Eric Ludy Sermon Podcast: Church at Ellerslie

The Old Testament is burgeoning with amazing pictures of Jesus Christ. Our Lord lives within the pages of ancient Scripture, He's hidden within every story, His nature captured within every proverb, and his person is interwoven in all of Jewish history. And one of the most precious is the picture of the "Rebuilder." Zerubbabel championed the cause of the return to Jerusalem from the 70-year exile and he led the very first band of Jews back. But he did more than that. He also led the rebuilding process of the Temple. Zerubbabel will freshly remind you of the glory of our precious King Jesus.

The manly stuff is missing from Christianity these days. It's missing from our disposition towards compromise, it's missing in our defense of purity, and it's missing in our proclamation of the Gospel. We no longer have a growl for God's glory—the growl that has always marked the Church triumphant. This message, building upon Paul's forceful command in 1st Corinthians 16:13, is a call for the Bride of Christ to "be a man" and stand up to fight for the sacred Truths that are under attack in our day. It’s a call for us to strengthen the sacred things in our souls that are withering under the post-modern relativism of our times.

When prayers are general in their make-up and theme (ie. God bless this world), there is no possible way to trace God's response. But specific praying is traceable and thusly more audacious in its trust. Specific praying, when done in accordance with God's Biblical pattern, is the way in which faith grows. For our God is a prayer-answering God, and He delights to prove to His children that they are right in trusting Him. So, if you are needing that nudge forward in the realm of specifics and you are wanting to know the Biblical pattern for praying specifics, then this sermon is just for you.

God is in the business of building spiritual athletes—men and women who are ready for spiritual battle and honored to fight therein—men and women who refuse to grow weary even though there are justifiable reasons for fainting and giving way to exhaustion. This is the message for those moments when the enemy is whispering, "Just give up... just give in... just go to sleep... just lay down your sword." For the Christian's answer must be a resolute "NO!"

The Christian man or woman represents the greatest threat to Satan's agenda and thusly they are the brunt of his most cruel energies and most cunning stratagems. But we are not left without a defense. The book of Nehemiah showcases how this battle works. Those opposed to Nehemiah were determined to stop the building of the walls of Jerusalem, and in their opposition, they attempted to cajole Nehemiah with nine distinct lies. These lies are the very same ones used against you and me today. First, we must recognize them as lies, and then we must learn how to respond to each of them with the Word of God as our primary weapon.

To pray “in the name of Jesus” is not merely spiritually sounding verbiage implemented by dutiful Christians to properly conclude their prayers at the dinner table. Rather, it’s life, it’s power, and it’s spiritual authority granted the believing man to move forward God’s agenda on this earth. When a Christian man or woman properly leverages the name of Jesus, the world changes, mountains are moved, demons are stripped of their power, and darkness is overcome by light.

The Apostle Paul startles the modern-day believer with his enunciations in Romans, chapter six. He declares that our “old man” was crucified with Christ two thousand years ago at Calvary. If that were true, then why do so many of us feel that our “old man” is still very much alive within us? Paul declares that we are now dead to sin, so why is it that many of us are still so alive to it? These are critical questions in need of a strong answer today. And the answer is life-altering. NOTE: please forgive us for the audio quality of this sermon. We had a microphone failure and were only able to pick Eric’s voice up through a room mic. So, though his voice is discernible and understandable, the quality is definitely less than desirable.

The blood of Christ is efficacious, which means it is able to perform on our behalf—it is downright, supernaturally effective. It can and will accomplish everything God promises that it will. And God’s promises regarding the blood of Jesus Christ are rather amazing!

God has promised, but is He trustworthy to back up His promises? Many today, even within the realm of Christianity, question whether He is. But as it proclaims in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” The promises of God (which are replete throughout Scripture) are not merely given to us: we must come to them and obtain them. There is a Promised Land (also known as real Christianity) flowing with the milk and honey of God’s goodness, but it is only those who believe their God that will find it.

Faith is not a heavenly recommendation, but a heavenly requirement. In fact, it’s impossible to function as a real Christian in this earth without it. We’re not talking about the sort of pseudo-faith that crumbles at the first sign of resistance, but rather the intrepid stuff that refuses to back down even when the mountains are crumbling to the sea. As Christians, we need to have this mighty substance packed within our souls—it’s our armor, it’s our strength, it’s our real-world currency in all spiritual matters. So, how does one acquire such a thing as “real faith?” How is this sort of faith built? And how do you know if you have the real thing?

The Fatherly nature of God is the touchstone for our confidence. Our God is unchanging, and if it is true that He is who He says He is, then we can place the entirety of our trust in His amazing nature. And He is legally bound never to fail us when we place our hope in Him.

The basis of our faith is in the nature of our God. And the basis of God's nature is found in the fact that He is first and foremost a father. The word "Ab" (Father) is the first word in the Hebrew language; similarly, the first words in our new birth are to be "Abba."

Entire givenness to the will and agenda of Christ Jesus—that's the essence of Christianity. To many this sounds like the oppressive whim of a taskmaster god, but to those made alive by the grace of our God, such a life is considered the ultimate privilege.

Everything in the Christian faith hinges on the validity and trustworthiness of the Bible. This amazing supernatural book is certainly worthy of our confidences, but there are few today in the Church an have an intelligent answer for why.

Jesus is our strong man—the one who took the blow meant for us. And He desires to train up His followers to model the same disposition—men and women made strong in order that they might spend their strength on behalf of the weak.