Introduction
SHARP – We are living in difficult and confusing times. We all are living lives of constant change as we move from duty station to duty station and going from one deployment to another. Add on top of that the uncertainty of life as shown by the Virginia Tech killings, Columbine, World Trade Center bombings, 9/11 bombings, etc. As Christians we have something to offer to a world that continues to search for purpose and meaning in life. We have, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a peace that surpasses all understanding. We have a peace that cannot be adequately described. That peace comes from a very basic fundamental attribute of Christianity called “faith.” Today we are going to examine 1 Peter 1:3-9 and identify three basic principles about faith that we need to remember. But first, let me take you back for a moment to 1988.
Illustration
A television program preceding the 1988 Winter Olympics featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing, impossible as that sounds. I am an extremely novice skier. I have a hard to avoiding the obstacles in front of me that I can see. Imagine being blind and trying to ski. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers were taught on the flats how to make right and left turns. When that was mastered, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, "Left!" and "Right!" As they obeyed the commands, they were able to negotiate the course and cross the finish line, depending solely on the sighted skiers’ word. It was either complete trust or catastrophe.
Like the blind skiers, we all face obstacles in life that need to be negotiated. How we negotiate those obstacles is determined by what we believe and what we trust or put our faith in.
An active and living faith will allow us to cross the finish line of life.
I. Faith Always Has an Object
Let’s make a distinction, the words “BELIEVE” and “FAITH” do not mean the same thing. Believe means “to consider to be true, to hold an opinion.” For instance, an agnostic believes that you cannot know God. An atheist believes that there is no God. A Christian believes that there is a God. A belief is merely a “head knowledge” or intellectual assent.
Faith, on the other hand, means to depend upon or trust in. Let’s look at the chair on stage for example. I believe that the chair exists. But my mere belief that the chair exists does not do anything for me. For me to have faith in the chair I have to actually trust in it enough to support me by actually sitting in it.
The object of a Christian’s faith is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who shows us, according to the text, great mercy. Some translations use the phrase “boundless” mercy. How awesome is that? Boundless mercy, a mercy that has no end. Grace is receiving those things that we do not deserve. Mercy is not receiving the things that we do deserve. God the Father and Creator of all things extends boundless mercy to you and me, the created. God the Father, who is perfect, all knowing and without sin extends boundless mercy to you and me, who are sinful and have repeatedly turned away from Him. God the Father expresses a boundless mercy to each of us by giving us the privilege, not an automatic right, but the privilege to receive new birth into a living hope. This directly implies that our old way of doing things, our old way of trusting in our own abilities and good deeds to be good enough to “earn” our way into heaven was and is hopeless. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of grace and boundless mercy. You and I do not deserve and can never earn salvation or the forgiveness of our sins. It is offered to each of us as a free gift by Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of our sins for us. The penalty of sin is physical and spiritual death, eternal separation from God. Instead of you and I receiving that penalty we have the privilege of receiving forgiveness of sin paid for by Jesus. That is both grace and mercy. And if that were not enough we receive the Holy Spirit, which is God in us, who never leaves us and will be our guide if we choose to follow Him.
The object of our faith is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
II. Faith Requires Action
Father Tim Vakoc, a Catholic Priest is an Army Chaplain. As he was going through the process of coming into the military as a chaplain his sister asked if he was sure about what he was doing. She was naturally concerned for his safety. His response was,
"The safest place for me to be is in the center of God’s will, and if that is in the line of fire, that is where I will be." -- Father Tim Vakoc, Army chaplain
In May of 2004 Father Vakoc’s vehicle struck an IED and he sustained severe brain trauma. He struggles just to say a few words and yet his desire is to one day be able to lead Mass again.
Father Vakoc’s act of faith as he continues to endure trials is impacting lives in ways that he is unaware and cannot imagine. He will never know the affect he is having on peoples’ lives until that day that he stands with his heavenly father. I believe that his acts of faith are speaking to the hearts and minds of people more than any mass he could ever deliver.
Our actions testify to what and who we believe in. Peter’s act of stepping out of the boat to walk on water testified to his faith more than words could. If we say we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday when we come to worship then our actions Monday through Saturday should reflect what we believe even if it is not popular. Once you take a stand with your actions people will notice and you will be able to testify to the difference that Jesus is making in your life.
When Margaret and I met we determined from the beginning that our relationship was going to be honorable to God and we were going to do this God’s way because we both trusted Him. We determined to maintain sexual purity in our dating relationship and we did. We also determined that divorce was not and is not an option. As a symbol of that we took this pocket dictionary, looked up the word “divorce” and blackened it out with a permanent marker in order to symbolize that not only is divorce not an option but it is not even in our vocabulary. There came a point in our relationship that many couples would have called it quits and divorced. This little symbol was a reminder that our marriage is based upon our faith in God not merely a human vow that the world says can be tossed aside so flippantly. We endured the trials, got counseling, continued to commit our relationship to the Lord and our marriage and faith is stronger because of it.
The act of living it our faith produces joy.
III. Faith Produces Joy
My Mom used to say and still says to me today, “Do whatever makes you happy. That’s all that is important.” There was a married couple that was friends of ours that went to seminary the same time we did. After the first semester they were separated and then finally divorced. Her reasoning for getting divorced was that she was not happy and so God would approve of the divorce because he wanted her to be happy. God is more concerned about your obedience than your happiness. He is more concerned with the sanctity of the family than we are. He wants His norm for the family, one woman and one man married for life, to be our social reality rather than the exception. He wants us, the parents, to train up our children in the way they should go rather than the schools or government. He wants us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. He wants us to strive to be holy and obedient to him with the same vigor and desire that we seek our personal happiness. He is more concerned with our obedience than our happiness because all of the things that He tells us we should or should not do are for our good. He knows that the natural by-product of obedience is joy.
What if:
People practiced sexual purity before marriage,
Husbands loved their wives,
Wives respected their husbands,
Fathers did not exasperate their children,
Children obeyed their parents,
We encouraged one another,
Served one another,
Taught one another,
Prayed for one another,
We focused on the needs of others more than the wants of ourselves?
Not only would we experience joy but so would those around us.
Can you imagine the exuberant joy that those blind skiers must have expressed when they crossed that finish line? Their exuberant joy will not compare to ours when we cross the finish line and bow before our crucified and resurrected Lord and Savior in all His glory and majesty.
Conclusion
In closing…
The Christian life is one of faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as we endure trials that produce joy in life today and forever more. Who is the object of your faith? What are you doing with your faith?
