Intro.
· The problem with some people’s faith is ….where and with whom, they have placed it!
o Ill.: Titanic
§ April 11, 1912 @ 1:30 pm: 2,227 passengers and crew members left the ports of Southampton England on the maiden voyage of the ‘Unsinkable Ship’
§ Only 705 people survived. Two-thirds of the 2,227 perished the night the ‘Unsinkable Ship’ sunk!
§ On April 11, 1912, 2,227 people learned a t lesson, which is still being taught today, ‘We should always place our trust in the Lord, and not in man!’
· However, today, people continue to place their trust in man:
o I John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets (religious imposters) are gone out into the world.”
o The members of People’s Temple place their trust in Jim Jones!
o The Branch Davidians placed their trust in David Koresh!
o Today, many Christians place their trust in thus saith ‘so & so, only to find out that ‘so & so’ wasn’t teaching or preaching ‘thus saith the Lord’
§ 98% of their message is true… it’s the 2% error that should scare us
§ Ill.: Brownie’s with 2% Secret ingredient!
· II Tim. 3:16 says that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
· II Pet. 1:20-21 says this: “…that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
· So, when we read I John 5:14-15, we must conclude the following
o 1) It too, is given by inspiration of God, just like the rest of the Bible
o 2) It too, is ‘profitable’ (advantageous) for us
o 3) It too, was given by the ‘moving’… (or bringing forth) of the Holy Ghost
· With that said, How Biblical is your faith?
o 25% Biblical, 75% un-Biblical?
o 50% Biblical, 50% un-Biblical?
o 98% Biblical, 2% un-Biblical?
· So, what does a Biblical Faith look like?
I. Biblical Faith Is An Asking Faith, 14a
A. Asking Requires Submission
i. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
ii. Submission means ‘to put oneself under the authority of another’
1. Like a wife does when she marries her husband
2. Like a soldier does when he enlists in the military
3. Like a player does when he joins a sports team
iii. Biblical Faith requires that a Christian put themselves under the authority of …
1. The Word Of God
2. The Spirit Of God
iv. Apart from 100% submission, we are in rebellion
1. I Sam. 15:23, ‘Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft’
2. Rebellion is “Reserving for myself the right to make the final decision’
a. (I may ask for your opinion, but if I don’t like it, I’m doing what I want to do anyway)
b. Rebellion cost Lucifer a place in heaven!
c. Rebellion reserve you a place in hell!
B. Asking Requires Patience
i. Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace….Longsuffering (i.e. ‘Patience’)
ii. II Tim. 2:24-26
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
iii. Mt. 7:7, ‘Ask, and ye shall receive’ … but probably not today!
C. Asking Requires Satisfaction
i. I Tim. 6:6 Godliness with contentment is great gain!
ii. The Bible of Satisfaction
1. Meekness brings satisfaction, Ps. 22: 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: ....
2. Trust brings satisfaction, Ps. 36:7-8 7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
3. The fear of the Lord brings satisfaction, Prov. 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
II. Biblical Faith Is An Agreeing Faith, 14b ‘according to His will’
A. We Must Agree With Our Hearts, Eph. 6:6
i. Mt. 15:17-20 ‘Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’
ii. Mt. 15:8-9 (honor me with mouths, but heart…)
iii. Prov. 23:7, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
1. When our heads agree with the Lord, but not our hearts, we have spiritual lip service!
2. When our hearts agree with the Lord, but not our heads, we have spiritual warfare!
3. When our hearts and our heads agree with the Lord, we have spiritual victory!
B. We Must Agree With His Will,
i. Jesus in the Garden (Lk. 22), surrendered His will to the Father’s!
ii. When we can say, ‘not my will but Your Will be done’ we have , we have shown ourselves fit for the Kingdom!
iii. Acts 5:41 Peter and other apostles agreed with the will of God in personal suffering
1. Mother Teresa once said, ‘True Holiness Consist Of Doing The Will Of God With A Smile!”
2. I Pet. 4:15-16 “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”
III. Biblical Faith Is An Answered Faith, 14c
A. Because Our Desire Is In God
i. When our desire is found only in God
1. We won’t look to man to meet our needs
2. We won’t look to man for approval
3. We won’t look to man for guidance
ii. When our desire is found in man
1. We are only happy when man makes use happy
2. We are only at peace when man gives us peace
3. We are only satisfied when man supplies us with satisfaction
B. When our desires is in God we find contentment
i. Godliness with contentment is great gain, I Tim. 6:6
ii. Discontentment comes when our desires moves away from God
1. Job 23:12, ‘…more than my necessary food.’
2. Ill.: (Runners description of contentment) A missionary in Africa experienced great difficulty in trying to translate the Gospel of John into the local dialect. He faced the problem of finding a word for ’believe’. He continued to do his best, but he always had to leave a blank space when he came to that particular word.
Then one day a runner came panting into the camp, having traveled a great distance with a very important message. After blurting out his story, he fell completely exhausted into a nearby hammock. He muttered a brief phrase that seemed to express both his great weariness and his contentment at finding such a delightful place of relaxation.
The missionary, never having heard these words before, asked a bystander what the runner had said. "Oh, he is saying, ’I’m at the end of myself, therefore I am resting all of my weight here!’" The missionary exclaimed, "Praise God! That is the very expression I need for the word believe!" And so he was able to complete his translation.
C. Biblical Faith Is An Answered Faith
i. Because it’s an acknowledgement that we have come to an end of what we know… what we want… and what we can achieve on our own, and it finally takes satisfaction is finding rest in what God knows…. what God wants… and what God can achieve on His own!
ii. Biblical Faith is a faith that isn’t
1. 25% Biblical, or
2. 50% Biblical., or even
3. 98% Biblical.
4. It’s a Faith that is 100% Biblical!
Conclusion
· So, How Biblical Is Your Faith?
· Is what you believe 25% Biblical, and 75% un-Biblical?
· Is it 50% Biblical, and 50% un-Biblical?
· Is it 98% Biblical, and 2% un-Biblical?
· Or, is it 100% Biblical…and 0% un-Biblical?
· Satan is trying to add just 2% error to what you believe. Why? A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
· Make sure your Faith is 100% Biblical…
o Be in 100% submission to the Written Word of God (the Bible)
o Be in 100% submission to the Holy Spirit
§ The two of these NEVE contradict or disagree with the other!
