Sermons from Good News: Different types of faith.

Note before sharing the sermon: normally if I have a piece to add to a devotional or sermon, I'll share it first, often because it's short. Today, I'm sharing it after. I want to give the reader a chance to read the sermon notes first before reading my commentary. Above all, God is in charge and He is sovereign, no matter what is going on in my life, or whatever the sermon topic is. And, after the service, my pastor came up to me and asked me if I knew he loved me. I said I did. I do believe it to be true. I'm going to say what I'm going to say after the message, but I think it's only right and fair to arrange this post in the sequence in which it is arranged.

Church 6/26/2024


1 Corinthians 14:1

Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

Context:
1 Corinthians, Chapter 12: spiritual gifts
1 Corinthians, Chapter 13: love


Sermon message thesis: Different types of faith.


Point #1: 1st type of faith: Abraham. Abraham faith believes without seeing.

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Abraham didn’t see the ram that God had provided until He called attention to it.

Hebrews 11:17-19

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Romans 4:18-22

18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Abraham believed past what he could see, and then received.


Point #2: 2nd type of faith: Thomas. Thomas faith believes only when it sees.

John 20:24-29

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Point #3: 3rd type of faith: John. John says the Word of God builds faith.

John 20:30-31

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 21:25

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Point #4: Abraham faith releases God’s power.

…in your life.
…in your family.

Acts 4:18-31

18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage,

And the people plot vain things?

26 The kings of the earth took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together

Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Note after sharing the sermon: I alluded to it in a post last week, but the above sermon is kind of a good case example of what I was talking about regarding my reasons for not posting sermon notes lately. To be fair, all the points in the above message are Bible-based, and I do believe the passages are being presented fairly (i.e. not being twisted or anything).

That said, I've always had a soft spot for Thomas. (To be clear, there's no correlation between this and my choice of the main character's name in the "A Faraway State of Mind" story series.) I've struggled with doubt precisely because of the road I've been on, whether in my childhood years, young-adult years, or now. I do believe God is real, that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and died on a cross for my sins, and was raised back to life on the third day. I do believe and agree that holiness is important, and that sin has consequences. What really helps is that I have a cache of experiences where God has shown up and intervened.

But for whatever reason, I have trouble translating faith in one area where I've experienced God show up and intervene to another area where I haven't experienced Him. And I have not been able to withstand attacks forever, especially if it's the same kind, repeated time and time again over a long period of time. Experiencing the manipulative, lying, selfish, narcissistic individuals who are currently in my life somehow act wrongly repeatedly against me and those I love and care about -- and win over and over again -- I've seen this movie far too many times. It doesn't matter how many sequels get made or how often the characters are replaced; it's the same plot over and over again.

Being put in this place of constant survival -- something I worked hard at for a decade to overcome -- makes it practically impossible for me to believe for anything except what's in front of me. I have my tasks. I have my routines. I have my immediate responsibilities. I have enough faith to keep doing those because keeping up with them is good. But outside of just getting through the next few weeks and making sure I get done all the things that I need to have done by then, I don't really have much of a vision for my life. I'll soon be married to a woman I'm in love with. That's awesome. We'll have our own place and begin our new life together. But that's also about it in terms of what I am able to believe for.

I have a soft spot for Thomas because I used to have a lot more prayers, hopes, and expectations in my life, dating back to when I was little. The vast majority of those prayers, hopes, and expectations never got answered. Further, no one knew to help me through it because they were all involved in their own baggage. I was left to carry all this, despite not having the requisite strength to do so.

In the worst period of the challenges over the last few years, especially over the last six to nine months, I found myself repeatedly asking: what is there to believe for? My thoughts continued down this trail of wrestling and anguish, which at this point I will not share here, but the end result was that I was finding it very hard to believe God for anything, even though the Bible repeatedly says to do this.

It is why I started praying to have a simpler faith. I've been down this road of despair many times before, and when I've gone, I've often previously left behind my faith in God. When I first moved back from Minnesota, I prayed for my faith to stick, and I prayed this prayer because I had known what it was like to have no lifeline to the Lord at all, and it was worse than any pain that any trial could bring.

Over the last few years, I had begun to get caught up in what I call "extraneous doctrine." I'm aware that I'm just trying this term out, so bear with me. I started frequently hearing things that seemed overemphasized. They're in Scripture, all right. But not every commandment is created equal, nor is every sin created equal. Yes, commandments are still commandments, and there is no such thing as a "small sin." But sins of the heart (pride, rebellion, jealousy, arrogance, narcissism, etc) carry greater consequences than other sins, simply because it is impossible to be truly repentant and humble in heart while continuing in the aforementioned sins. Another topic: tithing (giving money to the Lord) is important, but it is not a prerequisite to receiving Christ as one's Lord and Savior. 

And yet, I have heard from certain individuals that flesh-sins are worse than heart-sins, that certain types of pride and arrogance can be justifiable if the person is of "elder age" especially when talking to someone younger, and that (somehow) the only way God will help someone who isn't currently saved is if they start changing their ways and doing good, Godly works, before He will receive them into His kingdom!

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! Matthew 18:2-7, NKJV

I'm not a child and haven't been for quite a while, but I think it still applies.

Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6, NKJV

Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:12, NKJV

Pharisees and Sadducees add false teachings to the true Gospel. It's why we need to come to Jesus directly and not through any other human.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6, NKJV