THE NEXT STEP: FOLLOWING JESUS INTO THE UNKNOWN
Phil. 3:12-14 (P832) Jan. 9, 2011
INTRODUCTION
Philippians, as well as Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians were written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome. He would spend 2 years stuck in this Roman dungeon.
He wasn't in prison because he'd broken any law…he was in prison because of his allegiance to Jesus….His claims of Jesus as the messiah, his preaching about the resurrection and that Jesus was the only way stirred up riots among the Jews…and in turn he was arrested for causing them.
He'd been beaten with Jewish lasher, he'd been stuck with Roman rods, he'd been stoned and left for dead, and now he was imprisoned for his faith.
He wrote these words to the Corinthians
"We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed." (2 Cor. 4:8,9)
He felt stress, he didn't understand what was happening at times, insulted and abused by people, lonely and discouraged.
But he would not stop…He would not quit, even while locked in prison he kept moving forward with purpose.
Right before our text in Philippians, Paul writes these words…they are the motivations of his heart.
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection." (Phil 4:10)
and our text makes it very clear he doesn't believe he's there yet…He hasn't attained it, been made perfect, completed the task that God has called him to do.
Satan has done everything possible to stop this man of God, including a physical--struggle (Paul calls a "thorn in the flesh")----and instead of stopping this man of faith its hardened his resolve…he presses on.
Our theme for this next year at Fern Creek Christian Church is "The Next Step: Following Jesus into the unknown" and it is my prayer that every single person that has anything to do with this body of believers is challenged to take their next step in Christ.
For some of you it will be.
I THE FIRST STEP OF FAITH
Maybe you’ve been curious about spiritual stuff, or wondered if there is more to life than making yourself happy. Maybe you believe in God, or at least some higher being than yourself. 1.
Well if your in that place please let me share with you an important truth…God created you for a relationship with him.
He has placed within the human heart a desire for Him…It's a spark he wants to ignite into a flame and it’s a spark Satan wants to extinguish at all costs.
Proverbs 11:28 says "A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God shaped life is a flourishing tree.
If you want to find the answers for your life you will never discover them in a mirror. You were made by God and for God and until you understand that life will never make sense.
[Dr. Hugh Moorehead, a philosophy professor at Northeastern Ill. university wrote to 2 of the best known philosophers, scientists, writers and intellectuals in the world asking them "what is the meaning of life?" He then published their responds in a book…some offered their best guesses, some offered that they just made up a purpose for life---and others were honest and said they had no clue. In just a number of the intellectuals asking Prof. Moorehead to write back and tell them if he discovered the purpose of life.}
God has not left us to wonder and guess about what step we should take to discover what life is all about. He's planned it with purpose. He will not force us to step towards Him.. but He will draw us…call us…pull our hearts.
Ephesians 1:11 says "In Him, we were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in the conformity with the purpose of his will"
If you want to discover who you are and your purpose in life it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ.
God was thinking about you long before you thought about him. His plan for your life predicts your conception…you may get to choose your mate, your career, your hobbies, your friends, but you don't get to choose your purpose. God's already done that and is calling you to fulfill it in Christ.
The Apostle Paul caught it "To know Christ and the power of his resurrection"
And once he stepped towards Jesus that spark became an illuminating fire---it would not be extinguished by beatings, discouragements or prison.
[Andrei Bitov, a Russian Novelist grew up under an atheistic communist regime. But God got his attention one dreary day. He recalls, "In my 27th year while riding the Metro in Leningrad now St. Petersburg) I was overcome with despair so great that life seemed to stop at once, preempting the future entirely let alone any meaning. Suddenly, all by
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itself, a phrase appeared…"Without God life makes no sense" Repeating it was
astonishment, I rode the phrase up like a moving staircase, got out of the metro and walked into God's light.]
What is my life all about…why am I here…I'm completely confused and in the dark…what's my next step?
WALK TOWARD THE LIGHT
But what if I'm already a believer? What if I've already gave my life to Christ? What's my next step?
I believe with all my heart our next step is
II THE ONE THAT HELPS US WALK LIKE JESUS
I'm going to ask you something really important right now? And the answer will help you understand why you are growing in Christ or why you're not, or never have.
Why did you just become a Christian? I'm really serious about you digging deep into your memory and your heart.
And this is tough…because most people in the American Church give theirs lives to Christ when their in the 4th-5th grade.
We toss around this phrase called "The age of accountability…when we understand sin…and that it's wrong because God says its wrong…not because Mommy and Daddy said its wrong.
But have you ever noticed the New Testament never records children giving their life to Christ. I know it mentions Cornelius and his family, the Philippians jailer and his family, but never a child specifically.
And before you get too mad at me I'm not saying children can't know what sin is, and that God has sent his son to save them, and baptism is a union with Christ's death, burial and resurrection---and new life comes because of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
But….The Only, reason the New Testament records someone becoming a Christian for is….ready….drum roll please "Surrender to Christ as Lord"
Not to please friends at camp, or to make Mommy and Daddy smile, or to eat the juice and bread when its passed.
So back to the Question I started with…"why did you become a Christian"
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If it was to keep from going to Hell, or to be part of the Church or because it was expected…maybe that will answer the question about why you've never grown in Christ, or aren't willing to take the next step. It's hard to take the next step of surrender…if you've never taken the first step of surrender. Your desire has to be "I want to walk like Jesus before you can follow in His steps.
But maybe you really did surrender whole heartedly. You died to self and rose to walk in Christ…and you're "stuck"
You let weeds grow and they've chocked out the abundant life. You took a break for self… and all of a sudden that small selfish break has become "a lifestyle"…and you still call yourself a Christian but you hardly ever think about daily following him.
Your next step is to wake up…from into a flame that sparks, and removes the basket that covers your light. Maybe you've partnered with the dark, and that influence is snuffing out Christ's light.
Paul tell the Ephesians - Eph. 5: 7-17 (p829)
Everything we do this next year t Fern Creek will move from a ferns belief…that whether you are outside of Christ, or He is your Lord there is a next step…that God's purpose is for us to walk in faith and not by sight…to following Jesus into the unknown..
It's time to press on…to forget what is behind and step towards our purpose in life, that which Christ Jesus took hold of us to fulfill. Our goal….heaven…we haven't reached it…were not there yet.
Welcome to the journey…I'll leave you with one last quote…One I think the apostle Paul would have liked. Charles C. West said,
" We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them…:
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