“Faith’s Foundations”
2 Peter 1:1-9
Everyday we place our faith in doctors and lawyers and hardly give it a thought! We tend to think that they are very intelligent most of the time. Listen to some of these actual questions given by a lawyer to a doctor in a legal deposition along with the doctor’s actual answers…
Q: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: Counselor, all autopsies are done on dead people.
Q: Do you remember the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:00a.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennison was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.
Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when you woke up that morning?
A: He said; “Cathy, where am I?
Q: And why did that upset you and make you kill him?
A: My name is Susan!
Q: Doctor, before you performed an autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No
Q: Did you check the blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, is it possible that the patient was still alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: Well doctor, how can you be so sure?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar!
Q: But could the patient still have been alive nevertheless?
A: Yes, it’s possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere!
All of us live in the natural faith realm without much struggle. Everyday we place our lives in this realm and rarely question it. The doctor tells us we have a disease that we’ve never heard of, so he writes a prescription that we cannot read, for a medicine whose name we can’t pronounce, which we take to a pharmacist who we don’t know, who gives us a bottle of liquid which tastes like poison and then we go back for more!
But when God wants us to live in the supernatural faith realm we kick and scream and always question God. Amen?
Peter’s background: Trials and tribulation were about to rob these Christians of their effectiveness in the world. They were forced out of their hometown of Jerusalem and now forced to go beyond their borders.
Get this: Sometimes God has to move us beyond our comfort zone in order to get us to trust Him in a new dimension! That’s faith!!
Faith – don’t think it’s a nicety to life, because it’s a necessity to living!
Lack of faith is not weakness it is wickedness. Anyone who doesn’t believe cannot say they can’t believe because of…
Romans 12:3 “…God has dealt to every man a measure of faith.”
“Measure of faith” = exact amount of faith to complement our spiritual gift.
FaithPoint: God’s responsibility is to give us a “measure of faith”, while our responsibility is to move that faith.
The Apostle Peter reminds each of us about:
1. This Obtained Faith. Vs.1a
- It’s conditional. “Those who have obtained”.
- It’s complete. “Christ’s righteousness”.
- It’s countless. “Precious”, literally, priceless.
Blondin was a famous French tightrope walker and acrobat. His greatest fame came in 1859 when he accomplished one of his greatest feats for the first time walking a 1000 foot tight-rope suspended 160 feet above the waters of Niagara Falls.
Blondin went on to walk across the falls several times each with a different theatrical flare. On one such high-wire walk Blondin crossed over the falls pushing a wheelbarrow. When he reached the other side he asked the spectators if they believed he could do it again. Everyone cheered. Blondin then asked if they believed he could cross the tightrope with someone in the wheelbarrow. Everyone cheered believing that he could do it and they all wanted to see this incredible stunt. Blondin then asked for a volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow. No one stepped forward.
It’s one thing to believe Blondin could do what they had all seen him do, and another to put your life in his hands letting him push you across the falls on the high wire. If you trust God, then get into the wheelbarrow....
2. This Objective Faith. Vs. 1b, 2a
Key: Faith is no better than it’s object and the object of our faith determines the objective of our faith.
Matthew 17:20 “…If you have faith of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “move from here to there, and it will be move, and nothing is impossible for you.”
God must be your object, not the seed!
FaithPoint: Don’t ever get the idea that because your faith is weak that it won’t work. It’s not the size of your faith that counts it’s the object of your faith! Who is the object of our faith? Jesus!
Our faith is a historical faith, not subjective or a mystical faith. It’s based on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus!
“Knowledge” = the word of God and the will of God. (In this order).
Get this down…Faith is not getting man’s will done in heaven; faith is God’s way of getting His will done on earth.
Faith is not just some mitus touch that makes God our servant. Last time I checked God is not our servant; we are His servants!
3. This Overwhelming Faith. Vs. 3,4
·In power. “Pertaining to life”
·In purity. “Godliness”
·In promises. Vs. 4 Pertaining to the abundant life.
·In partnership. “Divine nature” sharer, participate!
Just think how overwhelming our faith is!
4. This Obedient Faith. Vs.5
If we say that we believe God but don’t obey Him, then you really don’t know Him.
Key: Faith is belief with legs on it! If our faith doesn’t get down to our feet, shoes and leather, don’t tell anyone your obedient to God!
James 2:17 “Faith without works is dead.”
· Vs. 14-22: Abraham and Rehab were showing their obedience through faith!
· This Obedient Faith is what our community must see!
Hebrews 11:16 “Without faith it is impossible to please God…”
Mark 10:27 “...With God all things are possible.”
Vs. 5: “Giving all diligence” = eagerness, committed
“Add to your faith” = Lavishly, generously
As a choirmaster conducts an orchestra….
Notice the key words Peter uses to describe the expansion of our faith:
1. Virtue: moral energy and excellence.
2. Knowledge: correct insight, comprehending God’s word.
3. Self control: an athlete holding back at the starting line just before the gun is fired. Disciplined!!
4. Perseverance: patience or endurance.
Key: If we don’t pray for God’s patience then we tend to get ahead of God and what His plan is for us at the time!
5. Godliness. Inward and outward. What others see! How holy do others see us? Not holier than thou!
These 4 foundations are key to being that man or woman for God!
