The Christian's Faith

Romans chapter 4, reading in verse 19. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body, now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Chapter 6 of Ephesians, reading in verse 16. And above all, verse 15, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. First Peter chapter 1, verse 6, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, and if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire.

We've been reminded very earlier in the first speaker, in view of a resurrected man, a resurrected Lord. We have a real, touchable, tangible man in the glory. And what I have enjoyed just recently is the fact that because he lives, I actually can take to him all my hurts, and all my offenses, and all my desires.

He knows and he is aware of the feelings of my infirmities. So the very aches and pains that I have spiritually, he is totally aware. And I thank God for that.

I would like to try to speak to our hearts this afternoon about faith. We don't have faith in a man that's in the tomb. Our faith is in a man, a real, touchable man, and a man who is concerned, a man who is interested in every one of his people.

So I would like to just very briefly speak about a strong faith in Romans 4, the shield of faith in Ephesians 6, and sorrowing faith in 1 Peter. I was not given a slip of paper from the elders when I arrived by asking the question, do I have strong faith or weak faith? I wonder how you would answer it. I wonder how I would answer it.

If the elders gave me a piece of paper when I entered in, I held, do you have strong faith or weak faith? I believe a person gets help at a conference. Gets help at a conference when, if they feel they have weak faith. Faith that perhaps maybe it could be stronger.

Maybe a realization that I'm not taking God at his word enough. Meaning that what he says, is that really good enough for me? Can I put my whole weight on that? It doesn't work. Well, dear brethren, it works.

And there are many in this room today that have known what it is to just simply rest on what he says. So if this is what he says, that's what I'm going to do, and that's where I'm going to go. So, in view of Abraham's, Abraham's who went out not knowing whether he went.

Where are you going, Abraham? Well, I don't know where I'm going. What do you mean you don't know where you're going? You're going someplace, you're going out and you don't know where you're going? That's right, I'm going out and I don't know where I'm going. All I know is, I've got to go.

Who says you've got to go? Well, God says I've got to go. And he staggered not. Romans chapter 4 and verse 20 has staggered me.

Because he staggered not. He staggered not. I would like to remind our hearts today that I do not get real joy until I rest on his word.

You say, I've heard that all my life. Well, I have too. And I have to admit that there are times when I want more than that.

But you see, dear brethren, that isn't what God expects us to have more. He wants us to just rely upon his word. Mr. Crawford said something probably 40 years ago when I hadn't been saved that long.

All that God expects of you, he says, can be written on your thumbnail. Remember him saying that? And I took a look at that skinny thumb and I thought, what in the world is this? How can I put much on my thumbnail? He says all that God expects of you is to obey. So when I see something, when God shows me something, dear young Christian, dear older believer, when God shows me something, that's what I want to stress today, is resting on his word.

And I can have peace and happiness through his word. When Moses spoke out of the bush, I'm sorry, when God spoke out of the bush in Exodus chapter 3 to Moses, Moses saw something. He saw a bush.

He had only seen thousands of bushes before then. But he saw this bush, and it was burning, and it wasn't consumed, and he stopped. And rather than keep on going, he stopped and he looked at the bush.

You see, the next sentence, dear brethren, is the key to Moses' calling. When God saw that Moses stopped, then he spoke unto Moses. And he said, Moses, why did God speak to him after he stopped him? Because God saw that Moses meant business.

And when Moses meant business by stopping and beholding and looking at the bush, there was something that conveyed to God that God looked upon Moses and he said, this man is willing to obey. This man is willing to trust me. And of course, God spoke to him, you're going to be my leader.

You're going to lead the people out. I'm going to bring you out. You're going to take them in.

That was the desire. That was the plan. And as he began to speak to him, but who am I? I can't speak.

I'm just poor, poor me. And you know the story in Exodus chapter 3 that God finally says, Moses, what's in your hand? And he said, a rod. And he used the rod.

And he confirmed to Moses that he was going to be the man till he was out. Dear brethren, if Moses had never stopped, if he had never stopped and behold the bush, he never would have gotten the conversation from God in Exodus chapter 3. He never would have been the man that would lead them out. He never would have been the man that had the rod in his hand.

But because he acted on faith, because there was faith on Moses' part to rest upon that spoken word, he got the blessing. I couldn't help but think of when the Lord called Saul of Tarsus. What time did I get up here? 20 after, I think.

Dennis, when it gets to be 10, stop me, okay? I can't help but remember when the Lord called Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus was stopped. He threw up his hands and said, who art thou, Lord? And as soon as the Lord spoke to him, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? There was something that was radiated in Paul's heart.

That is this. That was a spoken word from Jesus. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

Had he rested, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord told him, and he rested on it. Can I tell you an example? Please don't anybody criticize me. Now just relax.

Because this ought to be the normal. This should be common. What I'm about to tell you should be a common thing amongst God's people.

But I'm afraid, like myself, it happens so seldom. We had meetings in 1986. Mr. Crawford came to Marion and we had a lovely time.

Several teenagers professed except one. We got to, we got home. After that last night, sang Happy Day for about four or five, including Myrna's daughter.

And we got to the refrigerator. We had a good cry. There was one that missed it.

God had spoken with no uncertain sound. But there was one girl that missed it. And that was our daughter.

By the way, overseers, if you're in a series of meetings, and there is a couple in that, there's a family in that assembly, and they are burdened about their children, and several of them profess except one or two of that. You make sure you get to that home. Not on Tuesday night, but on Monday night.

Because they're heartbroken. I know that. And I went on a downer.

Three days, I kicked myself. What should I have preached? What this, this, that? You know how you get, you get so self-centered. And I went on a downer.

On the fourth day, I'm reading John chapter 2. And in John chapter 2, the Lord is there at the wedding of Cana. And the Lord says, By an hour hath not yet come. I got it.

Why the hour for Tammy hadn't come yet? It's going to come. The hour for her salvation was not now, but it's going to come. Did it ever come? It sure did.

Twenty-five months. See, I got it written here. Twenty-five months, three weeks, six hours, 22 minutes.

I didn't write down the seconds. The phone rang. I'm in Canada, and the phone rang.

And she says, Dad. I says, Tammy. She says, Dad.

She didn't know how to talk either. And to make a long story short, we cried more than talked. Because that morning sitting around the emblems, sitting in the seat of the unlearned, she trusted Christ as Savior.

The hour came. What I didn't tell you was this, that in those four days, three days, I had weak faith. My chin was on the mat.

But when God gave me that word in John chapter 2, my hour has not yet come. There was strong faith. There was faith that could believe God.

There was faith upon his spoken word. There was faith that I knew that Tammy one day is going to get God's salvation. There's a woman in Wisconsin, three boys, three boys on the way to hell.

Do you think you've got problems? How would you like to have three sons? Not saved. I don't know what she got. But she got a word one day that she would never go to glory without the knowledge of having those boys saved.

She's got faith. It's going to happen. Dear brethren, I say don't find fault with me.

Now you know why. How many should this not happen to more of us? Should it not happen to me more than it does? Should I not have joy and thrilling by resting on his word more? Can I suggest as far as men going out into the Lord's work, I was always hoping that somebody with some experience and smarts that maybe would touch on this. After the testimony meeting last night, I was thrilled.

Young men that rose up and told how they got saved. Perhaps there are young men here, and God is going to raise you up, not to be a shepherd. I wondered if we don't need shepherds more than we need gospel men, but that's not the point.

But perhaps maybe there are men here who will one day rise up and be an evangelist for the glory of God. From 1990 to 2009, we lost 12 men. From 2009 to 2019, we lost 13 men.

This year, from 20, or this decade, from 2020 up until right now, there's four more men that have been taken from us. You do the math, 13 and 12 and 4, what is it? That's close to 30 men. I can remember when there was 20 men and 25 men at a conference.

30 men in 25 years we have lost. How many men have been replaced? Dear young man, I would say like Eric McCullough said 30 years ago when I was listening. Eric McCullough would say, young man, be ready.

But that's as far as he would go. He wouldn't tell me what I was to be ready for. But young man, be ready.

Have a burden. So what is required? Can I just give you a little recipe that perhaps maybe more intelligent men would have a little bit different. Not any fast and lay down any fast laws and rules and so on.

But I would like, I would just suggest, number one, there must be a burden. And if there's a burden upon your soul, for the souls of men, then thank God for that. Because that's the beginning of perhaps you're being called to the Lord's work.

Number two, there needs to be a blessing. God needs to use you in time of gospel work. Having seen people saved.

Having seen others brought to the Savior. You're going to have gospel meetings. You're going to have children's meetings.

You're going to have track work. You're going to be involved. The Lord does not call lazy men.

Nor does the Lord call men who have lost their job and they don't know what else to do so they go preaching. The Lord calls busy men. And He calls hardworking men.

He calls men who have a good job. Who have a good home. Who have a good job.

Who have a good rapport and a good reputation amongst God's people. Because I can assure you, dear brother, it's tough enough when those things are there, let alone when they're not. They have a burden.

There's a blessing. Number three, the right hand of fellowship from the brethren. Do I have the right hand of fellowship from the brethren? Number four, do I know that my bride is behind me? I am supported by my wife.

I know I can go out into being called into the Lord's work. And my bride is going to be behind me. That's one thing I will never, never forget.

Gloria, for 40 years, never said, never said, I wish you'd stay home more. In fact, she told me one day, she said, I think you're getting kind of grumpy. I think you need to go have some meeting somewhere.

What's number five? Number five is a call from the book. Do I have a call? Is there a call coming from the book? It is a, without a doubt, something that is just as vivid and just as real as your day of conversion. The call, come to me in Genesis, or rather from Joshua chapter six, January 28th at 10.30 at night, sitting at the kitchen table, reading Judges chapter six, walking into the living room where Gloria's ironing.

I said, look at here, dear, look at here. What does this say? Oh, she says, just make sure it was real. The next day I told the boss, I said, this is my last, my last week.

So dear brethren, it wasn't difficult to rest on that call. It wasn't difficult to rest on that word that night on Judges chapter six. Dear brethren, it was a tremendous joy.

So dear Christian, the difference of my joy and so on is the strong faith, having faith that I can, having faith in his word, faith in what is going to, what he has said, faith in exactly what he has said. And when I put faith in what he said, so there's a boulder that comes crashing through. No, not a real boulder, but so there's the unexpected, but I've got God's word.

I've got God's word. In the book of Romans, 38 times, faith is mentioned. 38 times.

And that is very suggestive. Live by faith. The first time that Romans calls out the faith is in verse seven, verse eight of chapter one.

The apostle pens 125 words from verse one to verse seven. And then he lays down the pen and he says he catches, from verses one to seven is one complete sentence. He catches his breath and he says, he stops and he says first, I want to thank the Christians at Rome for your faith.

It is known abroad like the Thessalonians. It is known throughout the inhabited world. So dear brethren, can I encourage you that if the Lord shows you something, let me get specific.

If the Lord shows you something that you need to do in your personal life, in the business life, in the assembly life, in going to school, going to college, you students, you get direction from the word. He wants to guide you and of course he wants to show you and he can show you things from his word. Are you willing? Are you ready and willing to simply rest upon his word? Do you have that faith, that strong faith to rest upon his word? And if you have, you're going to have the joy, going to have the joy that comes with it.

Faith is something. Faith is death. I'm sorry.

Faith is simple. If it were not so, we would be kept in lifelong perplexity trying to perform it or to practice it. Faith is sure.

It does not conjecture. It doesn't speculate. Now here's a good one.

Faith does not think. I like that. Faith takes.

Faith doesn't think. If you're unsaved in the meeting today and the Lord Jesus says, the Lord Jesus says to you, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. How do you know that Christ is going to give you rest? Because you feel it, don't you? I'm sure glad I don't have that problem.

You don't feel it. You claim it. If the Lord Jesus says, I'm going to give you rest, that's exactly what He says.

And it's exactly what He means. He's going to give you rest. Why? Because I believed it? No, dear brethren.

Because He said it. Because He said it. And because faith doesn't think, I can have.

Nothing can shake the certainty of faith. Faith rests on divine testimony. Do not reason.

Do not reason out the matter, nor think it out. We believe because God has spoken. We hear the words of His mouth and we say, Amen.

Faith is deaf to doubts. Faith is deaf to doubts. Faith is dumb to discouragements, blind to impossibilities.

It knows nothing but success. Faith lifts its hand up to, through the threatening clouds. And I really like this point.

Faith lifts its head, lays hold on Him who has power in heaven on earth. Faith makes the uplook good, the outlook bright, the inlook favorable, and the future glorious. Because of my intellect.

Is that what it said? Uh-uh. Because of faith. Resting on childlike faith.

Now I've got to sit down here pretty quick. Shield of faith. We read in Ephesians chapter 6 about the shield of faith.

Ephesians chapter 1 takes us into the heavenlies. Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. Lifts our hearts and our lives up to the heaven.

Seats us in heavenly places. Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 is all positional. Ephesians 3, 4, 5, Ephesians 4, 5, and 6 is at practice.

And when I come to chapter 6, I'm not in the heavenlies. I'm in the battle trench. I'm in the trenches.

There's a battle going on. And of course, it's the armor that Paul is talking about in Ephesians chapter 6. So he goes from the highest truth to the reality of truth. From the heavenlies to the trenches.

And he says in verse 10, Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We wrestle not, in verse 12, we wrestle not against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in wicked places. I don't know what verse 13 is saying, brethren.

But I'm not going to get too close to it. The rulers of darkness. The powers and principalities in wicked places.

What's going on up there? I don't want to get too close. Verse 13 tells me to take the whole armor of God. Verse 16 says take the shield of faith.

Verse 17 says take the helmet of salvation. So in Ephesians chapter 6, I just don't let it go by, brethren. I have to take it in order to rise above the difficulties in this day in which we live.

When I take the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Those men in those days, they would fire the darts. They would light the tip of the dart with tar.

And they would let it ablaze. And they would let the arrow go. The shield of faith is putting up the shield to keep the darts from hitting.

What are the darts? Evil surmisings. Doubts. The temptation to sin.

You ever had a problem with evil surmisings? I didn't think so. You know, I don't think he likes me. He kind of looked at me kind of cross this morning.

That's because he wasn't feeling good in his stomach. And all the time Satan is putting things in your head. Darts of doubts, evil surmisings, and temptation to sin.

I think we ought to quote or we ought to sing James Evans' hymn more often. Number 47. Faint not Christian.

Though in rage, Satan doth thy soul engage. Take thee faith's anointed shield. Bear it to the battlefield.

May we know what it is. I want to leave room for another. May we know what it is to be strong in faith.

God said it. If God says it, you've got liberty to walk through the door. If God puts it in black and white in this book, and you rest upon that, you have liberty to move.

May the Lord help us to be strong in faith. To take the shield of faith. And, First Peter, perhaps we can touch that some other time, is to know what it is to have our faith tested.

Abraham had his faith tested. And we can know what it is to have our own faith tested. May the Lord encourage us, strengthen us, until we hear the shout.