Faith opens the doors!
Thesis: Faith is the key that opens the doors to many spiritual truths and divine experiences in our life.
Video Illustration: From backstage Volume 2 “Faith In the White House”
Scripture Text: 1 John 5:1-21
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
16If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. 17All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
Introduction:
Faith is the key that unlocks many doors that are connected to Heaven and the Lord. This key is the imperative key that is needed to see the things behind the closed doors. Without this key you cannot open these doors.
Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is:
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for. 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible…6And 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.
Faith is not “What I Think!” but “What I know!” Faith is not just a belief but it’s a belief that impacts my daily decisions and life. Faith is only used as a verb in John’s writings he never uses it as a noun. He intended for us to view faith as an action as something we do not just believe.
Honesty does not come from out of nowhere. It is a product of your moral convictions. But what do you do when your convictions are challenged? It is faith that gives you the strength to go on believing. Though I am a Christian, I respect the religions of others, and I think that they play a vital role in our society. But I don’t support convictions of cults that are negative and lead only to hatred and fanaticism. Faith must be positive. Live your faith. Don’t wear it on your sleeve; roll up both sleeves and do something about it.
--Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s
Holman states, “If faith is the religion itself, it is so in more than an intellectual way. Faith is also the living out of the religion; it is Christianity in action. This is the meaning of “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). “Walking” represents the totality of one’s way of life” (Holman Bible Dictionary).
Holman states this about faith:
Faith as the Way to Salvation The concept of faith is primarily that of a personal relationship with God that determines the priorities of one’s life. This relationship is one of love that is built on trust and dependence. We receive it by trusting the saving work of Jesus. Faith is the basic Christian experience, the decision for Christ Jesus. It is the acceptance of Christ’s lordship (i.e., His God-given, absolute authority). In this sense faith is doubly a break from the past: it is one’s removal from sin, and it is one’s removal from all other religious allegiances (1 Thess. 1:9). As a break from the past, faith is the beginning of relation to God and not an end. It is, especially in Paul’s letters, the inauguration of incorporation “in Christ,” in which one continues to grow and develop.
If faith is primarily a relationship into which one enters through acceptance of Jesus’ authority, it also includes a certain amount of “belief.” As a derived use, then, “faith” may also denote the content of what is believed. In this sense faith is the conviction that God acted in the history of Israel and “that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). In theological usage “the faith” may refer to many more doctrines and dogmas that have been developed since New Testament times, but in the New Testament “that which must be believed” was more limited as Romans 10:9-10 may demonstrate.
1. Faith opens the door of Love to our lives.
a. Faith is the key that opens the door of love to flood into our lives.
b. Faith is the one which helps us to understand and realize the impact of love in our lives.
i. Remember God is love according to John and the key to experiencing His love is faith.
ii. Remember last week we discovered that love cannot be experienced outside the realm of God.
1. No God – No Love!
2. Know God – Know Love!
a. Knowing God gives us the ability to love.
b. Without experiencing God’s love in our lives we do not know how to love.
c. WHAT’S GOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?
If you “Google” the word love, and you have to be very careful doing this, you will find all sorts of websites, 120,000,000 to be exact. Here are some examples that you will find:
I love Dogs.com
I love Cats.com (Although this one is a plea to spay or neuter)
I love Cheese. Com
I love Lucy.com
We love the Iraqi Information Minister.com
True Romance Dating Service.com
Love Test.com
Matchmaker.com
The Love Calculator.com On this site you type in your name and your mates name and it gives you the odds of your relationship lasting. Alana and I got 41%)
The interesting aspect is that on all these sites, love is seen as almost an entirely human endeavor. Contributed to sermoncentral.com by: John Harvey
d. Yet God is love and it becomes obvious that without God you cannot show and model love because He is the one who defines and is love.
T.S. – Not only does the key of faith open the door of love it also opens the door of being willing to be obedient to God’s way.
2. Faith opens the door of obedience to the things of God.
a. When we choose to have faith in God an amazing thing happens the flood of love pours out of the door of Heaven into our hearts and lives.
i. This wonderful experience of love then changes our current situation and we experience the genuine benefit of Agape love. God’s perfect love impacts our lives so dramatically it changes our focus and perceptions in this life.
b. When we have a genuine faith encounter with the Lord God Almighty it changes us from the inside out. This change or transformation also changes our life decisions.
i. John tells us that if we love God we will obey God. If we love God we will do what His Words says to do.
1. Love compels us to obey God and do what He commands in our life.
2. This is why John tells us that faith opens the door to a new found obedience to the will of God in our lives.
3. Love’s impact on our lives makes us want to follow the 10 Commandments.
a. Exodus 20:1-20 1And God spoke all these words: 2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before me. 4“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13“You shall not murder. 14“You shall not commit adultery. 15“You shall not steal. 16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 20Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
4. Homan states: The Ten Commandments are prohibitions (except for Commandments 4 and 5 in Ex. 20:8-11, 12). These ten laws define negatively the heart of the covenant relationship between God and Israel. The first four Commandments are related to one’s relationship with God. The next six Commandments have to do with human relationships. It is important to note that right relationships with others follow being rightly related to God. Being rightly related to God compels one towards right relationships to one’s neighbors. Here one can see the wonderful balance that is maintained in the Law. Duties to God and to other human beings are not separated. The Ten Commandments were not given only for the Hebrew people but are abiding laws for all people. Some of the laws of the Bible seem to apply only to specific times, places, and persons, but the Ten Commandments have an abiding quality about them. They convey duties for everyone and reveal to us the basic morality required by God. While the Ten Commandments have universal validity, they are truly significant only when persons are committed to the God behind them. What makes the Ten Commandments unique is the character of the God who gave them. Without God, the Commandments lose their distinctiveness.
a. This why Jesus summarized the 10 into 2 to the Jewish nation and to the church. “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength, and love you neighbor as yourself.”
ii. Faith should enable us to live for the Lord and obey his direction for our life.
T.S. – When we use the key of faith to open the heavenly doors of blessings it compels us to want to live a life of obedience to the Lord. When we chose to obey God and do things his way this also opens the door to victory over this world and the evil one.
3. Faith opens the door to victory over the world in our lives.
a. John tells us that faith opens the door to victory over this world and its attacks on us and the way of faith.
i. When we are born of God we then receive the power and the ability to overcome the things in this world which are trying to destroy us.
ii. The book of Revelation tells us that those who overcome the world can expect the following blessings and rewards from God.
1. The right to eat from the tree of life.
2. They will not be hurt by the second death at all.
3. They will receive the hidden food of God to live forever.
4. They will receive a new name honored by Heaven.
5. They who overcome will get authority over the nations.
6. They who overcome will receive the morning star.
7. They who overcome will be dressed in white- pure in the sight of God.
8. They who overcome will never have their names blotted out of the roster of Heaven.
9. They who overcome will be acknowledged to God and the angels.
a. The idea here is like what happens when the President comes out at the state of the union. He is introduced and most stand and give him applause as he enters. This will happen to us in Heaven as we enter the door to eternal life.
10. Those who overcome will be pillars in Heaven and remain forever. They will never have to leave the presence of God!
11. Those who overcome will sit with the Lord on the throne.
b. With faith comes the power and the anointing of the Lord to overcome this place of evil and to ascend into Heaven with a place of honor.
T.S. – Faith unlocks the door to victory over the powers and influences in this world because it unleashes the power of God into our lives. Faith also opens the door to the testimony of Jesus in our lives which enables us to overcome the evil one.
4. Faith opens the door to the testimony of the Lord and its eternal truths.
a. Faith’s testimony from God is that you have eternal life because of Jesus.
i. Faith shows us this is a reality not a myth.
ii. People will see that faith has changed and transformed your life and that will be a testimony to the power and the truth of Jesus.
1. Remember what Revelation says, “11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
2. Comic Jeff Foxworthy recently said that he considered becoming a preacher after his television show was canceled. He spoke to a group of high school students in Roswell, Georgia about his newly rediscovered Christian faith. The comic related that the money and success of his career didn’t make him happy but that since he has decided to walk with God, it has changed his entire life (Stories For Preachers).
iii. Your personal testimony and story reveals the power of faith and the ability of Jesus to do miracles in our day.
b. Faith’s testimony is eternal life comes from the Son of God.
i. Faith opens our eyes to the fact that Jesus is the only way into Heaven.
1. Jesus said, “5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
ii. Faith shows us the way and tells us to show others the way.
c. Faith’s testimony is that we walk in truth not lies.
i. Truth is the way of faith!
1. Faith = Truth and Truth = Faith
2. Truth is what we receive when we use the key of faith to open the doors of Heaven.
3. Jesus is the Truth and His testimony proves he is the Truth.
d. Faith tells us that we have a life in the Son.
i. Faith opens our eyes to see that when we have Jesus as Lord of our life we then find a meaningful and purposeful life.
T.S. – Faith not only testifies to the testimony and power of the Gospel and Jesus but it unlocks the door so God can hear our prayers as we follow His will for our lives.
5. Faith opens the door for God to hear our requests in life as we follow His will for our life.
a. Faith gives us the confidence to know that God listens to us.
i. It is important in our society today to know if someone listens to you or not.
ii. Many people today do not listen when others talk.
1. I notice this more and more in our society.
2. But God listens to us when we talk to Him and when we make request to Him.
b. Faith gives us insight into knowing God’s will and how to pray in our lives.
i. Faith helps us as we pray to understand the way and the will of God. This also helps to direct our pray lives to make sure we pray with right motives and proper intentions.
c. Faith says pray! It makes a difference and it will even move mountains!
i. But the key here is to pray and be in the will of the Father.
T.S. – Faith opens the door so God can hear our prayers and faith opens the door for us to pray for others so that we can see them delivered by the power of God.
6. Faith opens the door for us to pray for others trapped in sin.
a. Faith reveals to us if their sin is redeemable.
b. Faith enlightens our lives to be able to see sins devastation in others.
c. Faith challenges us to intercessory prayer for others.
d. Faith tells us that our prayers ascend into Heaven and they make a difference in other peoples lives.
i. From Stories for Preachers: Dr. Randolph C. Byrd, a cardiologist, created a stir in medical circles when he had volunteers pray daily for one group of patients in the coronary care unit at San Francisco General Medical Center. A second group of heart-disease patients served as a control group. Although neither the patients nor their doctors knew whom was being prayed for, those in the prayed-for group were five times less likely to require antibiotics and were less likely to need ventilators to help them breathe. Byrd concluded: "The evidence strongly suggests faith in God truly is linked to a long, healthy life."
ii. Praying for others with faith at its root makes a huge difference in people’s lives.
e. So faith tells us to pray for others!
T.S. – Faith gives us the open door to pray for others and to expect a miracle in others lives. Faith also opens our eyes to understand that sin is to be rejected and truth is to be embraced in our lives.
7. Faith opens the door to spiritual understanding and tells us that sin is to be done away with in our lives.
a. Faith tells us that when we no longer practice sin we then become safe under the protection of God.
i. The story of God’s protection like the mother bird.
1. I read a story recently about a wild fire which had swept through a certain forest. When the fire was put out a few individuals walked through the burned up area to assess the damage and discovered and amazing sight. They found a grouse all burned up standing up right. When one of the individuals poked the burned up bird in toppled over and they discovered a bunch of chicks still alive under the mother. This mother had given her life for her chicks rather than to fly away and to save herself.
b. Faith tells us that the evil one cannot hurt us.
i. Why because greater is he who lives in us than he who lives in the world.
c. Faith gives us the spiritual understanding that God is with us in this life.
i. Faith assures us that we have the truth and this truth will deliver us from evil.
ii. Faith assures us that Jesus is the right and only way and He has the power and the strength to give us victory over sin and evil in this world.
iii. Faith assures us that He is the true and eternal God and He will not forsake us but protect us as long as He is our number one focus in life.
Conclusion:
Faith unlocks the doors to the things of Heaven for us if we use this master key. So use the key and unlock the seven things John talks about in this chapter.
Unlock to door to Love.
Unlock the door to your heart to obey God.
Unlock the door to victory over this world in your life.
Unlock the door to the Testimony of the Lord into your life.
Unlock the door for God to hear your prayers as you follow His will for your life.
Unlock the door for others by praying for them to be delivered from sin.
Unlock the door to deliverance from sin and a revelation of truth in your life.
