|
FAITH
IN GOD
by Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D.
"If
you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes." (Mark
9:23)
"Without faith it
is impossible to please God".
(Hebrews 1:6),
but if we can believe,
all things are possible!
FAITH
IN GOD WORKS MIRACLES
"And
it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved."
(Acts 2:21)
"If
you can believe, all things are
possible to him who believes." (Mark
9:23)
- JESUS CHRIST
This world is divided into two
groups: those who make it happen and
those who ask, "What
happened?" The one group
has faith and the other group does
not.
The
battle lines are drawn between
believers and unbelievers, the
faithful and those without with, the
optimists and pessimists; people of
action and those who sit on their
hands!
FAITH
IS ACTION - FAITH
WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
Faith
is action, not just words. And faith
in God works miracles!
"Without faith it
is impossible to please God".
(Hebrews 1:6),
but if we can believe,
all things are possible!
The
Bible says, "Faith without work
is dead..." (James 2:26) Faith
sets the wheels in motion and gets
the job done!
Although
our believing will get results, we
must have patience, faith and
perseverance. This is why King David
said, "Submit thy way unto the
Lord, trust also in Him and He shall
bring it to pass". (Psalms
37:5)
EVEN
IF WE ARE DISCOURAGED, WE MUST HAVE
FAITH
Sometimes
we hit dry holes or times of
discouragement, we can slip a step
or two backwards or even take a
fall. When this happens, we must
have faith. We pick ourselves
up, square our shoulders and march
forward with renewed, stronger
faith.
We
must keep on keeping on, never
giving up the faith, regardless of
tough times, the handicap under
which we labour. These trials
we live through are what make us
stronger and our continued faith in
God and ourselves pushes us to
succeed.
CHRISTIANS
LEAD THE WAY WITH FAITH
CHRISTIANS
LEAD THE WAY WITH FAITH
A
perfect example of faith is Magnus
Patricus who returned to pagan
Ireland in the fifth century as a
missionary and preached the Gospel
of Christ to the same Druids who had
kidnapped him! This
man certainly had faith.
That
man - known today as St. Patrick -
was such a revolutionary and had
such faith in God, that during
a 30-year-period, he won 100,000
pagans to Christ and changed the
course of Ireland!
ONLY
FAITH COULD HAVE PUSHED FRANCIS
XAVIER TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE
DID
WITHOUT
FAITH WE
WILL FAIL
Only
a Spirit-filled Evangelical crusader
could have done what Francis Xavier
accomplished for the Lord in the
16th Century.
Francis
Xavier wanted to become an engineer, so
that he would be remembered. Someone
encouraged him to enter the
ministry.
I'm sure he must have been
influenced by the writings of Martin
Luther, because he became a flaming
Missionary Evangelist! A great
revival broke loose in India and
30,000 Hindus were converted to
Christ and baptized. His heart
yearned to reach the pagan land of
China with the Gospel, but all doors
were closed.
Francis
Xavier died in 1552 at 46 years of
age still trying to negotiate entry
into China. Just before his death he
cried out: "O' Thou Great
Wall, when wilt thou open so that
the Rock (Jesus Christ) can come
inside"?
BILLY
GRAHAM HAS FAITH
Evangelical
preacher, Billy Graham continues to
have strong faith and to be a
conscience to the world, preaching
the Gospel and reminding everyone
that the 'Blood of Jesus Christ'
shed by God's eternal Son on
Golgotha - so many years ago - to
atone for our sins!
At
80 years of age, God's 'great
trumpeter', Billy Graham has no
plans to retire, even though he has
recently suffered ill health and
weakness. This is because of his
strong faith. Faith that enables you
to continue to believe, continue to
push forward. A study of Billy
Graham's life is indeed a study in
faith!
CHECK
OUT THE POLITICIANS WHO HAVE FAITH
Who
can not help but admire former USA
President Ronald Reagan.
President Reagan, a man who fought
so long to get the top job in that
country?
RONALD
REAGAN IS A
MAN OF GREAT FAITH
ronald
Reagan is a man of great
faith. His presidency surged
with energy and optimism even after
an assassin's attempt on his life.
He still continued to have faith in
the world, faith in his beliefs and
faith that he could defeat
communism. His legacy will
always be the defeat of world
communism and the dissolution of the
"Evil
(USSR) Empire"!
Even
now, as President Ronald Reagan
battled the unremitting Alzheimer's
disease, he keeps his chin up and
outlook bright!
We
must mention "the little guy
from Chiwingan", PM Jean
Chretian, the politician constantly
referred to during the last election
as "Yesterday's Man"!
Although his credibility has been
badly damaged due to the disastrous
outcome of the last Quebec
Referendum - many charge him of
being asleep at the wheel - Chretian
is nevertheless a man of remarkable
courage and determination and faith.
Jean Chretian won the last election
by promising 'JOBS, JOBS, JOBS' and
told Canadians to simply relax and
feel good about themselves, have
faith in him and in their selves, and
it worked!
CANADA
HAD LOST THE FAITH
HOW
SAD, HOWEVER, THAT EARLY THIS YEAR
MOST CANADIANS WERE UNHAPPY,
DEPRESSED AND FELLING HOPELESS ABOUT
THEIR FUTURE. They had
certainly lost their faith.
According to a new UN report, Canada
has the highest rate of suicides
anywhere in the industrial world.
Without
doubt, our nation has drifted away
from our moral moorings by listening
to the secularist, immoral and
perverted pleadings of the
out-of-step segment of politicians
and media, who seek to justify their
own unrighteous life-styles by
brainwashing others to do the same!
And
what of the man who is seeking his
job, Preston Manning, the leader of
the feisty group of Reform Party
MP's? Although they have been
derided and dismissed as a viable
alternative to the tired old
political parties, the son of
Alberta's former irreproachable
Premier Ernest C. Manning, is
sounding more Prime Ministerial all
the time!
At
least Preston Manning has a sensible
and realistic approach to the
possibility of our nation's
break-up, the necessity of changing
our open-ended immigration policy
and getting Canada's financial house
in order!
When
you consider his roots, dedication
and his clear-headed common sensible
thinking, it would certainly not
surprise me, if one day he rises to
the very top! With the recent
passing of Ernest C. Manning - the
man called 'the Father of Modern
Alberta' - many are longing for
that kind of leadership from his
son!
WHEN
YOU HAVE FAITH, EVERYTHING WILL
FALL
INTO PLACE
TWO
GROUPS: BUILDERS & WRECKING
CREW!
While
many would shirk from their post and
shrink away in fear, others stand up
and are counted as men of faith.
They have faith in God and that is
the most important. When you have
faith, everything else will fall
into place.
OPTIMISTS
HAVE FAITH
I
am an optimist with trust and faith
in God for today and hope for the
future! The pessimist is a
prophet of doom while the optimist
is a bearer of glad tidings.
Pessimism is born of unbelief and is
a negative force while optimism is
the product of faith and is a
positive power!
PESSIMISTS
DO NOT HAVE FAITH
Pessimism
kills, negativism destroys, but
optimism gives opportunity the
chance to knock on your door. There
is nothing as dull and lifeless as
pessimism and nothing as refreshing
as optimism! A pessimist breeds
discouragement in the livers of
others, while an optimist multiplies
the glow in his heart to those
around him!
PEOPLE
WITH FAITH SOLVE PROBLEMS
PEOPLE
WITH FAITH SOLVE PROBLEMS - PEOPLE
WITHOUT FAITH CREATE PROBLEMS
There
have always been two groups in every
society: the ones who create
problems and those who solve them!
Some are part of the 'builders'
and others make up the 'wrecking
crew'. A certain element likes
to create chaos and are labeled 'trouble
makers', while others seek to
negotiate as 'peace makers'.
PEOPLE
WITHOUT FAITH CREATE PROBLEMS
Jesus
rebuked His disciples after His
resurrection for "their
unbelief and hardness of heart
because they believed not that He
was risen from the dead"!
Herein
lies the tragedy. Far too many are
guilty of these two sins - unbelief
and hardness of heart - today!
UNBELIEF
IS SIN AND THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH
UNBELIEF
IS SIN AND IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH
Unbelief
is sin and the very opposite of
faith, and a hard heart can be
cruel, condemning, judgmental and
critical! I would far sooner be "an
easy mark" for those
seeking to 'con' me, than to be
guilty of being hard-hearted!
Only
a real encounter with Jesus Christ
can change the heart of man. The
Bible says, "Without faith it
is impossible to please God".
(Heb. 1:6), but if we can believe,
all things are possible!
And
that is the very best news.
Continue to have faith and you will
see the results.
|