Increase Our Faith. Hebrews 11:1 6, Luke 17:1 6

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1 Hebrews 11:1 6, Luke 17:1 6 Well, did you all get your taxes filed on time? Hey, this year we even got a few extra days since we didn t have to file until April 18. I confess I was one of those who didn t file until that date. I m sure our CPA s are glad to get back to a little more normal life. You might appreciate the story of the little boy who wanted a hundred dollars very badly so he could buy a new bicycle. He had heard his parents talk about the importance of prayer, so he decided to pray for the hundred dollars. Well, he prayed for quite a few days, but he wasn t getting any answers, so he wrote a letter to God. When the post office got the letter they didn t know what to do about it, so they sent it to Washington. This congressman got a hold of the letter and decided he ought to give the boy some encouragement, so he sent the boy a five dollar bill. Well, that only caused the little boy to write to God a letter of complaint. He wrote: Dear God, why did you route my letter through Washington? When I got your reply, they had deducted 95%. Maybe some of you feel that way after doing your taxes this year. Most of us are not thrilled by the idea of having to pay taxes. And of course political candidates often run their campaign on the promise of lowering taxes. Not too many candidates would pin their chances on getting elected if they told people they were going to increase their taxes. But this morning I want to talk about an area of our lives where an increase is important. I m talking about taking a look at our experience with God and discovering the importance of something where an increase is not only possible, but also of great value. I m talking about increasing our faith. Looking at this aspect of our walk with God called faith, and seeking to find ways to expand that faith, increase our faith. Have you ever said that to yourself? I wish I had more faith. In a world that is often cynical, often pushing us to doubt and discouragement, having more faith can be a serious challenge. Some of you may remember the name of Jerry Kramer who was a member of the Green Bay Packers football team during the time of Vince Lombardi. Kramer became the author of two best selling books about his experience. In one of Page 1 of 5

2 them, which was titled, Distant Replay, Jerry reflects on his own sense of mortality. He writes: I think a lot about death these days, which is funny, because I ve never been healthier. I ve had only one serious illness in the past ten years, and one near death experience. My weight s not bad, about 240 pounds, 20 pounds less than when I stopped playing, and most of the time I feel awfully good. Yet, now, more than ever, I sense that I m mortal. A year ago, I lost my father to cancer, and I don t think I ll ever get over his death. In some ways, I think his dying was more difficult for the family than for him. Dad was a very religious man and was ready to go. He had a strong faith and he said he was locked in the arms of the Lord. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of faith. But I don t. I just have questions. Those kinds of feelings and sentiments are not that unusual for a lot of us. Struggling with questions about life. Wrestling with the craziness of the world around us. Anxieties and uncertainties about our future. And it is with all of this confusion and uncertainty, that faith becomes so important to our existence. Discovering that having faith is an important element for survival. How many times have your heard someone say, or maybe you ve said it yourself: If only I had more faith if only I had more faith, I could deal with this situation or handle this problem or get through this struggle. If only I had more faith. I suppose sometimes we wish faith was some tangible commodity, like something in a bottle or cup and you could take that cup and pour out as much of the faith substance as you needed. And then when another problem arises, you go to the shelf, and pour out some more faith. Certainly the disciples wanted that. They had witnessed Jesus ministry, they saw the miracles, they marveled at his teachings and after hearing him speak about forgiveness they simply bring this request: Increase our faith. But how do we see that happen when we know it isn t some material product? Faith isn t something you can visibly see or measure, faith has an element of mystery about it. I mean when the Hebrews writer talks about faith, it is described like this: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Things hoped for, things unseen. Faith is not a physical commodity but an important dimension of our spirituality. We are challenged to live by faith, and Page 2 of 5

3 not by sight. In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews you have a list of the hall of fame of persons who lived by faith. Those who put their trust in the living God. Persons like Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, all persons who discovered the importance of living by faith. Persons who were far from perfect. Persons who had many flaws and made mistakes. Persons not unlike you and me. Yet they are commended for their faith. To live by faith requires a confidence and a hope in a reality that we cannot see nor can we fully understand. And that can be hard for us who need empirical, tangible evidence for those who demand some kind of scientific proof. Perhaps that is why the message of this Easter season forms the basis for how we are to live. It is our faith in the fundamental truth of this season that is the springboard for understanding life. Our belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, an essential doctrine of our belief that becomes the basis for being a disciple of Jesus. As we noted a few weeks ago, it was the obstacle for Thomas, but the word of declaration of Jesus: Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Have not seen, and yet believe. That is the essence of faith. Too often our faith is obscured or limited by our need to see tangible evidence, our need to have all of our questions answered. I like those words which were written by a Jewish person on the wall of the Warsaw ghetto: I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even when I cannot feel it. I believe in God, even when He is silent. Lord, increase our faith. Help me to live by faith, even when life doesn t make sense. Isn t this where we get bogged down in living the Christian life? We have trouble living by faith. We want everything to fit into neat little categories. We want to make sure we have everything figured out. We are afraid of surprises, we are scared to venture into unknown territory, and we start to limit our understanding of God, for unless God acts in some predictable pattern, or the way I think God should act, I have a hard time believing in this God. We want everything to happen on our terms, we are afraid of the unknown. Page 3 of 5

4 But you know, life doesn t work that way. And God isn t like that. And things happen that we don t understand. And we can t make sense of it all. And that s why we pray: Lord, increase our faith. Help me to live by with such a faith that I can put my trust in You no matter what the circumstances. In 1994, a tornado destroyed the Goshen United Methodist Church in Piedmont, Alabama on Palm Sunday. It was a devastating event in which the pastor lost her daughter and 20 of her church members. For a long time after that, people were asking Pastor Kelly and her husband, Dale, how they were able to manage, how could they go on. They wanted to know how they could still have a faith after all that had happened. The answer Dale would give would come after much soul searching. Dale would tell them: You don t need faith for things you understand, but for the things you don t. We all face the things in life we don t understand and we search for some answer that doesn t easily come. But we are called upon in those times, to cry out a prayer that simply says: Lord, help me to live by faith. Lord, increase my faith. Bring me to a deeper trust in You even when and especially when I face the things I cannot understand. I believe that it is when we allow ourselves to live with that approach to life that we give ourselves the opportunity to grow in faith. We live with a trust in the faithfulness of God and believe that God sees the bigger picture of our lives. I know it s hard to let go and surrender and allow God to lead us in an unknown future. But that is living by faith even when we can t see the outcome. That s what this season of Easter is all about. It is a season of hope. Everything that had shattered the expectations of the followers of Jesus was resurrected because of the resurrection of Jesus. Everything that had put them into despair was given new light in the reality of the risen Christ. They became people with a living hope. And that s our hope as well. I don t know what it is that may be trying your faith this morning, something that is trying to pull you away from simply trusting in God s care and God s ability to work things out for good in your life. But today you are invited to give it over to God. Let this be our prayer. Let s pray Lord, increase my faith. God has already demonstrated the power to overcome any situation even death has been conquered because we worship and serve a living Jesus. Blessed are you who have not seen, and Page 4 of 5

5 yet still believe. Blessed are you when you don t see how things are going to work out, but you believe in the power of God. Blessed are you when you don t understand God s ways, but you are still willing to trust in them because you believe in the faithfulness of God. Today we come before God as people of faith. May God, help us live in such a way, that we can pray Lord, increase our faith. Page 5 of 5