Sowing Seeds; Life, Faith, and Service
Sermon #4 Building and maintaining faith
Introduction-
We are still in the sermon series Sowing Seeds; Life, Faith, and Service.
Last week we began to look at faith.
We saw that the faith of a mustard seed can be enough to move a mountain.
We saw that having faith in God is standing on God’s Word and God’s promises.
When we stand on those Scriptures and promises that God gives us strength and encouragement.
If we were honest, we would all have to admit to mustard seed faith at times and need God’s help to move the mountains because we cannot get past some of our circumstances.
Faith is a funny thing, especially concerning faith in God when there appears no explainable reason too.
There seems to be a battle within between reason and faith.
There seems to be a battle within between faith and putting faith into action.
Numbers 13-
God gives the Israelites the promised land of God.
Israel sends out spies to check out the land.
Their job was to go see what God gave them, not to see if they can take the land.
13:30
(Caleb)- “Let’s go at once, and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Verse 31 ( the other men.)
“But the men who had gone up with him said, we can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
One had faith
One had reason.
One was able to look past obstacles, one could not.
Faith/reason
I want you to get this- we as followers and believers of God don’t approach God with blind faith, common sense thrown out the window, not taking into factor science or proven facts.
Faith and reasoning can work together, but reasoning alone can be a destroyer of faith (repeat)
Reasoning alone focuses its attention on the limitations and the negatives and does not allow God to be God.
Illustration-SermonCentral
A freshmen at Eagle Rock Junior High won first place at the greater Idaho Falls science Fair by showing how conditioned we have become to alarmist spreading fear of everything in our environment through junk science. In his project, he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “Dihydrogen monoxide” because:
It causes excessive sweating and vomiting
It causes burns in its gaseous state.
It contributes to erosion.
Accidental inhalation can kill you.
He asked 50 people if they supported the ban. 43 said yes. Six were undecided. Only one knew that the chemical Dihydrogen monoxide was water.
Faith without reasoning is as dangerous as zeal without wisdom.
Faith and reasoning work together- have common sense and know the facts before you commit.
Know that when it comes to faith that God operates best when He operates out of the realm of human wisdom and understanding.
God says in Isaiah 1:18- “Come let us reason together.”
He never said that we will be given all the answers we seek, and if we don’t understand it, we can reason it away.
He always maintains that He is God, and He maintains that you will not always have answers for every question.
Hebrews 11:1- Our Text
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
It is to my knowledge the only place that God defines faith as it pertains to God.
What is Faith?
It is the confident assurance that what God said is going to happen. Even if at the time we cannot see it.
Who has faith?
Romans 12:3-
Paraphrased- every man has been given a measure of faith, even if that faith is as small as a mustard seed. What are you going to do with it?
How do we get faith?
The disciples came to Jesus and asked Him for it. They asked Him to increase their faith!
So I’m saying when your faith is weak that you ask Jesus like the disciples did to increase your faith.
Romans 10:17-
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
You get faith by God’s Word being in your heart
Standing on God’s Word
Studying God’s word for yourself
Being in God’s house to hear God’s word.
Faith has always been about God
Faith steps out into the unknown with the assurance that if God is in it, he will see you through it.
A lot of men/ women of faith
Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Daniel, even Rehab.
Faith will be tested (say again)
I can’t imagine the faith of Daniel in the lion’s den.
The Hebrews in the fiery furnace. But I am trusting in God that he will give me the faith to endure just like he did for them.
No one gets up and says God make my life hard, but all of us should get up and say God if it gets hard, allow me to endure by my faith.
Listen,
When the battle within is between faith and reasoning;
Use common sense
Use Godly wisdom
Understand that sometimes you have to go by faith and he will help you through it.
Realize that God pleasing faith comes from God.
Hebrews 11 is called the faith chapter for a reason- because they lived by faith.
Most religious faith is based upon keeping rules, being good, or working your way out of sin and into heaven.
Even people who say that they have no faith in God, put their faith in something or someone.
They believe and put faith totally in science or like John Denver believe they have found “oneness with nature.”
Everyone lives by some type of faith- What are you putting your faith in?
There is a second side of Godly faith- action.
Godly faith is never dead.
It is never kept to ourselves.
There is a series called Duck Dynasty.
It is very successful. I have only seen once or twice, but here is what I like about it. They are an average family that took an idea and made it a reality. They became successful and a show was birthed because of it. They acknowledged God throughout the program and never ate a meal without praying. Last year the producers asked them to talk less about God and guns before the new season. They refused and said that this was who they were. The show was not cancelled but excelled.
Kori Robertson, the daughter-in law, who has a marriage of over 21 years wrote in an article in Guidepost magazine said that their faith is what sees them through all the trials.
Faith is never dead.
Faith is never kept to itself.
Faith can never be put aside for personal gain.
Sometimes it is not enough to believe in something, we have to act upon it. (repeat)
James 2:7-
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.”
Empty faith produces non-action faith. It becomes just words.
We live in a society that says that they have faith, they love Jesus, but they are just words because their lives don’t match the faith that they proclaim.
Faith and works relate to each other (hands together)
To be the real deal, they must work together.
Illustration-SermonCentral
Blondin was one of the greatest tightrope walkers of all time. One of his stories is of his crossing over Niagra Falls on a tightrope. 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 Niagra Falls pushing a wheelbarrow? People cheered loudly. Then he asked them, how many believe I can push a wheelbarrow across the tightrope with a man sitting in it? Again the crowd cheered. Then he walked over to a cheering man and said get in! The man turned and moved away quickly.
Faith without action is dead faith.
Faith never exercised is never stretched.
Paul Harvey
If you don’t live it, you don’t really believe it.
Inhaling and exhaling- they work together. So does faith and works.
There Is a lot of talk going on, not much walking with God
Someday some will stand before God and He will tell them you put faith in material things, you put faith in pleasures, you put faith in a person. But you never put your faith in me.
Your faith is only as good as the person or object that you put your faith in.
Closing
Hebrews 11:6- “That without faith it is impossible to please God.”
You say that you have faith- Where is your faith directed too?
You say that you work your faith- what are your talents and time doing for the Lord?
Peter never walked on the water because of his own faith, it was because he kept his eyes on Jesus. In fact, he didn’t sink until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the circumstance instead of the savior.
There has to be a defining moment with God that you surrender and you submit and you trust Him.
There has to come a time that you will not be driven by circumstances.
There has to come a time that you are determined that from this moment that you will put your faith in Him with no turning back. That moment becomes Godly faith.
What about you this morning?
Are you ready to move past just reasoning?
Are you ready to put your faith in motion?
Amen
