I shared these thoughts with the Parkrose Nursing Home Church congregation recently and both Renmark Uniting Churches.
This version was presented at Parkrose. It was slightly different at Renmark.
Below the sermon is the order of service and the Bible Reading.
SERMON
How are you going in the Faith department?
If you’re anything like me I often don’t have much.
I wish I could be more believing more often,
more effective as a Christian.
For some of us,
when we started our Christian life,
it was all very exciting and new.
It was for me.
God’s Holy Spirit had spoken to me about my need for
salvation and need of our Saviour Jesus.
I was under conviction for 3 years before I became a
Christian at 28.
but at the time
I could see how He was reaching out to me much earlier than that.
Some of us may have had a subsequent period in our
lives,after we became a Christian, when we were “on fire for the Lord” as some
would say.
Very involved,
attending this service and that,
this convention and that,
listening to prominent speakers,
attending Bible Studies,
sharing our faith with all who would listen,
Sometimes whether they wanted to hear us or not.
Singing in the choir,
taking up leadership roles in our Church.
And then some things might have come along to cause us
to stumble a bit.
Relationship break ups,
the onset of chronic illness,
tragedies all around.
You might have worked out previously in your thinking,
like me,
how God was
going to give you a perfect life.
But like me your faith may have started to wain when
challenges came.
Maybe we were starting to become a bit sceptical and
beginning to think our non Christian friends might be right.
They didn’t believe and maybe thought we were a bit
delusional even though they still liked us.
They came up with questions that you didn’t always
have answers for.
You were quite confident there were answers but found
it hard to find them when needed.
They couldn’t see how Christians could have any fun
and maybe you were starting to believe them.
Some of course who are here today have come from all
sorts of Christian backgrounds.
For some our Faith is something that quietly started
somewhere and then just grew over the years.
It may have been a slow and steady experience and you
really just enjoyed and still do, being a Christian.
For some as we get older and come into places like
this we know we are not that far off from passing to the next life.
We might ,even though we are advanced in years, still
be searching for answers and assurance about what happens next.
We might be wanting a faith that works that will carry
us through.
Well if what I have been describing resonates with
you,
or is something you have experienced,
or even still are,
then I think today's passage can bring us some comfort.
A boost to our faith if you like.
We should always hope to leave a Church service
feeling better than when we came in.
That can be if we allow God to touch us.
My prayer is that will be our experience today,
Here are 4 things I think today's reading can
help get us back on track.
1. The Fact of Jesus rising from the dead.
1.8 Don’t ever forget the
wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and
that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.
This
passage is reminding us of the foundation of our faith which is a fact.
A fact born about by History and Literature
and the Word of God and God’s Holy Spirit.
And
the testimony of those who knew Him when He physically walked this earth.
People
will dispute this.
But
the evidence is outstanding to those who are not prejudiced about becoming
Christians.
You
see many people, who are never likely to believe, are wanting to protect their
right to be who they want to be.
That
really means to sin without being accountable to God.
This
blinds them from ever wanting to examine the evidence with an open mind.
Their
minds are largely closed.
Some
such people however may still be touched by God’s Holy Spirit even though it is
against their wills.
After
all such were some of us.
2. We will be living in
Heaven with Jesus. In a sense we are already.
11 I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for
Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. 12 And
if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some
day we are going to sit with him and rule with him.
This passage is a reminder that the best is yet to come.
That God has a purpose right now for everyone of us.
Suffering is something we are much more able to endure
when we have all the promises God has for us and that He will keep.
And this following passage is a great encouragement when our faith is
failing and weak.
3.God is faithful to us.
13 Even when we are too weak
to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he
cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his
promises to us.
God is aware of our human frailty.
He will and
has already imparted His faith to us.
My mum used
to love that little poem called footprints.
That is a
very good scriptural example of what God, Jesus, is doing for us when we are
that weak that our Faith is almost gone.
He will
safely and faithfully escort us on through these tough times and over the
hurdles we face.
One night I dreamed a
dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of
my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled
me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."
He whispered, "My
precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."
And this last bit from today’s passage is encouraging those of us who
can, to encourage one another.
4.
14 Remind your people of these
great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over
unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. 15 Work
hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not
need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and
means.
We need to keep working on our
Faith,
reading the Bible when we can,
attending Church here and other activities such as the hymn singing and
communion services during the week.
Talk to each other about your faith.
How you’re feeling maybe exactly how someone else is and you can work
together to lighten the burden.
We are told also to avoid arguing.
It’s sad but there was for sometime, an argument going on as to who
actually was the author of the poem footprints.
The simple fact is that God actually wrote it not word for word, but in
truth, in His Bible
Conclusion.
So is our Faith weak?
Does our faith need to be stronger?
In simple truth it doesn’t really matter.
If you are a Christian you are God’s Child.
We have a sign on our mantelpiece.
“GOD, I am in your Hands.
I know you won’t drop me.”
He won’t.
That’s a fact.
We will now sing our last Hymn.
Can you guess what that might be?
Parkrose service13/10/19
Welcome
Call to worship:
Hymn: “This is my Father’s
World” 4v
Announcements:
Bible Reading: 2 Tim 2:8-15
Hymn: “Great is thy
Faithfulness” 3v
Communion:
Offering:
Church Prayer:
Hymn: “Now I belong to Jesus” 3v
Message: “Facts that strengthen our Faith”
Hymn: “He’s got the whole
world in His hands” 5v
Benediction and Vesper: Now
unto Him
2 Timothy 2:8-15 Living Bible (TLB)
8 Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that
Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as
shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead. 9 It is
because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have
been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even
though I am. 10 I am more than willing to suffer if that will
bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
11 I am comforted by this truth, that when
we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him
in heaven. 12 And if we think that our present service for him
is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with
him. But if we give up when we suffer, and turn against Christ, then he must
turn against us. 13 Even when we are too weak to have any faith
left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who
are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
14 Remind your people of these great facts,
and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things.
Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. 15 Work
hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not
need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and
means.
