Faith Sanctuary



FAITH WORDSFAITH WORDSNovember 5, 2017Sermon in a sentence: In the midst of your greatest battle, use words to express your complete faith and trust in God. Congregational reading: Genesis 22:1-8a Scriptures: Gen. 22:1-8a; 1 Sam. 17:45-47; Job 13:15; Dan. 3:13-18; Acts 7:54-60; 2 Tim. 4:6-8Genesis 22:1-8 NKJV Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”?And he said, “Here I am.” 2 ??Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 ??So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 ??So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”?And he said, “Here I am, my son.”?Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 ??And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”None of us has ever faced a situation like the one we have just read about in Abraham’s life. He heard the voice of God telling him to kill his son Isaac, his miracle son of promise, and offer him as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. As crazy, revolting and abhorrent as this sounds, Abraham knew he had heard from God! The scriptures do not clarify whether God appeared to him in a dream or a vision, or whether it was just a voice in his head he couldn’t escape. All he knew was that God was telling him to kill and burn his son. It is impossible for us to imagine or understand the total turmoil and terror, fear and fright that raged in his heart as he prepared to obey such an outrageous command. What kind of questions must have been racing through his mind? What we do know is that Abraham rose early the next morning to set about obeying the word of the Lord! In the context of this message, let us take a look at the words Abraham spoke as he travelled and interacted with his servants and son. The first thing we notice is that he declared he was about to engage in an act of worship. “… the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you” (Gen. 22:5). These are the words of a man who has complete faith in God, in the midst of the greatest trial of his life. This is a phenomenal example to emulate. We need to speak words of worship all the way through our greatest trials! Part of the reason for Abraham’s Faith Words was the fact that he knew “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering” (Gen. 22:8). That’s faith! And even though he knew the lamb would be none other than his own son, he was confident that “… God was able to raise him up, even from the dead….” (Heb. 11:19a). Speak faith-filled words in the midst of your storm.We have often read the account of David facing Goliath with nothing but a shepherd’s staff, five stones and a sling. After Goliath had cursed him and promised to feed his flesh to the birds (which he was totally capable of doing), David responded with these words: 1 Sam. 17:45-47 NKJV … “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands.”These are amazing words when you consider that it was totally impossible to cut Goliath’s head off with the shepherd’s staff and small stones he had in his hands! And it’s one thing to say big brave words when you have an army backing you up, but when you see a virtually unarmed teenager up against a well-armed gladiator, the teen cannot afford to use cheap words. They have to come from a wellspring of faith in a God who is omnipotent. David’s Faith Words were spoken without the slightest hint of fear. It seems that he already had his plan totally worked out and trusted God to give him the victory. In the face of a Philistine giant defying his God, David had no doubt that God would back him up and help him win. Certainly (as he mentioned), he saw the magnificent sword in Goliath’s hand and knew that when he got his hands on it, it would be perfect for the next step in the process. God had put the tool he needed for complete victory in his enemy’s hand and David accessed it by faith!So, David was able to give his triumphant speech before the battle had even begun, knowing full well that his God was invincible. Do we have the same understanding? Do we truly believe and know that our God is invincible? Our words must reflect our faith, before we see the victory.When we look at a man like Job, we again hear incredible Faith Words coming from the lips of someone in the midst of a devastating series of trials. (Be sure to read his story when you are able.) His children were dead, his wealth was gone, he was in incredible physical pain, his wife opposed his integrity toward God, and his friends were calling him a hypocrite. He was totally and utterly alone. Yet, while he was in this state, he made the timeless statement: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). So, let’s go down the list again. Dead children, no money, insane pain, upset wife, accusing friends. You can almost hear Job say: “I can’t think straight, I have cried and sobbed until my chest is sore, I’m blinded by pain, I can’t sit or stand, and my body is one big oozing gaping sore. My “friends” are killing me with their words and my wife is screaming at me to curse God and die. My head hurts, my heart is pounding, I can’t eat and I just vomit bile. I curse the day that I was born. “But in spite of all this, there is one thing I want you to know. I still trust God. If he kills me I will trust Him. As long as it takes to go through this torture, I will trust Him. If I die homeless and alone, with no one to care for me, I will trust Him. It doesn’t matter what happens and how my life turns out. I put my trust in God.” As we all know, it’s easy to testify when things are good in our lives. It’s easy to say “Come what may, I’m going to serve the Lord!” But when ‘come what may’ comes, do we still have the same testimony?Let our mouths be filled with Faith Words, in the middle of our crises.Whether your trial is over an extended period of time like Job’s or it’s a short, intense, unexpected crisis like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego’s, there are Faith Words you can employ. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had made a golden image of himself that all were commanded to bow before and worship. These Hebrew young men had defied his order: Daniel 3:13-18 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” 16 ??Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”With their lives on the line and a raging furnace standing ready, these young men did not waver or hesitate for one second. Whether they lived or died, their answer was the same. “We are not going to serve your gods or worship your image. You can do whatever you want to do to us, O king, but our words to you will never change.Some of our brethren in other countries have not been rescued from death as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were. Instead, they have paid the ultimate price for their faith, like Stephen, through martyrdom. Stephen was bold enough and brave enough to confront the religious and political leaders of his day, giving them a long and detailed history of their national rejection of God and His prophets. And they were not very receptive to his message (to say the least)! Acts 7:54-60 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 ??Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.Faith Words at work, in the middle of life-ending persecution!The Apostle Paul provides our final example for this lesson. Here we see Faith Words being spoken at the end of a full and productive life, lived for God. He told his son Timothy:2 Tim. 4:6-8 … I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.Sick and in prison, persecuted and weak, Paul had the Faith Words we all need to be able to say when we come to the end of our journey: “I served my Lord and I was faithful; and I know He will give me a crown of life. Not because I deserve it or have earned it. It’s just because of His grace and mercy toward a wretch like me. I’m going home!” Faith Words will take you through this life and lead you to the next life – eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ! Use Faith Words every day. ................
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