Standing On The Solid Rock; Maintaining Your Relationship With God

October 9, 2011

Morning Worship

Text: Psalm 27:1-14

Subject: Walking with God

Title: Standing on the Solid Rock: Maintaining Your Relationship with God

One of the greatest needs in the church today is consistency. What I mean by that is not that the church is inconsistent, but that people in the church struggle in various areas of their lives. I want to get you ready for the sermon by building up to it with the story of Samson. Samson was the product of the prayers of a man and wife who had no children. The first thing we read about Samson is from Judges 13:24, The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him… and then in verse 25, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. The Holy Spirit was working in the life of this young man. Now here is were the problem lies. Samson was a man called by God for a purpose, but Samson never was able to get his flesh in agreement with the Spirit. 14:1-2, 1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” You see, having the Holy Spirit does not guarantee that you will live a godly life. It gives you everything you need, but you have a responsibility. Samson was consistent in this – he wavered consistently. Back and forth between the Holy Spirit power in his life and giving in to the flesh. 14:19, 19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power… but Samson continued to give in to the lusts of the flesh. Samson’s problem was that he loved beautiful women and it didn’t matter who they were or what kind of woman they might have been, if he saw one he liked he went after her. God gave Samson superhuman physical strength but because of his weakness that strength left him. Now, what was Samson’s real problem? His real problem wasn’t in his relationship with God, because we see that God had chosen him. The problem was in his lack of understanding and concern for the word of God. Had he taken the Word of God seriously he would have avoided many of his problems. Finally, when Samson gave in to Delilah, he hit rock bottom. It was then and only then that he began to focus on what God wanted for his life. God had sent him to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines and it was only after Samson realized his own weaknesses that he became consistent in his walk with God. Unfortunately for him it came at the end of his life.

I want to show you today that your walk with God – and maybe it isn’t as inconsistent as Samson was- but your walk can be continuous, consistent, and solid in Jesus Christ.

Everyone hold up their bibles…

I believe this is God’s word…

I believe it is all true…

I believe every promise written in it…

It’s for me…

It’s for now…

And I accept it… in Jesus’ name..

God wants you to live a consistent life in Christ.

I. LOOK AT WHAT YOU CAN RECEIVE… 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evil men advance against me

to devour my flesh,

when my enemies and my foes attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then will I be confident.

Look at the words included in these verses that tell you what you can receive from God for a consistent life in Him. 1) light… Jesus is the light of the world. He alone can light your path. In order for light to have any value in your life you have to hold it up and you have to open your eyes to it. The word “light” in verse 1 means “illumination”. With Jesus you have Holy Spirit illumination. 1 Corinthians 2:14, The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 2) You have salvation. For God so loved the world… if you confess with your mouth… for it is by grace you are saved… Salvation comes from God. It is for everyone. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved… 3) you have freedom from fear. God has not given you a spirit of fear… Perfect love casts out fear… How can you avoid being fearful? You have to know who you are in Christ. You have to allow His Spirit to work in you… You must be born again… 4) You have God’s stronghold around you. In the KJV “stronghold” is translated as strength. The Hebrew word means “a fortified place”. Whenever you belong to God He places a fortified wall of protection about you. God is always your line of defense against the enemy. Psalm 61:3, For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. Proverbs 18:12, The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. A spiritual stronghold is something that has taken control over your life. It can be a demonic stronghold or it can be the Lord. It is your choice. 5) Verses 2 and 3 talk about the protection that God sets up for you against the enemy. Ultimately you have to know that the opposition for every Christian comes from the enemy or your soul. Demons will attack you in order to get you to doubt, waver or give up. Satan does not want you to be consistent in your spiritual walk. He does not want you to be healed. He does not want you to be saved. He does not want you to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. He will do every thing in his power to stop you. That means that he will use other people – sometimes even other Christians - to come against you. And I believe that those Christians think that they are doing the right thing. The problem is that they are inconsistent in their walk as well. So if you are working for the Lord and someone attacks you, where do you think it is coming from? If you have a ministry and someone tells you, “I just don’t think it will ever fly.” Don’t believe it. If God has called you to it, He’ll see you through it. If the Holy Spirit has given you a spiritual gift don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Be consistent. The last part of verse 3 says, though war break out against me,