HOW TO FIND AND KEEP FAITH?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. How to Find and Keep Faith?
a) Proof That God Exists
i) The Bible takes it for granted that God exists, and it does not attempt to prove it. There is no proof of our faith that we can see or touch, and there is no evidence that will convince someone who does not want to believe.
ii) Knowledge of the physical world is based on things we can observe with our senses and analyze with mathematics and logic. But knowledge of God and Christ is a different kind of knowledge based on faith. Some people see evidence of God in the life and teachings of Jesus.
iii) Some see evidence of God’s creation in the intricacies and wonders of the universe and life. Some may perceive God in the gift of life and the miracle of birth. Some see evidence of God in the beauty of the world. Some see God in unselfish love (1 John 4:7-8).
iv) Other people see the sometimes hypocritical and cynical actions of Christians and religious leaders as a reason not to believe. However, the failures of some Christians does not disprove the existence and goodness of God.
v) Some people see the evils of war, crime, prejudice, greed and poverty and the tragedies of natural disasters and death as reasons to reject God. But others see the gift of life, the gift of unselfish love, the opportunity to serve others and the promise of a glorious eternal life as reasons for faith, hope and optimism.
b) Finding Faith
i) A conscious decision and a “leap of faith” are required to put our hopes and trust in God instead of in worldly things. But those who sincerely take that leap often develop a sense of peace, security and joy that confirms the correctness of the decision. The person afraid to get in the water will never learn to swim. Similarly, the person afraid to believe without knowing all the answers will never find faith.
c) Facing Doubts and Growing in Faith
i) Everyone has questions and doubts about their faith from time to time. It is in working through those questions and doubts that our faith can become stronger and more mature and continue to grow throughout life. As mere humans, there are many things about God that we will never understand. It is through faith that we can trust that God is the One who has all the answers and knows what is best.
ii) As it says in the book of Isaiah,
Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
iii) And the apostle Paul wrote this:
1 Corinthians 13:8-12
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
The End ...
1. How to Find and Keep Faith?a) Proof That God Exists
i) The Bible takes it for granted that God exists, and it does not attempt to prove it. There is no proof of our faith that we can see or touch, and there is no evidence that will convince someone who does not want to believe.
ii) Knowledge of the physical world is based on things we can observe with our senses and analyze with mathematics and logic. But knowledge of God and Christ is a different kind of knowledge based on faith. Some people see evidence of God in the life and teachings of Jesus.
iii) Some see evidence of God’s creation in the intricacies and wonders of the universe and life. Some may perceive God in the gift of life and the miracle of birth. Some see evidence of God in the beauty of the world. Some see God in unselfish love (1 John 4:7-8).
iv) Other people see the sometimes hypocritical and cynical actions of Christians and religious leaders as a reason not to believe. However, the failures of some Christians does not disprove the existence and goodness of God.
v) Some people see the evils of war, crime, prejudice, greed and poverty and the tragedies of natural disasters and death as reasons to reject God. But others see the gift of life, the gift of unselfish love, the opportunity to serve others and the promise of a glorious eternal life as reasons for faith, hope and optimism.
b) Finding Faith
i) A conscious decision and a “leap of faith” are required to put our hopes and trust in God instead of in worldly things. But those who sincerely take that leap often develop a sense of peace, security and joy that confirms the correctness of the decision. The person afraid to get in the water will never learn to swim. Similarly, the person afraid to believe without knowing all the answers will never find faith.
c) Facing Doubts and Growing in Faith
i) Everyone has questions and doubts about their faith from time to time. It is in working through those questions and doubts that our faith can become stronger and more mature and continue to grow throughout life. As mere humans, there are many things about God that we will never understand. It is through faith that we can trust that God is the One who has all the answers and knows what is best.
ii) As it says in the book of Isaiah,
Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
iii) And the apostle Paul wrote this:
1 Corinthians 13:8-12
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
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