Continue In Faith

INTRODUCTION

last time I preached I shared my personal testimony , how christ Had shown ME THAT I NEEDED TO PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH AND CONTINUE IN FAITH.

is not hype. It’s not emotion. IT WAS AND IS OUR New Year’s resolution

Many of us have already forgot what our new years resolution was, DONT LET THAT BE SAID ABOUT THIS CHURCHES NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

LETS CONTINUE IN CHRIST BY CONTINUING IN FAITH....

Continuing is about ROOTS.

Let’s look at Colossians 2:6-7 for a moment:

Colossians 2:6–7 KJV 1900

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Now watch this — the Bible doesn’t tell us to be rooted in feelings. It doesn’t tell us to be rooted in opinions. It says rooted in the faith.

IN THE WHAT?????

SAY IT

IN THE FAITH

And that word “faith” there — the Greek word pistis — doesn’t mean “you better just hope real hard.” It doesn’t mean blind leap. It means trust based on evidence.

HEAR ME WHEN I SAY THIS: Christian faith is not crossing your fingers and hoping you guessed right. Christian faith is confidence built on evidence.

And today, instead of talking about WHAT we continue in… I want to talk about WHY we can keep going. Why we can keep believing. Why we can keep walking.

I. THE EVIDENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES

DONT MISS THIS : God has not left us guessing.

He gave us an instruction manual for living — 66 books, written over 1,500 years, by more than 40 authors, in three different languages, on three different continents… and yet all telling one story.

If this was a conspiracy, church, it would’ve fallen apart in the first generation.

9/11/2001

If I wanted to write a book about 9/11 its only been 24 years. if i was lieing people would write about it, people would make videos about it. My book never go down in history as a national best seller. If I got 12 of my friends together you think they would die for something they knew was a lie? Look here....

Peter: Crucified upside down in Rome (c. 64–68 AD).

Andrew: Crucified on an X-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.

James (Son of Zebedee): Beheaded by Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem (c. 44 AD).

John: Survived being boiled in oil and died of old age in Ephesus.

Philip: Crucified, possibly upside down, in Hierapolis.

Bartholomew (Nathanael): Flayed alive and beheaded in Armenia.

Thomas: Speared to death in India.

Matthew: Stabbed to death with a sword in Ethiopia.

James (Son of Alphaeus): Stoned and clubbed to death in Jerusalem.

Thaddaeus (Jude): Killed with arrows or an axe in Persia.

Simon the Zealot: Martyred, often cited as being sawed in half.

Matthias (replacement for Judas): Stoned and beheaded in Jerusalem.

These MEN OF GOD were tortured for there faith and not one denied CHRIST

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV 1900

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That word “inspiration” means God-breathed. These aren’t man’s ideas about God — these are God’s Words delivered through men.

Let me give you something to strengthen your faith:

We have thousands of Greek manuscripts

Not scraps — full books

The Dead Sea Scrolls WERE DISCOVERED AFTER the cannon of the bible was completed and they confirmed the Old Testament word for word

Archaeology never corrects the Bible

It just keeps confirming it

Luke wrote his Gospel like a historian:

Luke 1:3 KJV 1900

3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

Eyewitness accounts. Firsthand testimony. Names, places, dates. This book is verifiable.

God has never asked you to leave your brain at the door.

Your faith has ALWAYS had evidence beneath it.

II. THE EVIDENCE IN CHRIST

Now — once you trust the Book… look at what the Book says about Jesus.

Matthew 5:17 KJV 1900

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

HE WAS HERE TO WHAT?????

SAY IT

FULLFILL THE WHAT.… THE LAW!!!!!

Jesus didn’t show up and say, “Forget the Old Testament.” No — He walked in and fulfilled EVERY line of it.

HOW MANY LINES??? -EVERY LINE-

Prophecy after prophecy…

Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

Wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53)

Pierced hands and feet described 700 years before Rome even used crucifixion (Psalm 22)

Brutal whipping Jesus endured before his crucifixion (Psalms 129 :3)

Church — you cannot fake that.

Then He stood in front of the Pharisees in and said:

John 8:58 KJV 1900

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

That’s not metaphor. That’s the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus was claiming eternal existence — claiming deity.

And lets not forget - the resurrection.

Paul names the witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15. He says Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at once.

If it was a lie… somebody would’ve said something. But nobody did — because the tomb was empty.

The disciples didn’t die for a metaphor. They died because they saw a risen Christ.

Church — your Savior is not a myth. Your Savior is not a legend. Your Savior is not a theory.

Your Savior walked out of His grave.

III. THE EVIDENCE IN CREATION AND PERSONAL FAITH

But let me bring it closer.

Psalm 19:1 KJV 1900

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.

You step outside on a clear night — and the universe is preaching a sermon to you:

The earth’s tilt

The distance from the sun

Oxygen levels

Gravity

Life-sustaining balance

This world doesn’t just work… it works perfectly.

if the force of gravity was different by one part in 10 to the 40th power

then we wouldn't exist. Life would not be possible.

what's one and 10 to the 40th power? That's one with 40 zeros following it.

If you cant get your head around it think of it like this.

Take the entire North American continent from Central America all the way to Greenland, the 51st state ,

Take the entire North American continent Stack it in dimes all the way to the moon. That's 238,000 miles.

And do that on a billion other North American continents. Stack them in dimes all the way to the moon.

Take all of those dimes, put them in one humongous pile, mark one dime red, mix it in, blindfold a friend, throw them on the pile, ask him to pick one dime at random.

The chance he would pick that one red dime is one chance in 10 to the 40th power. you think he going to pick that dime?

THATS HOW FINLLY TUNED OUR UNIVERSE IS

And then — your own life.

Look back on your story:

Doors God opened

Doors God closed

Times He protected you

Times He provided

The ways He grew you

The people He sent into your life

The strength He gave you at your lowest moments

Listen — you cannot tell me that’s coincidence. That’s a God who has been faithful to you every step of the way.

THE OLD COUNTRY SONG BY GARTHBROOKS SAYS “SOME OF GODS GREATEST GIFTS ARE UNANSWERED PRAYERS”

ILLUSTRATION — THE CROSS AT THE CROSSROADS

Let me paint a picture. On the 40 near Groom, Texas

There’s a giant cross some may have seen it. Its 190 feet tall, anchored deep into the ground, built to withstand storms.

That cross stands because its foundation goes deeper than the wind goes higher.”

And right beside it, out in those Texas plains… you see old fences, leaning sideways, falling over because the posts were set shallow.

Church please don't miss this: Faith stands tall when the foundation is deep. Faith leans and collapses when the foundation is shallow.

We are not building fence posts. We are building crosses.

Your faith must go deep. Deep in The Word. Deep in The Christ. Deep in God’s faithfulness.

CONCLUSION — THE INVITATION

Let’s read our anchor verse one more time:

Colossians 1:23 KJV 1900

23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Grounded. Settled. Not moving. Not tossed. Not shaken.

A faith with evidence. A faith with roots. A faith worth continuing in.

And this morning, you may find yourself in one of three places:

You’ve never trusted Christ at all

You’re saved, but your faith has been shaken

You believe, but you need depth — grounding — roots

Wherever you are… Jesus is calling.

Romans 10 says:

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart…”

Not blind belief… Biblical belief. Confident faith. Faith with evidence.

Church… this is a faith you can stand on. A faith you can build on. A faith you can continue in.

And I invite you — as we stand and as we sing — come talk to the One who proved His love for you on Calvary.

Amen.