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ប្រតិចារិក
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Amen, if you're happy you're saved this morning, would you say amen? Amen. Hey, if you know God is good this morning, would you say amen? Amen. All right, you said it, let's share it. All right, here we go. So I want you to look at your neighbor, say good morning, neighbor. Good morning. Now I want you to share a blessing of God with them this morning. Go ahead and do it. Share a blessing with God, something you praise God for. Hey, good, God's good, amen? God's good. All right. Now I want you to turn the other direction and say, good morning, neighbor. You were my second choice. But I want to share a blessing with you. Go ahead and share a blessing of God with them. Hey, God's good, isn't he? God is good. Hey, we know God's good, right? By the way, a blessing I think that's worthy to be shared. Jim and Fonda celebrating 62 years of marriage today. Which doesn't seem possible, because like Rachel Nitschke, Fonda's 29, but the math works. So congratulations to you guys. What a blessing of the Lord. God is good, amen? But boy, isn't sometimes life hard? Sometimes life is hard. This morning we're going to begin to talk about the resilient Christian life. So what is resiliency? Resilience is the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from difficulties. It's the ability to spring or to bounce back. The resilient are able to successfully adjust and adapt to stressors and to keep moving forward in the face of adversity. Some describe resiliency as toughness. And yet resilience is a toughness that extends far beyond what we can see. Resilience is not just a rugged physique on the outside. Some of the most resilient people I have ever met are the little old ladies of the church, amen? who just keep on keeping on. Resilience doesn't mean that we aren't battered by the battles and blows of life, but it means that by God's grace we aren't beaten by the battles and blows of life. Now in this sin-plagued, cursed life that we live, how many of us this morning recognize resiliency is a must? It's not always easy to follow Jesus. It's not always easy to die to self. It's not always easy to be hated by the wicked world. It's not always easy to have to deal with friction among the faithful. It's not always easy to have a godly home, to try to raise godly kids, to steward the things that God gives you. It's not always easy. I'm going to tell you, if you're a child of God somewhere deep down in your soul this morning, you know that it is always too early to quit on God. It's always too early to quit on His will, His Word, and His ways. So this morning and over the next couple of weeks we're going to be looking at this thing called the Resilient Christian Life and really kind of laying the foundation this morning about what it means, how it can be developed and how it can be attained. Hebrews chapter 12 beginning in verse number 1. Read it with me in unison. The writer of Hebrews says, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Number one this morning, I think we have to note an endurance race. The resilient Christian life is really an endurance race. All throughout the Bible, we find sports analogies. In 1 Corinthians 9 verses 24 through 27, Paul says, So run that ye may obtain. We're talking about running. Every man that striveth for the mastery, for victory, he's temperate, self-controlled. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly, So fight I, Paul's talking about boxing, not as one that beateth the air, what does he say, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway or disqualified from reward. In Ephesians 6 and verse 12, Paul talks about wrestling, not against flesh and blood, but against the darkness of this world. Really, throughout God's Word, we find sports analogies in the Bible that help us to understand the life that God has called us to. Here in Hebrews chapter 12, as well as what we read in 1 Corinthians, the Christian life is compared to a race. Now, as we consider this race God has given us, I think we have to note the design of the route. This is a race, the Bible says at the end of verse number 1, it is a race that is set before us. You know what that tells me? That I didn't choose, you didn't choose the race that you are running. No, in a lot of ways it is a race that is set before you. Now let me ask you, who set this race before you? Who is the one that designed the route? It is the Lord. It is God. The race that you are running has been set by God for you. Do you remember what Paul said at the end of his life in 2 Timothy chapter 4? He said that I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Friend, I want you to know this morning that God has designed a race for you to run. And that means something significant. That God has somewhere for you to go and that God has something for you to do. You have a purpose here on this earth. The race God has given you has purpose. You say, well, it's not what I would have chosen. Okay. but it's where you've been called. You say, well preacher, I didn't mind the race in my younger years, but now the race is different. I don't feel as well as I used to. I can't do as much as I used to. My life has changed. My health has changed. My family has changed. My finances has changed. I'm going to tell you, the season of your race might have changed, but your race is not over. And the race God has set before you, it is an endurance race. The track or the route may not look like it looked 20 years ago, or 10 years ago, or even 2 months ago. But the fact that you are here on this earth means God still has a race for you to run. You have a purpose. Your route has a purpose. God has designed somewhere for you to go. God has designed something for you to do. And I praise God for this. Though God has designed a route for me to run, I praise God that as I run my race, I don't run it alone. Did you notice this? We're foreseeing we are compassionate out with so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside the sin of every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us and let us, plural, run the race, run with patience the race that is set before us. I praise God that as we run this endurance race called the Christian life, we don't run it alone. We're called to run an endurance race. We see the design of the route that it's of God. We also see the distance of the route. Life's not a sprint. It is a route that we are called to run with patience. You know what the word patience means? The word patience here means endurance. It means endurance. Life is distance running. Life is a marathon. And therefore, life requires resilience. It requires patience, endurance. That word endurance means that we are able to remain under and bear under the weight of the route that God has given us. If you read Hebrews 12 at least four times in this chapter, the writer of Hebrews refers to endurance and patience. The endurance and patience of the Christian, the resiliency that we have to have is a must. How many of us know it's easy to begin with enthusiasm? A lot of people, we begin with enthusiasm. So we did this 5K thing for the school the other weekend. And if you were out there, you saw this to be true. There were a whole bunch of people out on the front of those starting blocks. They were ready, ready, ready. Man, that siren went off. Boom, they were gone. I was like, man, they're going to finish this race in 12 minutes flat. And I'm walking, pushing my stroller. And before I had gone half a mile, I had passed half of them. Why? Because it's easy to start with enthusiasm. You know, we laugh at it physically, but friend, I'm going to tell you, it's easy to start with enthusiasm in the Christian life. Whole lot of people. Boy, I love it. I love church. I love the Word. I love it. I'm going to get fired up. I'm firing for God. I'm going to get in this Word. I'm going to serve. And we're all fired up, and we're running with all our might. And boy, a couple of weeks pass, and we begin to get a little winded. It's easy to start with enthusiasm. Boy, I do a lot of premarital counseling as folks get ready to get married. And can I tell you, in this thing called building a Christian home, it's easy to start with enthusiasm. I tell them all the time, I'm going to tell you things and you're going to think I'm crazy. Because I know you're in love and you're never going to have any problems because you're in love. And if you did ever have any problems, it wouldn't be a big deal because we're in love. And it's going to be wonderful. It's easy to start with enthusiasm, but I'm going to tell you, you've been married, you know, just ask my wife. You get a couple of years into it and that started with enthusiasm. I'm a little bit wore out with you at this point, right? It's easy to start with enthusiasm. You know what we need though? I'm not saying we don't need enthusiasm, but man, we need resilience. We need people who aren't just gonna sprint their first 500 yards and drop out the race. We need people who are gonna run with patience the race that is set before them. And that means it's a long route, and I'm in it for the long haul, and I'm gonna bear under what God has given. It's easy to begin with enthusiasm, but friend, I'm gonna tell you, it's a whole lot harder to run with patience. We see the design of the route that God has laid a route before us. We see the distance of the route. Life's not a sprint. We are called to run with patience, endurance, this marathon God has given us. But I think we also need to note here in verse number one, the decisions of the runner. You know, sometimes it helps to run with patience if you're prepared to run with patience. What does it say? Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us. You see, we as runners are called to lay aside the weights and wickedness that would unnecessarily hold us back or slow us down. In other words, I need to prepare to run the right way. I think about the, I'll use the 5K because it's fresh in my mind. I chose to go to the 5K in jeans. Bad decision. That was a weight. that besetted me. I'm afraid sometimes we hold on to this Christian life, and we hold on to sins, and we allow sins to hold on to us, and we hold on to things that do not help us. They only harm us. They only hinder us. You know, as we consider the endurance race that God has called us, it's time for us to... Every so often, we ought to take an intentional look to make sure that we are prepared as we ought to be to run this race. What did the psalmist say, Psalm 139, beginning in verse 23? He said, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. You know what? You ask God to search you, and try you, and test you, and point things out to you. Guess what? He will. I list those two verses under what I would call a dangerous prayer. Other dangerous prayers is, Lord, teach me patience. Because you know how God teaches patience? He sends problems. God, teach me how to love. Do you know how God teaches you how to love? He sends you somebody unlovely. If it were easy, we wouldn't need to be taught how to do it, amen? This is one of those dangerous prayers. But I'm going to tell you, Lord, I need to be more resilient in my parenting. Lord, search my heart. I'm going to tell you, God will point some things out to you. God, I need to be more resilient in my marriage. Search my heart. I've got to point some things out to you. God, in my Christian life, I don't have the enthusiasm I used to have. I don't have the resolve I used to have. Tell you what, you pray that dangerous prayer and you see God do a marvelous work and begin to point things out in your heart and life. The resilient Christian life. Church, it's not a sprint. It is an endurance race. It's one thing to begin with enthusiasm, it is another thing to run with patience. So you say, well preacher, how do we do that though? Well, the writer tells us. He says, read this next clause, phrase with me. What does it say? So number one, if we're going to have a resilient Christian life, we see that it is an endurance race. But number two, what does the writer of Hebrews point out? That we have to have an enduring reliance. The Bible gives many examples of those who have successfully run their race in faith. In fact, Hebrews chapter 11, the chapter before we're in now, is full of them. Abel, and Abraham, and Noah, and Moses, and all of these men and women who have run their race in faith. All of them beautiful examples. Beautiful examples for us to look to and learn from about how they kept going. How did they keep going when the world hated them, when the world rejected them, when life fell apart? How did they keep going? Beautiful examples. Paul references that, or the writer of Hebrews references that in verse number 1. Wherefore, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Referring back to the examples of Hebrews chapter 11. But I'm going to tell you, for all of the examples we have of those who have successfully run their race in faith, of all of the examples we could look to, there is no greater example than that of Jesus. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. The word look here means to consider attentively, to turn our attention away from other things in order to fix our eyes on one thing. We are to look unto Jesus. I ask you this morning, if you want, I tell you this morning, if you want the resilient Christian life, you're going to have to fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the founder and finisher of our faith, the perfecter. You know, without Jesus, we lack the help we need. Without Jesus, we don't have the hope we need. And I'm grateful for the encouragement of family and friends and the examples of those who've gone before. But if I'm going to have a resilient Christian life, my focus must be on Jesus. The reason being, what we focus on, our feet tend to follow. I'll give you an example. Back in my younger years, I used to run and things like that. From time to time on days like today, I'd go to the gym and I'd run on the treadmill. Run on the treadmill, run on the treadmill. Okay, I'm already tired. The thing about running on the treadmill in the gym is they had a TV that was set off that way. And it was often set to, like, the news or one of those old game show channels. And so me and my ADHD, what would happen? I'd be running, I'd be running, I'd be looking. Huh. Now, with my head pointed this way, what's the problem with that? I would step on the edge of the treadmill and hope nobody was there to check the security film. Why? Because where I focused my eyes, my feet tended to follow. The race God has called us to run is not a sprint. It is an endurance race. And if you and I are going to have a resilient Christian life, if we're going to be able to run with patience, we have to fix our eyes on Jesus. Here's the thing, some of us are focused on the past. And if your eyes are focused on the past, you're stuck. You ain't going anywhere. You're stuck. Some of us this morning, our eyes are focused on pain and problems. And if my focus is on my pain and my problems, then eventually I'm going to stop. I can't do it anymore. It just hurts too much. Some of us, our eyes are focused on pleasure. If our eyes are focused on pleasure, our feet are going to Stray. Some of us, our eyes are focused on people. You know, if your eyes are focused on people, you're always going to struggle. Because here's the thing, even the best of people are still people. They're gonna let you down. They're not gonna be everything you thought they were or you hoped they were. And so if your eyes are on the past, you're stuck. If it's on your pain and problems, friends, you're gonna stop. If you're focused on pleasure, you're gonna stray. If it's on people, you're gonna struggle. But if you put your focus on Jesus, you're gonna find the strength to keep on keeping on. We gotta be like a postage stamp. We got to stick to one thing until we get where we're going. Amen? Jesus is our direction. Just stick with Jesus. Jesus is our deliverance. Just stick with Jesus. Jesus is our destiny. Just stick with Jesus. Let me ask you, how did you get saved this morning? It's not a hard question. It's not a trick question. I promise. Faith in who? Jesus. How do you get saved this morning? Look to Jesus in faith. What did Jesus say in John chapter 3 beginning in verse number 14? Jesus talking to Nicodemus, he says, How do you get saved this morning? You look to Jesus. You look to Him and what He did for you on the cross, you look in faith. How do you get saved? You look to Jesus. You're not going to get saved by looking to a preacher, by looking to a religion, by looking to an ordinance, by looking to a good work, but by looking to Jesus. Where does our sanctification come from? By looking to Jesus. Where does our success come from? By looking to Jesus. Where does our ultimate hope come from? Titus 2 and verse number 13 went backwards on you, Joey. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing. What are we looking for, church? The glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is an enduring reliance. You could simply put it this way, for everything, Jesus. For everything, Jesus. Luke 17 in verse number 5, the apostle said unto the Lord, increase our faith. Looking unto Jesus, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You know what? That means we're going to have to look away from other things. That means we're going to have to look away from other people. Understanding that the key to a resilient Christian life is not always great faith. I don't always feel like my faith is great, do you? The key to resiliency in the Christian life is not always great faith, but it is always faith in a great God. and enduring reliance. The resilient Christian life. Number one, what do we see about it? We see that it is an endurance race. It's not a sprint. We have to run with patience the race that is set before us. Well, I don't like this part of the route. Run with patience. Run with patience. Run with patience. It is an endurance race. Number two, we see that we are called to have what? An enduring reliance, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let's see how this ends. This is looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind. So we have, number one, an endurance race we're called to run. Number two, an enduring reliance we're called to have. But number three, I want you to see that we are pointed forward to an eternal reward. So we are called to look to Jesus. We are called to consider Jesus in the example that he left for us. Recently in one of our midweek services, we looked at like 19 times in the New Testament that Jesus told his followers to simply follow him. So we're told to fix our eyes on him, verse number two, but we're also told to consider him. The word consider means to contemplate, to ponder over, to think about, to meditate on. First John two and verse number six, speaking of Christians, he that saith he abideth in him, that saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself to walk even as he, Jesus, walked. We ought to consider the example he left, and we ought to strive to be like him. You know, as we look at the example of Christ in the New Testament, his example is not a brochure that we draw ideas from. It ought to be a blueprint that we strive to follow to the letter. What does the Bible say in this case about the example of Jesus? In verse number two, it says, for the joy that was set before him He endured the cross and despised the shame. For the joy set before him, church, he endured the cross. You think about the crucifixion and how excruciating that was. You know our English word excruciating, the root of that word actually means from the cross. Think about the fact that before he ever went to the cross, that he was mocked. He was beaten. He was whipped. He had his flesh torn off his back. He had his beard ripped from his face. He was spat upon. He was slapped. He had a crown of thorns beat into his skull. He had a robe put on his raw back and they mocked him. They mocked him. And then they ripped that robe off his raw back and put his own garment back upon him. They had him carry a cross until he physically wasn't able anymore and then they nailed him to it when they got to Golgotha. There they mocked him. He refused any sort of medicinal aid. They wagged their tongues at him and they watched him die. He endured the cross. The Bible says that he despised the shame. The word despise means to think little of or to disesteem. You know, if it were me, and they had told me, if you're really the Son of God, come down off the cross, we'll believe you then. You know what I would have done, Frank Wiesner? I'd have come down off the cross. I'd have killed him. I'd have raised him from the dead, and I'd have killed him again. And I'd have raised him from the dead, and I'd have killed him again! And I'd have said, what else you got to say? But Jesus didn't do that. He despised, he disesteemed, he thought little of the shame. In other words, the example that Jesus left, Jesus did not magnify the problem. Jesus in his mind did not magnify the pain. Rather, Jesus in his mind, he magnified the prize. Who for the joy that was set before him. What was the joy that was set before him? Well, the Bible tells us, look at Isaiah 53 and verse number 11. This beautiful Old Testament passage about the crucifixion of Christ. The Bible says, he shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. For He shall bear their iniquities. So what was that satisfaction that Jesus looked forward to? That joy that Jesus looked forward to? It was the fact that by His death and then subsequent resurrection that you and I could be saved. That we could be saved. That our sins could be washed away. That we could be born into the family of God. And that we could be with Him for all eternity. Consider the example of Jesus this morning. He could have quit. He could have quit. By the way, I think it bears acknowledging that his humanity did not want the cross. Do you remember what Jesus prayed in the garden? He said, Father, if it be possible, if it be possible, what did he pray? Let this cup pass from me. I don't want it. He could have called 10,000 angels. He could have just walked away. But I'm so glad that he didn't quit. That for the joy that was set before him, because from that garden and then from that cross, Jesus could look across the annals of time and he could see folks just like you and I, saved by the blood of the crucified one, gathered in this place, singing his praises on our way to sweet Beulah land. And for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. He despised the shame. He could have quit, but I'm so glad he didn't quit. You see, resilience and the resilient Christian life is not the absence of pain and problems. By the way, everybody has pain and problems. I don't care how much money you have. You have pain and problems. I don't care how little money you have, you have pain and problems. I don't care how old you are, you have pain and problems. I don't care how young you are, you have pain and problems. The longer I live and the more I hear people's stories, I am amazed at the fact, at the depth of the pain and problems people have. Resiliency is not about the absence of pain and problems, but it is the perseverance in spite of them. Trials and tribulations are unavoidable. By the way, you'll appreciate this. In verse number one, where it talks about let us run with patience the race that is set before us. You know the Greek word for race there is agona, which we get our English word agony. Yes, running is agony. And all of God's sane people said amen and amen. The word race here is agona, which means agony. By the way, you go back and you look at the pictures of people running that 5K, I promise you this, they were only smiling when they saw a camera. Only smiling when they saw a camera. Trials and tribulations are unavoidable. But the example of Jesus teaches us the principle of delayed gratification. That whatever pain there is, it is worth it for the greater purpose that God has given. that it is worth it to run the race that is set before you. It is worth it to follow Christ. It is worth it to live for His glory. And friend, it does require delayed gratification. I have to say no to my flesh. I have to say yes to the Spirit. I have to not do things that I would do otherwise. I have to do new things that I wouldn't do otherwise. It requires delayed gratification. But this kind of delayed gratification provides the ultimate gratification. Because I'm going to tell you, there is nothing like fruit of faithfulness. Of it being hard, but you sickened with it, and because you stuck with it, you saw what God did through it. You know, you don't get that if you quit early. Because there is an ultimate gratification to the fruit of faithfulness. To hearing, well done, thou good and faithful servant. To getting a victor's crown there. Christian, I'm not saying it's not hard. You know, we have a natural aversion to pain, don't we? Went to the dentist this week. I don't like the dentist. He had to work on some teeth. So I went, and I sat down. And then, like, the dentist chair had, like, a massage back to it. You would think, oh, that's nice. No, it wasn't. Because I was so tense in that chair. I wasn't massaging nothing. It was like, knee in the back, knee in the back, knee in the back. So I'm like, knee in the back, knee in the back, knee in the back. And he's like, yeah, in the mouth. It was awful. I hated it. I hated it. And then he numbs me up. And he's like, I think that should be good. And then he starts drilling. And I go, huh! So he stopped and numbed me up some more. I was numb through about here. It was fantastic. I wasn't even sure I was blinking for the next four hours. It was awful. We have a natural aversion to pain, do we not? Life is hard. Following Jesus can be hard. Saying no to my flesh can be hard. Sticking with it is hard. It can also be humbling. But I'm gonna tell you, when we follow God, when we run the race, when we stick with it, when we say, I'm gonna follow God, I'm gonna serve God, we're gonna do our best to have a godly home, a godly marriage, godly kids, I'm gonna be a steward of what God's given me, it might be hard, but friend, it's worth it. You know, one of the examples that Jesus in the Bible uses on a number of occasions to illustrate this principle of delayed gratification is that of pregnancy and childbirth. Look what Jesus said to his followers in John 16, beginning in verse number 21. A woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow, because her hour has come. My wife's had four kids. I don't, yeah, good, thank you, thank you, thank you. But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish. for joy that a man is born into the world. Jesus said, And ye now therefore have sorrow. But take heart, Christian, but I will see you again. And your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh away from you. It is worth it to live for Jesus. And there is coming a day There is coming a day when the children of God will stand before their sweet Savior. And every one of us will say without a doubt and without hesitation that it was worth it all to live for Jesus. Jesus teaches us therefore the resilient have to learn to see the prize beyond the pain. To learn to see beyond what's going on right in front of us. I love this quote. I don't know who it's by, but it's good, so I'll give it to you. A little faith can take your soul to heaven, but a living faith can help bring heaven to your soul. I think of Paul and Silas in that jail at midnight, beaten, thrown into the innermost prison, possibly, for all they know, facing execution the next day. And what did they do? They began to sing and praise God. Anybody can sing when the lights are on. Anybody can sing when the sun is shining. Friend, look to Jesus. Consider Him. You can always be faithful to Him because He was and is always faithful to you. I'm gonna tell you, there's something deep down in our souls and we know this is true. It is always too early to quit on God. It is always too early to quit on His Word and His will. Always too early to quit on His giftings. And I'm gonna tell you, if we're gonna run the race that is set before us, resiliency is required. Musicians are coming and I'm closing this morning. I'm gonna tell you, there's some that are running this morning and you say, you know what preacher, I'm running but I'm weary. I'm so tired. I am so, so tired. Long past is the day when I began with enthusiasm. Friend, this morning, if you are weary, lift your head. Look to Jesus. Some of us this morning say, you know, I've been running this race, but I've actually kind of been wandering. I haven't been doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I have been chasing other things. To the wandering, I say there's no better day to get back on track than today. It's time to get up. And it's time to get going. This morning, we speak of the resilient Christian life, but maybe this morning you're not a Christian. You're not a Christian because you come to church no more than when you go to your garage, you become a car. We are a Christian because we have put our faith and trust in Jesus, His death and resurrection for us. This morning, you may not be running the Christian race at all because you're not a Christian. I got good news. The Lord invites you to come and put your faith in Him and to receive salvation and forgiveness of sins. We're gonna stand together this morning and we're gonna have what's called a time of invitation where you are invited to come and respond. Maybe this morning you need to come get saved. Maybe this morning you just need to come and look on Jesus. Maybe this morning you need to come get back on track. Hey, I'm gonna tell you, it is worth it, it is worth it, it is worth it to live for Him. Maybe this morning you need to come and pray with somebody, have somebody pray with you. We'll have counselors here at the front who'd be happy to do that with you. Whatever you need this morning, Jesus is that answer. As God has spoken to you, would you respond to Him?
The Resilient Christian Life
លេខសម្គាល់សេចក្ដីអធិប្បាយ | 5425139156362 |
រយៈពេល | 38:24 |
កាលបរិច្ឆេទ | |
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អត្ថបទព្រះគម្ពីរ | ហេព្រើរ 12:1-3 |
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