You Won't Have Giant Killing Faith On A Sunday Morning Budget

Psalms:1:1-6, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Dear reader, in my website ministry I receive hundreds of emails each year from distraught believers who are at the end of their rope. Some talk of killing themselves. Most say that they feel like God has failed them, and that they don't want to waste their time praying anymore. Few of them attend church on Sunday, and the ones who do usually complain about their pastor and church (and many of their complaints are valid concerns).

I know what their dilemma is even before I finish reading their email. Their problem is that they are looking at the wrong things in life. They are focusing on the negatives in their life, and not having a THANKFUL ATTITUDE toward God. They lack faith because they are not walking with God by abiding in the inspired Holy Scriptures. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We are sanctified by the inspired Word of God. John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Someone asked me to sum up the Bible in as few words as possible. I gave them one word—“TRUTH.”

We grow spiritually by reading and studying the Bible. 1st Peter 2:2-3, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” How much time this past week did you spent wallowing like a happy pig in the inspired promises of God in the Bible? Did you know that there are 7,487 promises in the Word of God? How much Bible preaching did you listen to this past week? I heard five sermons yesterday by Pastor Bruce Mejia and Pastor Steven Anderson. I love and recommend that you listen to the Bible preaching of those guys! I don't agree with their denial of a Pretribulation Rapture, but I sadly don't know of any Pretrib Rapture pastors who preach with the fervency and boldly of these men of God.

This week I listened to the books of Jeremiah, Mark and John, read by Alexander Scourby. Here is the Old Testament book of Jeremiah on YouTube...

The Book of Jeremiah Read by Alexander Scourby

Sadly, today's churches are pathetic. Pastor Lee Roberson (1909-2007) wisely said: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” That is so true. The pastor makes the church! The pastor sets the tone, attitude and atmosphere of the congregation. Pastor E.M. Bounds (1835-1913) is right, who said that a church congregation rarely rises above the spirituality of the pastor. A church will almost never rise above its leadership. If a church has spiritually immature and biblically illiterate men, then the church is in trouble. Men follow their pastor's example. The great need of the hour in America is preaching preachers who walk with God.

If you only rely upon going to church on Sunday to stay right with God, you won't. The purpose of going to church is not to keep us spiritual, although we are edified by our pastor's walk with God during the week, from what he shares with us on Sunday. The purpose of going to church is to find comfort and encouragement for our burdens, heartaches and need to be loved. Other saints need our comfort, love and encouragement likewise.

Every church should have a scheduled time to go soulwinning in the local community. Preaching the Gospel is every believer's responsibility, which means there definitely should be an organized soulwinning effort by the church to reach the local community, the region and the world (missionary's support). I like the sign that I've seen in some churches when exiting over the door: “You are now entering the mission field.” Dear reader, you may be the only Jesus that someone knows.

Walking with God is not just something that we do on Sundays and Wednesdays. Our walk with God as believers should be 24/7, all the time. My mind is stayed on the Lord. Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” I love that Bible verse!!! Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

Kindly said, I receive hundreds of emails each year from distraught believers. Some talk about wanting to kill themselves. They are down, depressed, despondent and say that they've given up on prayer because God never answers. They have not yet learned, or have forgotten, that as God's children we live by faith, and not by sight. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:).”  Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

We all feel at times like God is ignoring us, that He has stepped out of the picture, but this is normal according to Luke 18:1-8. In this parable of The Widow And The Unjust Judge, the judge ignored her because he didn't care. However, Jesus teaches in this passage that God the Father is pleased by our faith, by our continued asking in prayer. Luke 18:1, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” The Lord told this parable to encourage us to keep on praying in faith. Prayer is asking, and asking is the evidence of one's faith. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” The Christian life is lived by faith, the same way that we were saved by faith alone. We are not saved by works, neither to we live the Christian life by trying to impress God with our works. FAITH is what pleases the Lord. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.