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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 2nd April 2006 PMTo Know Christ and to Grow in Him Pastor Colin Meadows Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:7-8 · Foundations for a growing faith: Listening to commentary on the various athletes at the Commonwealth Games. The importance was stressed of solid preparation, laying the foundation for future progress. How can we prepare well for the journey of life? As I have thought about this over the years, I keep going back to Psalm 1, a psalm that has so much solid truth to encourage us this morning, to help lift our eyes from the ground and to look to God, to draw strength from Him for the journey of life. Have wanted for some time to do a series of messages on the Psalms. Will now start, selecting out a few key psalms that reflect the overall teaching of the others. For believers in earlier days, the Psalms was their praise and prayer book. Do you at times want to praise God yet are not sure what to make of life? Look to the psalms. If at times you want to pray but the words won’t come? Look to the psalms. The praise and prayer book of the believer. Psalm 1 was put first for it has in it the essence of all that follows in the other Psalms. Allow the teaching of Psalm 1 to set the foundation, then we are ready for whatever may come! In this Psalm, we learn that God by his grace restores rebellious people to himself and then by the same grace empowers them to walk in righteousness. Only two groups of people are spoken of… the righteous and the wicked. There is no third group. One is either walking away from God or walking with him. As we respond to his grace and mercy and begin walking in obedience with him he will empower us at every step of the way. We must however respond to his grace. Have you done that? As I have thought about this wonderful psalm, my mind goes to the man, Joshua, the man who in the OT stood by Moses side for such a long time. He was one who not just survived but grew in his faith through the turmoil of his times? This morning we are going to ask him how he grew in his faith through some really testing times! But first, our Bible readings. Bible Readings: Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17:7-8 (Joshua enters, complete with beard and headdress!) Your pastor has given me 15 minutes to share my journey of faith. Fifteen minutes! That’s a tall order, but I’ll try. To be honest, my faith journey had its ups and downs but there were some key issues that made the difference. The essence of growing in faith in testing times can be found in what you call Psalm 1. The psalms weren’t around in my days, but I lived out the essence of what is found there. Let me take you to the key reasons I was able to keep growing in my faith through the difficult times we faced. · Focus on God’s Word: I knew I couldn’t cope in any other way apart from God’s Word. You must put this central in your thinking. In fact, God himself told me that very early on! He gave me a huge task to do, after the death of Moses, and at the same time he gave me the resources to do it. I felt so honoured when he spoke to me… Joshua 1:6-8 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Keep God’s Word close to your heart. Meditate on it or chew it over until it nourishes your soul. That is what God means here. You need to know and understand God’s Word so that it blesses you and not just bugs you. You need to be enchanted by the Word of God, and to have a hunger to read and to understand it. Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” We need to wait on God and on his Word. Delight in God’s Word and meditate on it daily. Be a person who is grappling with God’s Word and with prayer. I encourage you to grapple with all that God’s Word says, even the difficult parts! Allow the Bible to stretch you out of your comfort zone. When you do that then your faith will grow. About 1400 years after my time, the Apostle Paul taught that same lesson. Romans 10:17 “Consequently faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” What about you today? Are you seeking to listen to God each day through his Word, the Bible. WH Houghton said ‘Lay hold of the Bible until the Bible lays hold of you.’ Be systematic in how you tackle this task. A book of daily readings is a great place to start. And remember this – you are not doing this by yourself. As believers, God has given us his Holy Spirit to help us and teach us in this regard. The Spirit of God will lead us into truth as we read the Word of God and as we pray about what we have read. Let us humbly seek to grow in faith that way. Wait upon God and his Word. That is the first key lesson to remember if you are to grow in faith. Focus on God’s Word. · Find the right traveling companions: I learnt very early that you must choose your walking companions carefully. I had many wise people around me but the one who had most influence on me was Moses. I don’t remember initially how I got to be with him. I just managed to get caught up with him along the way and it truly was exciting. I remember, for instance, being there with Moses at the battle with the Amalekites. Exodus 17:9 “Moses said to Joshua ‘Choose some of our men and go and fight the Amalekites.” An incredible battle that day and God brought us the victory. We were all exhausted but I was so glad that I was there with Moses. I learnt so much about faith and trusting God from him, even when the odds were against us. After that I stuck pretty close to Moses and signed up as his assistant. It was like being in a mentoring relationship with a master. Ex 24:13 “Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.” I owe so much to Moses. Moses was so wise and I was privileged to learn from him. I encourage you to do the same. Walk with the wise. Do you have a traveling companion who is guiding you along the pathway of life? There is a proverb amongst African people “Walk with the fools and you become a fool, walk with the wise and you will become wise”. That is what Psalm 1 is teaching us very clearly. Choose your friends carefully. Proverbs 12:26 “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Take care as you choose your friends. Follow the right people. Walk with the wise. Allow them to encourage you and inspire you. Surround yourself with people who will stimulate you to grow in your faith. Realize that not everyone is going in the same direction God intends for you to go. Proverbs 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Prayerfully find that friend and go on the journey together. And together travel with the best friend of all, the Lord himself. Remember that Jesus longs to be your mutual traveling companion. Allow him through his Holy Spirit to direct the decisions that you make. Who are you walking with these days? Who is influencing whom? Seek to walk with the wise. Find a good traveling companion. · Fight for your faith: Life can be very tough at times. You may find you are in the minority as you seek to walk with God, but press on. I remember a time I was asked, along with 11 others, to go and check out the land of Canaan. The 12 of us went all over the land. It took us 40 days and we came back with some great fruit samples and as far as I was concerned, a good report. The trouble was that ten of the guys saw the obstacles and gave a terrible report. All doom and gloom. I couldn’t believe it, nor could another friend of mine, Caleb. We had all been to the same place and came away with totally conflicting responses. Caleb spoke up (I tended to be a bit crowd shy when it came to times like that) but then I joined him in tearing my clothes in anger and amazement. We really tried to get the people to think again but instead they started talking about stoning us. I can tell you right now that you will face opposition, so get used to it. Be ready for the negative people in life, and don’t be surprised if you find them in churches. This being cut down by your ‘friends is called ‘being shot by friendly fire’. I had that experience. The biggest opposition I found was amongst the religious types. Don’t give in to them! Walk on in faith. Be ready to fight for your faith! · Fear God but remember His grace: Press on daily in holy fear of the living God. That is what sustained me down through the years. This fear is a ‘deep worshipful reverence’ for our God. Remind yourselves of just who he is – the mighty Creator God of the universe - and what he has done – rescued us from slavery. Let us respond in fear and serve his with willing hearts. Joshua 24:14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.” Yes, our God is the LORD who is to be feared. Remember also that He is the God of grace, the one who through grace has revealed himself to us and brought us into a place of safety; it is He through his grace that he has empowered us to live a righteous life. It is all of his grace. He is the one who provides all that we need. He is the one who is constantly watching over us, to lift us, to strengthen us, to enable us to live for him. Psalm 1:6 “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish”. Yes, the amazing unmerited grace of God that is poured into our lives! When you walk with God in this way, you are like a tree planted by streams of water. We traveled for 40 years through the desert and I know what it was like to live in a dry land. Then we would come to a river and then see the difference. It was amazing. Suddenly you would see these huge trees thriving alongside the river, their roots down deep into the water. Put down deep roots into God. That is what I encourage you all to do today. The prophet Jeremiah had the same story to tell of being a person who has a deep trust in God... Jer 17:8 “He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” In a little while you will sing the song “How great Thou art”. One verse of that song goes: “When burdens press, and seem beyond endurance Bowed down with grief, to him I lift my face And then in love He brings me sweet assurance; My child, for thee sufficient is my grace.” Life can be very tough at times. Cling on to God and remember his wonderful grace. His grace will enable you to stand firm. The grace of God sustained me and my family down through the years. That is why we were able to keep moving on. Joshua 24:15 “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” I’m sure you want to be fruitful as God’s people, a tree bearing fruit that nourishes others. This is how you do it. Focus on God’s Word, find the right people to walk with, and fight the faith battles as they come along. But over all these things remember the incredible grace of God! It is not all up to us. He is the one who will provide the strength at every turn of the way. When you live that way you will be fruitful… · Faithful living produces fruit: AS you live in obedience to God in this way, so the Holy Spirit will produce fruit in your lives. Other people will see that you are different as you walk with God. What are you going to do about what I have told you? Focus on God’s Word. Find the right traveling companions. Fight for your faith during the hard times. Fear God but remember his grace, the grace that saves and the grace that sustains. Faithful living produces fruit. I was so encouraged later to hear these words in heaven after my death… Joshua 24:31 “Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.” You too can have a deep impact in the lives of others as you seek to put God first. May God bless you! |