KEEPING THE FAITH?
SCRIPTURE TEXT: LUKE 22:28-30 3/10/2001 ELDER P. J. LENNEY
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD SOMEONE SAY THAT BEFORE, OR HAD SOMEONE ASK YOU THAT? I BELIEVE ITS SOMETHING SOMEONE SAYS WHEN THEY ARE RESPONDING TO “HOW YA DOING”. ONE MIGHT REPLY, I’M KEEPING THE FAITH! I BEGAN THINKING ABOUT THE EXPRESSION ITSELF AND THE WORD FAITH AND I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS SAYING TO THE CHURCH CONCERNING FAITH THIS MORNING.
THE UNGER’S DICTIONARY DESCRIBES FAITH ("PISTIS" IN GREEK) AS A BELIEF OR TRUST IN A HIGHER POWER. FAITH ALSO AS USED IN SCRIPTURE DEFINES FOR US A MORAL QUALITY HELD IN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHEREBY MEN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
IN A THEOLOGICAL SENSE FAITH HAS TWO ELEMENTS: (1) ONE IS THE INTELLECTUAL, MEANING THAT THE BASIC TRUTHS AND FACTS CONCERNING GOD HAS BEEN REVEALED TO YOU BY HIM AND ESTABLISHED IN YOUR INTELLECT AND BY FAITH YOU BELIEVE THEM. AS A RESULT OF THIS FAITH, SALVATION IS BIRTHED IN MANY.
THE SECOND ELEMENT IS THE TESTIMONIAL FAITH!! THIS IS THE FAITH THAT LIES WITHIN THE TEXT OF HEBREWS THAT DECLARES IT “IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR AND THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN! SOMETIMES WE HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THIS ELEMENT, SOMETIMES WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH THE TESTIMONIAL FAITH. ANY WITNESSES?
BUT, SAINTS OF GOD, THIS IS THE ELEMENT YOU MUST GRASP IN YOUR LIFE THIS MORNING IF YOU DESIRE TO HAVE THE HOPES IN YOUR LIFE APPEAR…..THAT YOU TURN THEM INTO INTELLECTUAL EVIDENCES AND FACTS IN YOUR LIFE!!! WRITE THESE TWO DOWN!! BECAUSE WE WILL BE GETTING BACK TO THEM.
TURN WITH ME TO ROMANS 12:3-6
KNOW THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO BELIEVERS. TO ROMAN BELIEVERS FOR THE MOST PART. PAUL WAS INSTRUCTING AND ASKING THEIR HELP TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL. HE POINTS OUT THAT………..
VERSE 3 – TO EVERY BELIEVER, TO EVERY MAN RECEIVES A MEASURE OF FAITH. ($10.00 or $10,000)
THE NEW CENTURY VERSION TRANSLATES THE LATTER PART OF THAT VERSE THAT “YOU MUST DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE BY THE AMOUNT OF FAITH GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AT! IN ADDITION,..TO THE MEASURE OF FAITH...
VERSE 6 – TO OPERATE IN THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, YOU MUST AGAIN HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING WHERE YOUR FAITH STANDS. WHAT LEVEL ARE YOU OPERATING AT? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GIFTS ARE, DO YOU KNOW HOW AND WHEN TO MOVE IN YOUR GIFTS, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TO BELIEVE GOD FOR, DO YOU KNOW YOUR MEASURE OF FAITH CONCERNING YOUR PRAYER LIFE? ALL THESE AREAS OF YOUR LIFE REQUIRE A TESTIMONIAL KINDA FAITH!!!! PRAISE HIS NAME SOMEONE.
#1, UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY MAN IS GIVEN A MEASURE OF FAITH!!
LOOK AT YOUR NEIGHBOR AND TELL THEM, I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH FAITH I EXACTLY HAD WHEN I GOT HERE, BUT I WILL KNOW FOR CERTAIN WHEN I LEAVE!!!
TURN YOUR BIBLES TO 2 THESS 3:1-2 – WE SEE PAUL AGAIN WRITING THIS TIME THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH AND HE POINTS OUT .....
VERSE 2 – POINTS OUT THAT NOT ALL MEN BELIEVE!!!! BOTH INTELLECTUALLY AND TESTIMONIALLY. BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. NOT ALL MEN BELIEVE IN THE INTELLECTUAL ELEMENT OF FAITH! THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN A HIGHER POWER, THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN ANY GOD.
THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION OF THIS TEXT SAYS THAT “I’M FINDING THAT NOT ALL “BELIEVERS” ARE BELIEVERS!!! AGAIN THE WRITER IS POINTING OUT THAT NOT ALL THOSE WHO ARE SAVED AND IN THE CHURCH, ARE OPERATING IN A TESTIMONIAL KIND OF FAITH!
BUT, SAINTS…. UNDERSTAND THEY TOO SERVE A PURPOSE. SEE, BECAUSE IT TAKES THE UNREASONABLE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS SOMETIMES TO CREATE A TEST IN YOUR LIFE, THAT FORCES YOU TO GO TO YOUR WORD AND TO SEEK HIS FACE IN PRAYER, WHICH BRINGS ABOUT A VICTORY, WHICH RESULTS IN INCREASED FAITH, OF THE TESTIMONAL KIND!!!!
NO NOT THE EXTRATERRESTIAL OF THE THIRD KIND.
BUT THE FAITH OF THE TESTIMONIAL KIND!!!
FOR FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD!!! YOU NEED THE TESTIMONIAL KIND!!! TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, I NEED THOSE TESTS. THESE ARE THE TESTS THAT DRIVE YOU TO YOUR KNEES…SAINTS, THOSE TESTS LET YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FAITH YOU REALLY POSSESS. THEY LET YOURSELF KNOW WHO YOU REALLY ARE!!! THEY SHOW HOW MUCH YOU REALLY CAN PLACE BEFORE THE LIVING GOD AND BELIEVE HIM,
HOW MUCH FAITH DO WE POSSESS IN HIM FOR DAILY DELIVERANCE AND DAILY VICTORY!!!
FOR VERSE 3, - SAYS THAT THE LORD IS FAITHFUL, WHO SHALL ESTABLISH YOU, AND KEEP YOU FROM EVIL!!!!
#2 - UNREASONABLE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS CREATE TESTS IN YOUR LIFE TO ESTABLISH YOUR LEVEL OF TESTIMONIAL FAITH.
TURN TO LUKE 22:28
VERSE 28 – THERE ARE THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE WITHSTOOD SOME TESTS. JESUS IS SAYING, YOU ARE THOSE WHO HAVE STOOD BY ME, YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THICK AND THIN!!!! YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE MIRACLES AND YOU HAVE SEEN ALL THE TERRIBLE MOMENTS. JESUS SAYS AS YOU WERE WITH ME, I AM WITH YOU, ALWAYS!!!
(THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION)
VS 29: JESUS POINTS OUT THAT HANGING IN THE BALANCE IS THE KINGDOM, WHIICH THE FATHER HAS GIVEN TO THE SON AND HE IN TURN HAS GIVEN UNTO US!!!
VS 30: BUT SAINTS OF GOD, YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOU’RE LEVEL OF FAITH THIS MORNING. FOR JESUS SAYS, AND YOU CAN PLACE YOUR NAME THERE….SIMON, SIMON, SATAN HAS ASKED ME TO HAVE YOU!!!! BUT I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU.
THAT YOUR FAITH NOT FAIL!!!!
- NOT YOUR MINISTRY, NOT YOUR GIFT, NOT YOUR FAMILY, NOT YOUR DREAMS, NOT YOUR CONDITION….JUST THAT YOUR FAITH NOT FAIL!!!!
SIMON, STAY ON YOUR TOES, SATAN HAS TRIED HIS BEST TO SEPARATE YOU FROM ME, LIKE CHAFF FROM WHEAT!! BUT SIMON, I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU WOULD NOT GIVE UP AND GIVE OUT!!!
JESUS IS SAYING NOT ONLY DOES OUR TESTIMONIAL FAITH GET SHAKY, BUT SOMETIMES OUR INTELLECTUAL FAITH GETS SHATTERED DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES AND WE FEEL LIKE JUST BREAKING DOWN….BUT JESUS SAYS I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!!!!
- SOMETIMES OUR FAITH IS NOT AT A HEALTHY LEVEL, AND WHEN THE TEST COMES WE USE ALL THAT WE HAVE LEFT.
- SOMETIMES OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, OUR SURROUNDINGS, OUR FRIENDS, OUR LOVED ONES, THOSE CLOSEST TO US, COME AT US WITH THAT UNREASONABLE BEHAVIOR AND ALTHOUGH IT IS SUPPOSE TO BUILD US UP….IT MAKES OUR FAITH TANK EMPTY!!! INSTEAD OF IT SERVING THE SPIRITUAL PURPOSE OF INCREASING OUR FAITH AND STRENGTH IN HIM, IT DEPLEATS THE LAST DROPS OF RESOURCES….AND SO HERE WE ARE …THE ENEMY OF OUR SOUL, THE ADVERSARY COMES….
AND THE BLINKING LIGHT IS ON, THE LITTLE ORANGE NEEDLE IS PAST THE EMPTY LINE ON YOUR FAITH TANK….AND YOUR PERSPECTIVE IS ALL OFF…YOUR DISTRACTED, AND YOUR NOT SURE WHERE TO TURN OFF, OR IF YOU COULD JUST MAKE IT HOME…IT WOULD BE ALRIGHT….
BUT JESUS IS TELLING YOU THIS MORNING…..I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!!! AND YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN THE LIVING WORD PRAYS THE WORD, AS WE KNOW THAT HE IS OUR ADVOCATE TO THE FATHER,
YOUR FAITH BEGINS TO INCREASE BY HEARING HIS WORD AND HIS PROMISE AND YOUR FAITH LEVEL BEGINS TO RISE AND YOU BEGIN TO SAY….
I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS WHO STRENGTHENS ME!!!
I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR.
THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT MINE SAITH THE LORD!!!
LO, I WALK THRU THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME!!
I WAS NOT GIVEN THE SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER, LOVE, AND A SOUND MIND.
ISAIAH 54:16 TELLS US A CREATED THE SMITH THAT BLOWS ONTO THE COALS, HE CREATES THE DESTROYER TO WASTE, BUT………..
NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER AND EVERY TONGUE THAT RISE THOU SHALL CONDEMN!!! UNDERSTAND WHO THE “THOU” IS IN THAT TEXT. THOU IS YOU!!!! YOU HAVE TO SPEAK UP, YOU HAVE TO MOVE, YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE, YOU HAVE TO PLACE YOUR FAITH, A TESTIMOONIAL FAITH IN THE LORD DAILY!!!!!!!
AND IT IS AT THAT MOMENT THE RIGHT LIGHT COMES ON AND THE FAITH TANK LIGHT GOES OFF AND YOU REALIZE THAT YOU WERE OPERATING IN THE WRONG VEHICLE,…BECAUSE I AM A FIRM BELIEVER OF TWO THINGS CONCERNING THE WORD OF GOD…
1) FAITH PLEASES GOD!!!
2) DOUBT DISAPPOINTS GOD!!!
AND WHEN WE CLIMB OUT OF THE CAR OF DOUBT AND GET IN THE CAR OF FAITH OUR LEVEL BEGINS TO INCREASE, AND CREATES SOME DOWN HILLS SO YOU CAN GET UP SOME SPEED AND THEN HE PROVIDES SOME REST STOPS SO YOU CAN FILL UP!!!!!
SAINTS OF GOD THIS IS THE TYPE OF LOVING LORD WE SERVE, HE WANTS US TO INCLUDE HIM IN ON EVERYTHING!!! YOU HAVE TO LET HIM BE THE LORD OVER EVERY ISSUE OF YOUR LIFE!!!!
BECAUSE IF YOU DO NOT…..YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF RENTING THE DEVIL’S CAR FULL OF DOUBT AND AL THE FAITH CARS WILL PASS YOU BY!!!!! AND WHEN YOU WALK IN FEAR AND DOUBT FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME, IT IS HARD TO GET BACK IN THE RIGHT CAR!!
LET’S MOVE ON….
LATTER PART OF THAT VERSE AND WHEN THOU ART CONVERTED….WHEN YOU COME THRU YOUR TEST, STRENGTHEN YOUR BRETHREN!!!!
JESUS KNEW THAT PETER WAS UNDER ATTACK, BUT HE ALSO KNEW AS HE HAD FOREORDAINED THE STEPS OF PETER HIS OUTCOME. MANY OF YOU WONDER WHY IT IS A ROAD OF FAITH. BECAUSE IF YOU COULD SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BELIEVE IT!!!
PETER TOLD JESUS IN LUKE 22:33 THAT HE WAS READY!!! JESUS REPLIED, I JUST TOLD YOU SATAN WAS ATTACKING YOU, THAT AFTER YOU COME THRU, STRENGTHEN YOUR BRETHREN! JESUS SAID 3 TIMES YOU SHALL DENY ME.
THEY TAKE JESUS AWAY AND SCRIPTURE TELLS US IN VERSE 54 THAT PETER FOLLOWED AFAR OFF!
NOW GO TO VERSE 60 – ON THE 3RD DENIAL,….THE LORD TURNED, AND LOOKED UPON PETER!!! PETER WEPT BITTERLY!!!
GO TO ACTS 1:15, WE SEE IT WAS PETER STRENGTHENING THE BRETHREN, REMINDING THEM OF THE WORDS THAT JESUS SPAKE, AND WE KNOW IN ACTS CHAPTER 2 IT IS THE SAME PETER WHO SPOKE OF THE PROPHET JOEL, AND IT IS THE SAME PETER WHO PREACHED WITH SUCH AN ANNOINTING THAT THOUSANDS WERE SAVED!!!!!
THE LORD KNEW WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO BRING PETER THROUGH, AND HE KNOWS THE LEVELS OF FAITH YOU ARE CAPABLE OF.
THINK ON IT THIS MORNING.
HOW DO I REACT? HOW DO I BELIEVE, WHAT IS MY FIRST EMOTION!!!
TODAY, EVERYONE IS COMING UP TO THIS ALTAR TODAY, THE ANGEL OF THIS HOUSE IS GOING PRAY AND LAY HANDS IF HE WOULD COME….BELIEIVING THE LORD TO PLACE SOME OF YOU INTO A NEW CAR!!! TO UNITE THAT YOUR FAITH WOULD REMAIN STRONG IN JESUS, AND THAT YOUR TESTIMONY BE FRESH, THAT YOUR WORDS WOULD BE HIS, AND THAT YOUR HEART WOULD BE FREE FROM DOUBT, IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
IF YOU’VE BEEN SEEKING THE LORD AND DOUBT THEN CREEPS IN, COME.
IF YOUR FAITH IS TESTED OR YOU’VE BEEN OVERRAN ON YOUR JOB, COME.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO BELIEVE GOD FOR INCREDIBLE TINGS AND THEN GET THE RUG TAKEN OUT FROM YOU COME. WE ARE GOING TO GET IT STRAIGHT THIS MORNING!!!!!
