Building And Maintaining Faith Series

Sowing Seeds; Life, Faith, and Service

Sermon #4 Building and maintaining faith

Introduction-

We are still in the sermon series Sowing Seeds; Life, Faith, and Service.

Last week we began to look at faith.

We saw that the faith of a mustard seed can be enough to move a mountain.

We saw that having faith in God is standing on God’s Word and God’s promises.

When we stand on those Scriptures and promises that God gives us strength and encouragement.

If we were honest, we would all have to admit to mustard seed faith at times and need God’s help to move the mountains because we cannot get past some of our circumstances.

Faith is a funny thing, especially concerning faith in God when there appears no explainable reason too.

There seems to be a battle within between reason and faith.

There seems to be a battle within between faith and putting faith into action.

Numbers 13-

God gives the Israelites the promised land of God.

Israel sends out spies to check out the land.

Their job was to go see what God gave them, not to see if they can take the land.

13:30

(Caleb)- “Let’s go at once, and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Verse 31 ( the other men.)

“But the men who had gone up with him said, we can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”

One had faith

One had reason.

One was able to look past obstacles, one could not.

Faith/reason

I want you to get this- we as followers and believers of God don’t approach God with blind faith, common sense thrown out the window, not taking into factor science or proven facts.

Faith and reasoning can work together, but reasoning alone can be a destroyer of faith (repeat)

Reasoning alone focuses its attention on the limitations and the negatives and does not allow God to be God.

Illustration-SermonCentral

A freshmen at Eagle Rock Junior High won first place at the greater Idaho Falls science Fair by showing how conditioned we have become to alarmist spreading fear of everything in our environment through junk science. In his project, he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “Dihydrogen monoxide” because:

It causes excessive sweating and vomiting

It causes burns in its gaseous state.

It contributes to erosion.

Accidental inhalation can kill you.

He asked 50 people if they supported the ban. 43 said yes. Six were undecided. Only one knew that the chemical Dihydrogen monoxide was water.

Faith without reasoning is as dangerous as zeal without wisdom.

Faith and reasoning work together- have common sense and know the facts before you commit.

Know that when it comes to faith that God operates best when He operates out of the realm of human wisdom and understanding.

God says in Isaiah 1:18- “Come let us reason together.”

He never said that we will be given all the answers we seek, and if we don’t understand it, we can reason it away.

He always maintains that He is God, and He maintains that you will not always have answers for every question.

Hebrews 11:1- Our Text

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

It is to my knowledge the only place that God defines faith as it pertains to God.

What is Faith?

It is the confident assurance that what God said is going to happen. Even if at the time we cannot see it.

Who has faith?

Romans 12:3-

Paraphrased- every man has been given a measure of faith, even if that faith is as small as a mustard seed. What are you going to do with it?

How do we get faith?

The disciples came to Jesus and asked Him for it. They asked Him to increase their faith!

So I’m saying when your faith is weak that you ask Jesus like the disciples did to increase your faith.

Romans 10:17-

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

You get faith by God’s Word being in your heart

Standing on God’s Word

Studying God’s word for yourself

Being in God’s house to hear God’s word.

Faith has always been about God

Faith steps out into the unknown with the assurance that if God is in it, he will see you through it.

A lot of men/ women of faith

Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Daniel, even Rehab.

Faith will be tested (say again)

I can’t imagine the faith of Daniel in the lion’s den.

The Hebrews in the fiery furnace. But I am trusting in God that he will give me the faith to endure just like he did for them.

No one gets up and says God make my life hard, but all of us should get up and say God if it gets hard, allow me to endure by my faith.