Steadfast
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
Steadfast means to be firmly fixed in place. As Christians, everything we do to nourish our souls in the word will help us to stand steadfast. Immovable is unyielding. It means to never give up since He is our strength and our sufficiency. Testing proves the faithfulness of our faith in Him. Why are we always to abound in the work of the Lord? It’s because in the Lord our labor is not in vain. Otherwise, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, everything is vanity of vanities. That which is done in vain is “dust in the wind” and will come to naught. As steadfast Christians, we may not see the harvest but we can know that God is faithful to bring forth the harvest. Our reward is in him and not in our own vain glory. The motivation is not because of who we are but because of whose we are.
When we’re down and out, we will find out who are our true friends. Steadfast friends are not deterred by the affairs of this world. They stand by our side despite our failures and shortcomings. The opposite of steadfast is one who’s here today and gone tomorrow. They have no commitment to stand firm. Many pastors feel insecure, inadequate, lonely and fearful. When you call a man “man of God,” most men will look away. When you ask them why, they’ll say, “I feel unworthy.” However, our strength is not in our own confidence. In Greek the phrase “man of God” is the genitive of possession. A man of God is God’s man. It’s not who we are but whose we are.
Steadfastness is to stake our lives on faith that God will do what he says he will do. Peter failed the test of steadfastness. Even though he had raw courage and the audacity to stand for his master, he needed reproof to understand that in his own strength he was insufficient. According to Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”
Sometimes men can seek knowledge, but according to 1 Corinthians, Knowledge puffeth up but Charity edifies. Knowledge inflates men’s egos, but the love of God builds up others. Many religions keep knowledge to themselves to that others can be subjugated to their masters who hold secret knowledge.
Joseph was put in a position of trust in Potiphar’s household. When Potiphar’s wife tempted him to sin, he said, “how can I do this since my master has entrusted me over everything he has?”
Jesus said figuratively, “if your right hand offends you, cut it off.” Joseph said in resistance to temptation, “How can I do this great evil and sin against my God?” Joseph literally followed the command, “flee fornication.” Potiphar’s wife grabbed his coat and pulled it off as he escaped her grasp and ran away.
Politicians will plot to overthrow a man of God. In the Old Testament, Daniel prayed openly three times a day. His political adversaries used this to plot Daniel’s downfall. They went to Darius the king and said, “if anyone prays or makes a petition of anyone or any God other than you, O King, for the next thirty days, he will be thrown into the lion’s den.” The King approved of this new declaration since it appealed to his own vanity. Daniel went ahead and prayed as he had always done. King Darius was distraught since he had made Daniel his trusted chief administrator because he perceived that Daniel had “an excellent spirt.” Darius had been tricked by Daniel’s adversaries. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, Darius stayed up all night agonizing about Daniel’s fate. Early the next morning he called out to Daniel to see if he had survived. Daniel said, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me…”
Jesus knew Peter. He knew what was in the heart of man. He had told Peter, “before the cock crows twice, you shall deny me thrice.” Peter trusted in his own power, in his own strength. When Peter denied his Lord the third time, Jesus caught Peter’s eye. Jesus looked at him with love and compassion. Peter went away and wept bitterly. He learned that in his own strength he could do nothing. He came to understand like the apostle Paul, “thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient to me.”
There were two missionaries who were scheduled to be burned at the stake the next day. The older missionary was ready to sacrifice his life, however the younger missionary was wracked with fear. They prayed together that night. In the middle of the night the old missionary was awakened by a blood curdling scream. He awoke to find the young missionary trying to put his hand in the fire. The Old missionary said to the younger, God didn’t call you to put your hand into the fire. He called you to be burned at the stake tomorrow. Tomorrow your martyrdom will be a great witness for your Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Courage is learned under fire. Courage is learned in the crucible of life. Jesus said, when the courage is needed, you need a good reason to stand steadfast and immovable. He said If my word abides in you, you will be faithful to stand. According to Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters. His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were threatened for not bowing down to the golden statue, they said, “our God will deliver us, and even if he does not deliver us, we will not bow down the the image of gold.” They were steadfast and immovable… They wouldn’t bend, they wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t burn. God sent his angel, the “fourth man in the fire” and delivered them from the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Decisions are either fear based or faith based. In whom do you trust? If you lead with a guilty conscious, it will profit you nothing. Confidence is in the love of God. Galatians 5 says that Believing faith worketh by love. Our Confidence is in him and for him. God has called us to be practitioners of His word. Oswald Chambers said, When the crisis comes and courage is required God expects us to have such confidence in him that we will be the reliable ones. In the midst of the trials of life, we’ll do what we’ve practiced….what we’ve been trained to do.
Peter was called to be the rock. However, he had to be crushed to understand that his power was only in the Lord. Through the trials of life, God will crush the self out of us. Peter could not understand who he was called to be until he understood that his true foundation was the rock of Ages….Jesus Christ himself. In our own power we are nothing. He who builds his house on the Rock will stand when the storms of life rage.
Therefore, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael