Becoming Faithful,
Consistent Christians
Galatians 5:1
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
4 Jan, 2009
AM
I.
Introduction (Galatians 5:1)
A.
Through the past year, we have
learned about humbling ourselves
1.
Bowing the knee
2.
Yielding to God, obeying His
word, doing His will in your lives
3.
It has been awesome
4.
That’s where the Christian
life begins. Not in pride, and self-sufficiency, but in brokenness, and honesty
and fear of God
5.
We have learned about worship
and dependency and discipleship
6.
All because we learned how to
humble ourselves!
B.
This morning begins a new
focus – To Stand Fast!
1.
Many a man has bowed the knee
in humility, only to return to being a self-centred, egotistical, jerk
2.
Most of us have made decisions
to get right, and to do right, only to forget that decision within a few weeks
3.
I read of a report on the
commitment of 50,000 young people who had made a pledge to wait until marriage
to have sex. Five years later, over 80% of them could not even remember making
that vow.
4.
Many Christians may be born
again, but lack commitment to…
a.
Their marriage
b.
To their children
c.
To their church
d.
To their job – no matter how
unimportant
e.
To their walk with God – so
flippant!
C.
There has
1.
Oh there have been times when
it was easy to fake it – to act like you were praying and depending upon God –
everyone thought you were so spiritual, but you weren’t!
2.
There have been times when
things were good enough that you thought you didn’t really need God’s help
3.
But to live godly, and to walk
with God, and to do right… well, that has
4.
It is referred to as the
strait and narrow way for a reason!
D.
So, How does a person get
right, and more importantly, STAY right with God? Is it even possible?
E.
God’s word says it is, and
this year, we are going to learn how!
II.
Message
A.
The Meaning of “Standing Fast”.
1.
To
stay standing against all pressures –
and there are plenty of them in life
2.
To hold your position and not
give up, or back down, even though you may want to!
3.
To be obstinate, to not yield.
We usually associate this attitude of “not backing down” with rebellion and
stubbornness, but this is one time when stubbornness is something that is GOOD
to develop and have a good supply of as a Christian!
4.
To be consistent, unmoveable
from our course and direction
5.
To be steady, firm and
unwavering in direction – like a ship in a storm
6.
No longer fearful of any
enemy, but ready for whatever comes our way
7.
This is one of the most
important visible and verifiable characteristics of a Christian (Acts 11:22,23;
2:41,42)
a.
Faithful
b.
Consistent
c.
Dependable
d.
Unwavering in their life
e.
No longer doubting
f.
No longer fearful
g.
Just focused on running one
race, and running it well!
8.
EXAMPLE:
a.
They guard the queen
b.
Thousands of people pass by
them every hour
c.
Some making faces
d.
Some saying hurtful things
e.
They just stand, and stay
standing
f.
g.
h.
Rain, shine, snow, storm
i.
They stand, and they stay
standing
9.
The idea is that you have
moved away from bondage into liberty, and should stay there!
a.
It is like a nation becoming
free from the oppression of another, controlling nation
b.
The new nation is not free to
live in anarchy, but free from their enemies, and now must stand and stay free
from themselves – so they set up a new government
10.
The “therefore” is linking us
back to the truths in chapter 4 of
a.
We were under guilt and
condemnation of the law – there was no escaping it
b.
But Christ redeemed us from
the law – paid our debt, completely
B.
Our
1.
Christians have a liberty, a
freedom that is beyond chains, and prisons, and slavery
2.
It is called the “glorious
liberty” of the sons of God (Rom 8:21)!
3.
Anyone who has ever been freed
from bondage knows just how wonderful freedom is
a.
Just try and live under Islam
b.
Just try and live under
Communism
c.
When a person has been freed
from that tyranny, they will tell you just how wonderful liberty really is –
what many of us take for granted!
4.
What was our bondage?
a.
Many are in bondage to their
religion – and they hate it. Penances (
b.
Many are in bondage to a
dependence on drink and drugs and friends to make them seem happy
c.
Many are in bondage to their
past failures
d.
Many are in bondage to their
relationships – locked into a bad marriage, having angry parents, or not having
a wife or a husband
e.
Many arer in bondage to bad
habits and attitudes, depression
5.
What is a Christian’s liberty?
a.
Not that we can now drink, and
do drugs, and do anything we want – that is not liberty – that is stupidity
b.
But that we have been made
free from our dependency on all of those things for life
c.
It is like having to be on a
life-support machine, or an iron lung, and them being cured, and made free from
having to rely on that thing to live
d.
Before salvation, everyone of
us depended on something or someone other than God for life
1)
Your friends
2)
Your coffee
3)
Your evening “stout”
4)
Drugs, both prescription and
illegal drugs
5)
Your family
6)
Your job
7)
Your religious traditions –
without them, you had nothing – no god, and no faith!
e.
If you lost any of that, you
would have died!
6.
Then came Jesus!
a.
He didn’t just “set” you free
– He MADE you free (John 8:32,38)
b.
Free from sin’s penalty – the
most serious problem facing humanity today is the debt they owe to God, and the
eternity in hell it will take to pay it all off
c.
Free from sin’s penalty – free
from its grip and dominion over your life, and your mind!
d.
Free to live under God now, by
His GRACE!!!
1)
We were servants of Satan –
even though we didn’t know it
2)
Now, every believer, follower,
is a servant of God
3)
There is no middle ground
e.
Hey! Thankfully, one day soon,
when we do die, we will finally be free from sin’s presence! AMEN!
C.
Our Foundation That We Stand On
- “Christ has made us free”
1.
Freedom doesn’t just happen
a.
Someone has to die on a
battlefield somewhere to purchase freedom and liberty
b.
That someone was Jesus Christ
- Not any apostle, or saint, or angel, or pope
2.
Our freedom therefore is
because of Jesus Christ
a.
It was Jesus Christ who lived
perfectly under God’s law – the only one, so don’t think you will ever be good
enough!
b.
It was Jesus Christ who died,
and then rose again
c.
It was Jesus Christ who said,
to come unto Him, to follow Him, to believe on Him
d.
Why people would want to
believe anything else is beyond my understanding!
3.
Hey! Stand Fast on Jesus
Christ
a.
You get to heaven by trusting
Him – tickets paid for in full, and handed out to all who believe
b.
You get the victory over every
sin by holding onto that faith. By
c.
Stay standing against all
pressures to go back to the old ways
d.
Hold your new position as a
Christian on the job, or in your home and never give up, or back down.
e.
Be consistent, unmoveable from
your new course and direction
f.
My hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
g.
On Christ the solid Rock I
stand, all other ground is SINKING SAND
h.
Do you have little faith,
wavering faith – settle it all on Jesus!
4.
Jesus Christ is THE ROCK (1Cor
3:10,11)
a.
He is faithful
b.
He is consistent – no shadow
of turning, the same yesterday, today and forever
c.
He is dependable
d.
He will
e.
He will
f.
He cannot stop loving you
g.
THAT is Someone worth building
your life upon!
D.
Our Tendency – “Be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage”
1.
We do fall back, give up,
fail, give in to temptation don’t we?
2.
Every soldier knows that every
battle is not just about gaining a piece of ground, but HOLDING IT AS WELL
3.
If you do not decide to STAY
FREE, you will find yourself back under the bondage of whatever sin used to
control you
4.
If you don’t take your life
seriously, you will only lose ground as a Christian (1Peter 5:8,9)
5.
Here is a wonderful practical
truth (Proverbs 24:16)
a.
None of us are able –
sufficient
b.
None of us will always stay
straight, and right, and never waver
c.
But, just as with driving, you
may “drift” from time to time, but that does not mean that you should just let
yourself “crash” 2 to 3 times a week!
d.
If you do “drift” or sway a
bit, repent, and get back in your lane
e.
Get back to obeying the word
of God, and praying for God’s grace, and living free once again!
f.
So, you have no excuse
g.
God is commanding us not to be
perfect here, but to strive to stay free
E.
Our Resolve – So, “Stand fast”
1.
This is the second greatest
decision we will ever make
a.
More important than choosing
our career
b.
More important than choosing
our mate, spouse
2.
Two decisions in one
a.
To become faithful,
consistent, steadfast, to stay the course
b.
To not become enslaved again –
stay clear, way away from the traps
3.
Two Examples
a.
Shammah (2Samuel 23:11,12)
b.
The
1)
Acts 26:16
2)
Acts 20:24
3)
2Tim 4:7
4)
At what price? (2Cor 4:8-11;
11:21-30)
4.
It doesn’t come naturally, or
easily
5.
It comes by a choice – a
determined decision to first GET free, and then STAY free!
6.
Every day begging God for help
to stay on course, to do right, to live like Christ lived, to stay free from
a.
Bitterness, and anger, and
depression
b.
Cigarettes, drink, laziness,
late night TV watching
c.
7.
Hey! Christ made every
believer free from each and every one of those sins – the question will always
be… do we want to STAY FREE?!
III.
Application – How to Get and Stay Free in Christ
A.
Reject Your Own Good Works –
it is not in you to free yourself
B.
Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ – become “born again”
1.
The thief did not get baptised
2.
The thief did not confess all
his sins
3.
The thief did not do any
penances
4.
The thief did not join a
church
5.
The thief on the cross, next
to Jesus, just believed that Jesus had not been defeated by death, but that He
was Lord and Saviour, and that thief wanted Jesus to save him right then and
there on that cross!!!
6.
THAT makes you free! THAT
MAKES YOU FREE! That MAKES you FREE!
7.
Get it in your head that
BELIEVING, fully, simply in Jesus Christ, putting absolutely all of your faith,
no matter how small, onto the only Person who ever loved you unconditionally,
and died for you vicariously, makes you free indeed!
8.
Believing means trusting Him
and loving His completely
C.
NOW start disciplining
yourself (1Cor 9:25-27)
1.
It was wasted effort before
salvation
2.
Now it is the most important
part of your life – creating good habits
3.
Many of you ARE born again,
but you are not “staying free” you are not “standing fast”. Still headed to
heaven, but you constantly lose rewards, and are constantly being chastened of
the Lord for sins in your life that don’t have to be there!
4.
Discipline yourself to do the
following:
a.
Get out of bed and pray every,
every, every morning
b.
Read one chapter in your Bible
in the morning, and one at night – bare minimum
c.
Stop talking, and start
listening, and learning
d.
Praise God and thank God for
absolutely everything that happens in your life, AND for everything that doesn’t
happen in your life!
e.
Get faithful in church, Sunday
morning, evening, and Wednesday evening
f.
Get into a ministry in this
church serving others
D.
Become accountable
1.
Have someone you talk to and
are honest with
2.
More than a friend or a buddy
3.
Someone that you will allow to
speak for God, and rebuke you, and help you when you are struggling, or have
fallen
IV.
Conclusion
A.
This morning we have a new
focus for the entire year – To Stand Fast!
B.
To live godly, and to walk
with God, and to do right… consistently, faithfully
C.
This morning we have learned The Meaning of “Standing Fast”.
1.
It is one of the most
important visible and verifiable characteristics of a Christian
2.
Believers have moved away from
bondage into liberty, and should stay there!
D.
This morning we have learned just how free we are - Our
1.
Christians have a liberty, a
freedom that is beyond chains, and prisons, and slavery
2.
It is called the “glorious
liberty” of the sons of God (Rom 8:21)!
a.
Not that we can now drink, and
do drugs, and do anything we want – that is not liberty – that is stupidity
b.
But that we have been made
free from our dependency on all of those things for life
c.
Jesus didn’t just “set” you
free – He MADE you free (John 8:32,38)
1)
Free from sin’s penalty – the
most serious problem facing humanity today is the debt they owe to God, and the
eternity in hell it will take to pay it all off
2)
Free from sin’s power (Rom
6:14,20,22,23) – free from its grip and dominion over your life, and your mind!
3)
Free to live under God now
E.
This morning we have learned about the Foundation That We
Stand On
- “Christ has made us free”
1.
Someone purchased freedom and
liberty with His own blood – Jesus!
2.
So! Stand Fast on Jesus Christ
3.
He is THE ROCK to build your
life upon, to base all your decisions and choices on because
a.
He is faithful
b.
He is consistent – no shadow
of turning, the same yesterday, today and forever
c.
He is dependable
d.
He will
e.
He will
f.
He cannot stop loving you
g.
THAT is Someone worth building
your life upon!
F.
This morning we have learned about Our Tendency to Fail
– and we have been encouraged that we can start over, and get up again, and go
G.
This morning We all Need to Make a Decision
– To “Stand fast”
1.
It doesn’t come naturally, or
easily
2.
It comes by a choice – a
determined decision to first GET free, and then STAY free!
3.
Every day begging God for help
to stay on course, to do right, to live like Christ lived, to stay free from
a.
Bitterness, and anger, and
depression
b.
Cigarettes, drink, laziness,
late night TV watching
c.
4.
Hey! Christ made every
believer free from each and every one of those sins – the question will always
be… do we want to STAY FREE?!
Craig Ledbetter | Pastor |