Key Verse:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,[a] and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. – Galatians 5:1 NKJV
Man can be faithful
Faith: according to Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. While this may not be the definition of faith, it is a great description of faith. Faith is something else! It is what compels us, drives us, and assures us – it gives us conviction and confidence. Everybody has faith and believes in something, somebody, some religion, or some god.
For whatever reason, some do not believe man is capable of being faithful. All the years I have lived, I have seen that man can be both compassionate and faithful. When I say man, let’s be clear that I fully mean mankind. I have noticed that man is fully capable of being faithful to himself, to money, and even to something like sports.
Man is certainly faithful to himself: he is always going to do what is in his best interest; whether it be work/job/career related, relationship related, or some other self interest. Man is very faithful to money: I do not knock anybody who goes to work to pay bills, for the roof overhead, or the food on the table. Yet there is a great deal of people who are loyal to chasing the almighty dollar – it gives them security. Man loves sports: you introduce a person to an athlete, team, or sport that they fall in love to and you will see some serious faith – I am a testimony to that (faithful fan of Atlanta United, Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech).
I have found that there is a real zeal and passion when it comes to people’s faithfulness to things like sports or even something as simple as music artist. Zeal: fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence. Don’t believe me? I dare you to go into a crowd and say Tupac sucks. I dare you go into a crowd and say that Lebron is better than both Jordan and Kobe. If you were to say things like that, you would experience some real zeal and passion.
Where is this kind of zeal for God? Where is this kind of passion for Jesus Christ? Everybody has something to say in the argument of who is the best out of Lebron, Jordan, and Kobe – because they’re faithful to the one they liked. If I were to get on Facebook or Twitter right now, and say, “I don’t believe the Falcons going back to the Super Bowl,” I’d get all kinds of responses. Yet, if I get on Facebook and say something about the Lord, I can’t get not one response, one like, or even a share!
Where has the faith in God gone?
Why is there no passion for the Lord, like that? Again I ask, where is the zeal for God? We don’t necessarily speak out for the Lord with same passion that we will speak out about who is the best rapper, best singer, best quarterback ever, and best basketball player of all-time. We are not ashamed to share our opinions when it comes to that, have we grown ashamed of the Lord?
I believe we have grown ashamed to tell somebody, “I believe in the Lord.” People are embarrassed to say such thing, but to sound cool, they’ll quickly say they’re an atheist – it’s the cool thing to do. Yet this same person can’t even tell you the difference between an atheist or a theist, and the one that proclaims to be an atheist is too dumb to realize they’re actually a theist. It’s time to wake up and you better actually wake up – no time to rollover in the bed.
Who are you going to turn to when this world beats you down? We get so we know everything, but don’t know who to turn to when the test come. We try to turn to Richard, and come to find out that all Richard went and did was and tell the boys at the barbershop. God is the one that we need to turn to, the one that can solve our problems, but we turn to Rhonda and all she does is, “Ooo girl, you hear what’s going on with Tiffany?”
Where is your faith? What are you putting your faith in? Who do you believe in? You need to be able to answer those questions, especially when you take a look at the world in which we live. Paul said (Ephesians 6:12), that we wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness – in other words, we wrestle against things not of this realm, but of the spiritual realm. How are you going to stand (wrestle) against what you cannot see?
I tell you today, your boys can’t help you in that battle – they’re trying to fight that same fight. Your girls cannot help you wrestle those principalities because they too have to wrestle in that same match. The only one that can help you fight those fights is the Lord! This ain’t rhetoric, this is truth!
Keep the faith
People trying to take on life with no faith in the Lord, but always wondering, “What’s going on?” Let’s open some eyes today. Satan was cast out of heaven and thrown down to this kingdom (Revelation 12:7-9), now roams this world looking for who he can devour, like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). We are up against the wiles of the devil – how can you take that on by yourself?
Demons and all kinds of unclean spirits occupy this world, because of Satan, but because we have not believed, we do not see what’s right there in front of us. In Mark 5:1-20, we see Jesus come face to face with a man filled with many demons, they spoke as one, and called themselves Legion. This demon came to Jesus, recognizing our Savior, and asked that our Savior not torment him but allow him to pass on by.
You see, Jesus is more than capable of handling those demons and those unclean spirits – they won’t no part of Jesus! Legion ended up possessing some nearby pigs that ended up running into the nearby sea. You see, we don’t have the power to command such respect out of the demons of this world and the unclean spirits of this world. Satan was down here trying Jesus and Jesus shut him up and put him in his place. It’s time for us to wake up, and place our faith in the hands of the one who has all power in His hands!
Man must take back his rightful place with God. We have once again turned away from the Lord, but we must now turn back and become a faithful people again. Paul told the people of Corinth (1 Corinthians 16:13), “watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, and be strong.” We can only do these things if we’re standing in the faith of God – we can’t do anything without the Lord.
ICYMI: Click here to watch or read the sermon – Praying for Others
We stand today against those principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness by keeping the faith. We have faith today that the Lord created both the things seen and unseen (Hebrews 11:3). It is through God’s love that we have salvation (victory) over those principalities, powers, and that old Devil.
When you keep the faith, you’re able to then stand in those days when the world tries to beat you down – know that you may fall down but you will certainly get back up! When you keep the faith you know that you can do all things through Christ because He is Lord over all! When you keep the faith you know that you gained everlasting life because you have believed on the only begotten Son of God.
I leave you with this: John 3:36 – He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
Look at this world we live in – keep the faith, my brothers and sisters in Christ, keep the faith. You have no reason to be ashamed of your faith in the Lord. Remember, our faith is a faith of love as well so continue praying for others, especially those that hate you.
Links to bible references in this sermon:
Mark 5:1-20 – Jesus and the demon, Legion
John 3:36 – Promise of everlasting life
1 Corinthians 16:13 – Stand fast in faith
Ephesians 6:12 – What we wrestle against, daily
Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the substance of things hoped for
1 Peter 5:8 – Satan is like a roaring lion
Revelation 12:7-9 – Satan kicked out of heaven