Consistency (TCJ eSermon)

 Consistency

Jo Shure – Pennsylvania:

“Shortly before Christmas one year, my mom made a healthy investment in a new vacuum cleaner.

She couldn’t wait to try it out, so she plugged the electric marvel in, and turned it on. Without warning, the motor shut off.

The motor started up again, and went off again within a few seconds. Then it started again. She proceeded to vacuum and off it went again, then back on. Faster and faster Mom tried to vacuum between the on and off cycles. Until she finally gave up exhausted.

Mumbling under her breath and preparing to call the salesperson to give them a piece of her mind, she went to unplug the vacuum cleaner. And to her dismay, she discovered she had plugged the machine into her Christmas tree light blinker switch.

 The Questions are different, but each answer is the same:

1)      What will guard us against foolish extremes?

2)      What characterizes those who are habitually successful in sports, sales or some skill?

3)      What single quality in a business, builds respect deeper than any other?

4)      What brings security to relationships?

5)      What makes us choose a particular brand name over all the others?

6)      What ‘s needed most by parents in the home?

7)      What draws you to the same restaurant time and time again?

8)      What do you want most from your paperboy, or the postman?

9)      What will add more weight to your witness for Christ than anything else?

CONSISTENCY – The Answer to all nine questions – Consistency!

Another word is “Steadfastness”, you can count on it. 

It will be there tomorrow, just like it was yesterday….free from silly moods, sudden changes, or fickle fads. Early in the day, or late at night…..Consistency stands firm. Diligence is it brother, dependability is it’s partner, discipline is it’s parent.

Theme: I want us today to look at four contributions to CONSISTENCY, and apply them to our spiritual life.

PREPAREDNESS (2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation"

Growing up, I remember my parents going to a huge apple orchard in Gays Mills, Wisconsin and getting apples. My mother would make as many as a hundred apple pies, and they would take up a good share of the space in our freezer.  When family & friends would stop by un-expectantly, I knew what we would be having for lunch….

Apple pie, and some ice-cream on the side. My parents have gone home to be with the Lord. How I miss seeing an apple pie sitting on the counter, waiting to be served.

Is it wrong to think ahead? NO! Especially when it comes to our eternal future. The Bible instructs us to make preparations NOW!

In 2 Corinthians 6: 2 the Apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 49:8 which is a reference to Israel’s restoration from captivity.

The land, and her people received a promise of restoration.

In this time that we have, it is a time of preparation.

A time to get ready to go home to be with the Lord forever.

It is not something we can afford to put off. The time is NOW, to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior & Lord of your life.

What does being prepared do for us? It brings a sense of peace, and confidence to our hearts and lives. We can know, that if we were to die today, heaven would be our destination.

And in our daily lives. To be in God’s Word, prayer, worship, fellowship with fellow Christians, will help us prepare for the challenges of this life.

2^nd Contribution to Consistency

 PERSEVERANCE  (Consistency requires that we persevere in this life.

(James Banks) When our daughter was 15, she ran away. She was gone more than 3 weeks. Those were the longest 3 weeks of our lives. We looked everywhere for her and sought help from law enforcement and friends. During those desperate days, my wife and I learned the importance of waiting on God in prayer. We had come to the end of our strength and resources. We had to rely on God.

It was on a Father’s Day that we found her. We were in a restaurant parking lot, on our way to dinner, when the phone rang.

A waitress at another restaurant had spotted her. Our daughter was only three blocks away. We soon had her home, safe and sound.

Waiting on God is never easy, but no matter the end result, it is always worth it. We have to wait on God when we pray. We may not know how or when He will answer, but we can put our hearts constantly before Him in prayer. Sometimes the answers to our prayers don’t come when we would hope. Things may even go from bad to worse. But we have to persevere, keep believing, and keep asking.

Waiting is never easy, but the end result, whatever it is, will be worth it. David put it this way: (Psalm 9:10)“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you”. Keep seeking. Keep trusting. Keep asking. Keep praying.

In everything,  we are to consistently place our lives in God’s Hands.

3^rd Contribution to Consistency.

 PATIENCE (Psalm 27:7-8) "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm."

We are a fast pace society. No one will deny that!

At times we are like a the lady who walked into a supermarket in a desperate attempt to get supper ready quick, and asked one of the grocery clerks: “Do you have anything quicker than instant”

Patience is hard for people who drive to the “fast food” restaurants, or cook dinners in microwave ovens, and take remedies that offer “fast, fast, relief”

And if driving is any indication of our fast pace – maybe it would help to sing loudly:

AT 45 MPH - GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU

AT 55 MPH – LEAD ON, OH KING ETERNAL

AT 65 MPH – NEARER MY GOD TO THEE

AT 75 MPH -  NEARER, STILL NEARER

AT 85 MPH -  THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME

AT 95 MPH -  LORD, I’M COMING HOME

AT 100 MPH – PRECIOUS MEMORIES.

Hymn-writer-Phillip Brooks admitted: “The hardest task in my life is to sit down and wait for God to catch up with me.

That’s what is happening with us today. How can we be consistent in our relationship with the Lord, in our relationship with family members, in maintaining our priorities, when we are spinning.

Patience is part of God’s strategy for maturing us as Christians.

It will help us to put things in perspective, so that we can continue to be at peace and be productive, and find stability in our lives.

4^th Contribution to Consistency.

 PERPETUAL FAITH (Romans 4:20) "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God"

Paul speaks of Abraham as having perpetual faith.

A strong and lasting faith. Abraham never doubted God. He was fully convinced that whatever God promised He would fulfill. Whatever God called Abraham to do, He did, because he was fully convinced that God knew what was best. (Extreme test-The attempted sacrifice of Isaac – Genesis 22)  

When a father picks up his little daughter and tosses her all around in the air, she laughs and enjoys it, for she trusts her father.

Even though she finds herself in unusual positions, like being upside down four feet above the floor with  only her father supporting her.

She does not fear, because she has faith in her father.

How many unusual situations have we found ourselves in?

Have we felt like hiding, running away, falling into deep despair, instead of facing them head on? We need to have that perpetual faith, so we can be consistent in dealing with the problems of life.

 Conclusion: As Christians we do not want to be as James describes:

“A double minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:7b)

The Lord wants us to be consistent in His ways. By being

Patient, and pursuing Preparedness, and Persevering in trials, and developing a Perpetual faith, we will be consistent in our Christian walk.  (An invitation to Accept Jesus as Savior and Lord of one’s life) 

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