Where Is Your Faith?

Let's go ahead, if you would, open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter three. Proverbs chapter three. We're gonna look at a couple verses here. And Imma read a few verses before we get there this morning that all have something in common and you can tell me. Well, I won't I won't I won't, you know, have you raise your hand or anything to answer, alright?

But take notice four verses all have something in common this morning. Message is entitled, Where Is Your Faith? Habakkuk two verse four, behold his soul which is lifted up in him is not upright in him But the just shall live by his faith. Romans one seventeen, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. At is as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

Galatians three eleven, but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. The just shall live by faith. Hebrews ten thirty eight, now the just shall live by faith but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. All of those verses have something in common. The just shall live by faith.

From Habakkuk to Hebrews, the Bible is consistent. Salvation is by faith. The life that we live in Christ is a life lived by faith. Proverbs three, five, and six puts it a slightly different way. But echoes the same teaching Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, we thank you today for your word. Your word that tells us clearly, that declares unto us that the just, those justified in the sight of God are justified not by the works of the law or by the works of man. But by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the life which we now live, we live by the faith of the son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Lord, may you strengthen our faith.

May you help us today to refocus our faith on the object of which it should always be upon. That we would live each day with a growing faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. The just shall live by faith.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart are not just religious creeds. They are a way of life a way of life that is a prescription. God's prescription for true, eternal, abundant, fulfilling life. The way God intended it to be. And the way men and women so desperately needed to be.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father. But by me. The question I would like to pose to you this morning is this, for what or who are you living? For what or for, I guess it would be whom are you living?

Who or what are you trusting in? To guide and to direct your life. Is it God? Is it your church? Is it your reasoning?

Or is it the Lord and his word The word trust in Proverbs three, five, and six mean six means to be confident and secure in. To trust in the Lord means to be confident in him. To trust in the Lord means to be also secure in him. Of what are you confident today? Are you confident in your ability?

Are you confident in your strength? Are you confident in your way? Are you confident in the Lord today? When David stood before Goliath, his words were not arrogant. They expressed a confidence not in himself but in a confidence in his God.

That he wanted everyone to see. Of what are you confident today? In what are you secure? The world around us is in turmoil. Maybe your life is in turmoil.

In what are you secure? And what are you grounded? One of my favorite songs, my my pastor's favorite song growing up was a hymn entitled The Solid Rock and it talks about Jesus Christ being our rock, Our anchor. In which we are secure. On what or who Is your hope founded today?

Your hope. Is it in your government? Is it in yourself? Is it in your family? Is your hope today in the Lord.

Where is your faith? Not the quantity or even the quality but the object of your faith. The object of your faith is most important. Jesus said, if you had faith as a what? A mustard seed.

You would say, under this mountain be removed and it would it would be removed into the sea. What does that tell us? Well, that tells us at best our faith is very what? Our faith is very small. Our faith is so very small.

If we only understood just a little of the greatness of our God. All we say, we believe but if we really fully understood everything that he is, his sovereignty and power. Things that seem huge to us would seem so much smaller and become smaller as we learn to put our faith in him and that is most important. It is the object of our faith. People reveal the object of their faith or the objects of their faith off often in their response to desperate times and events they encounter in life.

When things are going badly, is often when Our faith is truly truly revealed. In the past few weeks, our economy has hit another bump in the road There's a terrorist attack just down the road. Many people lost their lives. Elections are coming up. Floods and tornadoes out west.

Traditional marriage, the home, and morality in The United States seems to be almost a thing of the past. There is likely to be very difficult times ahead in our country. And maybe putting all of that aside, there may be difficult times personally in your life. Things that you're dealing with. Maybe things that nobody knows but the Lord.

What is your response to these things? Where is your faith? There are some today that look to government for help and are desperate to see Washington do something to pull them out. To secure them. To keep them safe, to fix the problems in our schools, to fix the problems of crime on our streets, to fix the divisions that are within our country.

The government cannot fix those things. The government is not is not in whom we should have our faith. Psalm one hundred forty six three to five says, put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his health, for his help. Whose hope is in the Lord, his God. The Psalms tells us here, don't put your trust in princes. Don't put your trust in men in high places. Don't put your trust in them.

There is no help in them. Their their breath goeth forth. They pass. He they return us to the earth. Their very thoughts perish with them.

But happy, satisfied, fulfilled, blessed are those instead who choose to put their trust in who? The God of Jacob. The Lord Jesus Christ. The God of our fathers. Our fathers in the faith.

The God of the word who expresses himself and his will to us and what we hold in our hands. It is from him that we receive the help we need in difficult times. Jesus is the answer. That song we sang, a flag to follow. The chorus goes, I found them all in what?

Jesus, the life, the truth, the way. He is the answer. Not the mind of men. Psalm 20 verses seven and eight say, some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen but we are risen and stand upright.

In the midst of the storm as a Christian, we can stand upright if we remember the object of our faith is not in the arm of man, not in the arm of flesh, not in the power of government. But in the Lord. Who is it that ultimately blessed this nation and provided us with freedom? It wasn't just the forefathers of our country. It was God himself.

It was the Lord. It is Jesus Christ who said, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you what? Free. Free. It was the principles of God's word that set us on a path of freedom.

It is God himself that blessed us and even though work ethic and other things. Those who fought and gave their lives that we might have freedom are not to be forgotten as they have been in many ways today. It is not us picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. It is not the constitution. It is the word of God.

It is the Lord who blessed this nation. It is the Lord to whom we must look in times of crisis and remember where our faith really is. Some are desperately trying to figure out how to save themselves, how to save their fortune, how to save that which is valuable to them. The Bible says in Matthew sixteen twenty five, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Psalm sixteen twenty five says, there's a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The more we try to grasp a hold of the things that we think are going to make us happy and put our faith in those things and in our ability to hold on to them, the more they will slip through our fingers. Because the things of earth are perishing. They are passing away. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are not of the father but they are of the world and the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of the father shall endure forever. Sadly, often times, we trade the things of eternal value to hold on to the things.

That are of temporal value. How many a person in our country has completely abandoned God in church and the gospel. How rampant is unbelief in our country today. It has been tossed aside. God has been tossed aside for the American dream that no longer includes him.

But includes material possessions, and luxuries, and freedom, not to follow the Lord. But to satisfy merely the lusts of the flesh. God has been abandoned and so even those things they try to hold on to do slip through their fingers. The tighter they try to grip onto them. And even we as Christians sometimes I'm afraid, have misplaced priorities in our lives.

And we forget that material things are not what we are to be seeking. We are to seek first what? The kingdom of God and his righteousness and the material things of life will be provided, will be given unto us by our heavenly father. We need to get things in their proper priority. Life needs to be in its proper perspective.

Who needs to be first? Jesus Christ. And if he is in his proper place and our faith in Him as its object, then the other things will fall into place in our life. But sometimes, sometimes we struggle to hold on to those things and we put God just a little bit on the sideline of our life. You're here today so obviously, he does play an important role in your life.

There's many a Christian's door that I have knocked on. That no longer goes to church. That no longer is actively serving the Lord as they should be. And it's because they've taken their eyes off of Jesus. Some, some in our society and world are in denial.

They're in denial that things are really as bad as they are. They think to themselves, I don't need any help. I've got it all together. How sadly that has been so often the case throughout history. When man starts to become prosperous, when the luxuries of life begin to be taken for granted, when material of possessions are are somewhat easy to come by and life is generally speaking more secure.

Man tends to forget who? Man tends to forget. To forget God. And put his his trust, his time, and his thoughts into the luxuries of life and not into the Lord and think that, hey, I'm okay. First Timothy six seventeen, Paul wrote to Timothy, he says, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

Paul tells Timothy here, charge them, remind them that have money not to put, to misplace their trust in their finances because security and happiness are not found in money and in material possessions. Remind them to put their trust in the living God. Remind them that they need him. They need him. We need him.

No matter how secure our my life may look in certain areas. No matter whether it's going smoothly right now or whether there's some bumps in the road, we need him. There's a song in one of the books we have around here. It's called, it's entitled, Lord, I Need You. And it talks about needing the Lord when the sea of life is calm.

Lord, I need you when the winds are blowing strong. Whether trials come or cease, keep me always on my knees. Lord, I need you. We're reminded in Matthew six, nigh not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moss and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

That verse isn't saying that our treasure follows our heart. What it's saying is our heart follows our what? Our treasure. What we treasure. And what you treasure will lead your heart.

We must remember our faith is in our Lord and not in ourselves. There are some in times of great depression that take their lives because they see no hope, no hope because they don't know the Lord and they're not trusting in the Lord. There is hope in him. When we look for hope in circumstances. When we look for hope in others, we're let down.

Life seems sometimes out of control but remember, there is a god in heaven who is in control. And even though you may have just gotten news that you or your loved one has an illness that can change your life or theirs. Even though you may have just gotten news that a loved one has died in an accident or other things in life that catches my surprise. Remember, as life swirls around, as the winds blow, remember to put your faith in the Lord. Remember him, he will not fail you.

For some, pray and keep going, trusting God to help them. Through the difficult times to come. And that is where we should be. Psalm thirty seven three to five says, trust in the Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. This is the way of the Lord, the way of truth, the way that is true, is fulfilling, and brings a fruitful life. Is your faith in your friends?

I hope not. I hope you have good friends. I hope that they are trustworthy but friends can let you down. Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was made king. Well, was at his coronation ceremony.

And the people cried out to Rehoboam and said, hey, we will serve you faithfully to the end. If you'll just lower our taxes a bit. Rehoboam went to his friends. His friends told him, you're the king. Don't let them tell you what to do.

Don't let them push you around. You go back and you tell them, hey, I'm the boss here. I'll raise taxes if I want to. And that's what he did. And he lost.

All of them but Judah. All of them but Judah. Because he listened to his friends. David discovered too late that his most trusted counselor, Ahithophel, by the way, the grandfather of Bathsheba. Had betrayed him and joined his enemy Is your faith in your church?

Meaning, the denomination or the institution or or even the people or the pastor. If your church is the object of your faith, then you will likely be disillusioned somewhere along the line and that's what's happened to so many people and that's why they're not in church because their faith was in a church. Their faith was in a man. Their faith was in a congregation and their faith wasn't first and foremost in the Lord. The church will let you down.

People are imperfect. Someone said, hey, I don't want to go to church. It's just full of a bunch of hypocrites and the other person's response was this, well, if you do find a church that has no hypocrites and you go there, they'll have one. Because we all have faults and we all have failures and we all want to do things that the flesh gets in the way and sometimes we are all certainly have the potential to be hypocrites. Trust instead in the Lord.

Who was the highest church leader, religious leader in Israel as they left Egypt. Well, religious leader in particular was not Moses, it was who? It was his brother Aaron. He became the high priest of Israel. He was the one God appointed.

But even before that time came as as they were at Mount Sinai and Moses had been up on the mountain for a month and they hadn't heard anything. What did the the great religious leader of Israel do? He compromised and listened to the people and he built a golden calf and he led them into idolatry and as a result, thousands upon thousands sinned against God even as God was giving his commandments to the Lord and thousands died. Because of who? Because of Aaron who listened to the people and not to who?

And not to the Lord. God is always trustworthy. Man is not. Is your faith in your family, your wife, your husband, your children, your parents? If so, they will let you down.

Oh, I hope that you have a faithful husband and wife and family and they certainly can be faithful but they are inevitably imperfect. And won't always do the right thing and sometimes can do terrible things Absalom's dad, David, let him down when his sister was abused by his half brother. And so Absalom returned the favor to his dad and tried to take his throne from him. The Bible is full of one example after another of families that were imperfect at best. And corrupt and wicked.

At worst. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Job's wife advised him, curse God, and die. How about Joseph's brothers? That's who we studied in Vacation Bible School this week. They were the perfect family, weren't they?

All loving, caring, no. No. Families are imperfect. God is perfect. Is your faith in yourself, your intellect, or your health, or your spiritual maturity, or your ability to always pull yourself up by your bootstraps?

If so, you will let yourself down. Because you're not perfect my savior's perfect. He's the object of my faith. He must always be the object of our faith. In Matthew 26, Peter answered and said unto Jesus, he said, though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet, I will never be offended.

I will never be offending you. I will never forsake you. Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto you, unto thee, that this night before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice or three times. Peter said unto him, though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee? Peter said, I can handle it.

Peter said, I got it. Peter said, I won't, they might leave you, they might deny you, but I won't. Peter had to learn the hard way. The spirit is willing but the flesh is what? Be weak.

The flesh is weak. We're weak in the flesh. We may have we may intend to do the right thing. But if we're not strengthened by the spirit and the grace of the Lord we will always fall short. We will always fail.

Walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh but if we're not walking in the spirit, we will fulfill the lust of the flesh. For our intentions are not strong enough in themselves to defeat the lusts of sin that still dwell within us. Samson relied on his strength. He was strong. He was able to do incredible feats but it seemed as though he almost forgot where that strength came from.

You see, that strength really wasn't in his hair. That was just a sign of his faith but it wasn't his hair that gave him strength. It was God that gave him strength. The cutting of his hair choice to choose immorality and to sleep with the enemy was what took his strength more than his hair. He put his trust in himself and he took his eyes off the Lord.

He took his eyes off the Lord, his spiritual eyes and he lost his physical life. At the end of his life, it seems he learned his lesson But it came at a cost. These things, finances, government, friends, church, family, your own convictions and strength are vital elements in your life. Things that should be important. Things that have an effect on our lives.

Things that we should be involved in are conscious of. But they are not the things in which we should place our hope and our faith. For our hope and our faith should be in the Lord. The just shall live by faith. If we will choose to trust in the Lord rather than these other things, he will direct our paths.

Consider Moses. Moses government led him down. Moses family led him down. Moses finances led him down. Moses people led him down.

But not his God in whom he put his trust and Moses succeeded and what God had called him to do. Joseph's family let him down. Joseph's master let him down and threw him in prison. Joseph's friends let him down. But not his God.

Nor his faith. Noah's world let him down, but not his God that saved him and his family in the ark. Eve's trust in the words of the enemy of God and the fruit off of a tree, let her down. Her own intellect, let her down but her God who in Genesis three fifteen said, he would send her seed to defeat the serpent one day. Did not let her down.

Job put his faith in a lush valley in his reasoning, in the circumstances of life to provide for his family, and to provide for his cattle and his sheep. And it let him down. He lost it all but his life speaking his two daughters but his God did not let him down because despite his poor judgment and despite his compromise in his life. God still saw him as a righteous man because of his faith in the Lord and he brought him out despite himself. For his God did not let him down.

Job thirteen fifteen, Job said, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. But I will maintain mine own ways before him. Job said, though he slay me, is he laid there in the ashes, scraping the sores on his body. He said, though he slay me, I will trust him. I may not understand what he's doing.

I may cry out in pain. But I will trust him and he did And we must. No matter what is going on in our country, what is going on in our family, what is going on with our health, we can trust him. Trust him. He will give you peace that what?

Passes all understanding. He will be your stay. He will cause you to succeed in the things he has called you to do. To prosper in his name. Despite the obstacles that stand in your way, he can give you peace.

He can give you joy. He can give you love. The just shall live by faith. Faith in the Lord. Jesus told those to whom he spoke that he came to give them life and came to give them life more abundantly.

In a world in his day, fraught with very great difficulties and obstacles. A government that was oppressive. Finances and security in life that were sparse. But yet, he gave them life what? More abundantly.

I've thought several times the country that I grew up in when I was my son's age was secure in my thinking. Nineeleven kind of changed that a bit. And it crossed my mind, what about my kids? Are they going to grow up in a secure place with the freedom that I have enjoyed? Or will that be robbed from them?

Will life be different for them? Well, certainly life will likely be different for them if the Lord should tarry his coming. But Lord reminded me of this, most Christians have lived their lives in countries where they did not have the freedom to worship as we. They did not enjoy the luxuries that we do. Life was not as secure as we perceive it to be.

And yet, they had peace, they had joy, they had life more abundantly, not because of their freedom, not because of the luxuries, but because of the savior. And if my boys have Jesus Christ, then they have all they need. Do you have Jesus? Have you put your faith and trust in him? If you have him, you have all you need.

If you're here today, you say, pastor, yes, I'm a Christian but I'm down, I'm depressed, I'm frustrated because life is hard. I may not understand what you're going through but I know and you know someone who does And he is there and he will hear your prayers and he will help you through. Just remember in whom your faith lies and trust and cling to him today. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for your word.

And for strengthening our faith not in our country, in our freedom, in ourselves, in our intellect, in our luxuries, in our perceived security, in these things. But Lord, our faith in you. May we who are saved by faith, live by faith. A faith that grows, a faith that is real, that is active. Every day.

Lord, may you give peace, encouragement joy to those who are going through trials this day. May all of us who know you as savior be a bright and shining light in testimony of the grace of God in a society that is quickly, swiftly moving in, moving further and further from you. As the times grow darker, Lord, may our light shine brighter. As our hope in Jesus and our faith in you. Is seen by those around us.

And Lord, I pray if there's someone here that's never trusted you, that they would come as we give this hymn of invitation. We might show them today how they might be saved and know it. In Jesus precious name, we pray. Amen.