Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Whenever Andrew and I have some time off, we like to take out our sailboat on the lake. But whenever we get into some very heavy wind, it can take quite a toll on your arms as you hold onto the mainsheet. At times it can be much harder than holding onto a tow rope when you go water skiing, or playing tug of war with classmates when you were in school. But on our sailboat, we have something that will hold the line for us, called a cam cleat. This is an ingenious little device that has two spring loaded cams with metal teeth. When the line is drawn through them, the power of the wind pinch the rope and hold it in place, freeing up your hands to do other things. Even when under incredible loads, these strong little helpers will continue to hold fast, no matter how heavy the wind may be.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
A cam cleat is supposed to hold on to the mainsheet, and not let go. Those who become Christian are supposed to do the same thing, by never letting go of the things that they have been taught from Scripture. When we are surrounded by so much false Christianity in the world, we must continue to cling to the truth, and hold fast to the doctrines of our faith.
“Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.” Proverbs 4:13
To “hold fast” means to hold tightly to a specific idea or principle. On a ship, those who didn’t hold fast could have been swept overboard in a storm. Like Spiritual sailors, we are surrounded by a sea of seducers, and storms of deception, which is why we must hold fast to the things that we have learned, not only for our safety but for our salvation as well.
2 Timothy 3 ¹³ But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. ¹⁴ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” 1 Timothy 4:16
Like securing a line on a ship, we must be unmovable and securely rooted in the teachings of Christ.
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,…..1 Corinthians 15:58
Colossians 2 ⁶ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: ⁷ Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ⁸ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Like soldiers holding a position in battle, we must keep our feet placed firmly in the truth of scripture. We must never give in, because we are in a spiritual battle where failure is not an option and there is no retreat. We must hold our ground, protected by our faith, and shielded by the truth, always pressing forward to fight the enemy of righteousness with the mighty Sword of Christ.
Ephesians 6 ¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; ¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
To hold fast to our faith requires perseverance, which is defined by some as to continue in a course of action even in the face of great difficulty. It is to keep going, or to see something all the way through to the end, no matter what struggles you may need to endure.
Hebrews 12 ¹ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
We must rise up and fight against the works of darkness, in order to obtain a crown of righteousness that fadeth not away.
2 Timothy 4 ⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
We must never allow our faith to be swayed by public opinion or worldly philosophy, but continually abide in the teachings of Christ.
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13
“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 1:13
Remember that the Lord Jesus warns us to hold fast to what we have learned.
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” Revelation 3:3
Like tossing an anchor into the lake, we must be securely anchored to the teachings of our faith. We must cling to God’s Word through whatever storms that arise, and never let go, just like a mainsheet held firmly in place by…
……The Cam Cleat
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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