corner passing people on the way. I moved up from thirtieth to seventeenth. I knew as soon as I turned the corner that I could easily finish in the top five. I saw the entire crowd in front of me, within yards. I rounded the corner, and there was the finish line. I finished somewhere around tenth. We lost the opportunity to go to CIF finals because I didn’t know how the course finished.

If there is a course created for us to run, we need to know what the course is like, how to run it, and where it ends. This will enable us to run the race with endurance. Our course was created by Jesus Christ. The great thing about Christianity is that

1. Jesus Christ

not only created the race but He has run it to show us that we can complete it as well. He designed it and ran it to show us it could be done. He tells us how to run it well, this is what the Bible shows us. He also shows us through living examples (remember the crowd?) of what needs to be done and that it can be done. We can run the race as we focus on Him and follow the godly examples He has set before us. Remember my 200 meter race? I lost it because I looked back, taking my focus off of the finish line. We do the same as we forget to look to the author and finisher of our race. Remember Peter as he sunk in the water when he took his eyes of Jesus.

a. He ran the race

b. He designed the course

c. He tells us (Bible) and shows us (saints) how to run it

God knows that we are going to stumble, lose our way, and want to give up in the race that He has set before us to run. This is one of the reasons He has provided us with the Holy Spirit.

2. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit guides us during the race, He indwells us to keep us focused on what is important. John 14 and 16 tell us that He is our guide and comfort that directs our focus on Jesus. He gives us the strength to finish the race set before us.

a. He guides us through the race

b. He gives us comfort as we compete in the race

The last part of this passage tells us a little about us.

C. The Cruiser (1-2)

The first thing we need to notice is that those who are being addressed are Christians. If we are not Christians, this is meaningless to us because we won’t see a need to do these things. A Christian is anyone who believes that Jesus Christ is God, that their sin has separated them from God, that each of us has sinned, that Christ’s death was the payment for the debt sin made, and then personally accepting this for ourselves. If you haven’t done this, please talk with Mike or myself today.

1. Christians

a. Only those who believe can run this race

b. Believe that Jesus is God

c. Accept His death for your sins

In order for us to run this race effectively, secondly, we must be in condition to complete it.

2. Conditioning

We need to prepare for the race. This involves quite a few things as a runner. To begin with, each runner needs to be loose continually. That is, we need to be in the habit of stretching out quite often. We also need to train for the race on a continual basis. We cannot just go and run a 100 meter or a three-mile race and expect to win without practice. We also need to have a strategy to overcome the difficulties during the race itself. When running in a few sprints in a day, there needs to be a strategy to compete successfully in each race. When running a distance race, a strategy is required too.

a. Preparation for the race

b. Stretch

I see stretching as analogous to personal devotions, prayer and Bible study. If we are not continually stretching ourselves out we will become stiff and unable to run. The moment we stop our personal reading of Scripture and prayer time, we become unable to compete in the race that God has set for us to run. We will be unable to live the life He created us to live.

c. Train

I see training as analogous to doing what we have learned through personal and corporate Bible study and prayer. That is, we act what we have learned. This is done privately and corporately. We do, we run, what we have learned. We see this as happening through FNF and CHAT, through talking with others about what we have learned, by living what we have learned.

d. Strategy

I see the strategy as devising a plan to live out the life, to run the race set before me. The strategy for running a three-mile race was to run with the pack and then sprint at the end. The strategy I had for running a few sprints in a day was to run, hydrate, eat bananas, stretch, rest, and then run. It may not be the same thing Becky does, but it worked for me. When need to understand that Satan has a strategy to make us fall, we need to have a strategy to run successfully. This strategy should involve fellowship, church, worship, Bible study, prayer, and ministry to the church and to those outside the church through evangelism and the like.

As you can see, this is a tough thing to do and requires a level of commitment that runs deep.

3. Commitment

This commitment needs to be deep because it requires are all. It is like when Christ was heading to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. We are told in Luke 9 that He set His face like stone. He would not be moved from completing His task. We are told the same thing by Peter in 2 Peter 1. We are to be committed to this race. This is seen in our passage in verse 1. We need to lay aside everything that will keep us from running well. There are few, if any, runners who are overweight. Most runners refuse to carry anything with them because they know it will slow them down. What is weighting you down, keeping you from running well? Whatever it is, we need to get rid of it. Our journey is a long, hard one that requires we be persistent and committed. I refer you back to last week’s message that explained how we can gain strength to finish well.

a. Hard

b. Long

c. Journey

We also see in this passage that we are to actually run this race and complete it.

4. Completion of the Course

When running a distance race we need help to complete it. I have never run a marathon and don’t plan to run one either. But, from my understanding, all along the course there are markers that letting you know how far you have gone. There are also markers with people there providing you with needed refreshment. There are orange markers, banana markers, first aide markers, water markers, and so on. Each one of these markers are intended to replenish what your body is losing during the run. We need to be in close fellowship with brothers and sisters that we are being replenished by them as we are running. Our problem is that we place people who are not believers at these markers. We are seeking to be refreshed through people who don’t have the ultimate Refresher living in them. We can never be fully refreshed by people who are not Christians nor by Christians who are not living for Christ. Who is it that you are seeking to refresh you?

a. Markers

b. Crowds (who you are hanging with)

Finally, in each race there is a finish line.

5. Commencement (or conclusion)

The race that we are in has many winners. A winner is someone who crosses the finish line. Ask Nancy if she felt like a lose when she ran the LA Marathon. She didn’t finish first. What caused her to be a winner was that she finished. That is how we need to see this life. The goal is to finish. Are you running in such a way as to finish well?

a. Crown of life

I want to commend you to do the following:

1. Focus your eyes on Jesus.

2. Devote yourself to prayer and Bible study as a personal and corporate habit.

3. Have Christians who are following Christ as part of your support group.

4. When you find yourself starting to stumble, refer to number 1.

Scriptural Truths for Today's World