Hope – Faith At Its Best
Main Scripture – Hebrews 11:1
Introduction:
-First of all by way of introduction, a certain Dr. Hendrikson has authored a book entitled “DISCIPLES ARE MADE, NOT BORN.”
-Remember:
1. Discipleship is a MAKING PROCESS, not an INSTANTANEOUS BIRTH!
2. Jesus Christ spent 31 years MAKING DISCIPLES OUT OF 12 MEN!
3. Jesus Christ ATE, SLEPT, WALKED, TALKED, SHARED, and LIVED WITH THESE MEN!
4. Discipleship is a MOLDING, MELTING, MAKING, PROCESS!
-HENDRIKSON in his book, “DISCIPLES ARE MADE, NOT BORN” gives us 7 characteristics of DISCIPLES OF CHRIST:
1. FAITHFULNESS – We read in I Corinthians 4:2,
“MOREOVER, IT IS REQUIRED OF A STEWARD THAT
HE BE FOUND FAITHFUL.”
2. SEEKERS OF GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST – Matthew 6:33,
“BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS
RIGHTEOUSNESS, ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE
ADDED UNTO YOU.”
3. WILLING TO PAY ANY PRICE TO HAVE GOD’S WILL IN THEIR LIVES – Matthew 7:2,
“NOT EVERYONE THAT SAITH TO ME LORD, LORD,
SHALL ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN:
BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY
FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.”
4. WHO LOVE THE WORD OF GOD – Matthew 4:4,
“MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY
EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDETH OUT OF
THE MOUTH OF GOD.”
5. WHO LOVE PEOPLE – John 15:12,
“THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT, THAT YE LOVE ONE
ANOTHER, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.”
6. WHO HAVE A SERVANT’S HEART – John 13:14-16 ,
“IF I THEN YOUR LORD AND MASTER, HAVE WASHED
YOUR FEET, YE ALSO OUGHT TO WASH ONE
ANOTHER’S FEET. FOR I HAVE GIVEN YOU
AN EXAMPLE, THAT YOU SHOULD DO AS
I HAVE DONE UNTO YOU.”
“VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, THE SERVANT IS
NOT GREATER THAN HIS LORD.”
7. WHO DON’T HAVE AN INDEPENDENT SPIRIT – Hebrews 13:17,
“OBEY THEM WHICH HAVE THE RULE OVER YOU, AND
SUBMIT YOURSELVES: FOR THEY WATCH FOR YOUR
SOULS, AS THEY THAT MUST GIVE ACCOUNT, THAT
THEY MAY DO IT WITH JOY, AND NOT WITH GRIEF,
FOR THAT IS UNPROFITABLE FOR YOU.”
-So SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A DISCIPLE, AND I SAY AMEN TO EACH, ALL!
1. Faithful.
2. Kingdom of God seekers.
3. Willing to pay any price to obey the Lord.
4. Love the Word of God.
5. Love people.
6. Servant’s hearts.
7. Don’t have independent spirit.
And note the first characteristic of a true disciple of Jesus Christ – FAITHFULNESS:
-There it is, FAITH-FULNESS!
-Hear it:
“ONLY THOSE FULL OF FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST WILL
BE FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS OF HIM.”
*******
I. FAITH’S DEFINITION
-The philosopher of New England in the 19th Century, Henry David Thoreau, wrote:
“IF I SEEM TO WALK OUT OF STEP WITH OTHERS,
IT IS BECAUSE I AM LISTENING TO
ANOTHER BEAT.”
a. In a way, that is A VERY GOOD DESCRIPTION OF FAITH!
b. Christians ARE THOSE WHO WALK AND DANCE TO ANOTHER DRUMMER!
-The best definition of faith that I have ever found is in Hebrews 1:1,
“NOW FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED
FOR, THE CONVICTION OF THINGS NOT SEEN.”
a. Do you like that? I do, I love it!
b. So DOES THE LORD, it is His definition of faith!
-This, by the way, IS THE ONLY DEFINITION OF FAITH IN THE BIBLE!
-Hear Hebrews 11:1 again,
“NOW FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED
FOR, THE CONVICTION OF THINGS NOT SEEN.”
-FIRST – NOTICE, FAITH BEGINS WITH HOPE! (Knowing God’s great purpose is coming and being assured of that.)
-SECOND – Then, FAITH ENDS WITH FULFILLMENT! (Seeing what cannot be seen, and seeing something before it happens, and being convicted or convinced of that.)
-The two saddest sentences that can ever fall from human lips:
1. THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME YET!
2. IT’S TOO LATE NOW!
-THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME YET:
1. That attitude generally leads to killing time!
2. That’s a dreadful phrase – killing time – we don’t have a moment to spare, let alone to kill!
-IT’S TOO LATE NOW:
a. While the first leads to killing time!
b. The second, IT’S TOO LATE NOW, leads to KILLING VISION! And you and me!
-SOMEWHERE:
a. In between these TWO PARALYZING SENTENCES!
b. We must GRASP THE OPPORTUNITIES OF GOD’S INFINITELY POTENTIAL PRESENT!
c. Which alone WILL MAKE POSSIBLE GOD’S EVER EXPANDING FUTURE!
d. Which brings us TO FAITH!
*******
II. FAITH’S LONGING AND ASSURANCE
-Faith is,
“THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE
CONVICTION OF THINGS NOT SEEN.”
-FAITH BEGINS WITH HOPE:
1. So real Biblical FAITH STARTS WITH A HEALTHY SENSE OF LONGING IN GOD!
2. You DON’T HOPE FOR SOMETHING:
a. UNLESS YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY YOU ARE!
b. UNLESS YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY YOU HAVE BEEN!
c. UNLESS YOU FEEL DEEPLY THAT WE ARE NOT ALL THAT THE LORD WANTS US TO BE!
-That is how:
a. FAITH BEGINS!
b. AND FAITH IS KEPT HEALTHY!
3. Or, to put it MORE POSITIVELY, YOU DON’T HOPE FOR SOMETHING MORE:
-Unless you BELIEVE THERE IS MORE FOR YOUR LIFE IN CHRIST!
-And there is MORE GRAND AND GLORIOUS PURPOSES FOR THE CHURCH OF CHRIST!
-If we don’t have that AWARENESS, YOU CAN’T LIVE AND WALK BY FAITH!
EXAMPLE:
If you think the antiquity of the stories told in Hebrews 11 might not connect with postmodern folks, you might use The Kite Runner, a contemporary novel set in Afghanistan. Its opening lines are filled with regret and foreboding. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the spring of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind the crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past…about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking down that deserted alley for the last 25 years.”
The speaker is an Afghani named Amir who fled to California after the Taliban took control of his native land. He is thinking back to a terrible event in his childhood, when his best friend Hassan was brutally assaulted by three bullies in the back alley of Kabul. The bullies cornered with Amir and Hassan, but Hassan battled them long enough for Amir to escape. As the bullies assaulted Hassan, Amir watched from hiding behind that crumbling mud wall and did nothing to help his friend. Hassan got over his assault, but Amir could never escape the shame and guilt he felt over deserting his best friend. He lived his life with the unshakeable conviction that he was a terrible human being. Then 26 years later in California he received a call from a friend back in Afghanistan urging him to come back. The last thing Amir’s friend said to him in that phone call was;
“There is a way to become good again.”
Do we believe that? Do we believe that we can start over, even in strange situations, even in impossible situations? In Mark 9:23 Jesus said, “Everything is possible for those who believe.” There are, of course, many obstacles on the road ahead of us, but our reading from Hebrews suggests that the main obstacle to our growth into the fullness of Christ is a lack of true faith. There is a way to become good, or whole, or faithful, or hopeful again. It is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Growth depends on true faith.
*******
III. FAITH’S NUMBER ONE ENEMY – COMPLACENCY
-That’s WHY, THE # 1 ENEMY TO FAITH IN OUR LIFE:
a. Is a COMPLACENT SPIRIT!
b. Is AN ATTITUDE OF SATISFACTION WITH THE STATUS QUO:
-Either with yourself PERSONALLY! (I’m OK, You’re OK, I’m not OK, and you’re not.)
-Or, with the church ECCLESIASTICALLY!
-Complacency WILL KILL A PEOPLE, and WILL KILL A CHURCH!
EXAMPLE
– One of the most VIVID EXAMPLES OF THAT IN SCRIPTURE IS THE “LAODICEAN CHURCH.”
-The Lord tells us among other things:
“THEY WERE LUKEWARM!”
-And the reason for that is COMPLACENCY, SELF- SATISFACTION!
-And that is evidenced in Revelation 3:17 where they said of themselves,
“BECAUSE THOU SAYEST, ‘I AM RICH, AND INCREASED
WITH GOODS, AND NEED NOTHING MORE.’”
-Well, it always becomes rather obvious:
1. People, who SAY, WE NEED NOTHING MORE, are complacent, self-satisfied!
2. And people WHO NEED NOTHING MORE:
a. Cannot live the life of faith in God!
b. For faith IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR!
c. God’s greater purposes, greater glory, greater plan for His people:
-Both individually!
-And collectively!
3. Biblical faith is the ONLY THING THAT WILL SAVE A PEOPLE, because we read in Romans 8:24-25,
“FOR WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE, BUT HOPE THAT IS
SEEN IS NOT HOPE, FOR WHAT A MAN
SEETH, WHY DOTH HE YET
HOPE FOR?
BUT IF WE HOPE FOR THAT WHICH WE SEE
NOT, THEN DO WE WITH PATIENCE
WAIT FOR IT.”
YOU SEE:
1. If you and I are looking FOR NOTHING MORE FROM THE LORD!
2. If we are CONTENT TO BE MERELY CULTURED ANIMALS:
-Living out A LIFE OF EATING, SLEEPING, CHURCH- GOING, PLAYING AND DYING!
-Then you and I are in NO POSITION TO BE A PEOPLE OF FAITH!
-Someone has described it this way:
“INTO THIS WORLD TO EAT AND TO SLEEP, AND TO
KNOW HIS REASON WHY HE WAS BORN, SAVE
TO CONSUME THE CORN, DEVOUR THE
CATTLE, FLOCK AND FISH, AND LEAVE
BEHIND AN EMPTY DISH.”
Hear it again,
“FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS
HOPED FOR.”
-We are told in II Corinthians. 5:7,
“FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT.”
1. WALK! That means FAITH CAN NEVER STAND STILL, ALWAYS WALKING? Where?
2. HOPE! That means FAITH ALWAYS WALKS TOWARD GOD’S GREATER, GOD’S MORE GLORIOUS, GOD’S .MOSTEST!
3. And, it begins with HOPE, God’s greater purposes for us in Jesus Christ!
4. ASSURANCE OF FAITH IS ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR!
*******
IV. FAITH’S ASSURED HOPE – THE WORD OF GOD.
1. Remember that faith is rooted in the WORD OF GOD!
2. We read in Romans 10:17,
“SO THEN FAITH COMETH BY HEARING, AND
HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD.”
3. In other words:
-Faith is not Positive Thinking!
-Faith is not a hunch that can be followed!
-Faith is not a feeling of optimism!
-Faith is something quite different!
4. FAITH IS ROOTED IN THE SURE PROMISES OF GOD!
5. FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE IN OUR LIVES THAT THOSE PROMISES WILL BE, CAN BE, MUST BE, FULFILLED IN ALL THEIR GLORY!
EXAMPLE
-In this regard FAITH BEING THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR!
-One of the greatest examples in the Bible is that of Abraham and Sarah!
1. This couple is talked about in Hebrews 11- THE PARADE OF THE HEROES OF FAITH.
2. We read in Hebrews 11:11,
“BY FAITH, SARAH HERSELF RECEIVED POWER TO
CONCEIVE, EVEN WHEN SHE WAS PAST AGE.”
3. Here WERE TWO PEOPLE:
-A man and his wife!
-Their bodies from every physiological point of view were IMPOTENT!
-They had long since PASSED THE AGE OF CHILD- BEARING!
-He was 100 years old, she was 90 years old!
-There wasn’t A JEWISH GYNECOLOGIST ALIVE WHO WOULD GIVE THEM A CHANCE!
-But, THEY WENT AHEAD ANYWAY!
4. And we read about Abraham in Romans 4:18,
“ABRAHAM HOPED AGAINST HOPE – that is FAITH”
a. What do you mean Lord – ABRAHAM HOPED AGAINST HOPE!?
b. That means:
“HE HOPED EVEN WHEN THERE WAS NOT A REASON
IN THE WORLD TO HOPE, EXCEPT
GOD’S PROMISE.”
-THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR WAS AND IS THE WORD OF GOD.
5. And THE RESULT WAS ISAAC, the Promised Seed!
–Hebrews 11:11-12,
“THEREFORE FROM ONE MAN, AND HIM AS GOOD AS
DEAD, WERE BORN DESCENDANTS, AS MANY AS
THE STARS OF HEAVEN, AND AS THE
INNUMERABLE GRAINS OF SAND
BY THE SEA SHORE”.
6. AND THE MIRACLE OF FAITH IS THAT IT IS ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR:
a. Abraham saw HER WOMB IMPREGNATED BEFORE CONCEPTION!
b. So real is THE PROMISE TO THE TRUE BELIEVER:
-That it is actually there to the believer!
-Before it is actually there!
***
ILLUSTRATION
The very complicated passage can in Romans 4 be summed up in the simple prayer that many parents teach their children when they are little. You probably know it well. “God is great, God is good. And we thank Him for this food.” I wonder if that was the first prayer Abraham and Sarah taught little Isaac, the offspring who was the initial fulfillment of the promise given by the God who can raise the dead and call into existence things that are not. “God is great. God is good.” Because God is that and more, there is hope for those who have no hope.
***
ILLUSTRATION
The labor pains of prophecy fulfilled are becoming more frequent, more intense, and much more painful. Prophesies today are not being fulfilled any longer “DECADE AFTER DECADE,” but “DAY AFTER DAY AND MINUTE BY MINUTE.”
Speaking of the signs of His return, Jesus made this statement in Luke 21:32,
“VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THIS GENERATION
SHALL NOT PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL
BE FULFILLED.”
In other words, as prophecy’s count-down races to His return, that generation shall see and hear “THE TIME OF SORROWS” weeping louder and louder. That generation shall see the whole drama to the end of time and shall never taste of death. That is how quickly the count-down is going, and it shall never be put on hold for another generation to be born. I believe that that generation that shall not taste of death, is alive on the earth today.
In the movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” a life-long convict nicknamed Red, keeps on telling his fellow prisoner, Andy, to stop talking about hope. Red explains that since they are all in prison, hope is a dangerous thing. It is better to live without hope than to have a hope that will torment you by virtue of it’s not being fulfilled.
But Andy has the last word. After his escape from Shawshank, he writes a letter to Red in which he says,
“HOPE IS A GOOD THING, IN FACT, IT IS THE
BEST OF THINGS.”
I agree Andy! In fact, Andy,
“HOPE IS FAITH AT ITS BEST.”
***
EXAMPLE:
-The Lord HAD PROMISED THE LAND OF CANAAN TO ISRAEL!
-Moses had sent 12 spies out into the land of Canaan, you will recall!
-And the reports, the findings were given at Kadesh, a promised-land frontier city.
a. There was the Majority report!
b. There was the Minority report!
-The Majority Report of 10 had a Distinct FLAVOR – NO FAITH!:
a. THE PEOPLE IN THE LAND BE STRONG!
b. THE CITIES ARE WALLED, WE SAW GIANTS!
c. WE WERE IN OUR OWN SIGHTS AS GRASSHOPPERS!
d. WE ARE NOT ABLE TO GO UP AGAINST THIS PEOPLE!
e. IT BE A LAND THAT EATETH UP THE INHABITANTS!
f. ALL THE PEOPLE WE SAW IN IT ARE MEN OF HUGE STATURE!
(Did you ever HEAR OF THE BIG TEN, THEY AREN’T IT, THIS IS THE SMALL TEN.)
-The Minority Report of Joshua and Caleb has a distinct flavor, all Faith!:
a. LET US GO UP AT ONCE AND POSSESS THE LAND!
b. FOR WE ARE WELL ABLE TO OVERCOME!
c. THE LORD WILL BRING US INTO THE LAND!
d. THEIR DEFENSE IS DEPARTED FROM THEM!
e. THE LORD IS WITH US, FEAR THEM NOT!
f. FOR THEY ARE BREAD FOR US!
SUMMARY:
– NO SWEAT, PIECE OF CAKE, LIKE BUTTER!
– For they ARE BREAD FOR US.
– THE BIGGER THE GIANT, THE BIGGER THE LOAF
– HERE WE COME, PASS THE BUTTER, BECAUSE THE BREAD IS ALREADY IN THE BAG!!
*******
V. FAITH – CONVICTION OF THE UNSEEN
– But more than this, Hebrews 11:1 tells us that:
“FAITH IS THE CONVICTION (EVIDENCE) OF THINGS
NOT SEEN.”
1. Faith is not only God’s heart beating for something even greater and more glorious!
2. But it is THE CONVICTION, THE CERTAINTY OF THE UNSEEN!
3. TO THE MAN OF FAITH, THE WORLD OF UNSEEN is even MORE REAL THAN THE SEEN!
-The Christian Believes:
1. That beyond this great universe is our Greater Heavenly Father Who Created
2. Long before this visible earth came to be, Jesus Christ our Savior always was, is, and will be. The eternal I AM!
3. Above all visible power is the Omnipotent Holy Spirit whose power dwarfs all power known to men!
-The Walls of Jericho:
a. They stood before the Children of Israel!
b. Those walls were some 85 feet thick – IMPASSABLE, IMPOSSIBLE!
c. And more than that, THOSE WALLS WERE 100 FEET HIGH!
d. You MIGHT SAY THOSE WALLS WERE THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS VISIBLE:
-Very visible, extremely visible, much EVIDENCE OF THE VISIBLE!
-That’s the WAY OUR PROBLEMS LOOK TO US, LIKE WALLS, JERICHO WALLS!
e. And, they only had FEEBLE INSTRUMENTS OF WARFARE!
-BUT, THEY HAD THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS INVISIBLE IN THEIR HEARTS:
a. To them the unseen world was greater than the seen world!
b. In obedience to God, in faith, they marched around the city 7 times!
c. And the walls fell down, now, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN!
d. Some say it was an earthquake, perhaps so, BUT IT CAME FROM GOD, IN GOD’S TIME!
-You see, because FAITH THAT COMES FROM GOD:
a. Believes in the greater, invisible power and kingdom!
b.Faith dares, it PAYS NO ATTENTION TO IMPOSSIBILITIES!:
“FAITH, MIGHTY FAITH, THE PROMISE SEES, AND
LOOKS TO GOD ALONE, LAUGHS AT
IMPOSSIBILITIES,AND CRIES,
IT SHALL BE DONE.”
*******
VI. SATAN’S FIGHT AGAINST FAITH
I cannot let go of Romans 10:17,
“So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God.”
-Powerful words if we can hear what the Spirit of God says about FAITH.
-Realize the following that will help you live the life of supernatural faith!
1. God’s Word is a basically a love letter.
2. Frankly, every BOOK IS ANOTHER LOVE LETTER.
3. And if you only read a paragraph a day, or even a few verses a day.
4. You are really not reading it at all, and then the message can’t get through to you in building you up more and more in your faith.
-It really might shock you, but VERSES and CHAPTERS in Bible were not INSPIRED OF GOD! When Paul wrote his epistles, when Isaiah wrote his prophecy, when Peter wrote his letters, they did not write them in chapters and verses! Rather, Paul, when he wrote Colossians, he said: “DEAR COLOSSIANS,” and wrote a letter.
-And in the Middle Ages, a Jesuit Priest divided up the books, and letters into chapters and verses. Bless his little numerical mind, but it was really the worse thing men ever did to the Bible! It gives us a FALSE SENSE OF accomplishment and progress every time we read it! Oh my, I read one whole chapter today!!! Oh yes, it does help us to locate, but it DIVIDES, CHOPS UP, and really ISOLATES, ALIENATES, and messes up the Word of God! Hear it:
“IT STUNTS OUR FAITH BUT DOES NOT GROW IT
LIKE IT SHOULD.”
NOW HEAR THIS AND HEAR IT BIG AND LOUD:
1. SATAN WILL FIGHT YOU:
-Satan will fight you reading “this book”.
-Satan will fight your reading “THIS BOOK”, more than any other book.
-Satan will not oppose THE NEWSPAPERS, or, THE FICTION NOVELS, or, THE WORLD’S MAGAZINES.
-Satan will OPPOSE the reading of the Word, because of Psalm 119:30,
“THE ENTRANCE OF THY WORDS GIVETH LIGHT, IT
GIVETH UNDERSTANDING TO THE SIMPLE.”
-Hear it:
“FAITH’S EYES TO SEE THE INVISIBLE COME FROM
THE WORD OF GOD.”
-Hear it:
“FAITH’S MIND TO APPREHEND OF THE SUPER-
RATIONAL COMES FROM THE
WORD OF GOD.”
-THE STOPPAGE:
-The opposition, hindrance, distraction you feel as you attempt to read Scripture.
-That is the UNSEEN, SATANIC FORCE, robbing YOU of faith in CHRIST.
-Because Satan knows he is losing you when the Word of God brings you from UNBELIEF TO BELIEF.
-And because of that, he is losing control of your life!
2. WHAT IS SATAN TRYING TO STOP?
-“A CLEAN YOU” – Psalm 119:9 ,
“HOW SHALL A YOUNG MAN CLEANSE HIS WAY? BY
TAKING HEED THERETO ACCORDING TO
YOUR WORD.”
-“A SIN-RESISTING YOU” – Psalm 119:11,
“THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MY HEART, THAT I
MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST YOU.”
-“A DIRECTED YOU” – Psalm 119:105,
“THY WORD IS A LAMP UNTO MY FEET, A LIGHT
UPON MY PATHWAY.”
-“A COMFORTED YOU” – Psalm 119:49-50,
“REMEMBER THE WORD UNTO THY SERVANT, UPON
WHICH THOU HAST CAUSED ME TO HOPE; THIS IS
MY COMFORT IN MY AFFLICTION, FOR THY WORD
HATH QUICKENED ME.”
-“A PEACE-FILLED YOU” – Psalm 119:165,
“GREAT PEACE HAVE THEY WHICH LOVE THY LAW;
NOTHING SHALL OFFEND THEM.” (Trip them up –
stumble)
-“A TRUST (FAITH) FILLED YOU” – Psalm 56:3-4,
“WHEN I AM AFRAID, I WILL PUT MY TRUST
IN THEE.”
“IN GOD, WHOSE WORD I PRAISE, IN GOD I HAVE
PUT MY TRUST; I SHALL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT
CAN MERE MEN DO TO ME?”
a. Here David praises the Word of God for His TRUST (FAITH) IN GOD.
b. Here he is full of faith because he is full of the Word of God.
-Understand:
a. Without the continual entrance into your mind of all the Word.
b. You will lack all the above; and Satan knows exactly that!!
CONCLUSION
Writes Mike Oppenheimer:
“THE PROBLEM TODAY is that we no longer have the chutzpah – the stomach to confront what is false, a lie that is going to deceive MANY people.
People are more eager to believe the lies than the truth, they are open to ANYTHING SAID. Why do they not question these teachers but instead question God who already wrote the truth in His word. They can’t judge because they don’t have the truth, so they go after those that do not have the truth. Because many in the church no longer love the truth and are becoming like the world that has never loved it. So many want the same experience these new revelators speak of. If you’re not satisfied with the revelation already given, there is something wrong with your heart, you will end up following the wrong revelation.
You can’t have truth based on what works, that is not our Biblical guideline but is pragmatism. Making disciples through Rick Warren’s interfaith only brings confusion. Who are people he is helping to trust in or follow? Convincing the church that we are to work with the Muslim, the Hindu, and even the atheist to accomplish God’s goals. Did Jesus say this to Israel: unite with Rome to make the world a better place? Pluralism does not present truth but only numerous choices, more confusion. Once we abandon the true God and His ways (HIS WORD), we have a choice of no god or another god and our ways.”
Listen:
“ONLY THOSE WHO LIVE BY THE WORD OF GOD, WILL
STAND IN FAITH FOR THE LORD IN THESE
LAST DAYS.”
AMEN!
