How can Christians face doubt, maintain assurance in their faith, and grow spiritually through intentional community and perseverance?

This message addresses the natural experience of doubt among Christians and emphasizes that doubt itself is not wrong. What matters is how one deals with doubt—whether one faces it, seeks answers, and allows it to strengthen faith or lets it weaken assurance. Drawing on the example of Francis Schaeffer, the speaker shows that even radical doubters can emerge with a radical faith when they confront their questions head-on.

The message exhorts believers to “draw near to God” and “hold fast” to the hope and promises of the Christian faith, especially amid the pressures and challenges of everyday life. It warns against a lukewarm, half-assured faith that holds back full commitment.

The speaker highlights the vital role of Christian community in this process. True spiritual growth happens not just in isolated worship but in regular gatherings where believers encourage, stimulate, challenge, and hold one another accountable. The Christian assembly is characterized by consideration, stimulation (even irritation), and encouragement, all aimed at producing love and good deeds.

Without this intimate fellowship, spiritual life becomes impaired, and the subtlety of sin can harden the heart. Finally, the message calls listeners to examine their lives, seek assurance through Christ, and commit to both a personal and communal expression of their faith.

1. Acknowledging Doubt in the Christian Life

   • Doubts are normal and common

   • Importance of addressing doubts rather than ignoring them

   • Example of Francis Schaeffer’s journey through doubt to assurance

2. Assurance of Faith and Holding Fast

   • The necessity of full assurance to live confidently in faith

   • The promises of God and the pressures of the world

   • The call to “draw near” and “hold fast” to God and His promises

3. Christian Community: Meeting to Minister

   • The purpose of Christian assemblies: consideration, stimulation, encouragement

   • The dangers of isolated faith and superficial meetings

   • The role of accountability, intimacy, and mutual challenge

   • The balance between loving encouragement and necessary correction

4. Application and Challenge

   • Are you meeting regularly in meaningful fellowship?

   • Are you allowing others to stimulate and encourage you?

   • Reflect on your assurance and relationship with God

   • Invitation to accept Christ and enter confidently into God’s presence

• Doubt is natural, but must be confronted to avoid spiritual stagnation or erosion of faith.

• Full assurance in God’s promises is crucial to living a confident and committed Christian life.

• Christianity is either true and effective or it is not; believers must test their faith honestly.

• Holding fast means tenaciously clinging to God’s promises despite worldly pressures.

• Regular, intimate Christian fellowship is essential for spiritual health, accountability, and growth.

• Christian meetings are not just routine gatherings, but opportunities to stimulate and encourage each other toward love and good deeds.

• Spiritual growth requires both encouragement and challenge within community, not just passive attendance.

• If you haven’t accepted Christ or feel unsure, the way to assurance is through faith in Jesus’ work on the cross.

• Hebrews 10:22-25 (drawing near to God, holding fast the confession of hope, meeting together to encourage)

• Psalm (implied reference to worship in nature)

• Various references to the promises of God (forgiveness, power, new purpose)

• Hebrews 3:13 (encouragement to encourage one another daily, lest any be hardened by sin)

Recorded 12/07/80

How can we cultivate true humility in our lives to experience God’s peace, grace, and blessing, especially when faced with the pressures of having things “our way”?

This sermon explores the struggle of pride and self-will, highlighting how trying to have life “our way” leads to weariness, conflict, and emptiness. It presents the biblical principle of humility as a solution, focusing on Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 5:5-7. The message unfolds the three-fold process for developing humility: bowing under God’s mighty hand, resting by casting our anxieties on Him, and expecting God’s blessing at the proper time. Through this process, believers learn to surrender control, trust God’s timing, and live in harmony with others and the Holy Spirit, leading to spiritual growth and unity.

Outline:

1. The Problem of Pride and Self-Will

   • The weariness of insisting on “my way”

   • How pride causes tension in personal and church relationships

   • The danger of a competitive, self-focused mindset

2. Peter’s Call to Humility (1 Peter 5:5-7)

   • Clothe yourself with humility of mind

   • Humility as cooperating with God’s will, not pushing our own

3. The Three-Fold Process of Humility

   • Bow: Submit your will to God’s plan and purpose

   • Rest: Cast all anxieties and worries on God because He cares

   • Expect: Trust in God’s perfect timing for blessing and exaltation

4. Living the Process

   • The struggle with “what if” fears after deciding to humble ourselves

   • God’s care and desire for us to respond rightly

   • The importance of patience and faith in God’s “proper time”

   • Illustration of the man who found someone to worry for him (God)

5. Encouragement and Invitation

   • God’s promise to exalt those who humble themselves

   • A call to surrender and experience true rest

   • Prayer for unity and love within the church

• Pride and insisting on having things “our way” leads to conflict, weariness, and spiritual emptiness.

• True humility involves a deliberate process: bowing our will to God, resting in His care by casting anxieties on Him, and expecting blessing at His appointed time.

• God cares deeply about our struggles and wants us to respond rightly, even when life is difficult.

• Trusting God’s timing requires faith and patience; blessings and changes may take time to appear.

• Humility fosters harmony in personal relationships and within the church, reflecting Christ’s character.

• Casting our worries on God frees us from burdens and empowers us to live peaceably and faithfully.

• 1 Peter 5:5-7 — The core passage teaching humility: bowing under God’s mighty hand, casting anxieties on Him, and trusting His care.

• James 4:6 — “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (Implied in the sermon’s theme)

• Philippians 2:3-4 — Valuing others above ourselves, putting others’ needs before our own (supporting the humility and unity message)

• Matthew 11:28-30 — Jesus invites the weary to find rest in Him, echoing the rest theme.

• Proverbs 3:5-6 — Trust in the Lord and submit to His way, supporting the bowing process.

Recorded 11/23/80

What does biblical leadership look like, and how should elders in the church lead with the right spirit, motivation, and manner?

This message explores the nature of spiritual leadership as taught in the New Testament, particularly focusing on the role of elders in the church. It warns against common corruptions of leadership—seeking power, privilege, and recognition—and contrasts these with the humble, servant-hearted leadership exemplified by Jesus Christ.

The sermon unfolds in several parts:

1. The Perils of False Leadership Motivations

   • Leaders tempted by personal power, privilege, and recognition

   • Jesus’ strong condemnation of such attitudes in Matthew 23

2. The Proper Motivation for Eldership

   • A genuine eagerness to serve others, not to exalt self

   • Caring, guiding, admonishing with a servant’s heart

3. The Right Manner of Leadership

   • Leading by example, not intimidation or coercion

   • Authority is earned through godly living worthy of imitation

4. The Role of the Senior Pastor

   • Jesus Christ as the ultimate Senior Pastor

   • Elders as His associates fulfilling His commands

5. The Responsibility of Those Led

   • To know, appreciate, and imitate their leaders

   • To follow with trust and confidence in their godly example

6. Encouragement for Leaders and Congregation

   • Leaders humbly seeking God’s strength

   • Congregation embracing their role in supporting leadership

• Leadership is not about personal gain: The desire for power, privilege, or recognition perverts the office of elder.

• Servant leadership is essential: Elders must lead with a heart to serve others eagerly and selflessly.

• Authority comes from example: Elders lead by living lives worthy of respect and imitation, not by demanding obedience.

• Jesus is the true Senior Pastor: All church leaders are His representatives, serving under His authority.

• Followers must respond rightly: Christians are called to know their leaders, respect them, and follow them with faith and trust.

• Leadership requires humility and dependence on God: Leaders should recognize their own insufficiency and rely on God’s strength.

• Matthew 23:1-12 — Jesus’ rebuke of leaders who seek power, privilege, and recognition, and His call to humility.

• 1 Peter 5:1-4 — Instructions to elders to shepherd the flock willingly, not lording over, and leading by example.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 — Call to know and appreciate those who labor in leadership.

• Hebrews 13:7, 17 — Remember and imitate leaders’ faith; obey them with confidence and joy.

Recorded 11/9/80