What Part does your Faith play in your life?
2 Peter 1:1-4
What is faith? Webster defines faith as a belief in a value, or trustworthiness of someone or something.
We all exercise a faith in one form or another. When we drove our cars here, not only did we use our faith that our vehicles would make it here, but they would return us home as well?
When you arrived here you exercised you faith that the chair you are sitting in would support your weight. Little did you know that Mitch has been repairing a few of them?
Sometimes our use in faith is not so obvious. The doctor tells us we have a disease that we’ve never heard of. So they write 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 the faith that I wanted to talk to you about this morning is your faith in God. At the last presidential debate the question was asked to the candidates, “What part does your faith play in your role as President?”
John Kerry talks about being a Catholic, growing up as an altar boy. But he separates his faith from his position. He says he does not believe in abortion himself but would not agree to any law that would prevent pro-choice. I believe in pro-choice myself. It’s made before conception. You choose not to engage in sex. That is the pro-choice I support.
Gorge Bush on the other hand says that he prays. “I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for our troops in harms way.” There was an article in this past Sunday’s paper entitled; “Bush’s faith is his strength”. And this writer did not approve of the Presidents faith but he gave me encouragement with his statement that our President is the most “aggressively religious president” of his lifetime. It gives me comfort to think that this county is ran by someone who goes to a higher power for advise.
So the question that I ask you this morning, much like the one in the debate is, “What part does your faith play in your life?” Is you faith like a coat that you put on when needed? Or do you wear it all the time? Do you just go through the motions looking like you have the faith, or do you have a genuine faith in God? This morning I want to talk to you about your faith and the proper use of it.
Your Faith in God
There was a young woman teacher, fresh out of college and very liberal in her tendencies that began to introduce herself to her second grade class. She told them that she was an atheist. She asked the class if they were an atheist too. Not knowing what atheism was but wanting to be like the teacher, their hands began to raise. All but one little girl, who choose not to go along with the crowd raised their hand.
The teacher asked the girl why she decided to be different. “Because I am not an atheist” she replied.
The teacher asked her, “Well what are you?” She said, “I am a Christian”. The teacher was a little put out by her response and asked the little girl why she was a Christian. She replied, “I was raised to believe and love God. My mom is a Christian. My Dad is a Christian. So I am a Christian.”
The teacher said, “That is no reason to be a Christian. What if your mom was a moron and your dad was a moron. What would you be then? “ The little girl paused, and smiled, “Then I’d be an atheist”.
Now if you are not an atheist and you believe in God that does not mean that you still have the faith in God that I am talking about.
James 2:19, You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble.
You need to do more than just believe in God. You need to receive Him as your Savior. The faith that I’m talking about is one that is associated with a relation and not a religion.
Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.
Being good or being religious or being brought up in religion does not get you a free pass into Heaven. Salvation is not inherited. You can’t get it because your dad was a preacher or your parents always took you to church.
You can be a good person and do good things but if you have never received Jesus as your Savior you are just as lost as the most wicked person you know. Why you may ask?
Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The penalty for sin (notice it was singular and not plural) is death. So whether it is lying or if it is murder it only takes one sin to separate us from God into eternal darkness called Hell.
But we have a choice. It is a gift. It doesn’t cost you anything. You don’t have to do anything for it. Some people will put it off thinking that they have more time or they have to straiten their life out first before they give it to God. That is not necessary. When we accept Jesus into our lives, He provides a built in housekeeper called the Holy Spirit to help us to do that. We don’t know if we will have another time, because we are not assured of another day or even another hour.
Peter refers to our God-given faith as "precious". What makes it so is because of whom gave it to us and for what it can accomplish in our life. This leads me to the next point…
Our Faith in action
Once we receive Christ then we need to exercise that faith. The Bible says that you will know them by their fruit. There will be a change. Old things will pass away, behold all things will become new.
Ephesians 2:10.For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Good works and not good looks. Some of us would be in trouble if it were good looks.
Some faith is strong on "talk" but weak on "walk":
James 2:20,But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
Now we may say that we have faith. But it is one thing to say it and another thing to live like it.
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....
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!
Just think of how this world would be changed if all who posses this precious faith would put into action. Faith is not getting man’s will done in heaven; faith is God’s way of getting His will done on earth.
Often people only want to exercise their faith when there is something that is beneficial to them. Getting that new job or getting out of some mess that they have got themselves into. Maybe they have been told about some sickness they have. Faith is not just something that makes God our servant. God is not our servant; we are His servants!
Faith is belief with legs on it! It is our faith in action.
Your Faith in victory
The proper faith produces victory.
I John 5:4, For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith.
What is our victory in? Who or what are we the victor over?
We can have victory over sin.
1 John 4:4, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
You can have victory over sin. The Bible says that He will not allow us to have more than we can bear and with every temptation He will make a way of escape.
Victory of failure. We get saved and then we miss up. Satan will try to tell you that you are a failure. He will try to convince you when you fail that you are no good for God or anything else.
Romans 5:1, Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
You tell Satan that through the grace of God when I fail, He will forgive me. No matter how many times we fail. 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
You can have victory over rejection. Sometimes when we try to witness for Him we will get rejected causing us to lose our confidence.
Ephesians 3:12-13, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
When you are obedient to the Holy Spirit and you share Christ with someone and they reject you, remember it is not you that they are rejecting but Jesus. Our job is to plant the seed and it is their decision to decide what to do with it.
There is victory in Jesus.
So where do you stand in your faith? Have you received Him as your Savior? Do you put your faith in action? Or do you bring with you to church and then leave it and not even take it home or to work with you?
True Godly faith is not something you can turn on or off like a light switch. True Godly faith is not a necessity to life, because it’s a necessity to living! And being what God would have you to be.
