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.
The other day, one of my neighbors told me a little story about one of the very first times that he went deer hunting with his family. After walking through the woods for a while, his dad finally found a good spot for the son to climb up into a tree and watch for deer. The young teenager shimmied up the tree trunk, and found some large limbs to use as a makeshift seat. But before leaving for his own tree stand, his dad gave him implicit instructions that he was not to leave under any circumstances. This was because the forest was unfamiliar to him, and his dad didn’t want him wandering off and getting lost in the cold winter weather. He knew his dad would get pretty upset if he didn’t listen, so he remained in that tree, until his dad returned a few hours later to guide him out of the woods.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
It can be very easy to get lost in the forest, but God doesn’t want us to wander off like a sheep that has become separated from the rest of the flock. We must humbly submit to His wishes, and continue to remain in the things that we have been taught from Holy Scripture. Someday the Lord Jesus is going to return and will send forth His angels to gather up His children, but we must be ready and waiting for His return. Like keeping seated up in a tree stand, we must stay put in the doctrines of our faith, patiently waiting for God to lead us out of the woods.
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Small children can have a very short attention span, and it’s hard to get them to stay seated over long periods of time. They can get bored very quickly and will begin squirming around in their seats, until the teacher finally leaves to go to the office. Then, all of a sudden, everyone will get up and start running around the classroom. Abiding in our faith is a requirement in order to enter eternal life, but some people are not going to keep in their seats. They will get up and go somewhere else, completely distracted by all of the temptations of this world. They are like a teenager who drops out of school, and gets a job instead. They are like a runner who begins a marathon, but quits halfway through. They are like a woman who walks off on her marriage, and moves in with someone else instead. People such as these know nothing about longevity or perseverance, which are qualities that are required in order to obtain eternal life. We must stay seated firmly in our seats, until class is over, and we are redeemed from off of this Earth.
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13
Like a teacher returning to the classroom, we want the Lord to find us patiently waiting for Him, and humbly obedient to the teachings of the true faith
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.
“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” 1 John 2:28
Have you ever watched somebody sitting on a couch and incessantly flipping through all the channels on a TV? Rather than settling in on one channel, they will continue to flip through all of them until they get so bored that they finally get up and go do something else instead. You cannot begin Christianity with an attitude like that. If we desire eternal life, we must become well rooted in our religious beliefs. Like a mature tree out in the woods, we must be unmovable and firmly grounded to God’s truth so that no matter what winds may blow around us, nothing can shake our faith.
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. ¹⁰ And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
To abide means to continue or to remain in something. It is to remain faithful to the things that we have been taught from scripture. For many years, Noah continued to build his ark, and when the time came, he and his family were saved from the destruction of the world. We must possess the same attitude, striving against the floodwaters of sin, and abiding in the doctrines of Christ.
“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
When people get on a commercial airplane, they are asked to buckle up and remain seated. This is for their own safety and protection. This is a rough and turbulent world that we are passing through, and we must stay firmly seated in our faith, never wandering away from the truth, and being led astray by all types of false teachings.
“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines…….. Hebrews 13:9
Those who are genuine disciples of Christ will continue in His Word, and then when that day finally appears, the Lord will find us ready to inherit the Kingdom that He has prepared for us.
John 8 ³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; ³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Like a child who won’t give up his seat on the bus, we must stand fast in the Lord!
“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” Philippians 4:1
As long as we are in these Earthly bodies, we must remember that we are not out of the woods yet! Each day we must continually abide in our faith, waiting for the moment that the Lord Jesus finally returns. He will be coming, and we must wait patiently, knowing that He will lead us all the way home to Paradise, just as long as we continue to,….
…….Stay in our Seat
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.❤️
tlkjbc.com
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 