Acts 5:27-29
Taking Jesus With You
For the last few weeks, we have been looking at the character
necessary for us to have fellowship with God. I divided the
attributes into three thoughts:
1. Attributes to come into God’s presence. (reverence, boldness,
balance)
2. Attributes to abide in God’s presence. (All fall under the
single attribute of a worshiping heart - thankful heart,
praise, adoring heart, joyful heart.)
3. Attributes to take God’s presence with you.
Tonight we look at the last category and the last sermon in the
series. Coming into God’s presence is glorious. To feel God, His
love, His glory, His grace—it is wonderful. Yet, after doing so,
Moses had to leave Mount Sinai. Elijah had to leave Mount Carmel.
Peter and John had to leave the Mount of Transfiguration. Even Jesus
had to leave the Garden of Gethsemane. When it is time for Christians
to depart from the place where God’s presence abides, we do not want
to leave God’s presence behind. We want to take Him with us.
What attributes of character must we have for God’s presence to go
with us? I will share three, but as I have said before, there are
many more such attributes.
I. Obedience
A. We can not abide in God’s presence without obedience to God.
1. Disobedience is sin.
2. Sin separates us from God.
3. It was disobedience that separated mankind from God to
begin with. Everything that is wrong in the world is so
because of man’s disobedience.
B. Notice the priority that God places upon obedience to Him.
1. God does command us to be those who have "the rule" or
authority over us.
Heb 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over
you, who have spoken unto you the word of God:
whose faith follow, considering the end of their
conversation.
Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you,
and submit yourselves: for they watch for your
souls, as they that must give account, that they
may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that
is unprofitable for you.
Heb 13:24 Salute all them that have the rule
over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute
you.
Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the
higher powers. For there is no power but of God:
the powers that be are ordained of God.
Tit 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to
principalities and powers, to obey magistrates,
to be ready to every good work,
1Pe 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the
king, as supreme;
2. But even that authority is subject to God.
a. At what time man’s authority attempts to lead his
subject against God, it becomes man’s duty to obey
God and not man.
b. Our founding fathers believed it was their duty to
create a nation where God’s will would be sought and
obeyed.
c. They created a democratic nation.
d. Democracy has often been referred to as "the great
experiment."
e. Some are now saying, "the experiment has failed" and
I would say that it is getting pretty close to it.
3. For God to give Christians the example of choosing to obey
Him over government demonstrates just how important it is
for us to obey God.
C. Every human obeys one Master or another.
1. People like to think of themselves as free, exercising
their rights; however, every person is slave to one
Master or the other.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness?
2. I have often pointed out that God is sovereign.
3. God makes all decisions except those that He has given
us authority to make.
4. God has not given to man the ability to be free for every
man must obey either God or sin and Satan.
5. For man, there are no other options.
6. That will not flatter you. It will likely insult you, but
it does not matter for it is true.
a. We often feel, like the Jews, that we are free people.
John 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s
seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how
sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
b. Yet, even as they made that statement, they had been
servants of other nations for almost 500 years!
c. The problem was they had been another’s servant for so
long, they forgot they were.
d. There is where humanity is.
e. Whatever freedom and authority man had, he lost when
he sinned.
D. Some have the mistaken notion that disobedience is like a
couple having a quarrel.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice,
1. Some say arguments are good because the making up is so
good.
2. God says, "Not so."
3. The sacrifice is what man used when he had done wrong.
4. God made it clear. More than making up after disobedience,
God would rather we just obey to start with.
II. Faith
A. Faith is the lariat that brings all of God’s goodness to
us.
1. Even in recent days, I have made the statement that
without faith, those living in this world can receive
nothing from God.
2. Not answers to prayer, not guidance, not discernment,
not forgiveness, and not salvation.
3. As the Holy Ghost is the Person who communicates
between God and man so faith is the conduit through
which the communication is carried.
4. If there is no God-centered faith in the heart of the
believer, then even a believer is separated from God—
not as the unbeliever, but he is separated in part
none-the-less.
B. Faith is believing.
1. On our part, faith is believing. That is really all
faith is.
2. It is believing some things about God and then believing
everything that God has said.
3. About God, faith is believing…
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.
a. That God is.
b. That God is good.
c. That God will reward those that seek Him.
d. If you do not believe these basic things about God,
you will never be able to have faith in Him.
4. Then, our faith grows stronger for every fact or truth in
the Bible that we believe.
a. That Jesus is God.
b. That Jesus was virgin born.
c. That Jesus lived a sinless life.
d. That Jesus died on the cross, rose again….
C. Faith is what brings the invisible things of God into focus.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
1. The invisible not imagines God. God is real and working
all around you every day. Faith merely reveals Him.
2. The more faith you have.
a. The more you see what God is doing.
b. The more God does. God rewards faith with more
action.
D. So then faith is what allows us to take God’s presence with us
into this world.
III. Faithful
A. Faith and faithful sound as though they would always be about
the same and they can be, but not here.
1. When I say faithful, I am not meaning full of faith.
2. I am meaning to be consistent or steadfast especially
before God.
1Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards,
that a man be found faithful.
Mt 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done,
thou good and faithful servant: thou hast
been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy lord.
B. A mark of character is consistency or faithfulness.
Lu 16:10 He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much: and he that
is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in
the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your
trust the true riches?
1. While every correct action is always good and right, God
desires more than an occasional right action.
2. God wants all of our actions to be correct.
C. However, THE mark of the responsible Christian is
faithfulness.
1Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards,
that a man be found faithful.
1. The steward in the Bible is the servant over the house.
We might call them the household manager.
2. This person would have access to everything.
a. To run the household, nothing would be kept back.
b. This appears to be Joseph’s position in Potiphar’s
house.
Ge 39:9 There is none greater in this house
than I; neither hath he kept back any thing
from me but thee, because thou art his wife:
how then can I do this great wickedness, and
sin against God?
c. So Joseph acknowledged that he had control and access
over everything that was Potiphar’s—save his wife
and she wanted Joseph to have her too!
3. To take responsibility in God’s house requires that we be
consistent in our relationship and actions with God.
D. Would what areas should we be faithful in?
1. We should be faithful in avoidance of sin and in
confessing and turning from sin when we are not.
2. We should be faithful in holy living, keeping our
testimony pure.
a. That means living right before others.
b. We need to stop using some words, wearing some
clothes, going to some places, watching some
television shows, listening to some kinds of music
and more.
3. We should be faithful in our witness.
a. By witness I mean sharing Jesus with others.
4. We should be faithful to our calling.
a. Your calling is your position in God’s house.
b. Preaching, teaching, helping, giving, kindness
c. A steward who does not tend to his stewardship is of
no use.
Character - Christ in you, His nature, His teachings, His ways.
Without character, man is left to do that which is right in his own
eyes and man’s eyes are blind. May Christ help us to see how we
ought to act toward others and toward Him.
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