Participants: Rowland Nwsou
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000320
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00:31 Welcome to Faith Chapel, my name
00:34 is Pastor Rowland C. Nwosu, 00:36 the pastor of the All Nations African 00:38 Seventh-Day Adventist Church in San 00:40 Bernardino, California and also the 00:42 President of the Adventist Our 00:44 International Ministries in Loma 00:46 Linda, California. Our Post, Postmodern 00:51 world today is filled with issues, 00:54 ideologies and philosophies, 00:58 rationalism, relativism and other isms 01:02 that I called Faith Busters. 01:07 They challenge our faith and our 01:10 beliefs in Christ Jesus and the 01:14 practice of our faith in our society today. 01:17 So, today I want to share with you, 01:19 if you please about 12 foundational 01:23 suggestions as to how we can build 01:26 our faith in this situation, in this 01:29 society. Let us pray, Father, thank you 01:33 for the opportunity to hear your 01:35 word and to speak your word, help us 01:39 to be faithful in times when life and 01:43 ideas and thoughts and discussions 01:48 around us tend to challenge our faith, 01:51 help us dear Lord in the name 01:53 of Jesus we pray, amen. 01:58 Twelve foundational suggestions for 02:01 building up your faith in our 02:04 Modern Society, in today's world. 02:08 With the philosophies and ideas, ideologies 02:11 and rationalism of our times, 02:13 it becomes, becomes something 02:17 that challenges our faith when 02:19 on the right and on the left, 02:21 on the televisions we are faced 02:25 with ideas that make us feel 02:29 that our faith are wrong or what 02:32 we believe about God are wrong. 02:37 And I want to suggest you that 02:39 the first thing that I would encourage 02:45 us to do is to recognize, to remember. 02:47 To recognize that God loves us, 02:51 God loves me; God loves you more 02:55 than you love yourself. Let me explain, 02:58 you see, yes this body that I have maybe mine, 03:03 I may eat and nourish it and take care of it, 03:06 but God cares about me more than 03:11 I care about myself. He protects me 03:13 more than any armies in the world can protect. 03:16 He cares and loves me more than 03:19 my parents would ever love me. 03:21 He, He guides me, He heals me, 03:24 provides for me more than anybody 03:27 else can and would. So, if we recognize 03:31 that then our role will be one to cooperate 03:35 with Him, want to find out what God 03:38 is actually working out for us. 03:42 It is to plan out to, workout to, 03:46 find out God's will for us. 03:51 It is important that we believe. 03:53 We recognize that God loves us 03:57 more than we love ourselves. 04:00 The Bible says that God's promises 04:05 are true all the times. In Isaiah chapter 04:08 41 verse 10, and this one of my 04:11 favorite verses and many of you 04:13 watching, this maybe your favorite 04:14 verse also. It says, Isaiah chapter 4, 04:18 41 verse 10 it says, fear not, 04:21 for I am with you; be not dismayed, 04:26 for I am your God; I will strengthen you, 04:31 yes I will help you, I will uphold you 04:34 with my righteous right hand. 04:39 This is a text that has meant so 04:40 much to me, it lifts me up when 04:43 I am down, and when I feel that all 04:45 the world is collapsing against me, 04:47 this verse tells me, Rowland, 04:51 do not fear for the maker and the 04:54 creator of the universe is with you. 04:56 And if you turn to the page to Isaiah 04:59 43 verses 1 and 2 it says, But now, 05:07 Isaiah chapter 43 verses 1 and 2 05:10 it says, "But now, thus saith the Lord, 05:14 who created you O Jacob, 05:17 And He who formed you, O Israel: 05:20 Fear not, for I have redeemed you; 05:23 I have called you by your name; 05:27 you are mine. When you pass 05:30 through the waters, I will be with you; 05:32 And through the rivers, they shall not 05:34 overflow you. When you walk 05:36 through the fire, you shall not be burned, 05:39 nor shall the flame scorch you." 05:45 This is a, this is a covenant promise, 05:47 this is a promise that was made to 05:49 Jacob on the basis that he accepted 05:52 God as his savior. And this promise 05:54 is also available to all those, 05:57 to anyone who accepts God 05:59 as his God, who accept Jesus Christ 06:03 as their personal savior. 06:05 This same promise, this covenant 06:07 promise is available to anyone and 06:12 you are watching. Have you accepted 06:16 Jesus Christ as your personal savior? 06:18 In your growth as a Christian person, 06:21 as one who believes the Lord, 06:23 do you accept this covenant relationship? 06:25 If you do this promise is for you. 06:28 Fear not, but believe that God loves 06:32 you more than you love yourself. 06:33 So, do not worry and nothing will happen 06:38 to you without God knowing it and 06:42 allowing it to happen. Suggestion number 06:44 two, if we must grow our faith and 06:47 build our trust, our faith in the Lord 06:49 we must, we cannot, we must recognize. 06:52 Number two, is that we must recognize 06:54 that we cannot do anything to 06:57 make God love us more than He has. 07:00 We cannot improve upon God's love for us. 07:05 You see, the Bible says that God loves us, 07:09 God loved us, even while we were 07:12 dirty, ugly, stinking and deeply 07:17 immersed in sin. Romans chapter 07:20 5 verses 6 through 8, Romans 5 verses 07:26 6 through 8. Now, we read the Bible 07:29 says, "For when we were still 07:32 without strength, in due time Christ 07:36 died for the ungodly. For scarcely 07:40 for a righteous man will one die: 07:43 yet perhaps for a good man someone 07:45 would even dare to die. But God 07:49 demonstrates His love toward us, 07:52 in that while we were yet sinners, 07:55 Christ died for us." Well, this is no 08:00 wonder why Jesus speaking to 08:03 Nicodemus that one night in 08:04 John chapter 3 verse 16, a text that 08:08 most of us, you will know that you 08:11 would know, yeah that some of us 08:13 have committed to memory John chapter 3 08:15 verse 16. The Bible says, 08:17 "For God so loved the world that 08:20 He gave His only begotten Son, 08:23 that whoever believes in Him will not 08:27 perish but have everlasting life." 08:33 So, my friends you see, you cannot 08:35 improve upon God's love, 08:37 accept that God loves you more 08:40 than He loves, more than you love yourself. 08:43 Believe that He will take care of you. 08:49 Suggestion number three, let us 08:52 humble ourselves before the Lord 08:55 and obey Him. Let us be humbled 08:59 and obedient. Suggestion number three, 09:02 you see the human race suffers 09:03 from what I call the peacock syndrome, 09:06 that is the condition where people 09:08 tend to inflate themselves much higher 09:11 and larger than they really are. 09:14 You see, we live in a world where 09:16 someone's status is determined 09:19 by the type of car they drive and 09:23 the kind of house they live in, 09:25 the, their big homes, fat big bank accounts, 09:29 their facts and fashions and their 09:32 positions and these have become signs 09:35 or symbols of status. 09:39 Everyone wants to get this things 09:41 and get ahead. And no one wants 09:43 to submit, no one, but few people 09:46 want to submit if you please. 09:50 May I suggest, be obedient and humble. 09:54 You see, God is no respecter of persons 09:58 and these things, these symbols of status 10:02 that we have on earth today cannot 10:05 get us where God wants us to be. 10:10 The Bible says that everyone is equal 10:12 before God. The Bible says that God 10:15 is no respecter of person. So, our 10:18 nationalities don't mean anything, 10:21 do not matter, our ethnic affiliations 10:25 do not matter, our degrees do not 10:27 matter, our bank accounts do not matter, 10:30 our wealth do not matter, our 10:32 professions do not matter. 10:34 In fact, let me be clear. 10:37 Your beauty does not matter also. 10:40 What matters is the content of the heart. 10:42 Let no man think of himself more 10:45 highly than he ought to think. 10:46 In fact, the Bible says, as followers of 10:48 Christ we admonish to have the 10:50 mind of Christ. In Philippines chapter 10:54 2 verses 5 through 8, the Bible makes 10:57 it clear that we ought to have the mind 11:00 of Christ, and he goes on to tell us 11:02 what the mind of Christ is. 11:04 Philippines chapter 2 verses 5 11:06 through 8 it says, "Let this mind be in you, 11:11 which was also in Christ Jesus, 11:13 who being in the form of God 11:15 did not consider it robbery to be 11:18 equal with God, but made Himself 11:20 of no reputation, taking the form 11:23 of a bondservant and coming in the 11:25 likeness of men. And being found in 11:28 appearance as a man, He humbled 11:31 Himself and became obedient to the 11:33 point of death, even the death of the cross." 11:38 You see, humility is not, is not 11:40 quietness, it's not soft speaking, 11:43 it's not positiveness on issues, 11:46 it's not trying to stand in middle. 11:48 Humility has to do with God, our 11:51 relationship with God that finds itself 11:53 filtered in the way we relate to one another. 11:57 You see, but humility is a divine gift, 12:00 You see grace in the mind and in the heart 12:03 of the believer which allows him or 12:05 her to think of Himself not so highly, 12:09 not, not, not higher than the other 12:13 creation of God. So, true humility than 12:16 requires us to feel that God, 12:19 that God and that in God's sight we are, 12:24 we have no merit on ourselves, by ourselves. 12:27 True humility requires us to honor 12:31 and prefer others to ourselves. 12:35 However, humility does not mean that 12:38 you should be somebody's doormat. 12:41 It does not require us to on duly self 12:46 depreciate ourselves, but rather 12:48 the loneliness of, of self estimation 12:53 and freedom from vanity. 12:57 If we must build our faith, if we must 13:01 build our faith and increase and grow 13:04 in our faith relationship with God, 13:07 my first, the fourth suggestion 13:09 I want to suggest was is that we 13:11 must accept the will of God. 13:14 Many of us including yours faithfully, 13:16 one of my problems have been to 13:21 accept God's will. You know, 13:23 I have this plan, I have my plans. 13:26 You have your plans; we want to work 13:28 our plans the way we want it, 13:30 but God has His plans. 13:33 And often times and in most, 13:36 in most times our plans are different 13:39 from God's plans. You see in Isaiah 13:44 chapter 55 verses 8 and 9, God reminds 13:51 us that, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 13:55 Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. 13:58 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 14:01 So are My ways higher than your ways, 14:05 And My thoughts than your thoughts. 14:08 So, God says, God says, I know better, 14:14 just give me your will, give me your thoughts. 14:17 Let accept what I say, find out where 14:22 I'm going and then follow me. 14:24 You see, God says, His ways are not 14:28 my ways; His thoughts are not my 14:33 thoughts. I don't think the way God 14:34 thoughts; you don't think the way 14:36 God thinks. The only way we can 14:38 accept God's will, the only way we 14:41 can harmonize our will with God is 14:44 for us to be in constant conversation 14:47 with Him. So, that we can see, 14:51 we can feel, we can hear Him speak to us. 14:54 And when He speaks to us, 14:56 when we hear Him then what we want 14:59 to do will be in harmony with what His 15:01 plan is for us, it is never, it has never 15:06 worked out for anyone who wants to 15:08 kick against God's will. It certainly 15:11 did not work for Balaam. 15:13 Balaam tried it when he wanted to 15:15 curse God's people; he ended up blessing 15:18 God's people. Haman also tried to kick 15:26 against God's plan, God's people in, 15:29 in Persia, Haman also tried to kick 15:37 against God's plan for Mordecai and, 15:39 and the Hebrew people, but he ended 15:44 up being hanged by the same, 15:46 the same gallows that he had prepared 15:48 for God's people. Apostle Paul did not 15:52 succeed either, I see he tried to kick 15:56 against God's people and against God's plan. 16:01 Apostle Paul got converted doing so. 16:06 Alexander the Great did not succeed, 16:10 in fact he ended up as he fought against 16:13 the will of God. He exclaimed at the end 16:15 God is too much for me. You cannot 16:20 my friends, you cannot kick against God's will, 16:23 submit. I have learned through all 16:26 the years that God's will will happen, 16:31 it may take long, we may wrestle with it, 16:34 but God will be victorious at the end. 16:39 Suggestion number five, if we must grow 16:41 our faith relationship with God, 16:43 we must guard against, we must jealously, 16:47 we must guard jealously the avenues to our soul. 16:54 Guarding the pathway, the avenues, 16:57 the doors that lead into our soul, 16:59 what do I mean by that? We need 17:01 to protect things that get into our minds. 17:03 We need to secure and jealously guard 17:06 the pathways to our minds. 17:08 What do we feed our minds? 17:10 What we watch our minds. 17:12 Jesus Christ emphasized that the importance 17:15 of how what enters our mind because 17:17 it comes out. In Matthew chapter 12 verses 17:22 33 through 37, Matthew chapter 12 17:27 verses 33 through 37. It says, 17:30 "Either make the tree good, 17:33 and it's fruit good; or else make the tree 17:36 bad and it's fruit bad; for a tree is known 17:39 by the, by it's fruits. Brood of vipers! 17:43 How can you being evil speak good things? 17:46 For out of the abundance of the heart 17:48 the mouth speaks. A good man out of the 17:51 good treasure of his heart brings forth 17:54 good things, and an evil man out of the 17:56 evil treasure brings forth evil things." 18:00 Verse 36, "But I say to you that for 18:04 every idle word that men may speak, 18:07 they will give account of it in the Day 18:10 of Judgment. For by your words you 18:14 will be justified, and by your words 18:17 you will be condemned. Garbage in, 18:24 garbage out, what we feed our minds 18:27 somehow it will come out through our lips. 18:32 Let us guard jealously things that get 18:36 into our minds, either through what we see, 18:40 through what we read, through 18:41 what we touch, through what we hear, 18:43 through what we taste. Suggestion number six, 18:50 carefully tame your tongue, careful. 18:54 Let us carefully take, tame our tongue. 18:57 Let us refuse to be the devil's agent. 19:02 The one purpose of gossip is to destroy 19:06 God's image in us. And that is why 19:10 the devil uses it to tear people down. 19:13 Oh how many churches? How many 19:16 groups have ended up destroyed, 19:20 turn apart as a result of gossip between 19:25 people, between members, here say. 19:31 First Timothy chapter 5 verse 13, 19:34 Apostle Paul speaks to Timothy about, 19:37 about some saints trying to do this. 19:39 He says, And besides these people, 19:42 they learn to be idle, wandering from 19:46 house to house, and not only idle 19:49 but also gossips and busybodies, 19:52 saying things which they ought not say. 19:59 Question, question, when you say things, 20:05 do you know for sure that they are true? 20:09 Did you verify your source? Is it true? 20:14 Would it help? Would it hinder? 20:16 Would it destroy? Would you build up? 20:19 Those are questions, those are rule of 20:22 thumb questions that we can ask 20:25 ourselves before we repeat something, 20:27 if it is not going to build somebody up, 20:31 please don't repeat it. Suggestion number 20:41 seven, let us talk less and do more, 20:47 let us talk less and just do it. 20:52 Let us talk less us about praying more 20:54 and just do it. Let us talk less about 20:58 doing God's work and just do it. 20:59 Let us talk less about having more 21:02 devotions in the family and just do it. 21:05 Let us talk more, let us talk less about going 21:08 to church early and just do it. 21:11 Let us talk less about reading the Bible. 21:14 We want to read the Bible; we plan 21:15 to read a Bible. Let's just do it. 21:19 We talk too much, we talk so much. 21:21 Let's talk less now and do it. 21:25 There are so much plans, there are so much 21:27 things, so many things that we need to 21:30 talk less about and do the right things. 21:33 Let's talk less about other people and 21:36 talk more about Jesus, what do you say? 21:42 Suggestion number eight, let us practice 21:44 the agape love of Jesus, the self 21:47 sacrificing love of Jesus, that love that 21:49 cause Him to sacrifice His glory, 21:52 that love that that cause Him to give up 21:56 His glory and all the honor and adoration 22:00 and praises that He had. Let's have that 22:04 mind and have that love of Jesus and 22:08 that love when we accept because 22:12 God is love, we accept God, we accept 22:15 Jesus Christ then that love is filtered 22:19 into our hearts and our minds. 22:24 The Bible says in Matthew chapter 22:25 2 verse 12. Now, this is a very good 22:28 text that you know, it says Matthew chapter 22:31 7 verse 12, "Therefore, whatever 22:37 you want men to do to you, do also to them, 22:42 for this is the Law and the Prophets." 22:51 If you don't want someone to talk 22:53 about you, don't talk about them. 22:54 That's what that text tells me, 22:56 if you want somebody to attend 22:59 your function, attend somebody else's 23:01 function, if you want someone to say 23:03 hello to you. Please say hello to somebody, 23:05 if you want someone to be nice to you, 23:07 be nice to somebody. Let us be kind 23:14 and gracious to one another. 23:17 Help somebody, seek somebody out and help, 23:21 if you want someone to stop by your 23:23 house and say hello, stop at the neighbor's 23:25 house and say hello. First John chapter 23:29 4 verses 20 and 21. The Bible says, 23:35 "If someone says, I love God and hates 23:39 his brother, he is a liar; for he who 23:42 does not love his brother whom he 23:44 he has seen, how can he love God 23:46 whom he has not seen? And this 23:48 commandment we have from Him; 23:51 that he who loves God must love his 23:56 brother also." Suggestion number nine, 24:03 serve, let us use our gifts, talents and, 24:10 and the means that God has given 24:12 us our influences to serve His church 24:14 to the glory of God. God has given each member, 24:21 each one who believes in Him. 24:23 When we accept Jesus as a personal 24:25 savior and are baptized into the 24:28 kingdom of God, when we are baptized 24:30 in the church and I'm accepted into 24:32 the fellowship of the saints, 24:33 God gives us gifts. Each person sitting 24:38 onto pew has a gift that God has 24:41 given them for the identification of the 24:43 saints and for the building up of 24:44 His church. Let us find what our gifts 24:48 are and use them to the glory of God. 24:50 In First Corinthians chapter 12 verses 24:54 4 through 11, First Corinthians chapter 24:57 12 verses 4 through 11 it says, 25:00 "There are diversities of gifts, 25:03 but the same Spirit. There are 25:05 differences of ministries, but the 25:07 same Lord. And there are diversities 25:09 of activities, but it is the same God 25:13 who works all in all. But the 25:16 manifestation of the Spirit is given 25:18 to each of the, each, for each one, 25:21 for the profit of all. For to one is given 25:26 the word of wisdom through the Spirit, 25:28 to another the word of knowledge 25:30 through the same spirit. To another, 25:33 to another faith by the same Spirit; 25:35 to another the gifts of healing by the 25:37 same spirit. To another the working of miracles; 25:40 to another prophecy; to another discerning 25:44 of spirits; to another different kinds 25:46 of tongues; or to another the 25:48 interpretation of tongues." 25:50 Verse 11 says that, "But one and 25:53 the same spirit works all these things, 25:57 distributing to each one individually as He wills. 26:04 Suggestions number ten, make God first 26:06 and exercise your faith. You see, 26:09 faith is like the muscle it will not be 26:12 strong without exercise. Everyone knows 26:14 the value of exercise, so without 26:17 exercise the muscle suffer from atrophy. 26:20 Faith is exercised on development, 26:23 it is encountered with some difficulty. 26:27 So, exercise your faith, when it's 26:30 confronted when you don't have, 26:32 when you need to return your turn, 26:34 when you have to give God's your, 26:35 your gift or your money and you don't 26:37 have enough the, the faith is exercised. 26:41 Obey God and then watch Him work for you. 26:46 Suggestion number eleven, let us study 26:50 the Bible more and pray more in the same 26:52 way we eat and drink. You see, 26:56 we'll have food, food is our food sustains 27:01 us physically. So, what the food, 27:04 our physical food is to our physical body 27:07 is what the word of God is to our 27:10 spiritual self. Let us study the word 27:12 of God as much as we eat. 27:16 The last point is, focus on Jesus. 27:20 Jesus is our example, He is the author, 27:24 He is the one who started our faith, 27:26 He is the one who will carry us through, 27:28 He is faithful and just, He is the finisher 27:33 and the, the author and the finisher of our faith. 27:36 Focus on him, do not focus on someone else, 27:39 do not focus on the leaders of the church, 27:41 do not focus on your parents, but make 27:44 Jesus your focus for He Himself is our guide, 27:47 He Himself is our protector, He is, He 27:51 Himself is the one who is the author 27:54 of our faith and the builder of our faith. |
Revised 2014-12-17