What's Your Faith In?

What’s your faith in? (1 Cor 2:1-5)

And I, when I came to you, brothers did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

I.  Like Paul who wrote this simple message here in the Bible, I’m not going to try to wow you with a show or with big words, just a simple question to think about, then an illustration, and then some more scripture. The question is this. . .

A.    What's your faith in? 

• 1.      Christian?
• 2.      Non-Christian?
• 3.      We all have faith in something.
• a.       Our health?
• b.      Our wealth?
• c.       Our parents?
• d.      God?

B.     How can you tell what your faith is REALLY in?

• 1.      Real faith must be accompanied by the act of TRUSTING,
• a.       Trust is something we DO
• 2.      Chair illustration
• a.       When we have faith in something, we usually know a good deal about it, but it requires more than just knowing
• b.      Suppose I tell you everything there is to know about this chair.
• i.        The amount of weight it is designed to support
• ii.      Its age
• iii.    Where the metal was mined that created it
• iv.    The place and person that assembled it . . . EVERYTHING
• c.       What else must I do to have a REAL faith in this chair?
• i.        Sit in it.

C.     Faith in God is a lot like that too.

• 1.       See, our faith in Jesus is what determines our relationship with God
• a.        Our relationship with God determines our eternal destiny
• (A) Faith in God’s power demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection produces eternal life with God in a place called heaven
• (B)  Faith in the wisdom of the world produces eternal separation apart from God in a place called hell.
• b.      What does this faith in Jesus look like?  How is trusting Him demonstrated?
• i.        For those who already claim faith in Jesus, it is demonstrated by living a holy life.
• (A) It’s NOT the holy life that saves you it’s your faith in Him, but much like the chair here, that faith can only be real when it is shown through action.
• c.      So for the Christian; are ya living a life that SHOWS your faith is in Him and not the world?

D.    For those of you who do not yet know Him and whose eternal destiny is unsure right now.  It doesn’t have to be unsure.  You can leave here with the assurance of an eternity with God in a place called heaven.

• 1.      Rom 10:9-10, simply says this
• a.        because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
• b.      Jesus in Matthew 10:32 said;
• i.        So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
• 2.      Are you tired of placing your trust in the things of this world which are passing away more and more every day?
• 3.      Are you tired of being disappointed and let down by placing your faith in the world?

E.     PRAY

F.      I’ve got good news for you if you sincerely from your heart cried out to Jesus in that prayer, you have made an important and vital change in your eternal life

1.      But as we’ve seen with our chair here, true faith can only exist when it is followed by action.

2.      You’re next step is to “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” you gotta tell somebody.

3.      The scripture is very clear also that you next step in demonstrating your new found faith is to submit to scriptural baptism.