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Ten
lepers were healed, but only one returned to give thanks. Since this
text is often used at Thanksgiving we have a tendency to think of the
nine lepers who didn’t give thanks as bad people. So let me ask, would
you say that someone who is following the instructions is a bad person?
Of course not! Well isn’t that what the other nine lepers where doing?
Jesus told the ten lepers to go show themselves to the priest. They were
simply doing what they were told to do, go show yourself to the priest.
Why
the priest, because only the priest could declare these men clean. When
they left Jesus they weren’t healed. Never-the-less, by faith they left
Jesus to show themselves to the priest. By faith the ten lepers did as
Jesus told them to do. By faith they were made well.
God
asks every believer in every generation to live by faith, to believe
without sight, and to hope with certainty and not by evidence.
By
faith Noah constructed an ark and gathered two of every kind of animal.
If you were absolutely certain that God wanted you to build an ark,
honestly what would you think? What would you say to your wife, your
neighbor?
Noah
is to be commended for his faith to build an ark on dry land with no
rain in sight. By faith, Noah built the vehicle to save mankind from an
all consuming flood.
By
faith in 1847 German immigrants from the village of Oberzell came to
Milltown and found employment in the rubber mill.
By
faith twenty-two German immigrants met on August 1, 1872 signed a paper
signifying their willingness to become members of a new church. That
same month a lot was purchased on South Main Street and the building was
begun.
By
faith Abraham held fast to God’s promise to give him a son, even though
he and his wife were beyond child bearing years. Twenty-five years of
waiting later and against all reasonable physical conditions Abraham and
Sarah had a son, Isaac. If that was a test faith, what do you call God
telling Abraham to sacrifice him. By faith Abraham complied and God kept
His promise, by spareing Isaac's life and giving Abraham descendants as
numerous as the stars.
By
faith the Rev. G. B. Schick accepted a call to be the church’s first
full time preacher and pastor.
By
faith in 1922 the church endeavored to raise $50,000 to build this
sanctuary.
By
faith Joshua obeyed an order from God to march seven times around the
fortified city of Jericho and blowing trumpets before bringing it down
with a shout. What military leader would use musical instruments to
break a wall down? I would have loved to hear Joshua explain his battle
plans to his officers and soldiers. By faith Joshua trusted God to lead
His people and that God could and would do such things.
By
faith on July 13, 1924 Rev. Chatlos introduced the first English service
because many young people had begun to lose interest and drift away and
he wanted to reverse the trend.
By
faith in 1946, the lot on Lakewood Ave opposite the church was purchased
for $1,100 dollars and the chancel was renovated and the present organ
was purchased. The cost of renovation and the purchase of a new organ
was $39,500 dollars.
By
faith in 1957 the congregation began construction of the education
building at a cost of $270,990. By faith 6 years ago we were faced with
the challenge of raising two and a half million dollars to restore our
facilities and to continue to do the ministry that God called us to do
it.
Rev.
Gerhardt on the occasion of our 100th anniversary said, “Names and faces
change constantly but it is the spirit and energies and faith of people
that cause the church to grow and move forward into the future. St
Paul’s church has enlarged her vision and extended her ministry beyond
herself”
What
would happened if the lepers, Abraham, Joshua, Noah, our church’s
pastors and consistories embraced today’s thinking of ‘I will believe it
when I see.’ The lepers would not have been cured. Mankind would have
all drowned. Our church would not be here.
The
lepers, Abraham, Joshua, the church members in the past show us an
important lesson. God seldom shows us the way before we step out. God
never breaks through before we move first. With each test of our faith,
we grow and mature and find God trustworthy, not because we have seen
first, but because God can be trusted.
Faith
can be described with two words: sure and certain.
The
beginning point of faith is believing in God’s character – He is who He
says. The end point is believing in God’s promises – He will do what He
says.
Faith
is the only way for ordinary men and women to be in dynamic
relationships with God. By faith we believe that God exists and has
plans for our lives. By faith, we believe that He speaks to us. Confides
with us and will give us extraordinary courage and power we need to do
what He asks of us.
Last
night at autumn blaze concert in the Meadowlands, one of the singers for
Barlow Girl told the story of people touring the concentration camps in
Germany after the war. On the wall of one of the building was this
inscription. “I believe the son shines everyday, even when I cannot see
it. I believe in love, even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God, even
when He is silent.
One
of our praise songs this morning proclaimed
By faith you never let go through the calm and the storm
By faith you never let go in every high and every low
By faith you never let go.
By faith you know that God never let’s go.
Whatever
season of life you are in, be it a season of grief, a season of
uncertainty, a season of troubles, a season of illness… Let me say, ‘By
faith dare to believe God for the impossible. Never let go, because God
never let’s go of you.
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Amen |
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