Sermon Tone Analysis

*FAITH*

* *

11~/15~/2003 and 11~/16~/2003

 

 

-Last week we talked about “Covenant Love”.

-The Apostle Paul said “*/these three remain faith, hope, and love but the greatest of these is love/*.”

-That is certainly our priority.

-The Bible says */“God is love”.

/*God is not power or faith or healing; HE IS LOVE.

-God’s motivation is love.

Our response to that should be faith.

*/Hebrews 11/*

*/Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

*[1]*/*

*/ /*

*/6 /**/And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

/*

*/7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.

By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

/*

*/8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

/*

*/11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he a considered him faithful who had made the/* */promise.

12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

/*

[2]

*/ /*

*/Romans 4/*

*/13 /**/It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath.

And where there is no law there is no transgression.

/*

*/16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.

He is the father of us all.

17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”

c He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

/*

*/18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” d 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

/*

[3]

*/ /*

*/ /*

-I would encourage you to read both chapters in their entirety because they both are chocked full of great information and inspiration.

*/Galatians 3/*

*/6 /**/Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

a 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.

8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

b 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

*[4]*/*

*/ /*

*/ /*

*/26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

*[5]*/*

*/ /*

*/ /*

-With all of that in mind remember the story of God’s dealing with Abraham, especially in chapter 12 of Genesis.

*The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet.

Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall.

The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.

Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.

*

*John Emmons.*

*/A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down.

The following conversation ensued: /*

*/"Is anyone up there?" \\ "I am here.

I am the Lord.

Do you believe me?" \\ "Yes, Lord, I believe.

I really believe, but I can't hang on much longer."

\\ "That's all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about.

I will save you.

Just let go of the branch."

\\ A moment of pause, then: "Is anyone else up there?" /*

*/Bits & Pieces/**/, /**/June 24, 1993/**/, p. 3. /*

 

 

-God is pleased when His children believe Him.

 

-Faith was not intended to place emphasis on how great we are or how much we believe God.

 

-Jesus said, *“HAVE FAITH IN GOD*.”

 

-The object of our faith is God.

If the pressure is on you it is misplaced.

-Believing a wonderful faithful God shouldn’t be a struggle.

-Abraham is called the “Father of our Faith” so lets see what happened to him.

Obviously he did it right.

1.

*Faith Receives a Promise From God*

* *

-It isn’t just something you make up.

-In your devotions and fellowship with God something comes alive inside you.

-Abraham is living with his family on the east side of the fertile crescent in a place called “UR”.

-Somehow God spoke to him with such force and clarity that he knew he had a mandate from God and so he obeyed God and left all that was familiar to him (his country, his people, and his father’s household).

-I like to think about the conversation Abraham and Sarah had when he got home that night after hearing the lord speak.

-To her credit as well as his, they both believed and went.

*/Where did Abraham get his faith???/*

*/ /*

*/HE HEARD GOD SPEAK./*

*/ /*

 

 

-You don’t have to work faith up…..it comes built into the promise.

*/Romans 10/*

*/17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

*[6]*/*

 

-He gave attention to what he heard until it became big inside of him.

-Finally it was very clear and his only decision was whether to obey or disobey.

*/FAITH BEGINS WHERE THE WILL OF GOD IS KNOWN/*

*/ /*

-Spend Time with God and the result will be clarity concerning God’s will.

-Then it will become and issue of how and where do I practice this in obedience.

Joshua 1

*/8 /**/Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Then you will be prosperous and successful.

*[7]*/*

*/ /*

 

 

2.

*Faith is an Action*

* *

-You believe the part of the Bible you are willing to act on.

*/There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats.

All over /**/Paris/**/, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights.

Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow.

An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer.

For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over /**/Niagara Falls/**/."

Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I've never been to /**/America/**/ and seen the Falls, I'd love to come."

Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event.

Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side.

Drums roll, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!!

And he makes it across easily.

The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?"

"Well of course I do.

I mean, I just saw you do it."

"No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?"