“Wrecked out Faith”
1 Timothy 1:18-20
Intro: Have you ever laid on an inner tube or one of those little floaties on a lake or the ocean? And just laid back closed your eyes and relaxed? The next thing you know the voices and sounds of the beach begin to grow faint and distant. Then when you look up you realize you’ve drifted what seems to be half way across the lake or about a mile into the ocean. When your laying their relaxing with your eyes closed or even open for that matter starring at the sky, it doesn’t seem like your moving. It’s not that you tried to drift or even wanted to, but without an anchoring device of some sort thee is nothing to stop the current from moving you away from your desired location. Has that ever happened to you on a spiritual level? You just kick back and relax thinking everything is ok and the next thing you know the voice of God seems to grow faint, and you feel distant from the people in the church. Most of us don’t drift on purpose. DRIFT – to wander from a set course or point of attention; stray. It’s easy in our relationship with God for our point of attention to be turned away from God to other things. What this happens it’s almost impossible to keep ourselves from drifting off course spiritually. Then when we discover we’ve drifted we wonder, how on earth did this happen?
Now if you will rethink with me this illustration and put yourself on an inner tube going down a river of roaring rapids covered with large rocks. Which will you do you think will require more attention and concentration to stay safely afloat? God sends battles into our lives to keep us focused on our relationship with Him. It’s impossible to sleep and fight at the same time.
Heb 2:1-4
2:1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Illustration: As a child I was fascinated with of all things, junkyards! It always intrigued me to think about how all those cars in the junkyards were at one time someone’s new cars. There was a time when they were driven off the lot brand new, shinning with that new car smell, and a proud owner behind the wheel. The cars that now sit in junkyards are not fulfilling their purposes for which they were made. God also has created us for a purpose. But for many of us we are not fulfilling our purposes that God has created us for. Now I’m not saying your junk, because I agree with the bumper sticker that says, “God don’t make junk.” I do believe however that to many professing Christians have wrecked out their faith, and see themselves in a hopeless situation.
Transition: This morning we are going to look at how to avoid spiritual shipwreck, and what to do in the aftermath of wrecked out faith.
(v.19) “Holding on to faith” continuing to believe the truth.
“And a good conscience” a good conscience serves as the rudder that steers the believer through the rocks of sin and error. The false teachers ignored their consciences and the truth, and as a result, suffered shipwreck. A person with a good conscience isn’t necessarily a person who is perfect, but it is a person who has been forgiven. The Bible also refers to this as Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.
2 Cor 7:9-10
10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Judas and Peter are perfect illustrations of this truth. Both being disciples had no doubt experienced many of Jesus’ miracles, and heard Him teach the Word of God. However both Judas and Peter committed sins towards Jesus that caused them to feel great sorrow. But which of them would you say committed the greater sin? Peter denied Christ three times, while Judas identified Christ to the religious authorities. Peter wept bitterly, but he stayed with God’s people (the disciples), and when Jesus comes back to meet with the disciples after the resurrection He finds Peter among them, and Peter experiences the forgiveness of God.
SHIPWRECKED THEIR FAITH – 3 things causes shipwreck
1. MISGUIDED – Run aground, hitting iceberg from getting off course. Just as a Captain or pilot of a ship has instruments that help him guide the vessel we as Christians have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to guide our lives. Our emotions get us off course very easily if were not careful. If we follow anger, greed, lust and hate they will cause us to stray away from God. But if we look to the Holy Spirit to empower us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control it will keep us on the right course with God.
2. NEGLECT – A crew of a ship is always painting or repainting something. A man once asked a captain, “I’ve noticed that every time you’re in port your painting the sip. When do you stop painting?” The captain said, “Never, we’re constantly working on the sip to keep it in working order.” The same is true for your relationship with God its high maintenance, it requires constant up keep. The m0ment you relax spiritually and fold your feet and get careless and neglect your faith is the moment Satan will sneak up on you and puncture your raft and try and pull you to the bottom. That is the battle, when we neglect God; He allows the devil to get a hold of us to wake us up. You can’t sleep and fight at the same time.
3. COLLISION – It blows m mind when I see on the news two ships out in the middle of the ocean collide. How does that happen? It certainly can’t be a result of not enough space. It must a combination of both being misguided and neglect from all parties involved. Sometimes in the church and in our families we have major collisions over trivial things that don’t really matter. Churches have split over choosing carpet or the color of the pews. Jesus said people will know you are my disciples by how?
John 13:35
35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Conclusion: Have you ever seen a master craftsman take and old piece of furniture or car and restore it to where it’s better than new? In it’s restored condition it’s even more valuable than it was when it was brand new. God made you and He can remake you better than you’ve ever been. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God can restore you from the inside out. He won’t just throw another coat of paint on, and make your exterior look better. The Lord will take your heart, and restore it, He will take your mind and change it, He will take your fleeting life, and give you eternal life.
