大美女老丁

Living Faith

Luke 4:23–30

23Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum .' "24"I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon . 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian." 28All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Introduction: Sometimes we see exhibits of stuffed animals, like eagles or bears. They look exactly the same as when they were alive. But in reality they are dead, lifeless, and cannot move. Faith can be like that. “Stuffed” faith, just a formality, may well perform rituals and ceremonies, but it has no life. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, faith is dead.

1.     Elijah and the miracle of the widow in Zarephath of Sidon (1Ki 17:1)

1)    The desperate situation of the widow on the cliff of despair (1Ki 17:9–10).

2)    The appearance of Elijah and the proclamation of God's word (1Ki 17:10–12).

3)    The widow’s decision and faith which acts—plant faith in extreme situations

(1Ki 17:13–14).

4)    The appearance of God’s miracle (1Ki 17:15–16).

2.    Elisha and the healing of leprosy of Naaman, the Syrian commander

1)   The pain of Naaman, the Syrian commander—magnificent on the outside, but a life with terrible decay on the inside (2Ki 5:1).

2)    The preaching of the Gospel by a young Israelite girl (2Ki 5:2–3).

3)    Naaman’s choice and faith which acts—faith is obeying until the end (2Ki 5:10).

4)    God’s miraculous healing (2Ki 5:14).

3.     Living faith

1)   Confess your desperate situation. God waits until a person stands on the edge of a cliff (Jer 33:2–3).

2)   Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Eagerly long for and seek the Word of God (Mt 7:7; Jn 15:7).

3)   Demonstrate decisive, obedient and living faith. The Lord has always blessed us after seeing our faith turned into deeds. Faith which is not visible is “stuffed” faith—dead faith (Jn 11:39–40).

4)    Expect a miracle to happen, and give thanks (Jn 11:41–44).

Conclusion: The Israelites were very religious, but their faith was dead—only a formality. In the days of Elijah, there was a drought, but no one believed in the miracles of God. There was unbelief in the days of Elisha, and even the lepers didn't believe in healing. A religion without faith in action is held together by ceremony and is like a dead stuffed animal.