Grace by Faith
Intro: Where is your faith?
1: What do you believe in?
a) Life? Do you love your life?
b) Do you seek to live life a little better each day?
c) Do you abuse your life?
d) Do you take it for granted?
Point: Some people only believe in this life that we’re living right now. Some say that if their good enough people and treat everyone the right way everything will turn out right in the end. Some folks try everything under the sun at least once, others are too scared to do anything, and each person is different in how they live life. That’s not the question though; the question is what do you believe in? Where’s your faith? Is it in yourself or something else?
2: Who do you trust?
a) Do you trust yourself?
b) Do you trust others?
c) Better yet do you trust God?
Point: Isaiah 26:3-4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
Illustration: Think of a car, all the parts and pieces, engine, transmission, headlights, tail lights what about the a/c the tires. If I were going to take a trip from Commerce Ga. To Alaska and drive my car would it be a good idea to get it checked out real good before I left? We make sure the engine’s running right all the lights work the a/c and heat both work, we got good tires. What about the brakes? We check our brakes right? Funny thing about brakes is we can’t see our brakes but when we apply them we can feel them working. What about our relationship with God, we can’t see him but when applied we sure can feel him. You see it all goes back to trust, as Christian folks we should get to a point in our lives where we don’t have to think about trusting God we just react and have faith. Like how we use our brakes, situation arises and we push the brake pedal expecting to stop. We should look to heaven expecting the Lord to accomplish his will.
Body: Romans 1
1: Paul speaks of faith
a) throughout the entire letter to the Romans
b) v 16 always catches the eye
c) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also the Greek
d) He says the just shall live by faith
Point: to understand faith, we need an understanding of power. When we experience something and it capability it causes our minds to draw a conclusion about it.
Example: The bright fire engine red bottle of sauce on the table at the bbq restaurant is super hot. Everything we do and decide is based on experience a lot of times. If the bottle has flames on it and is called sizzling smoking sauce we know in our minds it’s hot!!! Because we’ve all experienced heat, we’ve been exposed to fire. This may seem like a silly example but we understand the capability and we draw a conclusion. Some like the burn and others won’t go near it. The same is true with God a lot of times; Paul said he was not ashamed of the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, why? It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes!!! Some people can’t get enough others won’t come near.
2: How do we change?
a) get rid of fear
b) 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
c) 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
d) Paul wasn’t ashamed because he wasn’t afraid he had experienced the power of Christ and understood the capability of the gospel
Point: The gospel of Christ has the ability to change people’s lives!!! Faith in Jesus is transformational it will change you!!!! To trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is to submit your life to him, to live by faith, trusting and hoping in the power of our savior. Not living in our own power and ability but allowing the Lord to live through us, to fight our battles for us, to provide for our needs, to hear our prayers, to heal our sickness, most of all to save us from our sins!!
3: Faith (grk; pisitis)
a) belief, trust with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow
b) God’s gonna do what he said he’s gonna do!!
c) Trusting in God’s word, to do that you have to be in God’s word, you gotta study it
d) Listen to it, apply it!!
Point: Christians should be people of action, and people of expectation. We have to go to the lost, not wait for them to come to our church. First word of the Great Commission is GO, that implies action on our part with expectation that the Lord will guide and direct us to the people and places we need to be at.
4: Hebrews 11: 1
a) faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
b) V 6 but without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
Point: sometimes I can’t always see the light at the end of tunnel, there have been moments in my life where faith was small and hope was discarded. Times when pain and sorrow were multiplied because of the lack of faith I had in God. I can’t give you an instance in life where we have physical evidence or record of what faith looks like or the features of faith. The only evidence we have is the work that God does in our hearts, he grants us the courage and strength through Christ to continue until we see the light at the end of the tunnel, and God build s our hope and trust in him through a close personal relationship.
Closing:
1: What is faith?
a) faith is trust
b) faith is fearless
c) faith if power
d) faith is freedom
Illustration: Jesus said with faith as the grain of a mustard seed we could move mountains. Peter walked on the water until he looked down and lost faith. The centurion sought out Jesus in Capernaum for his sick servant, Jesus said I will come and heal him, the centurion said; just speak the word and he shall be healed. Jesus said I have not found so great faith in Israel, he told the centurion go thy way and as thou hast believed, so it be done unto thee. The scripture says his servant was healed in the same hour. Matt 8:5-13
2: God’s people
a) Colossians 2:6-7
b) As you have received Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him
c) Rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving
What does that mean?
A lot of times we put our actions and expectations to work in the wrong way. We expect things in people instead of having expectation in God. At times we allow our actions to do more damage and hurt than good. When I trust in God the way I should, I’m making myself vulnerable with the expectation that God will protect me, deliver me, and guide to the place and the people that I need to be with at that time in my life. Sometimes we hinder the work of the Holy Spirit because we’re not in tune because of our lack of faith. We’re afraid; faith is power to overcome that fear.
When we truly understand how frail and weak we are, and trust God and his power then we discover and understand; saved through grace by faith!!! Ephesians 2:8
Paul understood it because he experienced it on Damascus road, where were you when you first encountered it? Maybe it’s today, maybe it was many years ago, question is; what you gonna do with it????
