Faith that Makes A Difference...

Romans 8: 1 - 11

In case you missed this little bit of news from the International
and Technology Front...

After having dug to a depth of 10 meters last year, Scottish
scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years
and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had
a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Scots, in the weeks that followed,
English scientists dug to a depth of 20 meters, and shortly
after, headlines in the English newspapers read: "English
archaeologists have found traces of 200-year-old copper wire
and have concluded that their ancestors already had an
advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years
earlier than the Scots."

One week later, "The Kerrymen," a southwest Irish
newsletter, reported the following: "After digging as deep
as 30 meters in peat bog near Tralee, Paddy O'Droll, a
self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely
nothing. Paddy has therefore concluded that 300 years ago,
Ireland had already gone wireless."


Question: What is faith?

Good News! We have a definition of “Faith…”
Being sure of what we hope for (the substance of things hoped for…)
Being certain of what we do not see (The evidence of things not seen…)

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command…

Christian “Big Bang” Theory… God spoke… and… BANG! IT HAPPENED!

Faith says to us today that what is seen is made out of what is not seen!

Faith means making a conscientious choice to believe certain things to be true…
This conscientious choice means making a commitment, and a promise to a lifestyle of living by faith…

Hebrews 10: 38 and 39… “But my righteous one will live by faith... and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him… But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed… but of those who believe and are saved…”

Elsewhere in the Bible we see further evidence of the choice to live by faith… Joshua says: “choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!”

Now let’s take a look at our text…

Hebrews 11: 6
1.) Without faith it is impossible to please God…
2.) Anyone who comes to HIM must believe that he exists…
3.) Anyone who comes to HIM must believe that HE rewards those who diligently seek him…

So… there is joy in the pursuit… there is an eager anticipation that says “if I seek after God… if I follow by faith… if I follow his word and his precepts… IF I HAVE A SAVING RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM THROUGH HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST… I will find myself in a relationship with the Living God!”

There’s joy in the journey for the pilgrim who is seeking God in his or her life… because anyone who comes to God must believe that HE exists… and that joy is expressed most deeply in the belief that God rewards those who diligently seek him!

Thought: If you do not believe that HE exists, you will never find him through your own efforts and in your own strength.

Truth of the matter: There IS absolute truth… Jesus IS ALIVE today! HE LIVES!

Not only does He live… He calls us to live for Him… He calls us to live and love sacrificially for others because HE lives sacrificially for each of us today. He laid down his life so you and I might live free from our sins… this is called COSTLY GRACE… Our forgiveness cost him everything… His Kingdom… His Crown… His Life… so that he could make a difference in our lives today.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that when Jesus calls us, he calls us to “come and die…” Die to self… die to everything that would keep us from completing the things that God would have us to do…

Jesus gave us his mission when he said to the people gathered at the synagogue in Jerusalem “God’s spirit is upon me; he’s chosen me to preach the message of Good News to the Poor; sent me to announce pardon to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind; to set the burdened and battered free; to announce “This is God’s year to act…”

Jesus calls us to follow HIS example… He healed the sick… He raised the dead… He cleansed the leper… He made the blind to see… and his word says that He has given us the Holy Spirit… to teach us… to guide us… to comfort us… so we could do what He did…

The bottom line is that we are called upon to have the kind of faith that makes a difference… the kind of relationship with God through Jesus Christ that pricks at our conscience and tugs at our hearts when we see somebody in need. We are called upon to have the kind of faith that goes beyond superficial relationships and goes to the very depth of our hearts and binds us together… not merely as acquaintances, but as Brothers and Sisters who make a difference in the lives of those around us…


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May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

I Bid You Peace...
Dr. Ken