Joys Of Our Christianity | Bella Vista Church of Christ

Joys Of Our Christianity

Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
10/12/97 am

Joys Of Our Christianity

Reading — Psalm 73.1-5; 12-14; 16-19 & 23-28


In our reading this morning the psalmist asked a question that we all have asked from time to time... Why do the wicked prosper? In verse two, he says: My feet almost slipped, I almost got carried away with envy for the arrogant and the wicked when I saw:  Their prosperity and lack of struggles in life; their lack of burdens; their seemingly carefree lifestyle; and their increased wealth.

Look at verse 13... He says, it seems that my religion is in vain... It is for nothing that I have washed myself and kept myself pure.

Then he says in verse 17, I entered the sanctuary of God and learned the truth. In the sanctuary, the psalmist saw life as it really is... Note beginning with verse 23:
- That God is always with us,
- He is our guide and counsel,
- That one day He will take us home to glory.

Then he asked the question, Whom have I in heaven, but you?
The psalm ends with a declaration that:
1. He will be faithful to the Sovereign God as his refuge.
2. That he will continue to sing the praises of God’s great deeds.

In the first half of the psalm, the psalmist seems to be saying in Old Testament terminology, it’s just not worth it to be a Christian. It’s not worth it to try to maintain our faithfulness to a Sovereign God.

Question! Have our feet almost slipped? Have we, like the psalmist, seen the prosperity, comfort and lack of struggles of the wicked and asked the question... Why do others prosper while living so wicked year after year? Sure we have, we just sung that question a few moments ago in the song, Farther Along.

- Is it worth it to be a Christian?
- Is it worth it, to work so diligently, to keep ourselves pure?
- Is it worth it to try to follow God’s will in this life?
- Does it really pay to follow Jesus?
- Is it worth it to come to services like this 1, 2, 3 times a week?

Not only do non-Christians, who are seeking, ask such questions. Deep down, many of us, ask these questions also... RIGHT?

Such questions might be asked by:
- A wife and mother who has been thrown into a divorce through no fault of her own.
- A single parent who is struggling with raising their children.
- By a father who has just lost his job, and his family is on the brink of bankruptcy.
- Or a Christian brother or sister who has been diagnosed with cancer.
- By a spouse or parent who has just lost a loved one in death.
- Perhaps by a Christian who is dealing with depression.
Does it really pay to be a Christian?

So, the lesson this morning is applicable to us all...
THE JOYS OF OUR CHRISTIANITY.

- What it means to our past sins.
- What it means to our present peace and purpose.
- What it means to our hope of the future.

The first joy of Christianity is what it does to our past sins.
As I look out over this audience, I note that we all are different: We come from many different areas of the country; many different backgrounds; many different experiences.

But there is one thing that is common to each and every one of us... We are all sinners. Paul concludes in Romans 3 that all have sinned... There is none righteous, no not one. We can all look into our past and see some real ugliness that we wish was not there. Guilt... What a burden. But, you see, as a child of God we have no past. God has forever forgiven us our past sins, our past mistakes.

I remember a brother at Center Street in Fayetteville who had a real problem with alcohol. He came before the church confessing his fault and asking prayers on his behalf. A few weeks later he was assigned to wait on the Lord’s table. Some in the church, including the preacher, felt that this was inappropriate. The reason they gave was that he had a past. I remember a wise old Elder who reminded them that ALL of us have a past.

- Peter had a past... He denied Jesus, not once but three time to save his own pride. Would you allow him to wait on the Lord’s table?
- Paul had a past... He had folks arrested, jailed, beaten and killed for believing in Jesus. Would you assign him to serve communion?
- Many, if not all, of those in the Corinthian church had a past. In fact, they probably had trouble finding anyone to serve communion in the Corinthian congregation... For Scripture tells us they all have an ugly past.

Now here is the good news... It’s interesting to note what the Bible says God does with our past sins, if we are Christians... Children of God... Baptized believers.
- They are forgiven... Ephesians 1.7, In him we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
- They are washed away... Acts 22.16, And now what are you waiting for? Arise, and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.
- They are hurled into the sea... Micah 7.19, God will have compassion on us; and will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
- They are wiped out... Acts 3.19, Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
- They are remembered no more... Isaiah 43.25, I, am he who blots out your transgressions, and remembers your sins no more. Audience, that’s perfect forgiveness. I don’t know how God remembers our sins no more, we must just accept the fact.
- They are removed as far as the east is from the west... Psalm 103.12, As far as the east is from the west, He removed our transgressions from us. Did you notice what the Psalmist says? If he had said as far as the north is from the south, there would be a limit to how far our sins could be moved... East never meets west... As far as the east is from the west is forever... Infinity. That’s how far our sins have been removed from us. You see, when God forgives a sin... That means it will never come into play again... Not ever!
- They are purified... 1 John 1.9, If we confess, acknowledge, our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

THE JOY OF CHRISTIANITY IS THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE SINS OF OUR PAST.
The past is just that... The past. Sins that have been confessed, acknowledged, repented of are:
- Forgiven,
- Washed away,
- Hurled into the sea,
- Blotted out,
- Covered,
- Remembered no more,
- Removed as far as the east is from the west,
- Purified.

Let me show you something else... Not only are our past sins forgiven, our present and future sins are also dealt with by the blood of Jesus. Don and I were talking the other day, confessing our faults... Our sins to one another. I said, Don, you know it’s not my past sins that concern me the most, but the present ones... The ones that I know I am guilty of even while I am in the middle of them. Church, these are the sins that haunt me most. But there is no reason to worry here either, for John tells us, If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continues to cleanse us... Continues to purify us from all sin. No, not just the past, but our present failures are continually cleansed, if we are striving to be the people and person God has called us to be.
By the way... While we’re here, let me say this to you. I hope you have someone you can confess your sins to... and pray with. A friend so dear that you know that your confessed faults will go no farther than them and the God you serve. I believe this is both important and scriptural.

I visit with Christians weekly that confide in me the fact that they are anxious, scared to death that they are going to commit some sin tomorrow... No kidding! Truth is, they will and so will I!... So will you! God does not demand we live perfect lives. That’s the reason Jesus came... To cleanse us from ALL sin. Did you catch that in 1 John 1.7, And the blood of Jesus purifies us from ALL sin. Not just the past, but sins of our present and those we will commit in the future. Well, brother Randall, just how long will His blood continue to do this?. Just as long as we are striving to do our best to walk in the light of His truth.

I know some Christians who are themselves miserable and make everyone around them miserable, because they think they must be so squeaky clean that they will, one day, squeak right past the pearly gates. Well, let me tell you something:
- You are not that clean NOW.
- Neither can you ever be,
Except for the awesome grace of God and His forgiveness of ALL our sins, through His blood. What a genuine JOY it is to be a Christian... To realize that ALL our sins are forgiven.

THE SECOND JOY OF CHRISTIANITY IS WHAT IT DOES TO OUR PRESENT PEACE AND PURPOSE.
If I were to ask you this morning, what is your purpose on this earth, what would your answer be? How many of us really know our purpose here? I am convinced that, even though we have more, are more affluent, than any other people ever on this planet, that: the unhappiness, the restlessness, the lack of peace and fulfillment in our world are a direct result of our not knowing our purpose in life. Church, why do you suppose this is true? How can people have more and enjoy it less? The answer is, because they do not have a relationship with the Lord, with the God who created them.

It makes no difference, this morning: How much we know, how much we have, or where we are on the social ladder; if we do not have a relationship with our creator, then we will be:  Fearful, Anxious, Unfulfilled people.

SOLOMON VERIFIES THIS IN THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES.
For Instance Solomon Tried To Find Peace And Purpose In Luxury.
Ecclesiastes 2.7-9 says, I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well... Everything that delights the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. Yet in verse 11 he confesses, Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Solomon tried every form of luxury, yet he found emptiness of heart. Folk, luxury will not bring peace, purpose and fulfillment.

Solomon Also Tried Lust.
1 Kings 11.1 & 3 tells us, King Solomon loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter... There were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonites and Hittites... He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines. Solomon tried lust... Seemed to me he tried a lot of it! Many in our world today are trying to find peace and fulfillment in lust. We only have to turn on the TV... Check out the internet... Or go to the movies to see this is true. Listen to Solomon’s conclusion of trying to find purpose in lust from Ecclesiastes 2.1, I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless... Vanity.

Solomon Tried Learning... Education.
Scripture tells us he wrote 3000 proverbs and a 1000 songs. Yet in Ecclesiastes 2.16 he writes, For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man... For just as with the fool, in the coming days, both will be forgotten... Both will die. Solomon is telling us we can have a full head and an empty heart. No, we’re not against education, but if we do not have Jesus in our heart, we will neither have peace or fulfillment.

Well, where did Solomon find peace, fulfillment and meaning to life? Listen to the conclusion to his search from next to the last verse of the book, Now that all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty... The whole PURPOSE of man.

Church, PEACE and PURPOSE come in doing the will of God in this life.  Being a Christian not only brings PURPOSE... It gives us PEACE. In Romans chapter 3: Just after Paul says, there is none righteous, not one.  He goes on to say in verse 17 that the wicked do not know the way of peace.

Listen to these facts from the American Medical Journal:
- The third best selling drug in America is a tranquilizer designed to bring peace.
- The fifth best selling drug in America is also a tranquilizer prescribed to bring peace.
- The eighth most prescribed drug in America is a sleeping pill dispensed to bring peace.

We need to understand that the Christian life will help us find peace in the present circumstances, regardless of what they may be. Listen to Paul from Philippians chapter 4, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And (Listen now!) The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Peace is one of the fruits of living a Spirit led life, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Listen closely now!) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful flesh nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. We must know that when Paul wrote to the Philippians he was in a dirty, dark, cold Roman prison cell. But, regardless of the circumstances he still found JOY, PEACE and PURPOSE in life. What a genuine JOY it is to be a Christian... To have peace and purpose.

ANOTHER JOY OF CHRISTIANITY IS WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR FUTURE.
Ecclesiastes 3.11 in the NIV says that, God has placed eternity in our hearts. You see, God made us to live forever.
- Job asked in rhetoric, If a man dies will he live again?
- David speaks frequently of everlasting life in Psalms 21, 23, 121, 123.
- Daniel 12.2 says, those asleep in the earth will all awake, some to eternal life, some to eternal contempt.
- Jesus promised in John 14 that, in the Father’s house were many mansions that He was going to prepare for those who would spend eternity with Him.
- Paul says, If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven.
- Peter speaks of, an inheritance that will never end, spoil or fade away... Reserved for us in heaven.

Heaven is a place of eternal joy and happiness... Listen to Jesus in His parable of the talents in Matthew 25, Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your Master's happiness!... In the JOYS of your Lord. Perhaps heaven’s JOY is best explained by those things that will not be there:
- He will wipe away our tears,
- No more sorrow,
- No more sickness,
- No more pain,
- No more death,
“The old order of things have passed away and God has made all things new.”  Perhaps the greatest joy of Christianity is that our future has been taken care of... A HOME WITH GOD, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS.

Well, we are all like the psalmist... aren’t we? From time to time we get to looking at the world and thinking, Why Do The Wicked Prosper? But then, we come to the house of God and understand the JOYS OF CHRISTIANITY:
- All our sins have been forgiven,
- We have peace and purpose in this present life,
- And we have hope for the future.

So, the question of the hour is this... Are you a Christian?... ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? You can be by:
- Faith in God
- Repentance of all your sins,
- Confession of Jesus as the Son of God,
- And New Testament baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of all your sins.

The invitation is yours, as we stand and sing this song of encouragement.

Written By

Bella Vista Church of Christ

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