Saturday, May 10, 2008
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-Faith-
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hi everyone im back!
today this will be a long long entry...with many thought-provoking thoughts that i came to me during my exam period...
firstly, credit to desmond, i finally got an answer to my question "does God forget our sins?" the answer is very clearly stated in the Bible in Hebrews 8:12: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE." ya thanks desmond!
secondly, there was once i was "discussing" with my school friend whether only those who are baptised goes to heaven and if not what's the purpose? I was insisting on this verse in romans 10:9: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." and that baptism is MERELY a physical act. Then i tried looking up in church membership books and stuff and couldnt find anything. a few months later, just recently, i chanced upon this verse in 1 Peter 3:21-22: "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - NOT THE REMOVAL OF DIRT FROM THE BODY but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand - with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." well there you go!
im going to split this entry to many entries for better understanding of every issue...ya...now im going to talk about FAITH. this was given by my church friend, desmond, again who took down notes about the sharing my cell leader did. yup so here it is...
cell word series - faith
what is faith?
-hebrews 11:1; "Faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
1) Faith assures us that we have the things we hope for
-if we hope for something, we can only "long for it", but faith assures us that we can have it!
-e.g. we all long for good results, but faith assures us that we can obtain good results. this will affect our attitudes and actions.
-e.g. we all hope to be saved and delivered from sin and death, but faith assures us that God has already saved us.
2) Faith helps us to see what our "natural eyes" cannot see
-faith can help us believe what our natural reason/logic cannot explain
-e.g. in hebrews 11:3 "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." by faith we know that God created the world. Were we there and did we see creation? No! But by faith!
-*sidenote: maybe another example for help those non-believers...when u take the lift, do you actually go and check the "expiry" date of the lift and check if the next check-up is overdue? no you just press the button, enter the lift and close the door. in other words, you have faith that the lift wouldnt snap and fall!
-biblical characters of faith: Noah, Abraham, the whole long list in Heb 11:7-17
having faith for our salvation
ephesians 2:8; "by grace we have been saved through faith..."
-by faith we know that we are saved, and not just hoping to be saved
-by faith, despite all that we are now, we know that we belong to God
closing
romans 10:17; "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God"
-if we dont know what God's Word says, how to have faith?
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"" Romans 10: 14-15
cell word series-faith (part 2)
-people who have faith have conviction in what they are doing, even though they may not see the results yet
examples of people who had faith
1) Noah (Heb 11:7)
-God instructed Noah to build an ark BEFORE it began to rain
-he built the ark for 100 YEARS! (but in that time, a hundred years is nothing much...)
-faith working: Noah obeyed and built the ark even when he could not see rain
2) Abraham (Heb 11:8-12, 17-19)
-Genesis 12: God called Abram (his former name) out of his country and promised to make him a great nation
-Faith working: Abramham obeyed and went without knowing where
-*sidenote: God has a plan for everyone, including Abraham, but we do not take the first step of faith, then you will not be able to reach greater heights in your spiritual life.
-God promised Abraham that his descendants will be countless, but he and Sarah were old folks already!
-Faith working: Abraham obeyed and got ready to sacrifice his one-and-only, long-awaited son, Isaac on the altar.
3) Moses (Heb 11:23-28)
-God called Moses out of Egypt to lead the israelites
-Faith working: Moses obeyed and left Egypt
Closing
-Caution: It is possible to have pure faith, but for the wrong thing!
-That is why faith and God's Word must go hand in hand
-Our God is a fair God, God only helps those who helps themselves.
-How do we apply faith for our salvation?
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2
-1 Timothy 6:12 - "Fight the good fight of faith..."
check out for my next post!
aaron chua thanked jesus at8:56 PM