A Life of
Nobility - How to Maintain Your Faith
(1Ti1:13:14)
Intro: Fact: More
are chosen, few are selected. More are baptized, few are saved. Not all
who call on the Lord Jesus can be saved.
I.
Is faith truly important in our lives?
A.
Faith is important in this life. “…because apart
from me ye are not able to do anything”.(Jn
15:5)
1.
A branch that leaves the tree will dry.
2.
Peter caught no fish when he went out fishing on
his own will after Jesus manifested Himself twice.
B.
Faith is more important than gaining the whole
world. For what does a man profit if he shall gain the whole world and lose his
own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?(Mt6:26)
1.
It is impossible for a man to gain the whole
world. If the soul perishes, gaining the world is in vain.
2.
This life is nothing in comparison to eternality.
3.
Solomon received all that he desired in his
heart; yet all he felt was vanity.
C.
Faith is important in obtaining eternal life. Man
is destined to die once, and face judgment.(Heb9:27)(Mt16:26f)
1.
You can observe that man is destined to die.
2.
Can we believe in “judgment”?
a.
We observe judgment in the Bible.
b.
We observe judgment in our daily lives.
c.
The Holy Spirit judges us now.
II.
Do we need to maintain our faith?
A.
Faith can be up and can be down. (2Co 13:5)
1.
Man can lose his first love and zeal.
2.
We need to examine our faith.
3.
The father of faith had moments of weakness in
faith.
B.
The devil will try to devour those who are weak.
(1Pe 5:8)
1.
Adam
was to maintain/manage all living creations. (Gen 1:28). Adam failed to manage both
the serpent and Eve.
2.
The devil works hard, especially during the last
days. ( Rev 12:12)
III.
How do we maintain our faith?
A.
“…keep the pattern of sound teaching with faith…”(2Ti1:13)
1.
Paul was in chains, yet he kept the pattern of
sound teaching with strong faith.
2.
Most Israelites failed in the wilderness because
they did not have faith.
a.
They had the best law.
b.
They had the best leader.
c.
They had many signs and wonders.
d.
But they did not use their faith to mingle with
the words listened. (Heb 4:2)
e.
They did not have faith because…
(a)
Their hearts were hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin. (Heb 3:8)
(b)
Their hearts were always going astray. The did
not know the deeds of God (Heb 3:10)
3.
The word of life can be heard, seen, and
touched. (1Jn 1:1). Religion can be so profound, yet so simple. As long as one
has faith and is able experience God, he can maintain long faith.
B.
“…keep the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love
which is in Jesus Christ” (2Ti1:13)
1.
If one has strong faith towards Jesus, naturally
he will have love toward the saints. (Co 1:4) Faith without deeds is dead.
2.
One needs to build oneself up in love. (Eph 4:16)
Where there is love, one can find meaning and value to live in the world.
3.
Love can be as strong as death. (SS 8:6). Paul
says that nothing can separate him from the love of Jesus Christ.
4.
When one serves with love, one will be loved by
God. (ref Jn 12:26) ex. One
of the lepers received more grace after showing love to Jesus. It will be much
easier to maintain faith if one is loved by God himself.
C.
That good thing which was committed unto thee is
kept by the Holy Ghost which dwells in us. (2Ti 1:14) The Holy Spirit has many
functions that can help us to maintain our faith.
1.
The Holy Spirit can grieve us when we sin.(2The )
2.
The Holy Spirit can pray for us in our weakness.
(Rm 8:26)
3.
The Holy Spirit can remind us of the truth.
(Jn16:15)
4.
The Holy Spirit can reveal hidden things to us.
(Eph 5:18)
5.
We cannot simply walk into the heavenly kingdom.
We must kneel and pray to enter heavenly kingdom.
6.
The more we pray the more power we have to keep
our faith.
