Rock Solid Addendum

We recently finished a series called “Rock Solid” addressing the subject of developing rock solid faith.

We spent 4 weeks discussing “Faith Stealing Experiences” that WILL come into our lives and how to be ready for them and be strong through them coming out the other side of the battle victorious.

Our first week we addressed that faith is trust, not some weird super-spiritual thing. We also looked at the importance of faith and all that it accomplishes in our life and the world around us. We also saw that the non-Christian world and the spiritual forces of wickedness are not only going to not support and encourage our faith, but will down right assault and undermine it.

So, the first step in “Rock Solid” faith is to be alert and on guard. Recognize how important our faith is and don’t take it lightly. Remember we live in a world system that will try to at best twist and distort your faith and at worst steal and destroy your faith.

The next step we looked at was the importance of saturating our lives with the knowledge of God’s word.

We saw that faith comes by hearing the message, and if we want strong faith in Christ then we must be hearing His message over and above the message of the world.

Our lives are constantly bombarded with secular messages in commercials, books, movies, tv shows, magazines, radio, internet, and people we’re around. It’s important that we make the time to fill ourselves up with the truth of God’s word. If we are diligent to do this we will find ourselves having stronger faith in what God says than in what the world says.

The next (third) step we addressed was the importance of putting the Bible into practice. It’s not good enough to know what it says. We must do what it says. If all we have is knowledge of what the Bible says then all we have is an intellectual philosophical argument, but if we do what the Bible says we will experience God in the process and this strengthens our faith even more.

By doing what the Bible says we are cooperating with God and what He wants to do in our lives and through our lives in the world around us. These cooperative efforts (obeying what the Bible says) produce experiences with God that out weighs any intellectual philosophical argument. We should always use the Bible to help us interpret and analyze our experience, because it is the measuring stick of truth by which we measure and evaluate all information and experiences of life, but having the experience solidifies all the more what you believe. You may not know all the answers to every question and mystery regarding God and the Bible, but you will know that you believe and whom you believe in, because you will have knowledge of the parts you understand and the experience of working with God Himself and seeing Him do great things.

We said the last step (fourth) is to filter all that we hear (learn) and experience through the filter of God’s word and our experiences with God. We learned that we must not believe just anything we hear or experience. We learned that there is deception out there. There are things that sound and feel like the real thing, but are a deception.

We must not have a double standard in our filtering. We cannot give favor and merit to the non-Christian scientific community when their theories have many unanswered questions, but look with disgust and consider Christian Faith foolish and naive because there may be mysteries or questions that we don’t have answers for, yet. We must be fair on how we evaluate, measure, and filter.

We learned that everyone is a person of faith, even the atheist, because faith is trust and we are all going to put our trust, faith, into someone or something. The question is not do I have faith, but rather where do I choose to put and grow my faith/trust? Will it be in what man can do and understand or will it be in what God can do (has done) and understand? I know people well enough to know that no matter how smart they are they will never scratch the surface of the intelligence of God.

We also saw that there is a cost, no matter where I choose to place my faith, be it in God and the work of Jesus Christ or in man and what he understands and has achieved, either way it will cost me… everything!

To live life God’s way and get His results it will cost me everything in this life, but I will gain so much more for all eternity.

To live life the worlds way and get all that it has to offer it will cost me everything in this life and in the life to come. I may gain everything the world has to offer, but I will loose it all and so much more for all eternity.

There is a choice to be made and make it we shall. Where will we put our trust/faith?

Now the addendum:

After all that we learned I was disappointed because there was one more key ingredient to “Rock Solid” faith that I didn’t get to address due to time issues.

So, here it is… Community/Fellowship. I know, some of you are like, “oh no, here goes Mike on his soap box again” and others of you are thinking, “that’s it? I read this whole stupid thing to have you tell me I need fellowship/community?”

Before you stop reading let me tell you, you cannot over emphasize the importance of community/fellowship. It is a key reason my faith is so strong today.

When I am weak others are strong. There is strength in numbers. We can do more and know more together than we can alone.

Community provides things I don’t like to do on my own, like holding myself accountable to do the things I should do and not do the things I shouldn’t do.

Community/fellowship provides alternative viewpoints that can help us better answer those questions we struggle with.

Community/fellowship provides encouragement in those times we would feel weak, weary, and want to quit.

Community/fellowship provides prayer support. Not only do we sometimes fall short in our prayer life and their prayers help fill the holes, but even when we are faithful in our prayer life there is strength in numbers. Our prayers may accomplish much on our own, but they accomplish so much more when coupled with the prayers of others.

Community/fellowship provides growth opportunities as I learn to serve, think about, and help others as well as learn to get along with people that are different than me and resolve conflict. As I learn to live life outside of just me, when life includes more than just what I want and prefer, I begin to live life to the full. As I share life with others, our good times and bad times, life is so much fuller than it would be if I lived a self-centered self-absorbed life where all I live for is me.

Lastly, Community/Fellowship provides fun/refreshment. We all need times to just chill out with good people that we know love us and just have fun; Fun that is constructive, not destructive. We need others to spur us to get out of our depressive funks, to pull us out of those isolationist tendencies.

I hope it’s clear that God knew what He was saying when He said, “Two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9) and “Do not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25).

The truth is, we cannot do this alone… not faith and not life. We need one another. Together we are stronger. Together we are “Rock Solid”.

What if... to What next

We just finished up a very challenging and inspiring series titled “What if…” which capitalized on the potential of those two words.

We saw that these two words could inspire, encourage, challenge, and build up, or they could discourage, depress, tear down, and steal away.

We saw that the determining factor in the effect of these two words was our Faith and Thought-life. What we choose to believe is ultimately what will happen and our thoughts are ultimately what we gravitate toward being and doing.

We saw that God has uniquely designed each of us for a unique and special plan and purpose. We also saw that God’s plan and purposes are always with best in mind, never less than best. God’s plans and purposes always intend for you to be reaching your fullest potential, never less, for you to be living life to the full, never less. In a nutshell, God’s plan is for you and your life to always be at your/its best, never less than best, according to the talents, abilities, interests, dreams, and resources God has given you.

We saw that to be best or great at anything there is always a price to pay. This is no less true in following Jesus and becoming all He made us to be and experiencing life at it’s best, as He intended.

The question is NOT “WILL we pay a price?” The question is “FOR WHAT will we pay the price.”

Many people pay the price for wealth, others for health, others for pleasure, others for fame or prestige, others for accomplishment, many for a combination of the above mentioned.

But, Jesus said, “27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:27-34

Or how about Matthew’s version… “25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

So, we see that as a Christian we have a real issue with the above list of goals, ambitions, and priorities. Jesus isn’t in it! Even if He was in the list, would that be enough? Not according to Jesus. Jesus teaches us that life at it’s best isn’t experienced when we just add Jesus to our lives and plans. Jesus teaches us that life at it’s best is experienced when Jesus is our life and plan; when He becomes the first priority and leading factor through which all other things are filtered.

So, What if…
What if we were fully devoted to Jesus and His ways?
What if we really LOVED Him?
What if He was our PASSION?
What if I lived my life like Jesus, His teachings, and people really mattered.
What if we really put Jesus first?
What if we really lived like this world was not our home?
What if we really lived like people mattered to God?
What if it really was all about Jesus?
What if you could really know Jesus?
What if Jesus really loved us?
What if Jesus meant what he said?
What if it really was spiritual?
What if it really was practical?
What if we lived according to the teachings of Jesus?
What if we prayed for people?
What if we told people about Jesus?
What if we blessed the people around us?

I could go on and on. The “What if’s” never end. But these are just a starting point and a waste of ink, paper, cyberspace, and thought if we don’t ask the real question…

What Next?

Will we apply or just add this information to the files in our brain, but do nothing with them?

In our series we saw that most of us know WHAT God’s standards are and what we should be doing. The problem is NOT ignorance. The problem is obedience.

We know what the Bible says; the question is “will we DO what the Bible says?”

Jesus tells us…”24Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

It’s sad, because I see people meet Jesus all the time. I see people experience God’s touch in their spirit, their mind, their emotions, their body, their relationships, their finances, their family, etc. and for a while they make Jesus #1 and priority in their life, but over time as the things in this world press in we lose sight of Jesus, but not just Jesus, we lose sight of who He made us to be and do, His unique design, plans, and purposes for us. We get caught up in the rat race of life as a regular earthling.

So, what is next? What will we do with the information, inspiration, talents, abilities, interests, time, money, relationships, and all that God has given us? Will we be like those who don’t know God and don’t know any better and live for the things of this temporary world? Will we just file the information into the hard drive of our brain to be forgotten or collect cyber-dust? Or will we apply/obey the teachings of Jesus?

Remember, the single greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.

And, may I add, that besides the selfishness of our own hearts, the single greatest cause of backsliding is that people know what the Bible says, but because they don’t do what the Bible says they lack the experience with God, and thus satan and their own mind reasons them into believing that it’s not that big of a deal, or worse, that it’s not true.

I want to encourage each of us to answer the important question… What next?

How will you go about pursuing and seeking God? How will you apply His commands in your life? How will you use the abilities and talents to serve God and others? How will you use all the resources God has given you to serve and honor the Lord, to bless others, and advance the Kingdom of God, thus investing in a world and life that is eternal?

What would our lives look like, what would the effect be in our community and world, if we simply did what Jesus told us to do and didn’t do what Jesus told us not to do (AKA: Obedience, which is the proof of faith)?

Optional Obedience

If God says to do something or NOT do something, do I have an excuse to disobey if other people disobey?

For example: If a fellow Christian doesn't treat me in a loving way is this an excuse to disobey Jesus' command to "love one another as I have loved you"?

If a spouse is unfaithful does this mean the victimized spouse is free to break their marital vows too, engaging in romantic or sexual relations outside of their marriage covenant, ignoring Jesus' command "do not commit adultery"?

If a co-worker acts arrogantly and self-serving does this give the Christian license to disobey the command to "clothe yourselves with humility, serving one another out of love"?

I think we as Christ-followers have been approaching our obedience to God from a very worldly/non-christian perspective. The reason why is obvious... doing it the way God says to is not always easy, comfortable, pleasant, or pleasurable. In fact, sometimes it's just plain hard and uncomfortable, but something to remember is this: Our comfort zone is usually within the parameters of what we (man) can do, so we'll experience ordinary, natural, man-sized lives/works/experiences. On the other hand when we step outside the comfort zone, outside the parameters of what we (man) can do for ourselves, but instead step out into the unknown, the place beyond us and our abilities it is there that we experience the extra-ordinary, the super-natural, God-sized lives/experiences/works.

Have we lost sight of the fact that only God can change people and if we're really going to see people changed then we've got to release God into the situation. This is done by praying and obeying. It's done when we handle the situation and behave in the way that Jesus says to. Our disobedience simply closes the door to us being used by God and everyone involved experiencing what God wants in that situation.

Only through our obedience, especially in the hard situations, will we be used by God, see God do amazing things, and experience Gods blessing in our lives.