Overcoming Marginal Living
-Several months ago Robin and I were sitting in the living room one night and all of a sudden there was a big thump! We went into Zoe’s room to check it out and she had fallen out of bed. She was fine. We helped her back in and she didn’t even remember it in the morning. I think that has happened more than once.
-Well, I also read another story of a little boy who fell out of bed one night. When his mom asked him what happened, he answered, “I don’t know. I guess I stayed too close to where I got in.” It is easy to do the same with our faith. It’s tempting just to stay near the edge where we got in and never move.
-The word marginal is an interesting word. Just like a letter that you write has margins around the outside, the word marginal refers to being on the outer edge of something; living on or near a borderline, rather than near the center or interior. Marginal can also refer to something that is close to the lower limits of quality or acceptability; barely exceeding the minimum requirements.
-Growth is the goal of the Christian. If a child ceased to develop, how would most parents react? Would they be concerned? Of course! Doctors would be called. Tests would be run. The lack of growth means that something is wrong. When a Christian stops growing, help is needed. If you are the same Christian you were a few months ago, be careful. You might be wise to get a checkup. Not on your body, but on your heart. Don’t get a physical, get a spiritual!
2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” Let that be said of Christian Life Center! Let our faith be growing, and our love increasing!
-I’d like to for us to look at 4 keys from the Bible that can help us move away from the margins and continue to grow as close to Jesus as possible (these were borrowed from Lee McCloud who shared them a few months ago):
I. Develop the habit of Prayer
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
-Spend time talking to God every day about life.
-Jesus Himself spent time talking with His Father in heaven. If He, the Son of God, needed to pray, don’t you think we do too?
-Now let me just clarify that you don’t have to do it like anybody else. If you like to do it first thing in the morning, that is great! That works for a lot of people. However, I also know people who do a lot of praying on the go. They really live the verse that says to pray without ceasing.
-If your prayers do not spill over into your everyday life, then they might remain somewhat artificial. One of the first things I did after shooting my elk this past week (after I made sure it fit the description on my tag) was talk to God and thank Him for blessing me with a successful hunt.
-Talk with the Lord about what you are feeling. Talk with Him and ask Him to show you areas in your life that need to change. Then ask Him for His help to make those changes. Share your life with God through prayer! He knows what you are going through, but He likes to hear about it and help you learn to see things the way He sees them. Prayer changes us; Prayer changes circumstances; Prayer changes hearts! Growing people are praying people!
Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Jesus was showing that God responds to those who cry out to Him continually. Hebrews 11 also says that God rewards those who diligently seek Him.
-So, prayer is a key that will get us away from the margins, taking us deeper and deeper into a close relationship with the Lord.
II. Develop the habit of Study
James 1:25 “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does.”
-Get to know the ways of God by studying the Manual (Bible) every day of your life.
-You don’t have to be a scholar to study the Bible. I truly believe that God can and will speak to the simplest heart through His word. And yet we do have a responsibility to dig in and try to understand what God is saying to us through the Bible.
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Maybe you heard about The Hill-Billy who thought he knew his Bible really well!
-Once there was a hill-billy who thought he was called to preach. When he spoke to the brethren at Church, they told him that he would have to submit to an examination, to which he readily agreed.
"Brother Fraley, can you read," he was asked.
"Yes, I can read readin', but I can't read writin'," was his answer.
"Well, do you know your Bible?"
"Yes, I shore 'nouf do; in fact, I am pretty good in the Bible. I know my Bible from lid to lid, from kivver to kivver, and from Generations to Revolutions."
"What part of the Bible do ya like best?"
"Well sir, I like the New Textamint."
"What book then do ya like best?"
"I like the book of Parables."
"Which of the parables do you like best?"
"I like the parable of the Good Cemeterian the best."
"Well, tell us about the Good Samaritan."
"Once upon a time a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho
and fell among thorns and they grew up and choked him. So he went
on and didn't have any money and met the Queen of Sheba who gave
him a thousand talents of gold earrings and 100 chances on a
horse. He got into his chariot and drove furiously and while he
was driving under a tree, his hair caught among the limbs and he
hung there three days and three nights. The ravens brought him
food to eat and water to drink. One night while he was hanging
there, his wife came along and cut his hair, and he fell on the
stony ground where it rained forty days and forty nights. He hid
himself in a cave where he met a man who said 'come have supper
with me' to whom he said 'I have married a wife and cannot come
now.' So the man went into the highways and byways and compelled
him to come and have supper with him. After supper, he went into
Jericho and sitting in a high window was Jezebel. When she saw
him, she laughed, and they flang her down from the window. And
they flang her down, and they flang her down some more. They
flang her down some more, until 70 times 70 and seven times more,
and the fragments they picked up were 12 baskets shook down for
good measure full. Now whose wife is she going to be in the
judgment because she brake in pieces and multiplied? Amen and
Hallelujah!"
-Well, the brethren made him the Pastor of the church due to his comprehensive grasp of Scripture.
-Folks, please… develop the habit of study! Learn to value God’s word as our source of truth, guidance, and wisdom. God’s words bring life to us, so let’s stay connected with God through the habit of study. That will help us get past the margins and into the heart of all that God has for us.
III. Develop the habit of Giving
1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income…
-Give back to God from your money, time and talents. After all, God gave these things to you in the first place. Giving helps us overcome selfishness. Giving helps us remember that God is our Provider. Giving reminds us that physical wealth is temporary, but the rewards of generosity last forever!
-So, we should make it a regular habit to give the first portion of our income and blessings to the Lord. But let me also say that it isn’t just about giving money. It is interesting that Jesus uses receiving and giving to show that we need to share the good news that we can do life with God. Matthew 10:7-8 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
-What do you have to give? Love, care, hospitality, prayer for the sick and the oppressed, your presence- just being there for someone, your gifts of serving, teaching, leading, encouraging, providing or contributing, speaking the truth in love, showing compassion or mercy, etc. We all have something to give!
-So, do you want to move past the doorway and go on into the house? Do you want to get past the margins? Learn to be a giver! Give of your material blessings and give of yourself!
IV. Develop the habit of Fellowship
NLT Hebrews 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
-Hang out often with others who are moving forward and growing in their faith walk so you can be encouraged and so you can encourage others. You need God’s family and God’s family needs you! There are so many blessings that flow through relationship with others who love God and are following Him!
-One of my desires as your Pastor is to see everyone involved in a small group sometime during the week apart from Sunday. That is where growth happens most often – in a small group where people can get real with one another, listen to one another, and pray for and encourage one another. If a group doesn’t exist yet that would meet your schedule or needs, maybe God will use you to start one! The point is, let’s grow! Let’s get in all the way and make sure we are not making God a peripheral part of our lives! Chances are, if we are living close to the margins in relation to God and His people, then maybe we are keeping God on the margins of our life as well.
Conclusion
Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in God's love (not in the margins of) as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
-Prayer, Study, Giving, and Fellowship: these 4 habits are worth having. Isn’t it good to know that some habits are good for you? Make them a part of your day each day and grow. Don’t make the mistake of the little boy. Don’t stay too close to where you got in. It’s risky resting on the edge. You don’t have to be on the outside looking in. Come on in! The water’s fine!
-There is a song by a guy named Matthew West called Through the Motions. I’d like to play it as we close. “I don’t want to spend one more day without your all consuming passion inside of me….”
Song: I don’t want to go through the motions (Matthew West)
