Rock Solid

A recent survey by by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life revealed both ridiculous and disappointing facts about American faith.

In one of the most absurd stats, one in five atheists surveyed declared that they believe in God. Hmm. Seems like the atheists might want to rethink their entrance requirements. On the other hand, 57% of evangelical Christians hold that many religions can lead to eternal life. What!? It's further proof that we need to have a much better understanding of the foundations of our faith. Or should I say THE Foundation of our faith: Jesus Christ.

That's exactly the reason we're starting our new series "Glorious" at Freedom River. We're going to look at the attributes of God and what impact they have on our daily lives. We begin with His faithfulness.

Over the past couple of decades, a destructive cancer has infected our society. It goes something like this: Your faith is as strong as the strength of your belief. In other words, if you believe strong enough in something, it WILL come to pass. What a huge pile of garbage!! Yet millions of people have fallen for the lie. The real truth...

Your faith is only as strong as what you believe in.

An examination of the Old Testament book of Lamentations reveals a lot about God's breath-taking faithfulness. The prophet Jeremiah is utterly humbled and broken over the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Thounsands of people slaughtered. Hundreds of thousands taken prisoner. Thousands more die on a death march through the desert. Jeremiah was on the brink of giving up. Until...

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!" (Lamentations 3:21-24 NLT)

When you read Lamentations, you have a front-row seat for a Texas Death Match between Jeremiah's growing unbelief and faultering faith. And just as faith is about to tap out, something amazing happens. Faith wins! His faith pulls off this incredible "come-from-behind-only-Vince-McMahon-could-write-something-so-ridiculous" victory. His faith wins because of his tag team partner. God's faithfulness. It was Jeremiah's faith in God's great faithfulness that's the difference. Remember...

Your faith is only as strong as what you believe in.

There are many examples of the faithfulness of Jesus in the Bible, but let's look at 8 "Faith Factors."
1-Jesus is faithful to NEVER CHANGE (James 1:17).
2-Jesus is faithful to FORGIVE (1st John 1:9).
3-Jesus is faithful to SAVE (John 6:39).
4-Jesus is faithful to TRUST (Titus 1:2).
5-Jesus is faithful to DEFEND (Psalm 46:1).
6-Jesus is faithful to FINISH (Philippians 1:6).
7-Jesus is faithful to BE THERE (Matthew 28:20).
8-Jesus is faithful to RETURN (Mark 13:26).

As we go through many changes at Freedom River, we need to remember that Jesus alone is faithful. No matter what else happens, He will never leave us.

We must trust in Christ. Jesus is the Rock. He will never change.

Your faith is only as strong as what you believe in. Put your faith in Jesus. He is the Rock.

In Christ,
Jay

From a sermon at Freedom River CC on June 29, 2008.