SERMON SERIES
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
Sermon 2
The Importance of Perfect Faith
Mark 11:22-26
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Intro:
Last week we started this sermon series on The Importance of Faith. The first message was The Importance of Pleasing Faith. We said that pleasing faith brought Salvation, Serenity, Satisfaction, and Service. And we also noted that if we please God with our faith then He would declare us to be righteous!
This week we are looking at The Importance of Perfect Faith. Someone said, “Nothing is perfect.” I disagree. Jesus is perfect! Grace is perfect! And it takes a perfect faith in order to receive a perfect Jesus and a perfect grace!
1. Verse 22 – Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” Is that not the message the Lord is still telling the sinful and the saved still today? Simply have faith in God. If you put all your faith in God, you will have perfect faith!
2. Verse 23 - (Read verse) Perfect faith is a faith that moves mountains. Your faith does not have to be big. It only has to be big as a mustard seed, but it must be a perfect faith!
3. Verse 24 – He said that whatever you desire, you must believe it in order to receive it! Perfect faith takes belief! He said if you believe, “ye shall have them.” (Not part of them, but all the desires of your heart!)
4. So why is perfect faith so important? The answer is found when you look at what kind of faith makes faith perfect.
Body – The Importance of Perfect Faith
I. Pardoning Faith is Perfect Faith
Romans 5:1-2 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
A. The Promise in Pardoning Faith
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Isaiah 1:18 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
1. His Promise is Not Hid – If you repent and have faith that He will pardon you, then He will pardon you!
2. His Promise is Not Handled So many do not take care of business concerning their salvation and faith. It is time that people take responsibility and care enough to put faith (a pardoning faith) in Christ.
B. The Peace in Pardoning Faith
**If you will have faith that you can be pardon through Jesus, you will find peace! In that peace you will find . . .
1. Justification - Your sins are removed and you are justified!
2. Joy - This peace brings joy!
3. Jesus – Jesus is always found in this peace!
C. The Pass in Pardoning Faith
Pardoning Faith means my sins are . . .
1. Forgiven - All my sins are washed away!
2. Forgotten – All my sins are thrown away!
**Pardoning Faith is important to having Perfect Faith!
II. Purifying Faith is Perfect Faith
Acts 15:9 “And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”
A. Heart Purifying Faith
I John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
** Heart Purification means you are . . .
1. Convicted - You cannot purify yourself, and you cannot convict yourself. The Holy Ghost convicts us by leading us from worldly sin to a wonderful savior!
2. Confessing
a. Confess the Faults - Tell God that you have sinned.
b. Confess the Faulty – Tell God you are a sinner.
c. Confess the Faith - Tell God that you have faith that He can purify you!
3. Contrite
To be contrite means you are regretting, you are remorseful, and you are repenting while having purifying faith that God will redeem you and restore you!!
B. Holy Purifying Faith
Holy Purifying Faith says that . . .
1. You’ve Deserted the Sin
a. Your life testifies that sin is not where you live!
b. Your life testifies that sin is not what you love!
2. You’re Dedicated to the Savior
a. Jesus is your life Sunday through Saturday 24/7!
b. Jesus is your love Sunday through Saturday 24/7!
3. You’re Determined to Serve
I’ll serve Holy, Humbly, and Honorably!
**Purifying Faith is important to having Perfect Faith!
III. Penetrating Faith is Perfect Faith
Mt. 15:22, 28 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
** If you read that entire passage, you will find out why her faith was so great and why her faith penetrated into the heart of the Lord.
** She basically said, “Lord, I’m no better than a dog, but if you would just give me the crumbs from your table I’ll be satisfied and that will be enough to help my daughter!”
** Penetrating Faith penetrates . . .
A. Doubts
1. The negative talks, but penetrating faith hears only the Spirit of God.
2. The need talks, but penetrating faith only hears the Savior of Grace
3. The naysayers talk, but penetrating faith only heeds to the Sovereignty of God.
B. Discouragement
Penetrating faith overcomes the discouraging world, the discouraging wickedness, and the discouraging warfare with faith in the wonders of God, the worship of God, and the will of God!
C. Defeats
Penetrating faith picks you up when you have been defeated in depression, in darkness, in disease, and in death.
**Penetrating Faith is important to having Perfect Faith!
IV. Persevering Faith is Perfect Faith
Romans 5:2 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
** Perseverance – “The steadfast effort to follow God’s commands and to do His work.”
Persevering Faith says I’ll keep following God’s commands and do his work even when I see . . .
A. No Progress
Noah saw no progress in people responding to his preaching, yet his faith persevered as he kept following God’s commands and doing God’s work!
B. No Promise
Noah saw no promise of land when he sent out the raven, yet his faith persevered as he sent out the dove!
C. No Purpose
Job saw no purpose in all that he lost, yet his faith persevered when he said, “I served Him before and I’ll serve Him today. Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
**Persevering Faith will bring you the victory!
**Persevering Faith is important to having Perfect Faith!
Close
1. Perfect faith is the combination of putting into practice Pardoning Faith, Purifying Faith, Penetrating Faith, and Persevering Faith.
2. It does not happen overnight, but it takes a lifetime to accomplish Perfect Faith!
3. So which of these four do you need to put into practice today?
a. Pardoning Faith? Do you need to trust Christ today to forgive your sins and to forget your sins?
b. Purifying Faith? Do you need to offer the Lord Heart Purifying Faith or Holy Living Purifying Faith?
c. Penetrating Faith? - Faith that penetrates through doubt, discouragements, and defeats and believes the mountain is going to be moved.
**** Illustration: I read this past week where a church had built and were going to have their first service in two weeks. Then the inspectors came along and said they could not open because they had more seating than they had parking spaces. The only way to get more parking spaces was for a mountain behind the church (which they owned) be removed. So the pastor told his congregation the situation the following Sunday. He then led the church to gather and pray for that mountain to be removed, leveled and paved. They prayed for 3 hours.
The next Monday morning a construction worker came to the pastors office and explained how they needed a lot of fill dirt for a shopping center parking lot over in town. He said that if the church would allow them to level the mountain behind the church and take the dirt, they would pave them a parking lot on it free of charge!
d. Persevering Faith? Do you need to practice the faith that Noah and Job had even when you see no progress, no promise, or no purpose?
4. Don’t you think it is time you came to this altar and put your faith and trust in the Lord – right now!?
