Lashed To The Mast - Standing Firm Amidst The Storms Of Life

Here are some numbers that might shock you this morning. According to Stats Canada 8.7 million fewer Canadians now identify themselves with Protestant churches than they did 10 years ago. That is a staggering number! For every new church which opens its doors for worship, three more close their doors for the very last time. Only 19% of Canadians attend a church of any description on a weekly basis and less than 1% of churches that are growing are doing so from conversions. To put that in perspective … out of every 1000 churches in Canada that report they are growing in numbers, only 10 of those would be growing because they are seeing people coming to faith and being saved. The other 990 that report growth would be growing from transfer growth – Christians switching between churches or moving into the area. What has happened? The church has become secular and Christians have become secularized and as a result we have lost our ability to reach out into the world around us. Instead of transforming society, the church, in many respects, has been transformed by society! To our shame, and to the detriment of the glory of God, many Christians today live lives remarkably similar to those of the society they are supposed to be reaching out to with the Gospel of God’s grace.

So where does that leave us? The Sirens are singing and Christians are flocking to their songs; how do we reverse these trends, how do we stand firm, how do we lash ourselves to the mast so that we do not heed the empty promises of the Siren’s Songs? Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 3 beginning in verse 12 … The apostle Paul writes these words …

Not that I have already obtained all this, [and when he says “this” he’s referring to all the fullness of Christ] or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. [These are those who have answered the Siren’s call.] Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord. - Philippians 3:12-4:1