How to remain faithful

Shire is a wife and mom first but put a Bible in her hand and a message in her

heart and you'll see why thousands meet God and Powerful personal ways at her

conferences and through her bible study resources she is the New York Times best-selling author of more than two

dozen books and has had featured roles in movies like war room I can only ima

good morning family [Applause] it's a pleasure to be with you this morning to have an opportunity to share

with the Concord church and for those of you who don't know I just go to church like

one mile from here just down the street at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church and so for all these many decades we've just

been in the same community in the same orbit doing life and community and church together so it feels like I'm at

home with family um and so it's a pleasure to be able to to serve you today thank you for having

me I can't um let the opportunity pass by to celebrate your pastors and leaders

Brian and Stephanie Carter they are incredible people they're incredible people and really the

Lord must love y'all that he let you have pastors that actually have integrity like they do Integrity in

their marriage and their family their ministry that's a big deal that's a big deal

and we're grateful for them I told the first service that um Jerry and I are just just about 24 years into being

married now and the first couple of years thank you the first couple of years that

we were married we would go out with friends but really it was like my friend like I was friends

with her and then she was married and so basically I was setting my husband up on play dates and about two or three years

into our marriage he looked at me and said stop setting me up on these play dates I don't want to meet your friends

husbands and be set up with them so we stopped hanging out with people and I prayed for a long time that the Lord

would give us a couple where the four of us were really knitted together in our hearts and the Lord

answered that prayer for us with Brian and Stephanie Carter so for a lot of years now a lot of years

now we've really just done life together and that's been a blessing to us so it feels like a gift to be able to serve

them in this way on this morning I'm excited about God's word and to share

just what I think is a simple yet important and profound challenge with

you this morning it's been a challenge for me so I'm hoping it will encourage you as well this morning you all ready

let's pray Lord Jesus I thank you for your word that it is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword

father I pray that you would take the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart make them acceptable to you

father build up your people today we're your sons and your daughters and we're listening Lord we came for a word

from you speak in Jesus name amen

amen it was September in 2008 some of you may

remember when a hurricane named Ike swept through it caused extensive damage 110 mile per

hour per hour winds ripped through towns across Texas but there was one that was

the hardest hit it's a little town called Gilcrest this little town is a

community that boasts about 200 homes or so it's not a big town not a big Community but it's where a lot of people

in the latter years of their life decided that they would go so that they could have a little respite and peace

during the retirement years of their life so they went to this little Beachside Community called Gilchrist so

that they could have peace but y'all know how life is the storm came in 2008 I came through

and devastated the community in fact the aftermath was so devastating that people

that visited the neighborhood 24 hours after the storm said that this little Beach town

community was almost completely unrecognizable what once had been friendly sidewalks and detailed

landscape Lawns and brightly colored small homes right there on the shoreline of the water had been completely wiped

out there was very little that even gave a nod to the fact that there had been

history there that there had been a neighborhood there of the 200 homes that had been standing

the day before 199 of them had been wiped out by the

storm it's a completely odd and devastating and even shocking sight to look at this

neighborhood because there's only one house after the storm that remained

man if I had time this morning I'd tell you just about the owners of this house because they really gave Testament to

the fact that the only reason they think their house still stood is because they had been through previous storms and as

a result of having been through previous storms they had called in a master architect a master builder and had asked

them to help them to retrofit their home to fortify it more securely so that for

future storms they would be able to stand and after Ike they were the only house

that remained the reality is that if you look closely

at that image you will see and think about the fact that honestly sadly that

picture mirrors the landscape of a lot of our own lives because when you look around you you'll

notice that there are a whole lot of people who started with you who you can realize now actually weren't building

houses that were meant to last they talked a good game at the beginning they meant well maybe they had good

intentions but the storm came and their houses ain't still standing they made the vows to be committed maybe

to the marriage that they were building the family that they had been entrusted with the ministry that the Lord was

birthing through them the business that they were starting maybe as single men and women you started out together

deciding to walk in Integrity but over time you realize that everybody's house

ain't still standing and the landscape of Our Lives is dotted

with houses that have been collapsing one after the other as people have not

been able to weather the storm I want to talk to you this morning about

remaining about being faithful over the course of time about having houses that

still stand not just in one season and not just in the next and not just for

one year or for two not just through one storm or just a couple but over the

seasons of Life on mountaintops and through valleys you and I have got to be

committed and making sure that that which the Lord has entrusted to us the

assignments he's given us the Endeavors that he has put in our hearts to build for his glory that in the end our houses

are still intact where are the Saints who will remain

where are the Saints who will be faithful where are the people who've decided that come hell or high water

I've made my decision that as for me and my house what we're going to do is we're going to serve the Lord

the political landscape may change and the stock market May Clump plummet and cultural ideals May shift but I've

decided that my hope is built on nothing less

but Christ and his faithfulness to me and that we will be faithful over the

course of time y'all so many people are jumping ship have you noticed so many people have decided that they

are going to leave their marriage or give up on the parent the parenting Endeavor that God has given them with

their children dreamers are throwing in the towel on dreams God entrusted to them ministers are quitting what they

said was a calling why is it such a rarity to find people who've just

decided to stay who've just decided to be faithful and in a room this size and with so many

people I know who are not only in the room but probably also watching online I it would be remiss of me to think that

there are so many of us from so many diverse backgrounds and experiences and Dynamics different seasons and

generations of life that there are so many of us probably more than a few who

honestly if the truth be told on this Sunday morning you are on the brink of jumping ship

because right now this season of your life if we were to take this little microphone and just start right here in

the front and pass it all the way to the back all of us could give testimony of hardship maybe that we are currently

facing or have just come out of and the reality is that all of us in

this room are in one of three places you're either right smack dab in the middle of a storm you're on your way

into one or you're on your way out of one because it's the nature of the life we

live and maybe this Sunday Morning has to make you at a time where honestly you have said to the Lord if you yourself

don't tell me to hang on that I'm throwing in the towel and I just believe that possibly the

Holy Spirit just sent me over from Arlington Texas just to tell you in the

name of Jesus Christ stay

remain be faithful

keep your hand to the plow keep your eyes fixed on Jesus

have integrity have character and remain

y'all the older and older I get the less impressed I am with the with the famous

and the more impressed I am with the faithful the people who've just gone the distance

they may not be famous but they've remained they may not be rich but they've

remained they may not be applauded by the masses but they've remained

they may not have millions of followers on Facebook or best-selling books but they ain't concerned about that they

just trying to be steadfast unmoved and always abounding in the work of the Lord brothers and sisters stay

John writes about staying over and over throughout his gospel over

40 times in the book of The Gospel of John he writes the word abide

that's the word for remain stay dwell dig your roots deep and Be steady

and then in his letters first second and third John three Epistles Scholars call

those the remaining Trio the remaining or staying trifecta

because over and over again in first second and third John he keeps writing this about this challenge to us to

remain to be faithful to stay in the good times but also especially in the

bad times to stay over the course of time so I want to read a couple of verses to

you from first John chapter 2. I'm going to read verse 13 and 14 and then verse

28. it says this I am writing to you fathers because you

know him who has been from the beginning I have written two young men because you

have overcome the evil one I have written to you children because you know

the father it's so important that he repeats it almost verbatim in verse 14.

I have written to you fathers because you know him who has been from the beginning I have written two young men

because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome

the evil one and then verse 28. and now little children here's our word

abide in him some of your translations might say remain in him

so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him

at his coming John says I'm going to tell you right now what the catalyst is for the reason

why I'm telling you to remain what the reason is what your why will be as to

whether or not you will choose I will choose to be faithful over the course of time he says abide remain stay be

faithful build a house that will last over the course of time and he says I'm going to tell you why verse 28 because

Jesus is coming right that's why

because Jesus is on the way y'all listen I don't mean in theory

I mean the sky is going to split I'm telling you the trumpet is going to

sound I'm telling you Jesus is coming back and when he returns we're gonna have to look

our savior in his eyes and give an account for what we did with this life that he

entrusted to us first we're going to have to answer the question whether or not we were in

relationship with God by placing faith in Jesus Christ and then right after we

seal that the next thing will be was that the Lord will look at our lives to see whether or not the houses he

entrusted to us are still standing whether or not we were faithful with the

time the talent and the treasures that he gave us on this side of Eternity John says the reason why you want to make

sure your house is still intact over time is because eternity is in view

and when eternity is constantly in our view brothers and sisters when we're reminded of the fact that one day Jesus

is going to return and by the way I think that day is coming sooner than we think

he says when you keep eternity and view it changes the way you deal with the stuff of Earth the decisions that you

make the responses and reactions that you give to people the words that you use the steps that you take the forward

motion that you determine in your businesses and in your Ministries and in your relationships with your spouses and

with your children and your grandchildren he says you're going to want to build a house that is firm and

solid and that stands over the course of time because you're going to have to give an account

for this house of yours did you notice that in verse 13 and 14 John actually deals very specifically

with the fact in fact he recognizes that there are stages and seasons of this

remaining of being faithful he recognizes the fact that every season of life isn't going to be the same he says

I'm writing to you little children then he says I'm writing to you young men that's adolescence then he says I'm

writing to you fathers he acknowledges that there are stages and seasons of Life seasons of development progression

maturity that one season will lend itself to different hardships or difficulties or Joys or Sorrows than

another there are different storms that come in different seasons of life but he says I'm writing to you in each stage so

that you will remain wherever you are in whatever season or stage you find yourself in on this Sunday morning he

says I'm challenging you to remain there until God releases you so that you can

have a sturdy house that will remain over the course of time I figure that for just a few moments what you and I

can do is just look at these three stages of faithfulness so that we can see where we are in the progression the

bottom of verse 13 the last line of verse 13 starts us out he says I have written to you children

and he says here's why I'm writing to you when you're in that phase of your growth I'm writing to you children

because you have come to know the father

he says I'm writing to you when you're in the infancy stage the word in the original language that he used that is

translated children refers to an infant think about what babies do they rest on

the shoulders of the one who loves them the most they don't produce they don't generate they don't offer much they just

relax in the Embrace of the one who gave birth to them they learn to know the

voice of their mother or father they learn to know that they can be covered and taken care of and nourished and

provided by the one who gave them life he says I'm writing to you little

children when you're in the infancy stage in any season or any dynamic in your life maybe you just came to know

Christ just savior you're just starting out on this spiritual journey or you just started putting feet to the dream

God has entrusted to you for that entrepreneurial Endeavor or you're just starting out in the ministry building

the ministry that God has given you or the two of you just walked down and said I do you're just starting this family

you're in some infancy stage in your life he says I'm writing to you little children when you're in that phase

because the whole goal to build a solid foundation for this house of yours the

whole goal of your life when you're in the infancy stage should be verse 13 to

come to know who your daddy is there's no way the foundation of your

house will be firm unless you know your father

Jerry and I as was mentioned um you saw a picture of us with our boys

three boys that we got an opportunity to travel a whole lot with through their lifetime with Ministry we've just been

traveling a lot we homeschool them for a lot of years so that they could come on the journey with us and one of the

places we got to take them about five years ago was to Cape Town South Africa and because we were homeschooling I

planned what they were learning based on the fact that I knew they were going to get to go to Cape Town we knew a year in

advance that we were going to go so we saved up money for them to go man we thought this might be a once in a lifetime thing let's take the boys with

us and so we saved up the money to go we plan homeschooling around it so I was thinking okay we're going to learn about

the apartheid Museum or the apartheid movement we're going to learn about Nelson Mandela we're going to look at

the geography of Table Mountain and lion's head and maybe even see some animals in online that are indigenous to

that particular area and my goal was that six weeks later when we went there we would actually see those things in

person so we took the boys and I think that they thought they were going on vacation

not today you waking up every day and seeing whatever there is to see over

here in this good Cape Town we're going to milk this experience so I was waking up early in the morning they had

attitudes about having to get up they thought they were just going to be relaxing in the hotel and I was like no you're gonna see all this and you're

going to be happy about it and one day you're gonna rise up and call me blessed

shucks so I'm dragging them all around me and

Jerry and making them see Table Mountain let's go to the top of Table Mountain let's go to the apartheid Museum let's

take this little ferry over to Robin Island so we can see where Nelson Mandela was in prison for all those

years and one of the things that we did was we woke up before the sun came up one morning and we traveled two hours

outside of Cape Town so we could do a little half day Safari I wanted them to possibly and I wanted to see some

animals that maybe we'd only seen online so we got to miss open face Jeep there was a very bubbly guy that was our our

guide he sat at the front of the Jeep and we began to go around this safari park we saw lots of animals that we had

never ever seen before in person and I remember specifically though when

we stopped by a herd of zebra and I can consciously remember thinking when that when the dude pulled up to the zebra I

remember thinking I hope he don't spend a whole lot of time talking about these zebra because we can see zebra at the Dallas Zoo down the street we don't need

an explanation about the zebra but after he stopped and explained what was on his mind to share I was so glad he did

he pointed out a baby a foal that was with the herd he said y'all see that baby zebra right there he says I'm

stopping at the zebra to point out that baby because this is the first time I've seen the baby back with the herd since

the baby was born two or three weeks ago and he said I want to tell y'all why he said the stripes on every single

zebra are as unique to each zebra as thumbprints on human beings

you can't see it with the naked eye but particularly the configuration of Stripes that are right there in the

middle of the forehead of every zebra it is just as distinct as fingerprints on

human beings so when a new baby zebra is Born the mother will take that foal aside from

the herd for the first two or three weeks of his or her life because her whole goal is to make sure that her baby

is not distracted by all the configuration of Stripes that are on the foreheads of all the other zebra the

mother wants to bait the baby to just zero in on the stripes that are on her forehead so that when she brings the

baby back to all the other stripes the baby will not be confused ever about the

configuration of Stripes that actually belongs to the one who gave him life

John says the whole reason why you want to take time to get to know who your father is is because y'all we live in a

day and age that are trying to present to us a whole bunch of closely configured stripes

and if you're not careful you're gonna get played for the fool you're gonna have to know that by his

stripes and his stripes alone are the ones by which you have been healed [Applause]

you're gonna have to know who your father is you're going to have to know his character you're gonna have to know

the sound of his voice you're going to have to know the what the way he related to to Moses and Joshua and Ruth and

Esther in them you don't have to see him in the New Testament as the word became flesh and dwelt among them and they got

to behold his glory the glory of the only begotten full of grace and full of

truth and the reason why you're going to have to know is so that when the culture presents to you a new modernized version

of this Jesus the one who is silent against Injustice and has lowered his standard of Holiness

you need to be able to see that version and say Ah that's not who he is because

I know who he was you need to have taken time to really

get to know who your father is John says don't circumvent this part of the

process infancy is for intimacy it's for you to

get to know who your daddy is and those of you on this youth Sunday that our young people in the house of

God listen don't circumvent or negate this part of the process don't succumb

to the pressure that you need to be something other than where you are right now just getting to know who your daddy

is in this hustle grind culture that's telling all of us we have to produce more and do more and be more nope

sometimes we just need to sit down somewhere and get to know who our daddy is

pediatricians will tell you not to bounce babies too early on their legs to resist the temptation to put too much

pressure on their legs too soon because even the most minute amount of pressure

too soon because their bones are still malleable and soft can cause just a slight Distortion in their spine and you

won't see it initially it's over years it's as they mature it's as their body grows you will see they just have a

little bit the slightest little limp in their step because there was too much pressure put on them too soon

and y'all we have a generation of young people who had too much pressure put on them too soon

and you don't see it initially it's later on there in their lives when they're walking with a spiritual limp

with their morality is off their conscience is skewed it's because they didn't take time to just get to know who

their daddy is

you need to just know that in Genesis he's the Breath of Life you need to see him in Exodus as the

Passover Lamb you need to come to know him in Leviticus as your high priest you

need to know that in numbers he's the fire by night and a Deuteronomy he is Israel's guide you need to see him in

Joshua as salvation's choice and in judges as Israel's guard you need to

know that in Ruth he is the kinsman redeemer you need to have seen him in first and second Samuel as our trusted

Prophet you need to know that in Kings and Chronicles he is Sovereign you need to have seen him and Ezra as the true

and faithful scribe and in Nehemiah as the one who rebuilds walls and rebuilds lives you need to know that an Esther he

is your courage and in job he's the Timeless Redeemer you need to have taken time to see him in Psalms as your

morning song and in Proverbs as your wisdom you need to have seen that an easy ecclesiastics he's a time and he is

a season and the Song of Solomon he's The Lover's Dream in Isaiah he's the

prince of peace and Jeremiah he's the weeping prophet and lamentation he's the

cry for Israel and Esther he's the call from sin and Daniel he's the stranger in

the fire in Hosea he's the forever faithful you need to know that in Joel he's the spirit's power and Amos he's

the strong arms that carry and Obadiah he's the Lord our savior in Jonah he's

the great missionary and Micah he's the promise of peace and name he's our

strengthened shield in habakkukins Zephaniah he brings Revival and that guy

you need to know he's the one who restores that which was once lost and kariah he is our Fountain and in Malachi

he's the son of righteousness Rising with healing in his wings

and y'all that's just who he is in the Old Testament

because the truth is if you wait about 400 years and you just flip over a couple of pages

you'll see that in Matthew Mark Luke and John he's not just God now he's your Messiah

and in the Spirit-filled book of Acts he's the reigning fire from heaven in Romans he's the grace of God Corinthians

he's the power of love in Galatians he's freedom from the curse of sin in Ephesians he's our glorious treasure in

Philippians he's the servant's heart in Colossians he's God and the trinity in Thessalonians he's our calling King in

Timothy Titus and Philemon he shows up as our mediator and our faithful Pastor

in Hebrews he's the everlasting courage in James he's the one who will still heal you when you're sick and first and

second Peter he's our faithful Shepherd and in John and Jude he's the lover coming for his bride and in the

Revelation in the very end when it's all over and said and done he was and is and

will always be the first the last the beginning and the end

that's who he is [Applause] amen

[Applause] take time to get to know who your daddy

is remain here till he releases you

because if you abort this part of the process you will have no character

your foundation won't be solid and let me tell you something at the

spotlight that you're craving if it hits you and you have no character it will

burn you to a crisp

John says the reason why you're going to need to have a sturdy character in your fledgling stages is because you are

going to grow up and become young men young women he's referring to puberty

here he's referring to adolescence he says you'll know when you're in this

stage verse 13. I am writing to you young men because you have overcome the

evil one he reiterated fit in verse 14 and says I'm writing to you when you're in the

Adolescent stage because you are strong this is the stage where you get some

muscle on you so our boys are huge y'all they're huge

they're Giants they've been Giants somebody come help me feed these people oh my goodness

when they were 13 years old 12 years old we could tell they were going to be

powerful boys about that age is when they would all Sprout up to about six foot two inch tall they were a size 14

men's shoe they have been big for a long time and it's about the time they're about 12 years old that I recognize

their their strength how powerful they are because that's about the time they could toss me on the couch when we were

wrestling and they could pin me down and I realized oh I'm out

like they got me anybody know what I'm talking about where you realize your kids got you

and it was about 11 or 12 with each of our sons where I realized oh yeah y'all gonna have to wrestle with

your daddy not gonna be able to do it anymore it wasn't until their latter years of

teenage years that their father allowed their coaches to add weights to their

training before then he was like no they're too young they can do push-ups and stuff but don't put any weight on them until

they're older once they started lifting weight the power that was in them started to

take shape on the outside of them like there were biceps and triceps their chests were rounded this is when they

started walking around the house with their shirts off thinking they had swag

I was like boy that's nasty put your shirt on

the power was in them but now it started to be evident on the

outside of them John says this is the Adolescent stage you know you're in it when life is

weighty when the heaviness of that particular Dynamic the heaviness of marriage the

heaviness of parenting the struggle in your finances the struggle on your business or in your ministry man this

feels like weight that you do not feel like you have the power or the strength to keep on lifting he says I'm writing

to you today to remain through this season because this is the season where most people jump ship

this is the season where folks start throwing in the towel and bailing on the assignment God has given them because

it's burdensome and it's weighty but if you'll hang in there this is the stage where you've got spiritual muscle coming

to you where the strength that's in you this is the stage where it starts to show up on the outside of you I'm

talking about where folk can look at you and see that's a piece that passes all understanding

but that's a joy that's anchored in something different that they have hope when everybody else around them and the

culture is hopeless somehow there's still a smile that is on their face why

why does she react like that why does he speak like that why does he walk like that how is she able to make choices

like that it's because of the strength that's in you is taking shape on the outside of you

it's when our faith is not this intangible thing anymore it's spiritual muscle it's structural Integrity in the

scaffolding of our house that is going to keep it standing over the course of time and through the storms of life

don't give up in this season if you're in this season today on this

Sunday morning and things are hard and you're just about to throw in the towel the holy spirit of God says stay

spiritual fortification is coming to your house right now in Jesus name

and the reason you'll need a solid foundation and the reason why you're going to need sturdy scaffolding and

fortification in your house is because he says I'm writing to you fathers

you're going to graduate to mothers please notice that he does not say

adults he says I'm writing to some spiritual parents

these are people who have stood the course of time they've been through some storms and

they have the scars and the wounds and the bruises to show you when they went through this hurricane and this hail

storm and this rainstorm and when the 110 mile per hour winds were beating

against their house and yet here they are in this season of their life and their house is still standing and

spiritual parents are the one whose houses are still standing and they're willing to fling open the front door and

tell the people who are coming after them come on in here and sit in my living room and let me testify to you

about why serving Jesus is still worth it John says I'm writing to you fathers

because you have known him who has been from the beginning this is the same John at the beginning

of his gospel John chapter 1 verse 1 who said in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was

God he's talking about Jesus he says we need some people who have walked with

Jesus long enough that they are able to declare unashamedly who Jesus is and

that he is still worth serving we need some people in a culture and in a time that seeks to generalize God so

that he is one of many options instead of an unmatched entity without comparison and with no counterparts we

need some people who are willing to declare without shame that Jesus is his name

and that he is still worth serving not because they heard about him through the testimony of somebody else no it's

because their house is still standing and he is proven in their lives to be

the Chief Cornerstone we need some spiritual mothers and fathers in the house of God y'all we're

not supposed to come to church and everybody is a millennial

come on there have to be some mothers and some fathers who can tell the story

who can testify to the fact that he is the Chief Cornerstone that he's the lily

of the valley that he's the one of whom the prophet spoke and it's not just

cliches to them they're telling you because they're a living Witness

that Jesus is worth it those of you who are here at Concord

church and you've gone the distance you've been married for a minute you've raised your children you've served God

maybe Faithfully at this church I know there are so many of you I see your faces you've been here for decades serving God

we say thank you for having houses that are still standing

because your stability and your faithfulness allows those of us who are looking on to see that Jesus is worth it

and for those of you young people who are in the house or you're just starting out in some season of your life know

that he is faithful he's worth serving and he is faithful

and he is able to present you faultless before the throne with exceeding great

joy He will carry you he will sustain you he will keep you until you see him

face to face he's worth it

so brothers and sisters

be faithful whatever assignment the Lord has

entrusted to you put your hands to the plow and don't look back

many of you know that my mother went home to be with the lord it's been three years ago now unbelievably

and in the last six weeks of her life we kind of all knew she knew

these would probably be her last days with us the four of us kids our kids and then

one of those kids has kids so my mother's great-grandchildren crowded around her room down the street here in

our childhood home where dad still lives we were just there laying on the bed

hanging out with her all the kids and grand kids piled together and in those last days

when she could speak to us she was basically

passing the Baton of faith look in us in our eyes and saying

don't you dare drop this baton

that in the face of death her house of Faith was still standing

that she refused to let even the biggest disappointment of Our Lives

y'all with the tears still falling and the discouragement and the disappointment and the disillusionment

that God hadn't answered our prayers and so many of our friends prayers he hadn't

answered answered them in the way we hoped he would and in the way we knew he could see it's hard when you know he can

do it but he doesn't the discouragement of that the

Heartbreak of that the tears watching our father SOB those tears of sadness as

he was losing his wife of 49 and a half years and even in the face of all that

to have a Mama saying to us

Jesus is worth it and I decided watching my mama that

whenever my time comes what I want to be doing is taking whatever baton God has

given me and passing it to my sons and my sons sons and daughters and looking my

posterity squarely in the face and saying you serve Jesus

I want a house that's still standing

so Concord family whatever God has given you to do in your families and your Ministries and

your businesses be faithful he's worth it

Lord I Thank you so much for your word I thank you that you are coming soon

and I pray father that by your spirit you will sustain us so that we see you face to face we can hear

well done in Jesus name amen