Volume 27, Issue 3
Finding Rest In A Hurried World (Continued From Page 14) WisconsinChristianNews.com
Page 15
Fourthly, saving faith rejects any idea of merit. Here’s a news flash for some of you — there’s nothing in you that God saw and said, “Oh, there’s one I have to save.” Our sal- vation is only by grace. It’s only by grace; it’s only by the mercy of God. There’s nothing in us that makes God obligated to save us or anyone else. And yet, He did. Now, if that doesn’t humble you, I don’t know what will. Fifthly, saving faith refuses to trust in religious actions. Now, you’ve heard me harp on this for years, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. How many of you know you don’t get any brownie points for showing up to church on Sunday? “Well, what am I doing here then?” Well, you’d better figure it out. But that’s how some people be- lieve, right? “Man, if I make it to church twice a week, surely God sits up and takes notice of that. Drop- ping money in the offering box doesn’t do it. There is no religious activity that’s going to draw you closer to God. You are already a son and a daughter; you’re already adopted; you’re already a joint heir; you already have all the promises in Scripture. They’re yours for the claiming. We receive Christ’s righteousness as a free gift, not on the basis of our works, and we are maintained in our salvation the same way. So, you don’t work to earn it, you don’t work to keep it. Now, here’s something I do know, though: when you love the Lord, you’re going to live a life that is pleasing to Him, and that’s going to manifest itself in action. You’re going to want to teach Sun- day School, you’re going to want to work in the nursery, you’re going to want to work VBS, you’re going to want to do things; you’re going to want to show up for work day, you’re going to want to do all these things. Not because you’re thinking, “Yeah, now if I do that, Lord...” No, no. How can I help the Chuch? How can I help the body of believers be everything that God wants it to be, for the glory of God? That’s the mo- tivation: for the glory of God, not be- cause we’re obligated. Sixthly, saving faith grows over time. We talk about this in the con- text of maturity, but we can also talk about it in the context of godliness. How many of you understand, that as you grow in your faith, as you grow closer to the Lord, you have a holy hatred for sin? Sin makes you angry. That is a natural progression. As we grow in maturity, as we grow in godliness, we will have a holy dis- satisfaction for anything that falls short of the glory of God. We don’t wink at sin; we don’t act like, “Well, I don’t want to rock the boat.” Rock the boat, rock it, turn it over if you have to, because people will either swim or sink, right? If you’re a be- liever, you know how to swim, so you can rescue them. But rock their world; don’t allow them to continue on in their sin.
Saving faith, seventhly, believes contrary to the circumstances. How many of you know, because you’ve experienced it, that saving faith sees things differently than a lost person does? Believers can look at a set of circumstances, and they can say, “Wow,” but they don’t fall apart. And yet, an unbeliever can look at the same set of circum- stances, and they’re just done. In fact, some of you have told me, “Man, people just marvel — I’m going through this right here, and someone has come to me and said, ‘How are you doing this?’” And what do you tell them? “It’s only the grace of God.” It’s only the grace of God. I’ve told people that over the years, “Man, I admire you for the fire that you’re under and you’re main- taining your faith and your hope, but I know how you’re doing it.” Our trust in our hope will be tested often. Saving faith perseveres through tri- als. As that hymn says, “Through tri- als, toils, and snares, I have already come.” Yes, you have already come in Christ; He has conquered all of those things for you and on your be- half. Finally, the eighth point: Saving faith delights in the glory of God. Saving faith delights in the glory of God, and in this way, is increasingly strengthened. Have you ever thought about that? There is a direct correlation between giving praise, glory, and honor to God in your life, even when you’re going through tough times, and your faith being strengthened. It isn’t necessarily the trial itself that strengthens your faith, but it’s your response to the trial. Are you giving God the glory? Are you focusing on Him, and do you continue to trust in Him and walk in holiness and righteousness, no mat- ter what’s going on around you? That glorifies God, and as a result, your faith is strengthened. Your faith isn’t strengthened if you crumble and fall apart in the midst of your cir- cumstances. It’s only as you hold up. God receives the glory, and your faith is strengthened — that is sav- ing faith. Redeem The Time You Have Been Given So many, over the years, have claimed faith and they’ve gone off the reservation, never to be seen or heard from again. I think it’s high time we start calling things what they are — such a person was prob- ably never saved. Saving faith per- severes. Now, you can call it whatever you want to. The Scrip- ture says, “Those who persevere to the end will be saved.” And that’s something I do know. Pray for those of our number. We’ve had folks who have come through the doors of our church and were here a time or two, and then you don’t see them anymore. And it makes you wonder, “What hap- pened?” And I’ve got my own theo- ries about that. Perhaps you do too. My own personal theory is that they weren’t ready for this. I pray that they have found some place that is
equipping them to get ready for this.
in eternity. It’s like dominoes. You don’t know what God might use as a single incident that you’re faithful to do, but it’ll be a domino effect that’ll affect so many others. Get serious about your Christian life. See it in the scope of eternity. You’ve got 15 years left, you’ve got 20, you’re younger than me, you have 30. Even 30 is not a long time. Use it for a purpose. Closing Prayer Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for Your goodness and mercy toward us, for reminding us, Lord, that You are on the throne, still. You’ve not abdicated that, and You’re not being slothful, Lord. You’re not disregarding us or the plight here that we see in America certainly, but around the world too. Lord, things are getting rapidly out of control. Man is rising up in his evilness and trying, Lord, to conquer the world with governments and re- ligions — really, it’s just about con- trol and bondage. We see it for what
it is.
Christianity and living a Christian life in this day and age is no party. It is a challenge, and you will be challenged day by day to be faithful in your walk. We need each other. We need each other like never be- fore to strengthen and encourage one another. So I pray that you will pray for one another. The world that God created is good, but it’s broken. But He has a plan for it. We are headed in a direc- tion. There is coming an end to all of this. Christ is coming back, and I believe He’s coming back sooner rather than later, and I believe it’s going to be very, very soon. I’m not setting a date. Is it in my lifetime? Depends on how many years the Lord gives me. I remember when I was saved as a 27-year-old, and I thought, “Man, I’ve got all these years.” Well, guess what? Forty-two years have gone by like the snap of a finger. It goes quickly. And now I think I might have, statistically speaking, I might have 15 years left. I see people leaving this world at my age all the time now. What are you going to do for the Kingdom in the time you have left? Okay, so you’re five years younger than me, or you just turned 50. What are you going to do with the last 20 years? See, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound like a long time, does it? What are you going to do with the last 20 years of your life? What are you going to do for the Kingdom that’ll make an impact so that when you’re gone, they’ll say, “Mike was part of that.” Only you can answer that. Spend whatever time you’ve got left mak- ing sure that you have an impact. And I love this quote: “What you do in life echoes in eternity.” (General Maximus from Gladiator). It’s true, though, isn’t it? A Christian pays things forward. What we do in the here and now is going to have echoes in eternity — the way you live your life now, those that you witness to, those that you share the Gospel with, and they accept Christ as Savior — that’s a life that’s going to echo
So, Father, in the time that we have left, as long as You tarry, would You help us, Lord, to ever be about Your business, no matter where we find ourselves? May we always be on mission, whether it’s at work, whether we find ourselves at the grocery store, the gas station — wherever it is. If we have an op- portunity, help us to speak about Jesus. Thank You for this body of believ- ers, Lord, that You’ve raised up and You continue to provide for and cause to persevere. We’re so blessed, Lord, to be a part of this work. We ask, Father, You’d protect us against the attacks and the schemes, the traps and the decep- tions of the enemy. We love You, Father. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. Dr. Mike Spaulding
P. O. Box 3007 Lima, OH 45807
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