We Walk By Faith Part 4
Prejudicial Faith
Scriptures: Isaiah 45:15; Matthew 6:33; 7:7; Ephesians 6:13-14; 1 Samuel 17
Introduction:
Last week I shared with you that our faith in God (and Christ) comes through hearing and understanding the Word of God. A key factor in our ability to believe God unquestioningly is the teachings that we hear and believe? I shared with you last week that Paul instructed Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 to study the word of God so that he will have the confidence he needs to be able to teach it truthfully and never be ashamed because of something he did not know. What Paul was directing Timothy to do was to study and understand so that he could not be shaken by the thoughts and/or beliefs of others. This morning I want to encourage you to do the same. I want you to begin to study so that you will not be shaken when someone questions your faith.
Before I go any further I have a confession to make. I am prejudice. I know whenever people hear this word or hears someone confess this it brings up a lot of emotions, but I am who I am. But before you totally tune me out, let me tell you in what area. I am prejudice in my faith and I hope through this message you will begin to think about joining me.
I. Prejudice
The word prejudice often brings up negative connotations when we think of it as it relates to race or different groups of people. However, there are situations when it is okay to be prejudice and one of those situations pertains to our faith in God. Let’s begin with a definition of prejudice that applies to this situation so that we will all be on the same page. One of the definitions of prejudice is “The act or state of holding unreasonable, preconceived judgments or convictions.” Believe me when I say that when it comes to my faith in God it is unreasonable and somewhat “preconceived” based on other things that I know. As it relate to our faith and belief in God, this is one time when it is okay to have some prejudices. Now please understand, I am not saying that it is okay to “be prejudice” against someone based on your beliefs, but to have a prejudicial faith. Because what we believe cannot always be proven with hard-fast proof, we accept it by faith. When we accept it and refuse to change, it becomes prejudicial. You hold a conviction that is not based on what man would call a valid reason. When you know what you know and your belief is grounded you’re not easily swayed when others disagree with you.
Let me give you a natural example. Let’s say the police knocked on my door and said that they have arrested my wife for a gruesome murder of five people. They tell me that they have evidence and that their evidence is strong. My response to them would be “laughter” because I know my wife. I know it is not possible for her to do something like that. I have faith in her. My belief in her would seem strange to the police who has gathered a lot of evidence against her and so to them I would come across as “unreasonable” and/or prejudicial in favor of my wife and they would be correct. My evidence of her innocence would be different from their evidence of her guilt but just as strong. Because I would refuse to believe that she is guilty because of my own evidence, I would therefore be considered prejudice because I believe in her innocence regardless of the evidence they have against her. This is what I am talking about as it relates to our faith. This type of belief does not just come to you; you have to choose to walk in it. It is not something that can be forced upon you, you have to choose it. Let me walk you through this analysis so that you will understand why we’re where we are as it relates to our unquestioning belief in God.
II. Seeking God
I often play hide and seek with my dog Eli. He runs downstairs thinking I am on my way down and then I will remain upstairs and hide. When he realizes that I did not follow him downstairs, he comes running back upstairs searching for me. Most of the time because of his sensitive nose, he finds me, unless we are playing in total darkness then even though he finds me with his nose, he doubts because he cannot see me. (Remember this for later.) Now how many of you ever played “hide and seek” as children? The purpose of the game is to find the one who is hiding. At the beginning of the game, you choose the person who is going to be the seeker and everyone else hides and the seeker must find them. If the person who is supposed to hide just stands out in the open or hide somewhere that is obvious, the seeker finds them easily. But the goal is to make it back to the touch point before the seeker finds and touch you. Our relationship with God in some ways is reflective of this game. Consider the following from Isaiah 45:15 and Matthew 6:33 and 7:7:
“Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!
(Isaiah 45:15)
Isaiah says that God has hidden himself so if we are to have a relationship with Him we must go and find Him. It is not that He is lost it is that we must go and seek Him out. It you think about the game if the seeker does not go and see those who are hidden, do they ever find them? Absolutely not and the game would not really be a game. In our relationship with God we must go and seek Him out and to find Him requires some faith because although we find Him, we cannot see or touch Him in our natural state. To have a relationship with God, we must accept that He is through faith. Let’s move on. Look at Matthew 6:33 and 7:7.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; know, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)
Matthew 6:33 states that we should seek His kingdom, seek God. In Matthew 7:7 it states that we seek and we will find. So follow my thinking: if God is not readily visible with proof that He exists and if we are to have a relationship with Him we must seek Him out and if we seek Him we will find Him, it stands to reason that those who do not know God have not been seeking Him. For the atheist to believe that God exists they must first seek to find Him. As long they do not seek Him they will never find Him and therefore He will never exist to them. What we need to understand is that even though God desires that all would come to knowledge of Him and be saved; not everyone will. Not everyone will seek Him and some who do only do it half-heartily. If you were playing the game of hide and seek and the seeker only half-heartily looked for you that would not be a lot of fun. When I play with Eli, we stop either when I get tired of hiding; he cannot find me and starts whining; or he gets tired. If none of these three things happen, we continue to play until one of them does. It is impossible to have a relationship with God if you are not seeking Him. If you are waiting for someone to present Him to you and that’s it; you will never truly find Him. You see, when I lead someone to Christ, it does not stop once they accept Him that is the beginning. At this point the real work starts with teaching them and helping them to find Him for themselves. It is their personal knowledge and belief based on what they know that will sustain them in their relationship. So let’s go back to being prejudice in your faith.
III. A Firm Stand
Ephesians 6:13-14 says “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” From these two verses I want you to focus on the word “stand”. Sometimes we tell people, especially men, to “man up” to take a stand and be a man; to take charge and handle a situation. Paul tells us in these verses when we have done everything that we need to do to stand. Stand knowing the God for who you are standing. If your faith is not prejudicial you will not be able to stand because you will waver. James 1:5-6 says “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who give to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given him. But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” Do you understand this? It is only when we have prejudicial faith that we can take a stand and make a request of God without doubting. I want to give you one example of someone with prejudicial faith before I close this morning. This is a very familiar story, but hopefully you will be able to better understand what it means to have prejudicial faith as we quickly cover this story. Turn with me to First Samuel chapter seventeen. Let’s begin at verse eight with Goliath’s challenge.
“He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, ‘Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.’ And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” (1 Samuel 17:8-11).
Saul and his men represented Israel and therefore they represented God’s promise to Abraham. Even though they had the promise of God on their side, they could not see past Goliath. They saw his size, his strength and heard about his reputation. They were afraid even though they had a promise of God. When Goliath made the challenge, no one stepped up to accept the challenge because they had a knowledge of God but they did not have prejudicial faith. Then come David, a teenager. David heard the challenge and asked what would be done for the man who kills Goliath. Look at verse 28 of the 17th chapter for his oldest brother’s response. “Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, ‘Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” So his oldest brother scolded him and accused him of leaving their father’s sheep in the wilderness so he could come and see a battle. David responded to his brother and then repeated the question to another. Finally David found himself in the presence of Saul and he told Saul that he would fight Goliath. Look at Saul’s response in verse 33. “Then Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.”
David told Saul of his confrontation with a lion and a bear and said that Goliath would be no different. David was speaking from a place that no one else was familiar with. He was speaking from a place of having prejudicial faith based on his own relationship with God. There was one additional person who tried to shake David faith. Look at verses 42-43. “When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” When David approached Goliath with nothing but his stick and his sling Goliath was greatly offended. He too could only see David’s outer appearance. What he could not see was David’s prejudicial faith in God and it was that faith that enabled him to kill Goliath with his first stone. He never doubted the outcome even though he was the only one who knew how it would end. When no one else stepped up, David accepted the challenge and stood firm before Goliath.
It is our prejudicial faith that allow things to be done in our natural life. You have prejudicial faith when it comes to things you do that you do not think about. If someone walked up to you and told you that you could no longer walk, it would be your prejudicial faith that would kick in as you stand up and prove them wrong. Prejudicial faith is the faith that is not shaken when others disagree with you. This is the faith that says “we must agree to disagree because know what I believe and nothing you say will change that!”
Remember when I told you about me playing hide and see with my dog Eli? Remember I told you that when we are playing in the dark he may find me with his nose but because he cannot see me he doubts and continues to look for me. When we begin to walk in prejudicial faith, even when there is total darkness around us, we will not be swayed. We will not change direction. We will not give in to other possibilities. It will be during these times when our prejudicial faith will begin to fully shine and make the difference.
Is your faith prejudicial? I will continue next week.
