Organic Faith: The Word And Witness Series

ORGANIC FAITH: THE WORD AND WITNESS

Rev. 10:1 11

Sermon Objective: Our Witness for Christ flows naturally out of a faith grounded in The Word and Worship.

Supporting Scripture: Psalm 119

REV. 10

INTRO

Last week we began looking at “Organic Faith.” AN ORGANIC FAITH IS ONE THAT IS SEEKING TO BE A STRAIGHTFORWARD DISCIPLE OF JESUS.

• It relies on the basic truths given by God to establish one’s faith and live one’s life.

• It expects life and lifestyle to flow naturally from the inside out … a transformed, fully alive faith produces a transformed, fully alive follower of Jesus.

• And, if the most basic of elements in one’s faith is Jesus Christ, then “organic faith” would emulate (look like) and communicate Jesus Christ.

An organic faith must come from an organic environment. In other words, if you want to live a life based upon truth you must take truth in.

In the 13th century the world that the earth was flat. This was a commonly declared falsehood that people took as truth. It had consequences. It inhibited exploration, produced fear, etc. When some (s) starting challenging the falsehood and said the earth was round then there was new exploration, new discoveries, etc.

The truth set them free.

And if you want a life lived in joy, awe, and wonder, you must worship the Holy One.

And what happens when we feast on these very basic elements? WE BECOME EXPRESSIONS / BY-PRODUCTS OF TRUTH AND WONDER.

The word that John uses to describe that expression is in our language … “martyr”.

Martyr, (actually “martus” and delineations of it) is a very common word in The Revelation. It is used 16 times. It does not mean “someone who dies for their faith” that is one of many consequences of being a martus; the family of words that come from martus includes witness, testimony, testify, to record and report.

Throughout John’s Apocalypse, the organic expression of a genuine faith is “witness.” It is the natural result of walking with Christ. It doesn’t have to be programmed; it just happens. It is the fruit of His existence within us. When we begin to embody passages like, the two Great Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, or the Fruit of the Spirit then we will live “Jesus” in our worlds. We will become like Christ and in natural ways, point people to Him. As Jesus shares His life with us we, in turn, will naturally share that life with others.

Jesus said, Matthew 5:14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Again, an organic faith stems from two very basic elements:

1. Worship

2. The Word (Truth).

These two always point to Jesus Christ and “form Christ within us” (Galatians 4:19). Our life and words reflect Jesus Christ in such a way that we become, by default, a “martyr” (martus) … a witness.

Last week we looked at worship. I told you THAT “WORSHIP CREATES AN ORGANIC FAITH THUS GENERATING A NATURAL WITNESS.”

First worship – then witness. It is the underpinning of this entire book. John’s visions of Christ came during worship and the book teaches / encouragees worship throughout. Faith is strengthened, matured and maybe even birthed through worship.

The natural by-product of a worshipping saint is a ‘martus” that points instinctively, organically, to Jesus Christ.

To worship Christ and not give witness to Him is inconceivable.

To witness for Christ while not adoring Him is hypocritical.

BUT, WORSHIP ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. A SECOND BASIC AND NATURAL ELEMENT IN AN ORGANIC FAITH IS TRUTH … SPECIFICALLY, THE WORD OF GOD.

If we have worship without The Word we will have “zeal without knowledge” (Romans 10:2). This is not God’s plan. The Father knows that both truth and passion are needed if we are to remain faithful and be a witness in our time and place.

GOD’S WORD CREATES AN ORGANIC FAITH

AND GENERATES A NATURAL WITNESS.

Just as “The Revelation” shows consistent support for worship as a basic prerequisite for the church’s witness it also points to The Scriptures as a basic requirement.

John’s Apocalypse places a high priority on a witnessing Church and the internal evidence tells us that a proper witness must be equipped with truth. Without it … we have no spiritual depth or message!

Throughout the book we see witness (testimony) and God’s word coupled together.

• Revelation 1:1-2 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.