{"id":2762,"date":"2018-10-31T14:45:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T03:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2018-10-31T14:45:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T03:45:19","slug":"your-faith-has-made-you-well-28-10-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2762","title":{"rendered":"Your Faith has made you well 28-10-2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your Faith has made you well.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Romans 12: 3 – 8;\u00a0 <\/span>Mark 10: 46 – 52<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Is it possible that reason could replace faith?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Faith is so important to us.\u00a0 <\/span>Imagine a life without faith – no friends, no freedom, no hope! Yes, that is what it would be like if we didn\u2019t have faith. Faith makes it possible to have friends, freedom and hope.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let me explain.\u00a0 <\/span>Every time we get into a motor vehicle, or an aeroplane we do so trusting that others using the road and airways will behave responsibly. Because our faith is generally rewarded we tend to take such steps without thinking. Your faith in road users tells you that the car hurtling down the road towards you will keep to their side of the road.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When we meet someone for the first time we accept them with a degree of faith. We have learnt to have faith in others because we have experienced the faithfulness of parents and significant adults. They have not only been faithful towards us but have put their faith in us entrusting us with responsibility.\u00a0 <\/span>I know that sometimes things are not perfect in our upbringing and faith is broken down. But all this goes to show is how important faith for living. All our relationships are dependent upon faith and faith maintains them faith. And it is this faith that leads to our maturity and freedom. Faith is one of the key components in our humanity that allows us grow and become, and live with hope.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Faith in tomorrow helps us find solutions to life. Faith helps us take the next step when we can\u2019t see the staircase. An inspiring example of this are the INVICTAS Games where armed service persons, who have suffered loss of limbs and great mental stress, have competed in a spirit of true courage an mateship.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I firmly believe that God created us this way.\u00a0 <\/span>I believe that God has created us with three key components that are the essence of relationships and the root cause of our freedom. Paul emphasises this in Corinthians 13 where he says that there are \u2018faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love\u2019.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>[1Cor. 13:13]\u00a0 <\/span>Today I want to talk about faith.\u00a0 <\/span>I was inspired to do so when I read the Gospel reading set for today regarding Bartimaeus.\u00a0 <\/span>Jesus said to him,\u00a0<\/span> \u201cGo; your faith has made you well<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Wow!\u00a0 <\/span>His faith had made him well.\u00a0 <\/span>How big is that! Jesus\u2019 statement tells us so much about faith.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Now the Bible has a lot to say about faith and the part it plays in our lives. I am going to look briefly at some aspects and then come back to the Bartimaeus story.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Faith as a gift.\u00a0 <\/span>Faith I have argued is part of our humanity. It is one of the key components along with hope and love that make us human.\u00a0 <\/span>It is God\u2019s gift to us.\u00a0 <\/span>Early Christian thinkers understood this. But they were equally concerned that we exercise this gift with humility, lest we think that it is our faith that saves us. Ephesians makes it clear that we are saved by faith, which is a gift of God [Eph 2: 8-9]. In chapter 3:12 we find the statement reiterated in the words through faith in him<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>But a growing number of scholars are saying that our English translations haven\u2019t got it right. The Greek genitive applies to Jesus. That means it should read through the faith of him.<\/i> My reading of Ephesians convinces me that it is the faithfulness of Jesus that saves us just as we sang about God\u2019s faithfulness at the beginning of the service (TiS 154 Great is your faithfulness<\/i>).\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So we all have the gift of faith in us. It is how God the Creator made us. So the following\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

apocryphal story of Jesus arriving in heaven may help us see the two sides of faith -our faith in God and God\u2019s faith in us.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The angels greeted and praised Jesus when he arrived in heaven after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. They asked what he had done to ensure that his mighty work would not be forgotten. Jesus replied, \u2018I have asked Peter, John, James and my followers to tell others.\u2019\u00a0 <\/span>The angels asked again, \u2018What have you done to ensure that they will do that?\u2019 Jesus replied, \u2018 I have asked Peter, John, James and my followers to tell others.\u2019 But the angels persisted. They said, \u2018You know Lord what humankind is like. They forget and they fail you. What have you done to ensure that your good work will never be forgotten?\u2019\u00a0 <\/span>Jesus replied, \u2018 I have asked Peter, John, James and my followers to tell others.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Increase our faith.\u00a0 <\/span>It is not unnatural for us to ask God to increase our faith.\u00a0 <\/span>In a sense one could take the metaphor of faith as a shield and say that there are times when our shield needs maintenance.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I have always taken great comfort from the story of the father who brought his epileptic son to Jesus. Jesus wasn\u2019t present. He was up the mountain of Transfiguration. So the father asked the disciples to pray for the boy.\u00a0 <\/span>But their prayers seemed ineffective.\u00a0 <\/span>When Jesus returned the boy went into convulsions again.\u00a0 <\/span>The father explained to Jesus what had happened. Jesus\u2019 response was telling. He spoke of the insufficiency of the disciple\u2019s faith. You see the disciples were not perfect. They had lots to learn. May be their greatness lay in their willingness to learn. The father turned again to Jesus and asked him to help. Jesus replied, \u2018that everything is possible for the person who has faith<\/i>\u2019 [9:23]. And there we have that thought again. Jesus is saying you have faith exercise it.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The father of the boy plaintively cries out; \u201cI do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more.<\/i>\u201d [9:24] So often I have cried out to our Lord with the same prayer, \u2018help me to have more faith\u2019. Jesus healed the boy. Not surprisingly we find in Luke the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith [17:5]. I imagine it is the prayer we all pray from time to time. But in reality it is practising our prayer for more faith that matters.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bruce Larson tells a story in his book Edge of Adventure<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s about a letter found in a baking-power tin wired to the handle of an old pump, which offered the only hope of drinking water on a very long and seldom-used trail cross the Amargosa Desert in USA; the letter read as follows:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis pump is alright as of Jun 1932. I put the new leather suck washer into it, and it ought to last several years. But this leather washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock, I buried a bottle of water. There\u2019s enough water in it to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. Pour in about one quarter, and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest, medium fast and pump like crazy. You\u2019ll get water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. When you get watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller.<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Signed Desert Pete.<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

P.S. Don\u2019t go drink up the water first. Prime the pump with it first, and you\u2019ll get all you can hold<\/i>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Faith making us well.\u00a0 <\/span>So we come back to Bartimaeus.\u00a0 <\/span>There he is at the gates of Jericho.\u00a0 <\/span>Jesus passes by. The crowd is pressing upon the space. Bartimaeus learns that the crowd is gathering to see Jesus.\u00a0 <\/span>When he learns this he shouts out, \u201cJesus, son of David, have pity on me.<\/i>\u2019 [Mk 10:47]\u00a0 <\/span>Now many of the people scolded him. Bartimaeus was a nobody. He was just a blind beggar.\u00a0 <\/span>He had no social esteem.\u00a0 <\/span>But to Jesus he was important. Jesus trusted him.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let us remember that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. On the road the disciples had been arguing about who would get the important seats in heaven. It all started with John and James asking Jesus for the best seats [10:35-45]. The disciples still hadn\u2019t fully understood. They had slipped back into the way the world thinks. But before them in contrast is Bartimaeus who in his need cries out to Jesus and identifies him as the Son of David \u2013 a messianic title. Bartimaeus\u2019 faith is generating hope in him.\u00a0 <\/span>He cries out loudly, above the noise of the crowd. Those who hear want to silence him. Jesus hears him and wants to heal him. Jesus calls him and Bartimaeus comes to him.\u00a0 <\/span>He leaves his cloak behind. The cloak was laid out to catch what coins were thrown his way. So in leaving his cloak Bartimaeus leaves his income source. He goes to Jesus. Jesus asks him what he wants. Bartimaeus says he wants his sight. Jesus says, \u2018Go, your faith has made you well<\/i>.\u2019 [10:52] Bartimaeus\u2019 faith has brought him to Jesus. Bartimaeus comes to Jesus in spite of many telling him to stay where he was. The gift of faith has been exercised by Bartimaeus. He trusts Jesus and he is healed. Healed, Bartimaeus follows Jesus. Can you see how that gift of faith, can make us well too?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Is our faith sufficient to shield us from attacks on us? Is our faith deep enough to allow God to heal us, or do we need to pray for our faith to be increased? Let us sing the song, Have faith in God <\/i>[Srce 400], by Geoff Bullock.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Have faith in God,<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

let your hope rest on the<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

faith he has place in your heart.<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Never give up,<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Never let go of the<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

faith he has place in your heart<\/i>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*******<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC:\u00a0 <\/span>28\/10\/2018<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

pcwhitaker@icloud.com<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your Faith has made you well.\u00a0 Romans 12: 3 – 8;\u00a0 Mark 10: 46 – 52 Is it possible that reason could replace faith?\u00a0 Faith is so important to us.\u00a0 Imagine a life without faith – no friends, no freedom, no hope! Yes, that is what it would be like if we didn\u2019t have faith. Faith makes it possible to have friends, freedom and hope. Let me explain.\u00a0 Every time we get into a motor vehicle, or an aeroplane we do so trusting that others using the road and airways will behave responsibly. Because our faith is generally rewarded we tend to take such steps without thinking. Your faith in road users tells you that the car hurtling down the road towards you will keep to their side of the road. When we meet someone for the first time we accept them with a degree of faith. We have learnt to have faith in others because we have experienced the faithfulness of parents and significant adults. They have not only been faithful towards us but have put their faith in us entrusting us with responsibility.\u00a0 I know that sometimes things are not perfect in our upbringing and faith is broken down. But all this goes to show is how important faith for living. All our relationships are dependent upon faith and faith maintains them faith. And it is this faith that leads to our maturity and freedom. Faith is one of the key components in our humanity that allows us grow and become, and live with hope.\u00a0 Faith in tomorrow helps us find solutions to life. Faith helps us take the next step when we can\u2019t see the staircase. An inspiring example of this are the INVICTAS Games where armed service persons, who have suffered loss of limbs and great mental stress, have competed in a spirit of true courage an mateship.\u00a0 I firmly believe that God created us this way.\u00a0 I believe that God has created us with three key components that are the essence of relationships and the root cause of our freedom. Paul emphasises this in Corinthians 13 where he says that there are \u2018faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love\u2019.\u00a0 [1Cor. 13:13]\u00a0 Today I want to talk about faith.\u00a0 I was inspired to do so when I read the Gospel reading set for today regarding Bartimaeus.\u00a0 Jesus said to him,\u00a0 \u201cGo; your faith has made you well.\u201d\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 His faith had made him well.\u00a0 How big is that! Jesus\u2019 statement tells us so much about faith. Now the Bible has a lot to say about faith and the part it plays in our lives. I am going to look briefly at some aspects and then come back to the Bartimaeus story.\u00a0 Faith as a gift.\u00a0 Faith I have argued is part of our humanity. It is one of the key components along with hope and love that make us human.\u00a0 It is God\u2019s gift to us.\u00a0 Early Christian thinkers understood this. But they were equally concerned that we exercise this gift with humility, lest we think that it is our faith that saves us. Ephesians makes it clear that we are saved by faith, which is a gift of God [Eph 2: 8-9]. In chapter 3:12 we find the statement reiterated in the words through faith in him.\u00a0 But a growing number of scholars are saying that our English translations haven\u2019t got it right. The Greek genitive applies to Jesus. That means it should read through the faith of him. My reading of Ephesians convinces me that it is the faithfulness of Jesus that saves us just as we sang about God\u2019s faithfulness at the beginning of the service (TiS 154 Great is your faithfulness).\u00a0 So we all have the gift of faith in us. It is how God the Creator made us. So the following\u00a0 apocryphal story of Jesus arriving in heaven may help us see the two sides of faith -our faith in God and God\u2019s faith in us.\u00a0 The angels greeted and praised Jesus when he arrived in heaven after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. They asked what he had done to ensure that his mighty work would not be forgotten. Jesus replied, \u2018I have asked Peter, John, James and my followers to tell others.\u2019\u00a0 The angels asked again, \u2018What have you done to ensure that they will do that?\u2019 Jesus replied, \u2018 I have asked Peter, John, James and my followers to tell others.\u2019 But the angels persisted. They said, \u2018You know Lord what humankind is like. They forget and they fail you. What have you done to ensure that your good work will never be forgotten?\u2019\u00a0 Jesus replied, \u2018 I have asked Peter, John, James and my followers to tell others.\u2019\u00a0 Increase our faith.\u00a0 It is not unnatural for us to ask God to increase our faith.\u00a0 In a sense one could take the metaphor of faith as a shield and say that there are times when our shield needs maintenance.\u00a0 I have always taken great comfort from the story of the father who brought his epileptic son to Jesus. Jesus wasn\u2019t present. He was up the mountain of Transfiguration. So the father asked the disciples to pray for the boy.\u00a0 But their prayers seemed ineffective.\u00a0 When Jesus returned the boy went into convulsions again.\u00a0 The father explained to Jesus what had happened. Jesus\u2019 response was telling. He spoke of the insufficiency of the disciple\u2019s faith. You see the disciples were not perfect. They had lots to learn. May be their greatness lay in their willingness to learn. The father turned again to Jesus and asked him to help. Jesus replied, \u2018that everything is possible for the person who has faith\u2019 [9:23]. And there we have that thought again. Jesus is saying you have faith exercise it.\u00a0 The father of the boy plaintively cries out; \u201cI do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more.\u201d [9:24] So often I have cried out to our Lord<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Leighmoor.Master","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/leighmoor-master"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Your Faith has made you well.\u00a0 Romans 12: 3 – 8;\u00a0 Mark 10: 46 – 52 Is it possible that reason could replace faith?\u00a0 Faith is so important to us.\u00a0 Imagine a life without faith – no friends, no freedom, no hope! Yes, that is what it would be like if we didn\u2019t have faith.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2763,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions\/2763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}