The Christian life

 

This message was preached by  Colin D via zoom at Word Of Grace Church on  Feb 21st,2021. for the audio please click here.   For the worship please click here

 Many people think that Christian life can be a cakewalk. But biblically that’s not what the Christian life is like. It is not a bed of roses. Before you could get to the roses, there are thorns that can prick you. We already learnt that Jesus is building His church and we got to work towards it. Even before that, our perspective needs to be right. The Christian life also has challenges – financial, relational, emotional etc.

We are created for heaven. Earth is not for heaven. Earth is fallen with powers and principalities operating in it.

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Jesus has not promised us a trouble-free life.

21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. – Acts 14:21-22

If we look at Apostle Paul’s life, he experienced a lot of challenges.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8

We get the right perspective when we know that there’s an enemy.

 

We have 3 enemies – The Devil, World, Flesh

World – Worldly things like money, philosophy, materialism etc. You must have heard of the American Dream. It is to get a job, earn a lot of money and enjoy life. Now, it’s become an Indian dream too.

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, - Philippians 3:20

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them. – 1 John 2:15

Flesh – Though we are saved, our spirit is cleansed but not our flesh. The flesh still struggles. The Spirit of God and flesh are always fighting.

17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want –Galatians 5:17

The Devil –

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

From the beginning, Satan and all his forces have always been at work. But God will take us through everything. Despite all these, God gives us wonderful promises in Psalm 23

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, - Philippians 3:20

Our life on this earth is not permanent. We can’t opt-out of the battle. We are the battle.

Even in the Old Testament, the Israelites had their struggles.

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. – Exodus 14:13

Just as God had promised the Israelites, the got delivered from the Egyptians. But even after that, they faced challenges – they had to face Red Sea, they were chased by Pharaoh’s army, and when they reached a place where the water was bitter.

The Christian life is also like this.

Just as the Israelites got delivered, we got saved. They passed through the Red Sea and we got baptized. They faced challenges and we have our current battles. They were moving towards the Promised Land and we are moving ahead to the eternal Kingdom of God.

When challenges come our way, initially we struggle, we grumble just like the Israelites did when there was no water. They had everything in Egypt – Garlic, Onion, Spices etc. They must have thought they could go back and enjoy everything that was there in Egypt.

This is how their life was – Peace – Problem – Peace – Problem – Peace – Problem

And that’s how our life on earth will be. But we as God’s children, are going to the Promised Land.

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. – Exodus 17:8

Amalekites attacked Israelites but the Israelites overcame when Moses heard from God and obeyed Him.

As Christians we face challenges but please don’t pray for challenges.

13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. – 2 Corinthians 10:13

How did Israelites handle the challenges?

1.   Let’s look to Moses and Joshua. They listened to God.

2.   When we face challenges and problems the solution is not to pray only but to do something as well. It’s a partnership.

Moses and Aaron prayed while Joshua fought the battle,

What is the preparation needed for battle?

1.   God is looking for people who are prepared. E.g. King David- When David defeated Goliath. David was anointed but he had prepared for battle. 1Sam17:34 – He fought the Lion and the bear.

Abraham – when Lot got captured in Gen14:14; Abraham called 318 trained men and pursued the enemy as far as Dan. So, Abraham had invested in training. We need to train spiritually

God is looking for FAT people i.e. Faithful, available and teachable. Acts 6:3 – choose 7 men full of the Spirit and Wisdom. Stephen was the first martyr was one of the trained men. Are you prepared for what God wants you to do? We don’t know when that will be but we need to be prepared in faithfulness.

Available – Act6 What did the men volunteer to do? To serve food and wait on tables!! Are you available to do the so-called menial jobs in the kingdom? Are you willing to serve in private or do you just want public roles?

Philip was faithful and was used greatly by God. Acts 8 – He did great miracles in Samaria and he too started off by waiting on tables.

The 318 were trained. Are you open to being trained and discipled or do you feel you know everything and don’t need anyone to mentor you?

Moses – moved out to pray while the battle was being fought. He had a staff in his hand- symbolic of power and authority. It was used to bring the players and part of the Red Sea. Moses took off to pray. If we want to have victory over our world, the flesh and the devil, we need to withdraw and spend time in prayer.

V11. As long as Moses lifted his hands they won. This tells us that preparation and prayer go together. It is this partnership of these two.

As we pray together, we will see mighty exploits happen. Moses took the staff. This should remind us of the authority and promises we have in Christ. So, when we go to God in prayer, we remind God of the promises.

Rom8:38, Eph3:20 So we are bringing the staff of God i.e the Word of God before Him. Jn 16:33 Jesus promises us peace and his presence in the midst of trouble.

Phil 4:19 God will supply all our needs

Jn1:16 The Holy Spirit our helper. He will be with us forever.

Jer. 29:11 God has good plans for us

The Christian life is not a cakewalk but we are in a battle. We go through cycles of peace and problems and we need to be prepared to face them through prayer. As we are faithful, available and teachable God will use us.

We will see transformation as we pray. Amen!

 

  Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.