An Authentic Faith
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Introduction
Introduction
JUNIOR CHURCH DISMISSED
Good morning everyone, what an amazing day. What an amazing day we had yesterday. Thank you to everyone that came out and helped with the clean up day. We got so much done. The playground area looks fantastic and is ready to be used by kids of all ages. We are going to continue working around there to get new mulch, some structures painted, and maybe replace some items there to make that a place where you can enjoy watching your kids play and even come by during the week if you’d like.
We are in a series titled Authentic, where we are looking at the NT church of the Bible to find what a present day NT church should look like. We started at the beginning and found the church started with Jesus. The objective of the church is Jesus and the end of the church will be Jesus.
This morning we are going to look at An Authentic Faith looks like. The Bible says that it takes faith to please God and that if its not of faith it is sin.
We want to be a people that are living by faith in our personal lives and corporately as a church.
Just as the beginning, objective, and end of the church is Jesus, so is the focus of our faith.
Faith in His bodily resurrection. Faith in the glories of heaven. Faith in the promises of God during times of difficulty.
Our focus on His
Our text this morning comes from where the Apostle Peter is writing to the churches of Asia minor. This is modern day turkey.
This letter was passed around to those churches that were scattered throughout the region. These churches were not like the ones we think of today. I doubt these churches had buildings set apart for them to meet in.
There have been findings in caves that indicate Christians were meeting there. We know from the bible that they met in homes. It is the testimony of these early Christians that reminds us that the church is not a building. It is a group of people called out by Jesus and held together by an authentic faith in the truth of Jesus Christ.
False religions and false teachings will provide confusion but an authentic faith provides us with a foundation to live by. It provides strength and security that is based in Jesus Christ.
Illustration: Do you know what type of answer an agnostic, an atheist, or an a religious person might give if you asked “Do you know there is a God And do you know for sure you are going to Heaven?”
The agnostic would tell you he can’t know, the atheist would tell you he knows there is now God and the religious man would tell you that he’s not sure if he’s going to Heaven or Hell or that the resurrection of Christ was a literal, historical event.
An Authentic Faith in scripture however provies hope, encouragement, and stability. Authentic faith makes a real difference in your life. And an authentic church is a group of people gathered around an authentic faith. Regardless of the trials of life, those with an authentic faith have a reason to celebrate.
Follow along with me as a I read this morning
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
PRAY
Notice that an Authentic Faith Promises Hope
I. Authentic Faith Promises Hope
I. Authentic Faith Promises Hope
Our Hope is based in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
The Resurection of Christ is the foundation of our faith.
I was discipling a young man the other day and we were talking about Jesus and the resurrection. Without the resurreciton Christianity is no different than any other religious or faith based system.
Our hope is in the resurrection of Christ. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
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But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
The resurrection is not a vain hope that was made up. There are two substantial reasons to hold this hope as the basis of our faith:
A. Based on the witness of the Apostles
A. Based on the witness of the Apostles
There are multiple eyewitness accounts of the resurrection.
Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Over 500 brethren saw Him after the resurrection. Many of these were the same ones that saw Him at his crucifixion. They saw the nails. They saw the spear. They saw His limp, lifeless body. They saw the crown of thorns. They saw the stripes from the whip. They saw the lashes on His body where it had been beaten and cut open because the skin had gotten so tender. They saw the marks from the cat of nine tales that riddles his body. They saw the patchy beard Jesus had because it had been plucked out in areas. They saw the disgraced Jesus hanging on the cross for you. They saw what it took to pay for your sins. The lamb of God sacrificed for you and for me.
Then they saw Him alive again. That’s why they gave their lives to tell others of Jesus. That’s why Christianity exploded under the persecution of the Roman empire. Christians were martyred and beheaded for their faith. These 500 or more that saw Him were most likely killed because of their dedication to the Risen Lord.
They had an authentic faith in Jesus that was substantiated by sight. yet we, are blessed to believe and not see.
The impact of the resurrection on the lives of the apostles and the first century church was real and it made a difference in their lives.
We too have an authentic faith and I pray that we are all impacted as greatly as the Apostle’s were.
This strong testimony of the Apostle’s, the eyewitness accounts of the brethren, and the actions that followed can give us a surer foundation for our hope in the resurrection of Christ.
The other reason for our Hope is based upon the Word of God.
B. Based upon the Word of God
B. Based upon the Word of God
The eyewitnesses may be dead and gone but the Word of God is still here and is an eternal testimony of the hope that we have in Christ.
Peter wrote in his 2nd epistle that the Word of God is more sure than a verbal eyewitness testimony.
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
The Word of God is incorruptible and because it is never changing we can gather as a church around it with an authentic faith in the literal resurrection of Christ.
False religions cause confusion and stir up doubts. But an authentic faith promises an authentic hope that binds God’s people together.
But wait, there’s more. An Authentic faith also promises Heaven itself.
II. Authentic Faith Promises Heaven
II. Authentic Faith Promises Heaven
Many religions claim to believe in Heaven but they cannot promise Heaven. There is no hope in religion. There is only hope in Jesus Himself.
Look with me at what our text promises regarding Heaven
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
The first truth we find in this verse about Heaven is that it is a real place.
A. A Real place
A. A Real place
Heaven is not a mystical nirvana experience. It is not where you meet 7 people at a theme park or as I said last week a place where we float on a cloud and play harps.
See with me these three phrases in our text that tell us its a real place.
It’s an inherited property. It’s an inheritance incorruptable. That phrase speaks of a tangible property recieved.
Heaven isn’t symbolic it is real. A real place where real people who have trusted Christ as their savior will live one day.
When Jesus spoke of Heaven, He spoke of it as a real place.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The greatest thing about Heaven isn’t that it will be beautiful. It’s that Jesus will be there. It’s perfect place with a perfect savior.
Heaven is perfect in that it will not be corrupted with mold, mildew, or rust. When we are there we will be perfect. speaks of our abode on this Earth as “the bondage of corruption”
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
As we get older our bodies change and deteriorate from what they once were.
As the plague of a stomach bug has moved through the church we have found that adults are taking 1-2 days to recover yet children get sick in the morning and are playing by that afternoon.
Illustration: “There is a fictitious story about an elderly couple who died at the same time and entered Heaven together. As all stories about Heaven seem to go, they met Saint Peter at the pearly gates.
“Welcome to Heaven,” Peter greeted them. “Let me show you to your mansion.”
The couple were in awe as Peter showed them a glistening mansion with features they never even dreamed of while on Earth. Their jaw dropped even lower when he brought them to the dining room with tables loaded with scrumptious gourmet foods. He then led them to the golf course with meticulous greens and perfect fairways.
The couple stood in spellbound wonderment. But the husband finally broke the silence by saying, “Honey, if it weren’t for those bran muffins you always made, I could have been here ten years earlier!”
Life on earth is a precious gift from God, and we ought to enjoy the opportunities it provides to love our famlies, witness for Christ, and worship God. Yet, when we read about Heaven it is obvois that we won’t miss one thing about planet earth once we get there.
An authentic faith gives us a real hope in a perfect, real place called Heaven. Heaven is also a reserved place.
Excerpt From: Paul Chappell. “Real Church Curriculum (Teacher Edition).” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/real-church-curriculum-teacher-edition/id619923135
B. A Reserved place
B. A Reserved place
Look in verse 4 and see how the text personalizes Heaven even more.
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Reserved in Heaven…for you.
Heaven is only reserved through authentic faith in Jesus Christ.There is always a link in Scripture between faith in Jesus and hope in Heaven.
No church, no deeds, no prayers, no offerings can give you entrance into Heaven. The only way to secure that reservation is by faith in Jesus.
We learned this last Wednesday night how Jesus not only makes that reservation for us but He also keeps the reservation.
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
From the moment we trust Christ as our Savior, until the moment He reveals Himself to us, we are kept by Him. Our salvation is secured by His power.
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Just as our salvation is not dependent upon our works or ability, so our eternal security is not dependent upon us. An authentic faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ comes with a faith in the eternal security of the believer.
We may not understand why God would save us and keep us saved. It might not make sense that we don’t have to work for our salvation or to keep our salvation but the facts are the Bible says it and we should believe it.
Paul was sure of seeing Christ face to face.
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Thank God for His steadfast love and unwavering power.
Illustration: I once heard about a young man in love that brought a photograph of his girlfriend to a photographers studio to have it duplicated. As the photographer pulled the picture out of the envelope, he noticed a note on the back: “My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever…I am yours for all eternity.” And it was simply signed “Diane.”
But there was a Post Script: “P.S. If we ever break up, I want this picture back.”
Our love is fickle but God’s love is eternal. Our love is conditional, but God’s love is guarenteed.
An Authentic faich promises hope of a resurrected Christ. An authentic faith promises Heaven because of the shed blood of Jesus.
An Authentic Faith promises Help
III. Authentic Faith Promises Help
III. Authentic Faith Promises Help
Authentic Faith is pracitcal, helpful faith. it is fixed on God who helps us through life’s real challenges.
As Peter speaks of the help promised through authentic faith, he says it provides great cause for rejoicing!
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
A. Help in our Heavy Times
A. Help in our Heavy Times
I’m sure each of us here have known the burden of a heavy heart. We all go through season of “manifold temptations”- many trials- situations that place heavy loads on our shoulders.
We just prayed for some ESPN employees that got laid off this last week. Some of you are facing job problems. Other meidcal issues. Some wayward children. Some families are going through difficult times.
Whatever the load you are carrying. Whatever angst or animosity you feel, however heartbroken you may be, the Lord is your help during heavy times. He remids us that our burdens are only for a season
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In the midst of the burden it may seem that it will go on forever. It could seem as though it will last our entire lifetime…but they can’t last forever. They are only for a season.
We are guaranteed those problems. The question is how will we respond to them?
I want to take a moment and just caution us this morning not to respond in pride.
Now when I say that you may be thinking of a person having an attitude of taking on the world and believing they can do it all themselves. I will agree with you that that is an indicator of pride. However we should be careful of pride on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Pride can also be seen in the form of a pity party. The woe is me mentality. When we are having a woe is me pity party thinking that our situation is worse than others and things can’t get better looking for the attention of others we are doing the same thing a person is doing when they say, look at me look what I did.
We are directing attention to ourselves getting others to take notice rather than pointing them to Christ and being the example during hardship that others need of how to rely on Jesus through the difficulty rather than looking to ourselves.
If you look at yourself to get through a trial you will find that you are sorely incapable of handling what God has given you. However, through Christ and for Christ, you can do all things.
Let’s remember that there is help for us in our heavy times. Because Heavy times can also be trying times.
B. Help in our trying times
B. Help in our trying times
Heavy times are trying to our souls. But Authentic faith brings help that is soul-deep.
Peter compared trying times in our lives to the purification process of gold. And the Lord promises we would be tried by fire.
Illustration: Purifying precious metals requires intense heat. The ones responsible for the process will heat the precious metal until it liquefies and the impurities separate from the valuable substance.
In the same way, god allows trials to purify our faith and refine our motives for him.
We can be assured that every fiery trial in our lives is Father-filtered. Job knew this, and he clung in faith to the truth that God would bring good out of the furnace he was enduring.
But he knoweth the way that I take:
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
God gives promises about our trying times. He promises that nothing can separate us from His love.
There is no fiery trial hot enough to dissolve the cords of God love for us. He promises that He is with us and will help us.
And God promises that He will make all our burdens and trials work for our good and His glory.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
If you are going through a Heavy time you can know that God is with you and he will never forsake you.
Authentic faith promises real help during real trials. No wonder our faith is more precious than gold.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What if you are going through a trial without faith in Jesus? What do you do then? Well, you have a couple of options. First, you can keep going. You can keep trying in your own efforts. Or, you could take and