“Is My Faith Enough?” By Parrish Lee September 5th,
2010 Jeremiah 1:4-10 Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. We begin today’s sermon in the book of Jeremiah. Now, to present a little background here, Jeremiah was called to be prophet in Israel was in captivity because they had done so much against the ordinances of God; the people were discouraged and not happy about it. I can identify with Jeremiah; when I was young in the faith, I was very stubborn. I didn’t feel like I knew enough to be able to share with anyone, but, I was willing to back somebody else up while they shared. But, later on, Jeremiah talks about having a fire shut up in his bones; there were times when I, too, just couldn’t keep my mouth shut, like when people want to use the Name of Jesus as a swear word... Now, this passage in Jeremiah is not there to teach us the history of Jeremiah, it is there as an admonition, an example, that, we too, should tear down, plant, and restore. Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works… Uncorruptness (ἀδιαφθορία)- purity of doctrine Gravity (σεμνότης)- honesty Sincerity (ἀφθαρσία)- genuineness You ever notice how some people are good liars? I mean they can keep a straight face, not twitch, there’s no bat of the eye, tell a lie; beat lie detectors, fool experienced profilers… Some people can steal really well, whether it’s a candy bar or a Ponzi scheme, and you could be right next to them and not know what’s going on. How did they become so able to do that? If we were to look at their past lives, we would find out that it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it nearly always happens with much practice. This will tell you that they had to develop a certain pattern. Thieves will tell you things like, “Avoid eye contact,” and “Don’t do anything to attract attention to yourself,” and a good liar will tell you, “You’ve got to believe what you are saying,” “Keep your face straight,” etc. And, truthfully, we find that anyone who has given themselves over to a specific field or profession, or spirit, if you will, has gotten there with much practice. Uriah the Hittite got to be a man of God and one of David’s mighty men by building himself with David and patterning his life to be that way. 2 Samuel 11:7 …as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing… David tried to use Uriah to cover his own sin. You don’t think he wanted to go home and be with his wife? Of course he did, yet, even when he was drunk, he resisted; he had patterned his life to be so. In the New Testament, a certain group of Christians were known to have addicted themselves to the Gospel (this is the only place in the Bible this word is used). 1 Corinthians 16:13-16 …they have addicted themselves to the ministry… Yes, way back then, there were addicts. How did this happen? How did it even start out? Addiction- to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively. Addiction (τάσσω)- to arrange in an orderly manner, that is, assign, appoint, determine, ordain. Christians need to make a pattern in their lives of praying and reading His Word, and of trusting the Lord. We need to make a pattern of listening to His Spirit and of sharing His Word, and, I can say it this way, I need to make a habit of (or addict myself) to edifying my brothers and sisters. This is not a popular message in today’s world. What a testimony of Uriah, and he, and the rest of the mighty men, didn’t become mighty men overnight. The Bible says that they strengthened themselves with David to make him king. You might say, “Brother Parrish, I’m not a Uriah; I couldn’t do all that stuff.” I’d say, “Use his example of strengthening yourself with God to make Him King of your life.” Yes, that’s right, strengthen yourself in His word that you might know His Voice. But don’t stop there, strengthen yourself with God’s leadership that His ministry be prosperous; strengthen yourself with His praise and worship that His Name be lifted up and He, in turn, dwell with us and pour out a blessing that we can’t even contain. Now, some of us have been led to believe that, of course, my faith isn’t enough: It’s so small and fragile, it’s barely even the size of a mustard seed, and I’m afraid that if it’s put to the test it will fail, and I’ll be embarrassed… Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper… Brother Parrish, what about the weapon of lust? what about pride? what about despair? what about loneliness? It doesn’t matter what the weapon is, your faith is enough. Sometimes it seems that we can fight a battle for so long that we just resolve ourselves that this is not one to win, so just stop fighting. If you have had to fight one of these battles, I want you to realize something right now: The God of Abraham was great (remember the slaughter of the kings?), the God of David was great (remember the boy who faced a giant?), and the God of Joshua was great (He made the sun stand still.), but I say unto you that your God is great. He is able to give you His Holy Spirit. So often, God’s people get cheated, because of a lack of faith in their faith. So, I want you to, right now, say, “Get thee behind me Satan.” Turn and shake two or three people’s hands and say, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” The disciples prayed, “Lord, increase our faith.” In the book of Jude we are exhorted to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. 2
Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the
LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth… So, yes, we need our faith increased, and, yes, we need to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints, and, yes, God is looking through the whole earth for those who make their hearts perfect before Him… Jesus said all things are possible to those that believe, so, saints, if you believe, all things are possible. Mark 10:27 …with God all things are possible. Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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