Get Ready- To Live by Faith Alone
10/07/07
Time after Pentecost – Lectionary 27
2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10
Dear friends in Christ,
Why is it that we come to church? What draws us here? Well, we don’t come to buy something, like new clothes. O, from time to time there might be something for sale as a fundraiser, but that’s not the main reason we come. You won’t leave here this morning with a shopping bag full of stuff, like you might if you were at a shopping mall. Although many good meals are served at church functions, and we have treats as part of our fellowship time, we really don’t come here to eat, in the same way you would go to a fine restaurant. Certainly we come and hope to greet friends we know, but we can do that at lots of other places. Many of us like to sing and listen to music, but, quite frankly, our music is not CD or Orchestra Hall quality. You can find better places to listen to music. So, what does the church offer, that is not found elsewhere? Well, I think it’s faith. Church is a place to learn and live faith. Faith in God is what draws us, and we come to live out our faith in this time of worship, and to be challenged to walk by faith every day.
In today’s lessons, faith is central. In the verses right before our gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to live out their lives of faith, including forgiving others. Feeling overwhelmed by all this, the disciples say, “Lord, increase our faith!” Who among us hasn’t felt that from time to time. “God, give me more faith. I’m weak, I’m having a hard time right now. Increase my faith. Give me enough to see me through this difficult time!”
Since faith is really what we’re about as a church, and since faith is the main point of our lessons today, I’d like to talk about faith this morning. I want to make just these three points. First, faith is a gift of trust in God, not an emotion. Second, faith is meant to be lived and shared. And third, a little faith, can accomplish great things. This fall we’ve been working on the theme “Get Ready.” Today, we focus on getting ready, to live by faith.
“Increase our faith,” say the disciples. It’s like they’re not feeling it. Despite walking with Jesus, and at one point being given power over unclean spirits and the ability to heal others, they still don’t feel like they have enough faith. They’re not confident in their walk with God.
So often, I think, faith gets confused with emotions and feelings. I’m not feeling faithful, I’m not feeling God’s presence, I’m not feeling the Spirit. But faith should not be viewed as a feeling or emotion. Faith is simple trust. If you have that, you have faith, and that’s enough. That’s why Jesus said children are models of faith. What do children do? They trust their parents. They trust those around them. Look at a child, and you’ll see faith.
Since my father was a bridge engineer, I remember often using the example of crossing a bridge as an act of faith. You trust the bridge will hold. It’s not an emotion, it’s not about feeling if it will hold or not, it’s trusting. Either you trust or you don’t. Either you cross or you stay. A few years ago I decided to quit using that example, because bridges just don’t collapse. You really don’t need faith to cross a bridge, since they’re built so sturdy these days. Well, in light of the 35W bridge collapse, and the subsequent look at our failing infrastructure in many places, I guess I can use it again. We do have to trust that bridges will hold, each time we cross. That’s having faith.
In the same way we have to trust God. We trust God is with us and will hold us. We trust God’s love and promises, and that they’re far more trustworthy than a bridge made by human hands. This trust, this faith is there, regardless of how we may be feeling. We trust God when we’re happy, we trust God when we’re sad. We trust God when we’ve done good, we trust God when we’ve failed. Faith is trust, and that’s enough.
In 2nd Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of his faith, and to re-kindle the gift of God within him. Faith is a gift. It’s not something we’ve earned, achieved, or deserved. It’s something, by the power of the Spirit, that is given by God to us. It does need to be re-kindled from time to time, a new log thrown on the fire, that’s part of why we worship regularly, but it is a gift from God that is there, regardless of how we may be feeling. So faith is first of all a gift and not a feeling, trusting God is there.
We also see from the lessons that faith is meant to be lived and shared. We do this both by what we say and do, being witnesses to God who has given us faith.
I love these touching words by Paul to Timothy, 2nd Timothy 1 vs. 5. “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” This is faith being lived out and witnessed to in the family. Here’s three generations of faith. It starts with Lois, is passed to her daughter Eunice, who then passes it on to her son Timothy. Isn’t that what we all want? Isn’t that why we pray in our homes, worship together as a family, attend and teach Sunday school and confirmation, go to Bible camp, to hopefully pass on the faith? What a joy it is to see our children, and even grandchildren, become people of faith.
Faith is also lived out in Christian service. This is not done so we can make ourselves look good, or be rewarded, or be honored. It’s done because that’s what people of faith do. We share God’s love through acts of service.
Jesus makes this very clear in the little parable he tells the disciples. It’s really kind of strange and foreign to our modern ears. But, in a time of slavery, the slaves did what the master said. The master was under no obligation to thank the slave for doing what slaves were supposed to do. Slaves had no expectation they would be thanked, they did their duty.
In much the same way, serving God ought ideally be done as it’s own reward. God has done everything for us in giving us the savior Jesus and the gift of faith. We return thanks through service, not to gain recognition, but because that’s what we should do.
The world's most famous evangelist D.L. Moody was hosting a Bible Conference in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Many of the participants came from Europe. Following the European custom of the time, they left their shoes outside their room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. They did not know that there were no hall servants in America. Walking down the dormitory halls that night, Moody noticed the shoes and determined not to embarrass his guests. He gathered up the shoes, went to his room and began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret. The following morning the foreign visitors opened their doors and found their shoes shined. They did not know by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, a different person volunteered to shine the shoes in secret each night. That’s service for service’s sake. No one knew. They just did it.
We have many people, young and old, in this congregation that serve and give to this congregation, without seeking or expecting recognition. You do it because that is what God has called you to do. As human beings we all like a little recognition from time to time. But that’s not why we serve. That’s not why we give. We serve, we give, because faith is meant to be lived, and it is one way we can live out the faith, touch other lives, and hopefully pass faith on to others.
The last point about faith is that a little faith, can accomplish great things. It doesn’t take much, just a tiny bit, and wonderful things can happen. The disciples wanted more faith. They weren’t feeling it. If only they could be given a little more, they’d have more confidence and experience greater results.
But what does Jesus say? If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, one of the tiniest seeds you can see with the naked eye, you could ask this mulberry tree to be uprooted, be planted in the sea, and it would obey you. It doesn’t take much faith, less than even the size of a mustard seed, and miraculous things can happen. The disciples already had plenty of faith, they just needed to trust and act on what was already there.
A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, the young boy began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.
One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said, "Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around and our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place him first in our lives." The boy drove home and made a covenant that for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.
Many years after this, the young boy, now a man, stood as Sunday School Superintendent at North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago and said, "I would rather be a layman in the North Shore Baptist Church than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus."
So, every time you take a take a bite of Philadelphia Cream cheese, sip a cup of Maxwell House, mix a quart of Kool-Aid, slice up a DiGiorno Pizza, cook a pot of Macaroni & Cheese, spread some Grey Poupon, stir a bowl of Cream of Wheat, slurp down some Jell-O, eat the cream out of the middle of an Oreo cookie, or serve some Stove Top dressing, remember a boy, his pony named Paddy, and the promise little James L. Kraft made to serve God and work as He directed. A little faith led to amazing results.
Now we’re all not called to success in business. But we are called to live first by the faith we have, do our part to live and share the faith, and believe God can do great things as a result. I’ve seen it happen in many ways in and through this church, and I know it will continue to happen when we step out in faith.
We come today, as we do each week, for faith. We come to have our faith re-kindled, knowing that faith is not a feeling, but a gift of trust in God. We come to live out our faith in our giving and acts of service, not to be rewarded, but as a way to pass on the faith in our families and communities. And we come to hear the good news that it only takes a little, and great things can happen. May we believe these things, trusting that the little faith we have is more than enough to make a big difference in God’s kingdom. Amen
2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10
Dear friends in Christ,
Why is it that we come to church? What draws us here? Well, we don’t come to buy something, like new clothes. O, from time to time there might be something for sale as a fundraiser, but that’s not the main reason we come. You won’t leave here this morning with a shopping bag full of stuff, like you might if you were at a shopping mall. Although many good meals are served at church functions, and we have treats as part of our fellowship time, we really don’t come here to eat, in the same way you would go to a fine restaurant. Certainly we come and hope to greet friends we know, but we can do that at lots of other places. Many of us like to sing and listen to music, but, quite frankly, our music is not CD or Orchestra Hall quality. You can find better places to listen to music. So, what does the church offer, that is not found elsewhere? Well, I think it’s faith. Church is a place to learn and live faith. Faith in God is what draws us, and we come to live out our faith in this time of worship, and to be challenged to walk by faith every day.
In today’s lessons, faith is central. In the verses right before our gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to live out their lives of faith, including forgiving others. Feeling overwhelmed by all this, the disciples say, “Lord, increase our faith!” Who among us hasn’t felt that from time to time. “God, give me more faith. I’m weak, I’m having a hard time right now. Increase my faith. Give me enough to see me through this difficult time!”
Since faith is really what we’re about as a church, and since faith is the main point of our lessons today, I’d like to talk about faith this morning. I want to make just these three points. First, faith is a gift of trust in God, not an emotion. Second, faith is meant to be lived and shared. And third, a little faith, can accomplish great things. This fall we’ve been working on the theme “Get Ready.” Today, we focus on getting ready, to live by faith.
“Increase our faith,” say the disciples. It’s like they’re not feeling it. Despite walking with Jesus, and at one point being given power over unclean spirits and the ability to heal others, they still don’t feel like they have enough faith. They’re not confident in their walk with God.
So often, I think, faith gets confused with emotions and feelings. I’m not feeling faithful, I’m not feeling God’s presence, I’m not feeling the Spirit. But faith should not be viewed as a feeling or emotion. Faith is simple trust. If you have that, you have faith, and that’s enough. That’s why Jesus said children are models of faith. What do children do? They trust their parents. They trust those around them. Look at a child, and you’ll see faith.
Since my father was a bridge engineer, I remember often using the example of crossing a bridge as an act of faith. You trust the bridge will hold. It’s not an emotion, it’s not about feeling if it will hold or not, it’s trusting. Either you trust or you don’t. Either you cross or you stay. A few years ago I decided to quit using that example, because bridges just don’t collapse. You really don’t need faith to cross a bridge, since they’re built so sturdy these days. Well, in light of the 35W bridge collapse, and the subsequent look at our failing infrastructure in many places, I guess I can use it again. We do have to trust that bridges will hold, each time we cross. That’s having faith.
In the same way we have to trust God. We trust God is with us and will hold us. We trust God’s love and promises, and that they’re far more trustworthy than a bridge made by human hands. This trust, this faith is there, regardless of how we may be feeling. We trust God when we’re happy, we trust God when we’re sad. We trust God when we’ve done good, we trust God when we’ve failed. Faith is trust, and that’s enough.
In 2nd Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of his faith, and to re-kindle the gift of God within him. Faith is a gift. It’s not something we’ve earned, achieved, or deserved. It’s something, by the power of the Spirit, that is given by God to us. It does need to be re-kindled from time to time, a new log thrown on the fire, that’s part of why we worship regularly, but it is a gift from God that is there, regardless of how we may be feeling. So faith is first of all a gift and not a feeling, trusting God is there.
We also see from the lessons that faith is meant to be lived and shared. We do this both by what we say and do, being witnesses to God who has given us faith.
I love these touching words by Paul to Timothy, 2nd Timothy 1 vs. 5. “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” This is faith being lived out and witnessed to in the family. Here’s three generations of faith. It starts with Lois, is passed to her daughter Eunice, who then passes it on to her son Timothy. Isn’t that what we all want? Isn’t that why we pray in our homes, worship together as a family, attend and teach Sunday school and confirmation, go to Bible camp, to hopefully pass on the faith? What a joy it is to see our children, and even grandchildren, become people of faith.
Faith is also lived out in Christian service. This is not done so we can make ourselves look good, or be rewarded, or be honored. It’s done because that’s what people of faith do. We share God’s love through acts of service.
Jesus makes this very clear in the little parable he tells the disciples. It’s really kind of strange and foreign to our modern ears. But, in a time of slavery, the slaves did what the master said. The master was under no obligation to thank the slave for doing what slaves were supposed to do. Slaves had no expectation they would be thanked, they did their duty.
In much the same way, serving God ought ideally be done as it’s own reward. God has done everything for us in giving us the savior Jesus and the gift of faith. We return thanks through service, not to gain recognition, but because that’s what we should do.
The world's most famous evangelist D.L. Moody was hosting a Bible Conference in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Many of the participants came from Europe. Following the European custom of the time, they left their shoes outside their room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. They did not know that there were no hall servants in America. Walking down the dormitory halls that night, Moody noticed the shoes and determined not to embarrass his guests. He gathered up the shoes, went to his room and began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret. The following morning the foreign visitors opened their doors and found their shoes shined. They did not know by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, a different person volunteered to shine the shoes in secret each night. That’s service for service’s sake. No one knew. They just did it.
We have many people, young and old, in this congregation that serve and give to this congregation, without seeking or expecting recognition. You do it because that is what God has called you to do. As human beings we all like a little recognition from time to time. But that’s not why we serve. That’s not why we give. We serve, we give, because faith is meant to be lived, and it is one way we can live out the faith, touch other lives, and hopefully pass faith on to others.
The last point about faith is that a little faith, can accomplish great things. It doesn’t take much, just a tiny bit, and wonderful things can happen. The disciples wanted more faith. They weren’t feeling it. If only they could be given a little more, they’d have more confidence and experience greater results.
But what does Jesus say? If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, one of the tiniest seeds you can see with the naked eye, you could ask this mulberry tree to be uprooted, be planted in the sea, and it would obey you. It doesn’t take much faith, less than even the size of a mustard seed, and miraculous things can happen. The disciples already had plenty of faith, they just needed to trust and act on what was already there.
A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, the young boy began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.
One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said, "Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around and our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place him first in our lives." The boy drove home and made a covenant that for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.
Many years after this, the young boy, now a man, stood as Sunday School Superintendent at North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago and said, "I would rather be a layman in the North Shore Baptist Church than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus."
So, every time you take a take a bite of Philadelphia Cream cheese, sip a cup of Maxwell House, mix a quart of Kool-Aid, slice up a DiGiorno Pizza, cook a pot of Macaroni & Cheese, spread some Grey Poupon, stir a bowl of Cream of Wheat, slurp down some Jell-O, eat the cream out of the middle of an Oreo cookie, or serve some Stove Top dressing, remember a boy, his pony named Paddy, and the promise little James L. Kraft made to serve God and work as He directed. A little faith led to amazing results.
Now we’re all not called to success in business. But we are called to live first by the faith we have, do our part to live and share the faith, and believe God can do great things as a result. I’ve seen it happen in many ways in and through this church, and I know it will continue to happen when we step out in faith.
We come today, as we do each week, for faith. We come to have our faith re-kindled, knowing that faith is not a feeling, but a gift of trust in God. We come to live out our faith in our giving and acts of service, not to be rewarded, but as a way to pass on the faith in our families and communities. And we come to hear the good news that it only takes a little, and great things can happen. May we believe these things, trusting that the little faith we have is more than enough to make a big difference in God’s kingdom. Amen