Wisdom for a New Generation Part Two: Stand Fast in the Faith

Sunday, October 7th, 2007 | posted by: admin

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Stephen Simpson * CCM * October 7, 2007

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Text: 1 Corinthians 16
B. Title: “Wisdom for a New Generation – Part Two: Stand Fast in
the Faith”
C. Two weeks ago, we began a series out of 1 Corinthians 16 that we will
focus on each time I share this month and into next month.
1. Back in August, we spent some time talking about the importance
of passing faith and heritage from generation to generation
2. But I’ve wanted to begin talking specifically about what it is that
we are to share
3. The Bible is the greatest book of wisdom ever written and shared
with mankind
4. There are many passages of wisdom on which we could focus, but
the Lord led me to 1 Corinthians 16 in particular as a starting point
D. One thing I’ve said before that I really want to repeat is this:
1. However young or old you are within the sound of my voice, I
want to challenge you to make the rest of your life about
personally passing faith on to the next generation
2. This generation may or may not be willing to read a Bible, but
they are reading you, all the time
• They know if you have integrity or not
• They know if you are really walking with the Lord or not
• They know if you have depth and wisdom or not
• And they know if you care for them or not
3. If we want the next generation to receive the life, the blessings,
the joys, and the values that we have labored for, prayed for, cried
for, and bled for, then we’ve got to intentionally and strategically
impart it to them personally
4. But, if you want all of these precious values to die when you die,
just make sure that you never interact with a young person
• Make sure you don’t make them a priority
• Make sure you don’t give your time or money to reach them
• Make sure you stick to your comfort zone and your old way of doing things
E. Another thing I’ve said is that if you want to receive the blessing
of God in your life ….
1. Then find out what He is already blessing
2. And get in on it
3. One of the things God is blessing is outreach to the emerging
generation
F. So, we are not merely wanting to throw principles at our young people,
but we want to incarnate these principles to them
1. We want to demonstrate and live what we’re talking about
2. We want to produce a visible model that they can see
3. We don’t want to just hang a sign out front that says “Covenant,”
but we want to demonstrate and walk in covenant with God and
each other
4. We don’t want to just point the way, but we want to walk with them
in the way
5. And we want to disciple them to know how to make disciples as
well
G. So, what are some of these principles that we want to sow deep into
their lives – what is it that we want you younger folks to receive from
us?

II. STANDING FAST
A. *** 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14 ***
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love. (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
B. I can’t re-preach what I shared a couple of Sundays ago when we
started this series
1. If you missed the first message, make sure you get the CD
2. We talked about that first word, “Watch,” which means “Be on
the alert.”
• It doesn’t mean standing by like a spectator (tennis)
• It’s not a passive word – it has to do with waiting on the Lord, being sensitive to hear His voice, and ready to obey His commands
• It also has to do with being on guard and being at the ready for whatever the enemy may throw your way

3. How many of you know when somebody says things to you like
• Be ready
• Don’t give up
• Be brave
• Be strong
• Those are clues!
4. When the Lord called Joshua to lead Israel after Moses died, the
Lord said to him repeatedly: “I’ve got some things to tell you, but
be of good courage, be very courageous, do not be afraid.”
• You can imagine that when Joshua first heard the Lord’s voice, he probably said, “Oh, Hi Lord! Great to hear from you!”
• But after about the fifth time God said, “Now, don’t be afraid,” Joshua may have said, “You know, I wasn’t afraid a few minutes ago, but I’m getting a little concerned right now.”
• The reason Joshua didn’t say that is because the Lord also said this: “I am with you.”

5. When the Word of the Lord says, “Stand fast in the faith,” how
many understand that it means that you are going to get
challenged?
C. Jesus told the story in Matthew 7 about the wise and foolish
builders
1. The wise builder built on the rock and when the storm came, his
house stood firm, even though the wind and floods beat against
it
2. The foolish builder built on the sand and when the storm came,
his house collapsed completely
3. Jesus said WHEN the storm came
Storms are coming
Build your life, not for the sunny days, but for the storms
4. And, He said, build on the rock
5. What is that rock?
• Jesus says that the one who hears His teachings and does them is like the man who built on the rock
• And the one who hears the teachings and does not do them is like the man who built on the sand
D. The Rock
1. Look in your Bible at Matthew 16
2. *** MATTHEW 16:13-19 ***
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19)
3. Jesus said, “On this rock, I will build my church.”
• Do you understand here that the rock is not Peter?
• He told Simon, I’m going to re-name you Peter (Rock)
• But Peter is not the rock
• The rock is the truth that Peter declared: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
• Christ is not Jesus’ last name – it is Who and what He is – savior, deliverer, wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace
• It is the rock of truth about Jesus Christ upon which we build our entire lives
• It is in the truth of Jesus that demons are bound, that captives are freed, and strongholds are toppled
4. We need to grab hold of that truth, make sure of our faith, stand
firm confidently in who Jesus is and what He has done
• Hebrews 10 says, in part:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching…. 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise….” (Hebrews 10:23-36)
5. So there are a couple of elements we need to see here
• Have a solid foundation upon which to stand
• Stand firm upon that foundation when trouble comes
E. The passage we read from 1 Corinthians 16 says “stand firm in THE
faith.”
1. It’s not just standing firm in some faith or any faith
2. Paul says, “the faith”
3. Jude 1:3 puts it this way:
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you
to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to
the saints.” (Jude 1:3)
4. We live in a post-modern age where people are afraid of absolutes
• People have a difficult time grasping that there are such things as good and evil, right and wrong
• People are also easily distracted and scattered, easily intimidated and angered – everyone is on the defense
• Political correctness trumps actual correctness

5. While we should be aware that this is the language and mindset of
the culture in which we now live, we should understand that it is
not the perspective of the kingdom of God
• We are called to know the King of the kingdom, to place our absolute trust in Him and in His living Word
• We are also called to know our culture, our families, friends, and neighbors
• And to serve as ambassadors from our King to a world that is desperate need of His wise and merciful rulership
• But as ambassadors of His, we do not have a choice of whether or not to accept His truth
• We must clearly understand and receive our marching orders from Him
• And then we must clearly and lovingly articulate and incarnate His Word to the world we live in
• That’s what Jesus did – He taught people by incarnation – by living it and even dying for it
• But we cannot live something we don’t know and receive
• That’s why Paul told Timothy:
“Be diligent (study) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15)

III. STANDING FIRM
*** TURN TO ISAIAH 50….
A. Standing firm when trouble comes doesn’t happen just by making a
decision or making preparations when the difficult moments strike
1. I had a friend who said, “Never decide on a Sunday morning
whether or not you are going to church that day, because if that’s
when you decide, you’ll never decide to go. Make up your mind
that from now on, you’re going to go to church on Sundays.”
2. That’s true for anything that’s good or right
• See it as a worthy goal
• Determine in your heart in advance to do whatever it takes to reach that goal
• And stand firm when you are tested in that commitment
3. My dad taught me by word and by example Psalm 15, which
promises blessing to the man who makes a commitment and
keeps it, even when it hurts him
• I’ve watched him stand with and walk with people when doing so cost him dearly
• You don’t make those decisions when it’s convenient or in the moment of crisis; you make the commitment to do it with the full recognition that you could get tested in it
• When people make wedding vows and say, “For better or worse ….” it’s not really the “better” part that they are talking about, it’s not the “richer” or the “in health” part that necessitates a vow
• We don’t make covenant for the sake of convenience
• Jesus made covenant with His disciples on the very night He was betrayed
B. Look at what Isaiah prophesied concerning Jesus:
5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away. 6 I gave My back to those who struck Me,
And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
7 “ For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. 8 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me.
9 Surely the Lord GOD will help Me (Isaiah 50:5-9)
C. Isaiah saw that Jesus would hear the Father’s Word and set His
face like a flint, knowing that all of God’s promises would come
to pass
1. Jesus knew that whatever came against Him, God would help
Him and vindicate Him
2. Jesus placed all of His confidence and hope in the Lord and as
a consequence, His name has been exalted far above every
name that can be named, not only in this age, but also in the
one to come
3. The same Word that guided Jesus and that same Holy Spirit
that sustained Him are available to us right here, right now
D. Hebrews 6 speaks of our hope in Christ as an anchor that is
rooted, not in the shifting sands of circumstance, but in the
eternal and unchangeable purpose of God
1. That anchor goes beyond the veil, into the holy of holies, and
binds us to Father’s heart by the blood of Jesus Christ

2. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from
His hand
3. That is a confidence and a hope that can never be shaken
4. Paul said, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”
5. How are you going to stop somebody like that?
E. But to stand firm in Christ, we’ve got to know Him, know who
He is, to know what He’s done for us, and to know what He’s
saying to us
1. Colossians 2 says:
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:6-8)
2. Paul talks a lot in Colossians about being rooted and
grounded in the faith
3. In Ephesians, Paul talks about being rooted in love
4. These are the things that empower us to stand firm when
trouble comes
F. You’ve heard me say often that we need to reject fads and
embrace values that are classical, tested, and proven
1. Our methods may change to suit cultures and seasons
2. But our principles and our foundations must be rooted
solidly in Christ and in the faith that He has given to us once
and for all

IV. CONCLUSION
A. We are not only called to stand firm, but we are shown why we must
stand firm, how we can stand firm, and even given power by the
grace of the Holy Spirit to keep us in that day
B. Prayer

 

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