Recap
Title: How To Be An Unshakeable Christian
Key Text: 1 Corinthians 15:58
Today we all need to learn how to keep steady when everything around us is uncertain. We live in a moment of great international tensions. In many ways and for so many reasons, both the young and the old, singles and families, battle with worries and fears.
We should not be surprised that we face troubles in life but we must learn not to be troubled by our troubles. The Bible teaches that everything in the world will be shaken and it will fall if it is not established by God. Jesus made clear that He alone is the rock like foundation who can keep us safe and secure when the storms of different kinds threaten to overwhelm us.
In 1 Corinthians 15:58 it says: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
The apostle Paul talks of the total victory that we can experience over death and sin ‘through our Lord Jesus Christ’ verse 57. So that being the case that we serve a risen conquering saviour who has assured our futures for time and all eternity, Paul insists that whatever happens or whatever is going on around them, nothing needs to shake them.
Unshakeable Christians stand firm (2 Corinthians 4:7+16-17)
Unshakeable Christians are always busy for God (Acts 5:42)
Unshakeable Christians are confident that they will be fruitful (Galatians 6:9; Psalm 126:5-6, John 15:5)
Apply
Unshakeable Christians stand firm
“….stand firm. Let nothing move you.”
The verse doesn’t say its ok to permit somethings to shake you. No, it says let nothing shake you.
So, what are you going to do when you face storms like this? Will you be shaken and blown all over the place or are you going to stand firm and let nothing move you?
Paul had plenty of experiences that could have shaken him to the core and wiped him out…beatings, shipwrecks, opponents who were always out to get him. But he knew how to let none of these things move him.
Why? Because he always kept his eyes on Jesus and the reality of eternity and heaven.
He writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure (that is the light of God in our hearts) in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Verse 16 adds: Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Who and what are your eyes fixed on? If it is just on worldly things, social relationships, friends, family, money, position and power, human ability and physical health, sooner or later you will be shaken. But if you focus on Jesus who loves you and will always be with you, you will never fail or fall.
For He is the giver of life both for now and forever. When He is within you, no matter how weak and fragile you may be, you can be renewed both inwardly and outwardly.
Do you have this correct focus? Are you and your children and grandchildren rooted and grounded in a close personal relationship with the Lord? If you are then you and they will never be shaken.
Unshakeable Christians are always busy for God
“…Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord….”
You may face distractions, difficulties, disappointments but don’t let anything stop you from serving God. You may have many things to juggle and many reasons why you could justify just doing the minimum for God. But it says here: Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord….
Look at these key words:
“Always" that means consistently and persistently. No excuses for opting out of your race and neglecting your calling.
“Fully” that means no half measures. No skimping on your preparation for the work of ministering to others. It means giving your best offering always in your daily life to be a disciple and to look after the disciples you are shaping for God.
“Work” the kingdom of God demands effort. Just as it takes work to look after your family and home, so it requires commitment to build the church and spread the good news of Jesus.
Every Christian is called to share their faith and make the most of every opportunity to do so. That was one of the great secrets of the growth of the early church. Even after persecution we read in Acts 5:42 of the first Christians that ‘Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.’
Unshakeable Christians are confident that they will be fruitful
"….because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
Maybe you have been faithfully serving God for many years and you expected more fruit. Well don’t get discouraged or give up. The story is not ended. All the good seed you have sown in your lives, families and ministries will produce a good harvest. It’s a law of God and a promise from God.
Galatians 6:9 says: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
John 15:5: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit… 8 This is to my father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Psalm 126: 5-6 says: Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
So dear faithful Christians, get ready to reap. God is faithful. The good seed that you have sown with your work, your tears, your prayers and your giving will be blessed and multiplied by the Lord. You may or may not have a lot of money in the bank, but you have good seed in the ground.
Don’t worry about what things look like now. Don’t focus on temporary and dark overhanging clouds but on the Sun of Righteousness. Don’t lose heart. Lift up your eyes to the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. You will not slip. God is watching over you. You will make it through on earth and for all eternity.
Make a decision today to be an unshakeable Christian because you have an unshakeable Christ who has gone before you. He has conquered sin, death and hell. He has opened the everlasting kingdom of heaven to us. So
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
