How To Prevent Back Sliding

Introduction

Good morning. If you will open your Bibles with me to Psalm chapter 119. Psalm chapter 11. And go ahead and place a marker somewhere there. When you turn there, you’ll understand why I say that. But we’re going to be examining Psalm chapter 119 in part, because otherwise we would be here as Paul did, perhaps, until midnight. As you think about the world today, you think about how things can be viewed from a dramatic lens. We can say, America is as bad as it’s ever been. The world is tougher now, the world rejects God more. But the truth is the same temptations have always been around. Just look at the people of Israel. How many times would they not do what God expected them to? And it wasn’t just the people as a whole.

It wasn’t just the people grumbling and grumbling and complaining, which they did time after time. It wasn’t just them not carrying out or trusting in God to do what God had commanded them, which they did time after time. But it was even the leaders. You think of Moses as a leader. He was told to speak to the rock, and he did what? He struck the rock. You think of David, a man after God’s own heart, and we know him as an adulterous murderer, at least, as one passage in Scripture reveals him to be. And you think about this, and you say, man has always been susceptible to falling into sin. When you think about our struggle today, it’s not with America. The first and foremost struggle that I face is with myself.

I have to make sure that I am a living sacrifice who denies himself day after day because that’s what Jesus expects of me. And the truth is, as long as we teach and understand that the Bible reveals we have to have faith and remain faithful until death, that means that there is an expectation of mine that I have to constantly be alert, constantly vigilant, watching for the devil, watching for ways that I might be found falling away. And the truth is, if we’re realistic, if I’m realistic with what would cause me to fall away from faith in Christ, it wouldn’t be something that just appears one day and I fall away right after. Chances are it’s going to happen in a way that you might say is through backsliding.

Right? I might just lose a little bit of my faith, a little bit of my devotion, passion, zeal for God. I might find myself not needing to be with the assembly as much because you know what the Bible never says we have to have a Wednesday night Bible study. Or the Bible doesn’t say anything, as it were, about explicitly gospel meetings. And so I maybe cut that part out of my life. And then I think as the elders talk to me about my faithfulness or my family, I think, you know what? This isn’t just that important. You know, as long as I believe in God, really, that’s all that He really wants, right? Yes, Moses didn’t do what God said, and yes, David was an adulterous murderer, but I don’t do that.

I know what God has said. God wants me to be a nice person, God wants me to have faith, I have faith, I’m a nice person, that’s enough. And you see, little by little, what happens is instead of being growing in the faith, instead of being a plant that continues not only to grow, but to bear fruit, as Jesus makes many mention of how we ought to be doing, we are content to be a plant. And the problem is, if any of you are gardeners at all, I am not one. But as much as, as little as I know, I know this. If you plant something and just leave it be, it will not be okay. It needs to have the right soil. It needs to have the right amount of sunlight.

That might be a lot, that might be a little, that might be none. If you want something to bear fruit, it has to be nurtured, has to be cared for. And so when we think about backsliding preventatives, think about the lesson this morning in two ways. The first way is to avoid falling away, to avoid turning my back on God. But beyond that, more mature mindset says, How can I grow closer to God? And what you’re going to see is if you’re growing closer to God, you’re going to have your defense up against falling away. So you see, this really is one and the same. And when we look in Psalm 119, that’s the picture. The first several verses is the picture of what we ought to be, of what we want to be striving for.

Read with me beginning in verse 1 of Psalm 119. Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently, oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes. Then I shall not be put to shame. Having my eyes fixed on all your commandments, I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes. Do not utterly forsake me. How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you.

Let me not wander from your commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies, I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word. Isn’t that where we want to be? We want to be blameless, upright, with our eyes focused on God. Not just the goal. The goal is to be with God. But God expects us to be holy as who? As I am holy. If we are to be blameless, righteous, pleasing servants of God, not just avoiding backsliding, but pressing towards him, what is the picture we have?

To walk, verse 1, in the way of the Lord. Do you see that? Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the way of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. Over and over the point is made this is a diligent servant of God, and the diligent servant of God isn’t content with just making it in the back door. The diligent servant of God says, God has paid the price for my sin. I was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ, and I am his. I am a slave of righteousness. See, those are kind of two different viewpoints, aren’t they? The one viewpoint that says, I’m a slave to righteousness, and the other viewpoint that says, I’m really thankful for what God’s done, and I just don’t want to be too overbearing about all that Christ stuff.

1. Listen to God Every Day

Let me look at four different ways this morning that we can move towards God. And this is both a check, am I doing this? And also a prescription for how to grow closer to God using Psalm chapter 119. How am I going to prevent backsliding and grow closer to God? I’m going to listen to him every day. There’s not some sort of miraculous feeling where we wake up and we think, God, tell me what cereal to eat today. I thought it was funny. But a thirst, a hungering for the word of God. If God has blessed us with his inspired word, if we can hold it in our hands, this should be invaluable to us. And the problem is because it’s so common, because you can pull out your phone and look up not only just the scriptures, but commentaries about it, and you have so many books that have been printed, and you name the number of languages, we take it for granted, and it shouldn’t be.

This is our everything because it’s God’s word. If we’re going to be Christians, if we’re going to be pleasing to God, we have to be in God’s word. Look down with me to verse 33 of chapter 11. Notice the attitude, the example here. Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways. Confirm to your servant your promise that you may be feared. Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.

Behold, I long for your precepts and your righteousness give me life. Look down to verse 105 and you’ll recognize it based upon the song that we sang. Psalm 119, verse 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. If we’re going to love God, if we’re going to do what he says, doesn’t it just make so much sense that we’re going to see what does God have to say? What does God expect? But sometimes we kind of get busy. We have other things to do that involve fulfilling the commandments of obeying God, taking care of a family as a wife or a husband, as a father and a mother, being helpful to those who are in need, caring for orphans and widows in their affliction.

Those are all things that we do in loving one another from our love of God that might keep us busy. But we have to constantly be refreshing ourselves in what are the words of God if it is going to be my way. You see, there’s no other relationship that would possibly work with zero communication or with communication once a week. You think about any good, strong, powerful relationship that is actively growing, and there is what behind it? Good communication. If you talk to your spouse or to a family member only once or twice a week, or maybe twice on Sunday and once on Wednesdays, and you kind of thought about them during the week a little bit, but you really only spoke to them or listened to them three times a week, how do you think that would go?

Why do we think that if the Bible is the Word of God, and it’s so important, and we acknowledge freely that there’s so much in the Bible that we don’t know, that we’re not searching it daily to learn the treasures of wisdom that God is laying out for us, to be enwrapped and engulfed in the loving expectation of our Heavenly Father. If I were to ask for a show of hands and say, who thinks that they have the Bible mastered? Who thinks that they know what every book contains? No hand should go up. Otherwise, we’re going to look at passages on humility, and I’ll point those out for your consideration. But if that’s the, if that’s what I know, if that is the case, then how can we let it slip?

The lesson this morning is not focusing on ways that cause us to slip away, but rather things that don’t grow our relationship. But consider for just a moment all the things that we do in this life that would keep us from listening to God. First of all, can we say something kind of honest? Depending on what book of the Bible you’re reading and what time of day and what’s going on, it can be kind of hard and maybe kind of dull. Right? Sometimes. Let’s be honest. Bible reading in all cases, you look at the book of Leviticus, I gotta tell you, it’s not the most inspiring narrative, the most exciting book I’ve ever read. But it’s the word of God. So my treatment of it should be on the pedestal that the will of God belongs.

I need to know this because I need to learn about God. I will want to dig into it. I will want to get past my selfish ambitions that keep me from reading it, because I know this is what God wants me to have. If God is the creator of the heavens of the earth and he revealed to us his inspired word, why do I think it’s okay to neglect it? If God thought it was that important, that for centuries the Bible was written by different men from different backgrounds in different times. And it’s compiled in a way that we can read and understand God. What does it mean for me if I’m not looking into it? Regardless of what the reason is. If I’m going to grow close to God, if I’m going to avoid backsliding, I’m going to be pressing on by reading the words of life.

This is what Christians do. Look in Psalm chapter 1. Look at what a devoted, righteous man in the eyes of God does. The very first Psalm, Psalm chapter 1. Note the attitude. Beginning in verse 1. I want you to see this. This is so powerful because this is where we ought to be. Blessed, verse 1, is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is where, verse 2. Do you see it with me? His delight is in the law of the Lord. And on this law he meditates day and night. Verse 5 and 6, you see the separation. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners stand in the congregation of the righteous.

But the Lord knows the way of the righteous.

Blessed is which man? Man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly of the sinners. He doesn’t get bogged down by the things of this life. He meditates day and night on what? The law. What law? The law of the Lord. Can I say we have got to know God? And to know God, we’ve got to listen to Him. We’ve got to listen to God every day. If you’re wondering why you’re not growing in your faith, if you’re thinking that life’s too hard, read the words of life. Read what God did for you. Read about God’s grace and mercy that he shows me. He shows each and every one of us every day to anyone who has faith and trust in him. Let’s listen to God every day.

2. Speak to God Every Day

Let’s read his will. We also need to speak to God every day. When you think about speaking to God, look with me in Psalm 119, verse 169. This is part of why I said put a marker somewhere there. Psalm 119, verse 169. If we’re going to listen to God, and we’re going to have a relationship with him, doesn’t stand a reason that if that God reveals to us, we can approach him on his throne, that we should take advantage of that. Read with me, beginning in verse 169 of Psalm 119. Let my cry come before you, O Lord. Give me understanding according to your word. Let my plea come before you. Deliver me according to your word. My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.

My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right. Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. Do you see the honesty that comes out at the end of the Psalm? Look at verse 169 again. Let my cry go where? Let my cry come before you, O Lord. Give me understanding according to your word. And then here it is again in verse 170. Let my plea come before you. Why? Because the psalmist knows who God is.

He knows what God has done for us. He knows what the expectation of our righteous God is, and he knows we can only be with him if we trust in him. And if we know God is mighty, we know God is powerful, we know God is gracious and loving. We’re going to pray to him constantly to be pleasing to him, to understand his precepts and his ways. And also we’re going to trust in him until the end. If I think that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth, first and foremost, I will praise him. If I am truly thankful, I will tell him. We instill that in our kids all the time, don’t we? What’s one of the first things taught? Say thank you.

Why? Because it’s polite. Have you ever had to tell someone thank you for saving your life? Maybe not. But do you think if someone saved your life that you might be a little bit grateful? Probably every time you see him, right? Whether you say it out loud, it would be in your heart. An indebted gratitude to that person. God has done everything for us. If I’m going to acknowledge that God has done everything and that I am a thankful disciple of his, I cannot say that honestly if I don’t thank him for what he’s done. There are no two ways about it. I cannot claim to be thankful for what he’s done and not speak to God thanking him. Those two don’t go together. If I know God has done everything for me, if I know the blessings of this life and the blessings of eternal life are made possible only through Jesus Christ the Lord and through God the Father, then I will thank him for that every day because that is our purpose for living, to please God.

And that’s going to come out not just in me reading his word, but in thanking him and praying to him to help me get through this life. You look at verse chapter 66 there with me. Look at Psalm chapter 66. Sometimes we might take prayer for granted, much like we might take the Bible for granted because of the ease at which you might say we can speak to God. But in Psalm 66, read with me in verse 16 beginning. Come and hear all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

But truly God has listened. He has attended to the voice of my prayer. You see in verse 18, a kind of problem, a kind of a big sticking point. This prayer that’s so easy to access, that God has made possible. The problem is, in verse 18, if I have cherished iniquity, right? Isaiah chapter 59, verse 1 and 2 teaches us what? That our iniquity, our sin does what to our relationship? It separates us from God. That includes this avenue of prayer. Now the beauty is verse 19, but truly God has listened. The psalmist could write this because he was someone living for God. Not that he was blameless, but that he trusted in God, that his aim was lofty, his goal was mighty, because he trusted in the ways of the Lord.

And when you see this, we’re going to understand not just to speak to God every day because it’s something we have to do before bed or before the meal, but because we’re thankful. Confession. Sometimes I or a group I am with will pray because I suggest it or because it’s suggested, because it’s what we do. And you know what? It’s a good habit to have, to be praying and giving thanks. But you know what would be great, or might I might say greater, if we truly looked at every meal as a thing that is deserving of thanks to God. If I said, God, thank you for this food. But like with the scriptures, and like sometimes with our access to God on his throne, it might be, maybe, that in this country we’re so blessed and fortunate that we think of food almost as a right rather than a privilege and a blessing that is delivered and comes from God.

3. Say Something for God Every Day

If we were out of food, if we were desperate, if we were hopeless, we would be so thankful for any morsel. Wasn’t it Lazarus who at the rich man’s table, he would take what? The scraps. Because that’s what he had. Because to him, otherwise he had nothing. We need to be grateful to what God has done. And if we are grateful, it will manifest itself not only in searching out his ways to grow closer to him spiritually, but also in speaking the words, praying to God, thank you for being so loving, so powerful and so mighty. Consider with me, number three. We need to say something for God every day. Now that doesn’t mean that we become God or that we have the understanding that God does, or we take on his authority, but know with me what the psalmist wrote back in Psalm 119, this time in verse 41 41.

Psalm 119, verse 41. Not used to dealing with chapters that are quite this large. Psalm 119, verse 41. Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise, then I shall have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. I will keep your law continually forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

By the way, even in the section where he’s saying something for God, what comes out time and again to the psalmist, I will meditate on your statutes, I will walk in your ways. One of those things that we ought to be doing is considering how can I say something for God every day? How can I express my thanks, my hope, my all to God? How can I do that today? Rather than just saying that I ought to be saying things a Christian ought to, that Colossians 4, my seat should be seasoned with salt, with grace, not just avoiding unwholesome words, Ephesians chapter 4, but then I would do something that is benefiting my God who blessed me with everything. You see, if we thought about this, we might be like those who were persecuted in Acts chapter 8 and verse 4.

What happened when Saul tried to press his finger down on the church and the people of God and the Jews were coming for him? They scattered who? Everyone, Acts 8, verse 4, except the apostles. And that group that separated, they did what? They went about teaching the word. Why? Because if you’re a Christian, that’s what you do. You teach Christ because you know what Christ has done. There is no other option for the true child of God. And so I have to ask myself, both in a way of check and consideration of am I backsliding, let alone am I moving towards God? Do I say something for God? Yes, God can be known from creation. But the truth is, and we all know this from our own lives, that to understand God, to be steered towards the Bible may take teaching.

It will take time. We ought to be God’s hands, his feet, his mouth. You think how many times in the scripture was it that someone taught in Acts chapter 8? Who was it? The Ethiopian eunuch that Philip showed up with? And what was he doing? He was reading the word of God, that’s good. But what was his problem? I can’t understand. How can I understand unless you teach me? And Philip was there. And I understand that we’re not sent like Philip was, but you know what? If we looked, we might find those. Are we looking for opportunities to speak for God? Or are we looking for opportunities to get out of it? I think sometimes it’s probably somewhere in between. But if you’re like me, you go somewhere and you don’t like problems, you don’t like to raise issues, you just want to kind of go in and get out.

But if we look at the world the way Jesus did, if we had compassion on people not only for their physical well-being or lack thereof, but knowing their spiritual status apart from Christ, would that not dramatically change the way we speak? What if I told you that the cashier you’ll have at lunch today? That this will be the only time that you have a chance, or that any Christian in Orlando has a chance to speak to, to invite to the assembly, to speak about the blessings in Christ. What if your neighbor, your co-worker? What if someone you see on travels is relying upon you to mention God to be an example? This doesn’t mean that if I’m going to say something for God every day, that I go to publics with my Bible out and I say, all right, who’s going to listen to Acts chapter 8 today?

And you find someone and you say, You want to sit with me next to the tomato cans?

But maybe that could happen. Or maybe we have an opportunity to have a sit-down Bible study. Maybe I have an opportunity to talk to someone who does something like somebody here. You look around this morning, we probably have about our standard 200 or so number at the assembly hour. Somebody here can connect with somebody there. But are we looking for opportunities? Are we putting our heads in the sand? Saying, I just want to get through. And then when we think about opportunities, we say, I didn’t have any opportunities. But oh no. If I look back at my week, I went to the grocery store, I went to the gas station. I worked. How many people did I cross? And how many times did I mention something about Jesus?

4. Do Something for God Each and Every Day

Can I say that maybe if I haven’t spoken about Jesus much at all to others, that I have to at least raise the question, is he truly on my heart? Am I truly thankful for what he’s done? Consider with me a fourth and final way that we can prevent backsliding and grow closer towards God. That’s to do something for God each and every day. When you think about this passage that we had looked at in verse 169 on, you see the example of, again, living in the statutes of God. But I want to direct you more towards Matthew chapter 7 with me. Look at Matthew chapter 7 and verse 24. Jesus is closing the Sermon on the Mount. And there’s a difference. There’s two groupings, just like there was time and again in the sermon, especially in chapter 7.

And in verse 24, note with me everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Kind of makes sense. But look in verse 26. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them. Will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. If we’re going to be growing closer to God, we are going to listen to him. We’re going to read his word. We’re going to be praying to him. We’re going to be looking for opportunities to talk about God. But if we’re going to listen to the words of life and we’re going to be pleasing to God, we’re going to do them. We’re going to put into practice what God expects.

Maybe it’s a Boy Scout thing, maybe it’s just a good thing to do, but have you ever heard of someone saying you need to do one good deed today? I wonder how much better service we would have if we committed to even just one. Just one good deed for God. One unselfish, charitable act. It might be helping someone with food. It might be driving someone somewhere. It may be saying, For God, today I will go to the store and invite somebody to hear the words of life. I wonder if we would commit ourselves to that, how much easier it would be to do that every day. I wonder if we read the words of life that we would see where we’re lacking and we would start to adjust as we pray to God and we ask him for help in our areas of weakness.

I wonder if God would deliver. I know from reading the scriptures that he will to those who are faithful. I wonder that if I said something for God every day, that it might not just impact other lives, but it will continually strengthen my own. And I know from reading the words of life that it will.

Conclusion

And yes, there was the one good soil. Luke records it as having a good and honest heart. But what about those other three? I wonder where do I fit in on that spectrum? I know if I have a good and honest heart, though. If I’m the good soil that not only rises up, but has the staying power to make it through because I have root and I bear fruit as Jesus commands and expects of me. I know this. I know that I’ll be pleasing to God. And I know one step further that that’s all this life is about. If we get through this life and we have not committed ourselves to God, we have failed, we have missed it. Focus on the priorities. Trust in God.

Grow closer to Him today. It might be that you’re here this morning and you realize that as a Christian, as a follower of God, that my actions don’t back up what my claims are. That maybe I don’t pray as I should, that I don’t read the will of God as I should. I don’t act or talk like a Christian does, someone committed to the cause of Christ. Realize the glory of God, the grace of God shows us that if we will pray to him, he is just.

We can pray with you. We can pray for you. Or it might be that you’ve never been a Christian and you know that you are failing in the one test of life. Will you obey God? And I have no other words other than to say, you can do that this morning. You can show your faith, you can confess the Christ, and you can be baptized having your sins forgiven, repenting and turning from a life of selfishness. Do you want to pass the test? Do you want to please God? If we can help you in any way grow closer to God or pray for you from when you’ve fallen behind, come forward now as we stand and sing the invitation song.