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| ROAD TO LIFE MINISTRIES |
A Wall Of Faith
Intro:
Walls are built in an effort to keep something out, or to keep something in.
In olden times walls were a necessity for protection.
They provided safety, and comfort by giving those behind the wall a sense of security.
Many discovered in those days that a wall of protection was needed to stop invaders. It was designed by people who
did not want to be conquered.
Tyre.
Jericho.
Jerusalem.
The Great China Wall
Germany
Walls of that magnitude today are useless.
Penetrable by rockets, bombs, tanks, etc.
The only thing that walls successfully do today is protect us from the elements of the environment that we live in.
In a sense the people within the walls were prisoners to their own fears.
They locked themselves away from the world while locking the world out.
If you have a pet that you do not won't roaming the neighborhood, you put up a fence, or wall, to keep him in the
desired area that you prefer. That pet is now your prisoner. He is trapped behind the wall. BUT, he is also safe.
These are all physical walls.
Walls that cannot stand the test of time.
These walls will one day crumble and lie in ruin.
Today I want to speak to you about a wall that can stand that test.
A wall that will never crumble.
A wall that has already been tried and is still true.
A wall that is as necessary today as it was in the day that it was instituted.
A Wall Of FAITH!!
This is a wall that can't be seen.
It is not a wall that guards your heart.
It is not a wall that suppresses your emotional responses.
1. Faith
It is a wall that offers us, confident assurance that what we believe is going to happen, will.
It is the certainty of what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we can't see it up ahead.
Men of God in days of old became famous for their faith.
Heb. 11: 1 - 2
1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2: For by it the elders obtained a good report.
They believed!!
They not only believed, they applied what they believed and obtained a good report.
When King Hezekiah was faced with war with the Assyrians He built 4 walls.
2 Chron. 32:1: After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into
Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.
2: And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
3: He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the
city: and they did help him.
4: So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the
midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
5: Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another
wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.
6: And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city,
and spake comfortably to them, saying,
7: Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with
him: for there be more with us than with him:
8: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people
rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
( 1st Wall, Original. 2nd Wall, New Outer Wall. 3rd Wall, Millo, The Citadel= An Inside Wall along the North Wall. )
The last wall here is the WALL OF FAITH. V. 7 & 8
A wall of Faith must prevail. If it doesn't there is no faith attached to it. Simply a want.
21: And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp
of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of
his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.
22: Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of
Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.
2. Things not seen
We must evaluate the things not seen.
a. The what of Faith
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
b. God
It is impossible to explain the universe without God.
1 Cor. 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him.
c. Christ
His works have been reported by eyewitnesses and handed down through historical scholars.
d. Inspiration of the Bible
No book has ever been attacked like the Bible.
It is always true.
2Tm:3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness:
e. Creation
When we convince our children that they come from animals, they act like it.
The soul comes from God.
One day we will have new bodies but the same soul.
3. Things hoped for
We must evaluate the things hoped for.
a. Know that you are forgiven
b. Worry is gone
We are not weak!
Psalms 27:1 1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of
whom shall I be afraid?
We are not easily frustrated
Isa:26:3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
We do not fear enemies
1Jn:4:4: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in
the world.
We cannot worry
Mt:6:25: Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for
your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
c. Want to be a giving and serving person.
Tithing
Mal:3:10: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith,
saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it.
Become vulnerable enough to serve. (Discarding pride.)
Pray in public
Teach a class
Shout
Phil. 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
d. Hope for the future
2Tm:1:12: For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
2 Cor. 4:16: For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day.
17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory;
18: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen
are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Cor. 5:6: Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from
the Lord:
7: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
9: Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
Conclusion:
Do you believe that God has told us the truth about all things?
That is our Faith!!
It is our wall of security.
It is exactly what God offered us as a defence.
Eph:6:16: Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Intro:
Walls are built in an effort to keep something out, or to keep something in.
In olden times walls were a necessity for protection.
They provided safety, and comfort by giving those behind the wall a sense of security.
Many discovered in those days that a wall of protection was needed to stop invaders. It was designed by people who
did not want to be conquered.
Tyre.
Jericho.
Jerusalem.
The Great China Wall
Germany
Walls of that magnitude today are useless.
Penetrable by rockets, bombs, tanks, etc.
The only thing that walls successfully do today is protect us from the elements of the environment that we live in.
In a sense the people within the walls were prisoners to their own fears.
They locked themselves away from the world while locking the world out.
If you have a pet that you do not won't roaming the neighborhood, you put up a fence, or wall, to keep him in the
desired area that you prefer. That pet is now your prisoner. He is trapped behind the wall. BUT, he is also safe.
These are all physical walls.
Walls that cannot stand the test of time.
These walls will one day crumble and lie in ruin.
Today I want to speak to you about a wall that can stand that test.
A wall that will never crumble.
A wall that has already been tried and is still true.
A wall that is as necessary today as it was in the day that it was instituted.
A Wall Of FAITH!!
This is a wall that can't be seen.
It is not a wall that guards your heart.
It is not a wall that suppresses your emotional responses.
1. Faith
It is a wall that offers us, confident assurance that what we believe is going to happen, will.
It is the certainty of what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we can't see it up ahead.
Men of God in days of old became famous for their faith.
Heb. 11: 1 - 2
1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2: For by it the elders obtained a good report.
They believed!!
They not only believed, they applied what they believed and obtained a good report.
When King Hezekiah was faced with war with the Assyrians He built 4 walls.
2 Chron. 32:1: After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into
Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.
2: And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
3: He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the
city: and they did help him.
4: So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the
midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
5: Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another
wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.
6: And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city,
and spake comfortably to them, saying,
7: Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with
him: for there be more with us than with him:
8: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people
rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
( 1st Wall, Original. 2nd Wall, New Outer Wall. 3rd Wall, Millo, The Citadel= An Inside Wall along the North Wall. )
The last wall here is the WALL OF FAITH. V. 7 & 8
A wall of Faith must prevail. If it doesn't there is no faith attached to it. Simply a want.
21: And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp
of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of
his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.
22: Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of
Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.
2. Things not seen
We must evaluate the things not seen.
a. The what of Faith
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
b. God
It is impossible to explain the universe without God.
1 Cor. 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him.
c. Christ
His works have been reported by eyewitnesses and handed down through historical scholars.
d. Inspiration of the Bible
No book has ever been attacked like the Bible.
It is always true.
2Tm:3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness:
e. Creation
When we convince our children that they come from animals, they act like it.
The soul comes from God.
One day we will have new bodies but the same soul.
3. Things hoped for
We must evaluate the things hoped for.
a. Know that you are forgiven
b. Worry is gone
We are not weak!
Psalms 27:1 1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of
whom shall I be afraid?
We are not easily frustrated
Isa:26:3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
We do not fear enemies
1Jn:4:4: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in
the world.
We cannot worry
Mt:6:25: Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for
your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
c. Want to be a giving and serving person.
Tithing
Mal:3:10: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith,
saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it.
Become vulnerable enough to serve. (Discarding pride.)
Pray in public
Teach a class
Shout
Phil. 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
d. Hope for the future
2Tm:1:12: For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
2 Cor. 4:16: For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day.
17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory;
18: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen
are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Cor. 5:6: Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from
the Lord:
7: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
9: Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
Conclusion:
Do you believe that God has told us the truth about all things?
That is our Faith!!
It is our wall of security.
It is exactly what God offered us as a defence.
Eph:6:16: Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.