BULLDOG FAITH by George Crumbly
Hebrews 11: 1-3
Sunday AM August 5, 2001
Sheridan, Arkansas
I preached a message several years ago about a Bloodhound; today I want to talk about a Bulldog. I believe that God uses any and everything in order to explain to us how we are to serve Him.
Bulldog: "A ferocious fighter, his massive head is structured so that when he clamps down on an object, his powerful jaws will literally lock down into that position. No matter how fierce the fight a bulldog will not let go. Even in a fight to death his jaws will remain clamped down upon his object."
I want you & me as Christians to use the same Bulldog Grit today with our faith.
Hebrews 11: verses 1-3
It is hard to question today whether this is a definition or a description of faith. "Faith has to do with a reality that is not accessible to our senses and lies beyond the grasp of reason." Faith is a belief in or a confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one’s life.
Today here in the 11th chapter of Hebrews we have the "Roll Call for the Heroes of Faith"; according to the writer here this faith was already present in their experience and a key element in their spiritual life. These folks here were not Super-Humans; they were not Robots, nor Angels, nor God’s or even Super Heroes. They were ordinary folks like you and me that had and exhibited a special Faith; it was what we call today a "Bulldog Faith."
A Faith that hangs on. A Faith that refuses to let go. Today I want to encourage you, no matter what you are going thru to HANG ON and do not let go.
Our First Hero today is:
I. ABEL: (Verse 4)
Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. They offered sacrifices unto God. (One writer says this was Worship of Faith)
CAIN: Was a tiller of the ground and he was like so many today after he made all his bills and did everything he wanted to do he gave God what was left. He gave God an offering. He was like so many are today, not concerned in giving God their best just giving Him something good enough.
ABEL: Abel didn’t look to give God a better sacrifice that Abel did or he wasn’t interested in giving God the prettiest sacrifice he had or even the most expensive gift, he gave God the best he had. God wants our first fruits.
(It is so sad today to see churches competing to have the biggest, the most expensive and most lush buildings in town. This doesn’t excite God.)
If Jesus were on the earth this Sunday morning do you think He would be looking for the most prominent place to worship? No sir. He would be out looking for a need.
ABEL HAD A BULLDOG FAITH - DO YOU?
II. ENOCH: (Verse 5)
Bottom Line: It’s not what men eat, but what they digest that makes them strong;
Not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich;
Not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned;
Not what we preach or pray, but what we practice and believe that makes us
Christians. (Francis Bacon)
Enoch did not die. He was translated just like Elijah was. In Genesis it says that Enoch “Walked with God.” God was pleased with Enoch. Think today about your own personal walk with God, does it please Him? Or does your walk displease Him?
Folks spend a lot of time, lots of money, and a lot of energy trying to please themselves or someone else when we better be concerned with pleasing God!!
(Verse 6)
No matter what the circumstances are today in your life, we must maintain that Faith in order to please God. Remember “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.”
(Had a friend that started out in a pastorate right out of Bible College, he and another friend he went to college with. His friend was a very strong and very conservative man. They both pastored in the same state quite a distance from each other. A few years later his friend’s wife called my friend crying, needing him to come speak with her husband. My friend drove a few hours where he found his preacher friend in a motel. He thought this young man was strong enough to handle most anything. When he found the pastor in the motel he told my friend that he was tired of working day and night to please everyone. He decided that he was going to please himself for a while. He wound up leaving his wife and the ministry.)
Who are you trying to please today?
ENOCH HAD A BULLDOG FAITH - DO YOU?
III. NOAH: (Verse 7)
Becoming Spiritual We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so.
You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it
Unaided. (Phillips Brooks)
You know how we know that Noah had faith? The bible says, "He moved." So many of the churches in the world today seem to be doing everything but MOVING. God was going to destroy the earth and He needed someone to build an ark. Someone that would DO everything He told him to do. Noah chose to build an ark for the Lord.
I believe that there were probably folks that made fun of Noah because it had never rained on the earth before. But Noah kept the faith. The scripture said that he "moved with fear." I can only imagine the work the church could be accomplishing if it would move with fear. We too are to be warning man today to move with fear into the ark of safety in Jesus Christ.
NOAH HAD BULLDOG FAITH - DO YOU?
IV. ABRAHAM: (Verses 8-10)
Abraham was called of God to go to a city, a city that he had no idea where he was going to or even getting into. Yet he had faith. When God spoke to Abraham he:
1.) Didn’t question God
2.) He didn’t argue with God
3.) He didn’t plead with God
4.) Nor did he make excuses
He just did what God told him to do. I can only imagine at how close we could be with God and all of the things that we could accomplish thru God if everybody just did what God said to do.
JUST DO IT!! Look at Verse 19 again. Abraham had his eyes fixed on God. Abraham had that "Bulldog" Faith where he clamped on and held on.
(It doesn’t seem like it takes very much influence from the devil to stop us from accomplishing things for God)
ABRAHAM HAD BULLDOG FAITH - DO YOU?
V. MOSES (Verses 23-31)
Moses was God’s man to go into Egypt and lead His people from out of bondage. We read at first Moses wasn’t wanting to do this. He wasn’t arrogant. He wasn’t too educated. I personally feel as though Moses didn’t think he was worthy enough to do such a thing for God.
(Exodus 3:11) "And Moses said unto God, who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt."
It was by pure Faith that Moses stepped out and went into Egypt. When we go in Faith we have the absolute most power in the world that is God’s power working thru us!! Because of Moses faith he turned out to be a great man of God.
(When Moses died God called him "My Servant.")
It had nothing to do with his talents, or gifts, or education, or even social status. He was a great man of God because he was Faithful.
MOSES HAS BULLDOG FAITH - DO YOU?
Today, do you have this Bulldog Faith or not? You are either Faithful or Unfaithful? You either have the Faith or not? Faith is important today because we are saved by faith. Faith is important because without it we cannot please God.
Bulldog Faith causes us to clamp down on our relationship with Jesus Christ and hang on thru any and everything the world throws at us.
Wheelbarrow Story
Imagine a tight wire stretched out between two buildings hundreds of stories in the air. A crowd gathers at the bottom and there appears a man attempting to walk across the tight wire. The man asks the crowd if they think he can make it across the tight wire. They affirm that they think he can so the man then walks across the wire. On the other side this man then picks up a wheelbarrow in an attempt to push it across the other side. He then ask the crowd if they think he can push the wheel barrel across, they all once again affirm they think he can. This man then singles out one man in the crowd and asks him if he indeed believes he can push the wheelbarrow across the other side. The man in the crowd says yes. The tight wirewalker then tells the man in the crowd to prove his faith by getting in and riding the wheelbarrow across the wire to the other side.
Christ calls us to serve guaranteeing our safety in all dangers. Will you ride in the wheelbarrow today?
