Gtcotr/ss05030309
Key Scripture: John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:1 ¶ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The New Living Translation of the Bible says it like this:
Hebrews 11:1 ¶ What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
One day, just after His disciples had failed in their attempt to cast an evil spirit out of a young man who was possessed of the devil, Jesus rebuked the devil which immediately departed from the boy leaving him cured from that very hour. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him why they were so ineffective in their attempts, He replied:
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Jesus did not say that it is because only I, the Messiah, can do these things! Jesus did not say that it was because God was not finished teaching the young lad a lesson of life or that his infirmity was somehow given him to as a blessing in disguise. Rather, Jesus said that it was because of a lack of faith on their part.
Hard words for them, but true nonetheless. Four times the Bible declares that the just shall live by faith. Faith is the substance of life.
Faith is the substance of life; Fear is the substance of death; and Foolishness just keeps a person going in circles, smiling and waving while their ship goes down.
It is foolish to think everything is ok when we don’t have a sure and current, right relationship with God.
Let’s look at these three this morning: Faith, Fear, & Foolishness.
Faith
Mark 5
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
God is the source of all faith and faith motivates us to act.
Fear
Let’s turn to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Verse 14 begins with Jesus explaining how the Kingdom of Heaven operates. In His story, one servant received 5 talents from his master, one servant 2, and another 1, each man according to his ability.
When the master returned to reckon with the servants, the servant with 5 talents had worked and doubled his talents; the servant with the 2 talents had also worked and doubled his talents; however, the servant who had received one talent had done nothing to produce increase. Why, the master asked.
Matthew 25
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
“I was afraid” … what a sad account … how sad it would be to have such a poor image of our Heavenly Father … To have no confidence in His love, His grace, His mercy or His forgiveness … how sad.
However, even if the servant had attempted to increase his talent it would not have pleased the Master if it was only done out of fear. What we do in fear cannot please God. Praying or acting in fear does not constitute faith, and fear will not produce life. However,
* Isaac sowed in the land of famine, not out of fear but out of faith.
* The woman with the issue of blood came and touched Jesus out of faith, not out of fear.
* It can be a struggle sometimes to hold on to faith. This is why we need the Word, Church, and Christian friends.
* We must fight the good fight of faith … & it can be a fight.
Foolishness
If we act presumptively, when God has not spoken, God has not chosen us, or God has not agreed with our conclusion, it’s foolish.
It is foolish to think or live our lives like the universe revolves around us, or that we are infallible, or that we can do something just because someone else has done it. When I was a much younger man I watched other men tie themselves onto 2000 pound bulls, pull their hat down on their head, dig in their spurs and give a nod to the gate man who would open the chute and let them out.
It wasn’t long before I was confident that I could ride one of those spinning, twisting, kicking, snorting locomotives. Well, for me at least, that was a foolish move and looking back on it, it got more and more stupid each time I strapped myself down onto one of those bulls.
Confidence does little when you meet a reality you were not chosen, designed, or equipped to handle. That’s arrogance, not confidence.
Any person other than David would have been foolish to have gone up against Goliath that day in the Valley of Elah. But David was chosen … simply a man who had a relationship with God, answering a call. It was not arrogance, it was not foolishness, it was not fear, it was faith. Faith, which comes from God, always wins the battle.
Faith comes from God and where faith goes, God goes.
Acts 19
13 ¶ Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Foolish, wouldn’t you say. What was so foolish about this? To think that we can live life only knowing about Jesus without having a true relationship with Him is foolish. These well meaning men weren’t called, equipped, or chosen. They were just foolish …
The Bible boldly declares that signs shall follow Believers. In Jesus’ Name they shall speak with new tongues, cast out devils and heal the sick. Not by praying in fear; Not from foolish or presumptive acts; but because of faith … the faith which only comes from a fruitful and abiding relationship with the Master. Have faith in God! Abide in Him, keep His Word living in you … don’t fear, don’t be foolish, have faith!
