I want to talk to you today about Faith. Faith in God. Everyone has faith. Everyone believes in something or someone. As Christians we put our faith in God. We have put our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. We have received eternal life by putting our faith in Jesus. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead.
We asked Jesus into our hearts. We adore Him. We love Him. He saved some of us from drug addiction. He saved us from feeling like we were alone in this world. He saved us from a life of sin. We now live by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are alive to God and dead to this world.
But let’s face it. We all get smacked with some kind of problem. All of sudden something happens. But God says to us as Christians in Psalm 91:
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Something bad can happen in an instant. A car accident. A divorce. A death. A job loss. But God says to us Christians in Psalm 46:
“God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”
God is with us. Who can be against us? My wife put a card on the mirror in our bathroom: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” It is a very precious thing we have in our home. It is the true word of God. It is our rock in a storm. It is our light in the darkness. It is our faith in times of fear. Fear disappears when faith arises. But if we don’t get our faith to arise, then we cannot get rid of fear.
When the sun rises in the morning the darkness disappears. When faith arises, fear disappears.
Jesus was going to go to the cross. He knew He was going to the cross. He “became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Jesus was not looking forward to the cross. But because of the joy set before Him, He was willing to go through the pain and suffering that was about to come upon Him.
Hallelujah! We have to be able to grow into that kind of faith, where when the troubles get bigger, our faith gets even bigger than the troubles.
God sits in the heavens and laughs at Satan’s plans to destroy God. Paul was singing in the prison at midnight when he was chained like an animal in his jail cell. Christians who were burned at the stake in England in the 1500s were singing and told the people around them that the flames were not even hurting them.
Rejoice in the Lord. Be happy in God at all times. When tragedy strikes – don’t lose hope. Don’t give up. Don’t throw away your faith just because of some temporary setback or disaster. All things work for good to those who love the Lord and who are called by God. Praise His Holy name.
God is going to provide for you. He knows where you are. My dear brother, my dear sister. We are praying for you. We are working on your behalf. We are here for you. We take joy in giving and serving you. Jesus said that it is better to give than to receive.
When troubles come, when disaster strikes, remember God is on the throne. And the Bible says that God sits on His throne in heaven and laughs at Satan. God laughs at Satan because God knows the plans He has for you, plans to save you and not to let you drown. Plans to give you a hope and a good future. So don’t give in to discouragement and depression. Let that little flicker of faith start to shine in your heart. Let that candle of faith start to grow brighter and brighter as you fuel it with the fuel of faith. Let faith fuel you. May the Lord bless you and guide you.
Let us pray.