Have you ever wondered about faith, ..... doubted that you had it, ......wished you had more?
Few things are more misunderstood than faith.
Yet, ..... few things ...... are more important. (Pause)
One day, a young disciple of Christ desiring to fully receive all that God had for him ......visited the home of an elderly Christian.
He had heard that this old man had never lost his first love for Christ ....... over all the years.
The elderly man was sitting on the porch with his dog taking in a beautiful sunset. The young man (Slow) posed this question:
"Why is it sir ....... that so many Christians zealously chase after God during the first year or two after their conversion, ....... but then fall into a complacent ritual of church once or twice a week...... and they end up not looking any different ......than their neighbors ......who aren't even Christians?
I have heard you are not like that.
The old man smiled and replied,......."Let me tell you a story:
One day I was sitting here quietly...... in the sun with my dog.
Suddenly a large white rabbit ran across the field .....in front of us.
Well, .....my dog jumped up, ......and took off after that big white rabbit.
He chased the rabbit over the hills...... with a passion.
Soon, ......other dogs joined him, ...... attracted by his barking.
What a sight it was, ......as the pack of dogs ran barking across the creeks, .....up stony embankments .......and through thickets and thorns!
Gradually, however, .......one by one, ...... the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit,...... discouraged by the course .......and frustrated ...... by the chase.
Only my dog ..... continued to hotly pursue .....the white rabbit."
"In that story, young man, .......lies the answer .....to your question."
The young man sat in confused silence.
Finally, he said,..... "Sir, I don't understand.
What is the connection between a rabbit chase ..... and the quest for God?"
"You fail to understand," answered the well-seasoned old man, ...... "because you failed to ask ..... the obvious question. (Pause)
Why didn't the other dogs .....continue in the chase?
And the answer to that question is ....... they had not seen the rabbit. (Pause)
Beloved ...... unless you see the prize,...... the chase is just .... too difficult.
You will lack the faith, .....the passion ...... the determination to keep up the chase." (Pause)
Faith is a common denominator.
Every one alive ..... daily expresses faith in something.
No one can live a single day ..... without exercising faith.
When you awoke and went into the bathroom this morning ..... you flipped a light switch..... and you had faith ...... that it would work.
When you enter your car...... you turn the key .....and have faith ..... that it will start.
When you mail a letter you have faith the postal system will get it to the right address. ...... At least Someday!
Every time you walk into a building you are expressing faith ..... faith in in the architect and the workmen.
In each instance ..... there was an action.
You flipped a switch,..... you turn a key, ....you mail a letter,...... you walked into a building. (Pause)
I am sure many of you have heard of the great tightrope walker,...... Blondin.
He was one of the greatest tightrope walkers of all time, ......and there are many legends told ......of the feats he performed.
One of the most often told stories of Blondin .....concerns his crossing over the Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
He reportedly did that several times.
At some point he turned to his large audience, ......which included numerous reporters from various newspapers, and he asked them,
"How many believe I can walk across this tightrope over the Falls .....pushing a wheelbarrow?"
People cheered loudly ......they were sure the great Blondin .....could do it.
Then he asked, ......."How many believe I can push a wheelbarrow across the tightrope with a man sitting in it?"
Again, there was a loud response.
Blondin then pointed to one of the most enthusiastic men in the audience, and said, ....."Okay, you ...... get into the wheelbarrow."
Needless to say, .....the man made a quick exit.
Blondin demonstrated that there is often a great difference between belief,..... the faith we SAY we have, ....and the action faith .....we really have.
The measure of our faith is NOT our "talk" ..... it is our "walk".
Faith is what we do.
It is not what ......we say we will do.
(CHAIR Illustration) I believe this Chair will hold my weight (step on chair) but this is Faith..... that it will hold my weight
.
You see, .....faith is never something .....just to be talked about.
It is something that must be demonstrated .....in the way we live. (Pause)
Paul Harvey once said, "If you do not live it,..... you do not .....really believe it."
There is a Biblical basis for that statement.
James said, " Show me your faith apart from your works, ......and I will show you my faith ..... by my works." ( James 2:18 ).
Believing is one thing ...... but do you have Faith, ...... do you have an action filled apostolic faith.
Beloved ...... Instead of Faith .......we should call it Faithing.
It is an verb, .....it requires an action.
Faithing is also expressed ......in the spiritual realm.
The difference between the Faithing we exercise in our daily routine in the world .......and spiritual Faithing ...... is the object .....of that faith.
Everyone places their faith in something or someone.
Remember your Ideal?
Your faith is only as good .....as the object in which you place your faith.
The Scriptures are clear .....that we as believers ......should put our faith ....and trust ....in Jesus Christ.
Hear the words from Acts 4:12, BIBLE "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven...by which we must be saved." END
Hebrews also portrays what real biblical faith looks like.
BIBLE "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. END Hebrews 11:1
True faith ......brings forth ....a confident obedience to God's word .....in spite of circumstances ..... in spite of consequences.
Faith is described in a two-fold way.
It is the ....."substance of things hoped for," ....and ....."the evidence of things not seen."
Faith is the acting foundation ....that gives the believer ....the confidence to stand.
The verse could be translated "faith is the "confidence" .....of things hoped for."
This confidence is illustrated in the life .....of the missionary Hudson Taylor.
"When Hudson Taylor first went to China, .....it was in a sailing vessel.
Very close to the shore of the cannibal islands..... the ship was caught in a calm, ......and it was slowly drifting toward the shore .......and the savages were eagerly .....anticipating a feast.
The captain came to Mr. Taylor ......and sought him to pray for the help of God.
'I will,' said Taylor, '......provided you set your sails ......to catch the breeze.'
The Captain declined to make himself a laughing stock.... by unfurling the sails ....in a dead calm.
Taylor said, ....'I will not undertake to pray for the vessel ....unless you will prepare the sails.'
And it was done.
While engaged in prayer, .....there was a knock at the door of his stateroom.
"Who is there?" .....The captains voice responded, ........'Are you still praying for wind?'
'Yes.' ..... 'Well,' said the captain ......'you better stop praying .....for we have more wind than we can manage.'" (Pause)
Beloved..... have no fear about being able .....to live out..... the Christian ideal;
The Holy Spirit is God's gift, ..... The Holy Spirit is the wind in our sails; ..... enabling us to live the ideal of grace; ...... to live a life of Faithing.
If we proceed under our own efforts, ..... we will likely fail.
O Beloved, .....there is a transforming power available to us ....and to all who call themselves followers of the Christ.
Action Faith ....is the key ...to unlocking this power.
To receive this transforming power,...... we must open ourselves.... to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit works through acting faith. (Pause)
The question should be ..... "Where does this faith come from?"
First this Faith cannot be earned ....it is a gift of God.
Paul clarifies how faith comes to us; .....in his letter to the believers gathered in Rome; ....hear Gods promise:
"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
This truth, ....this promise is Crystal Clear.
"Faith comes by hearing, .....and hearing ....by the word of God.
There are two Greek words translated "Word" in the Scriptures.
The two Greek words are "Logos" and "Rhema".
Though at times they are interchanged, ......generally Logos is described as the general word, ...... the general knowledge of God.
Through the Scriptures you can receive all the knowledge you need concerning God and his promises; ...... but just through reading alone ....you will not receive faith.
You may receive knowledge and understanding about God, ...... but you will not receive faith.
In this Scripture passage the Greek "word" used is not Logos, ....but Rhema.
Faith specifically comes .....by hearing the Rhema of God.
Logos has been defined as "the written or said word of God," .....and Rhema as ..... "the saying, the action word of God."
Rhema is the Faithing word of God!
That is God giving, a specific word ...... to a specific person ...... for a specific situation. (Long Pause)
(If Speaking to men) Hear me brothers ...... you are the spiritual head of your family weather you want to be or not.
Beloved.....Faith comes by Rehma.
Seek God's Rehma.
And the writer of Hebrews ( Hebrews 11:6 ) informs us that without faith .....it is impossible to please God.
Faith comes by hearing ...... and hearing by the word, the Rehma of God.
And without Rehma it is impossible to please God.
Peter never walked on the water because of Logos, .....because of a general knowledge of God.
No, ...... Peter required that Christ give him a specific word:
Peter asked, ......"Lord if you are Jesus, .....command me to come."
And Jesus replied what, ...... "Come."
The word Christ gave to Peter was Rhema.
The word Christ gave.... brought forth action faith.
The word Christ gave brought forth..... Faithing.
Peter walked on the water because he had received Rhema. (Pause )
Beloved, through the Scriptures you can begin to know God.
And you can gain understanding and knowledge about him.
The Scriptures are extremely important in our lives and we are called to read and inwardly digest ..... Gods Word.
You may listen to the Word of God and you may study the Scriptures, ......but only when the Holy Spirit comes and quickens, ..... stirs the Scriptures to your heart dose Logos .....become Rhema.
Only then will the Scriptures..... burn into your very being. (Pause).
If you are not meditating on God's word, ...... if you never have time to wait upon the Lord, ...... then how can the Lord .....come and quicken His Word .....into your heart?
It is through action faith, .....through Faithing .....that we mature and grow. (Long Pause)
Beloved, it is not easy out there on the marathon we call Life.
When we feel like giving up we must push on.
We must continue Faithing. We must persevere.
To help us in our Faithing ..... in our perseverance, we need at times to plant a stake, ..... a marker.
A marker that declares: Yes, God touched me there ..... God used me there, ......God quickened faith into my heart.
Early in my walk ....I planted such a marker.... on a Faith Alive weekend.
Faith Alive is an organization ....that sends a group of men, women and youth ....to a church to share their relationship ....with their Lord.
But, ....the weekend does far more than that; ..... it helps the parish .... really begin communicating at a spiritual level with each other.
During these weekends, there is a program not only for adults but for youth and for small children.
I had been involved with Faith Alive for approximately two years working with Adults; ......when some friends, .....who were Children Coordinators, ....called me.
They had both come down with the flu .....and they asked me ....if I would lead the Children's program next week .....in NY.
Believe me, ..... the last thing I wanted to do as a single young man .....was to be with a bunch of little kids .....on a long weekend.
But I agreed go.
I contacted a friend of mine ....to see if she would join me ....in this great adventure, ....which she did.
This Faith Alive happened to be at a Congregational Church in Lancaster NY, .....which is near Buffalo.
The 3 hour drive gave us plenty of time to panic .....before we got there.
When we arrived we were not disappointed.
There they were ...... 30 little Children ranging in age between 5 and 12 years old. (Pause)
Man ...... I do not remember ever having that much energy ....when I was a Child.
But We had a wonderful time together.
We sang,..... we cut out snowflakes to show how God makes each of us different and special.
We talked about how much Jesus loves us ....and watches over each of us.
Now during the whole weekend ....the love of Christ is brought into focus through a story called..... "Warm Fuzzies ". (Pull out Warm Fuzzy)
You see, Warm Fuzzies may look like a Fuzzy ball of yarn, ....but it really is a symbol of God's Love.
Near the end of the weekend the Children tell the Warm Fuzzy story to the whole Congregation .....and pass out literally hundreds of warm Fuzzies .....to the adults in the audience.
It is a very touching moment, .....not only for the Children, .....but for the Adults as well. (Pause)
We got together with the children one more time to say goodbye.
But, God had something else in mind.
The Children wanted to know how to get Jesus ....into their hearts.
I didn't remember that happening very often with the Adults.
I guess that's why Christ says..... to come as little Children.
Well, the manual clearly states ...."Do not have a prayer circle with little children ....they will not stay still."
But, I was moved to have one any way ..... Faithing.
I turned down the lights and we sat in a circle .... on the floor.
As I took the hand of the little girl next to me, .....I felt the presence and power of Christ .....in a way I had never experienced before.
We prayed a short prayer of repentance together and I know ...... that Jesus touched everyone of those little Children.
The story didn't end there.
Two years later I was on a Faith Alive weekend in Michigan, .....working with Children of course.
A lady from the Congregational church in Lancaster NY .....happened to be part of the team.
She came over to me and said: "Jeff, do you remember the little girl from our church with the learning disability"
Yes, I remember .... "well, she had to go into the Hospital to have a heart operation; ....do you know what she asked her mommy?
Mommy, if I die ....will you bury me with my warm fuzzy?"
Well, that little girl from Lancaster NY died in the hospital.
And in her casket ....she held her warm fuzzy,.... a symbol of God's Love. (Pause)
Beloved, ..... we must be a people of Faith, .....we must persevere; .....we must fight the good fight.
Yield ..... Be mature in the Faith.
Whenever a situation feels to difficult .....
Whenever I feel like giving up, ......I look back at that stake ..... that Marker that is planted in Lancaster NY .....and I remember that little girl.
And, I can say, ..... My Lord used me there.... My Lord touched me there....
And if I persevere, .....if I will keep the Faith, ....if I will walk in Faith, .....He will use me again.
Faith comes by hearing ..... and hearing by the Rehma of God.
Have you seen the rabbit?
Be of good courage.
Fight the good fight, finish the race.
It is time to walk in the Faith.
To never be satisfied ..... to continually seek .....to be transformed ....into the image of Christ.
To finish this marathon of life, ..... and to finish well.
And when we cross over to the other side of eternity; ..... to collapse into our Saviors arms knowing...... we had no more to give.
Amen & Amen!
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