Rock Solid Faith

Rock Solid Faith Hebrews 11:1, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 1:17 Faith. Just how many times in a week do we say the word faith? I am going to say probably a lot! Phrases like “keep the faith,” “got to have faith in the system,” “faith, hope and charity,” “faithful friend,” “faithful companion” or, better yet, “faithful follower.” “Walking in faith” and “have faith” are a couple more phrases. I am sure we have all said these phrases one time or another. What does the word faith mean, and do we really have faith? It is a word heard often, and it is said many times without any real conviction. Faith is believing in the unseen. It is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the Lord is working, even though we cannot see it. Faith knows that no matter what, the Lord is working in it! Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see.” In my recent study of the Book of Daniel, the theme of this entire book to me was that Daniel had faith in God, un-wavering faith. Despite the situations he was put into, never once did he lose faith, and God was always there for Daniel. Here is how this story takes place. (This is my translation and should be remembered as how I learned of this book in the Bible.) Daniel was held captive in a country that did not worship God or follow any of the words of God. Repeatedly, he was asked to do things that were not of God’s Word. As the local people who did not care for Daniel found out about Daniel’s worshiping to God three times a day, he was taken to be punished; and because of this, was to be thrown in a den of lions. Listen to these words: Daniel 6:16, “So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God whom you serve continually, rescue you!’” A stone was placed over the entrance of the den and the king was anxiously waiting for the next morning; and upon going to the den, the king called to Daniel in an anguished voice, and said “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20) “My God sent His angel and He shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight” (Daniel 6:22). You see, Daniel always prayed to God and never turned away from Him. This is a very simplified version of this one chapter in the Book of Daniel. I recommend that you all revisit this book and read it on your own. But the message of having complete faith in God and that God will take care of you was resounding to me. As it should be to you too! I am quickly reminded of the song, “Dare to Be a Daniel.” Yet another oldie, but goodie, written by P.P. Bliss. The lines in the chorus go like this: “Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known!” Wow!! There is a thought that we need to have back in our lives! Faith, as I looked up in Merriam-Webster, gives these definitions: 1. Allegiance to duty or person (loyalty, fidelity to one’s promises, sincerity of intentions) 2. Belief and trust in loyalty to God, belief in traditional doctrines of religion 3. Something that is believed, especially with strong conviction In these definitions there are words that are often used in speaking of faith. Trust and belief. Belief is formed by opinions, and they can change from time to time. Trust is to place confidence in or rely on. When we read about faith in the Bible, we many times think of the word trust. I visited Hebrews Chapter 11 many times. Hebrews, Chapter 11, is thought of as the faith chapter in the Bible. This chapter tells of most of the people who showed amazing faith in God and that He cared for their needs. Faith shown by Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Gideon and the list goes on and on. I, for one, enjoyed reading this chapter. When our faith slides away, read this chapter. Faith is not just a mental agreement. Hebrews Chapter 11 illustrates that faith requires action. If we believe there is more to life than what we see, true faith will drive our actions. I also found this message in James 2:14-18 that reiterates that faith requires action. The Scripture states this: “What good is it, my brother, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead. But someone will say you have faith and I have deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” Faith is not earned; it is a gift from God. A gift that changes us, changes our situation and our actions. Our faith in God will show through our lifestyle, daily decisions and our general personalities. Side story/chuckle about Hebrews… There was a young couple that worked every day. When the wife would get up each morning, she would be annoyed that her coffee was not ready. After a few days of her disgruntled attitude, her husband says, “Dear, why are you so angry? Is there something wrong?” “Well,” she said, “why are you not making my coffee. You know it is written in the Bible that it is your task! “What!” he replied. “Yes,” she said, “it said ‘He Brews’!” (I know, sorry ‘bout that!) Remember in Matthew 17:20, Jesus is healing the boy possessed by demons and the disciples ask “why couldn’t we drive it out?” And in verse 20 Jesus replies, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” This is the faith of which I speak! Now that I have explained faith, what I really want to speak of is Faith in God. We all have faith, but is it in God? Too many times in this current world situation, faith has been put into money, jobs, another person, health and political personalities. While for a moment it might seem like a good idea, God will never steer you in the wrong direction or leave you or cause any harm. As taught in Deuteronomy 31:8 — “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” When we put all our faith in God, it pleases Him. Faith in God is a gift of His grace to us. Believing in God is one thing, but having faith in God is the measure of our character. When our faith is set upon things of this world, our faith will perish. Only the kingdom of God has remained constant. Our faith is to be set in Heaven and not on things of this world. We have current concerns within our Methodist church, for example. Our faith is in God’s Word, not your word nor mine, but God’s Word! He will guide us to where we need to be. Having complete faith/trust in the Lord is our strength. That faith will be our comfort. Having faith in God does not mean that there will be no trials or suffering, storms along the way. If your faith is anchored in God and His Word, we can make it through these storms of life. Prayers for answers are a sure sign of faith. When praying, we should pray as though the answers have been or will be taken care of. This is another action of faith. In this message the one thought I was inspired to share is that your faith in God should be anchored on the “Rock of our Salvation.” The psalmist testified in Psalm 18:2 that “the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” I can say with solid affirmation that my feet are on the Rock. With encouragement, following of God’s Word, study of God’s Word, singing of Gospel messages, fellowship and community friendship, our feet will not slip into the sinking sand. Our “feet,” which means each of us, can all stand together on the Rock! We can stand firm in our belief, have faith in all that God can and will do! As fellow believers in God, faithfully, we can all stand with our feet on the Rock! Amen. Rosalie