SERMON SERIES
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
Sermon 3
The Importance of Personal Faith
Luke 18:35-43
35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Intro:
1. This month we began a sermon series called 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!
2. Last week the message was The Importance of Perfect Faith, and we said that perfect faith is when you have Pardoning Faith, Purifying Faith, Penetrating Faith, and Persevering Faith.
3. This week we are looking at The Importance of Personal Faith. (Preach the text!)
4. Notice V-42: “thy faith hath saved thee.” This statement only appears one other place in the Bible
5. In Luke 7:50 where the woman came and washed the feet of Jesus with tears and anointed his feet with oil, he said, “Thou sins are forgiven . . . thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.”
6. If you are ever going to receive sight spiritually and get saved, you must have a personal faith!! Faith that comes from your own heart . . . not Mama’s or Daddy’s heart or anybody elses!!
7. So let’s look at The Importance of Personal Faith!
Body – The Importance of Personal Faith
I. PERSONAL FAITH IS A RECOGNIZING FAITH
Luke 18:35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
** He recognized that he was a . . .
A. Blind Man
** Do you remember when you realized you could not see the Savior, the Scripture, the Spirit, or Salvation like all the folks who were saved around you could see? That’s the first step of getting lost!!
** Before you can get saved, you have to recognize that all you can see is 1) The Darkness of Your Sin 2) The Darkness of Your Soul.
** Though this man was blind, he could still hear!! He heard the Multitude, and then he heard the Master!! - You will know it when you hear Him!!
B. Begging Man
1. He begged the Multitude for Silver!
2. He begged the Master for Sight!
a. He got natural sight!
b. He got spiritual sight!
**You have to recognized not only you are blind, but that you have got to beg . . . beg through personal faith for forgiveness and for the Father!
II. PERSONAL FAITH IS A RESPONSIVE FAITH
Luke 18:36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
Luke 18:37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
*** He responded to . . .
A. The Hope!
** When he heard Jesus was passing by, he knew there was hope for himself so he responded to the hope!!
1. When Jesus is Around, there’s hope!
2. When Jesus is Attentive, there’s hope!
a. He attentive to your conditions!
b. He is attentive to your cares!
** Jesus is here and that means there’s hope for your case, and that also means you must respond when hope is present!
B. The Help!
** This man knew Jesus could help him, and so he responded to the help!
1. Respond to the Savior when He passes by!
2. Respond to the Spirit when He passes by!
** Do not let this opportunity pass you by to have responsive faith!!
** Jesus did not hit this man over the head and say, “Hey dummy, you have a sight problem and a sin problem, do you want me to help you or not?” This man already knew his problems!!
** The very presence of Jesus caused this man to have a personal responsive faith and to run to Jesus to get some help!!
III. PERSONAL FAITH IS A REVEALING FAITH
Luke 18:38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
** He knew he had to reveal the . . .
A. The Nazarene
** Personal Faith is Revealing that you are talking to the Lord and no other!! “Jesus, thou son of David,”
1. The Lord is revealed (Jesus)
2. The Lineage is revealed (Son of David)
B. The Need
1. He needed the Master!
2. He needed Mercy!
**When it comes right down to it, we all need the Master and Mercy!! None of us can do without Him!!
IV. PERSONAL FAITH IS A REBUKED FAITH
Luke 18:39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
*** When you have personal faith in Jesus, you will be rebuked . . .
A. The World will Rebuke and Reject Your Faith
1. Personal Faith causes Differences.
2. Personal Faith causes Departure.
B. The Wicked will Rebuke and Reject Your Faith
If your personal faith is real, you will . . .
1. Run when the wicked rebukes your faith.
2. Rejoice when the wicked rebukes your faith.
C. The Worshippers will Rebuke and Reject Your Faith
The Religious, the rulers, the reverent, and the rigid rejects personal faith, but just keep shouting his name even louder!!
V. PERSONAL FAITH IS A REQUESTING FAITH
Luke 18:39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Luke 18:41 41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
** He made two requests:
A. He Requested the Savior!
1. I’m glad our Savior Hears! (He hears our cries!)
2. I’m glad our Savior Helps! (He helps our catastrophes!)
B. He Requested his Sight!
** A lot of people makes requests with their lips, but this man made a request with his faith!!
1. He Requesting Faith got the Lord’s Attention
2. He Requesting Faith got the Lord’s Approval
Are you doing the requesting, or is your faith doing the requesting?
VI. PERSONAL FAITH IS A RECEIVING FAITH
Luke 18:42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
Luke 18:43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
** He requested his sight, so what did he receive?
A. He Received the sight of seeing the Savior!!
(The first thing he saw was God! I don’t know for sure, but I kind of believe that this fellow wanted to see the Lord more than anything else in the world, and that’s why he received his sight!)
B. He Received the sight of seeing Salvation!!
(The second thing he saw was Grace!! Once I was blind but now I see, and what I saw was salvation!! Have you ever seen salvation?)
** Is your personal faith large enough that it is a receiving faith?
VII. PERSONAL FAITH IS A REJOICING FAITH!
Luke 18:43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
** His Rejoicing Faith caused him to . . .
A. Pursue
1. Rejoicing Faith will cause you to Love on the Lord so much that you follow Him!
2. Rejoicing Faith will cause you to Latch onto the Lord so much that you follow Him!
(I have no confidence in folks who come to the altar, cry crocodile tears, make a profession, get baptized, and join the church, and then you never see them come back to church or follow Christ – ever again! This man receive something through faith that caused him to follow Christ!!)
B. Praise
His rejoicing faith caused him to . . .
1. Bless the Savior (He glorified God!!)
2. Boost the Saints (His rejoicing caused others to rejoice!)
**If you have personal faith, you have rejoicing faith!! In other words, it will cause you to rejoice!!
Close
So what is Personal Faith? It is Recognizing Faith, Responsive Faith, Revealing Faith, Rebuked Faith, Requesting Faith, Receiving Faith, and Rejoicing Faith!!
The bible said, “THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE.”
Do you have a personal faith that has saved you? Is it time to put your personal faith in Christ today? Come pray now!!
