Things get tough sometimes. And at those times, We all know that we need faith. We all want to have faith. Yet all too often, right when we need it, it eludes us. we become downcast and afraid. Starting At The End You know something? I’m really excited today because today on the programme we are kicking off a four-week series on faith. I’ve called it Having Faith that Moves Mountains. Jesus once said to His disciples: Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but you believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. (Mark 11: 22-24). Now, if you take Him at His Word and I am one of those crazies who absolutely does, then this is an outrageous statement, right? Does He really mean that for you and for me? I mean, I for one have believed until I burst, for something and I didn’t get it. And I have seen people who take this whole ‘faith’ thing way too far, believing for outrageously selfish things. And yet this God who sent us His Son, He talks a lot about faith and the only sort of faith He seems to talk about is the sort of faith that moves mountains. I have spent a lot of time thinking about that, so if you are up for it, let’s kick off a few weeks, just chatting and exploring and let’s see what that comes up with. I visited an elderly man recently who is in the last few weeks of his life. He was dying of cancer. I’d spoken to him on the phone a few weeks before and this is what he said. "Well, I have believed in Jesus almost all of my life but I’m not sure where I am going when I die." Well, what an amazing time that was. I frankly felt a little uncertain about visiting him – this whole pastoral thing isn’t really my strong point. I was telling myself that as I pressed the doorbell. He showed me into his lounge room. He sat in his favourite chair over in that corner, me in a dining chair over on this side. As we began talking, I looked down at his feet – he was wearing a pair of slippers, both of which had holes in the toes. And you know, my immediate thought was, "Oh, he needs some new slippers. But then it struck me, at this point in his life, the very last thing he needed was a new pair of slippers. As the time passed I felt more and more at ease with this man. Whereas before, I had been wondering what, if anything useful, I could share with him, (you can tell I’m a preacher). As the moments ticked by, I was overwhelmed with a sense of deep privilege of being allowed to be in this place with him. It was such a special time and you know, the last thing he said to me as we shook hands on the front porch in the bright sunlight was a confident, "You know we’ll meet again but not here." Sometimes it’s just the little encouragement that we need to discover that seed of faith that God’s planted in our hearts has in fact, grown into a mighty tree. That’s exactly what he needed – not sage words of advice or a sermon on faith, just the quiet assurance that comes when we rediscover the faith within – a faith that had become clouded by the deep cares of the present. Because that’s what happened to him – he’d been walking all his life with Jesus – as long as he could remember, he told me – but with cancer ready to take his body, all of a sudden the realities of his circumstances started to take over. I wonder how you and I will feel when, one day, we don’t need new slippers anymore. I wonder how we will confront the greatest reality of all – that one day we will breathe our last breath on this earth. How healthy will our faith be on that day? The things that we struggled so hard for; the things that we always took for granted; the things that somehow, we duped ourselves into believing would be forever, don’t matter anymore. Ever wondered why we need faith? For me, beginning at the end like this brings that into sharper focus. It’s not just death that we have to confront one day, all of us, but life – today, tomorrow, the next day, next year – everyday life. And in that life that you and I lead, we know all too well that there are things that happen that are bigger than us – things that overwhelm us; things that are outside our control – everyday we face challenges – everyday. Things happen that can rob us of the confidence to live life. And it seems to me, the central reality that demands faith is this: that there are things out there, outside our circle of control or influence; things that sometimes we can’t even see and don’t even understand, that can impact negatively on our interests – on our health, our wellbeing, our finances, our career, our relationships, on our very lives. You name it – any hope, any dream, any desire and there is something lurking out there that can rob us of the good things that in our heart of hearts, we have planned for ourselves. And they don’t have to be particularly selfish or self-centred – just ordinary everyday very reasonable things. Sometimes they are really good things – the dreams we have in our hearts to serve God – the deep desire we have to be part of His plan for this world. It doesn’t matter what it is, there are things out there that can rob us of what we have planned. And those things, they show up in a number of different ways. They can show up as fears and worries – we brood over things; we worry about them and the more we worry, the more fear grips and immobilises us. They can show up as insurmountable obstacles or barriers – things we just can’t overcome – doubts sneak under our guard. They can show up as challenges that we would love to meet but we can’t. Have you ever had that sense of, "WOW, I should be able to do this, but…" They can show up as a deep sense of inadequacy. The man addicted to pornography who try as he may, simply can’t break his cycle of shame, so he lives in his secret shame – the woman who deep within the fibre of her very being, knows that she simply isn’t good enough and what’s more, she never will be. They can show up as deep regrets from the past. So many people allow the past to destroy their present and rob them of their future. And here’s what I know: for each one of us there are one or two of those things on that list that resonate deeply and as we each examine our hearts and look into those darker recesses – that we try not to look into often – there’s an ache. "If only… if only I could be set free from these things." "If only those things out there, outside my control; those things I’m afraid of; those things that can rob me of the good hopes and dreams and plans of my heart – if only I could get rid of them, how wonderful my life would be."   Faith Brings Freedom It turns out that when we apply faith to something we are concerned about; something that we have been worrying about, well, faith brings freedom. That’s where we were earlier but let’s unpack that together for a moment. Freedom is a commodity that many of us take for granted but if we stop to consider it, we would realise just how highly we value it. Freedom! But are we really, really free? That’s the question! Jesus once had this to say on the subject: If you continue in My Word you are truly My disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. You see, they answered Him – they said, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying to us, ‘You will be made free?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the Son has a place there forever so if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’ (John 8:31...

Released on 20 Feb 2022