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DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
Preached on: 19.08.07
(published: on website 07.09.07) |
All Saints Church |
Why Are
We Here?:
Because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, he was the means of God’s
complete forgiveness of our sins. That means every sin (past,
present, and future) can be forgiven completely. Through Him, God
did for us what we could not do. Jesus removed the barrier of sin
between us and God.
|
Rev.
David Tate |
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A sermon on faith by David Tate
This was preached at All Saints on 19th August but
I felt those who missed it should hear it. It is well worth a
read and will inspire you. Tony Higton
WHY ARE WE HERE?
Today’s reading is about faith and it comes from the letter to
the Hebrews, a letter that no one is really sure who the author
is. Some will say Paul, others say Luke, and other names are
put forward. It is one of the most fascinating letters and
stresses how Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of Old Testament
sacrificial system.
Because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, he was the means of
God’s complete forgiveness of our sins. That means every sin
(past, present, and future) can be forgiven completely. Through
Him, God did for us what we could not do. Jesus removed the
barrier of sin between us and God.
The message from Hebrews describes Jesus as God. It explains
that Jesus is the ultimate power and authority in the universe,
superior to any and every other leader in history. He is the
full and complete revelation of God to us. And Jesus is the one
who can forgive us our sins. Christ is the centre of our hope
and trust.
Now, faith, which is our confident trust that God will help us
do what we are powerless to do. Faith is the confident
assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the
evidence of things we cannot yet see. As we place our trust in
God, he will transform us with his power. He has promised this
to all who believe.
It is one thing to know that our spiritual renewal is a lifelong
process; it is another to persevere when obstacles and problems
block our way.
The first readers of the book of Hebrews experienced incredible
persecution for their faith. But the writer assured them that
they would be able to endure if they kept their eyes fixed on
Jesus Christ.
We need to pray for the strength to endure because perseverance
is essential to ongoing spiritual growth.
The opening verses of the reading list people from Old Testament
history, who demonstrated powerful faith. The recipients of the
letter would have been shown that many before them had faced
difficult times and hung in there, persevering by faith.
When we feel our faith faltering, it is good to be reminded of
others who have gone before us. We may turn both to the Bible
and to other Christians for real-life testimonies of how God
works through faith.
It concludes with a cloud of witnesses, who have “won” the race
of faith.
The Hebrews are encouraged to cut loose from sin and focus on
Christ every step of
the way. Such focused perseverance will allow us to finish the
race God has given us to run and bring him glory in the
process.
In essence the message is 'Don't follow anyone else. Follow
Jesus'
It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in anyone else
who is less than divine. Only Jesus is divine and is worthy of
absolute trust. As Hebrews 12:2 urges, "Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus." We need to aim higher than humanity for our heroes.
Sportsmen know the importance of focus -- decisively picking a
target and going for it.
Golfing coaches will say, “Forget about how your swing may look
and concentrate instead on where you want the ball to go. Take
dead aim at a spot on the fairway or the green, refuse to allow
any negative thought to enter your head, and swing away.
Indecision is a killer. Taking dead aim means clearing the mind
of all thoughts except the thoughts of the target, so that the
muscles are free to do the job.”
The same goes for darts players, snooker players, footballers
taking penalties – concentrate on the target.
And Christians too, should take dead aim at Jesus. Christians
focus on Jesus as the perfect pattern for faith and life.
Christians approach every decision of life with two questions:
What would Jesus say about it? What would Jesus do about it?
We are called to be and do everything God calls us to be and do
as shown in Jesus and explained in the Bible.
The golfer's goal is simple: Keep on hitting it straight until
the ball goes into the hole. The Christian's goal is simple: Be
like Jesus.
Christians want to grow up to be just like Jesus: we have a
better role model than any other.
It has been said that a person with great dreams can achieve
great things. A person with small dreams, or a person without
the confidence to pursue his or her dreams, has consigned
himself or herself to a life of frustration. That’s a thought
for all of us, and one that I attempted to instil into our
children.
Set yourself goals and targets. Of course there are conditions,
that we must love one another, not trample on people in pursuit
of them.
The same goes for us at The Church in the Woottons, and a quote
from the Book of Proverbs, "Where there is no vision, the people
perish" We have to ask ourselves, "Does the church want to
grow? Does the church want to get better? Does it want to do
great things for the Lord? Because if it doesn't, then what does
it want to do?
Unless God is dead, churches and their people can get better.
They can grow. They can do more for God in mission, evangelism,
educational opportunities, and all the rest. There's always room
for growth unless, of course, God or we are dead. God is not
dead, so where are we?
Can you imagine what our country or church would look like today
if our predecessors said, "Well, that's enough. No need to get
better."? Can you imagine what our country or church will look
like if we say, "Well, that's enough. No need to get better."?
This is the beginning of a new day. We have been given this day
to use as we will. We can waste it or use it for good. What we
do today is important because we are exchanging a day of our
lives for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone
forever; in its place is something that we have left behind, let
it be some-thing good.
What have we done? What are we leaving behind?
Do we have high standards? Do we have goals? Are we taking dead
aim at Jesus? There's an easy way to find out.
It depends on us.
I
think of the woman who had an appendix operation. She asked her
doctor, "Will the scar show when I'm at the beach?" The doctor
answered, "That depends on you."
So what we do depends on us.
Martin Luther said, "Good works don't make a person good but a
good person does good works." Jesus said, "Follow me!" Take dead
aim! Focus! Be faithful!
There is a sense of urgency about this letter to the Hebrews.
Hold on, it says. Don’t despair. Don’t give up. Stir up each
other. Encourage each other. Don’t stop going to worship. Don’t
get discouraged. All the way through that is the tone. The
writer is like a minister trying his best to revive a church.
Where do we stand in this story, and what is the response to the
“faith” image? How big is it, has it grown?
If we were honest, how many here today would whisper secretly in
the ear of Jesus, "Lord, increase my faith." Are we not here
today because we also desire to please God and to grow in the
faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or perhaps some of
you here today because you want to live by faith in Christ; you
want to begin your journey. I reckon that I can safely say that
everyone here has had that moment when we have said, Lord,
increase my faith.
And, how do we know if our faith is growing?
Our faith is freeing and fulfilling and growing if we are able
to forgive those who have
trespassed against us. To not forgive is to actually ridicule
God.
You know your faith is growing when you can forgive those who
have harmed or ridiculed you. Forgiveness is never easy, but it
is always the will of God. Forgiveness demonstrates faith in
God rather than faith in ourselves.
Secondly, you know your faith is growing if you have
perseverance, for the full journey of faith, not just one or two
laps.
The entire Christian life is a journey of faith. We cannot
always see the way. The end is not always clear, but this we
know--that all things work for the good of those who are called
by God and His purposes. Nothing can defeat or frustrate God's
plans for any part of our journey if our eyes are on Him. We
know the certainty which faith in Christ can achieve.
Thirdly, you know your faith in Christ is fruitful and growing
when you begin to trust him for the small things of life.
Lastly, we know our faith is growing and fruitful when we are
more interested in commitment than in comfort, when we are
prepared to put ourselves out for others.
Is your faith winning or whining? Is there someone you need to
forgive today? Are you focussing on Jesus Christ? Are you
prepared to increase your faith and show that it is working,
that it is a faith in action.
David Tate |
Do
We Believe in 3 Gods?
