Psalm 27:1-9
“Triumphant Faith--Revised”
By: Reverend Kenneth Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport
News, VA
Last week I was on the phone with my parents when out of the blue my mother asked
me, “So how is your theology doing these days?”
The question caught me by surprise...I didn’t know exactly why she was asking this, and I
didn’t know exactly what to say.
So I was silent for a few moments.
Then I heard my mother’s voice on the other end of the phone, “Ken, are you there?”
I answered, “Yes, but I don’t know exactly what or why you are asking me this. What do
you mean?”
“Well,” she said, “You asked me this same question when you were up here after
Christmas, and I never had the opportunity to ask you the same question.”
“Oh,” I said, I had forgotten all about that.
“Well, I guess you could say that I basically believe what everyone who calls themselves
a Christian believes, and my faith is getting stronger and stronger every day.”
“That’s great,” was her reply.
And I have to tell you all that this is an incredible blessing.
Because the Bible tells us that faith and even the ability to have faith is a gift from God.
And I know from past experience that without this faith I am a very lost, lonely and
unhappy soul.
And the fact that God is increasing my faith daily is an incredible triumph.
Because I, like everyone in this room have been and continue to be bombarded by all
kinds of stuff sent straight from our enemy--the Devil--who is prowling around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
And this is exactly the kind of thing that David, who wrote Psalm 27 was faced with in
a very violent and furious manner.
As a matter of fact, King David probably knew more about this spiritual warfare than
many of us could ever imagine.
In the earlier part of his life, David was often on the run as enemies chased him--trying to
kill him.
One attack came after another.
At one point he was hiding from King Saul who wanted him dead.
And later on, his life was threatened by his own son Absalom.
And yet through it all...his faith continued to grow....and through his faith he learned to
overcome his foes by placing his trust in God.
What I’m trying to say is that Faith is Triumphant when a person is still able to
have and rely on it as their “stronghold” despite all the horrible things that we have to face
in this life.
I’m sure many of you have heard Christian seminarys referred to as Cemetaries.
and there is good reason for this.
I have heard several accounts of persons who entered seminary after feeling the call of
God to go into the ministry--only to drop out--having lost their faith.
And what a shame this is.
Having recently gone through three years of seminary I can understand how this can
happen.
They have a saying at Candler School of Theology where I graduated from.
In the first year you are crucified.
In the second year you are buried.
And if you make it through the third year--you are resurrected!
You see, Seminary is kind of like a spiritual boot-camp for ministers.
They throw all this stuff at you--from every angle--that directly contradicts your faith.
It is a three-year battle.
But it is a battle which is very much worth fighting.
Throughout the seminary experience, Scholars and theologians spend an incredible
amount of time and energy trying to blow holes through everything you believe.
And there is a good reason behind this...because if you can come out of this experience
with your faith intact...your faith is much stronger than it was before you entered seminary.
And thanks be to God...this is what happened to me.
And then, when you go out into the world...when you are assigned a church, and you are
faced with all the difficult situations that the ministry puts you in...faith is not the issue.
As a matter of fact, with every new dilemma, with every new catastophy that comes your
way your faith grows even stronger...because in order to be an effective minister for God
and God’s people you learn that you must rely on your faith more and more.
And as Christains...we are all called to be ministers...whether we are officially
ordained or not. Every one of us is a minister for Jesus Christ and His Church. Every one
of us are called to witness to our faith...and to make disciples of all peoples.
So we all must face trials that test our faith in order to make our faith stronger. We all
must go through the pains of spiritual growth in order to become the mature Christians we must
be if are going to be able to make a real difference for God no matter what kinds of trouble
comes our way.
And we can only do this by completely focusing our lives on God....by allowing God to
be the sole “stronghold of our lives.”
And this is what David had to do.
David’s life was incredibly focused.
It was incredibly focused on God.
This is where David was able to find his “confidence.”
“One thing I ask of the Lord,” writes David, “This is what I seek: that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life.”
Is this what we are seeking?
The Bible tells us that if we seek God...we will find him...and after all, this is the most
important thing that we can do in the entire world--because it not only has immediate
consequences...it also has eternal consequences.
If we seek God...we will find Him, and when we find Him we come to love Him.
And when we come to love Him, we find that our entire perspective on life changes in a
very dramatic way.
Because when we come to love God....we are able to love ourselves and thus we are also
able to love others.
And this is when we are able to begin to make a positive difference in this world...and in
the lives of others.
And what makes the difference? Our faith.
According to his auto-biography, perhaps the greatest evangelist of our time, Billy
Graham has had to wrestle with many faith issues.
A friend of his had enrolled in Princeton Theological Seminary.
His name was Chuck Templeton, and the intellectualized, worldly thinking of that
seminary was rubbing off on Chuck.
Chuck told Billy, “Billy, you’re fifty years out of date. People no longer accept the Bible
as being inspired the way you do.
You’re faith is too simple.
You’re language is out of date.
You’re going to have to learn a new jargon if you are going to be successful in your
ministry.”
My friends, that is a lie. A lie that Billy Graham didn’t give in to.
Mr. Chuck Templeton was also qouted as saying, “Poor Bily, I feel sorry for him. He and
I are taking two different roads.”
That was in the summer of 1949.
Chuck Templeton may not have realized just how prophetic that statement was.
They did indeed take two different roads.
Billy focused on what God was telling him through his faith, and Chuck focused on what
the world was telling him.
I’d never heard of Chuck Templeton before reading that book. Have you?
I’ve never seen him proclaiming the cross of Christ to packed stadiums night after night,
decade after decade, being used by God as a tool to bring millions to Christ.
Billy Graham chose to focus on his faith in God rather than on the so-called wisdom of
this world....and his faith has proved to be triumphant!
I don’t need to tell you all that this world can be a very nasty place.
Perhaps this is because Satan is the ruler of this world.
And when we allow our faith to guide us, we often must come face to face with the
consequeces of evil.
Mother Teresa did this every day.
Through her life and her ministry, she literally saw the face of evil everywhere she
looked.
But through the miracle of faith she was able to triumph over this evil.
Through the miracle of faith...Mother Teresa was gifted with an incredible love for those
who suffer.
If you have ever seen a picture of Mother Teresa, it is quite apparent that she was by no
means a physical giant, but the Lord was the “stronghold of her life,” and by relying on God
through faith she was able to minister to people in all kinds of dangerous situations without
being afraid.
Of the billions and billions of people who have ever lived, One person stands head and
shoulders above the rest in terms of influence.
More schools, colleges, hospitals, and orphanges have been started because of Him than
becuse of anyone else.
More art has been created, more music written, and more humanitarian acts performed
due to Him and His influence than anyone else ever.
Even our calendar is based on His birth.
And all this He accomplished in a public ministry that lasted just three and a half years!
Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Savior of the world, and Messiah predicted that those
who put their faith in him will do great things.
And centuries after His public unmerciful mocking, his persecution and martydom,
billions have made Him the stronghold of their lives.
And through doing this, billions have been able to face life and death unafraid.
The atheist philospher Bertrand Russell put it, “The older I get, the more nervous I
become.”
In contrast, two weeks before his death, Pope John the 23rd said, “My bags are packed.
I’m ready to go.”
Wow, now that is an example of triumphant faith!
How many of us can say that with confidence this morning?
We are all dealing with all kinds of difficulties and fears: the fear of the unknown, the
fear of death, the fear of failure, the fear of being rejected, the fear of sickness, the difficuties of
loneliness, physical and mental handicaps, sick family and friends....and the list could go on
and on....
So let’s learn from King David today...
Let’s learn from this beautiful Psalm.....
And let us learn to trust in God--through faith--so that we too can stand strong in the
face of all kinds of problems.
