Sermon: “Faith, Faith…”
During the month of October, we are journeying
through a series on faith…explaining faith, this week exploring faith, then
examining faith, and finally immersing ourselves in faith.
Think about faith as we look at this article
from September 17, 2007 that appeared through the Associated Press: 
Updated: 8:51 p.m. CT Sept 17, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. - The defendant in a state
senator’s lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and
threatening to cause more still. He can be sued in Douglas County, the
legislator claims, because He’s everywhere.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week.
Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he’s trying
to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.
Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made
terrorist threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and
caused “widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon
millions of the Earth’s inhabitants.”
The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session
and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused “fearsome floods ...
horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes.” He’s seeking a permanent
injunction against the Almighty.
I don’t think he “gets it” and I would suggest
he travel with us this morning…as we explore “faith.”
What is this “faith” that can uproot sycamores
and transplant them into the sea? What is this “faith” that can move
mountains?
Do you still have some gray areas about faith?
Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is
true.
Its primary idea is trust and since it is true, it is therefore worthy of
trust. Faith means acknowledging that God can tell us truths beyond our human
power of reasoning. Faith means accepting truth on God's authority. You may
have heard people say, “I have been a success in business and made lots of
money because I had faith that if I lived a good life God would not let me
down.” That isn't faith, its self-assurance; it's egoism; it's
self-righteousness. It is disrespect to imagine that you can take God into
your business as a junior partner, so to speak. Moreover, it is entirely
possible for good, right-living, Church-going people to fail in business. It
happens all the time. Faith is not born of self-assurance, egoism and
self-righteousness. Our Christian faith centers in Jesus Christ who is Truth
Itself. Our Christian faith centers in Jesus Christ who is the Word made
flesh.
There is no escape from the reality that the
riddle of life cannot be solved from within ourselves. It requires real moral
courage to acknowledge one's limitations; to acknowledge one's dependence on
an ultimate order of Being for the solution to life's riddle. Moreover, when
we say that professing the Faith is courageous, we must immediately add that
living the Faith is heroic. Following Jesus Christ is a risky business. It is
far easier to settle into a less demanding standard of living. It is far
easier to embrace the status quo than to undergo the kind of change Jesus
requires of His followers. In the words of, Erich Fromm, one of the world's
great psychologists, “Whoever insists on safety and security as primary
conditions of life cannot have faith.”
Jesus came into this world and preached a Good
News Gospel about God's Rule and God's Love. Time and again, and in many
different ways, He said, “You will recognize, by their fruits, the persons
whose faith and trust in God's ways brings them into His Kingdom.” “You will
know them,” He said, “by the difference this faith and trust has made in the
way they live. And because their faith and trust in God has made a difference
in the way they live, they are blest, they are happy.“
The famous silent-screen actress, Mary Pickford, wrote a
book entitled, “Why Not Try God?” In her book, Mary Pickford describes a
tremendous secret she discovered. But it was not a new secret. In fact, it
was an ancient secret. One of the Psalmists found it long, long ago. “My
expectation,” he declared, “is from Him.” Which is to say that with childlike
faith he expected God to do for him what needed to be done. “Why not try
God,” Ms. Pickford asks in her book. Why not indeed!
You who have a great burden upon your heart,
you who have tried many other devices for relief, you who have sought
elsewhere for comfort -- WHY NOT TRY this thing from GOD called faith?
You who are worried and anxious about many
things -- WHY NOT TRY this thing from GOD called faith?
You who have sorrow and are acquainted with
grief, you who find little help in the world to take that ache out of your
heart -- WHY NOT TRY this thing from GOD called faith?
Psychologist Eric Fromm, repeats, “To put one's
faith and trust in God who is Love, and to love and be loved, requires genuine
heroism -- the courage to embrace certain values as one's ultimate concern and
to take the great leap of faith and stake everything on those values.
In Matthew we find such a leap: Jesus
departed and two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, "
27 …“Son of David, have mercy on us!” 28 They went
right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you
believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.” 29
Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”[3]
An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both.
As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, "Oh, my God! Help me!"
At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in mid-air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, "I thought you didn't believe in Me!"
"Come on, God, give me a break!" the man pleaded. "two minutes ago I didn't believe in the Loch Ness monster either!"
Likewise, 1st Peter tells: “You
love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you
trust him; and even now, you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.
Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”
[4]
A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had
just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the
sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to
cry. A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how sorry they
were. In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter.
Then he turned to the group and said, "I care 25 cents worth. How much do the
rest of you care?" James 2:16 points out that words don't mean much if we have
the ability to do more.
Many years ago, a book called “The Big
Fisherman,” by Lloyd C. Douglas, made the best-seller lists. The book contains
a scene in which several of the Apostles are wondering aloud about Jesus: “Why
did He do this? Why did He do that?” At one point, Peter says,
“Don't forget, we couldn't understand why He
wanted to leave Canaan and go to Capernaum.”
“That was different,” Thomas mumbles, “He felt
He was urgently needed there.”
“Maybe He feels that He is now needed
elsewhere,” Andrew observes.
To which James adds, “I don't believe He cares
very much whether we understand Him or not.”
“You are right, Jimmy,” says Bartholomew, “He's
teaching us to have faith in Him.”
“But can't a man have faith, and understanding
too?” Thomas argues.
“No,” says Bartholomew, “that's what faith is
for. It's for when we can't understand.”
“That's true,” says Peter. “When a man
understands, he doesn't need any faith.”
“I don't like to be kept in the dark,”
complains Philip.
To which Peter replies, “If a man has enough
faith, he can find his way in the dark -- with faith as his lamp.”
And all of this is what the Apostles are trying
to understand when they come to Jesus, saying, “Lord, increase our faith.”
When the disciples say to Jesus, “Increase our
faith,” He answers, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could
say to the sycamore tree, 'Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it
would obey you.”
In another place, He told the disciples that their faith could move mountains.
Jesus wanted them to believe that if their faith was unconditional, if they
trusted Him absolutely, they would be given the power to overcome any and all
of life's obstacles.
Back in 1950, novelist A.J. Cronin wrote an
article for “Women's Home Companion” magazine entitled, “Why I Believe In
God.” In it, he said, I visited a beautiful 15th-century Italian Church,
examined the exquisite illuminated manuscripts, and viewed the magnificent
works of art, all “raised to the honor and glory of the Lord.” Later,
wandering into the monastery garden, I discovered the greatest treasure of
them all. There I fell into conversation with an old man, a gentle soul, bent
with toil and rheumatism yet still bright of eye, who for more than 30 years
had tilled that patch of earth, making work his constant prayer. Answering my
question, he pointed to the orchard and said, “I see my cherry trees in bud
and then in flower, and then in fruit. And then I believe in God.”
Our Christian faith is centered in a Person:
Jesus Christ, who is Truth Itself, who is the Word of God made flesh. There is
no escape from the reality that the riddle of life cannot be solved from
within ourselves. The person who insists, “I'll do it my way,” is “running
scared,” afraid to face the reality of his or her human limitations; afraid to
acknowledge dependence on a higher order of Being for the solution to life's
riddle.
Recalling his first day in the Marine Corps, a
World War II veteran tells the following story: During our transformation
from civilians to Marines at Parris Island, we were taken to a building where
we were told to strip off our civilian clothes and put them in a bag to be
shipped home. We were then told to get in line to receive our first Marine
haircut, from barbers working with nothing but an electric shaver. Within 15
seconds and three strokes of the electric razor, I was as bald as an egg. Next
came an icy shower. Then we were pushed into a small room where we were told
to sit and wait.
There we sat, 60 of us crowded together on a
cold tile floor, our heads bald, and our bodies blue from the cold shower,
afraid to move a muscle without being told to. It was then that the little guy
sitting next to me said in a whisper, “Who'd you used to be?”
The great leap of faith propels you from who
you used to be to who God wants you to be. It propels you into Jesus' New
Life, and into a life-sharing Community in which the Good News cannot be
contained.
A plane crashed and a small boy was the sole
survivor. All of the other passengers were killed instantly. Almost
miraculously, the boy had landed in a thick snow bank that cushioned his fall.
Although he was severely injured, he remained conscious throughout the entire,
painful ordeal. At the hospital, a team of doctors and nurses worked
feverishly, but unsuccessfully to save his life. And, as the boy lay dying, he
startled everyone by suddenly looking up into the eyes of one of the nurses
and saying, “I go to Church on Sundays.” What statement was that little boy
trying to make? Was he trying to say, “Because I go to Church I have scored
some points, earned some favors with God which I desperately need now?” Or,
”was he saying, “By going to Church I have learned to trust and have faith in
God?”
These are important questions for us to think
about because, for each one of us, everything depends on how we choose to
relate to God.
Four frogs sat on a
lily pad. One decided to jump off. How many were left?
Four. He only decided to jump off, but never
took the leap.
There are two types of people in the world: those that “get
it” and those that “don’t get it.” Do you get it? It is not enough to make a
decision. Mark 9:24, ends with the phrase, "Lord, I believe; help my
unbelief!" That pretty well sums up the reason for our faith journey. You
have to take a leap of faith and follow through with it. With all the
sincerity of soul and heart and mind and will you can command, say “Yes, Lord,
I believe, I accept, I trust.”
Then the person said, “Lord, I do believe. And
he worshipped him.”[8]
[3]
Matthew 9:27 – 29 Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 . Tyndale
House: Wheaton, Ill.
[4]1st
Peter 1:8 – 9 Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 . Tyndale House:
Wheaton, Ill.
