The Secret To Christian Success

DATE

THE SECRET TO CHRISTIAN SUCCESS

Mark 4:34.

Mr 4:34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. (KJV)

INTRODUCTION: I recently preached this sermon at the church I pastor and I presented to them as a matter of desparation. A matter of life or death. I truly believe that this is a matter of Christian success. The reason we see so much failure in Christians lives is they do not adhere to these principles I am going to present.

The American lifestyle is designed to suffocate the successful Christian life. Everyone is totally occupied from day break until bedtime. In the last 60 years the average time for going to bed has gone from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM. When I was a boy we were in bed every night no later than 8:30. We got up at 5:30 AM. Everyone did. We had morning chores to do before breakfast and before going to school. That same schedule was in effect the year around. After supper we began preparing for bed. There was baths to take. The old fashioned bath taking. A #2 galvanized wash tub. Which also served as a watering tub for the livestock, and mom washed clothes in it. I took care of the outside chores and my sisters took care of the inside. We had no outside influence that took our interest or attention away from doing what was needed. What I am saying is – there is so much going on in the average household that there is no time for God.

Today only a few are disciplined enough to make time everyday for private time with the Lord. You won’t have time alone with the Lord unless you make that time. The one main reason our churches are anemic is that the membership is anemic. The reason the membership is anemic is because so few are participating in Mark 4:34.

America will not see, neither will Baptist churches see, nor individual Christians see a moving of the hand of God until the observance of Vs. 34 is once again obtained. New, books, new seminars, new programs will change nothing unless each Christian places himself under the private time with the Lord.

Gone are days when the average Christian spent an hour a day in prayer.

Gone are the days when the homes spend time memorizing scripture as a family.

Gone are the days when family devotion takes precedence over soccer or B/B practice.

There are three things that I want to dwell on that will happen if we could get the majority of our membership to spend much time alone with the Lord. What I am talking about must become a lifestyle. Something that we do all the time. It is not just a Sunday Morning thing. Three days a week will not suffice. Neither will five minutes a day be sufficient. It must be full time. It must become the way in which we, as Christians, live everyday of our lives.

I. DEVELOP MORE PERSONAL HOLINESS.

A. Personal Holiness Is Absent In Most Christians. God doesn’t mean much to most.

1. Their conversation. They never talk about the Lord.

Bro. James Gardner – Amazing grace missions – gives a gospel tract to everyone he sees. He was with us recently and when we went to lunch he gave out 20 or 30 tracts to people he would see.

2. Hobbies. Lead them away from the house of God and the work of God. They go to gun shows or boat shows on the weekend. Some will go to their lake property for the week-end. When people talk about going to the lake it frightens me. The Bible talks about a lake of fire in Revelation. I hope that is not the lake they talk about.

3. Clothes they wear. Long baggy pants on the young men.

4. Habits. Habits are good if they are the right kind of habits.

5. Entertainment. Recently in the surgery waiting of one of the hospitals some of the family that was waiting there also ask me if I had seen a certain movie. I told them I had not been to see a movie since 1961. They didn’t bring the matter up again..

We can see holiness in Moses life.

B. Moses And The Burning Bush. Ex. 3:1-6.

1. Observe Moses’ action when he is alone with the Lord.

a. He turned aside. Ex 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. (KJV) He realized that God was present.

b. This speaks of separation. “turning aside from the things that was going on around him.” Closing out those things that would keep him from God.