Suggested Reading: Heb 11:1-6
Sermon Text: Romans 5:1
This morning I am wrestling with the concept of building our faith! One thing I do know - our family, our friends, our world needs us to have as much faith as we can possibly attain!
Let me pose a situation for you... If someone, a friend, a family member, a coworker, were to ask you this week: "What is faith?" How would you respond?
Our eternity is based upon this very concept... So, what is it that you believe?
Some things we do take faith and we never give it a thought. Think about it....
*Illustration - Consider - You go to a doctor, whose name you cannot pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified - and probably couldn’t if you wanted to. They many not even be able to speak your language fluently. She or he gives you a prescription you cannot read - no one can... You take it to a pharmacist you have never met, who you now hope can read what you can’t. They then give you a chemical compound you do not understand, with side affects you can find listed/ Then you go home and take the pill(s) according to the instructions on the bottle. All in trusting and sincere faith that someone along the way understood what you couldn’t!!!
Sometimes life forces faith upon us....
Hebrews 11:6 warns us that: ...without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Quite a promise for seekers after God!
James deals with the issue of "faith and deeds." James was tired of talk and wanted to see faith in action. Faith without actions is dead...
We see right from the early beginnings of the Bible where Abraham gives up everything to follow God. Scripture says that Abraham "grew" in faith as he trusted and followed God.... There seems to be a relationship between trust, obedience, and believing to growing of faith.
I’m sure we all know the phrase Jesus uses with His own disciples, "O you of ’little’ faith." In fact, Five times in Matthew, Jesus makes this statement. We also know that the Apostles, were "known" for their faith, in the end! Somewhere, between walking with Jesus and finally leaving this earth for their eternal home in glory, their faith grew!
Faith is mentioned 239 times in the NT! Faith is mentioned 43 times in the Gospels alone... (this excludes the word faithful!) Sounds rather important to our Christian walk! We’ve read about the "Faith of the Centurion", the men carrying their paralytic friend to Jesus on the mat where Jesus saw "their faith", the woman who "touched Jesus", the woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter, or the man who asked Jesus to heal his son "If you can?" Jesus says "All things are possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Over come his lack of faith???
Do you believe today? Do you have faith today?
In this idea of faith, we recognize that nonbelievers have no faith, since faith is base in a belief that God exists and is able to handle our situation and our needs, which nonbelievers would have no basis for. There is one caveat, a nonbeliever, perhaps through their grandparents, a coworker, a friend, or some family member, may cry out to God in a desperate moment and be heard by God. God is so loving that even our weakest moments of faith are heard by Him!
Would you agree with me on the premise that faith does not exist in the nonbeliever? And, since we were all once nonbelievers, each and every one of us came from a place of no faith to the place where we are today.
Each of us, who are Believers, have moved from no faith to some faith.
Faith that is found in the new believer, then, is small or little (as it was in the Disciples). Somehow, that faith, though starting small, is able to grow! And yet, since this faith is dynamic in nature, it stands to reason that it is also able to remain small. Faith does not have to grow! This is rather shocking!
I know this is probably frustrating you somewhat as it is forcing you to consider what it is YOU believe about faith!
Let me break it down a little more by asking a simple question. Can we assume that someone who reads the Bible, walks the walk, talks the talk, and is faithful in their attendance - Can we assume they have great faith? I submit to you, that we cannot make that assumption, even of ourselves. All of these things are good and we should do them, but they are not the measurement for faith!
As we focus on God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, I want you to recognize the undeniable truth of Scripture, which ***Dr. Stephen Manley claimed last week - that God is all about Jesus! From the beginning to end of Scriptures, the world, the universe, all declare Jesus! If God is all about Jesus, what do you suppose we should be about? Jesus! If we are not about Jesus, then, one has to wonder, what are we about?
The reason someone can walk with Jesus and still not have faith is because faith require more then just a walk with Jesus! For example, Judas walked with Jesus over 3 years, but he had no faith in Jesus! You might argue, well didn’t Judas heal people? Yes, in the Name of Jesus, but he did not have faith in who Jesus was!
Oswald Chambers said:
**04/22: We must build our faith, not on the fading light, but on the light that never fails.
**04/04: After we have been perfectly related to God in sanctification, our faith has to be worked out in actualities. What are actualities? Could Chambers be saying our faith must be lived out daily?
- Faith first requires we experience God - we call being Saved.
- Faith requires we grow in relationship with God!
- Faith requires a knowing, in our hearts, that God is able and is willing to help us!
- Faith requires an understanding that God desires to use His limitless resources for us! But He also loves us too much to allow us to become religious spoiled brats!
In many ways this deeper level of relationship with God wiil cost us time, cost us control, cost us our rights!
Again, Oswald says:
**05/25: if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God choose for you.
Do we waive our rights to allow God to use us? I mentioned relationship will cost us time. Time is something none of us really have... Correct me if I’m wrong, but I doubt you have time for relationships! We barely have time for our families or for church! We struggle just to get here... within 10 minutes AFTER things start... Satan sees to it! In fact, if I may be so bold, everything IN YOUR LIFE is more important then relationships, especially the one you have with Christ! Why? Because that’s the way of the world! That’s Satan’s goal and He tells you what’s really important are the other THINGS of life and that’s what so many of us have bought into! Like any of our children need another activity! Like we need another thing on our plate!
Let me prove my point!
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the {pause - let people respond} Life..." By your own mouth, you have stated that YOU know Jesus is LIFE! If Jesus is life, then everything else is: DEATH! We’re not talking rocket science here! Jesus makes it plain as day so "No one has an excuse..." You may be thinking: "Pastor, you tricked me!" Well, maybe but not really. I only called upon what you already knew. What all Believers already understand - Jesus is Life! Prayers are based in our Faith.
I know what you are going through. Been there, done that!
All of my children are musically gifted. We’ve spent many, many hours practicing, attending lessons, recitals, and performances. But they very, very rarely came before Church! Consequently, my children have turned down jobs and opportunities that would pull them away from God. You probably know many people who made God less important then their sports or music or educational goals! Even TV shows come before God for many people! In the end, we all reap what we have sown.... Naturally, our children will have to decide for themselves whom they will serve. But too often, our devaluing Jesus, our devaluing fellowship of believers, and our devaluing a life dependent on Christ - all these will cost us our own family....
**Oswald Chambers claims "our obedience to God costs others...." It is so true...
Life is found only in Jesus - Jesus is life! Is Jesus the focus of your life? Is Jesus the center of your life? Does your world revolve around Jesus or YOUR plans, Your activities? I don’t think it’s a question where we are unsure or don’t know... We all know where we stand.
Let’s get back to looking at Faith.
*Illustration: A small boy riding a bus home from Sunday school was very proud of the card he had received, which had a picture and a caption that read: "Have Faith in God." Then to his dismay the card slipped from his hand and fluttered out the window. "Stop the bus!" he cried. "I’ve lost my ’faith in God!’" The driver pulled the bus to a stop, and as the lad climbed out and went to retrieve his card, one of the adult riders smiled and made a comment about the innocence of youth. A more perceptive adult observed, "All of us would be better off if we were that concerned about our faith."
Are you concerned about your faith?
Why not join the apostles in Luke 17:5, asking, perhaps challenging Jesus by saying: Lord, "Increase our faith!"
Again, notice that the Disciples did not have Faith simply because they walked with Jesus! They had Faith TO walk with Jesus! So they all had a little Faith, as do we! It is our Faith that allows us to begin our walk with Him and continue that walk.
I mentioned earlier that attending Church or reading our Bibles does not guarantee our Faith will grow. This may seem contrary to what you’ve been taught in the past. In the past, you may have been taught to simply put your time in, just "do what you’re supposed to."
Let me give you an example: I can read all I want about my wife, her smile, her hair, how loving she is, how great of a cook she is, how beautiful her eyes are. I can read about all these things, her likes and dislikes - I can even have pictures of her to keep her image fresh in my mind and still not really know her! (I think I just heard her say - AMEN! lol)
Bible reading teaches us ABOUT Jesus - but DO YOU actually KNOW HIM???
Do you know His heart?
Do you know, really know how deeply He loves you?
I mean, isn’t that what we really want - a loving, burning, and passionate relationship with God? Isn’t that really Life? Eternal Life? Haven’t we’ve seen enough decay in our society and in our families to awaken us that we are chasing after our own desires and not God’s?
Are you chasing after the things that are leading to Life - Jesus?
- Aren’t you sick and tired of seeing our children running from Church instead of running TO church?
- Aren’t you sick and tired of seeing our teens buying into the world’s view of love and sex,
knowing they are being lead to the eternal fires of pain and destruction?
- Aren’t you sick and tired of seeing families dissolved over chasing after "things?"
When will we LOVE GOD???
Folks, if we are going to be the light we are supposed to be in this world, it starts right here.
Paul said in Heb 11:6 ... without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
I believe God wants to work right here but He will not settle for second place in your heart. A second place God is no god at all! Give God the place He deserves in your life!
- Will you make Jesus the core of your life?
- Will you take the next step of Faith? Today, if God has been calling you, challenging you to take this challenging step, do not hesitate! God wants you to have a powerful relationship with Him.
Prayer: Dear Father, we have made our lives, our desires, our situations more important then your desires to build our faith. We have relied on common sense when faith demands we take a step without knowing where we are stepping. Our lives have become dull and faithless. Our children don’t want it and you grieve over our unbelief. Forgive our unbelief and help us to believe. For the sake of Your Church, for the sake of our children, for the sake of our world, and for the sake of you most precious and Holy son Jesus, hear our prayer today. Amen!
* Illustration from SermonCentral’s Faith category
** Excerpts from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost For His Highest. Date of excerpt noted.
*** From Dr. Stephen Manley’s preaching, teaching at the Maine District Nazarene Family Camp, June, 2008 Website: http://www.crossstyle.org/
