SERMON - FAITH

Faith

I have heard some definitions of ‘faith’ from many people. Some, who are laymen, define faith as ‘believing in something you cannot see nor prove.’ Others say words to the same effect and others see ‘faith as an undefined gift.’ Then there are Pastors that have sought to define ‘faith’ with definitions that confused me and one in particular that angered me to no small extent.

I heard a man, supposedly a Pastor, who said, “’faith’ is belief in something you can prove without a doubt!” When I heard him voice these words I immediately asked, “Just how do you arrive at that thought?” His reply was just as inane as the definition of ‘faith’ he had just spoken about. Fortunately this man is no longer a Pastor!

‘Faith,’ properly defined is: belief in that which is not seen...

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

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

 Many of our fellow Christians erroneously judge themselves as more worthy than others due to the amount of faith they claim to possess. It is not the superabundance of faith that determines who is more spiritual than another as only a small amount of faith is needed

Luke 17:6 “Even if you had faith as small as this mustard seed,” the Lord answered, “you could say this to a mulberry tree, ‘May God uproot you and throw you into the sea,’ and it would obey you!”

Regardless of the amount of faith a person may have, one thing is to be believed if you believe nothing else. Faith is needed for salvation.  You must also believe that faith comes from hearing God’s Word and from little else.

Romans 3:28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law

Romans 3:21 …does this mean we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we really fulfill the law!

Romans 10:17Yet, faith comes from listening to this message of good news-the Good News about Christ

.Now, what must be realized is that although many claim to have faith, there is but ONE TRUE FAITH and that is in Christ Jesus. (Christian)

Ephesians 4:5-6 There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and is in us all and living through us all.

If you have true Christian faith and believe in God’s Word, then with not doubt whatever you can truthfully say, the faith of a Moslem is not a true faith. The faith of a Mormon, a Shinto, a Hindu, a Jehovah Witness, not being Christian, are not true beliefs in God. Judaism, the true ‘first Christian faith’ is as close to being Christian as one can get without actually being Christian.  But, I have no idea as to what occurs after death, other than joining God in Paradise but as God says:

Romans 14:11 For the Scriptures say, “As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.’”

The bottom line is, we must keep our faith strong, we must exercise our faith, we must fellowship and hear God’s Good News, and we must believe that God’s plan has a path to salvation for every man that believes!

I heard a politician voice a thought that made me think. “God must love man a whole lot as He made so many of us.”  Then I thought, ‘How can any man not have faith? How can anyone think for a moment that man just evolved out if nothing?’ If God created so many, why can’t everyone use the faith they have to believe in God? Don’t the non-believers sit in chairs? Don’t the lean on backrests? Both acts require faith in the handyman that built the chair or backrest.   

My faith in God sustains me in the darkest moments of my life and I thank God for that amount of faith He has given me!

(Closing Prayer)

Almighty God, Father of us all, accept our praise and allow us into Your presence to worship You Lord. You are our God and there is no other. Father you have blessed us with Your gift of faith. It is by that faith and the belief in You that we seek to make Your love known to all.

Father, there are men that deny You and Your existence. We testify to Your mighty works yet their lack of belief prevents them from opening their eyes to Your magnificent glory. Father, we ask that You give us the strength to be strong in showing our faith and unwilling to allow any man to make us less faithful to You. Father, at times of us making effort to tell of You and Your mighty love, please send Your Holy Spirit to guide our words and our actions. It is our desire to have all that we meet join us in our happiness in saying, I am a Christian and I REJOICE in The LORD!

Almighty God, we ask that You continue to watch over and protect our military, our elected officials, our Judges, police, security personnel, and those in need of Your Mercies.

Lord, we ask these things in the name of You Son, our Lord and Savior who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever,

Amen, amen and amen.   

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Pastor Lee S Gliddon Jr
God's Word Christian Ministry
Conservative Patriot http://conpats.blogspot.com