May 30, 2021
Sunday Sermon
DEVELOP ABIDING FAITH IN GOD'S PROMISES
Psalm 86:11-13
There’s none of us that are so spiritual that we don’t need to experience ABIDING FAITH IN GOD’S PROMISES. No one here today is so spiritual that you don’t need to spend time in prayer. No one here today is so spiritual that you don’t need to spend time in the Word. No one here today is such a spiritual powerhouse that they don’t need to spend time in the presence of God.
This message is a wakeup call to all of us who don’t care about getting closer to God. Some of us find ourselves growing cold and indifferent in our relationship with Christ. We have many believers who are in that condition. All they care about is whether or not they’re going to make it to heaven. But what they don’t realize, if we don’t maintain ourselves spiritually, they may not make it to heaven.
Think about some of the prevailing attitudes in the church today. Some people won’t stand in praying & Scripture reading. Some people don’t have reverence for God when the choir is singing or when the pastor is preaching. We have teenagers who come to church without respect for God’s house. We have people who tear covers off of the Bibles & chew gum and then drop it on the floor.
God wants us to be spiritually motivated. That’s why we need to keep ourselves in check, and spiritually in tune so we don’t grow cold on God.
In John 15:4, “Abide in me” means the same as “dwelleth”. Abiding depends on keeping Christ’s commandments in John 15:10.
Let’s look at some significant movements that will help us develop abiding faith.
I.
FLOWING IN THE TRUTH
v. 11a
‘Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth;” You cannot understand the Bible on your own. It is only through a right relationship with God can it be understood. God must teach His ways to you. You see the Bible is a Holy Spirit inspired book that can only be understood through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to you. John 14:25-26, (NKJV), “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy spirit, whom the father will send in My name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
Teach me your way, O Lord… if you want to know about the things of God, you need to study the Word. As you study the holy spirit teaches you by placing truth in your spirit---He makes the Bible come alive in you. That happens by having Faith, Heb. 11:6).
II.
FOCUS ON THE TRUTH
v. 11b
“Unite my heart to fear thy name.” Turn to James 1. I want you to see the main obstacle that keeps people from receiving everything that God wants them to have. (NIV) V. 5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. V. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. V. 7 that man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; v. 8 he is a doubled-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
1) The first thing I want you to see here is that though this passage begins by talking about wisdom, the focus is not on wisdom, but on God’s faithfulness. He gives generously to all without finding fault. 2) if you ask you will receive, it will be given to him…3) doubt will keep you from receiving God’s promises. Now let’s take a little more time here. Doubt never begins in the spirit man. It comes from the soul (intellect, emotions, personality). Because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Doubt comes from our experiences, our surroundings, our thoughts - everything that stems from the natural man.
We should stay focused on God our rock. That is where our stability comes from. The Psalmist wrote, give me an undivided heart, (united means undivided), to become one. “Heart” refers to the spirit man; “Fear” means reverence for…“Name” means position, honor, authority, character…translation - “Give me unity in my spirit so that I (in my spirit) may have reverence for your position, your honor, your authority, and your character.” regardless of how bad things seem. I will always know in my spirit that all of God’s promises are true.
III.
FELLOWSHIP WITH THE TRUTH
v. 12
How do you have fellowship with the truth? It comes from having the right kind of relationship with God. Let’s look at the text, “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.” So, what is the right relationship? It is the relationship that begins in the spirit man (with all my heart) and then is seen in your lifestyle. Everything you do should glorify God. Do you want to have fellowship with the truth? Then get His truth in your spirit and let it flow into your natural man.
IV.
DELIVERANCE THROUGH THE TRUTH
v. 13
“For great is thy mercy toward me: And thou has delivered my soul from the lowest hell. ”Who can quote a Scripture that tells about God’s great love for us? John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 2:21, etc. Each of these Scriptures talks about eternal life and the work that has come through Jesus Christ. But I want you to look at one in v.13, the word, “delivered”. the Hebrew word means, “to snatch away”. True, God has snatched us away from death and the grave. Look at your neighbor and say, “God has snatched me away from the death and grave”. It is for deliverance that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. You are delivered from everything that holds you captive. You have been set free from everything that creates doubt in your minds.. You have been set free by the Son, and I the son sets you free, you are free indeed.
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