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.
I grew up on a lake, and when I was a kid I used to do a lot of snorkeling during summer vacation. I used to dive to the bottom just to look at all the neat things under the water. But it wasn’t normally very deep, and I would come up regularly, blowing the water out of my snorkel and catching a quick breath of fresh air. Freediving is when people swim underwater relying solely on their ability to hold their breath, rather than using scuba tanks, or other external breathing equipment. In 2008, Alexi Molchanov set the world record when he used a monofin to swim to the depth of 426 ft on a single breath. He held his breath for over four and a half minutes, which is a feat all by itself. But freediving can be extremely dangerous, because obviously, you can run out of oxygen.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Free divers need to head to the surface in order to breathe, otherwise they will slowly begin to blackout and can die because of it. Likewise, the deeper that you dive into the world, the further it can pull you away from the life giving oxygen of God’s Holy Word. Just like a diver, you are going to have to quickly turn around and begin swimming for the surface, seeking the oxygen of God’s truth and coming up for air.
Mark 4:18-19 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful
There are going to be many people who begin the Christian Life, but then come up short. Rather than focusing on the things that God wants them to do, the things of this world will begin to creep into their lives, and pull them away from the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Kind of like a little child in a classroom setting, they will become distracted, getting fixated on other things rather than focusing on their homework. I guess it really comes down to tuning in your hearts to the teachings of scripture, and then applying yourselves to doing the things that it teaches. Love is a very strong emotion, and will cause you to seek after things that in the end, really have nothing to do with your own salvation.
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
One of the worst things in Scripture that can pull you away from a close relationship with God is the love of money. Once this evil root grabs a hold of somebody’s heart, it can be extremely difficult to break free from. Jesus called out to men everywhere to preach God’s Word, but for a lot of them, it was their love of money that prevented them from doing this.
Matthew 19:16-26 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
The Apostle Paul was a tentmaker and could provide for his needs if he had to, but the main focus in his life was the furthering of the gospel of Christ.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
In order for men to be fruitful, they need to be preaching the Word of God, but a lot of them will be more concerned about the cares of this world instead.
Luke 9:59-62 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Time is a very important commodity, and when we begin the Christian Life, we must begin to redeem the time we have been given. Rather than using it to further one’s own purpose, we must use it to further God’s purpose.
Ephesians 5:15-16 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Rather than coveting after the things of this world we must covet Spiritual things. We must push out any desires for things in this world, so that we can seek God with a full heart. Many people know exactly what the Bible says, but then they wander off and completely forget about the task at hand. In order to bear fruit, we must become doers of God’s will.
James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
In order to be fruitful, God’s Word must be a daily part of our lives, and you never want to immerse yourself too deeply into the waters of this world. Just like when I used to go snorkeling, each of us will need to come back to the surface, replenishing our lives with the oxygen of God’s Word by always remembering, to keep…….
……..Coming Up for Air
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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