F.A.I.T.H.
Live By Faith • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsUsing the word "Faith" as an annogram to describe what it means to live by faith
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If you were here last Sunday, than you already know that over the month of May I want to concentrate my preaching on the topic of faith
Now to just say the topic of faith is very broad and generic because faith in and of itself covers a whole lot of areas
There’s “faith the size of a mustard seed, there’s healing faith, there’s the gift of faith, there’s the many times that Jesus said, ‘O ye of little faith’”
And all of these areas of study are great and fascinating and beneficial to your faith, but this morning and in the next couple of weeks I want to focus my attention on an aspect of faith that I don’t think I’ve ever spent much time on
And that is “Living by faith”
Let’s jump right in by reading a few important passages when it comes to this topic, the first is
For we live by faith, not by sight.
Short, simple and directly to the point
Of course if you look at the greater context you’ll see that Paul was teaching about what happens when we leave this mortal body but don’t confuse the fact that verse 7 is talking about the here and now as clarified by verse 9
Another great passage for this topic comes from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome,
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
And of course if you have been looking at the top of your handout you will know that our third passage in found in where Paul states,
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Do you see the theme that runs through all 3 of these verses?
As followers of, and believers in, Jesus Christ it is incumbent upon us to LIVE BY FAITH
I don’t do this very often but I want you to turn to somebody near you and tell them “I live by faith” and if there’s no one around you just look towards Heaven and say it, “I Live By Faith!”
Okay, so I think that my point is well made and well received so I guess that we can wrap up this morning
But just before we do that, I just want to make sure of something
Can anyone explain to me what it means to “live by faith”?
There’s a scene in the 1987 movie Princess Bride that always sticks in my mind
3 thugs have kidnapped a princess and are being pursued by a the Dread Pirate Roberts who thwarts their every attempt to stop him
Each time he does the leader of the band of thugs, Vizzini, says the same thing, “Inconceivable”
When the rope that the pirate is using to scale the cliffs of insanity is cut and yet he doesn’t fall, Izzini once again uses his catch phrase when Inigo Montoya turns to him and says, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to turn to a Christian that is using some Chritians term and say to them, in a Spanish accent, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
So let’s take some time to explore what it means to “Live By Faith”
But just before we get into what living by faith means allow me to explain to you what it does NOT mean
Faith is NOT a religious commodity!
What I mean by that is faith is not something that we keep stored up inside of us ready to pull out and use whenever it becomes necessary
It is NOT a religious exercise or a theological concept that we participate in but it is, or at least should be a way of living in the exact same manner that breathing is the way in which we live
I live by breathing, I also live by faith (or faithing if you prefer)
Faith should be just as valuable to our everyday living as is breathing or eating or any of the other things that we need to survive
So this morning I want to give you some attributes of what faith is and how we live by it and then in the next couple weeks we will look at some examples of living faith
As you can tell by your handout, for this morning we are going to use the word “FAITH” in the form of an acrostic to explain what it means
So let’s begin with the letter “F” which stands for faithful
In the third chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians Paul explains how it is that we become a part of the church by the plan of God through Christ, he then goes on in chapter 4 to say,
1 Corinthians 4:1-4
This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
Mariam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) defines “faithful” as “Steadfast in affection or allegiance”
To live by faith means that regardless of the ups and downs we remain faithful, we remain steadfast in our affection for and our allegiance to Christ
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Ephesians 4
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Moving on to the letter “A” which for our purposes stands for the word “Action”
No discussion on faith, no matter what way you come at it from, is complete without a look at the second chapter of the book of James
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
James 2:
If we are going to “Live by faith” than it is going to require us to take action on the very things that our faith is based on, the gospel of Jesus Christ
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Notice Jesus never says ‘You raised the dead and you walked on water and you multiplied the resources and and and...
Living by faith means that responding to down and out is as natural to us as breathing
Remember, ‘The life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God’? in other words my life is now about doing what Jesus would do if he were right here right now, a life of action based on the message of Jesus
Okay and now on to the letter “I”
“I” represents invested
Jesus commanded us,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-
“Store up treasures in Heaven” is another one of those expressions that needs a Spanish accent response, so let me show you what I mean
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-
I’m pretty certain this morning that I do not have to explain to you how we are among the richest people in the world right now and so once again, to live by faith means that Paul’s command to Timothy becomes the norm for us it becomes natural to the point where we no longer think about it but just live it
Now I am not trying to tell you to sell everything that you have and give it to the poor, although if God is telling you to do that you better be obedient
What I am saying is what Paul said in , that God has made “all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Please understand that I am not just talking about money this morning, I am talking about your time, your talents, your possessions, are you using them all to live by faith, are they all making an investment for the kingdom or do they belong to you and you alone?
Okay and with that gut punch let’s move on to the next letter, the letter “T” which stands for “Trust”
If you are going to live by faith you are going to have to learn how to trust God and all His ways
Proverbs 3:5-
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
The problem with this is God doesn’t always do things the way that we want them to be done or even the way that we would do them if we were put in charge
But we need to learn to trust Him anyway which is two fold; one we need to learn to trust the way of living that He has given us in His Word
God’s Word is not intended to rob us of fun and doing things His way is not to keep us from experiencing all life has to offer
Actually it’s just the opposite, God’s way of doing things is intended to keep us from the harm and damage that our way of doing things would cause
From God’s Word on sexuality to His Word on tithing, living by faith means trusting Him enough to do it His way
The second half of this is that when things happen that we do not understand we trust Him anyway, standing on the promise that,
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
One more passage on trust and then we’ll move on to our final letter, from The Message Bible, “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”
And our final letter is the letter “H” which stands for “Holy” which in a way kind of summarizes all of the other attributes of Living by faith and yet stands on its own as well
(The Message)
Paul wrote,
Faith in What We Don’t See
1–2 11 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-
Living by faith means living differently than the world being different, being peculiar, being Holy
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-
As Christians, as children of God we are not called to have faith or to act with faith but we are instead commanded to live by faith
For our faith to be as much a part of our day as air and food
Let us commit ourselves to this task, not just today but each and every day
Let’s Pray