Where the Battle of Faith is Waged
Pastor Glenn Newton 2-20-00
Text: Hebrews 10:35 - 11:2
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will
receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is
coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of
those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are
saved. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we
do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
Jim Cymbala, in his book “Fresh Faith” says, “The Battle of the Christian Life has
always been not just to believe, but to Keep On Believing.” He goes on and says, “This is
how we will grow strong in faith and see the actual fulfillment of God’s promises in our
lives.”
I believe what he says goes hand in hand with what our Scripture speaks to us
about. Two weeks ago I talked about how God wants to add to our life by subtraction,
remember, like the silversmith must heat up the silver so he can remove the impurities, so
God does in our life, he will allow the heat to be turned up so that he can then deal and
with our obedience, he will remove the impurities so that we will be people of Pure Faith,
and Clean Hearts.
This morning I want us to move from the place of becoming people of Faith, to
today’s message of “keeping the Faith”.
Christians we don’t want to be like the Israelites who believed in God for a little
while but then fell away and their disbelief doomed them from ever entering the Promised
Land. And if you will read the story, you will notice that it was not the sin of idolatry, or
immorality, or greed that was the reason for their not entering the Promised Land, but
instead it was the horrible sin of unbelief. Their Chronic Lack of Faith doomed them to
die in the desert.
For whatever reason today in the church we seem to not treat unbelief as a sin, but
we’d much rather call it a weakness. We say, “Well, there just a doubting Thomas” or we
say, “You Know Mrs. Smith, She just has a hard time believing that God will help her.”
That’s the kinds of things we might say, but when I read this passage in Hebrews, and
when I study other passages where examples of disbelief are brought out, God doesn’t
take such a easygoing approach.
The writer describes disbelief as “shrinking back” and says that God is not pleased.
In fact, to reject his promises to us can be far more destructive to us than some of the
other more sensational sins that we often like to talk about. The Bible calls it a “sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Heb. 3:12
We have in the last few weeks also talked about how Satan comes to Steal,
destroy and Kill, and he loves nothing more to come and target our Faith, and to break
down our Faith in God. Faith is our lifeline to God.
Have you seen the new show, “Do you want to be a Millionaire?” If you answer
16 questions or so correctly you walk away with a Million dollars, but when you get stuck
with a question you don’t know, you have three lifelines that you can use. One of them,
you can poll the audience, and the audience will answer the question and then you can use
their answer if you wish. The second lifeline you can call a friend, you read to them the
question, and they have 30 seconds to help you come up with the right answer, the third
lifeline is called 50/50 where the computer will take away two of the four answers so you
automatically have a 50/50 chance to get the right answer. Those lifelines are valuable, in
fact I doubt if anyone has been able to make it all the way without using their lifelines.
My friends, Your Faith in God is the Only LifeLine that’s going to get you
through this life and into Heaven. If you allow Satan to cut that lifeline by causing you to
fall into disbelief you will be lost, there is no other lifeline out there!
You can’t work your way in.
You can’t be so nice that God has to allow you in.
You will not be able to Whine your way in and say that life wasn’t fair to you.
Your money or possessions don’t have any pull with God.
Your parents, no matter how Godly there are or were won’t get you in.
My friends there’s only one way in, that’s through “Faith in Jesus Christ”, and it’s
more than just a mental assent to certain truths in the Bible. Many people assume, “God
said something, and in my mind I affirm that it’s true -- and that’s faith.” My friends that’s
wrong. Even the devil can give mental assent to the truth of many biblical facts, yet he
remains the devil - our advisory. Satan believes, or knows that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God!
Real Faith is produced when our hearts draw near to God himself and we receive
his promises deep within us. When we draw near to God by Faith, by his divine nature,
his Word will work supernaturally within us and produce Faith. My friends, you can’t
even produce Faith on your own, it’s a gift of God that he gives you when You turn to
him.
Faith is like the hand that reaches up to receive what God has freely promised. If
the devil can pull your hand back down to your side, then he has succeeded.
What’s our posture today? Our we a people of Faith today with our hands in the
air holding on to the promises of God?
What’s your heart drawing close to these days my friends?
Remember what I said, Real Faith is produced when our hearts draw near to God
and we receive His Promises deep within us!
You must draw close to God, it’s not a mental thing, its a heart thing. And when
you draw close to God, you must, from GOD’S WORD accept his promises and say with
a heart of Faith, I believe these promises to be True, I believe His Word. And when you
take His Word into heart and Mind and claim it as His Truth it will produce Faith in You
that will transform your life.
You see, Reading God’s Word, meditating on it, is more than some ritual that we
do to please God. God uses His Word, through Holy Spirit, to Produce in you Faith, and
it’s through His promises that the channel of Faith is opened up and can be soaked into
your heart and mind.
My friends, if your not plugged into God’s Word in a meaningful way, your ability
to “Keep the Faith” is wiped out. It’s the Holy Spirit encouraging you, challenging you,
with the promises of God that will build and strengthen your Faith.
Look again at our verse:
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to
persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has
promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not
delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be
pleased with him. "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of
those who believe and are saved. 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.
There has never been a great man or woman of faith who was not a man or woman
of the Book. It’s through His Word he does his transforming power. And friends it’s
more than reading the words on the page, it must be combined with action and obedience.
We must receive what we hear by Faith, and believe it to be true, and then apply it to our
life as God’s Truth.
Christians can sit in the pews listening to the Word preached every Sunday -- and
even have a devotional life of sorts throughout the week -- without rising above the
cynicism, depression, and unbelief that is so common in our culture. The Word of God
must find within us, within our hearts a atmosphere in which it’s divine power can be
released.
Heb. 4:2 talks about this condition on the heart: “the message they heard was of
no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” Our passage
tells us to persevere sot that we can receive what God has promised, I would say to you
that there is no way for you to persevere unless your living in the Word.
Some may wonder why we have decided to change our Sunday night program
from a preaching service to a Bible Study. The basic answer is this, For our Church to
Become the Church of Faith that God wants us to Be So He can Do what He Wants to
Do with us, We must become a Church that Loves the Word, that Studies the Word, that
Let’s the Word produce Faith in our lives.
My friends, God is calling You to be a person of Faith. God is calling this Church
to Faith. The plans, the things God has for us will not be brought to past until we have the
Faith that God can do it, period.
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” That’s God’s promise to me
and I believe to this church that He desires to do great and wonderful works through our
church to reach this community. God has given me other promises in the Word, and when
I pray about these things, He reminds me that He is the one who will build this church. I
have no doubt my friends he is already started, but I believe if we are going to witness the
breakthrough that we have been praying for, the breakthrough that we have talked about,
the breakthrough that we have tried to put into words on the back of the Sanctuary, We
are going to have to become the people of Faith that God wants us to be.
How do we do this?
First of all, You commit your life to God 100%, and you Go to His Word and
allow Him to give you promises that you can hold onto, and by his supernatural power
God will begin to build in you your Faith. The more you believe, the more that Faith will
Grow. You are not putting your Faith in anyone, or anything other than Jesus Christ.
You don’t look to your Pastor, you don’t look to your SS teacher, you don’t look
to your husband, or wife, you don’t look to your fellow church members, the fact is they
will at some point let you down in some way, but IF YOU WILL LOOK SOLEY TO
JESUS CHRIST, AND BELIEVE WHAT HE SAYS IN HIS WORD, BELIEVE THE
PROMISES, STAND ON THEM, TAKE HIS WORD AND ALLOW THE HOLY
SPIRIT TO RENEW YOUR MIND AND SOUL, MY FRIENDS YOUR FAITH WILL
BECOME SO STRONG IT WON’T MATTER WHAT GOES ON AROUND YOU,
PEOPLE MIGHT LET YOU DOWN, LIFE MAY NOT GO THE WAY YOU
PLANNED, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR JOB, YOU MAY HAVE A WAYWARD
CHILD, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR HEALTH, BUT IF YOU HAVE PUT YOUR
FAITH IN GOD WHO IS ETERNAL, YOUR FOUNDATION WILL BE SOLID AND
NOONE OR NOTHING WILL BE ABLE TO SHAKE YOU FROM THAT FAITH.
My Friends, we are getting caught up looking at the wrong things, we are
spending our time looking at the circumstantial evidence, we look at this evidence and we
come to the conclusion that were not going anywhere.
When you put your tithe in today what did you say to yourself? Did you put it in
there as an ACT of FAITH? Or did you put it in there hoping it was going to be enough?
(preach)
What do you see when you look around this congregation today?
Do you see a group of mostly elderly folks who are just trying to keep the doors open?
Or Do you see Champions of Faith who God has brought through the battles and the tests,
so that IN HIS TIME, GOD WILL USE THESE CHAMPIONS OF FAITH TO TAKE
THE MESSAGE OF HOPE TO WIN THE LOST AND TO BRING HEALING TO THE
BROKEN, TO PREACH HOLINESS TO A WORLD DESPERATE FOR GOD.
I SEE MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD HERE TODAY. I SEE FUTURE
LEADERS SITTING IN OUR PEWS TODAY, MEN WHO A COUPLE OF YEARS
AGO WOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN STEPPED INSIDE A CHURCH BUILDING,
BUT MEN, GOD WANTS TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL IN YOUR LIFE, THAT’S
WHY YOUR HERE, YOUR NOT HERE BY ACCIDENT.
I SEE PEOPLE HERE TODAY WHO HAVE THE GOD GIVEN ABILITY TO
WIN THE LOST. THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE TODAY THAT COULD WIN
HUNDREDS TO JESUS CHRIST, I BELIEVE IT WITH ALL MY HEART.
WE HAVE MEN AND WOMEN HERE WHO WILL BE MENTORS, AND
WILL HELP RAISE UP THE NEXT GENERATION OF NEW HOPE NAZARENES.
THESE MENTORS WILL BE THE KEY TO HOW FAST OUR CHURCH WILL BE
ABLE TO MULTIPLY. THERE’S SOME OF YOU HERE TODAY THAT GOD
WANTS YOU TO BE THAT MENTOR, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE THE FAITH, THE
BELIEF THAT GOD COULD USE YOU THAT WAY. YOUR DISBELIEF IS THE
ONLY THING HOLDING GOD BACK.
SOME OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE HERE TODAY, BACK IN CHILDREN’S
CHURCH, I BELIEVE GOD’S GOING TO USE THEM TO BRING REVIVAL INTO
OUR SCHOOLS, AND FRIENDS GOD IS ALREADY BRINGING THIS REVIVAL
TO MANY PARTS OF OUR NATION -- FRIENDS THERE’S A SPIRITUAL
AWAKENING IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY!!!!! I PRAY TO GOD THAT IT
WILL CATCH THEIR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS ON FIRE FOR GOD.
My friends, What do you see? What are you looking at? Here’s what faith is:
“Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
You see Faith is not about the Present. It is not about things you could capture right now
with a camera -- but instead it’s about things in the future promised by God -- and Faith is
certain of them. Faith produces a conviction that those things are going to happen, even
though the evidence and our senses cannot validate it right now.
I am more certain today than I ever have been about what God is about to do in our
church, and more importantly in your lives. In fact, in my mind it’s not a question of when
it’s going to happen for our church, this breakthrough is so real I can touch it, it seems,
my only question is, “Who’s going to come along for the ride?”
I’m believing for a Miracle today. I wonder, Maybe You are that Miracle today. My
friends God is assembling His Church, and you are not a innocent bystander no matter
how bad you want to be. God wants you to be a Champion of Faith in this Church,
because He wants you to make a real difference in the life of your family, in the life of this
church family, and in this community. You see, I believe we have some real difference
makers here today who need to say to God, I’m going to put my Faith in you 100%, no
holding back, I’m going to believe.
Where’s your Faith today? Are you Standing Strong on the Promises of God?
Or are you holding on to things that keep crumbling in your hands? My friends, God is
the answer.
