Morning, brothers and sisters.
Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 15:58. As I was before the Lord about sharing this morning, the Lord brought back a verse to my heart that has really encouraged me in these days. So we look to the Lord in the spirit of encouragement, that He would bless us all this morning as we look to His Word.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
Let me read it again.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
Let us pray.
Lord, how we do continue in the spirit of worship and adoration before Your royal throne. We thank You, Lord, for that table that You set before us. Lord, thank You for the encouragement of thanksgiving and for knowing that Your love endures forever. Your lovingkindness is everlasting.
And Lord, we thank You that in Your love You have given us Your Word. We come now, Lord, looking unto You to breathe Your breath of life upon this time, that we would not just be hearers of Your Word, but would be considerers, Lord, of Your Word; and that Your Word could work within all of our hearts to encourage us, Lord, in You.
We do not want to just be motivated in ourselves. We desire to be encouraged in the Lord and in the strength of Your might. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This verse has been an encouragement to me because the days we are living in—we all know they are difficult. Even if September 11 had not occurred, I think we would all have agreed that the days we are living in are tough times. There are a lot of trials, a lot of afflictions—physical and mental afflictions—work situations, and all kinds of suffering.
There is much out there trying to discourage us, to get us just to quit, to sit out, to become paralyzed, and to make us useless—not only to everybody around us, but to the Lord. I appreciated Jim’s encouragement last week about pressing on in the Lord until He comes. That is the spirit of this age, brothers and sisters.
In the Old Testament is the story of one named Gideon. The phrase concerning Gideon that has meant more and more to me as these days go on is this: “weary, yet pursuing.” Weary, yet pursuing.
We can all agree with the weary part. But are we the “yet pursuing”? As the Lord comes to us today in His Word, may we be those who are yet pursuing, yet pressing on in Him. There is much out there trying to discourage us.
Actually, the days we are living in now are the “dis” days—the D-I-S days. If you stop and look at it, the enemy and our own selves try to cause us to become discouraged, disillusioned, disappointed, dissipated, disabled, and discredited. On and on the list goes; it is innumerable.
These are the days of “dis.” How did I make up that word? Well, I went to Webster’s Dictionary. Webster’s defines “dis” as “to invalidate or deprive of what something is supposed to be.” To invalidate or deprive of what something is supposed to be.
Is that not what is occurring in these days? We are supposed to be encouraged, yet the enemy and our own selves try to invalidate our encouragement. He tries to invalidate our harmony, our believing, and our faith. He tries to invalidate and discredit all that the Lord has done. Instead of enabling us, he tries to invalidate our very life—to disable us.
Brothers and sisters, these are days that try to get things into disarray and to get us to disengage, saying, “It is useless.” Over and over, so many things press against us to paralyze us and get us just to stop.
There is one word that does not technically qualify for this list, but if we speak phonetically, it qualifies also: the days of despair. That is D-E-S, okay? But the enemy is out there, and our own built-in being—our own constitution, our own self-life—works against us.
Something happens to us, and we sit down and become discouraged. Somebody does something to us, and we become disagreeable. We become discontented. There are so many things, brothers and sisters.
The Lord in this hour wants to encourage us. He wants to strengthen us in Him, and He wants us to see how things are supposed to be. We said that “dis” means to invalidate or deprive something of what it is supposed to be. Brothers and sisters, the Lord wants to show us what it is supposed to be.
What is this Christian life? Individually and together, what is this life supposed to be? It is supposed to be one of encouragement. It is supposed to be one of harmony, believing, faith, and going on in Him; of encouraging one another and maintaining unity with one another. Brothers and sisters, that is what it is supposed to be.
Well, how can we, brothers and sisters, enter into this? How can we continue on? How can we be steadfast and immovable in these days, when there is so much against us?
You know, the first criterion is to recognize that you cannot. You cannot be steadfast and immovable. Praise the Lord for that. It is not us, but it is Him. Brothers and sisters, that is the first thing.
That is why this verse does not just start out by saying, “My beloved brethren, be steadfast.” It starts by saying, “Therefore, my beloved brethren.” When we see a “therefore,” we need to look back at what has gone before. Because of all that has gone before, we can stand in the good of this.
Look at the verse before it—1 Corinthians 15:57. It is a glorious verse, brothers and sisters.
But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise God. Brothers and sisters, this is the whole foundation of our life: the victory that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, and the victory that He won on the cross. He overcame the world, for the world would try to cause us to become discouraged. Through the cross, we can be encouraged. At the cross, He won the victory over the enemy. He won victory over sin.
Brothers and sisters, our whole foundation for being able to be steadfast and immovable is founded upon the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
But as I was meditating upon this verse, somehow just that one verse did not fully satisfy me. I was wondering, “Lord, is there more?” Then you see that this verse is placed at the very end of 1 Corinthians 15.
Chapter 15 is that beautiful, glorious chapter on the resurrection of our Lord. Oh, brothers and sisters, when we stop and consider the wonderful resurrection of our Lord—how He overcame death, how He overcame the enemy—and that because of His resurrection we have a hope!
All through this chapter, it is because of His resurrection that we have hope. Life is not in vain. We have faith; it is not in vain because of His resurrection. Because of His resurrection life, brothers and sisters, we too can be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain.
So, as we have these first two verses—1 Corinthians 15:57, speaking of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 1 Corinthians 15:58—this whole wonderful chapter is our foundation for knowing where our victory and life come from. When we speak about being steadfast in the Lord and being immovable, we can enter into that because of the provision He has made through His victory and resurrection. How hopeless this life would be if it were not for them.
As I kept meditating, I went all the way back to the beginning of 1 Corinthians. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. As I began reading through this letter to the Corinthians, it really began touching my heart.
The first three verses are Paul’s salutation. He is writing to the church, and he says he is writing to the saints—to each individual. Even though letters are addressed to the church, they are really letters addressed to each individual. Each one of us is called to respond.
We know that in Revelation 2 and 3, the letters are written to the angel of the church, but each letter ends, “He that hath an ear, let him hear.” Brothers and sisters, that is the call and the challenge for each one of us in these last days: to have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to us.
Now, beginning in verse 4, these verses are—I do not even know the right adjective. You start reading them, and they are just so wonderful, with all that is packed in them. Look at verse 4: thankfulness.
I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.
The grace of God, brothers and sisters, was given to those in Corinth and given to us in Christ Jesus.
That in everything ye were enriched in Him, in all utterance, and all knowledge;
even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreproveable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do we read that little phrase, “in everything ye were enriched in Him,” flippantly? Do you ever stop and think? It says that in everything you were enriched in Him.
It is precious, brothers and sisters, when we read the Scriptures and there are pronouns such as “you,” to put your name in there. Do you know, Mac, that in everything Mac was enriched in Him? However you say that—Mac was enriched. I am an accountant, not an English major, so these word studies are tough. But you get the point. Put your name in it. It is personal. It is to you. You were enriched.
Is this a fairy tale to us, or does its reality ring within our hearts, brothers and sisters? In these days that we are living in, knowing the riches of Christ that dwell within each one of us is the only way that we are able to be steadfast and immovable when everything is coming against us.
By the grace of God, we see that in everything we were enriched in Him—in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in us, so that we are not lacking in any gift.
Brothers and sisters, how often do we feel lacking? I feel lacking a lot of times, and I feel lacking simply because of my unbelief. My lack comes from my unbelief. I am not talking about getting into positive thinking or claiming things. I am talking about believing the Word of God—what He said—and entering into the reality of all that our Lord has done.
We are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm us to the end. What a precious promise. He will keep us to the end, brothers and sisters. He will keep us as we press on—blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, that is hard for us to imagine: that we will be blameless. But it is nothing because of us. We remembered the table this morning. We can be blameless in the day of Jesus Christ because of that table, because the blood of the Lamb has cleansed us of all our sins and unrighteousness.
Nothing that we have done speaks louder than that blood. That blood speaks louder than everything, and that blood will allow us to be blameless in that day. Praise the Lord for this wonderful position.
Then there is this glorious verse, verse 9. When I read this verse, the Holy Spirit somehow quickened it to my heart in a very fresh way:
God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is faithful. Brothers and sisters, G. Campbell Morgan says of this verse that it is the fundamental affirmation of the entire letter. Everything else Paul writes—whether constructive, corrective, or whatever—gathers its force from this one verse.
As I was meditating upon this verse, it seemed to me that these two verses are, in a sense, bookends to the letter of 1 Corinthians. They are bookends—the beginning and the end—and they hold everything together.
Listen to these two verses:
God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
How can we be steadfast and immovable? Because God is faithful. God is faithful. And because it is He who has called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. When He calls us into that fellowship, we have that victory. We have that resurrection life.
Brothers and sisters, this is a tremendous verse. I am guilty of looking over this verse, almost reading it, as I said, in a fairy-tale sense—flippantly reading it. Do we ever stop and think: God is faithful?
God is faithful, brothers and sisters. That is a tremendous statement. God is trustworthy. We can depend on Him.
Do we ever stop and meditate on the Lord? There is a question that has been upon my heart recently: How big is your God?
Is your God big enough to handle the situation in your life? Is your God big enough to handle the situation in the assembly you meet with? Is your God big enough to handle the situation in this world?
Brothers and sisters, do we know that our God is an all-powerful God? He is El Shaddai, the Almighty, all-powerful God. When we speak about God being all-powerful, it is not merely that He is stronger than everybody else. No, He is power Himself.
He is all-powerful. There is nothing that can stand against Him. When we find ourselves in a situation and feel, “How can we be steadfast? How can we be immovable in this situation?” we have the Almighty, all-powerful God declaring to us, “I am faithful in the situation you are in.”
He is all-knowing. Do we ever stop and contemplate the attributes of God—the very character of God? We use all these words: omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. But there is a reality in each one of those words that the Lord wants us to know and to live within our hearts.
We have an all-knowing God. He knows everything that happens to you. He knows everything about you. That can be pretty terrifying at times, but it is also, to me, a tremendous comfort. The Lord sees how bad I am. He sees how often I blow it. He saw what I was like before I was saved, and yet He loved me so much that He died for us and saved each one of us.
Brothers and sisters, He knows us in and out. What a comfort it is that, in spite of knowing us, He is still faithful in every situation. He is also present—an ever-present God, ever present in time of trouble.
When we stop and think about God being faithful, how can He be faithful? Because He is always with you. He is there. He is the faithful God. Take time this week to meditate on our God.
When it says, “God is faithful,” we can see all throughout the Scriptures how wonderfully faithful He was. Look at the nation of Israel. You see how they totally forsook Him, yet He was faithful, always drawing them back.
We have been reading in our devotionals lately in the prophets. If you read Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the thing that has struck me so much is the faithfulness of God. The people were at points in total decay, and yet God, in His faithfulness, was still reaching out—still reaching out to draw them back to Himself.
Read those letters in Revelation 2 and 3, and you see a faithful God reaching out to His people to draw them back. Those who had been caught up with the teaching of Jezebel—He had not forsaken them. He was there in His faithfulness, drawing them back. Those who were going through suffering and martyrdom—He had not forsaken them. He was there, drawing them to Himself.
That is what He wants us to know: God is faithful. I have been convicted so much lately of how little my God has been in my life. I find myself in situations that can be overwhelming, and God wants to reveal Himself in every situation.
We are discouraged and think there is no hope. God is faithful, brothers and sisters. Whatever situation we are in, God is faithful. I love it because it does not say, “God will be faithful.” It is not merely a future promise. Sure, in the future, when that time comes, He will be faithful. But it is a very present promise: God is.
In that wonderful faithfulness, brothers and sisters, what has He done? He has called us into the fellowship of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have working against us in that phrase the familiarity of the word fellowship. We have become so familiar with the word fellowship that we can almost take it for granted, and it becomes common. So, what does it mean? Let us reflect.
It means to have all things in common. Fellowship—the word koinonia—means having all things in common. We have all things in common with the Son. What He has is ours. And, as one brother put it, what we have is His. He did not get a very good deal.
But what do we have? We have these bodies, these minds, these beings. As we offer them to Him, and as we allow Him and His life to work within us, brothers and sisters, He will keep us steadfast and immovable in all that is around us.
May we be weaned away from other things that try to give us satisfaction, that we may more deeply enter into that joy and security of His fellowship. There is joy and security in the fellowship that we have in Him, and yet we find ourselves going to so many other places. May we be weaned away from that.
One thing I like to do when looking at verses is to look at other translations. There are several other translations of this verse in 1 Corinthians 1, and I appreciate the way they present it because they give us a fuller understanding.
Phillips translates it this way:
God is utterly dependable, and it is He who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
I love that. He does not just say dependable; He is utterly dependable. God is faithful. He is utterly dependable, and it is He who has called you into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. What an encouragement that is. What a preciousness it is.
Another translation says:
God is ever true to His promises, and it is by Him that you were, one and all, called into partnership with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Not just true to His promises, but ever true to His promises. And in case anybody thinks they were left out, “one and all” were called into partnership with the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Most of us on this earth do not want to enter into partnerships. I have been in one too many. I have been in one in my life, and that was one too many. But here we are called into a partnership with our Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful blessing.
Arthur Way translates it:
True to His promises is God, He whose voice bade you enter into co-heirship with His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah, our Lord.
Does that not add fullness to the verse? We can so flippantly read through these verses. Do we stop and really consider them in a fresh way as they impact our lives?
Finally, another translation says:
Faithful is God, who has divinely summoned you into a joint participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Brothers and sisters, this is a tremendous thing. Know that God is faithful, and it is He who has called us into the fellowship of His beloved Son. May these words never become too familiar to us.
When we face an issue in life, we have all the resources in Him to go through that particular issue. In days of discouragement, when we can feel down and think, “Nobody cares,” do we stop and meditate on this verse?
I come back to a question: Do we believe this verse? Do we believe that God is faithful, that He has called us into the fellowship of His Son? And is it enough for us? Or do we try to find our help and satisfaction in other places?
Brothers and sisters, He wants all our springs of joy to be found in Him, because He is that very spring of life. He is calling us back to that One.
Think about this letter of 1 Corinthians. These two verses answer every issue raised: God being faithful, our being called into fellowship, and our being steadfast and immovable in Him. They answer everything addressed in 1 Corinthians, whether it is division, immorality, abuse of liberty, marriage issues, disorder, disharmony, or whatever else is there.
Brothers and sisters, every issue we face in our life finds its answer in this: knowing God is faithful. When we face an issue, how do we handle it? Do we rely upon our own opinion, or even religious traditions, to handle situations? Or do we rely upon resurrection life within to lead us into the fullness of what He has?
That is actually the difference between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, we have the picture of a carnal man relying upon himself and his own strength to handle all the problems and situations that arose. But what do we see in 2 Corinthians? We see a spiritual man—one who said, “When I am weak, then am I strong.”
There was a power that Paul testified of in 2 Corinthians that enabled him to be known as a spiritual man. It was because he did not rely upon his own strength, but knew that God was faithful. He knew he had been called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now let us look a little more at the verse we began with, 1 Corinthians 15:58. It is a very precious verse because we have this foundation, this one bookend, of knowing God is faithful. Then we come and see the other bookend.
Because God is faithful and we are called into the fellowship of His beloved Son, therefore, my beloved brethren. I love how this begins. Here again, we can read so quickly over words. Paul says, “My beloved brethren.” What a precious phrase.
Do we ever stop and meditate upon that phrase, “my beloved brethren”? Not merely “my brethren,” but “my beloved brethren.” We see a father’s heart. We see a term of endearment, an affectionate term reaching out to them.
Paul had written some pretty tough words to them. How had they treated him? Some said they were not even of him. Some said they were of Peter; some said they were of Apollos. There were those for Paul. In 2 Corinthians, you read how they even mocked him. They said, “He can write a big letter, but when he comes, he is not much in physical appearance.”
Paul had labored eighteen months with his brethren in Corinth, and yet he was calling them his beloved brethren. I love how the Holy Spirit always puts these words in.
Often, if someone writes a letter of correction, or if someone corrects us, what is our first natural response? “You do not love me. If you really loved me, You would not do that. If you really loved me and cared for me, You would not say that.”
Actually, this letter was written because the Lord loved the Corinthians. It was a love letter to those in Corinth. They had immorality. They had division. They had all this stuff going on. But it was a letter of love trying to draw them back.
Just to remind them of that, Paul says, “My beloved brethren.” I thank the Lord that when He looks upon us, He sees us as beloved brethren. How do we look upon each other? Do not answer, please.
We have a tough enough time sometimes just calling each other brother and sister. But we are beloved brethren to one another. Why are we beloved brethren to one another? Because of His life within each one of us. That is what makes us beloved brethren.
There is nothing within me that makes me a beloved brother other than the Lord Jesus Christ. May we really practice this, because it is a love that endures to the end, the love that is everlasting. It is love that will keep us, brothers and sisters.
How often that is one of the ways the enemy loves to come in: trying to bring divisions and get us against each other, saying, “They do not love you. They do not care for you.” Brothers and sisters, we need to know that each one of us is beloved brethren.
If we can practice in some way the reality of being beloved brethren to one another, we will enter into a greater experience of knowing that God is faithful. How can you love someone who treats you so badly? You cannot—but God is faithful, and He has called you into the fellowship of His beloved Son.
We stand before Him without excuses. Look what all they did to Him. He loved them to the uttermost. He loved them to the end. He washed their feet knowing full well that one was going to betray Him. He washed their feet knowing that in a short time they were going to desert Him and deny Him. Yet He loved them to the uttermost.
How will they know that we are Christians? By our love for one another. May the reality of this phrase, “beloved brethren,” be burned within our hearts, brothers and sisters. May it not just be a nice little salutation, “dear beloved brother,” but may it be a reality within our hearts.
As we see this issue of being beloved brethren, the verse continues: “Be ye steadfast, unmovable.” Now, this little word be—you think I am going to take every word now. We will be here all day. But the Holy Spirit is so precious, brothers and sisters. Each word has a special meaning.
This word be means to become something that you are not—to prove yourselves to be. Become steadfast and immovable. It shows that there is a contrast between what they should be, what they had been given, and what they were.
There was a contrast between all the riches poured out upon them and what they were. Remember, we read in the first chapter of the letter to the Corinthians that they had all the riches of Christ. Yet there was a contrast between what had been given them and what they were. There was a contrast between all their teaching and their walk.
The Lord is encouraging them to bring these together—to allow what He had spoken to them to become real in their lives. Is that not what the Lord is calling us to in these days, brothers and sisters? In our daily lives, in our assembly lives, however we look at life: does it match up with all that we have been told?
We have received so much. The Corinthians had received so much. But where were they? They were still in that carnal state. Brothers and sisters, we have all received so much. We have so much to be thankful for, but what is our daily walk?
I have to answer that I fail. When I look at what the Lord has spoken to me and compare it with my daily walk, I come so far short. But I thank the Lord: God is faithful.
I believe this is actually a normal part of Christian life. Sometimes we become discouraged and say, “Well, I just quit. I cannot do it.” Well, you cannot do it, so that argument does not hold up. But you can in the Lord.
I think it is a normal part of our Christian life that there is a gap between what we have heard and where we are, between what we have been told and what has been worked into reality within our life. There is always a gap.
I think it is a gap of love and a gap of safety, because we are still in these earthen vessels. We only see in part; we only know in part. One day we will experience the fullness. One day we will know the fullness.
But the enemy tries to use the gap between what we have been taught and where we are. He says, “See, you are failures. You should be further along.” What do we say when the enemy says that? We say, “No, I should be further along, but God is still faithful. God has not given up on me. God still loves me. He is encouraging me on, and He is working it out.”
Sure, I fall down. Should Peter have denied the Lord? No. But what did the Lord do? He raised him up, restored him, and used him to encourage the brethren. Praise God.
The enemy tries to use these partial truths to discourage us and to get us to abandon what the Lord is doing. But the Lord says, “No, just continue on in Me. I will teach you day by day.”
We have that wonderful verse in Philippians:
He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.
That whole process will continue throughout our Christian life. Brothers and sisters, may we press on. May we press on and be encouraged to grow in Him—to be steadfast and immovable.
Steadfast and immovable: this is a positive and a negative. Steadfast is the positive—being firmly seated, standing where you are, standing for the truth. Immovable is resisting and standing against what the enemy and your own self are trying to do.
These two work together. We stand steadfast in Him. We stand for the truth. We stand for who He is, for what He has done, and for His testimony upon this earth. Brothers and sisters, we will not be moved. We stand steadfast in that.
We hold fast to Him. There are certain things that we stand for as Christians. We know that in this age of relativity, everything is coming against us.
At the prayer meeting on Wednesday night, we get a glimpse of the world situation. We need to encourage everyone to come to prayer meeting because, as we pray for the world situation, we see how today even within the religious community, people try to distort who God is.
They say, “We have the same God. The Muslims have the same God. Everybody has the same God.” Wrong. When you say that, you get in trouble. Franklin Graham got in trouble recently for making a declaration.
Now, politicians can do whatever they need to do politically. But we as believers need to be steadfast:
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me.
Very clear. There are no other gods. “I am God,” and that settles it. We need to stand in that because everything comes to try to come against it.
We need to be immovable. All the evil forces are trying to rush in and knock us out. We need to stand fast in Him. As these two stand together and work together within our lives, we are able to go on and continue in this race, brothers and sisters.
Charles Spurgeon made a comment on this verse. I have learned that whenever you can read Spurgeon, read Spurgeon. I love him.
Spurgeon described this verse as being steadfast during the normal pressures of daily life and immovable when assailed by the tempest.
We go through daily life, and there is always daily pressure. We are steadfast in that. But we know that at times a tempest will come. We need to be immovable in the tempest.
There is a danger, brothers and sisters, in the age we are living in: the danger of being complacent. I think that is one of the greatest lessons the church has learned since September 11—the realization of the complacent state we found ourselves in.
I thank the Lord that many believers have been convicted of the issue of complacency. There has been much repentance, and there has been a waking up to realize the warfare we are in.
When one is standing in a very relaxed position, anything can happen; you can be knocked off easily. Anybody who has played sports knows that if someone is standing in a very at-ease position, you can knock them off their feet without much effort. Most of us have even experienced standing casually when some little kid bumps into us and we get knocked down.
You look at that little kid, see how big you are, and yet you have been knocked off your feet. Brothers and sisters, the Lord wants to wake us up in this hour. He wants to wake us up so that we are not self-confident, thinking we stand lest we fall.
That is one of the greatest challenges as we grow in the Lord. Somehow, within our being and in ourselves, every year we go on longer in the Lord, it is kind of like getting hash marks in the military. Every four years you get another hash mark.
As we go on as believers, somehow we subtly begin to think that we can stand and be immovable on our own. We win a victory, and then all of a sudden we think, “Oh, I have got it together now. I can stand. Whatever might come along, I know I can resist this.”
Brothers and sisters, we cannot stand against those forces. But there is a life within us that has overcome, and that life can stand. We can stand in that.
We have a wonderful Lord who says to us that that which can be shaken will be shaken. What can be shaken? Only that which is not of Him. Only that which is not of Him can be shaken.
He loves us so much that He wants to shake each one of us in such a way that that which is not of Him will fall by the side. Brothers and sisters, may we not fall into thinking, “Good, I have been a Christian long enough. I can stand in these days.”
This summer we were on the West Coast, and we went to Crescent City, California. There is a harbor there, right on the ocean. They made a breakwater in order to enlarge the harbor.
They took these concrete objects—there is some architectural term for them. Do you remember playing jacks as a kid? You remember those four- or five-pronged objects? Well, they took huge versions of those objects, five- or six-sided concrete blocks, and made this breakwater out of them.
Each one weighed forty-seven tons. Each concrete block weighed forty-seven tons. They put a little transmitter on each one because the scientists were studying water movements and atmospheric conditions.
After a few years, they noticed that these objects had moved. One of these forty-seven-ton concrete objects had moved eleven feet. Several others had moved five or six feet, and a good number had moved two or three feet.
The constancy of the water coming against them had moved them. Man thought he had created an immovable object. In natural thinking, you would think a forty-seven-ton thing probably is not going to budge. But that natural, constant wearing moved it off its foundation.
You see where we are going. If we think we stand, if we think we have strength in ourselves, there is a constant pressure out there that will move us off our experiential foundation when we become self-confident.
Brothers and sisters, may we not think we stand lest we fall. We can be shaken away. We can move away from our experience of the Lord.
I want to clarify something. When you tell illustrations, they are not exact theological statements. You can never be taken off your foundation of Christ. Right? But we can be moved away experientially from all that we experience of the Lord.
He wants us to experience all the riches with which He has blessed our lives. May we enter in. How? Because we know God is faithful. He has called us into fellowship, and we have a life within us that is victorious. In that, we can be steadfast and immovable.
There was a saint who lived back in the thirteenth century named Thomas Aquinas. He had a prayer based on this verse that I really appreciated.
He prayed:
Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart,
which no unworthy affection may drag downward;
an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out;
an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside.
Think about that: “a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downward.” Brothers and sisters, there is a lot out there battling for our affections in this age, and there is only One who is worthy.
There are many unworthy affections, and many of these unworthy affections are not necessarily bad things. We can have an unworthy affection toward our job. We can have an unworthy affection even toward things that occupy our time.
We can have an unworthy affection toward the World Series, and then the Lord lets the Yankees lose. We learn in all these things. If you did not know who Jim was talking about last week, I will confess: he knows I am a Yankee fan from way back. Love covers, so he did not say it.
But we get caught up in things that are not necessarily bad. Most of us have been believers long enough to stay away from the bad things. But often it is those things that compete for our affections.
How do our affections get attracted? Because there is something within us that is attracted to them. There is something within us that responds and says, “I like that.”
You can drive around certain neighborhoods where homes are so expensive that there is no temptation at all. Go to California, and all these homes are two million dollars each—no temptation there. But you drive somewhere where the homes are just a little more within reach, and you get the calculator out to see if you can work out some monthly payment. You keep trying.
Our unworthy affections get drawn away in so many little, subtle ways. May the Lord give us that steadfast heart, because those things drag us down.
Thomas Aquinas continued, “which no tribulation can wear out.” I appreciated that part of his prayer because it made me sense that he knew we would have tribulation. He knew that we would have tribulation, but he prayed that tribulation would not wear us out.
The Lord can hold us. May we have a steadfast heart which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. There are so many purposes out there that lead us this way or that way. But may we know the Lord’s heart in this hour—what He wants and what He is calling us to.
May there be no unworthy affection that drags us down. May we continue steadfast and immovable in the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, as we are steadfast and immovable, these go hand in hand. It is not just that we stand against something. It is not merely that we as believers stand against evil, but we have to stand for the Lord.
If we can stand and resist evil, but do not bring the Lord into the situation, what is the answer? In the same way, we can stand for the Lord, but if we do not resist evil, then the enemy has a heyday. There is a standing and a resisting that go together.
It is steadfast and immovable: standing for Him and resisting the things of the enemy, resisting the things of self, so that we can go on and grow in Him.
There is a fullness here, brothers and sisters, that the Lord wants us to enter into, because He wants us to be always abounding in the work of the Lord.
Always abounding in the work of the Lord. We know, as it says in John, that the work of the Lord is believing in Him. Believing in Him.
He simply desires to live out His victorious life within us, brothers and sisters. Life has a way of expressing itself. Believing is not passive; it is responding to His life within us. That life will be expressed.
When we think about the work of the Lord, we use it with a capital “W.” We think of the big things: missionaries, great ministries, and visible works. But brothers and sisters, the work of the Lord is in our daily life.
It says “always.” That means daily. Whether we are at work, we are doing the work of the Lord. Whether the Lord has us in school, at home, or in the assembly, whatever the situation, we are always abounding in the work of the Lord.
We have a way of wanting to be faithful with big things. “Somebody give me something to do.” But give us a small thing to do, and we can become very neglectful. We can even run into danger by thinking we can handle the small things ourselves.
Think of the summer conference, or any gathering of believers. Who of all the people there has work of more value to the Lord? Whose labor is counted acceptable in the sight of the Lord?
Often we think of the speakers, and there is an element of that—they are speaking the Word. But as far as being acceptable in the sight of the Lord, what is the issue, brothers and sisters? It is faithfulness.
There are hidden ones who pick people up at airports. There are ones who turn coffee pots on. I am so thankful each week for the brother or sister who turns the coffee pot on after the meeting. You remember those Sundays when somebody did not turn the coffee pot on. I am thankful for the faithfulness of those ones.
I am thankful for mothers raising children in the quietness of the home—the unseen things. We love to make the seen, the big thing, so important. Brothers and sisters, the work of the Lord is simply believing in Him and being faithful right where He has you.
There is a story of John Wesley. He was eating breakfast one day while traveling, and the sister in whose home he was staying asked him, “Mr. Wesley, if you knew that you were going to die tonight at midnight, what would you do today?”
He said, “Well, I would first finish this wonderful breakfast. Then I would go out for my morning walk. I would go over and visit brother so-and-so. I would get on my horse and ride to the next town because I have lunch there. Then I have to speak that afternoon.”
“Then that evening, I would go to brother so-and-so’s house. We would have dinner, and he asked me to talk with his children. I would talk with the children that night. Then I would go out for another walk. About nine-thirty or ten o’clock, I would go to bed and wake up in glory.”
What is the point of that? He knew what he was supposed to be doing that day. That was the work of the Lord.
If someone asked us today, “If you were going to die tonight, what would you do?” what would our first reaction be? We would get the PalmPilots out, start rearranging, and reorganize the whole day. “Well, I have to do this. I have to do that.”
Are we comfortable, day in and day out, that we are always abounding in the work of the Lord? That is what the Lord has set before us today.
If you are a student, and the Lord says, “I am coming back at midnight,” do you know what He would want you to do today? He would want you to go to school and study just as hard as you would any other day. He would want you to go home, study, do your homework, go to sleep, and wake up in glory.
If you are a worker, He wants you to go to work and do your work as unto Him. Then go to sleep and wake up in glory.
Oh, daily, do we know the preciousness of always abounding in the work of the Lord? As we go through our daily walk and daily lives, we are showing forth the goodness of the Lord. We are showing forth the wonderful blessedness of His presence.
The verse ends by telling us that, as we are always abounding in the work of the Lord, our labor is not in vain in the Lord. What a wonderful promise that is.
This word knowing means to be fully assured—to be fully assured that what you are doing in the Lord is not in vain. We often think it is in vain because we look at outward appearance. We say, “This is not a big thing. This is not important. Who cares about this? No one will ever notice.”
Oh, brothers and sisters, God notices.
As we think about our daily life in the Lord, do we have a contrast between our public life and our private life? I think if we are all honest, we would have to say yes.
Publicly, we come here and put on our good faces. Privately, how are we? But actually, if we can come into the reality of knowing who God is, we will realize that in Him there is not a public and a private life.
He is there all the time. It is one life. He sees us publicly. He sees us privately. We think we can hide from God. That is what the enemy says: “I can hide from God. I can go to a dark place. I can hide.” But where is He, brothers and sisters?
That can be a tremendous encouragement to us, and it can also be a tremendous fear. It is terrifying at times. But I thank the Lord that He is faithful and He loves us. He points out those things so that He can show us more of Himself, that we would know all we are doing is not in vain in Him.
We can rest assured in that. Not in vain. Brothers and sisters, our Lord is concerned about quality, not quantity. We can become discouraged, thinking, “What have we accomplished? What have I done?” But the Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
So often it is a matter of vision and perspective—what you are looking at. I want to close with another story.
A man a few centuries ago was in Europe, and he visited a construction site. He saw different stonemasons working. They were all doing exactly the same thing. Each had a large stone, a hammer, and a chisel, and they were chiseling away.
He looked at one man who seemed so discontented and grumpy. He asked, “What are you doing?” The man replied, like a guy from New York, “Can’t you see what I’m doing? I’m chipping a stone. I’ve been chipping stones for years. I just keep chipping away.”
That was this man’s whole perspective. He was chipping at a stone. It was his stone, and he was chipping at it.
Then he saw another man who was fairly content and had a peaceful look about him. He asked, “What are you doing?” The man said, “Oh, I’m building a wall. This stone is going to go on the wall.” He had a broader perspective. He was building a stone that would go on the wall, so he said, “I’m building a wall.”
Then he saw another man, and this man was so joyous. He had a smile on his face. He was singing, and he was so happy to be chipping away at the stone. It caught the visitor’s attention.
He went over and asked him, “What are you doing?” The man said, “I’m building a cathedral.”
What is the point? Brothers and sisters, the point is perspective. The point is vision. What are you doing?
Are we just working on our own little stone? Are we just working on a part of the whole? Or do we see that God has given another promise:
I will build My church.
It is His church. This stonemason did not claim anything for himself. He was simply working on this cathedral. Brothers and sisters, it was a glorious work.
Now, we know we do not have a cathedral. But we have something more beautiful than any cathedral. It is not made merely of little chips of stone; it is made of living stones. The Lord is doing a work, brothers and sisters.
May we know that our labor is not in vain in Him. I love that He says, “May you know your labor is not in vain.” It is very present—not “will not be in vain.” What you are doing today is not in vain, because the Lord takes notice.
As His return approaches, He wants us all to be encouraged, brothers and sisters. There are so many things out there trying to discourage us. The Lord wants us to be encouraged in Him.
He wants us to know the riches of Himself. He wants us to know, and to be excited, that He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He desires to live out His life through us.
Brothers and sisters, He wants each one of us to know that He is faithful. That which He has started, He will complete, because He is faithful and He has called us into the fellowship of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, beloved brethren, be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord is calling us in these days to press on in Him. There are things that would distract us, things that would compete for our affection and attention. But there is one thing our Lord is after: He wants to bring many sons to glory.
He wants His life to be formed in us in such a way that we will be known as believers upon this earth, and that His testimony will be confirmed upon this earth. We would be that light shining on a hill—whatever term we want to use. It is simply showing forth Christ through our lives.
God is faithful, brothers and sisters. May we come into a greater reality of knowing that in these days. That is Christ.
Lord, we do worship You. We bless You, Lord. We thank You for Your never-ending love.
We thank You, Lord, that though we are unfaithful, You remain faithful. We thank You, Lord, that You are our encouragement. You are our life; You are our victory.
We pray that we would have a greater revelation of You in this hour. Lord, if that question comes back to my own heart—how big is your God?—Lord, I simply desire to see more of You.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.