WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE FAITH – Hebrews 11
June,7 2009
Introduction:
A. [A tourist came too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost his footing and plunged over the side, clawing and scratching to save himself.
- After he went out of sight and just before he fell into space, he stumbled upon a scrubby bush which he desperately grabbed with both hands.
- Filled with terror, he called out toward heaven, "Is there anyone up there?"
- A calm, powerful voice came out of the sky, "Yes, there is."
- The tourist pleaded, "Can you help me? Can you help me?"
- The calm voice replied, "Yes, I probably can. What is your problem?"
- "I fell over the cliff and am dangling in space holding to a bush that is
about to let go. Please help me."
- The voice from above said, "I'll try. Do you believe?"
- "Yes, yes, I believe."'
- "Do you have faith?"
- "Yes, yes. I have strong faith."
- The calm voice said, "Well, in that case, simply let loose of the bush and everything will turn out fine."
- There was a tense pause, then the tourist yelled, "Is there anyone else up there?"]
B. It’s one thing to talk about faith – it’s quite another to act on faith.
- Beginning today and running through the summer we are going to discover what it means to have Faith for Everyday Living.
- I want to try to help you to discover what faith is, and how it can help you in your struggle to be everything that you can be in Christ.
- Today, we simply want to get a grasp on what faith is — and there isn’t just one easy way to define it, so the next weeks we are going to define it with six different statements that are derived from the 11th chapter of the book of
Hebrews:
FAITH IS…
1. … BELIEVING WHEN I DON’T SEE IT
[It seems the pastor's small son was told by his mother that he should wash his hands because there were germs living in all that dirt.
- He refused and complained: "Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That's all I ever hear around this house and I've never seen either one."]
- “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
- It sounds like a contradiction, but the Bible teaches that faith is visualizing the future in the present.
- It’s being sure of what you don’t see – It is seeing it in advance.
- Man says: “Seeing is believing.” God says: “Believing is seeing.”
- [In 1960, JFK stood up and said: "Let's put a man on the moon by the end of the decade."]
- When he said that, the technology had not been invented to put a man on the moon – But some things have to be believed before you can see them.
- You’ve got to believe it in advance.
- Everything that’s happened in life was an impossibility before it became a reality and somebody had to believe it.
- Faith is simply trusting God to turn dreams into reality.
- Because nothing happens until somebody believes it’s possible.
- What do you see in your own future? What is your dream? What impossible thing is God going to do in your life?
- You have to have faith that it is going to happen for it to happen – you have to be certain that God can and will do these things in your life.
- What do you envision as the future of this church? – what can we be sure of, what can we know with certainty that God is going to do through us?
- I can tell you what I can see by faith – I can see a beautiful church facility built to the glory of God – I see a church ministering to hundreds, perhaps thousands, reaching the unchurched for Jesus Christ, discipling them to maturity – I see us training workers for the harvest and sending them out onto the mission field and to plant churches.
- I don’t think this is going to happen – I know it by faith – I can see it as clearly as I can see these words this morning.
Godspeed
Webpastor B
GRACE
June,7 2009
A man from Norfolk , VA called a local radio station to share this on Sept 11th, 2003, TWO YEARS AFTER THE TRAGEDIES OF 9/11/2001.
His name was Robert Matthews.. These are his words:
A few weeks before Sept. 11th, my wife and I found out we were going to have our first child. She planned a trip out to California to visit her sister. On our way to the airport, we prayed that God would grant my wife a safe trip and be with her. Shortly after I said ‘amen,’ we both heard a loud pop and the car shook violently. We had blown out a tire. I replaced the tire as quickly as I could, but we still missed her flight.
both very upset, we drove home.
I received a call from my father who was retired NYFD. He asked what my wife’s flight number was, but I explained that we missed the flight..
My father informed me that her flight was the one that crashed into the southern tower. I was too shocked to speak. My father also had more news for me; he was going to help. ‘This is not something I can’t just sit by for; I have to do something.’
I was concerned for his safety, of course, but more because he had never given his life to Christ. After a brief debate, I knew his mind was made up. Before he got off of the phone, he said, ‘take good care of my grandchild. Those were the last words I ever heard my father say; he died while helping in the rescue effort.
My joy that my prayer of safety for my wife had been answered quickly became anger. I was angry at God, at my father, and at myself. I had gone for nearly two years blaming God for taking my father away. My son would never know his grandfather, my father had never accepted Christ, and I never got to say good-bye.
Then something happened. About two months ago, I was sitting at home with my wife and my son, when there was a knock on the door. I looked at my wife, but I could tell she wasn’t expecting anyone. I opened the door to a couple with a small child.
The man looked at me and asked if my father’s name was Jake Matthews. I told him it was. He quickly grabbed my hand and said, ‘I never got the chance to meet your father, but it is an honor to meet his son.’
He explained to me that his wife had worked in the World Trade Center and had been caught inside after the attack. She was pregnant and had been caught under debris. He then explained that my father had been the one to find his wife and free her. My eyes welled up with tears as I thought of my father giving his life for people like this. He then said, ‘there is something else you need to know.’
His wife then told me that as my father worked to free her, she talked to him and led him to Christ. I began sobbing at the news.
Now I know that when I get to Heaven, my father will be standing beside Jesus to welcome me, and that this family would be able to thank him themselves .
When their baby boy was born, they named him Jacob Matthew, in honor of the man who gave his life so that a mother and baby could live.
This story should help us to realize this: God is always in control.
We may not see the reason behind things, and we may never know this side of heaven, but God is ALWAYS in control.
Please take time to share this amazing story. You may never know the impact it may have on someone. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures Forever.
Psalm 136:1
Godspeed
Webpastor B
Think about it…
April,24 2009
Proverbs 22,1-2 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Godspeed
Webpastor B
The interview with God Poem
April,17 2009
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.
“If you have the time” I said.
God smiled. “My time is eternity.”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”
“What surprises you most about humankind?”
God answered…
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”
“That they lose their health to make money…
and then lose their money to restore their health.”
“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”
“That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived.”
God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.
And then I asked…
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”
“To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved.”
“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”
“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.”
“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.”
“To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”
“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.”
“To learn that two people can
look at the same thing
and see it differently.”
“To learn that it is not enough that they
forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.”
“Thank you for your time,” I said humbly.
“Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?”
God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here… always.”
-author unknown
Godspeed
Webpastor B
You say – God says
April,1 2009
You say: ‘It’s impossible’
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)
You say: ‘I’m too tired’
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: ‘Nobody really loves me’
God says: I love you
(John 3:16 & John 3:34 )
You say: ‘I can’t go on’
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: ‘I can’t figure things out’
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
You say: ‘I can’t do it’
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)
You say: ‘I’m not able’
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: ‘It’s not worth it’
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28 )
You say: ‘I can’t forgive myself’
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: ‘I can’t manage’
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)
You say: ‘I’m afraid’
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)
You say: ‘I’m always worried and frustrated’
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)
You say: ‘I’m not smart enough’
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: ‘I feel all alone’
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)
Godspeed
Webpastor B
LOVE
March,23 2009
LOVE
Author: John Powell
John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago writes about a student named Tommy in his “Theology of Faith” class:
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn’t what’s on your head but what’s in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under ‘S’ for strange, very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the “atheist in residence” in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was, for me at times, a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a slightly cynical tone, “Do you think I’ll ever find God?”
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. “No!” I said very emphatically.
“Oh,” he responded, “I thought that was the product you were pushing.”
I let him get five steps from the classroom door, then called out, “Tommy! I don’t think you’ll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!”
He shrugged a little and left my class and my life. I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line: “He will find you!” At least I thought it was clever.
Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful. Then a sad report came. I heard Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy, but his eyes were bright, and his voice was firm for the first time, I believe.
“Tommy, I’ve thought about you so often. I hear you are sick,” I blurted out.
“Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It’s a matter of weeks..”
“Can you talk about it, Tom?” I asked.
“Sure, what would you like to know?” he replied.
“What’s it like to be only twenty-four and dying?”
“Well, it could be worse.”
“Like what?”
“Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals; like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real ‘biggies’ in life.”
(I began to look through my mental file cabinet under ‘S’ where I had filed Tommy as strange. It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
“But what I really came to see you about,” Tom said, “is something you said to me on the last day of class.”
(He remembered!)
He continued, “I asked you if you thought I would ever find God, and you said, ‘No! ‘which surprised me. Then you said, ‘But He will find you.’ I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time.
(My clever line… He thought about that a lot!)
“But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that’s when I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven, but God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try something for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted; fed up with trying. And then you quit.
Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn’t really care about God, about an afterlife, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class, and I remembered something else you had said: ‘The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.’
So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him.
“Dad.”
“Yes, what?” he asked without lowering the newspaper
*Dad, I would like to talk with you.”
“Well, talk.”
“I mean it’s really important.”
The newspaper came down three slow inches. “What is it?”
“Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that.”
(Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him.)
“The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me.
We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me.
It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying really nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.
I was only sorry about one thing – that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.
Then, one day, I turned around and God was there! He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop; ‘C’mon, jump through. C’mon, I’ll give You three days, three weeks.’ Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But the important thing is that He was there. He found me. You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.”
“Tommy,” I practically gasped, “I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather to open up to love. You know, the Apostle John said that.
He said: ‘God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.‘
Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn’t be half as effective as if you were to tell them.”
“Ooh .. I was ready for you, but I don’t know if I’m ready for your class.”
“Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call.”
In a few days, Tom called, said he was ready for the class that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date, but he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class.
Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard, or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
“I’m not going to make it to your class,” he said.
“I know, Tom.”
“Will you tell them for me? Will you…tell the whole world for me?” “I will, Tom. I’ll tell them. I’ll do my best.”
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to hear this simple statement about love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven – I told them, Tommy, as best I could..
If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend or two. It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
With thanks, John Powell, Professor Loyola University , Chicago
I verified this story on www.truthorfiction.com ; which stated the following: “This story was written by Father John Powell; a retired professor at Loyola University in Chicago . Father Powell is advanced in years, but TruthOrFiction.com found him and talked with him. The story was fresh in his mind and he confirmed that it is true and happened in the way that he described it.”
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” – John 15:9
Godspeed
Webpastor B
You and me – who are we?
March,23 2009
NEW PODCAST
Elder Elisabeth Arnet Sandvik
Houseministry Agape Trondheim – Norway
This is the last podcast in the series: Who is…
3. The Holy Spirit – is it a he or it? What is the purpose of The Holy Spirit and how does He interact with us?
2. In this podcast she reflects on the subject: Jesus – who is He?
1. Elisabeth reflects on the subject: wo IS God? and
how can we know Him?
The last one is about you and me: who are we and what is God to us?
Godspeed
Webpastor B
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good
March,17 2009
Psalm 118,1-29
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.” 5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
13 I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!
16 The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.*[* The Hebrew is plural.]
27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up* to the horns of the altar.[* Or <Bind the festal sacrifice with ropes | and take it>]
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Godspeed
Webpastor B
The Holy Spirit – who is He?
March,9 2009
A new podcast ready for you on:
The Holy Spirit – is it a he or it? What is the purpose of The Holy Spirit and how does He interact with us?
Elisabeth Arnet Sandvik is a Elder in Houseministry Agape in Trondheim, Norway. In this podcast she reflects on the subject: who is The Holy Spirit?
Godspeed
Webpastor B
Judas Asparagus
March,5 2009
A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible.
This is amazing and brought tears of laughter to my eyes.
I wonder how often we take for granted that children understand what we are teaching???
Through the eyes of a child:
The Children’s Bible in a Nutshell
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, ‘The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.
Anyway, God said, ‘Give me a light!’ and someone did.
Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented yet.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden…..Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.
Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.
Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.
?God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don’t lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor’s stuff.
Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.
One of Moses’ best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot.He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn’t sound very wise to me.
After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets.? One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.
There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don’t have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament.? Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, ‘Close the door! Were you born in a barn?’ It would be nice to say, ‘As a matter of fact, I was.’)
During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats.
Jesus also had twelve opossums.
The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.
But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot.? Pilot didn’t stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.
Godspeed
Webpastor B
