My Faith Journey

It felt a little strange preaching a testimonial sermon.  It's not that I mind telling my faith story, it's just that it seems the sermon time should be built around a text of scripture with personal stories used as illustration.  I think it's fair to say that that should generally be true.  However, building the entire sermon around my story today seemed a fitting way to conclude the series. 

I was reminded of a poem I heard back in college: The Gospel According to You.  It made the point that people need to see the gospel at work when they examine your life.  God communicated through paper and ink to Israel, however, when God wanted to communicate at the deepest level he sent his message clothed in human flesh in the person of Jesus.  We need to teach and preach what God has give to us in written form, but for people to really catch the vision of what it means to be in relationship to God, they need to see Jesus living in us.  They need to hear our stories of struggle and growth.  They need to hear, not just how God worked in the life of Abraham, Joseph, and Saul of Tarsus; they need to know how he has changed your life and mine.  Now that you know my story; what's yours?

Faith Conquerors Fear

Why is faith so simple to explain and so often difficult to live?  Preaching on faith is the easiest thing in the world.  Living by faith, now that's a different story. 

My favorite part of today's sermon text (Matthew 14:22-33) is when Jesus immediately reaches out to Peter when Peter's faith failed.  What a Savior!  When Peter put his faith into action (with permission I might add) he had no reason to fear because even if his faith failed he would still be safe because Jesus would rescue him. 

If you know what Jesus wants you to do; go ahead and do it!  Even if you don't do it perfectly, even if you get the middle of it and suffer a faith collapse, Jesus will still give you exactly what you need.  What a Savior!  That's why you can trust him.

So don't worry about failure.  Jesus has you covered.  Put your attention on him.  Make sure you understand his word and then get out of the boat.  Walking on water is not just for the "Super Christians".  It's for all those who put their trust in Jesus.  So, go ahead; get out of the boat.

Jesus' Faith Journey

Waiting to preach this morning I was struck by the words to the old hymn we sang during the Lord's Supper.

They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where he prayed;
They led him through the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said "Crucify him; He's to blame."

The following verses continue this theme of suffering as the song poetically describes the shame of the cross.  At the conclusion of each verse we remind ourselves that he could have called ten thousand angels to set him free, but instead, "He died alone for you and me."

Thinking about the faith journey that Jesus' walked made me a little emotional this morning.  Pondering the fact that Jesus became a human, endured poverty, temptation, and injustice for the single purpose of reconciling sinful human beings with the High and Holy One should take my breath away more often than it does.  But more than an emotional reaction, I know that what Jesus really wants is my faithful obedience.  He has shown the way through voluntary submission to the will of the Father. 

Watching him walk his faith journey teaches us how to walk ours.  I specifically choose the song after the lesson to reinforce this message.

That's why we praise him, that's why we sing
That's why we offer him our everything.
That's why we bow down and worship this king,
'Cause he gave his everything, 'Cause he gave his everything

Attitude Check

Walking away from the sermon this morning, I am feeling the sense of how deeply we really need each other on this faith journey.  I know the first time I attempted to climb a Colorado mountain to summit there was no way I would have ever made it without those around me.  Of course, some of the them were teenagers and I didnt' want to quit because that would have provided the only excuse they needed to turn around!  But there were others who had made the summit on a previous journey who assured us it was worth whatever it cost as we toiled along the upward way. 

Jesus is the only one who completed his faith journey to the very end and returned to tell us about it.  Consider this verse in Acts 1:3, "After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." What did he say?  Whatever it was, when the Holy Spirit came on them they were full of joy and lived lives of devotion to Jesus and to one another.  The opening chapters of Acts show people with tremendous attitudes in the face of suffering and uncertainty. 

I met with a young adult recently who was feeling unwanted, ineffective in ministry, and just bad about themselves in general.  As we talked I shared from my journey about a time when I went though some very similar feelings.  I talked about some encouragement I received at that time and some good insight into how to view my situation differently.  I was later told that just knowing I had been through some of the same experiences was a tremendous help.  Those of us who have been on this faith journey for a number of years really need to share our lives with those who have not been on it as long.  Our stories of success and failure can help a new generation to find hope and courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

Of course, we all need to keep our eyes on Jesus; and his word to us will surely be, "Don't quit, when you get to the other side you will see it's worth whatever you may have had to go through here."  And when things don't go our way here . . . . "Attituuuuuuude Check!"

Faith Under Trial

Everyone loves stories.  We love to hear them, read them, and watch them in the theator or on the movie screen.  Somehow stories communicate on a deeper level than simple statements.  It's one thing to say, "Trust God even when things are going bad;" and something entirely differnet to say, "Once upon a time there was teenager named Joseph." 

The Bible stories we have been looking at (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Joseph) present people who are all walking the faith journey, but each story is unique.  There are certainly some similarities; but it is the differences that makes the individual stories so facisinating. 

In a simliar way, the stories of our faith journeys are alike in many ways but each story is unique.  The line that sticks with me from this morning's sermon is "Don't give up Joseph, the story is not over yet."  How badly we need that faith perspective when we are in the middle of a struggle and are not at all clear of how it will end.  This is where the faith stories of Bible characters (and the people who sit around you at church) are so vital.  We need to hear from people that have gone through the fire and come out on the other side.  We need to hear those tales to reassure us that God is with us even when we can't see him or understand what he is doing.

I yearn for the day when my "faith shall be sight."   That will be the day when faith is no longer necessary.  While we live on this earth, however, we trust knowing that the story is not finished yet.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Believing the Promises of God

I have little interest in formulas or methods for "making prayer work."  Sure, there are a lot of things that I ask God to do that I think might make my life better or the life of people I care about.  However, I know of no assurance from scripture that God will do what I ask and my lifetime of experience teaches me the same.  Sometimes God is pleased to answer my requests and sometimes he answers in other ways. 

As we studied this morning, the Prayer of Faith is different.  It's not asking God to do whatever it is that I think might be a good idea; it's asking him to fulfill his promises.  If God has promised that my life has been made new in Christ (Rom. 6:4), then I can pray in faith that he will help me live this new life.  That is a prayer that God has promised to answer. 

Praying the scriptures is one of the best ways I have found to pray the promises of God.  I particularly enjoy praying the prayers of the New Testament epistles.  Each week I send a form letter to those who visit our Sunday service.  I have five different letters I send depending upon how many times someone has visited.  In each letter I include a prayer from the New Testament and I pray that prayer before signing each letter.  I pray those prayers in faith believing that God will do exactly what I ask, because I am praying based on his promises.  An example would be from the book of Philippians, "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God" (1:9-11).  I am confident that God will answer these prayers if the person is willing to receive God's help. 

Develop the habit of asking God to do what he has promised to do and then watch as he answers your prayers.  This can be a most enjoyable part of one's faith journey.  Believe God's promises.  Pray God's promises.  Then, watch as God keeps his promises.