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Muskegon SDA Church

Steps to Christ

Kameron DeVasher

Repentance

Confession

Consecration

Faith and Acceptance

Royce Snyman

The Test of Discipleship

Daniel Jean-Francois

Growing Up Into Christ

The Work and the Life

A Knowledge of God

The Privilege of Prayer

What to Do With Doubt

But here we are today We're continuing this quarter study on steps to Christ and using that small booklet as a companion guide to our Series and again if you don't have a copy of that book or you need 1 and want 1 for someone else They are available at our resource desk as you leave today free of charge, of course, but we've looked at how God truly loves us and that our need is for Christ in our lives for both pardon for our sin and power for victorious living in the future in a spirit of genuine repentance.

Hopefully we've confessed whatever sins might be between the Lord and ourselves and made things right between our fellow man and ourselves.

And now we turn our attention to what goes next, going forward, pushing on in the future.

How does the personal revival and reformation of repentance and confession and starting things off right with God and each other?

Continue as we go forward in our daily life the chapter title in the message title today is consecration How do we devote our lives to him going forward?

But before we begin any study, of course, let's begin with the word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for just allowing us to have any life at all, and particularly this Sabbath day of rest and fellowship, worship and ministry.

And Lord, as we study your word now, we claim the promise that you would lead us into all truth if we were to ask by the power of your Holy Spirit.

If you would, please go to the book of Philippians Philippians chapter 2 We're gonna look at the Apostle Paul's counsel to the church at Philippi And as you're finding Philippians chapter 2, I want to lay out some principles that we're going to be developing in our message today.

Some basic premises will be the foundation of our study.

First of all, it is important to understand that the maintenance of a growing Christian experience is not passive.

Expecting God to simply carry us effortlessly through each day.

It's not a passive thing where we come to Christ, we accept His salvation, we repent of all of our sins, and now we say, Lord, I'm yours.

We just let him do his thing it's not passive there's an active agent for us to do something that we're supposed to do as Paul left the church in Philippi He urged them to maintain their standing with Christ.

Looking now at 1 Philippians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13.

Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." Notice he's saying, I'm leaving and you're going to be on your own now.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.

Clearly, Paul taught that there is something of an ongoing work of obedience committed to us.

But in the same breath, He explains that it is only by the power of God that will even want to or be able to accomplish his will So it's not like we're saying Lord.

I'm on my own nor Are we saying Lord you take over here and I'm gonna stand back and watch Apparently we work it out through the power of God in our daily lives.

Okay, now, the misconception, prevalent as it is, and appealing as it may sound at least at first, that once I give myself to God, He will then simply take over and all tough decisions are on Him.

Everything is, well, it is through His power, but it's through our cooperation with his power.

Choice, this independence of thought, this free moral agency, is the greatest gift and at the same time the greatest responsibility the Lord has entrusted each of us with.

He gives us the power akin to that of our Creator, power to think and power to do.

You can look at a situation, evaluate it Through the discernment of God's Word and the Holy Spirit know what the right thing is and that the power of God choose to do the right but the choice is ours Everything we do is a choice now God and Satan both do all they can to influence those choices right God sends his Holy Spirit to knock on the heart's door, to awaken conscious, to convict of sin.

And Satan sends his evil angels to send forth temptations and distractions and discouragements.

And there's an influence struggle, but The decision of who wins is ours.

Disobedience and obedience is ultimately and finally our responsibility.

The 1 choice, now follow me here, the 1 choice that we cannot make is the choice not to choose.

The only choice unavailable to us is the choice not to choose because even in not choosing that is a choice.

By not choosing to get up and go today, I am choosing to stay in bed.

And that choice is left to us throughout our Christian experience.

Let's go to the book of Joshua, chapter 24.

To the people of ancient Israel was given this great challenge, this poignant challenge that we read in Joshua chapter 24, verses 14 and 15.

We read, Now Therefore fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt.

Serve the Lord." Now, I want you to notice this.

In his call to serve the Lord, apparently there's an active role for them to do to put away the other gods, right?

It's not just saying I choose the Lord and then you go back home and everything's still the same.

He said no, no, if you're gonna choose the Lord it takes some active participation with you to put away the other things, right?

Now therefore fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt.

And then he goes on to say in verse 15, and if it seems evil to you, right, if you look at the situation and say you know what it seems painful it seems unappealing unattractive uninviting to follow the Lord then don't but that's your choice right if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, then what does he say to do?

Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites in the land who and whose land you dwell but as for me in my house we will serve the Lord." Notice he's saying I'm making a choice our household is making this choice and you have the same choice I can't make it for you and just because the rest of the congregation might choose 1 way the choice is yours individually And that choice dwindles down to active, daily, small changes, 1 way or the other, for or against the Lord.

He will not come in, move us over, and start making all the decisions for us.

As much as that sounds appealing, think of how that strikes at the heart of the great controversy.

Christ wants to empower us, to strengthen us, but He wants the choice to still be ours, the actions to still be in our daily lives.

God does not force the will of his creatures.

He cannot accept an homage that is not willingly and intelligently given.

A mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind and character.

Apparently it's in our best interest that Jesus not do everything for us.

But he gives us the strength, he gives us the goal, he gives us all the resources available, but he says, now I want you to choose and you put in your life these changes.

It makes us grow more and more like Jesus.

Again, a mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind and character.

He invites us to give ourselves to Him that He may work His will in us.

It remains for us to choose whether we will be set free from the bondage of sin, to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

Did you realize that though the power is from Christ, the choice is ours whether we want to see changes in our life?

The power is from God, the calling is from God, but the choice is your own and he will not make it for you.

And that's the big picture decision whether I theoretically want to submit to Christ or if on a Tuesday I want to change how I do this 1 particular thing in my life.

And he asks us, he invites us to voluntarily, intelligently choose to surrender all to him.

And I want to remind you that we're going to be reading the words of Jesus himself.

I'm going to read some of the strongest passages in the Bible, some of those pointed scriptures that the scripture records, and then I want you to say, thank you, because I don't preach that strong to you now.

But any time I do, I want the Bible to do the heavy lifting, right?

Back to Menu

Series

Steps to Christ

Consecration

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

Repentance

51m

Confession

42m

Consecration

43m

Faith and Acceptance

41m

The Test of Discipleship

30m

Growing Up Into Christ

41m

The Work and the Life

43m

A Knowledge of God

41m

The Privilege of Prayer

38m

What to Do With Doubt

36m

Sound Doctrine