Rev. Rob Henderson
Shelby Wesleyan Church
https://www.angelfire.com/mi2/robhenderson/
robnaomi@oceana.net
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: This is the manuscript for the message. There is no guarantee that the manuscript will match the sermon. I suppose I take holy license to change as I go. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I trust that this does not add to your confusion but helps clarify our faith
FAITH IS A LONELY ROAD
Matthew 17:20 June 4, 2000 am
Jesus elaborated about the faith of his disciples. In fact, he was so bothered by their lack of faith that he made an exaggerated conjecture that was sure to get their attention: “If you had the faith of a mustard seed you would tell this mountain to move from here to there and it would do so.”
Mustard seed are very small. Mountains in contrast are very large. Jesus point was to make the disciples and us realize the importance of faith in an individual’s life. Your faith and how you place it is very important to who you are and what you accomplish. In fact, your potential as a Christian hinges on your faith and what you do with it.
There was an old Appalachian mountain woman who was sick and tired of waking up in the morning and never being able to see the sun rise. When we were staying in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky I witnessed the same frustration. Being a flatland Michigander I have seen countless sunrises. In the mountains you don’t see the sun until it’s almost high noon. Well, this old woman decided to take care of the problem. She believed that that mountain would be gone tomorrow morning. In fact, she prayed clearly and believed that God would hear her prayer. There was no doubt concerning her faith. Tomorrow morning this mountain will be gone! The next day she awoke in full anticipation: she looked out her window and sure enough there stood that tall mountain blocking out the sunrise. She grumbled to herself: “Just as I thought!”
Now faith is not to be a weapon of destruction to solve our own whims. In fact, faith is to be the key by product of our Christian journey. Our faith is to not only redeem us from the bondages of sin but to also rescue the perishing.
In this scripture, the disciples had failed to cast out the demon that was oppressing a boy. Jesus seemed to be fed up with the lack of faithful fortitude that the disciples displayed. Jesus proceeded to cast out the demon and the child was cured.
What is it about faith that kind of ham-strings a Christian? What makes faith so difficult for us as Christians to lay ahold of?
Hebrews 11 tells us that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen.” When we observe the different men of faith in that chaper we see some peculiar names. For me, Samson sticks out.
Samson, a fornicator and adulterer was a man of faith? What is God’s word saying? How do we distinguish this life of holiness we are called to live today from the sinful lifestyle of a man who lived a life of sinful pleasure? Samson’s faith was realized and executed while he breathed his last breath and busted the pillars of the Philistine hall.
In fact, if you look at all of these names of men of faith you will be sure to find something about some of them that sticks out sorely. But the point of faith is not the actions of man but the belief of the inner soul.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for. These Old Testament saints hoped for the coming Messiah. They realized that their faith was looking ahead to the promise of a coming Savior. I have no doubt that men such as Moses and Joshua were great men of faith but yet their great works were worth nothing. I have no doubt that Daniel and the three Hebrew boys were great men of godly valor yet their accomplishments would not save them. All of these great people of faith looked ahead to the promise of a coming Messiah.
Now I don’t want to go too deep for you but take a look at the transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter and John up to the top of Mount Hebron. What happens? Moses and Elijah show up. Why? Moses represented the Law and Elijah represented the prophets. What for? They were needing to see that Jesus was going to actually carry out the promise of salvation.
Christ’s choice of dying on the cross not only would have an affect on the future but would immediately bring salvation to those from the past whose hope was not in the futile sacrifices but was ultimately in the promise of the coming Messiah. The fate of all of the Old Testament saints was in the balance. If Jesus chose to let the cup pass then the Old Testament saints would be lost.
When we look at our faith of mustard seed what do we discover. What happens when we begin to excersize this kind of faith?
I must tell you, that to live a life of faith can be a lonely road. I think of Martin Luther who stood at the top of the stairway in the Vatican. Numerous Christians would make their pilgrimage to this Holy city and this stairway was a place that priests and nuns would come to to show their holy sacrifices. Martin Luther crawled up these stairs and when he reached the top he declared that it meant nothing to him. So what? I proved my sacrifice and what has it gained me?
Then Martin Luther come upon Romans 1:17. The truth exploded like a grenade in front of him: “The just shall live by faith.” That verse and that kind of faith pointed to a lonely road of reformation that Martin Luther would take along with thousands of other Christians who were looking for something real.
There is something of a slap that Christianity takes when it comes to the issues of faith. We have so Americanized our religion. For example, take our service times. Why do we meet at 10 am for Sunday School and 11 am for morning worship? How about our agricultural society. Cows get milked everyday at the same time, farm chores need to be done, and breakfast needs to eaten; then off to church on the Lord’s Day. The times selected allowed for the family farm to function properly. Why change? It’s worked for several hundred years. Why do we have Sunday Evening church? What got that started? Zealous preachers, that’s who. In the late 1800’s when electricity was a new thing and lights were still something of a luxury, the church often times became a meeting place in the evening. Afterall, they were usually the first place in town to get lights so people would show up for hymn-sings. Then some preacher got the notion that this was a good opportunity to preach the gospel to the unsaved. And here we are: two church services on Sunday.
But we have done so many other things to Americanize Christianity. Sunday School is an American invention. Grape juice instead of wine for communion is American. Preaching from a pulpit in the center is American.
Now I’m not saying that any of these things are wrong but we have to understand that our faith is not to be founded in these things that we have constructed around us for protection. Our security lies not in our efforts to serve God but in our faith that is always at work: James tells us that faith with works is dead. Not a list of rules to live by but a working faith that believes in the power of the gospel, a faith that trusts God with our very souls, and a faith that grows daily as we walk with our Lord.
Let’s take a look at A Believing Faith.
Every body is looking for something to believe in. Every one here this morning wants something that is special and true. We need something to believe in. Something that is real and it reaches way down deep in our soul. A believing faith that takes the heart of a sinner and transforms it by the power of the cross.
A believing faith is a faith that recognizes the absoluteness of God and the positive work of Christ on the cross. The disciples had faith. But their faith became weak when they began to treat there newly found power as though this were some type of magic potion.
A believing faith replaces our superstitious living.
Roger Mason pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series back in the early 90’s. He now attends the Bellaire Wesleyan Church. I was talking to him one time at Men’s Retreat about being a Christian witness to the other players. He said the greatest obstacle was the superstition that the players had. They needed to set their glove up on the locker shelve the same way. Or they would do a certain thing or carry a particular bat or something that would give them security in their game. I remember a player not allowing his cap to be washed because it might mess up his game.
Folks, I am afraid that within Christianity there is a whole lot of superstition. If we miss daily devotions, or if we miss a particular tele-evangelist or don’t read a certain passage of scripture we might be in trouble. I used to struggle with my faith because I was so busy trying to do for God to get his approval that I forgot to how to excercise faith.
We are to have a believing faith that believes God when he says that he loves us. I wonder how many of us here this morning wonder if God could really love you?
We are to have a believing faith that believes that Jesus died for our sins. I wonder how many of us here this morning wonder if that really was meant for you?
We are to have a believing faith that believes that we are at rest with God. We no longer need to work at being a Christian, we just need to believe that work was completed in full. If all the great things that Moses did could not earn him salvation then why do I even try? My believing faith is in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Not only are we to have a believing faith but a Trusting Faith.
A faith that trusts our very souls in the hands of God.
Now I love to go to amusement parks. I love to get on Shivering Timbers at Michigan’s Adventure or the Batman Ride at Six Flags. When I buckle in I am putting my life in the hands of some engineer who lives in a bubble somewhere and probably never rides these rides. I am risking my life for a two minute thrill that will twist me and flip me over; my life is in the hands of some college student who can’t wait to get off the job and go party somewhere.
When we come to God with nothing to offer for our sins except the death of Jesus Christ on the cross we are excersizing a trusting faith. We are trusting our soul in the hands of the Almighty God. We are believing his promises and we are trusting his wisdom with our lives.
I have no doubt that I am called to the ministry. In fact, just yesterday we sat in a meeting with the DBMD answering questions about ministry and the call. The trusting faith that we excercise is a faith that concludes that God will not abandon us no matter how tough the battle gets and a faith that puts all of future into the hands of a God who loves us more than anything in the world. To be called requires that I trust God with my entire life.
And just because you are not called does not mean that you shouldn’t have a trusting faith. I will tell you like I tell my fourteen year old daughter: “I would tell you this whether I am a pastor or a roofer. It does not make any difference.” Have a trusting faith that puts your entire being in the arms of God.
And then you will experience a Growing Faith.
If you are in the same place spiritually that you were twenty years ago, or ten years ago, or even five years then something is wrong. Your faith should be a growing. Like a big old oak tree, you should just keep on growing and sowing seed for the kingdom.
So often as we get older we get more discouraged. Many of you are distressed by the physical issues you face. For some the reality of life is not what it used to be. You become disillusioned. Satan goes on the attack and tries to accuse you. He wants you to doubt your salvation. He wants to cause you to stumble in your faith. But don’t give up. Don’t quit. Keep on praying. Keep on praising the Lord. Don’t give the devil a foothold in your life.
A growing faith is a faith doesn’t jsut move mountains but a faith that climbs mountains. A growing faith steps into the unknown hand in hand with God. A growing faith excersizes grace in the face of trials, grace in tribulation, and grace through turmoil.
A growing faith is a strong faith. So that when the winds from hell blows it stands strong. When you are tempted by the evil one you are empowered to resist the devil and he will flee.
Where is your faith? Do you have the faith of a mustard seed?
