The Faith Walk
What do we believe?
We believe that Jesus was the Son of God. We do not believe that Jesus was merely a great teacher or a wonderfully compassionate social worker. Many liberal churches today attempt to water down the “Good News” by more or less accepting the view of Jesus as the “Great Social Worker” in the sky. This is nonsense. There is no refuse for the faint at heart by repeating this false doctrine that Jesus was a great man, a great teacher, but not God. Jesus said on many occasions that he was God. He claimed to be the Messiah unequivocally. Jesus obviously believed he was God, so either he was, or he was mad, and if he was mad, all of Christianity has for two thousand years been based on the teachings of a mad man. So, what was the purpose of the ministry of Jesus? One purpose was essential, Jesus came to suffer on the cross and carry the sins of all mankind to the cross with him. This great sacrifice was necessary to give mankind a way to return into the presence of God. It was necessary that Jesus overcome death and rise from the grave to demonstrate to the faithful that death no longer had any sting. Jesus was the first of many to come who will rise from the dead and sit at His right hand. But there was another great purpose for the ministry of Jesus and that was to teach all mankind who would listen, and attempt to understand, how the kingdom of God works here on earth and to empower men and women in this life.
To illustrate what Faith for Tomorrow means when we claim that one purpose of the Ministry of Jesus was to empower men and women here on earth, consider the parable of the bad steward found in Luke 16 1-12.
What follows is an expanded translation from the King James Version of the bible and there may be some interpretation involved. Faith for Tomorrow uses this interpretation instead of the actual text from the KJV because there are people who have difficulty with the old style English of the time of King James.
Later on that same day Jesus gathered his disciples together in the shade of some trees and started to tell them another story in order to further illustrate what he had been telling them earlier. He said, “There was a man of wealth who had a chief steward who handled all his accounts, however, he began hearing rumors that the man was cheating him. So, he made a surprise visit to his hired man and told him, ‘I hear from everyone that you are cheating me, therefore, I want to see all the accounts you have been handling for me and if what I have heard turns out to be true I will fire you from your job. Have the books ready for me to inspect when I return next week.’ The steward was extremely worried. He wondered how he would live if he were fired from his job. He was not qualified for any other job and was too proud to become a beggar. Then he made a decision. He had thought of a way to make new and influential friends who he could fall back on when he became unemployed. He began to visit his employer’s creditors. To the first creditor he visited he said, ‘How much do you owe my Master?’ The man replied, ‘One hundred measures of fine olive oil.’ The crooked steward said, ‘Alright, take your receipt and change the figure to fifty measures of olive oil, and I will change the figures on my Master’s account book to match.’ To another creditor he said, ‘How much do you owe my Master?’ The man replied I owe him one hundred bushels of wheat.’ The steward said, ‘Change the receipt to forty bushels, and I will change the account book to match.’ When the wealthy man heard about what the steward was doing he laughed and went so far as to actually commend the unworthy steward for being so deceitfully cunning.”
Jesus paused in his story, then said, “You see, the children of darkness are in their way much wiser than the children of light. They understand how the kingdoms of this world work and they use that knowledge to their benefit. But the children of light make no effort to understand the kingdom of God. If they did they would work diligently and store up treasure for themselves toward the day when all else fails.”
Jesus paused again and said, “Am I telling you to act like that dishonest steward? No, of course not! Remember, the kingdom of God works on faith and faithfulness. A man who is faithful in small things will also be faithful in big things, and a man who is untrustworthy in small things will be untrustworthy in big things as well. If a man is not honest on his job, or in his home, or with his friends and relatives, how can he be honest with the things of God? If you cannot be trusted with the wealth of your employer, why would God trust you with the riches of the kingdom? No man can serve two masters or else he will begin to hate one, and love the other, or he will stay with one, and despise the other. Just the same, you cannot lust after money and serve God in faith.”
Faith For Tomorrow
The Great Sermon on the Mount.
The great Sermon on the Mount may be the most influential sermon ever given voice to in the history of the world. The words the Lord spoke there on the Mount two thousand years ago were words that no one had ever heard before. They were concepts of humanity that no one had ever spoken before. They seem old-hat to us now because for two thousand years they have gripped the spirits of men and women all over the world. In countries where the gospel of Jesus Christ is barely ever heard these concepts first given voice by Jesus of Nazareth powerfully influence human interaction in ways we will never fully understand.
Jesus came down from the heights with the twelve and there gathered around them a great multitude. The multitude came out from around Judea and Jerusalem and from out of the seacoast near Tyre and Sidon and they followed Jesus and the twelve to the plain at the foot of the mountain to hear Jesus preach and be healed of their infirmities. Many were possessed by demons and they were all healed. And the people sought to touch him because healing power flowed out of him and they were all made whole.
After awhile, the crowd settled down on the slope of the mountain to hear him speak. Jesus looked toward his disciples, then raised his hands and said, “Blessed be the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that are hungry now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that are sad now, for you shall laugh. Remember this, if men and women hate you and push you out, and reproach you, and destroy your reputation with lies, because you follow me... Rejoice! Leap for joy! Your reward in heaven is great. Their fathers and mothers treated the prophets of old the same way.
But, woe unto you who are satisfied only in your riches, for you already have your reward. Woe unto you who care only about filling your bellies, for you shall go hungry. Woe unto you who only care about drinking and laughing, because later you will mourn your loss. Beware when men and women whisper flattery in your ears, their fathers and mothers did the same thing to the false prophets who told them lies about God. I say unto you who will hear me, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless them that curse you and pray for those who use you badly. And if someone strikes you on one cheek, do not strike back wildly, control yourself, and turn the other cheek to him as well. You be the stronger person. And if someone takes your coat give him your shirt also. Give something to everyone who asks whenever you can and if someone steals from you do not worry yourself into a harried state. Believe God. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. For if you love only those who love you what good have you done? Remember, even sinners love those that love them. If you do good only to those who do good to you, what thanks do you deserve? After all, sinners do the same thing. And if you give only to those from who you hope to receive, what thanks do you deserve? After all sinners do the same thing.
Love your enemies, do good, give generously, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great. And you shall be the children of God. After all God is patient with those who are not thankful and even with those who are evil. Be merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged, condemn not, and you will not be condemned, forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give generously to the ministry and to your brothers and sisters in need, and your own needs will be met by God, He will fill up your baskets, and shake them down, and fill them again until they are so full they run over. God notices how generous you are and rewards you with the same generosity.
Jesus paused and allowed His words to have an effect on the assembly, then He said, "Do not worry about your brother’s small faults when your own faults are great. Do not be a hypocrite. First get rid of your own faults then you will be able to see clearly enough to help your brother. After all, can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both stumble into a ditch? Become more perfect in your faith and you will be more like Me. No good tree produces bad fruit and no bad tree produces good fruit. A man or a woman is known by the product of his or her labor. If you produce good, you will be known as good. Men do not gather figs from thorn bushes or pick grapes from the brambles. If you want figs you go to a fig tree. If you desire the kingdom of God, you go to God. A good man out of the goodness of his heart does that which is good and an evil man out of the darkness in his heart does that which is evil. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Why do you call me Lord, and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to me and listens to me and does what I say is like the man who builds his house on a solid foundation of stone. When the flood comes and pushes against the house it remains standing for it was built on rock. But those who listen to me and refuse to do what I say are like the foolish man who builds his house on a foundation of sand and when the flood comes the house is swept away in a great pile of rubble.”
These passages come from the gospel according to Luke (Luke 6: 17-49) and are taken from the Kings James Version of the Holy Bible. The text above is a translation/interpretation of the KJV text. You should go to your own bible and read the scripture as given in the KJV and use the expanded translation above to help you in your understanding if the King James English is difficult for you. The point is, you always need to verify everything for yourself by checking it against the scriptures.
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