Merritt Opening Song: #524 Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus Title: Building Faith
Scripture: Jude 1:20, But you, beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
Before cordless mikes, the preacher was wired for sound with a microphone, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, pulling the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping. After moving several circles around the platform, a little girl in the front pew leaned toward her mother, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?" Some of us have problems trusting in church leaders, teachers, political leaders, and bosses. A Sabbath school teacher was teaching her class difference between right and wrong. "All right children, let's take another example," she said. "If I were to get into a man's pocket and take his wallet with all his money, what would I be?" Little Johnny raised his hand, and with a confident smile, he blurts out, "You'd be his wife!" Some of us have trouble having faith in people we love, let alone have faith in God.
With all tragedy in the world, how am I supposed to have faith? But what reason would be left for life if there is nothing in which to believe? Do skydivers have more faith than you and me? With a parachute they jump out the airplane. Even though that parachute was double- and triple-checked, they have no guarantee it will open. They decide to TRUST the parachute by jumping out the plane! When it comes to faith in God, do we have enough evidence to TRUST God is real and commit to a relationship? Blind faith is when you have no rational reason to trust somebody or something, yet you do anyway. You simply decide to trust, even though you’ve seen no evidence to lead you to that decision. With blind faith, there is no evidence or there is refusal to look at or consider evidence available. It is irrational faith. Is that the kind of faith God wants us to have? Faith that never questions, that doesn’t understand why we believe what we believe?
Many people are under impression Christianity rests completely on “blind faith.” They say Christianity is incompatible with science, history, logic, or even common sense. Nothing could be further from truth. God doesn’t want mindless Christians claiming to follow Him. God expects people to think, which is why He gave us a brain. Our faith is only as good as that in which it is placed. That is why we must make sure our faith is in something that can do for us what it promises to do. No matter how much you trust your parents, your religion, church, pastors, you cannot trust them to give you eternal life. They may be able to point out the way to God, but they can’t give eternal life to you. The problem is not that they don’t want to help you, the problem is people are powerless to save. Jesus proved He has power to give us life beyond the grave because He Himself conquered death.
Some say, I don’t know if my faith is strong enough. A young boy had waited for the first big freeze of winter so he could go ice-skating. Finally he ran down snow-covered slopes to the lake with a new layer of ice. Confidently he ran out on the ice, but only a few feet out, the ice cracked and he fell in up to his waist. What went wrong? He really believed the ice would hold him! The problem, of course, was not with his faith, but with the object of his faith; the ice wasn’t firm. After a couple more freezes, he returned to the lake with friends. Because of his past experience, he was afraid to trust himself to the lake again. When he reluctantly ventured out, nervous and trembling, do you know what? Despite his faltering faith, that ice held firm. You see, it’s not strength of our faith but strength of that on which we place our faith. A weak faith may accept a strong Savior! 1Corinthians 2:5, So that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
The more we know Jesus and His strength, the more we trust Him. But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit, Jude 1:20. However, we cannot trust a stranger. It’s like I decide to stop at one of those rest stops on the freeway. First stall is taken, so I go into the second stall. I just sit down when I hear a voice from the other stall, "Hi there, how is it going?"
You know, I’m not the type to strike up conversations with strangers in washrooms on the side of the road. I don't know what to say, but finally I say, "Not bad."
Then the voice says, "So what are you doing?"
I am starting to find this a bit weird, but I say, "Well, I'm going to Disneyland."
Then I hear the person, all flustered say, "Look, I'll call you back. Every time I ask you a question, someone in the next stall keeps answering me!" Praying to God, having faith in God is not like dealing with a stranger in the next stall.
Many times people say, “We have our faith, our religion, doctrines, our traditions, our ways of doing things passed down through generations. Don’t you try to change them.” That is not Bible faith. Faith is not religion or mental assent. It is not agreeing with our mind. Many professing Christians believe mentally the Bible is the Word of God, but this faith does not hold them up. They have no loving confidence in God. I believe there is a president of the United States, but I don’t believe everything he says. Do you see the difference? I believe God cause I found Him to be faithful and true, He works amazing changes, He does great wonders, and only He can save. Ephesians 2: 8, God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
A guy is driving around backwoods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty: "Talking Dog For Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes and sees a Labrador retriever.
"You talk?" he asks.
"Yep," the Lab replies.
After the guy recovers from shock, he says "So what's your story?"
The Lab dog says, "I found I could talk as a young pup. I told the CIA. In no time, they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog could eavesdrop. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years. But jetting around tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters listening. I uncovered incredible dealings and was awarded many medals. Then I got married, fathered puppies, and now I'm just retired."
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
"Ten dollars," the guy says.
"Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"
"Because I think he’s lying. He never did any of that stuff!”
Romans 3: 3-4, What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about Him, "You will be proved right in what You say, and You will win Your case in court." If people lack faith, that doesn’t change God’s truth.
Faith is not a way to manipulate God, nor a power by which we make God do what WE want, like magic or Santa Claus! Faith is not hope, nor positive desire. Hope is good, and relates to the future. Faith takes the promise as done NOW, as if it already is. When you go to the bank to deposit or cash a check that someone has written you, you are taking a step of faith. You present it to your bank on faith that you get money from that check now.
SONG: I KNOW
Many people are anxiously looking for results, but they lack assurance of faith. Through faith we know we have the answer to our prayer before we see anything change in the natural order. 1John 5:14-15, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him. God expects us, commands us, to believe our petitions are answered by God at the moment we make them. We must believe the response is sent WHEN we pray. Faith is like a confirmation slip in our hearts that the answer is on the way. We have that confirmation slip from God. We believe it in our hearts. The answer received may come much later as long as we are patient and do not throw away our confidence in God.
For some, the idea of faith in God is fanciful. “Look at me,” they say, “I’m self-sufficient. In charge of my own destiny. Having faith is for weaklings. Having faith is for people who haven’t got what it takes to cut it in the real world. Faith is just superstition with fancy clothes on.” No matter how we say, “I’m a fully fledged human being. I’m an intelligent, reasonable, thinking person, so I have no need for faith,” we all actually do have faith. We ALL need someone to believe in. And we all need someone who’ll believe in us. Think how we told someone we know they can do it, pass that exam, get that job, survive that divorce, recover from bereavement. We tell people we have faith in them all the time. “You can do it,” we say.
Think of people who told us they believe in us. We know how important faith is. We all have this faith, consciously or unconsciously. Having faith in others, and others having faith in us, isn’t a sign of weakness or mental deficiency, but reasonable and logical. We have faith in God’s promises because Jesus proved His love, proved His faithfulness, proved His staying power by going all the way to the cross.
Consider Cain and Abel. Cain probably had more noble looks, was a harder worker, produced beautiful gardens, maybe stronger, could lift heavier weights, but what was his problem? No faith! He didn’t believe what God said. But Abel did! Esau was probably a better man than Jacob, so far as worldly views, great hunter, big muscles, fast runner, strong man, but why couldn’t God use Esau? No faith! He didn’t believe a thing God said. Nation of Israel, what was wrong? After all God did on their behalf, visible acts of His power, yet they just couldn’t believe. God said, “Why didn’t they enter into their rest? Because they didn’t believe Me!” What’s the problem with the world today? It certainly isn’t lack of technology, education, intelligence, or ability to read. People can’t believe when they read or hear God’s word.
Negative fear is rooted in anxiety and lack of trust in God’s fatherly protection and love. Perfect love casts out fear. God is perfect love. By seeking God, His presence and His love, we are set free from fear. Conscious of God’s power, we are courageous and bold. To overcome fear we must look to God and not natural events. Can anyone walk on water? Could Peter walk on water looking to Jesus? When Peter started looking to wind and waves, he was overcome by fear which paralyzed faith and caused him to sink. He needed to keep looking to Jesus. What was important, walking on water or looking to Jesus?
SONG: HE STILL WALKS ON WATER
God says, “Fear not, for I am with you,” Isaiah 43:5. God gives us the reason not to fear. Also we forgive all men through the forgiveness of God, if we want to be delivered from fear. Sometimes we feel discouraged because of physical or emotional weakness, tiredness. We may be disappointed by behaviour of other Christians. Perhaps we waited for God’s promise to us, and we grow impatient. Many Christians at some time in their life become disappointed with God.
Satan uses discouragement to weaken and if possible destroy our faith. To overcome discouragement we must make a decision to find our strength in the Lord. Hebrews 12:12, For this cause let the hands which are hanging down be lifted up, and let the feeble knees be made strong. We must stop dwelling on our weakness, the wind and waves, and look to Jesus. We consider God’s faithfulness to us in the past, even through difficulties. Hebrews 10:32-34, Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. God led you through hardship and pain.
We can choose thankfulness, prayer and the voice of God’s Spirit even in small things. Sometimes even great men of God like Elijah were discouraged. At one time, even after a great victory, he ran away. God restored Elijah by ministry of angels, through God’s voice, and by getting him occupied in new missions for God. Who is better qualified to tell us the truth and help us find answers for life and eternity better than God? Accept the FACT that He truly LOVES you, takes great delight and rejoices over you with singing. Yes, Zephaniah 3:17 says that God sings about you.
SONG: THANKFUL
Someone coined the phrase, God is my co-pilot. Do you know what the co-pilot does? He takes over when everything is going WELL AND GOOD. Or he might take over if the pilot gets somehow incapacitated. If God is not in control, if God is not able to get the job done, just what is it I am going to add? In 1980 Ross was flying co-pilot with Mike from Florida to Indiana in a Twin engine plane. It was dark when they hit an ice storm over Tennessee mountains. It almost gave the co-pilot vertigo, hard to tell if you were flying straight. All at once power went out and Ross’ heart lurched. Where would they be today if Mike said, “Hey Ross, you take over, I’m out of here!” They would be fertilizer for grass on a Tennessee mountain! It’s the pilot that is in control, not the co-pilot. God is our pilot! We put faith in our pilot, not in our coolness under pressure, our power to keep it together, get it together and fly straight. Our faith is in God.
Our faith is not in our abilities. A large, well established Canadian lumber camp advertised they were looking for a good Lumberjack. A skinny little man showed up at the camp with his axe, and knocked on the head lumberjacks' door. The head man took one look at the little man and told him to leave. "Just give me a chance to show what I can do," said the skinny man.
"Okay, see that giant redwood over there?" said the lumberjack. "Take your axe and go cut it down."
The thin man headed for the tree, and in five minutes he was back knocking on the door, "I cut the tree down." The lumberjack couldn't believe his eyes and said, "Where did you get skill to chop down trees like that?"
"Oh, in the Sahara Forest," replied the puny man.
"You mean the Sahara Desert," said the lumberjack.
The little man laughed, "Oh yeah, that's what they call it now!" If our faith was in our abilities, why would any of us really need faith, because then we could just do it ourselves! Can we do it ourselves? Romans 1:17, For in it is righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
At church a very wealthy man rose to give his testimony. "I'm a millionaire and I attribute it all to rich blessings of God in my life. I remember the turning point in my faith, like it was yesterday. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to church. The speaker was a missionary. I knew I only had a dollar and had to either give it all to God's work or nothing at all. So I decided to give all I had to God. I believe God blessed my faith, and that is why I am a rich man today." As he finished it was clear everyone had been moved by his testimony. But as he took his seat, a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said, "I DARE you to do it again!"
God builds our faith one step at a time, one day at a time, one hurdle at a time. He doesn’t overwhelm us with everything at once. Our God can be trusted because He knows us, He knows what we need, He walked this way first and He knows what He is doing in life’s journey. We can put our faith in such a God.
Galatians 2:20, 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.
SONG: WHERE THERE IS FAITH