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Living Hope SDA Church

Christian Martin

All In: Faithful to the Finish


What a beautiful, beautiful song, Be Thou My Vision. You know, throughout our vacation Bible school, we repeated this message. It's a message that stood out, repeated every time we sang the song, and you heard it just now. No, I don't know the future. No, I can't see what's ahead of me.

Even if I worry and stress, I know that I'm still so very blessed, because I've got a friend who walks with me, and I'll never walk alone. My message today is entitled, all in, faithful to the finish. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, we just want to pause to thank you for the way that you're the God who is so mighty, so powerful, yet you're the God who wants to walk with us. We pray, Lord, that you would speak to our hearts, speak through your word, and we thank you for answering this prayer in Jesus' name, amen.

Did you know that the word walk is mentioned 212 times in the Bible compared to the word run which is only found 83 times in the Bible. So taken literally I suppose we could say that we should walk about 3 more times as much as we run. It's a theme that you see predominantly throughout Scripture. And that would make sense when you think about it. It would make sense when it comes to our relationship with Jesus.

Because when we're on the run, when we're on the run, it's usually rushed. We're on the run. We got things to do. We don't have time. We're on the run.

And so, and so we have to do things quickly. Like we're busy and don't have much time to get to know him. But on the other hand, when we walk with Jesus, that's why I like that theme in the context of a relationship with Jesus. When we walk with Him, we slow down. We slow down and we consequently spend more quality time with him.

And out of the 83 times, or rather 212 times, that the Bible speaks about the word walk, the apostle Paul is the author of the scripture that refers to walking more than any other author in Scripture. And in fact, half the times that he uses the word walk appears in the Bible, is used by Paul. And 1 of those times is in his letter to the Galatians, when he wrote, walk in the spirit. Walk in the spirit, Paul tells his listeners. But what might this specifically mean?

To walk in the spirit? Because we find in scripture where it says, walk with the Lord. So we walk with the Lord, or walk with God. Noah walked with God, Enoch walked with God. But walk in the spirit?

What might that mean? Well, today we saw 4 young people be completely immersed underwater, All the way under, all the way. And that's because in the Greek, the original language of the New Testament, the word translated baptized is baptizal, baptizal, which literally means to immerse under, like under, completely underwater. Baptism. And prior to the immersion in water, you may have noticed something I did to all 4 of them.

I prayed for them to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And the reason I did that is because in preparation to baptize them with water, I need to ask God to do the baptism of the Holy Spirit because He alone can do it. And so since the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, just follow this simple logic, the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, then to be baptized in the Spirit is to be immersed in the presence of God in the atmosphere of prayer. To be immersed in the presence of God. That's the word picture that inspiration wants to give us when we hear the phrase to walk in the Spirit, to be immersed in His presence.

Now you understand why Paul wrote, pray without ceasing, pray without ceasing. He meant sense the presence of God without seizing. Pray without seizing. And when we think about that, we begin to understand the intimacy that God wants us to have with him continuously. You know, in the last few days here, even somewhat today, even though it's a little cooler with the clouds, we could be thankful for that, since we're having our picnic and we want to be able to enjoy it to the max.

It's been exceptionally hot these last few days, hasn't it? Have you been hot? Oh man. And our VBSers, I gotta say, are troopers. I'll tell you why.

Because we've had some issues with our AC here at Living Hope, but that didn't slow them down. Oh, no, no, no, no. Their energy levels were just as constant as it was from the beginning. So we're so proud of them. But it's been exceptionally hot, that's for sure.

The sun has been blazing with all its glory. In fact, even since last Sunday. You know, the 5K, for those who participated, what a challenge. Now it wasn't about beating the time or anything else, it was about beating the heat. It was so hot.

But again, troopers, all that started the race, crossed that finish line. But that was an exceptionally hot day. It's been exceptional here in June for this time of year here in this area. So hot. So hot.

And during the week, especially Heidi and I experienced the heat, because we realized that without Elijah and Mariah around, some of you know they're in Michigan, and we miss them. But not having them around has brought to our attention the number of weeds that grow in our landscaping. Bless her heart. It was their job, is their job. When they come back, they're going to keep doing that job.

But since I've been gone, it's been like very visible. Whoa, weeds grow in our landscaping. They really do. And so Heidi and I took time this week to pull weeds. And we immersed ourselves.

Follow with me now. We immersed ourselves in sunlight. We were right there in the presence of the glorious sun. And as we did the work, we let our bodies naturally produce vitamin D. God designed it so, so incredibly awesome.

In addition, of course, to getting a tan, I might add. A real tan. That's right. And so much so that when I came to VBS, more than 1 person noticed, Pastor, you got a tan. I do.

I've been out in the sun. Bringing to mind Psalm 89 verse 15, where it says, how blessed are the people who know the joyful sound. Oh, Lord, they walk in the what? In the light of your countenance. They walk in the light of your countenance.

So to walk with God is to immerse ourselves in the light of His countenance. And in doing so, letting Him produce supernaturally faithfulness in us. Something begins to happen as we walk in the light of his countenance. And coming back to me pointing out that Heidi and I got tans being out in the sun, I have to admit, And I praise the Lord for this, that I'm among the few who can enjoy a whole day in the beach, or in the sun for that matter, without using sunscreen. Am I not blessed?

Wow, wow, wow. I can go from winter skin tones to a tan, bypassing the red hot burns. I can't relate to those who get those burns. I know, don't hate me, I understand. But I just enjoy, I enjoy the sun and I do get the tan.

And the other day, like I said, when I spent the day outside and came to VBS, some noticed that, Oh, you got a tan, Pastor. Where did that come from? Well, it's only because I had been out in the sun. And when we immerse ourselves in the light of his countenance, it's like getting a divine tan, Only in the sense that there's some indication that we've been in His presence. When the disciples stood before the Sanhedrin, they had a divine tan.

Because the chief priests and others noticed and they said, wait a minute, these men, they have been with Jesus. They had noticed something in their countenance, something that was visible evidently, that they had been with Jesus. Of course, it was more than just something outward visibly. It was something within. It was their characters.

There's something, there's an indication that we've been in His presence when we spend time with Him. So how can we be all in? How can we be all in, immersed completely in His presence? Faithful to the finish. How can we live like that?

Fiercely faithful is the theme that we had at BPS this week. We know God is faithful. We got the call to be faithful. But how can we be faithful to the end? How can we be continuously without ceasing in the presence, immersed in the Spirit, in the presence of God, continuously.

And we're going to try to keep it as simple as possible, because that's the way it should be. It shouldn't be any rocket science of how to be immersed in His presence continuously, but I'll give you a biblical perspective. It's simple, and that is to be mindful of Him. To be mind full of Him. In other words, keep your mind full of thoughts of Him.

But can that be possible? Can that really be humanly possible? Well, there's many examples in the Bible that reveal to us that yes, it is possible because men and women like you, human nature just like yours, needing to die to sell just like you, being born in sin just like us, They did. And so by God's grace, might we be able to as well? Well, let's take a look.

For example, Joseph. Joseph did. Let me show you. Come with me to Genesis chapter 39, verse 2. Genesis chapter 39, verse 2.

And look at what the biblical account says. Genesis chapter 39 verse 2. And it says that the Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. The Bible simply says that the Lord was with Joseph. And the Lord is with us when we have the Lord on our minds.

Joseph had the Lord on his mind. Let me give you another example. We'll come back to him, but Daniel. Daniel is another example. Daniel did.

He was mindful of Christ. Notice what the Bible says about him. Come with me to Daniel chapter 6. Daniel chapter 6 verse 10. Daniel chapter 6 and verse 10.

Notice what the Bible says in verse 10. It says, Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home, writing the law that no 1 should pray to any God for 30 days except the ruler. And it says, And in his upper room, with his windows wide open towards Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees 3 times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since early days. The Bible says that Daniel could not break his practice, his habit, his custom. Otherwise he would be compromising.

Not Daniel. Daniel had Christ on his mind. To have Christ on his mind morning, midday and evening, that's another way of saying that he had Christ on his mind without ceasing. Daniel was a man just like you, yet he was able to practice this spiritual discipline to actually keep Christ in his mind throughout the day. He did it through prayer.

Paul is our New Testament example. Let's go to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 16. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 16. Notice what the scriptures say about Paul.

And it says in verse 16, for who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we, he's including himself, we, we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. Paul is saying, I have the mind of Christ. He is human being, born just like you and I.

He's not some supernatural human being with extraordinary abilities. No, he's just like you. And he was able to say he had the mind of Christ. And because this was their priority, notice, they were all in. You see, when you make Christ a priority of your life, When you're mindful of Him, when you're like Joseph, Daniel, and Paul, when you're intentional about keeping Christ on your mind, you will prioritize Christ.

Therefore, you'll be all in. It's going to be your natural impulse to be all in, all in. Because if you think about it, Joseph, for example, was tempted to give in. He was tempted to give in, But he was all in. So when Pharaoh's wife came and tempted Joseph, tempted him in such a way that any, any natural young man would not even think twice.

After all, he is in a place where no 1 would ever know. He was in a place where he could have gone away with it. He could have rationalized. He could have justified. Just this once, who will know?

But he did not give in. Why? Because he was all in. How can I sin against God was his response? How was he able to say that In a moment of the greatest temptation that a young man can face, the reason was because Christ was on his mind.

He was able to exercise that spiritual discipline, resulting in his declaration of faith being all in, not giving in. Daniel was tempted to compromise, but he was all in. He could have simply compromised by just simply taking some little steps. Who would notice? Would it really matter?

He could have closed the window. He could have prayed away from the window. He could have prayed in his closet, which is something that would have been just fine. We should all pray in our prayer closet. But in doing so, Daniel would have compromised because it would have changed his custom.

It takes about 21 days to establish a custom, something that you do by habit. And so Daniel understood that if I'm doing, if I, if I hide from my God for 30 days, It's going to change me. I can't compromise. He was all in and he was all in only because Christ was his priority. He was mindful of Christ.

And So how could I hide that I worship God and he remained faithful? Paul, Paul was tempted to give up, but he was all in. Why? Because he had the mind of Christ. It's in the Bible, it's recorded he was beaten multiple times.

He was stoned more than once. He was shipwrecked. He was shipwrecked. He was encountered by thieves and bandits that left him half dead. He experienced no food, sleepless nights.

He was cold and naked. This was his experience. Why? Because he was faithful to God. But yet in all this, he was all in.

He was not, he didn't give in to the temptation to give up. Why? Because Christ was on his mind. And how were they able to remain faithful? How were they able to remain faithful?

The answer is very simple too. The reason they were able to remain faithful is because God is faithful. That's right. You wouldn't remain faithful if it wasn't for God's faithfulness. You don't remain faithful because you, you apart from God, have what it takes.

No, you need the 1 life, the 1 faithful life that is consistently faithful to live itself out in you, Christ in you. God is faithful. In fact, I can only be faithful because he was first faithful to me. And it gets better. It gets better.

Because when he, when we rather are faithless, guess what happens to God? He remains faithful. Even when we are faithless. That's why He makes provision so that when we journey with Christ, we're on this journey. He calls us to himself.

He calls us and he promises to give us everything that we need to remain faithful. That 1 thing that we need in his very own life that lifts out his faithfulness in us. And this is the amazing thing. This is the amazing thing. As these 4 young people stood here before you today at this young age, do you think that they signed up to be perfect?

Perfectly obedient? Perfect in every way? No not at all. But I can tell you 1 thing, that they're perfectly committed. Perfectly committed.

Because in Christ, He made provision so that as they walk with Him and they make mistakes and they trip up and fall and they look to Jesus and they say I agree with you I fell the moment that we make that confession God declares us clean because of what he did faithfully on the cross. He picks us back up and we walk with him just as we had not sinned. And we stand before God faithful. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful and He completely cleanses us from all our sin. And we stand before God and we keep walking with Him because we are faithful, because He was first faithful to us.

Amen? No, we don't know the future. We don't. We can't see what's ahead of us. There's Matthew 24 signs being fulfilled all around us, and it's something that we can truly understand.

But 1 thing's for sure, that God is faithful, and He who has begun a good work in you, he will complete it. God is faithful. We don't need to be afraid. We don't need to wonder if we're going to make it to the end. God is able and when we have our confidence in him and him alone, He will carry us through the end.

Why? Because He keeps His promises. He's faithful to His promises. And He will fight for you. When we find ourselves in trials and difficulties, God says, I got your back.

I know what I'm doing. I'm more concerned about eternity with you than making you comfortable in this world. Trust me. Trust me. We're in this together.

I'm working in you. Trust me. Trust in his faithfulness. He will carry you to the end. And the promise that we can grasp, the promise that we can claim is that God is able to accomplish, to finish what he has started.

He's the faithful 1 and He will keep you faithful. And so today let's hold on to that promise. He is true. He is faithful. How many of you today want to stand on the promise?

You want to stand on what He has said, because He is a God who does not lie. We can be sure that what He says will come to pass, and what He has begun in you, He will complete. And so will you stand on the promise of God? Will you stand on His promises? I want to be the first 1 to do so.

I'm already standing. If you want to stand with me, will you stand as well? Do you want to be faithful to God? Well God is saying, I'm in. And because He's all in, you are going to be victorious.

You will also sing that song of victory because He will carry you through to the very end. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, how thankful we are that you are the God of promise. For every circumstance that we are facing right now, this very moment, you have delivered a promise that we can claim it's within our reach. Lord, we choose to stand on those promises.

We praise you and thank you that in our unfaithfulness, oh Lord, you remain faithful. And I pray, Lord, that you would fill us all with the Holy Spirit, immerse us in your presence. May we walk from this place, but not from your presence, Lord, And may this be an experience that we have moment by moment. Give us your grace to be able to exercise our minds, to just acknowledge your presence wherever we are, to make it our motto to say again and again, Jesus with me, Jesus with me, Jesus with me. Thank you Lord for your promises.

We're gonna stand on them and be on solid ground in doing so until the day when you come and we see your face and spend eternity with you in Jesus name amen this media was brought to you by audio verse a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more. If you would like to know more about Audioverse, or if you would like to listen to more sermons, please visit www.audioverse.org

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All In: Faithful to the Finish

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