4 LL Meth 13 April 2008

Message 1: Faith enough to build our lives on his mission

Introduction:  Sweeping across Germany at the end of World War II, Allied forces searched farms and houses looking for snipers. At one abandoned house, almost a heap of rubble, searchers with flashlights found their way to the basement. There, on the crumbling wall, a victim of the Holocaust had scratched a Star of David. And beneath it, in rough lettering, the message: I believe in the sun—even when it does not shine; I believe in love—even when it is not shown; I believe in God—even when he does not speak.

 Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust.

Saving faith - Saving faith is so called because it has eternal life inseparably connected with it - "Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel."

The object of saving faith is the whole revealed Word of God.  Faith accepts and believes it as the very truth.

The God of the Bible has consistently related to people via trust in what He says and does. Biblical faith is a complex idea; God, His word, His actions, the whole human being, and the physical world all play critical roles. When saving faith occurs, God has enabled someone to know Him through His revelation of Himself in words and actions in Christ. God Himself activates faith in the hearer of His word, enabling that hearer to become faithful in Christ, just as He is faithful.

Point  1: The Word of Faith

Romans 10:8 (NRSV) 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

Since Christ has come, the gospel does not require man to scale the heavens nor to fathom the great abyss. Such requirements would be impossible. The gospel only demands faith and open confession that Christ has done both.

 Man must believe with the heart and then confess with the mouth. A man believes unto righteousness; that is, a man believes in Jesus Christ, and God takes that man's faith and counts it as righteousness. Then the man confesses Christ to salvation; that is, he is saved by openly confessing Christ. No man can deny God's Son and expect God to save him.

Point 2: The Preacher's Message The Hearing of Faith Galatians 3:2 (NRSV) 2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?

A believer receives the Holy Spirit by faith, not by works nor by law. Note that this whole passage is a series of questions. Paul is stirring the Galatians to think. The present question strikes at the very heart of the gospel: How did you begin your Christian life? Did you receive the Holy Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

There is one thing genuine believers know, and the genuine believers in the Galatian churches knew it too: no person earns, wins, or merits the Spirit of God. Man is too polluted and too short of God's glory to deserve the Spirit of God. His thoughts and behavior are too often...

No matter how much good and how much of the law is kept, the believer knows that he did not and cannot eliminate such thoughts and behavior—not fully, not perfectly. Therefore, he did not become a Christian—he did not receive the Holy Spirit—by good works nor by the keeping of laws. He became a Christian and received the Spirit of God by hearing about faith in Christ. He heard the glorious news that Christ had died for him and his sins, and he believed the news. Therefore, God took his faith and counted it for righteousness. The believer knows that he is not righteous, but God counts him righteous because he believes and loves His Son. The believer knows that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in him because of any goodness or work of his own; he knows that he has the Holy Spirit because God counts his faith in Christ as reason enough to put His Spirit into his heart. That is how the believer receives the Spirit of God, and that is how the Galatians received the Spirit of God.

Thought 1. Every person must hear the glorious message of faith. "The hearing of faith" is the only way a person can ever become acceptable to God. A person must hear and believe the report of faith. The message of faith is the gospel of salvation—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His death for our sins.

Point 3:  The Hearer's Responsibility for effective Faith

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Effective faith is hopeful anticipation. Do you remember how you felt when you were very young and your birthday approached? You were excited and anxious. You knew you would certainly receive gifts and other special treats. But some things would be a surprise. Birthdays combine assurance and anticipation, and so does faith! Faith is the conviction based on past experience that God's new and fresh surprises will surely be ours.

Effective faith is quiet certainty. Two words describe faith: sure and certain. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character—he is who he says. The end point is believing in God's promises—he will do what he says. When we believe that God will fulfill his promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith (see John 20:24-31).

Point 4: The Receiver's Response The Righteousness of Faith Romans 4:13 (NRSV)
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Point 5: The Believer's Position The Walk of Faith 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NRSV)
6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

The Holy Spirit stirs faith within us. Knowing that our present home (body) is only temporary—that we are soon to move to our heavenly home—stirs great faith in us. True, we do not yet see our heavenly home, but the Holy Spirit stirs faith within us—faith to walk through all the trials and problems of this life.

Conclusion: Faith enough to build our lives on his mission: A twelve—year—old boy became a Christian during a revival. The next week at school his friends questioned him about the experience. "Did you see a vision?" asked one friend. "Did you hear God speak?" asked another. The youngster answered no to all these questions. "Well, how did you know you were saved?" they asked. The boy searched for an answer and finally he said: "It's like when you catch a fish, you can't see the fish or hear the fish; you just feel him tugging on your line. I just felt God tugging on my heart."

WISDOM FROM HELEN KELLER I believe that we can live on earth according to the teachings of Jesus, and that the greatest happiness will come to the world when man obeys His commandment "Love one another."

I believe that we can live on earth according to the fulfillment of God's will, and that when the will of God is done on earth as it is done in heaven, every man will love his fellowmen, and act toward them as he desires they should act toward him. I believe that the welfare of each is bound up in the welfare of all.

I believe that life is given us so we may grow in love, and I believe that God is in me as the sun is in the color and fragrance of a flower—the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence.

I believe that only in broken gleams has the Sun of Truth yet shone upon men. I believe that love will finally establish the kingdom of God on earth, and that the cornerstones of that kingdom will be liberty, truth, brotherhood, and service. Helen Keller

Some things have to be believed to be seen.

Major Topic: - BIBLE SUBJECTS

Message 2:  Certainty, not Doubt, is the Christian's normal condition

What Believers Are

 (1 Cor. 1:18; 1 John 2:12)

What Believers Know

 (1 John 3:14, 24; 5:11, 19)

What Believers Have

 (Eph. 1:7; 5:1; John 3:14)

What Believers Expect

 (1 John 3:2; 1 Thess. 4:16)