Dynamic Faith
Matt. 8:5-10
Intro-
What I believe that Jesus was trying to say to the Roman centurion, is you have dynamic faith. You have a faith that is captiviating, usable, powerful. The centurion had a faith that was remarkable in that those around could see it and know it.
People I believe that we live in time where we need dynamic faith. God’s people need to have the kind of faith that the world sees and takes notice of. It’s time for us to stop being wishy-washy, milk-toast, luke-warm, just getting by christians and start doing
amazing, spectacular, miracle working deeds for God.
I believe that God has already started to and will continue to use people and churches who are willing to put their own selfish desires aside and say God I going after you. It doesn’t matter the cost, it doesn’t matter what may happen, Lord I want to be used by you to touch this world.
For us to be used in this way we must have dynamic faith. This morning as I conclude my serires on faith I want us to look in the word at a prophet who showed us exactly what dynamci faith is all about.
1 Kings 18
Dynamic Faith will:
1. Bring Confidence
John McKay, of the NFL, tells a story of University of Alabama football coach Bear Bryant: "We were out shooting ducks, and finally, after about three hours, here comes one lonely duck. The Bear fires. And that duck is still flying today. But Bear watched the duck flap away, looked at me and said, ’John, you are
witnessing a genuine miracle. There flies a dead duck!’" Bear Bryant had confidence in his ability to shoot that duck.
Elijah showed confidence in the ability of his God.
Verse 18-19, 24
You see Elijah was beaming with confidence, for he knew as Paul stated in 2 Tim. “I know in whom I beleive and I know he is able.
Dynamic faith will bring a realization in our minds that there is nothing impossible for God to do.
When you are standing in a seemingly impossible situation, you know it doesn’t matter because God is on your side. As matter of fact Elijah becomes almost obnoxious with his confidence.
(read verse 27).
Sounds almost like the trash-talking that goes on in pro sports like football and basketball
God wants us to have confidence in his ability to change a situation. Not in what we can do but what he is able to do through us.
Frank Lloyd Wright is among the most innovative architects this county ever produced. But his fame wasn’t limited to the United States. About 70 years ago, Japan asked Wright to design a hotel for Tokyo that would be capable of surviving an earthquake.
When the architect visited Japan to see where the Imperial Hotel was to be built, he was appalled to find only about eight feet of earth on the site. Beneath that was 60 feet of soft mud that slipped
and shook like jelly. Every test hole he dug filled up immediately with water. A lesser man probably would have given up right there. But not Frank Lloyd Wright. Since the hotel was going to rest on fluid ground, Wright decided to build it like a ship. Instead
of trying to keep the structure from moving during a quake, he incorporated features that would allow the hotel to ride out the shock without damage. Supports were sunk into the soft mud, and sections of the foundation were cantilevered from the supports.
The rooms were built in sections like a train and hinged together. Water pipes and electric lines, usually the first to shear off in an earthquake, were hung in vertical shafts where they could sway
freely if necessary. Wright knew that the major cause of destruction after an earthquake was fire, because water lines are apt to be broken in the ground and there is no way to put the fire out. So he insisted on a large outdoor pool in the courtyard of his hotel, "just in case." On September 1, 1923, Tokyo had the greatest earthquake in its history. There were fires all over the city, and 140,000 people died. Back in the U.S., news reports were slow coming in. One
newspaper wanted to print the story that the Imperial Hotel had been destroyed, as rumor had it. But when a reporter called Frank Lloyd Wright, he said that they could print the story if they wished, but they would only have to retract it later. He knew the hotel would not collapse. Shortly afterward, Wright got a telegram from Japan. The Imperial Hotel was completely undamaged. Not only that -- it had provided a home for hundreds of people. And when fires that raged all around the hotel threatened to spread, bucket brigades
kept the structure wetted down with water from the hotel’s pool. The Imperial Hotel isn’t there anymore. It was finally torn down in the 1960s to be replaced by a more modern structure. Frank Loyd Wright had confidence in his design. Do you have the same
in cofidence in God’s design.
Dynamic faith will :
2. Bring Communication
The power of a successfully communicated thought, from one human mind to another, is one of the greatest forces we know. But like the tango, it takes two to communicate. You can communicate a thought, but your thought may not be understood. In some cases, your thought may not even reach the proper target. That’s why it pays to ask questions to make certain that people understand what you are saying.
The great movie maker, Cecil B. DeMille would agree.
DeMille was making one of his great epic movies. He had six cameras at various points to pick up the overall action and five other cameras set up to film plot developments involving the major characters. The large cast had begun rehearsing their scene at 6 a.m. They went through it four times and now it was late
afternoon. The sun was setting and there was just enough light to get the shot done. DeMille looked over the panorama, saw that all was right, and gave the command for action. One hundred extras charged up the hill; another hundred came storming down the same hill to do mock battle. In another location Roman centurions lashed and shouted at two hundred slaves who labored to move a huge stone monument toward its
resting place. Meanwhile the principal characters acted out, in close-up, their reactions to the battle on the hill. Their words were drowned out by the noise around them, but the dialogue was to be dubbed in later. It took fifteen minutes to complete the scene. When it was over, DeMille yelled, "Cut!" and turned to his assistant, all smiles. "That was great!" he said. "It was, C.B.," the assistant yelled back.
"It was fantastic! Everything went off perfectly!"
Enormously pleased, DeMille turned to face the head of his camera crew to find out if all the cameras had picked up what they had been assigned to film. He waved to the camera crew supervisor. From the top of the hill, the camera supervisor waved back, raised his megaphone, and called out, "Ready when you are, C.B!"
Verse 36-
It is obvious that this is not the first time that Elijah had spent time in prayer with God. He knew God from the times that he had taken and been with God. If Elijah had gone on with his life like God didn’t really mean a whole lot to him......... He could
have never expected to do it now.
Dynamic faith brings about a communication between us and God and we can know that he is listening.
Communication though is a two way road, we also have to listen for his voice. I’m sure that Elijah also had his ear in tune to see if God spoke something to him.
Well-known Broadway producer Jed Harris once became
convinced he was losing his hearing. He visited a specialist, who pulled out a gold watch and asked "Can you hear this ticking?" "Of course," Harris replied. The specialist walked to the door and asked the question again. Harris concentrated and said, "Yes, I
can hear it clearly." Then the doctor walked into the next room and repeated the question a third time. A third time Harris said he could hear the ticking. "Mr. Harris," the doctor concluded, "there is nothing wrong with your hearing. You just don’t listen."
Does your faith bring about communication with the Lord.
Dynamic faith does.
Dynamic faith will:
3. Bring a Conclusion
Verse 38
Elijah’s faith brought the desired results. All Elijah wanted to do was bring the people’s hearts back to God. His faith was such that God had no alternative but answer his prayer with fire.
Greek philosopher Anaximenes accompanied Alexander the Great on his expedition against the Persians, in the course of which Alexander’s forces captured Lampsacus, the birthplace of Anaximenes. Anxious to save his native city from destruction, Anaximenes sought an audience with the king. Alexander anticipated his plea: "I swear by the Styx I will not grant your
request," he said. "My Lord," calmly replied Anaximenes, "I merely wanted to ask you to destroy Lampsacus." And so he saved his native city.
What we have to understand that when we have confidence in God’s ability and spend time in communication with him, there will be a conclusion.
And it all stems from our faith.
We could right now go through the word and come up with
instance after instance in the old and the new testaments where God did the exact same thing because the requirements were met by his people......
Conclusion:
Are you wanting to impact this world for Jesus? Are you facing a seemingly impossible situation in your life?
What you need is dynamic faith.
It is what we are called to have. You can be an Elijah!
