Stepping Closer

Introduction

In a recent conversation I had with an unbeliever, I was asked the question “Is it possible to fear God and be saved and still do bad things?”

In effect, the question was simply “What can I get away with and still make it to Heaven?”

The world sees the life that God has called us to live as boring and something to be shunned. Devoid of anything fun or entertaining. Those things simply are not true of course, for the life that God has given us to live is ANYTHING BUT boring or mundane!

John 10:10 NKJV

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

More abundant life… sounds like something absolutely EVERYONE would want, right?

The morbid truth is that people are used to and comfortable with their fake lives that cost them very little personally speaking.

I have been doing a study in the Book of Isaiah recently. Within the first few paragraphs of Isaiah’s writings we see that God’s people have gotten used to a lesser way of life than what God had prescribed for them.

You need to understand at the outset of this message this morning that there is a tremendous responsibility in being one of God’s people.

Jesus summed it up when He bluntly stated;

Matthew 10:38 NKJV

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Why then does it seem that even within the confines of the Church that it is so hard to find ON FIRE, SOLD OUT believers?

Stepping closer to God is going to cost you in this life.

Isaiah was called to bring a very unpopular to the Judean people that refused to trust God. They had been living in a false prosperity that was government aided and encouraged not only corrupt opulence or luxury, but oppression of the poor. The people favored a sensual, immoral, heathenistic religion to the relationship God had established with them.

The entire government was on the verge of collapse, yet God’s people refused to hear the warnings that had been issued to turn them back from their waywardness.

The Unflinching Prophet

Isaiah was revered by his contemporaries, and we still look to his work as a source of inspiration to this day.

His name literally means “Yahweh [the Lord] saves [or is the source of salvation]. It is speculated in Jewish writings that he was somehow connected or related to the royal family.

He began prophesying in 739 B.C., the year King Uzziah died. He gives us a detailed reference to his call in chapter 6 of his book. He ministered for over 60 years, and gave the world the messages from God concerning the Messiah coming as a suffering servant of the Lord.

There have been many prophets throughout history, the ones that did the job correctly usually met with less than desirable results. Not many people would sign up for the job if they did a deep study into the end result of their ministries.

Isaiah, for example, was so hated for his messages that he was sawn in half with a bowsaw under the order of King Manasseh in an effort to silence him.

However, Isaiah is counted as one of the greatest prophets to ever walk the earth, being quoted by Jesus and many New Testament writers.

He had an unwavering commitment to God no matter what the opposition was that he faced.

Although we have this and many examples of courage in the face of darkness, it seems that few people are brave enough to step closer to the Lord to discover their assignments. And because of this fact, the world around us is darker than it should be.

What would Isaiah be saying to the culture that we find ourselves in today?

God’s Holiness has not changed in the entire course of eternity, we have only struggled to understand it.

God’s true people will ALWAYS remain committed to walking as closely to God through holiness as possible.

Isaiah 35:8 NKJV

A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.

The world will think of us as foolish because we are willing to endure temporal destruction knowing that God has saved us from eternal destruction.

The Cost of Stepping Closer to God

Moses

Elijah

Elisha

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Daniel

John the Baptist

Stephen

What is the cost of getting closer to God?

EVERYTHING

Nothing more, nothing less.

Paul states:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NKJV

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Jeremiah 10:23 NKJV

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

In other words, the moment you were born again into God’s kingdom through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, who you were died.

The problem with that statement is that most Christians do not and are not living that way.

What are you pursuing this morning? Is it God’s will? Or your own?

How do you know?

How do you hold yourself accountable to the Body of Christ to ensure that you are fulfilling your portion of the work that needs to be done?

What has your walk with God cost you?

I will tell you that if it has not cost you anything, then there is a good possibility that the enemy doesn’t view you as a threat.

That’s a problem…

Pentecostals have been quick to proclaim the power of the Holy Spirit, but to what end?

The power given is to embolden us to stand against the powers and principalities of this world and sometimes even in the face of death.

I am telling you this morning that God is on the move, mighty things are going to happen soon and very soon.

But I also tell you that there will be a cost. Some may even have to face imprisonment or death.

The suffering WILL NOT be in vain, just as the suffering of the first martyrs has not been in vain.

In fact, the book of Revelation speaks of ALL the martyrs and their significance.

Revelation 6:9–11 NKJV

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

The work we have before us is mighty, but it will not be without cost. How far are you willing to go for your faith?

Ephesians 3:20 NKJV

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Philippians 4:13 NKJV

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

We know these verses and try to apply them to our own personal lives as if that is the end of our commitment to God.

I tell you that unless we work for the Kingdom of God externally, many of you will work endlessly on self improvement having done nothing for God otherwise.

Choosing Commitment Over Comfort

This world is not our home, we are on a journey to the place that Jesus has promised to those that believe on Him.

But I firmly believe that the Church is being shaken to purge out all the dross.

God wants to burn out all the impurities that keep us tied to selfish carnal desires.

We spoke briefly about this dynamic a couple of weeks ago, where Jesus said

Matthew 16:24–26 NKJV

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

It is easy to speak of commitment when you’re comfortable and do not feel the pressure of the enemy to back down.

It could be as simple as someone telling you to be quiet about your faith, or as serious as a demand to renounce your faith with you or someone you love facing death if you don’t comply.

Listen, I’m not saying this is easy. Not by any means…

Peter, one of those that was closest to Jesus during His earthly ministry; seemed to be one of the strongest men in the group. He was bold, and sometimes a little obnoxious.

One day, Peter made a statement to Jesus and immediately followed it with a question.

Matthew 19:27 NKJV

Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”

Jesus gives them this promise right on the spot.

Matthew 19:28–30 NKJV

So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Stepping closer to God’s purpose for your life WILL have a cost, but it is worth WHATEVER you have to go through!

We know that Peter was later martyred for his unwavering commitment to Christ and the mission of bringing the Gospel to the world.

Yet before he died he penned these words;

1 Peter 3:8–17 NKJV

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

1 Peter 3:18–4:2 NKJV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.