Building Blocks to Great Faith

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Contents

Foreword................................................vIntroduction............................................ixChapter 1: Chief Cornerstone...........................1Chapter 2: The Church..................................9Chapter 3: Measure of Faith............................17Chapter 4: Abraham Kind of Faith.......................25Chapter 5: Walking By Faith............................31Chapter 6: Witnessing by Faith.........................39Chapter 7: Acting on Faith.............................45Chapter 8: Test of Faith...............................55Chapter 9: The Approaching Clacier.....................65Chapter 10: Mountain Moving Faith.......................75

Chapter One

Chief Cornerstone

The cornerstone is the beginning of any building, from which every level, angle and the corner begins. It is the most basic element. The cornerstone is of primary importance. The Cornerstone that will be discussed throughout the chapters of this book is Jesus. He was brought into this world to show us the Father and to lead us to Him. Jesus said "if you have seen Me you have seen the Father". This took place over two thousand years ago in a place called Bethlehem and as Jesus grew and started His ministry prophesies were being fulfilled. Psalm 118:22 tells us "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone". Jesus spoke of this scripture while speaking a parable to the chief priests and scribes (Luke 20:17, 18).

A master craftsman is needed to cut the cornerstone for a building. It must be precise, it must be level, it must be solid and it must be without flaw. The building could fall and crumble if even one of these ingredients is missing. The footer is poured and then the cornerstone is put in place. If it is not precisely at the correct angle it will throw the whole building off. If it is not level the building will topple as it goes up. If the stone is not solid it will crumble and cause the whole building to collapse and if it has a flaw of any kind it will not stand the test of time.

Isaiah prophesied of this saying "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily. Also I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line." Do you see that down through the ages God had a plan to send His Son. The prophets spoke and wrote of that day. This stone was tried. God knew that the Word would do what was expected. This stone was precious. The Word of God is very precious and costly. This stone was sure. God knew that the cost was very great and the stone was perfect in every way. The stone would not fail. This was the Lord's doing, He planned it from the beginning. The scriptures for told of His coming and it was marvelous in our eyes. There was never a virgin birth before Him and surely there will never be one after Him. Down through the ages of time the prophets prophesied concerning the coming of the Messiah. They told of His virgin birth and the place where He would be born and the people began looking for Him and yet, when He appeared they would not believe Him. Jealousy and envy broke out over Him and finally they nailed Jesus to a tree.

During His three years of ministry He not only showed Himself as God in the flesh, but, He also showed God's love toward man. He fed over five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two small fish. He healed many that were afflicted, maimed, blind and deaf. He set in motion the building of His church.

Peter records that we should be coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, we also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We are living stones even as Jesus is a living stone. Tom Peers says in his book "Fit, Function and Flourish" that you are a stone in the spiritual house of the local church. In the natural, if a stone in a foundation of a building is missing or out of place, two things result: the entire structure is weakened, and more pressure is placed on the stones surrounding the one missing or crooked. And this is exactly what happens when people do not function or get involved in the local church and choose to remain benchwarmers or pew-sitters.

We therefore, being living stones, should walk in Christ being rooted deeply in Him. Since we received Christ we should also be made strong and built up in Him. We should be abounding in our faith of which we have been established and taught with thanksgiving to God.

I know that when I came to Christ many years ago my life was changed. I didn't know how or what or even why. But, God had a plan and I and my family were in it. We had purchased a house in Baltimore and remained there for a short time when an uneasiness started brewing within me to move. I wanted to have every part of my being in Him and we started to look toward Carroll County, God had other plans. We found ourselves on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in a little town called Denton, not knowing what all God had in store for us. And so the walk began. I gave my heart to Jesus in a Southern Baptist Church, so, when we moved it only seemed right to look for a Baptist Church in the area. These were trying times for me in my business so I got involved in the church and I started reading my Bible more wanting to learn all I could. Then my first test came. A year prior, my son had dehydrated so bad that we had to take him to the hospital. It is very difficult to go into a hospital room and see your little baby with feeding tubes stuck everywhere trying to get him hydrated once again. And again, a year later, he went into dehydration. By this time I had read the scriptures about the laying on of hands and they shall recover. So, that night, with everything that was going on, the crying and moaning, I decided to lay hands on him and declare the scriptures. He went off to sleep on the bathroom floor and slept through the night. The morning came early with little foot steps scurrying down the hall. We were sitting at the table and he came up to us and said that he was hungry. We fed him and he never had to go back to the hospital again. This was the first major step for me as I began to grow spiritually. My foundation was being established. The scriptures tell us that we have an everlasting foundation.

We need to look to Jesus more and man less because He is the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus looked beyond the cross and all the shame that went with it and He saw you and me. He knew all that we would ever go through, so, He endured the cross so that you and I would never have to. We, too, need to look beyond our troubles, our illnesses and this life here on earth. God has a purpose for each and every one of us.

Let us take a closer look at This stone. This stone is the Word of God Who was in the beginning with God. He always was and always will be. He was born of a virgin and grew as any other child in those days. His earthly father was a carpenter by trade and He also learned the trade. But, He also was being taught the scriptures. Try to imagine reading and learning the scriptures that prophesied of you and your life and death. He was so learned in the scriptures that even at the age of twelve He was found in the temple...