THE POWER OF FAITH
Text: First John 5:4
Someone has said that "The CRITICS of the Christian religion have often contented that religious faith is a form of psychological "escapism". A man, they say, finding the problems and demands of adult life too much for him will attempt to return to the comfort and dependence of childhood by picturing for himself a loving parent who he calls God". (J. B. Phillips. Your God Is Too Small. New York: Collier Books, 1961, p. 33). The Bible says "THE FOOL says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good" (Psalm 14:1 RSV). For the fool who says there is no God let him or her answer this riddle. Does a wrist watch make itself or did it have a maker? Obviously, the atheists who would make the claim that there is no God would have no other choice but to answer that the wrist watch had to have a maker. By the same token, we would have to say that the universe as we know it had to have a maker. The theories that claim that matter started spinning around until it took shape and form is too hard to believe. If the theory of evolution is true, then it is also true that a wrist watch could make itself right?
What we believe about God we believe because of our faith. Flesh and blood have not caused us to believe what we believe about God. No, we believe what we believe about God because of how God has revealed Himself to us (Matthew 16:17).
"An old writer says, "Faith is the foot of the soul; so it comes to Christ. Faith is the hand of the soul; so it receives Christ. Faith is the arm of the soul; so it embraces Christ. Faith is the eye of the soul; so it looks upon Christ. Faith is the mouth of the soul; so it feeds on Christ. Faith is the lips of the soul; so it kisses Christ". (James Smith. Handfuls On Purpose. Volume IX. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947, p. 159). And without faith God’s Word says that it is impossible to please God: "And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 RSV).
FAITH IS PRECIOUS
Faith is precious because it is desirable. Without faith, one cannot have hope. Faith believes relying on the memories of God’s providence in the past with the confidence that God will provide in the present and future. If one does not have faith, then hope will not exist. Why is faith desirable? It is desirable because it the element through which we are justified (Romans 3:28). This faith is not a faith in ourselves. No, it is a faith in what God had done for us through Jesus Christ.
There is the story of a lady who went to see her doctor. She was calm. The doctor ’s attention was even caught by it. "... The doctor said, "I suppose your peace comes from faith, but as for me I never could exactly make out what faith is." "Well, doctor," said the patient, "so far as I understand it, faith is just this, to trust God with your soul as I am trusting you with my body. I put my case in your hands, and I am leaving it there." "I never saw it so simply before," said the doctor who became a trusting and fully persuaded (Romans 8:38) man". (John Ritchie. 500 Gospel Sermon Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1987, p. 37).
Faith is precious because it is attainable. Our faith makes it possible for us to experience being united to our Savior like the branch to the vine (John 15:5). John Wesley once wrestled with the issue of faith. He did not feel as though he could preach faith to those whose faith he sought to inspire when Wesley himself felt that he was lacking faith. Wesley had intellectual faith, but what he wanted to be sure of was that he had saving faith. Peter Bohler, a Moravian friend of Wesley’s told him to preach faith till he had it and then he would have it. Bohler’s advice to Wesley might sound odd, but Biblically it is true. Jesus said that if we had the faith of a mustard seed then we could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Now when Jesus said that, He was not necessarily talking about mountains in the literal sense. He was talking about mountains as if they were likened to obstacles that threaten to discourage.
Faith is precious because it pacifying. Faith gives us peace that goes to the root of the problem. The kind of peace that the world gives is the kind of peace that cannot go beyond the surface. The kind of peace that Christ gives (John 14:27) passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) because it is the kind of peace that will help us in the face of adversity. It helps us, because it is that kind of peace that rules in our hearts (Colossians 3:15). It is the kind of peace that we have when we have lost a loved one who is a Christian. It is that kind of peace that enables us to grieve without losing hope (First Thessalonians 4:13).
FAITH SHOULD BE PROGRESSIVE
Faith should be progressive in the Christian home. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (RSV). Someone may hear that and say, "Well what about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) he went astray didn’t he?" Yes, for a season he did go astray, but when he got homesick, he remembered his roots and returned. The chances are that if a child is raised in a Christian home, he or she will remember his or her roots. "A reporter once asked the great theologian Karl Barth: "Sir, you have written many huge volumes about God; tell me how do you know it is all true?" The learned German, eyes laughing, is said to have answered, "My mother told me." (Lewis B. Smedes. How Can It Be Alright When Everything Is All Wrong?. New York: Pocket Books, 1982, p. 128). The chances are that many of us who are in the church today are in the church because of the way that our parents trained us up in the Christian faith.
Faith should be progressive as we mature in the faith. It was the apostle Paul who said that, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways" (First Corinthians 13:11 RSV). In the course of life, the physical body of the child will grow and develop over the course of time and become an adult. Paul was making the point that those who are "babes in Christ" must grow in the faith. Those who do not want to grow are complacent.
In the United States of America, our national symbol is an eagle---the Bald Eagle to be exact. Anyone can look at an eagle and be amazed at its beauty as well as its character. But, what is it that makes eagles so majestic and awesome in their character? It is the way that they are taught to rise to the challenge. "… the mother eagle stirs up the nest. She removes the rabbit’s fur, the lamb’s wool, and the soft leaves so that only the prickly briars remain. The once soft nest becomes a bed of discomfort. The baby eagles aren’t cozy in their nest anymore. The mother wants them to be restless so they will get out. Otherwise, they would be content and remain in the nest a lifetime". (Bob Russell. When Life Is A Zoo, God Still Loves You. Cincinatti: Standard Publishing, 1992, p. 135). The next step is flight lessons. It is the "goal" of the mother eagle to raise "mature eagles" who will be able to "survive on their own" (p. 135). She denies them of food in order to create hunger so that they will be motivated to hunt for themselves. The mother eagle is known to fly thousands of feet up in the sky with one of her eaglets on her back at a time and then flip over so that they baby eaglets will learn to use their wings. She will observe from below and come to the rescue and catch the baby eagle on her back only to repeat the process again until the eaglet begins to fly on his own (pp. 135-136). In much the same way, God will use our struggles and trials to teach us to trust Him and strengthen our faith in Him so that we will grow and mature.
FAITH HELPS US TO PERSEVERE
Faith helps us to persevere through our relationship with Jesus. Have you ever noticed how other world religions are based on the religious discoveries of some dead guy, like Buddha, Confucius and so on? For Christians, we have a relationship with the living God. Our religion is not based on some philosophical idea or ideal. It is based upon the Resurrected Christ who conquered sin, death and the fear of death!
Faith helps us to persevere through our fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. John Wesley once said, "God knows nothing of solitary religion". John Wesley also said, "No man ever went to heaven alone". Consider the example of fellowship that is shared among the Red wood trees. It has been said that the redwood trees are the largest living things on earth. "Seeing their size, one would think that the redwood tree is so strong that it is completely independent. Such is not the case. Redwood trees do not have a very deep root system. For this reason, one rarely sees a redwood tree growing alone. Instead, they grow in groves and they intertwine their roots together. In this way these giant trees support one another". (Charles Allen. You Are Never Alone. New York: Guidepost, 1978, p. 19). That is why there is such a great camaraderie among Christians. We share and strengthen each other in the Body of Christ through our faith in Christ. For we bear one another’s burdens that he or she cannot bear all alone (Galatians 6:2). As we bear one another’s burdens, we help each other to persevere. This task is what we as Christians are called to do. We as Christians are an imperfect people who are clothed in the robe of God’s grace as we strive toward perfection.
Faith helps us to stand strong and stand up to the storms of life. Just as we are saved and justified by faith in Jesus Christ, so we must walk by faith in Jesus Christ and not by sight (Second Corinthians 5:7). It has been said that "The soul is the life of the body. Faith is the life of the soul. Christ is the life of faith". (The words of John Flavel as quoted by Wayne A. Detzler. New Testament Words In Today’s Usage. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1986, p. 39). It is our faith in the Lord that makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) and helps us realize how great God’s love is for us. Faith is Jesus Christ is not some "religious escapism". It is our faith in Jesus Christ the "Solid Rock" that helps us to stand when and where "all other ground is sinking sand" when the storms of life come raging.
(Note: this sermon outline is a modification of an outline by James Smith in Handfulls On Purpose Volume IX, p. 159. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, original 1947, reprinted in 1997).
