Faith
In God
Jim
Davis
He was just a little boy, on a week's first
day.
He was wandering home from Sunday School,
and dawdling on the way.
He scuffed his shoes into the grass; he found
a caterpillar.
He found a fluffy milkweed pod, and blew
out all the "filler".
A bird's nest in a tree overhead, so wisely
placed on high,
Was just another wonder that caught his eager
eye.
A neighbor watched his zig zag course, and
hailed him from the lawn,
Asked him where he'd been that day and what
was going on.
"I've been to Bible School," he said and turned
a piece of sod.
He picked up a wiggly worm replying, "I've
learned a lot of God."
"M'm very fine way," the neighbor said, "for
a boy to spend his time."
"If you'll tell me where God is, I'll give
you a brand new dime."
Quick as a flash the answer came! Nor were
his accents faint.
"I'll give you a dollar, Mister, if you can
tell me where God ain't."
-Author Unknown
Faith is Essential
Faith is not unique to Christianity.
It is woven into our world system. Faith is woven into the fabric
of life. Faith makes life possible in the physical world as well as in
the spiritual world. We walk by faith in our natural world. When you got
in your automobile this morning and put the key in the ignition you had
faith that you car would start.
We walk though this world with our faith placed
in something. It may be the stock market; it may be your job; it may be
only placed in the fact that you think things will get better; it may be
in yourself, but you walk through this through faith in whatever you believe.
A better computer is built because the designer
believes the knowledge exist to make it better. The knowledge may not have
been discovered, but he believes the knowledge exists. The designer may
never ask where all this knowledge began, but he/she believes in it. The
designer trusts it is there to be discovered.
It is impossible to live without faith.
We spend our lives consciously or unconsciously living for what we believe
in. No matter how simple our faith or how complex--we spend our lives pursuing
what we believe in. Our lives are built around what we truly believe in,
even if we only believe in the moment.
What we truly believe about life always
motivates us to live as we live. If it is mediocrity, our lives
will descend to that level of living. If it is excellence, our lives will
seek excellence. If it is negative thinking, our lives become negative.
If it is positive thinking, our lives will tend to be positive. If you
believe in nothing, you will end up a nothing.
What we believe affects the way we live.
Timothy McVeigh believed he was doing the right thing when he blew up the
federal building in Oklahoma. Those kids that shot the students at Columbine
High School believed in what they were doing. They gave their lives for
what they believed. We must not forget that a subjective faith in something
useless will not make the useless useful.
What we believe is useless until we
commit our lives to it. There is no such thing as easy belief.
Some in the religious world want to promote easy believism. They think
all you have to do is to give mental ascent to belief in God without validating
your faith in God through obedience. I know a couple that just gave a $21,000
check to the church they attend. I don't believe what that church teaches,
but they do. What they believe--right or wrong--motivates their lives.
I can tell you that their belief motivates their lives.
Faith Is Doing the Work of God
Seeking to establish and build life
around what we believe in is work. Nothing worthwhile comes easy.
This holds true regardless of what we believe. What we place our faith
in requires us to lay down what we are--to become what our faith is calling
us to be.
If we desire to place our faith in God,
we must do the works of God. If we want to do the work of God,
we must believe in Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
John 6:26-29
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you
are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you
ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but
for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then they asked
him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered,
"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (NIV)
Jesus was asked, "What must we do to
do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to
believe in the one he has sent." He didn't hesitate to tell them
that faith in him was the work of God we must do.
John 14:12
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith
in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things
than these, because I am going to the Father. (NIV)
The only logical question in all of
this is, "What are the works of God?" It
is obvious true faith seeks to do the works of God. The work of God is
to believe in the One he has sent. What does this entail? Jesus gives us
inside information.
Luke 9:23-26
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would
come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow
me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole
world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me
and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his
glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (NIV)
True faith in Christ entails living and dying
to Jesus Christ. It entails more than seeing what others should be doing,
it is taking up the cross and living as Christ lived.
A man was in a dentist's office and he noticed
a sign placed by the receptionist window. The sign was notifying the patients
that they would be charged $40.00 for missing an appointment and $10.00
for every fifteen minutes they were late. So the new patient made an appointment
with the dentist. He made sure he was fifteen minutes early so he could
fill out the necessary forms. As he sat in the office waiting for the doctor
for 45 minutes he overheard the receptionist telling one patient that they
had made a mistake in her appointment. They had made her an appointment
to have her teeth cleaned and it should have been made with the doctor.
They had to reschedule her appointment for another day.
When the new patient got into the dentist
chair 30 minutes late the dental assistant handed him a form to read and
sign. It was actually a contract agreeing to pay $40.00 for every missed
appointment and $10.00 for every fifteen minutes he was late. The patient
signed the contract and wrote on the bottom of the contract, "My time is
also worth $10.00 for fifteen minutes!"
When the doctor came in the room, the first
thing he did was read the contract. He became upset that the patient thought
his time was as valuable as the doctor's. The doctor asked, "Do you expect
me to give you a $20.00 discount for being late?" The patient simply said,
"Well doc that is your rule."
We may want others to have a valid working
faith, but do we see our need of a valid working faith. It is easy
to bind on others what we are not doing ourselves. What you see that others
ought to be doing is probably the greatest clue to what you need to be
doing. Try living by the rules before you ask someone else to live by them.
Jesus never asks anyone to live by a rule that he didn't first demonstrate
in his own life. First you treat others like you want to be treated. It
doesn't make any difference how they treat you.
That is why it is so easy to follow Christ.
He has showed us the way. Jesus knows that it is easier to lead people
to do right than it is to push people into doing right.
Galatians 2:20-21
I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do
not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through
the law, Christ died for nothing!" (NIV)
The New Testament concept of baptism is one
of dying to oneself. This is what true faith is all about. We are buried
with Christ in baptism.
Colossians 2:11-12
In him you were also circumcised, in the
putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands
of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with
him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power
of God, who raised him from the dead. (NIV)
DO IT ANYWAY! Mother Teresa
People are often unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may accuse you of
selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false
friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat
you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could
destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may
be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget
tomorrow;
Do good anyway
Give the world the best you have, and it may
never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between
you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
The Power of Faith
Our lives will never accomplish anything
greater than the object of our faith. It’s not the amount of faith.
It’s the object in which you place it. The Bible never says, "Believe."
It says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." That’s why the Bible never
says, "Have faith." It always says, "Have faith in God." If I place my
faith in something absolutely worthless – that is foolishness – for my
faith will be absolutely worthless. Peter said, "Neither is there salvation
in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 KJV)
It is no accident that the first verse
of the Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
The
Bible is written to produce faith in an almighty God. That is its sole
purpose. It is no accident that in the first verse of Genesis Moses proclaims
God and his power to create the heavens and the earth. Moses wants us to
know that God is an adequate object to place our faith in. He is powerful
enough to handle the problems we bring to him.
The pioneer missionary Hudson Taylor, would
often say, "Friends, I’d like to give you the motto of my life. It is found
in Mark 11:22 where we read, ‘Have faith in God,’" He then commented that
even when we have our weak moments, the Lord in his grace under girds us.
He concluded, "Reckon not only on your own faith but also on God’s faithfulness
to you."
He said, "All my life I’ve been fickle: sometimes
I could trust and sometimes I couldn’t. But when unable to have faith,
it was a great encouragement to realize that God would still be faithful
to me."
Jesus' power came from God.
The power he exhibited through the miracles he performed pointed to the
One beyond Jesus. Jesus said, "Do not believe me unless I do what my Father
does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles,
that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the
Father." (John 10:37-38 NIV)
The nature of the work God assigned
to Jesus Christ proves he is from God. "I have testimony weightier
than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish,
and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. (John 5:36
NIV) Jesus was assigned a job that could only be accomplished by the power
of God.
Matthew 9:5-8
Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of
Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic,
"Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home.
When
the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who
had given such authority to men. (NIV)
They saw Jesus as a man and they observed
that God have given such authority and power to a man.
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (NIV)
When we seek God's direction for our
lives we discover the working of his power. Faith requires us to
seek God's direction for our lives. When foreign armies threatened Jehoshaphat,
he sought God's direction for Israel.
2 Chronicles 20:1-4
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with
some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. Some men came and
told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the
other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).
Alarmed,
Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for
all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD;
indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. (NIV)
2 Chronicles 20:20
He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all
who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you:
'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle
is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them. They
will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end
of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle.
Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will
give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' Jehoshaphat
bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem
fell down in worship before the LORD. Then some Levites from the Kohathites
and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very
loud voice. Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As
they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and
people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld;
have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." (NIV)
A Misplaced Faith
The choice of what to believe is personal,
but what we believe is not unimportant. When flying an airplane
a pilot can experience vertigo. This is a condition that results when there
is an excessive gravity force on the body as an airplane is put into spiraling
descent. You can be spiraling down in an airplane in a tight circle and
it will leave the feeling that you are climbing rather than descending.
If you rely on your feelings you will crash into the ground. If you fly
by the instruments on the dash they will tell you to do opposite of what
you feel. To fail to place your faith in the instruments will result in
certain death.
The object of one's faith determines
faith's outcome of our lives. If faith is misplaced, our lives
may become powerless. If I place my faith in the stock market, by security
is no stronger than the rise and fall of the market. If I place my faith
in my job, my security is only as promising as the company's portfolio.
Placing my faith in a car that won't start will not make it start. Your
journey through this world will be no more secure than that which you place
your faith in. If you believe in a life of crime, you will end up spending
your life in a jail cell.
True faith must bring us to God on his terms.
The Hebrew writer says, "And 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." (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)
It is through faith in the power of
God that a new life can begin in Christ.
Colossians 2:11-12
In him you were also circumcised, in the
putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands
of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with
him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power
of God, who raised him from the dead. (NIV)
Jesus indicates our faith can accomplish
more than his did. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone
who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater
things than these, because I am going to the Father Remember Jesus
isn't asking us to do anything he hasn't already done." (John 14:12) He
laid it all on the cross. Jesus is asking us to lay our lives on the line.
Conclusion:
I would like to ask you a few questions this
morning: Where are you? What are you building your life around? What is
the most important thing in your life? Your life is built around something,
but is it built around something that will matter in the end.
You simply must recognize your need and begin
where you are. I want to assure you that you can start where you are, because
it is the only place you can start. You can't go back in time and you cannot
project yourself into the future, but you can salvage your life beginning
where you are.
John 8:24; Luke 13:3; Mark 16:15-16; Acts
2:47 and remember John 14:12
