“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” II Timothy 3:14

I recently read, “When Benjamin Franklin wished to interest the people of Philadelphia in street lighting, he didn’t try to persuade them by talking about it; instead, he hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket before his own door.   Then he kept the glass brightly polished, and carefully and religiously lit the wick every evening at the approach of dusk.   It wasn’t long before Franklin’s neighbors began placing lights in brackets before their homes, and soon the entire city awoke to the value of street lighting and took up the matter with interest and enthusiasm.”

I want you to be encouraged to, “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of.”  The path you continue down in Christ Jesus and His Word, which you have been taught, will be a powerful example for those around you.   As a Christian, you are being watched.   The lost watch to see how sincere you are about that which you have spoken to them about.  The saints watch to see how serious you are about Christ as not only Saviour, but as Lord of your life.   As we desire to be more Christ like and live Holy Spirit filled lives, we are presenting a pattern for others, and when that pattern is based on the Lord Jesus and the Word of God that we have been taught by many along the way it will shine like those lanterns up and down those streets in Philadelphia, so many years ago. 

Our faithfulness to God will speak mightily and it will have an effect on many today and tomorrow.  We may never know here on this earth what impact we have had upon those around us.  It is first and foremost about being faithful to God and not about putting on a show for man.   By setting a godly example, you will present a pattern for the young and old alike.  Consider that when you set such an example, you will be a steppingstone for the next generation to witness today and an example for them to emulate in the future.

The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied. Proverbs 14:14
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Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Men are affected by the course which they pursue; for good or bad, their own conduct comes home to them.  The backslider and the good man are very different, but in each of them the same rule is exemplified- they are both filled by the result of their lives.”
The choices that we make will bring to fruition the road we will travel.  It is and always will be about the choices that we make. I believe the most miserable man or woman on earth is those who are born again but are living far from God and deeply in the things of this world.  The world and its ways are both enticing and inviting but, in the end, the world promises much but has no real return to speak of.  Sin is a lot like quicksand, the more active one is in it the further they will sink.  The backslider is filled with his own ways and desires, which are not the Lord’s ways and are far from what the Lord desires for him or her and therein lays the source of the very real problem.

The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).  At the very moment that one is saved they are under new management.  The Holy Spirit takes up residence within the believer.  What a wonderful promise and provision He is from the Heavenly Father.  The Lord Jesus says in John 7:38-39 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)  The Holy Spirit has been indeed sent.  Christ Jesus was glorified in His redeeming death and burial and His glorious resurrection.  He has ascended to the right-hand side of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2.)  The saved are a new creation indeed and are the temple of God. The believer will not know peace while grieving the Holy Spirit with their back-slidden choices.

The one who hungers for the things of God will be satisfied by the things of God.  The Word of God is heavenly nourishment for this earthly journey that the Christian is on.  Satisfaction in the here and now will be plentiful as we feed on God’s Word and as we desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. True satisfaction will be found in a deep abiding desire to fellowship with the Lord. We must make it a want and a desire to do so.

What we sow is what will grow.  If you have back-slidden away from Christ, come back to Him. There is no fellowship in this world that compares to the fellowship that the believer can have with Christ Jesus.