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STRONG FAITH MATTERS
STRONG FAITH MATTERS
Let me say what a pleasure and privilege it is to be a part of this gathering of faithful men seeking to strengthen their faith in almighty GOD whom we serve and who we ought to love with all our hearts, all our minds and all our souls. We have been talking about Walking with God in Maturity and Mystery and we are expected to do just that. We are expected to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. We are expected not just to age but to gain wisdom and sophistication as we age.
The importance of Maturity:
Jesus expects it—
“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Paul prays for it—
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
He encourages it—
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Peter stresses it—
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Mystery of our faith:
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—
We believe in a God who appeared to Moses in a burning bush; who parted the Red sea; who protected men from burning when thrown in a furnace; who caused a virgin to conceive and bear his son; who physically raised his son from the dead by his Spirit.
We ought not allow our maturity to get in the way of the mystery!
One study several years ago found that “a third of Church of England clergy doubt or disbelieve in the physical Resurrection and only half are convinced of the truth of the Virgin birth”.
One of the ministers of the organisation that commissioned the study said,"There are clearly two churches operating in the Church of England: the believing church and the disbelieving church, and that is a scandal”. Another said, “Clergy, faced with intelligent and educated congregations, increasingly had to think “very carefully” about how to present complex doctrine credibly”.
I say that too is a scandal.
Closer to home, a survey published in Agape Press found that only half of pastors have ‘Biblical’ worldview. A biblical worldview says Christian Researcher George Barna of the Barna Research Group, includes a belief in absolute moral truth as defined by Scripture, as well as six core biblical beliefs: the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omniscience and omnipotence of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize. Only 51% passed the test. Another point of interest was education. The pastors least likely to have a biblical worldview were seminary graduates.
“Although most people own a bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life,” Says Barna. “We’re often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance.”
When Jesus said that it was hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, he might have added an educated man also.
Let not your sophistication in the things of this world diminish your delight for the mystery of God!
How do we become better fathers, better husbands, better men? I suggest to you that we must first become better sons. As sons of the most high God, we must submit to him and his son Jesus Christ.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Submission to God’s revealed word should be the essence of our formation and the transformation of our lives.
Brothers it’s time to go “ALL in”.