An Old Strategy For A New Year-Part One

December 31, 2006 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: New Year

Transcript

An Old Strategy For A New Year-Part One

Psalm 91:1
January 7, 2007
Pastor Randy Smith



Well, how did it go? As you enjoy this final day of the calendar and survey all the events of this past year, I ask you, what are your personal thoughts of 2006? How did it go?

From personal reflection, early in the year we lost our family dog. Blitz died in the kitchen one February evening after bringing us twelve years of happiness. More significantly, my mother passed from this world (as many of you know) in late August. I was thankful to be with her during her final days and hear her profess faith in Christ Jesus.

Yet despite these difficult occurrences, I can say God once again demonstrated His faithfulness in 2006. Our family continues to grow closer together in our love for each other and our love for the Lord. Beyond what we deserve are the consistent blessings that flow into our lives - most notably, the grace to persevere in the faith another year.

And God has used you, dear Grace Tabernacle family to bring us great encouragement not only through your words, but also through your actions. We have experienced your spiritual births demonstrated by nearly two-dozen baptisms this year and your spiritual growth as you continually mature in Christlikeness. This is what brings us the greatest joy!

Yet all the joys seem to be tempered by trials. But even in the midst of the trials, Julie and I can testify that God works all things together for good. Looking back we have witnessed unpredictable ways God has demonstrated His care for this church and through the personal trials, His wisdom, patience and love in our own lives.

For me it is much easier to look back than look ahead. Even in the midst of the difficult times, the trials have passed, the pain has subsided, the shock is over. But as I stand on the precipice of 2007 I often wonder what the New Year hold for me. What sorrow, disappointment and agony will the Lord permit in my life? It is the fear of the unknown. It is the veil I must pass through not knowing what is on the other side. How do I approach 2007 with a lack of anxiety and peace both desired by me and expected by my God?

The answer is faith. Just as God has proven His faithfulness in the past, by faith I know He will be faithful in the future. I need to believe He is sovereignly in control of all events, dispensing just the right amount of sorrow without breaking my spirit, yet at the same time keeping my heart which is so prone to wander tightly connected to His. I need to believe He is a good God who is working His ultimate loving purpose by conforming me to the image of His blessed Son through whatever means necessary. I need to believe His will for my life is perfect and my hope comes from yielding to His plan and resting in His character and maintaining with Him close fellowship. That is how I plan to enter 2007. How about you?

With those thoughts, I could not think of a better verse that will help us enter the New Year tomorrow than Psalm 91:1: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

The word "shadow" depicts God's closeness. Obviously if we are in His shadow we are in a good place because we are in His presence. And His names "Most High" and "Almighty" call to mind confidence in His sovereign character. Do you want a place of security in 2007? Then go into the inner sanctuary where the veil was rent, cling with all your might to the Mercy Seat and dwell in close proximity to God.

Success for the New Year comes through an old strategy. Though much of what we will encounter is beyond our control, none of it is beyond God's control. Therefore if His plans can become our plans as we include Him in every part of our lives, peace and joy will prevail despite our circumstances because we are walking by faith in Him and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). In order for this to happen it is imperative that we dwell with God and abide in His presence. I am persuaded that failure in this principle is why so many Christians are without power and without purpose.

So, do you know the old strategy? Do you know how to abide in God? This abbreviated sermon will seek to answer that question.

This morning we will witness eight baptisms. Each of these individuals has trusted Christ, and they soon will come forward to make their faith public. Their salvation is complete (Col. 2:10) so their baptism is only an outward picture of an inward reality. Amongst many, one reality that will be illustrated by full water baptism is the fact that all Christians have been immersed into the body of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." All of God's children are equally indwelt by the Holy Spirit. All are equally adopted, equally loved, equally justified and equally clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. All are equally and inseparably a part of His body, the church. That is true for you and that is true for me.

However, it is possible that while we may be saved, we are not abiding in Christ. Maybe we are content to live in sin. Maybe we feel at a loss for divine peace and joy. Maybe we have backslidden. Maybe our spiritual life has become dry and barren. Maybe the things of God are wearisome and boring. If any of these things are true, we have lost our connection with God. Beloved, this is not the abundant life our Lord promised (Jn. 10:10) and this is a very dangerous place for the Christian to be (Jn. 15:6).

The command could not be any clearer: John 15:9, "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love" (cf. Jn. 15:4). The calling could not be more specific: John 8:31, Jesus said "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine." The consequence for failing to abide could not be more frightening: John 15:6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned."

So, with the priority established, how do we abide in Christ? Answer: We abide by staying in contact with Christ. Allow me to introduce what I call the "Contact Principle" by providing two illustrations.

This Christmas, for the first time with my children, I pulled out my old train set. As tradition dictates, we set the tracks up around the tree. It was the highlight for every visiting child to the Smith household. The only problem was the trains had seen better days. The engine wheels kept falling off the track and breaking contact with the light electrical current that runs through the metal rails. The lesson was clear. When the train became disconnected from the power source by no longer fully abiding on the tracks, action would cease.

A better illustration for abiding comes straight from our Lord's teaching. In John 15 Jesus delivered the great sermon commonly known as the Vine and the Branches. In that text He said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:4-5).

Regardless of how green our thumb may be, we all know that in order for a branch to bear fruit, moreover have life, it must abide in the vine of the plant. The vitality is in the vine. Break off the branch, disconnect the branch from the power source, and it will not be long before it shrivels up and dies.

Can you see how both these illustrations apply for us, abiding in Christ and the results of broken fellowship? In Colossians 3 Paul said, "Christ…is our life" (Col. 3:4). Therefore our strength and sustenance comes from Him. And when we become "off-line" or disconnected from our power source, we too as Christians will experience deadness in our spiritual journey. "Apart from Me you can do nothing," said Jesus (Jn. 15:5). Hence the "Contact Principle."

You might be thinking, I can see how a train must remain on the track and a branch in a vine, but specifically how to I remain connected with Jesus Christ? That is a good question! I invite you to join me on the spiritual journey I took this week.

I think a good starting point is 1 John 4:15. "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."

Contrary to what we hear in most churches today, there is nothing in the Bible that grants assurance for our salvation upon a particular time we responded by raising a hand or signing a card during some altar call or evangelistic crusade. Please do not misunderstand me. I have no problem saying we all get saved at a certain point of time when we exercise genuine trust in Christ, but the assurance of our salvation is based on our current attitude toward Jesus. Regardless of what we did in the past, are we confessing that Jesus is the Son of God at this present moment? If we are, 1 John 4:15 says we are abiding in God and God is abiding in us.

But I ask you, what does it mean to "confess Christ?" Is "confessing Christ" simply giving Him mental assent? Is it just going through the motions by acknowledging that I believe He was a good man who lived a long time ago? James condemns this attitude when he said in his epistle, "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (Jas. 2:19). There is no doubt that every demon is confessing Christ and there is no doubt that none of them are abiding in Christ. So what makes our confession of Christ acceptable in God's eyes?

Let's continue our journey. The answer is found in another verse that talks about abiding. In John 6:56, Jesus said, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."

Time prohibits us this morning to talk about all the ways this verse has been misapplied. Suffice it to say that Jesus was not talking about a Communion service, but rather the need to spiritually feed on His very life. This is the heart of confessing Christ. It is living for Him, getting as close to Him as possible, putting off all that entangles and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. It is having the attitude of Paul when he told the Philippians "to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). It is a state of being that longs for an unbroken relationship with the One who gave His life for you. Confessing Christ is feasting upon Him as our heart's desire. We abide by treasuring Christ as our first love (Rev. 2:4). That is the same teaching as 1 John 4:16b. "God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

So we must confess Christ which means we must love Christ. But as we go a step further in our journey, how do we express our love for Jesus Christ?

In order to abide I must forsake my idols and love Jesus above all gods, people and even myself. How do I do that? Do I demonstrate my love for Jesus solely based upon an emotional response in my heart? Is it accomplished through words offered in a prayer? Those answers are true, but insufficient. How do I ultimately communicate my love for the Lord?

Once again my journey took me to the Scriptures. Very plainly Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (Jn. 14:15). The Apostle John echoed this same sentiment. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 Jn. 5:3a; cf. 2 Jn. 1:6).

So far I have narrowed it down to this point. In order to abide in Christ, we must keep His commandments. We have gone through a rather lengthy process to arrive at this conclusion. Permit me to take you in the back door and show how this principle is clearly stated in the Bible. 1 John 3:24a, "The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him." John 15:10, Jesus said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (Jn. 15:7a; 1 Jn. 2:24 and 2 Jn. 1:9 are also worthy verses to note). What we are talking about here is placing all our emotions, thoughts, desires, motives and priorities under the scrutiny of Scripture and becoming a doer of the Word (Jas. 1:22). "Cleave fast," as Spurgeon said, "To the Word of God."

And when we live this kind of life totally subjected to the Scriptures, which is the Word of God, there is no doubt that we will live in such a way that imitates Christ. And when we are imitating Christ, there is no doubt, logically speaking, that we are abiding in Him.

Once again the Scripture confirms: 1 John 3:6, "No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him." 1 John 2:6, "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." Or from the negative, 1 John 1:6, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth" (also see Psm. 15:1; 37:27 and 1 Jn. 3:9-10).

So let me see if I can put it all together for you. We are commanded to abide in Christ. In order for us to abide, we must confess Him. We confess Christ by feasting upon Him in love. We love God by keeping His commandments. And when we keep His commandments we walk righteously in the same manner as Christ. This is how we abide in Jesus - faithfulness to obey His Word, which results in righteous living. And in order to be successful, this must all occur under the banner of grace.

Everything is at stake! Is the One who gave His life for you asking for too much? Will you make it your resolution for 2007 to abide in Christ?

Jonathan Edwards, a man known for his resolutions, put it well: "On January 12, 1723, I made a solemn dedication of myself to God, and wrote it down; giving up myself, and all that I had to God; to be for the future, in no respect, my own; to act as one that had no right to be himself, in any respect. And solemnly vowed to take God for my whole portion and felicity; looking on nothing else, as any part of my happiness, nor acting as if it were; and His law for the constant rule of my obedience: engaging to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, to the end of my life."

Why would we ever want to abide in the world or the flesh or the devil? But to our folly and shame, so often we do. We are talking about the "Contact Principle," which means a moment-by-moment abiding in Jesus.

"Abide in Me says Jesus. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be, as it were, rooted and planted in Me. Do this and I will never fail you. I will ever abide in you" (J. C. Ryle).

Success for the New Year comes through an old strategy.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty" (Psm. 91:1).

Are you abiding in Jesus? There is a clear way to know whether or not you are. Lord willing, we'll talk about that next week.


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