Get Into the Wheelbarrow
(Assert Your Faith)
Ephesians 6:10-18
Introduction: This is week five in our series “Eight Essential Exercises for Building a Better Body.” The first exercise we examined was “allocating strength.” We investigated our need to find our strength in the Lord. Without His strength, we can’t even complete the rest of the exercises and our relationships will suffer.
Secondly we considered our need to make certain that our relationships are supported by and grounded in integrity. Without that belt of truth strapped around us, we cannot stand and our relationships crumble.
We then studied the need to access the righteousness of Christ. We need to be right with God before we can be right in our relationships with others, and the way we get right with God is we allow the righteousness of Christ to be given to us. And then we ask him to fill us, to dwell in us and actually change our character so that we are truly a righteous people.
Last week we looked at our need to be actively preparing to advance. If our relationships are going to be healthy, God honoring relationships, we must be prepared to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ into those relationships with our words and our actions. A lack of preparation leaves us susceptible to defeat by the enemy.
Today I want us to explore the role that faith plays in our relationships with others, and in our relationship with God. If a part of the reason we exist is to bring glory and honor to God, if we are to please God, then, by necessity, we must be a people of faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
If our relationships are going to be healthy, growing, God-honoring relationships, they must be marked by true faith. We also need that faith if we are going to honor others in our relationships.
Read with me from Ephesians 6:10-18 again.
Ep. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Ep. 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ep. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ep. 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ep. 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
Ep. 6:15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Ep. 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ep. 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ep. 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Paul tells us to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” In Paul’s day the shield of the Roman soldier was a large rectangular shield made of wood, leather and metal. When a company of soldiers would stand shoulder to shoulder and hold their shields out in front of them it made a wall that protected the whole company from the flaming arrows sent their way by the enemy.
Often, in first century battles, an army would take a team of archers who would dip their arrows in tar and light them on fire. They would then launch volley after volley of these flaming arrows at an advancing army. Having flaming arrows shot in your general direction tended to slow you down a bit. Being hit by one was even less helpful. So the soldier’s shield was designed to take the hits from these arrows, allowing the flames to flicker and die, keeping the advancing army safe.
Our spiritual enemy is very good at shooting flaming arrows in our direction and he especially loves to target our relationships. Often he’ll fire in an arrow of jealousy, or of distrust. Sometimes he’ll shoot at us with temptation. At other times he may launch a volley of frustration and misunderstanding into our relationships. He has many arrows aimed at your relationships at home, work, church, and so on. That’s why Paul tells us to take up the shield of faith.
When we exercise true faith in our lives and express it in our relationships, the arrows of the enemy can be deflected or extinguished, preserving our relationships. We need to take up that shield of faith daily. We need to assert our faith.
How do I assert my faith? How is it that I live out faith in my relationships on a daily basis? There are three simple ways to assert your faith.
Believe in the Word of God
The first step to asserting real faith in your relationships is to believe in the Word of God. This may seem a bit simple. Perhaps it seems so obvious as to wonder why bother mentioning it. But it is essential that your faith start at the beginning and there is nothing more foundational to our faith than the Word of God, the Bible!
I’ll not take much time on this particular step today because, in a couple of weeks, the entire focus of the sermon will be the place of the Word of God in our lives and in our relationships.
For now I’ll simply say, that we must have absolute belief that the Bible is indeed the Word of God.
Believing that the Bible is the Word of God is foundational to all other areas of faith in our lives.
The Discipline of the Wesleyan Church, which is our governing document, gives this statement of faith regarding the Bible as God’s Word.
The Sufficiency and Full Authority of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation
We believe that the books of the Old and New Testaments constitute the Holy Scriptures. They are the inspired and infallibly written Word of God, fully inerrant in their original manuscripts and superior to all human authority, and have been transmitted to the present without corruption of any essential doctrine. We believe that they contain all things necessary to salvation; so that whatever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man or woman that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. Both in the Old and New Testaments life is offered ultimately through Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and humanity. The New Testament teaches Christians how to fulfill the moral principles of the Old Testament, calling for loving obedience to God made possible by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.
The very Church we attend makes belief in the Word of God a matter of constitutional policy.
But the Word of God is its own best witness as to why we should believe in the Bible.
John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Genuine faith involves belief – accepting the facts of what God has told us in His Word.
You cannot be saved or have genuine faith if you do not believe the Bible. Faith is built upon belief.
2 Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”
2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
It is essential for our faith that we first of all believe in the Bible as the inspired Word of God.
You may say, “Great, the Bible is essential to all areas of faith in our life, but how does believing that the Bible is the Word of God effect my relationships on a day to day basis?”
It’s simple really. There is no greater book on how to handle our relationships than the Bible. There is no greater set of guidelines for healthy, happy, homes that honor God and honor others. When the principles found in the Bible are applied to our relationships they work every time.
Thus, if the Bible is truly God’s Word, if we believe the Bible is accurate, then wont’ we have a greater desire, even an urgency, to put the principles found there into practice in our lives and in our relationships?
You may remember that a couple of months ago, I preached a sermon that dealt with the authority of the Bible. In that sermon I made these four points
All of it is God’s Word.
Its instruction is alive and profitable.
It is comprehensive.
It can completely equip us for both life and ministry.
That last point is the one that impacts our relationships most directly. The Bible equips us for both life and ministry. Therefore, if we’ll take the Word of God and make it the foundation of our life, it will help us live out every relationship we have in a way that is pleasing to God and honoring to the people we share our relationships with.
This faith in the Word of God puts out the flaming arrows that the enemy would shoot at our relationships. When the Word is foundational in our lives, when we understand it and when we know it, we can apply its principles to the defense of our relationships.
Jealousy need not arise when we learn what God’s Word teaches about trusting others and trusting him.
Fear need not grip us when we understand that God’s perfect love has conquered and cast out all fear.
Loneliness need not haunt us when we know God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us.
The list goes on and on as to the arrows that are extinguished by our faith in the Word of God. But believing in the Word of God is only part of the picture. That belief in the Bible, to truly impact our lives and our relationships, must lead to a Trust in Jesus Christ.
Trust in Jesus Christ
Believing the Bible is the Word of God is a necessary first step, but our belief must turn into trust.
The logical next step after believing that the Bible is the Word of God, is putting complete trust in Jesus Christ, not simply as your savior, but as your Lord as well. Why is this the next logical step? Because of what the Bible says about Jesus.
It is possible to believe the Bible is true and to accept everything taught in God’s word on a mental level only. We can believe with our minds and yet doubt with our hearts. Head knowledge is not the same thing as real trust!
In 1859, French daredevil Charles Blondin stretched a rope 1,100 feet across Niagara Falls. He then proceeded to walk across the rope, 160 above the falls, while blindfolded. The crowd that had gathered cheered wildly. He then walked over the falls pushing a wheelbarrow. Some accounts of this story claim that he filled the wheelbarrow with 150 of dirt. When he completed this feat, the wildly cheering crowd again greeted him.
Blondin then asked the gathered crowd, “Do you believe I can walk over the falls again with the wheelbarrow?” And the crowd responded with a hearty “Yes!”
Blondin then asked the gathered crowd, “Do you believe I can walk over the falls again with the wheelbarrow?” And the crowd responded with a hearty “Yes!”
Blondin asked, “Do you believe I can walk this tightrope with someone in that wheelbarrow?” Again, the crowd responded with a hearty “Yes!”
“Who then, will get into the wheelbarrow?” Blondin asked. And you can guess the response of the crowd. There was not a single volunteer.
The crowd believed firmly that Blondin could take a person across the tightrope in a wheelbarrow. However, believing it wasn’t enough.
You see; there is a difference between “belief” and “faith”.
Belief is mental assent. Belief is the head knowledge that something can be done, but faith is actually putting your trust in something or someone.
It is not enough to believe that the Bible is true, we must believe to the point that we are willing to put our trust in Jesus.
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” James 2:19
Believing, according to the Word of God, is not enough. There must be trust and faith in Christ that leads to obedience.
And it is at this point that many of us fall short. We believe the Bible is true, we believe that Christianity is the only true religion. We believe in the concept of salvation and we believe I the idea of being forgiven.
However, our faith does not rest with a concept or an idea but with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most of us do not trust Jesus enough to let him have control of our lives. We are willing to let him into the car, but we would prefer it if he would please keep his hands off of the wheel.
I’ll do the steering. I’ll do the navigating. I’ll do the accelerating and the braking. Jesus, you are welcome into my life, but please leave the controls in my hands.
When we respond to Christ in this way, we make Christianity out to be just another religion. We believe what we’re taught and we are willing to follow the rules. That should be enough. But, being a Christian is not about following a religion. In fact, it’s not about religion at all. True Christianity is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ that is based on faith in him; trusting him for every need in life. Trusting him to the point that we are willing to turn over control of our life completely to him. It means we have to get into the wheelbarrow.
In order to assert true faith, we must put our trust in Jesus Christ alone. And, as I said just a moment ago, real faith leads to obedience and that’s the third step in asserting our faith. When we believe in the Word of God and genuinely trust Jesus, we will begin to act in obedience to God’s Word.
Act in Obedience to God’s Word
This is where the rubber really meets the road. True faith always leads to obedience. You can believe anything, but your true faith always shows up in your actions.
If you trust Jesus to forgive you, you are willing to forgive others.
If you trust God to be in control, you don’ t feel the need to control others.
You get the picture. When we truly believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and when we truly trust Jesus, then we have no problem with obeying His Word.
When we really trust, obedience is the natural result.
However, obedience to the Word of God is more than the result of faith, it is also an act of faith.
We must step out in faith in order to obey the Word of God because the Word of God runs contrary to our society, to our education, to our nature. And it always takes faith to do what doesn’t come naturally. It always takes faith to live out what we may not fully understand.
But I assure you of this. If you will begin to respond in faith and act in obedience to the Word of God, you will discover that it has the power to transform your life and the power to transform every relationship you have.
The Word of God is powerful, it is effective, it is living, it has the power to transform the people you are in relationships with. More importantly, it has the power to transform you!
Stepping out in faith, getting into the wheelbarrow, and acting in obedience to the truth you have in God’s Word will transform your life and your every relationship.
“But Pastor Steve, I don’t know that much truth from the Bible? There is so much I don’t understand.” Do not let your lack of Biblical knowledge be a road-block to your faith and obedience.
There are two practical steps you can take to increase your faith and your obedience if you feel like you’re still a novice in the Word of God.
Act in obedience to the things you do know.
Begin to study the Word in order to learn more.
When you walk in the light you have, (what you already understand) and make a conscious decision to learn more, you begin a journey of life and relationship transformation.
Once we believe and after we have started to trust Jesus, we must then begin to act in obedience.
Application: So what do we do with all of this?
Faith is essential if we are going to please God. It is also essential if we are going to build strong, God honoring relationships.
Without faith we cannot please God and without faith we cannot apply the principles of God’s Word and bring them to bear in our relationships.
Today, let me challenge you to take a risk, step out in faith and believe the Word of God is true.
Step out in faith and trust Christ; get into the wheelbarrow.
Step out in faith and begin to obey the Word of God. The transformation that will take place in your life will amaze even you.
