The Journey of Faith - Understanding and Living the Christian Faith
The Journey of faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro.
Open your Bible to Romans 10… we will read in a moment from verses 11 to 17
Before we do that let me tell something…
In Luke 18:8, Jesus asks: “When the Son of Man returns, how many people with faith will he find on earth?”
Jesus asks if he will find faith on Earth when he returns, since the world is secularized and faithless.
I do not believe that Jesus is referring to faith as a “belief in the existence of God”, because he knows that even the demons have that kind of faith. So I believe the questions is about a faith in the Almighty God who shakes the earth, moves mountains and defies the devil.
Jesus is talking about faith that remains alive despite circumstances.
I don’t know what you expect from your Christian life, but I can tell you this:
The Bible teaches very clearly and directly that: “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matt.9:27-30)
Jesus asked, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” … They answered, “Yes, Lord!”
“According to your faith let it be done to you!” //
Not according to your fame.
Not according to your feelings.
Not according to your fortune.
Not according to your friends.
Not according to your destiny.
According to your faith let it be done to you!
Faith is the currency of heaven that circulates on earth!
Faith is the currency of heaven that circulates on earth!
In the USA, when you go online to buy something you pay with dollars. (Not with pesos, reais, euros… dollars! Mula!! )
But if we want to receive something from heaven, we need to use the currency of heaven!
The currency of heaven is faith!
Faith is the means of exchange.
Faith is the greatest asset we have.
Unbelief is the greatest stumbling block in anyone’s life!
Unbelief is the greatest sin on earth!
Unbelief is the chief of all sins!
It is the Locomotive that pulls all the other cars…
It was unbelief that led Eve to sin against God in the Garden of Eden.
She did not believe the Word of God.
It was the sin of unbelief that closed the gates of the Promised Land,
and the Israelites could not enter, the Bible says, because of their unbelief.
It was unbelief that tied Jesus’ hands when He was in His own hometown,
and the Bible says that He could not perform any mighty work there because of their unbelief.
YES, the Sovereign and ALMIGHTY God limited Himself to working according to the faith of His people.
“May it be done to you according to your faith!”
Did you know that the sin that sends people to hell is not and never has been blasphemy, lying, murder, rape, sexual perversion, pride, arrogance… -
The sin that sends people to hell is the sin of unbelief!
You see, Jesus died for all these other sins.
These sins have already been paid for.
Therefore, the Bible says:
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed…” (John 3:18)
It is unbelief that closes the door to heaven.
Now, if you believe, all things are possible.
And in the spiritual realm, if you do not believe, nothing is possible.
The Bible says, in the book of Romans, that the righteous will live by faith.
Just as you live physically by breathing and the nourishment you get from food, you live spiritually by faith.
The Bible says “the righteous will live by faith.”
So today we will learn about the topic:
The Journey of Faith: Understanding and Living the Christian Faith
The Object of faith
The Origen of Faith
The Objective of faith
The Operation of Faith
So Let’s read Romans, chapter:11ff… The Scripture says
11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Amen!
There are several things I pray God will put on your heart today.
I pray that God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, will fix these things in your soul.
I pray God will write these things clearly and permanently on your heart.
Now, please listen—listen—because you need to hear and learn something from God today!
Like everything in life, you learn, and then apply it to receive some benefit from what you have learned.
Then, God’s blessings will come to you if you learn and apply it.
If you believe in God, you will receive.
If you doubt—you will have nothing.
Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that you learn to believe in God.
Let’s examine this passage of Scripture, Rom.10:11ff.
I urge you to keep your Bible open before you and look at the lessons in Romans 10:11-17 that teach us how to have biblical faith.
I. The Object of Biblical Faith.
I. The Object of Biblical Faith.
The first thing I want you to notice is what we will call the object of biblical faith.
11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
Scripture says, Anyone who believes in him - … look at what it says - …
Anyone who believes in him -Him - will never be put to shame.
anyone who trusts in Him will NEVER!!! …
Now, pay attention:
faith must have the right object to be a Biblical faith.
I’m talking about the object of Biblical faith.
You know that sometimes there are people who simply say:
“Oh, just have faith.”
When someone tells me “just have faith,” the first question that comes to mind is “faith in what?”
They say, just believe.
I ask: “Believe in what?”
Don’t think that there is something mystical or magical about just believing in something.
I say this clearly and directly:
“your faith is no better than its object.”
Mistaken faith is a dangerous thing.
It is not faith that moves mountains. It is God who moves mountains.
Do you understand? It is not faith that moves mountains. The Bible says in Mark 11:22 the following:
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.
“Have faith in God,”
Anyone who believes in him - will never be put to shame.
You see, there are many people who think that faith is just positive thinking.
Faith is not positive thinking.
It will help you think positively, and there is nothing wrong with positive thinking.
But most people think that there is something mystical and magical about just believing.
But the reality of biblical faith is in verse eleven: whoever trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
We must believe in Him.
Your faith is not greater than the object of it.
Now, if you believe that faith is just positive thinking, do you know what will happen to you?
You will get discouraged because there will be times when you try to think positively and you can’t.
If you put faith in faith, you will be an easy target for the devil.
Now, the devil will come to you and say, “You are not good enough to be saved.”
“How do you know your faith is strong enough?
How do you know your faith is real?”
And, friends, if you’re not careful, this is the devil’s nastiest, most cunning trick, and many people will go down when he says this. And if the devil ever uses this trick on you, tell him, “Look, devil, I’m not putting my faith in faith; my faith is in Jesus.
You see, the smallest amount of faith in the right object is better than a strong faith in the wrong object.
We must believe in Him.
Does the Bible say in Hebrews 12:1? We must look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith—look to Jesus.
Have faith in God.
You see, the object of faith is not wishful thinking.
It is not faith in faith. It is faith in God.
A little faith in the right object is better than a big faith in the wrong object.
You say, “Will God honor little faith?” Of course He will. If He didn’t, most of us wouldn’t get anything from Him.
Remember the story in Mark 9:22ff, about the father who had a demon-possessed son, and he came to Jesus and said,
Mark 9:22–23 …if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 “If you can?” Jesus said. “All things are possible for him who believes.””
And do you remember what the boy’s father said?
Mark 9:24 “24 Immediately the boy’s father said, “I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!””
And you know what happened. Jesus gave him exactly what he needed.
He had a small, weak faith.
But, you see, it was a weak faith in a Big God.
I’m not saying we should be satisfied with a weak faith; it’s much better to have strong faith.
But Jesus said if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Be removed and cast into the midst of the sea.”
What is He saying? The smallest amount of faith in God is greater than any difficulty you have.
He is teaching this: Put your faith in God.
Don’t put your hope in the power of positive thinking. Put your hope in God.
Learn this: The way to turn weak faith into strong faith is to discover who God is.
Illustration:
I heard this story: In the north country, near the source of the Mississippi, it was a very cold winter and the Mississippi River had frozen over, and there was a man who, instead of going to the bridge, decided to walk across the frozen river. There was no one else on the river. It all looked pretty solid and thick. He said, “Well, I guess I can walk across. I won’t have to make the trip to the bridge.” And this man started across the frozen river. When he got a good distance from the shore, and looked across to the other side, he said, “Maybe I shouldn’t be here. I mean, maybe this ice won’t hold me. If I fall, they will never know what happened to me. I am a fool. What am I doing here…? And he turned to go back the other way, and the distance to the other side was as great as the distance to where he was in the middle. He said to himself, “I had better walk slowly.” Then he said to himself, “I had better get on all fours, so as not to put my weight on one place.” Then he said to himself, that is not enough. I had better lie down and crawl… What a fool I am! My wife will never know what happened to me. He began to groan and cry, and then he heard a loud cracking sound. Oh, he said, the river, the ice is breaking! He said, I am lost! He lowered his face. He began to pray: God, save me; help me, Lord! The noise grew nearer and nearer, that loud roaring, but the ice did not seem to be breaking. He looked up and there was a man with a double-horse wagon with a wagon full of logs crossing the river - that was the noise he heard. Well, when he saw that, he got up, brushed the ice off of himself and walked the rest of the way across the river.
Now, what was the difference between these two men? The second man knew the ice//
Friend, what is the object of Biblical faith? It is God! Get to know whim!
Do you want to have strong faith? Don’t trust yourself, trust God - whoever trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Note Daniel 11:32
32… but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
II. The Root of Biblical Faith
II. The Root of Biblical Faith
Now, here is the second thing I want you to understand about biblical faith.
First: What is the object of biblical faith: it is God, have faith in God.
Second: #2: Hearing the God You Know.
Look at verse fourteen:
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Now verse 17
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Pay close attention to this point so that you can learn to have faith:
So faith comes from hearing,
To have faith, you need to hear from God.
Do you understand? // To have faith, you need to hear from God.
Faith is not a matter of willpower.
This verse says that faith comes - …
You don’t generate it; it comes…
God is the one who gives us faith.
Chapter two of Ephesians 2:8 says the following:
Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—…
Faith is the gift of God.
Grace is the gift of God…
See also Philippians 1:29
29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,
This verse tells us about two privileges in Christ:
a) we have been given the privilege of believing in Christ;
b) we have been given the privilege of suffering for Him.
We have been given the privilege of believing. God gives faith.
No one can believe in God unless God enables them to believe.
Did you hear that? No one can say, “I’m going to church because today I decided to believe in God.”…
No one can believe in God unless God enables them to believe.
And how does God enable us to believe? God gives us His Word//
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
So, contrary to popular belief, you don’t declare and take possession. God speaks, you believe and take possession.
Do you hear that? You don’t declare something and take possession. God has to speak first; them you believe to receive.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
(// read slowly…)
faith comes from hearing …
In other words, if you don’t hear… there’s no way to have faith, you need to hear.
And the hearing through the “word” of Christ.
How does this work? What does it mean to hear the “word of Christ?”
Explain the two words for the word “word” in the Greek language in the NT.
(not wanting to sound too technical… but it’s important to know this)
One is logos,
the Bible/Scripture is the Logos, and in the gospel of John, Jesus is called logos, the Word of God. (Gen-Rev)
We could say that the logos is the Bible, the written Word that speaks of the Living Word.
Jesus is the logos…
All of God’s Revelation revealed in the Bible is the logos.
But there is another word that is translated as word and it is rhema-rhema. (67 times)
And that’s the word used here in Romans 10:17
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the rhema of Christ - the rhema of Christ.
Not the logos, but the rhema.
Now, what does that mean? What does the word rhema mean?
It means a direct pronouncement.
It means a direct word.
You pick up the Bible, which is the logos, and you start reading, the Logos starts speaking to you from the Word of God.
You get a rhema from the logos. You get a direct pronouncement from Christ, and Christ speaks directly to you! And you hear in your heart the message of Christ. You hear from Christ because HE IS ALIVE! …
“My sheep hear my voice!
That’s the reason, friends, why before I preach I go into my room, close the door… and I always say, “Lord, help me to preach.”
Because, my friend, for you to have faith, you need to listen to Christ and not Samuel.
What I have to do is be God’s faithful delivery guy, Jesus’ deliverer guy. I come here to make a delivery for Jesus. Jesus is the owner of the message.
Look, verse fourteen:
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Now notice the phrase, “how are they to hear without someone preaching? ”
There must be a preacher, but the message is from Christ.
You say, “Well, He never spoke to me like that.”
Are you listening? “He who has ears, let him hear.” Have you been spending time alone with God?
Are you washing your mind with the cleansing water of God’s Word daily ?
Is your heart ready to do His will?
Do you want to hear Him?
Are you reporting for service? “Here I am, Lord, speak, for Your servant is listening.”…
You receive faith through the rhema of Christ.
The object of faith is God. #1: Believe in God. #2. The Root of Biblical faith: The Word of God. You must hear from God.
III. The Release of Biblical Faith
III. The Release of Biblical Faith
Now, here’s the third thing I want you to quickly see.
#3. How Do You Release Faith?
What is the behavior of faith?
What does Biblical faith do?
What is the purpose of faith?
Listen VERY carefully.
Faith is not about getting man’s will done in heaven.
It is about getting God’s will done on earth//
The result of faith is God’s will being done on earth. …In your life!
Now, notice that we learned that you cannot have faith unless you hear from Christ.
When the Lord speaks, do you know what you’re going to hear from the Lord?
You’re going to hear the Father’s will!
When God speaks, He’s going to say, “This is what I want done, and therefore I want you to believe it.”
We learned that faith is a gift from God.
Faith comes from hearing God’s Word, and God will not give you a word about something that is not His will.
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
What is Biblical faith? It is believing God!
How do you acquire faith? You have to hear from the Lord.
What is the result of faith? The result of faith is knowing God’s will.
How can the faith we are talking about turn into personal experience?
Listen, my friends, true faith—listen to me—does more than just believe and know God’s will.
It obeys.
If what you say you believe does not translate into action, you do not really believe.
I asked you to keep your Bible open to Romans 10.
Now notice verse sixteen:
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
“Lord, who has believed our message?”
“Not all…have accepted the good news.”
Wait a minute. I thought everyone here believed the gospel….
That’s right, not all have believed… “not all believe” – when you believe, you obey.
Let me tell you what faith is. Faith is a belief with legs. (Illustration from last week…)
Well, you say, Pastor Sam, if I can’t believe, it’s not my fault; it’s God’s, because God didn’t give me faith.
You said no one can believe unless God speaks to them; and maybe God hasn’t spoken to me, and it’s not my fault.
God has an answer for you. Look, verse 18:
18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”
“Their voice went out into all the earth, and their words, rhema - to the ends of the world.”
Look at verse twenty-one:
21 But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people.”
“All along I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people.”
Christ is speaking.
He has brought each of us here today to hear what He is saying: “I love you.”
Verse 16: “However, not all have accepted the good news.” -
Not all will obey the gospel.
Not all will embrace faith.
God stretches out His hand, but there are people who are “disobedient and rebellious.”
“disobedient” - Not a very pretty word, is it?
The word obstinate means rebellious.
God says:
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.
He says: I love you.
He says: Mal.3:10
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
In this case, the person argues. He hears the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit tells him that it is true, but he argues, debates, argues, judges inappropriately and unfairly and decides: “I will not believe this”. “I will not obey this”.
And God says: “All the time I have reached out to a disobedient and rebellious people”.
He says: not everyone accepted the good news.” - vs 16
(Let’s All stand…)
“When the Son of Man returns, how many people with faith will he find on earth?”
Friend, listen. Activate your faith through obedience.
Years and years ago, men dreamed of a railroad that would cross the continent, coming from the west coast to the east coast, and coming from the east coast to the west coast, and of course they called it the Transcontinental Railroad. They started building these trails on the west coast; started on the east coast. And they came to a place where the trails met. They brought together governors from two states because they would connect these railroads. When they reached the place where they would connect these tracks, they brought one steam engine here and another there. And they were there to blow the whistles, and there was a big party, and stuff, I imagine. But one of the things they did was to take a golden spike and a silver hammer, and when the railroad was nearly finished, except for one spike, they took the golden spike and drove it in with the silver hammer, and when they did, the people gave a shout, because the East and the West; were united!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Friend, when Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary, He did more than unite the East and the West; He united God and man. With one hand He took sinful man, and with the other He took Holy God, and when the spikes were thrust into His hands, the only silver there was was the silver of His tears, and the only gold was the gold of His blood. And on the cross, with His blood, Jesus reconciled God and man.
Now, listen to me. I pray to God and hope that ALL of you will be saved and that on the day you leave that world, you will go to heaven.
But none of us will reach heaven on the locomotive of good works.
No one will climb the ladder of logic.
Or in the rocket of reason.
You will only get there via the Redemption Railway.
The Journey will require faith.
Trust in the gospel and obey the Lord, for there is no other way to be happy and prosper than to trust and obey.
Activate your faith by saying today: “God, I believe in you. And therefore I will obey.
If God spoke to you today and you decided to trust, leave your place and come here to the altar. I want to challenge you to make a symbolic surrender before the Lord.
And on the authority of God’s Word: if you trust Him, He will save you.
For the Scripture we read here says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you pray a prayer like this: God, I am a sinner; I am lost; I need to be saved. I can’t save myself alone. Jesus, you died to save me. You promised to save me, if I trusted you. I trust you now. Come into my heart, forgive my sin and save me.
Father, I pray today that many in this building will say yes to Jesus and be saved. In Your wonderful name I pray. Amen.
