PowerPoint

Jack Graham: We live in a world full of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. This is not a time for doubt, but this is a time for a vital, victorious faith in Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about the choices you can make that will lift you out of your struggles. Now, here is Dr. Graham with his message, The Truth About Faith.

Jack Graham: Let me invite you to take God's Word and turn with me to the 17th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Faith is one of the most powerful forces on Earth, and the Bible is filled with examples of faith. The Bible is a book of faith from cover to cover. It describes what it is like to know God by faith.

One after another, we meet individuals in the scripture. Because so much of the Bible is biography, the Bible is a book not only to be learned, but it is a book to be lived. Faith is put into practice in the lives of men like Abraham, who by faith went out following the will of God for his life, determined to know and to do exactly what God asked him to do, and formed a great nation by faith.

It is the faith of men like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who, facing a fiery furnace if they would not bow down to the king, said, "Let us let you know, King, that we're not going to bow down to your idol because our God is able to deliver us. But if not, we still will not bow down to the image, O King." That's faith. It's faith in the fire.

Job faced the loss of most everything that he possessed, and yet he cried out, "Lord, even if you slay me, yet will I trust in you." It is the faith of a man like Peter, who got out of the boat and walked on the water at the command of Christ. It's the faith of the Apostle Paul, a Jewish rabbi converted by the risen Redeemer, Jesus himself, who was transformed from a murderer to a missionary and by faith took the message of the gospel around the world.

Over and over, I could mention the men and women who lived by faith. In fact, the Bible says the just shall live by faith. God wants every one of us to experience faith and to express faith—a living, vibrant, confident faith. The kind of faith that even moves mountains. We know according to the scripture that without faith, it is impossible to please God.

I could also add without faith, we cannot prove God. It is faith that proves our trust in God daily. Therefore, God rewards faith. We have been given faith, not to put in our pocket, but to plant like a seed—to invest in order that it may be developed and grow and be exercised. Just as an athlete runs and lifts to get stronger, to run faster, and develop his athletic skills, so are we to take the faith that God has given us and grow it and exercise it, developing it.

All things are possible if you believe. Not much of anything is possible if you don't believe, but if you believe, anything is possible. Jesus said all things are possible to them who believe. God is able to do anything and everything he chooses to do. When you believe, you begin releasing the power of God in your life.

If there was ever a time when we needed faith, it is now. We live in a world filled with uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. Terrorism is now becoming an almost daily occurrence in our world, and fear can grip the bravest of hearts. This is not a time for doubt, but this is a time for a vital, victorious faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is so powerful and so important that I don't believe it is possible for me to overstate the importance of faith in your life. Not a fringe faith, but a full-throttle faith in Jesus Christ.

When you live in faith, your life will be filled with radiant joy, certain hope, abiding peace, and constant grace. You realize that faith is so wonderful because it counteracts every negative emotion in our life, including anxiety. What is worry? Worry is the sin of not trusting God for what God has promised to do and to take care of us in our lives. It helps us to overcome fear in our life because the antidote to fear is faith.

If you are riddled with guilt because of past sins, past failures, or past mistakes, it is faith that helps us to receive God's grace and God's forgiveness in our lives. It is by faith that we live. Today, I want you to see this lesson on faith in the story that takes place in Matthew chapter 17, as a desperate father comes to Jesus on behalf of his son.

When they had come to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me."

Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Today, we're going to look at the demand for faith. We're going to see the dynamic of faith and then we will discover the development of faith and how to grow our faith. First, the demand for faith. Peter, James, and John were given a profound experience—a privileged experience—and that was to walk with Jesus up to a mountain top. There, an amazing event transpired known as the Transfiguration of Christ.

Peter, James, and John experienced what no other has ever experienced, and that is the very presence of the Shekinah glory of God as expressed in Jesus. They saw Moses and Elijah, who appeared from heaven. Jesus was transfigured before them. To be transfigured means that Jesus revealed what was in him, and everything that Jesus was on the inside was manifested on the outside.

As Jesus in all of his radiant, resplendent glory is standing there on the mountain top, Moses representing the law and Elijah representing the prophets, in effect, we have a prelude to the coming Kingdom of God. It is a kind of advanced check-in of the second coming of Christ. There, as they're watching this, they heard thundering from heaven—the voice of God the Father, who spoke and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him."

These three disciples fell on their faces in fear, and Jesus said, "Get up. Don't be afraid." They experienced there only Jesus, for the scripture says they saw only Jesus. Those two words summarize the answer to every human problem: Jesus only. Jesus only is Savior and Lord. Jesus only is the answer to the questions of mankind. It was a momentous mountain top experience.

It's great to have experiences like these with God. None of us have experienced this, of course, but we've had wonderful worship experiences. We've had times when we have met God and experienced his presence powerfully in our lives. At those times, we just want to stay there. Peter said, "Lord, this is wonderful." Peter, always willing to say something even if it wasn't appropriate, said, "Lord, let's build three tabernacles here on this mountain. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Let's just stay up here and turn this into a shrine of worship."

How often we are tempted to remain in our spiritual highs, those moments of great heavenly ecstasy. Our faith takes us down off the mountain and into the real world and carries us into the presence of people who need Jesus, that we might fulfill his mission of compassion in people's lives. We don't stay on the mountain because God has called us to go into the valleys of despair.

Guest (Male): You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, The Truth About Faith. Be sure and sign to receive Dr. Graham's daily video devotional. This powerful study will help you grow in your daily walk with Christ by using the truth of the Bible to help you find hope each day. Dr. Graham will share a short video devotional to bring you closer to God. To sign up, just text DAILY to 59789.

Remember that your support of PowerPoint Ministries helps people encounter Jesus through clear biblical teaching. Through the support of friends like you, lives are being strengthened, faith is being renewed, and seekers are discovering the hope only found in Christ. Your partnership is so vital that when you give this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus, as our thanks. It's a powerful journey through the Gospel of John that shares wisdom from the life of Christ to help you respond to real-world struggles. To give your gift, text APRIL to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, The Truth About Faith.

Jack Graham: Jesus came down and met face to face a desperate dad—a father who said, "Lord Jesus, have mercy, have mercy, for my son is an epileptic. He is having seizures." This boy was apparently demonized because Jesus cast a demon out of him. This boy, influenced powerfully by the devil, needed the grace and the mercy and the love of Jesus Christ.

Standing around were disciples—disciples of Jesus who were now defeated, discouraged disciples because they had tried to help this boy. They had tried to respond to the request of the father, but they could not deliver. It seemed that their faith failed. We often find our faith failing just when we need it most. We're so often unable to translate our faith from the divine to the day-to-day.

We struggle to make our faith work and to stand up to the challenges of our lives. It's wonderful to worship, to hear God's Word, and to be moved deeply by the spirit of God—at times even to touch the grace and the glory of God. Then, we're unable to take what we've experienced in times of worship to work, to take it home with us, or to deal with the problems that seemingly we can't handle in our lives.

Faith is not just for the mountain top, but faith is for the struggles that we have every day. You can worship and lift your hearts and your hands to the Lord, and it can be a wonderful experience. I like what L.R. Scarborough at Southwestern Seminary said one time. He said, "It's not how high you jump, but it's how straight you walk when you come down."

We are to walk by faith. God gives us victories and valleys. I love mountain tops, but God uses mountain top experiences to prepare us for the challenges of the valley. After the mountain comes the test of the valley. Your faith will be tested. You need to learn that about faith—that faith will be tested at every point.

Tested faith is a strengthened faith and a proven faith. God sends trials, difficulties, demands, and delays in our lives—seemingly impossible situations that we face and challenges that seemingly overwhelm us at times—in order to prove our faith and to push us forward. These disciples—Peter, James, and John—join these inept, impotent disciples there at the bottom who were powerless to do anything about the desperate condition of this boy and the request of this dad. They met the devil face to face in the demonized spirit of this boy.

I've learned in my life through these years that when I have a mountain top experience with God, I brace myself because an attack is coming. You can just count on it. I've learned to expect it. Valleys follow victories. Tests are on the heels of triumphs. Why is that? Because God wants to take us higher. God wants to develop your faith. God wants to deepen your character. In order for that to happen, God must take your faith into the fight. God must take your faith sometimes into the fire.

The disciples learned this lesson. Their faith was small. Jesus looked at them and said the problem is that you don't have faith—enough faith. "O ye of little faith. It is because of your unbelief." Jesus took over. They brought the boy to him at his request, and he cast the demon out and the boy was healed. That family was blessed by the touch of God. These defeated disciples stood by watching. How often are people today disillusioned because men and women who profess faith do not live faith and are unable to express the power of God?

Men may fail you, but God will never fail you. They wanted to know why they were so powerless. A year earlier, these disciples had been empowered by Christ to go on a missionary journey across Israel. They were preaching and teaching the Kingdom of God, and they were healing the sick and delivering people from demons. So, they're saying, "What happened? Where's the power?"

Could it be that they were resting on their laurels? Could it be that they were relying on past experiences with God? Could it be that they were now trying to do this in their own strength? Jesus gives us a clue when he says, "This kind comes only by prayer and fasting." Had they forgotten to pray and to seek God in their lives? Even though they were around Jesus and the things that Jesus was doing, they were slipping spiritually. That's possible for us as well.

You can be around all the things of Christ and the things of the church and yet be prayerless and powerless in your life. Jesus said, "O unbelieving and perverted generation." Strong words. A powerful rebuke from our Lord. He speaks not of moral perversion here, but of the spiritual perversion of unbelief. The greatest sin—the greatest perversion of all—is the sin of unbelief. Jesus died for every kind of sin imaginable—any sin and every sin—but it is the sin of disbelief and unbelief that keeps a man or a woman from knowing God and experiencing forgiveness in their lives.

He says, "O you of unbelief and spiritual perversion." Jesus said you are powerless because of your lack of faith. Many have saving faith. Most of us in this room today and others listening to me by radio right now have saving faith, but you don't have sufficient faith for the challenges and the crises of life. You don't have a strong faith to stand against the works of the enemy. God wants you to have not only a saving faith but a sufficient faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Three things about faith leap from this page and this one sentence: faith is substance, faith is evidence, and faith is hope. What is substance? Substance is something you can stand upon—something underneath you to hold you up. Faith is real. God has given every one of us a capacity to believe—a sixth sense. God has given to every one the measure of faith.

Faith is not simply closing your eyes and believing things deep down in your heart you don't think are really true. Rather, faith is strong and substantive. The kind of faith that we're talking about here is not faith in faith or faith in a better day or a better life. Faith is not wishful thinking. In fact, it's the substance of things hoped for.

Hope in the Bible is a sure thing. Hope is anticipation. That's why the second coming of Christ is called the blessed hope, because we know that Christ is coming again. That is our blessed hope. Our faith is built upon evidence given to us in the Word of God. It is not mindless, but rather it is faith in God. Sometimes people say, "What you need to do is just believe. Just believe." Believe what? Faith is only as valid as its object.

Misplaced faith can be dangerous. It can be deadly. There are people in our world today because of misplaced faith who think they're doing God a favor by blowing themselves and others up on buses, terminals, and buildings, and airlines. We need bona fide, genuine faith—faith that is built upon solid truth. In our generation, what we need to do is feed our faith and starve our doubts.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Of course, there are many things about our faith that we cannot see. Everything could be falling apart in your life. It doesn't seem that you're advancing spiritually. Maybe your marriage is in trouble, your family is in trouble, or your finances are at rock bottom. You've been praying and you've been putting your trust and your faith in God, and you can't see it happening. You're wondering, "God, are you really working in my life? God, are these prayers really getting through?"

I'm here to tell you that you can trust God that he is working even when you can't see it. You keep on watching. You keep on praying, and God will keep on working in your life. One day you will see it because all things are possible to those who believe. Trust in God and remember that delays are not denials. With God, timing is always perfect. God can do what we can't do. Rather than running ahead and taking matters into our own hands and trying to figure things out ourselves, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will bring it to pass. Put God first in your life and in your heart. Trust him. Dare to believe and not to doubt. God does not want you to live in doubt and defeat and discouragement; he wants you to live in faith. This is the dynamic of faith.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, The Truth About Faith. Let me remind you that your support helps bring the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ to people across the world through PowerPoint Ministries. This month, we'd love to send you a powerful resource as our way of saying thank you for your gift. It's Dr. Jack Graham's book, Life According to Jesus. In this transformative journey through the Gospel of John, you'll discover not just what Jesus might do, but what he actually did when facing life's hardest questions. We'll be excited to send you this resource because your generosity helps place this kind of biblical teaching into the hands of seekers and believers alike, equipping them to live according to Jesus's example every day. To give your gift, just text APRIL to 59789. Thank you for helping more people encounter the life-changing truth of Christ.

Be sure and sign to receive Dr. Graham's daily video devotional. This powerful study will help you grow in your daily walk with Christ by using the truth of the Bible to help you find hope each day. Dr. Graham will share a short video devotional to bring you closer to God. To sign up, just text the word DAILY to 59789. It's absolutely free to join, so text the word DAILY to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: I hope you learned today that faith is not simply to be learned, but it must be lived. Over and over in the Bible, we meet men and women who faced impossible situations with an incredible faith, and they came through their trials victorious. Along with applying our faith to struggles in life, the Bible specifically says without faith, it is impossible to please God. I don't know about you, but more than anything else, I want to please God. I want to delight God. This is another reason why learning and living faith is so vital.

Finally, one last reason to have a strong faith in the Lord is important because we all go through trials and experience things that don't make sense. There will always be questions that are unanswered. The great Christian A.W. Tozer once said, "Let faith support us where reason fails." I believe that is true. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That is, faith gives you something to stand on. It gives you hope, stability in the midst of emptiness and hopelessness, and it gives you the evidence—all the evidence you need—that God is present in your life. And that is today's PowerPoint.

Guest (Male): Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus. Just text APRIL to 59789. Join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about the victory you can have over sin. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.