True Christianity
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True Christianity
2 Samuel 23:1-7
Psalm 132:1-12
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
John 18:33-37
How does one express true Christianity. For 2000 years Christianity has survived and thrived around the world. Evil men have tried to destroy it but failed. Culture and societal norms have changed and have attempted to evolve Christianity to please and satisfy and justify their desires but they continue to fail. All of this is because true Christians in the world continue to listen to the voice that speaks truth. The voice leads them to true Christianity. This is the voice of the shepherd. It is the voice of Jesus Christ.
David was a man after God’s heart. He was chosen to be king because he sought to please the Lord rather than his own desires. He was not perfect as he did in fact sin in a moment of desire. He could have continued to live in sin but when his sin was found out, rather than deny or justify he confessed, repented, humbled himself and begged for forgiveness and that his heart be transformed. David in his last words says that the Spirit of the Lord spoke through him. The Lord spoke through him that when one rules over people in righteousness then he is like the light of a morning star. It is like the sunrise of renewal and a new day. The Lord made an everlasting covenant with David because rather than leave his heart hardened and seeking the desires of his own flesh, he turned away from the flesh and sought out truth. David gives us the example of how the Christian should live before there was even Christ as the example. Yes, he was imperfect and flawed but he still listened to the voice of the Lord and gave Him greater importance.
John 18 gives us the recorded history of Jesus’ arrest. He is before Pontius Pilate because the religious Leaders of Israel have handed him over to be killed. They were listening to the voice of their own heart and their pride had been damaged so now was the time for them to show their power of influence by killing a man who had embarrassed them and caused so much trouble. Pilate is looking for a way and reason out of this situation. He knows that Jesus is an innocent man and he knows that Jesus is there because of the jealousy of the religious leaders. He asks Jesus to explain to him if he is the king of the Jews. If Jesus says yes then this gives him reason in the Roman law to kill him. If he claims to be a self-proclaimed king then Pilate has the responsibility to remove him for the interests of Rome. Rome cannot have a self-proclaimed king threatening their rule. But Jesus does not claim to the king of the Jews as Pilate asks. In fact, he says that this is the idea of his accusers and the idea of Pilate. He states that he is in fact a king but his kingdom is not of this world so he is no threat to Rome. This continues to the fact that there is no fault found in him and yet Pilate must still deliver him to be killed in order to maintain peace and order. Jesus says, of his followers that his voice testifies to the truth. His voice is truth and those who are on the side of truth listen to his voice.
So, then what is true Christianity? How is it expressed? It is expressed by listening to and believing in the one who came into this world to testify to the truth. True Christianity does not seek the desires of self but instead seeks the desires of the voice of truth. Jesus is that voice and we hear his voice by reading the scriptures and by listening to the Holy Spirit. Men in the world have attempted to destroy the Word of God by burning Bibles in the hopes that the truth would be silenced. However, they failed to understand that the voice of truth is eternal and that they can burn all the Bibles in the world and the truth will still prevail because the Spirit of truth still speaks. Daniel prophesied about him, “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” True Christianity listens to the voice of the sovereign King Jesus that speaks truth rather than the voice of their own heart that seeks the pleasures of the flesh.
How do you know though when you are hearing the voice of truth? How do you know when he is leading you in a certain direction? We know by reading his word but other times he unfolds that path before us. I have one more month to serve and Preach at the Living Hope Church of the Nazarene. God is calling my family to South Carolina to serve him there. Last February we visited a church in Simpsonville called Life Spring Community Church. This is a new start church much like how this church was 15 years ago when Pastor Ann and I came on board. My wife has desired to move to a warmer climate for years but I would not do so unless God had called me to do so. We went to South Carolina just to see if there was any call down there. The current pastor there has a desire to eventually retire as he technically is retired already but God has brought him and his wife to serve at Life Spring. Before we left South Carolina we went hiking on a mountain trail. After we finished and before leaving, I went out onto the side of the mountain alone to pray. I prayed that if this is where God wants us to be next then he needs to make it all possible because this is a mountain that I did not see possible to move.
We left South Carolina and went home to continue living our lives here and serve as he has called us to serve. However, a few months later I received a phone call from the District Superintendent of South Carolina, He proposed to me a transitional associate pastor position at Life Spring until the current pastor was finally ready to retire. However, this position would still require me to be bi-vocational. So, the next steps were to find a Job down there. I had applied to several positions but was never called for an interview so I had assumed that well maybe it was not meant to be. However, 4-5 weeks ago I received a message from Linked in that there was an automotive service manager position open in Greenville South Carolina. When I opened the link to see more information, I saw that it was for Mobility Works which is the company I work for now. God had opened a position for me to transfer within the company I already work for. However, there was one more hurdle to work through. We needed a place to live. We thought about renting an Airbnb while searching for a house. However, God put a house in front of us on Zillow that we really liked and is in a good location and the price had dropped significantly. God also put us in touch with a mortgage broker and real estate agent that have both made the process easy and seamless for us. Last Monday I went to look at this house to see if this was in good condition and whether it would meet our needs. One issue we had with the house was that the kitchen was unfinished as it only had bottom cabinets. When I arrived the real estate agent informed me that the seller had already purchased cabinets and that they were going to be installed next week. They had also begun to repair other things in the back yard as well. We made an offer on the house and a few hours later the agent called me to let me know that this was the quickest and easiest negotiation that he had ever experience is his real estate career. They accepted our offer and we are now set to close December 18.
Sometimes, God will guide you and be with you as you lead your life doing as you desire. Other times God will lay the path he desires for you right before you. True Christianity is listening to that voice and stepping out on faith that he is going to lead you to something special. I will miss Living Hope for sure as this church has been my family for 15 years. But I know God has plans for this church as he has plans for me and my family.
We must be careful about the voices we listen to in this world. Even the ones who seem like they should be a voice of Christian truth. We live in a world today in which there are churches who worship a Jesus that is not the Jesus of the Bible. Instead, they worship a Jesus based upon their own desire. Babylon Bee has a video out called Woke Jesus. It is an over exaggeration of the kind of Jesus that some churches are preaching these days. While this video is satire, it alludes to some truths that are going on in our world today. Following a Jesus of your desire who justifies all of your desires is not true Christianity. True Christianity is listening to the voice of truth and obeying even when it may not be what you desire yourself. I never wanted to leave Living Hope. I was happy and comfortable right wear I am. However, Jesus is leading me to get out of what is comfortable and to go to a land that he will show me. True Christianity is listening to the voice of the True Jesus.