“How to Win Friends and
Influence People” - For Jesus! |
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Part Five of Six
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Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2. For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Not long ago I had a dream. I was 14 again and back in my hometown. I liked to play baseball in those
pre-arthritis days. The phone
rang. It was Mike. They were having a game, and could I
come? "Come pick me up," I
replied. So here came Mike flying up on
his cheap Huffy bike. "Hop
on!" he cried. And I did -- up on
the handlebars -- that's the way we rode double.
Down Morse St. toward Whittier School and
the baseball field we flew at 100 miles an hour. It was wonderful to be a kid again. The speed of the bike and its "wobbliness," the air on
my face, and the prospect of a baseball game thrilled my soul. I was young and spry and playful again --
not a worry in the world -- not a care.
I couldn't imagine anything better.
Then I awoke. And alas, it was but a dream. Riding double is the city boy's mode of transportation. Riding double down a steep hill might seem dangerous. We might say that that boy perched on the handlebars might be exercising "the foolish faith of youth." But the fourteen-year-old kind of faith really isn't foolish at all. Despite his youth, he takes a "calculated risk" based on friendship first, then on his friend's skill in pedaling and steering, then on his own skill in balancing and adjusting his weight. Riding double downhill takes a leap of faith, all right; but it's not brainless faith -- the rider knows exactly what he is doing although the outcome is unsure. Successful means that two boys in one accord reach their destination quickly. Failing just means trying again. This is exactly the type of faith it takes to serve Jesus the Messiah and influence people for his kingdom. Today we learn the meaning of "leaping faith" as it applies to faith-sharing, and is presented in our Bibles.
PRAYER: "of
Aquinas" (UMBOW 530) Give us, O
LORD, steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thought can drag downward;
unconquered hearts, which no tribulation can wear out; upright hearts, which no
unworthy purpose may tempt aside.
Bestow upon us also, O LORD our God, understanding to know you,
diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally
embrace you; through Jesus the Messiah our Savior. Amen. Three Components of FaithThe scripture (Heb 11) shows us three components of faith: a proposition, a principle, and a promise. A proposition is a definition; you may accept it to be true or not. The Proposition of Faith is discovered in verse 1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The Bible proposes that faith is "the assurance of having something when you don't see it." Author Philip Yancey defines faith as: "Believing in advance in something that will only seem logical when seen in reverse." Like Louis Smith says, "It says 'Now faith...' but it means 'Now faith.'" We do have something NOW whether we now see it or not." Do you accept the Bible's proposition of faith? Next, a principle is instruction on how something might be used. The Principle of Faith is discovered in verse 2: "For by it the elders obtained a good report." If we add in verse 6, "Without faith it is impossible to please God," we understand that the principle of faith is faithfulness. Faith means to be faithful -- doing things in faith -- taking "faith leaps." Faith must lead to faithfulness, and faithfulness proves faith. And works done in faith are not only evidences of faith, but lead they to a good report before God. Finally, a promise is a guarantee that something agreed upon will come to pass. The Promise of Faith is discovered in verse 3: "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Look; there's more to things (matter) than what we can see or feel. Scientists tell us that there's some invisible force that holds all matter together. Consider the universe. We know the stars and planets exist and run set courses, but their origin, substance and management are mysteries. Colossians 1:17. The Beloved Son is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Yet, by faith in Father's promise, we do know that the heavenly bodies were spoken into existence, and that Father manages their movements, but we still don't see how. And we really don't need to see how anyway. By faith, all we need to see is that, if God can create the cosmos from nothing and manage it's vastness by an invisible force, then Father certainly has enough power to recreate our hopes, dreams and destinies into realities. Faith InvaluableSo by knowing its components, we can understand that faith is an invaluable commodity -- and priceless. Faith can move mountains; and faith moves mountains in our pathways every single day, just as in the days of our biblical heroes. For it wasn't by "possibility thinking" that Abel's sacrifice was more excellent, nor was it by "believing the right things" that Enoch never saw death; it wasn't by "positive affirmations" that Noah built the ark, nor was it by "correct doctrine" that Abram sojourned from Ur. 90-year-old Sarah didn't bear a son through "centering techniques," nor was it by "psychic powers" that Isaac was able to prophesy the future to his sons. In each instance, the power to be faithful was faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen, and the invisible force that leads to overcoming victory! For faith in God is the quality that restores fortunes (Job 39:12), justifies saints (Hab 2:4), opens the gates of heaven (Is 26:2), moves mountains (Mat 17:20), heals the sick (Mat 8:13), forgives sins (Mat 9:2), answers all prayer (Mat 21:22), and evangelizes the nations (Rom 1:5). Faith leaps up -- upon the bicycle handlebars of our existence. So if we are to overcome our fears, we need to apply this kind of powerful faith as it pertains specifically to our task, which is winning friends and influencing people for Jesus. Therefore, by faith, I will share more of faith's story. What Faith Is Not
We've defined faith; now let's consider what faith is not: Faith is not merely BELIEVING; it's really not crystal clear, black or white, right or wrong. It does not consist in propositions, dogmas, creeds, "statements of faith," does and don'ts, rules and regulations. Such things as these are stagnant; Wesley called stagnant beliefs "dead faith." As soon as you nail down your belief system with dead faith, before long you find "everything bustin' loose" again. And faith is not simply a GOOD FEELING: Today's pulpits often imply that "If you'll just have more faith, you'll feel better." And there is something to this idea; but when taken to the limit, it leads to a salvation where a person is justified not by faith, but by feeling good. The Messiah is supplanted by an emotional high. Neither is faith BLIND -- Mark 12:30 tell us that we must love God with all our mind. As the late Methodist evangelist Harry Denman preached: "It doesn't take a great mind to be a the Christian, but it does take all the mind you have." For, you see, "faith is not belief in spite of evidence; it is life in scorn of consequences."[2] "Faith Is" Over AgainConsider bicycle faith again:
A man strings
a rope across the lip of Niagara Falls and proceeds to ride a bicycle, on the
rope, to the other side and back. You
are among the crowd who gathers to cheer him on. And then the man leans down and says to you personally, "Do
you believe I can do it?" And you say, "Yes." He says, "Then climb on the handlebars!"[3] If we set our minds on this parable, we can understand that the Christian Faith has not only three components, but three characteristics; faith is centered, personal and relational. Faith is CENTERED ON AN OBJECT: that object is a person; that person is Jesus the Messiah, the spitting image of God Almighty. Therefore our FAITH takes the title "the Christian" very seriously. the Christianity is not a philosophy of life, system of ethics, set of doctrinal propositions; no, the Christianity is simply Jesus the Messiah, period. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus." It's Jesus who's riding the bike! And because faith is centered on a living person, faith is alive and it is PERSONAL. We sing, "We serve a risen savior, he's in the world today!" but do we really believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and is living still after thousands of years? Consider what the Apostle said: "If there were no resurrection of the dead, we would be most miserable." Consider what our Catholic friends teach: "The resurrection of Jesus is the pivot-point upon which the plank of history rests." We even name our years by Jesus; this is anno domino 20__. Jesus is alive forevermore; and through his resurrection, he is making a way for YOU now. Such faith requires a PERSONAL RESPONSE; Wesley's definition of faith is found in his memoirs -- he called faith "a sure trust and confidence that the Messiah died for my sins, that he loved me, and gave himself for me." Experience the resurrected Jesus for YOURSELF by faith. Accordingly, faith is a total response, body, mind, soul, spirit, sensibility, will, intention, head and heart. Faith is holistic -- the whole being is involved. Faith says, "YES, I will LEAP up on the handlebars!" Faith means total commitment! Leaping faith must then be RELATIONAL -- it requires a balancing act! It makes possible a right relationship with God (Rom 5:1), with neighbors, with self and with creation. It leads to greater trust in God and obedience to God! Semi-reformer Martin Luther wrote that
Faith is
well-founded confidence in the grace of God, so perfectly certain that it would
die a thousand times rather than surrender its conviction. Such confidence and personal knowledge of
divine grace makes its possessor joyful, bold, and full of warm affection
toward God and all created things -- all of which the Holy Spirit works in
faith. Hence, such a man becomes
willing and eager to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer all
manner of ills, in order to please and glorify God, who has shown toward him
such grace.[4] And this is exactly what faith means for those seeking to win friends and influence people for Jesus. When we understand Yahweh's seeking nature, and the human need for a Heavenly Father; when we are motivated by agape -- a love that acts; when we leap up on the handlebars by sharing this trusting, faithful lifestyle with others; then we find that there is more to life than what meets the eye. For the promises of the Almighty have become real -- things hoped for become destiny -- unseen evidence becomes plain and simple. What Does Faith Feel Like?We've really defined faith in every word we can think of. But what does faith feel like? Here's an old story with a great moral:
A mother took her eight year-old to a
Paderewski concert. She thought if the
boy had any musical talent at all, it might be revealed through the playing of
the genius. Mother and son sat close to
the stage. When the curtain came up,
there was the gigantic Steinway. Paderewski was still in the wings; it wasn't
quite time to start. Mother was
distracted for a moment, and the boy wriggled out of his seat.
He quickly climbed up to the Steinway, sat
down on the bench, and began to play "Chopsticks" with all his
might. The mother was horrified; the
audience was shocked. There was a gasp
when Paderewski himself strode onto the stage.
But instead of being angry, he smiled, sat down beside the boy and
whispered for him to keep going. Then,
putting both arms around him, Paderewski began play a soft but brilliant
accompaniment to the childish music.
The charmed audience, including the distraught mother, burst into
applause. Faith feels like storming the piano keys or leaping up on the handlebars knowing that someone even greater than Paderewski is behind you, taking care. |
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