Exiting Elevator Christianity

Elevator Christianity is a term I use because, for many, the Christian life is like an elevator. Where you walk with God is more up and down rather than a life of consistency. One day, you are living in the penthouse suite, enjoying victory and sweet fellowship with Jesus.

Then, incomprehensibly, the next day, you stumble into sin and come crashing down in the basement of despair. You long for consistency, for unbroken fellowship with Christ. Yet you struggle, and know failure more than victory.

And you cry out like the man in Romans chapter 7, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The Apostle Paul answers his own question by the very next sentence, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And it is Jesus, friends, who makes the difference. Jesus is the one who can bring an end to elevator Christianity.

As the Apostle declares in Galatians 2.20, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I recall having a conversation with Dr. Stephen Olford, describing the victorious life in Christ. And he told me, our walk with our Lord should be beneath an unclouded sky, in close intimacy with Him. And if a dark cloud should arise through temptation to sin, then we should immediately respond with, nail it, Lord, nail it.

And I'd like to share with you, friends, another story today that just might mark a new era in your life, in regard to achieving the consistency in your walk with God that you so desperately desire. This story is about four men from another generation, three of which were famous Christians in their day. These men may be unknown to us today, but they were pillars of the Church in their day.

The first was Basil Wilberforce. He was the grandson of William Wilberforce. The Queen was his godmother.

He was a famous minister of the Church of England in the 19th century. And he was referred to by his peers as Canon Wilberforce. The second man was Granville III, Baron Radstock.

He was a famous missionary to Russia, who was there when Revival broke out. He later owned Mayfield House in Southampton, a famous estate. And he was known as Lord Radstock.

The third man was F.B. Meyer, who was greatly used to God. F.B. Meyer was a pastor, and he was best friends with D.O. Moody. He was a prolific author and conference speaker in his day.

And the fourth man is unnamed. Let me go on with our story. Here is a story about F.B. Meyer, Lord Radstock, Canon Wilberforce, and an old unnamed preacher who impacts each of their lives in a remarkable and permanent way.

While sitting around a fire, they related their spiritual experiences one by one. I will let F.B. Meyer tell the story from his book, The Christ Life for the Self Life. There is all the difference in the world from praying to Christ and taking Christ.

I will explain. Years ago, I was staying with Canon Wilberforce at Southampton. It was the first flush of my new surrender.

One autumn night, he said, we will sit around the fire and give our experiences. Lord Radstock sat next to me, and he commenced. I then followed and talked as a young convert to this great teaching will talk a good deal about my surrender to Christ.

An old clergyman who sat on the other side of the circle arose and said, I am very startled that Mr. Meyer has nothing better than that to hear him talk. You would suppose that we had only got to give up. Now, my religion is taking in, taking in first and dropping and giving up afterwards.

I used wants to be overcome by temper. I fought against temper. I came to the end of myself one afternoon when a number of children refused to listen to my teaching.

I was on the point of losing my temper. When I turned to Christ and said, Christ, be my sweet temper, F.B. Meyer then commented on what the old minister had said. Instead of fighting against bad temper, he took Christ to be his patience, his humility, his meekness, his self-control.

I saw in a moment it was a better experience. I remember next morning when Ken and Wilberforce came downstairs as we stood together. He said, what did you think of that last night? I replied, I think it will mark an era in my life.

He said, it will do the same in mine. From that moment, I've tried to live that way. And whatever I have needed, I have said, Christ, be this to me.

I will stop there, friends, in the story. I've never come across anything more powerful in living for Christ than this remarkable truth found in the story of the four men. There are several things to take away from this remarkable story in the life of F.B. Meyer.

First, I find it interesting that of those four men sitting around the fire that evening, that three of the men are world-known, yet it is the unnamed preacher there, an old clergyman, that impacts each of their lives in a dramatic and profound spiritual way. Secondly, men in those days were cut out of a different quarry than pastors of our day. These men preferred to converse with each other on deep spiritual truths.

They pursued lives of surrender to the Lordship of Christ and lived consecrated lives of holiness unto their God. It seems we are poor imitations today of these men of former times, for we'd rather sit around, talk about the score of the latest ball game than talk about holiness today. Thirdly, and most importantly, it is the secret revealed to the deeper life, the higher life, the Christ life.

And I believe, friends, if you do what is stated in the story of taking Christ to be your need for whatever purpose in your life, it will radically change your life, change your walk with God. It will mark a new era for you, as it has done mine. I longed to go deeper with God, so I took time to get alone with God.

And from that experience, I wrote in the flyleaf of my Bible the following vow to God from this story I read. And I share it with you now, friends, because if this old preacher can have any impact on your life, I will give all the glory to God. I wrote many other things down, but I will share some of my more central thoughts with you as related to this story.

You may wish to get alone with God as well, get out your Bible and do something similar, but more personal as it pertains to you. This is what I wrote in my vow to God in my Bible. To exchange the self-life for the Christ life in my personal walk with Him.

By taking Jesus like F.B. Meyer said, to be the need of the moment. Here now is what I wrote. Jesus, be my power over sin.

Jesus, be my deliverer out of trial. Jesus, be my calm in a storm. Jesus, be my peace over worry.

Jesus, be my shepherd for guidance. Jesus, be my physician for my health. Jesus, be my shield for defense.

Jesus, be my king for my providence. Jesus, be my bread for my provision. Jesus, be my door that no man can close.

Jesus, be my authority for preaching. Jesus, be my zeal for witnessing. Jesus, be my purity for consecration.

Be all of these to me, my king. In the strong name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Well, I hope this little lesson, friends, on the victorious life has helped you as it has helped me. And remember, friend, it's not in the praying to Jesus to be my this and that. But it is in the taking, the appropriating.

Jesus said, take and eat. Take up your cross. Take my yoke upon you.

The key here is in the appropriating of Christ to perform in us what has before been missing. The key is I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Let us pray.