A Message on “Real” Faith…
FAITH THAT WORKS…THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS
WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE IS THE ISSUE
“But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must BELIEVE that HE IS, and
that HE IS a rewarder of them that diligently SEEK HIM.”
(Hebrews 11:6)
“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is
impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27; Matthew 19:26)
INTRODUCTION
The key word in this message is “BELIEVE”. The definition, according to Merriam-Webster is: “to have a firm conviction about something; accept as true.” This certainly goes well beyond mental assent, mind over matter, science of mind, yoga, or any of man’s concoctions. This is “real faith” – BULL DOG FAITH – conviction that cannot be shaken, that will not back down when Satan comes knocking, that will not flinch when the situation is hopeless, when the doctors have said, “we’ve done all we can do,” conviction that refuses to buckle when people bring their doubts to dump on you. You must BELIEVE that PEOPLE ARE NOT YOUR GOD…THEY ARE NOT YOUR SOURCE FOR THE MIRACLE THAT YOU NEED.
THE STARTING POINT
The starting point for believing as a Christian is (1) to accept as fact – not theory – that GOD IS…He does exist and I accept HIM as “my God”, and (2) to have the unwavering conviction that HE IS “a rewarder of them that diligently (earnestly) seek HIM.” (3) the unshakeable BELIEF in the Word of God as “The Word of God” – infallible and unfailing. Belief that GOD CANNOT LIE…and WILL NOT LIE…for, according to the Holy Scriptures, “it is IMPOSSIBLE for God toile” (Hebrews 6:18) – “God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it! Or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
These verses (and there are many more) provide a great foundation upon which to build this message.
WHY IS THIS MESSAGE SO IMPORTANT?
The reasons are many:
1. There are so many Christians who do not know
what “real faith” is or how to appropriate the promises of God and therefore live in bondage to many things…bound unnecessarily.
2. It is ONLY BY FAITH that God works with the
human instrument (us). It is “by faith” that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8), and any claim to a viable relationship with God apart from the faith/grace formula is totally bogus. Those making such claims are deceived, by Satan and by their own unwillingness to “do things God’s way.”
3. It is BY FAITH that all things happen in the life
of the child of God. And none of God’s promises will “ever” take place in our life until we ACKNOWLEDGE HIM…THAT HE IS GOD…AND THAT BESIDE HIM THERE IS NO OTHER GOD THAT CAN MAKE THE CLAIMS THAT HE MAKES…AND BACK THEM UP. HE IS! He always has been! He IS right now…this moment. He WILL BE for all eternity! Our God isn’t going away! His commandment, with promise, as He was about to depart on His return to the Father is: “observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
There is GOOD NEWS: Our God isn’t going to abandon us when we take our unflinching, unwavering, stand on the promises of HIS WORD. Our position should always be, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” I refuse to back away from the promises of God. I WILL tenaciously hold on in faith UNTIL my God comes through. I can wait on God!
DESPERATE NEED DEMANDS
DESPERATE FAITH
The woman with the issue of blood is a good example. This woman had lived with what the Bible calls “an issue of blood” for twelve years (Mark 5:25). The marginal cross-reference in my Bible is Leviticus 15:25: “And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of her issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.” Should this be the actual rendering of “the issue of blood” then there is an apparent very serious condition that ONLY JESUS could handle, for she “had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and wasw nothing bettered, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26). One translation defines the woman’s problem as an open sore that would not heal. You be the judge. One thing is certain she was in need of the Savior’s touch.
DESPERATE NEED DEMANDED DESPERATE FAITH, and this unnamed woman – later to be called “daughter” by Jesus – took her situation in hand and made a desperate move of faith – “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole” (Mark 5:28). Did her desperate faith work for her? Indeed it did, and Jesus acknowledged it: “And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague” (Mark 5:34).
Daughter in all likelihood would indicate that she was a Jewish woman. It may well mean that by healing her Jesus also forgave her sins (as he did with the paralytic man), proving that He did have the power to both heal and to forgive sins. All sickness and disease, in the Jewish tradition, meant that the person had been punished by God for their sins and thus they deserved their punishment. The punishment was also believed to be permanent. Jesus proved their tradition to be totally in error.
DESPERATE NEED DEMANDED DESPERATE FAITH when the four men (Mark Chapter 2) cared enough about their paralyzed friend to bring him to Jesus, remove the roof tiles so they could lower him down to where Jesus was teaching…faith enough to believe that if they took desperate measures on behalf of their friend THE IMPOSSIBLE WOULD HAPPEN. And, it did! The man received a double miracle – the salvation of his soul and the gift of full deliverance from paralysis. He took up his bed and walked home. Someone carried him there, but he walked home on his own, apparently carrying his bed (mat).
DESPERATE NEED DEMANDED DESPERATE FAITH when the Syro-Phonecian woman – a Gentile (Greek) would not back down on behalf of her daughter that was demon possessed – “For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet…and she besought him that he would send forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, Let the children (Jews) first be filled: for it is not meet (m. fitting) to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs (Gentiles). And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come into the house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed” (Mark 7:25-30).
IN CONCLUSION
The Gospels are filled with MANY examples of DESPERATE PEOPLE WITH DESPERATE NEEDS AND DESPERATE FAITH, people that were not disappointed at the end of their desperate journey to the feet of the Master.
Demoniacs fell at His feet and worshiped. Lepers came and were cleansed. The blind received their sight. The deaf and dumb were made to hear and speak. OUR GOD HASN’T CHANGED! He is still the God of the impossible.
I would like to close with the story of Jairus’ daughter. Jairus was the ruler (president) of the synagogue, probably in Capernaum. This high-ranking Jew, now facing the most desperate challenge of his life – his twelve year old daughter at the point of death – comes to Jesus for help. DESPERATE NEED DEMANDS DESPERATE FAITH. Jesus was delayed a bit on the way by the act of faith demonstrated by the woman with the issue of blood. And, before Jesus could get to the home of Jairus, word came that the girl had died. JESUS IGNORED THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND PROCEEDED ON TO THE HOME OF JAIRUS.
What Jesus found was a house full of weeping and wailing people…people reacting as they were – people without faith. The need was certainly desperate, BUT these people knew nothing of the kind of faith it would take to bring this twelve year old girl back to life. “And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth inw here the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Tali-tha-cumi; which is being interpreted, Damsel, (I say unto thee,) arise. And straightway (m. immediately) the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.” (Mark 5:38-42)
There will always be people around you weeping, wailing, doubting, casting a pall over our efforts to make faith work. THE WEEPERS AND WAILERS…DOUBTING PEOPLE…MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO STOP OUR DESPERATE MOVE TOWARD JESUS. Put those people out! Create an atmosphere in which faith can work.
Question: How desperate are you to meet Jesus and have your need met? If you are coming, make it BULL DOG FAITH…make it unwavering faith, “for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall RECEIVE anything of the Lord.” (James 1:6b, 7).
Anther sermon by Dr. Jerry Jones
P. O. Box 6986 – Burbank, California 91510-6986
E-mail: his2u@charter.net
Web: http//www.parsontoperson.blogspot.com