{"id":599,"date":"2013-10-06T18:09:46","date_gmt":"2013-10-06T23:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=599"},"modified":"2014-11-25T10:15:22","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T16:15:22","slug":"what-is-faith-can-it-be-measured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2013\/10\/06\/what-is-faith-can-it-be-measured\/","title":{"rendered":"What is faith? Can it be measured?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio Version found on Sermons Page.
\n<\/a>Video of Sermon and Children’s Sermon<\/a><\/p>\n

Habakkuk 1:1\u20134
\nHabakkuk 2:1-4
\nPsalm 37:1\u20139
\n<\/span>2 Timothy 1:1\u201314
\n<\/span>Luke 17:5\u201310<\/span><\/p>\n

Increase our faith!\u00a0 Who wouldn\u2019t want that?\u00a0 I know I have asked for more faith on more than one occasion.\u00a0 I wonder how many of you are saying to yourself, yea me too!\u00a0 It would not surprise me that someone might have even asked for an increase for faith when hearing the readings today.<\/p>\n

Just what is faith and where does it come from?\u00a0 In the world of non-believer, or atheists there is faith as well.\u00a0 Their faith is not the same as that of a Christian, yet both can and do have faith.\u00a0 When I was a non-believer or atheist if you will, I had faith in much.\u00a0 I had faith that if I did not do well in school, my parents would be very upset.\u00a0 I had faith that there would be school the next day when I was little, even if I did not want it to be so.\u00a0 You could even say I had faith that the sun would rise, there would be another day and so on.<\/p>\n

As an adult, my faith was formed by what I learned as a child, which is what I could see, feel, and quantify in some way.\u00a0 I suspect many people could say that they have had or still today have some faith grounded in this way.\u00a0 Some faith is handed down via the family, just by the virtue of growing up and learning what your family put faith in.\u00a0 I am confidant that we all have a faith that has been formed in some way like what I described.\u00a0 This faith, formed out of tangibles or semi-tangible things and knowledge is far different than what we hear in our scripture readings for today.<\/p>\n

God calls us in a faith, a faith that is imparted to us by the Spirit.\u00a0 In Galatians 5 it says, 22\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,<\/b> [1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The same word in Hebrew for Spirit is also translated as breath.\u00a0 This force, breath, Spirit is nothing we can place our hands upon, nothing we can see, touch, nothing tangible or really even semi-tangible.\u00a0 Christian faith and the Spirit I believe can be described much the same.\u00a0 In the book \u201cThe Shack\u201d the Holy Spirit is given the name of \u2018Sarayu\u201d.\u00a0 Sarayu (aka wind) is depicted for the purpose of the book as a small Asian lady who has a shimmering appearance.\u00a0 It is easier to see Sarayu when you do not directly look at her.\u00a0 On page 110 of the book, it goes on to say that Sarayu is; Creativity, Action, Breathing of Life, She is much more.\u00a0 God says that She, when referring to Sarayu is my<\/i> Spirit. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sarayu<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The faith we as Christians have is nothing that one can be persuaded into but must encounter.\u00a0 Sometimes slowly and others, like Paul, all at once, in his encounter with Jesus while on his way to another city to persecute more followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n

It would be easier to have a faith grounded in scientific knowledge, absolute proof, tangible and one where persuasion of the faith is easily done. \u00a0\u00a0That however just is not what real Christian faith is about.\u00a0 I know of people that claim to have encountered God in their dreams and even to have heard God speak to them, like I am speaking to you today.\u00a0 If you were to ask them today, their faith is not something that is tangible in the same sense as I described for a non-believer.\u00a0 If is not tangible, it might be more how Sarayu is described, then can it even be measured?\u00a0 7\u00a0<\/sup>for we walk by faith, not by sight.\u00a0 2 Corinthians 5:7. [3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>The apostles said to the Lord, \u201cIncrease our faith!\u201d 6\u00a0<\/sup>The Lord replied, \u201cIf you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, \u2018Be uprooted and planted in the sea,\u2019 and it would obey you.[4]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is it that the apostles asked for more faith?\u00a0 What caused them to believe they needed more?\u00a0 In the preceding story we heard today in Luke, Jesus had been telling them how often they are to forgive someone.\u00a0 In verse 4 it says, \u201c4\u00a0<\/sup>And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, \u2018I repent,\u2019 you must forgive.\u201d [5]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Just prior to hearing this daunting task of having to forgive, Jesus said in verse 1 and 2, \u201c\u2026\u201cOccasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! 2\u00a0<\/sup>It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. \u201c[6]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

It is no wonder they wanted more faith.\u00a0 They could not phantom how to do what Jesus was telling them, without enough faith.\u00a0 If we only had more faith, imagine all that we could do, all we could withstand, all that would be possible.\u00a0 Yet Jesus tells us, we only need the faith of a mustard seed.\u00a0 A mustard seed is about the size of a dot on a piece of paper made from a pencil.\u00a0 Again, what is faith that it can even be measured and does it need to be measured to follow Jesus, to do God\u2019s work?\u00a0 We are given the amount of faith we need at the time we have it.\u00a0 God gives us everything, all of our talents and gifts in the perfect amounts God has deemed needed.\u00a0 Does that mean we then need not try to grow?\u00a0 If we do not try to grow in faith, are we then really doing what God calls us to do in Jesus or are we turning away from our calling from God?<\/p>\n

In the letter to Timothy today, there is a message of not turning away from the faith that has been handed down through family.\u00a0 This faith, handed down through family must also be tied to the Spirit, in the Word by those speaking of God in the family to Timothy or through the actions of his family in the Word.\u00a0 Timothy is asked to have strength in the faith, not to be ashamed of the faith.\u00a0 Then and now Christians are challenged by worldly views to do other than what we are called to do as Christians.\u00a0 The strength is in the faith to reject the worldly ways.\u00a0 The strength comes even in the size of a mustard seed.\u00a0 We must also on the other hand be aware.\u00a0 Be aware that we cannot be lax in our faith.\u00a0 If we are lax, if we do not act, do not tell others, reject the faith given to us in the Holy Spirit, then the faith is only a generation away from extinction. [7]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> \u00a0How will the next generation know of the Gospel if we do not act upon our faith? [8]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

We can take solace in the fact that Jesus tells us, we only need faith, however we may perceive it or measure that; we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to do some extraordinary things.\u00a0 We can therefore look to Jesus, have faith in, have faith in \u201c\u2026Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,[9]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> as it says in Hebrews 12:2.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n
\n
\n

[1]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/i> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ga 5:22.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> The Shack<\/i> (Newbury Park: Windblown Media, 2007).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[3]<\/a> The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/i> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), 2 Cor 5:7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[4]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/i> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 17:5\u20136.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[5]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/i> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 17:4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[6]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/i> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 17:1\u20132.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[7]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Olive Elaine Hinnant, \u201cPastoral Perspective,\u201d ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year C<\/i> (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 136.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[8]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> Olive Elaine Hinnant, \u201cPastoral Perspective,\u201d ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year C<\/i> (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 136.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[9]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version<\/i> (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Heb 12:2.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Audio Version found on Sermons Page. Video of Sermon and Children’s Sermon Habakkuk 1:1\u20134 Habakkuk 2:1-4 Psalm 37:1\u20139 2 Timothy 1:1\u201314 Luke 17:5\u201310 Increase our faith!\u00a0 Who wouldn\u2019t want that?\u00a0 I know I have asked for more faith on more than one occasion.\u00a0 I wonder how many of you are saying to yourself, yea me … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,13,10,83,4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"post-599","6":"format-standard","7":"category-faith","8":"category-family","9":"category-jesus","10":"category-sermon","11":"category-spirit"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-9F","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2301,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2019\/10\/07\/use-the-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":599,"position":0},"title":"Use the Faith","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"October 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunday, October 6, 2019 | After Pentecost Proper 22 Year C Old Testament Habakkuk 1:1\u20134, 2:1\u20134 New Testament 2 Timothy 1:1\u201314 Gospel Luke 17:1\u201310 https:\/\/youtu.be\/5_sDHdfq964","rel":"","context":"In "Calling"","block_context":{"text":"Calling","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/calling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1781,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2017\/04\/01\/the-god-factor-the-awesome-power-of-faith-daniel-plan-part-b\/","url_meta":{"origin":599,"position":1},"title":"The God Factor \u2013 The Awesome Power of Faith \u2013 Daniel Plan Part B","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"April 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Awesome Power of Faith Wednesday 3\/29 at St. Paul United Methodist Church, South Sioux City NE| Pastors Jose Miranda and Douglas Dill Pastor Douglas Dill Preaching This sermon is based upon the Daniel Plan sermon as given by Pastor Rick Warren. 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