Today's Sermon November 10, 2024, "You’ve Come This Far By Faith!"

Scripture: Second Corinthians 5:7; Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:12

Good morning Strangers Rest. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” When this Church was formed ninety-nine years ago I believe it was the beginning of a plan that God had established for this community with this Church.

In 1947, Deacon R.D. Meeks wrote the following statement: “The Master taught in His word that Christians should dwell together in unity and it is always regrettable when they divide.  From the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam, we have had church splits. Perhaps as with other things, God is able to bring good out of the evil that men intended. Such is the case with the Strangers Rest Baptist Church. Twenty-two years ago, we left Mt. Zion Baptist Church and formed this organization. It has grown now to be, in 22 years, one among the front lines of Sister Churches.” This statement of faith was written 77 years ago when the Church celebrated its 22nd Church anniversary. In two weeks, you will come together to celebrate your Church’s 99th anniversary. For ninety-nine years this Church has been in this community serving God by faith. The title of my message this morning is “You’ve Come This Far By Faith.”

One of my favorite gospel songs learned as a child is “We’ve Come This Far By Faith.” This song meant a lot to me because I was surrounded by people whose lives were a testament to their faith in God. I did not fully understand at the time what faith was, but I witnessed people around me discussing how they did not know how something would work out and later giving God thanks for the situation being resolved. These situations included food being provided, bills being paid, etc. Although they did not know how their needs would be met, they held this unshakable belief that the God they loved and served would provide for them. This belief, as I learned later, was simply their walking in faith. This was my introduction to faith. As I grew older and began to read, study, and understand the Bible, I became aware of what the older people were talking about. I understood why they believed their situation(s) would work out even though they were clueless as to how it would happen. I began to pray that way, confessing to God that I knew He would work something out even if I could not see it. And when you think about it, isn’t that the very definition of faith?

I stand before you today to remind you that although you were not present when this Church was formed, you have ensured its continued existence by your faith. You have come this far by faith! Today I will use a few lines from that song I learned as a child as the foundation for this message. As I examine each line I want you to think about this song as if you were one of the authors and is speaking from your own personal experience. Let us begin with the first line.

The first line says, “We’ve come this far by faith.” The two key words in this line that I want you to focus on are “this far.” I know that faith is important, but I want you to focus on what these two words say. The two words “this far” represents the past and the present. “This far” denotes a measurement of time or achievement and it only states that something has been accomplished but has not been completed. “This far” indicates a beginning and a present state. You see, if I am standing here, and I want to get to the back of the church, if I take five steps, I would have gone “this far.” I will not be at the back yet, but I am farther along from where I started. This line is a declaration of a fact; not a hope for something to be done, but a statement of what has been done. “This far” is a statement saying that you have achieved something, but more importantly, that something was achieved by faith. It does not say that the work is complete, but it acknowledges that where you are right now is due to faith. Second Corinthians 5:7 says the following: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In the Scriptures, “to walk” often denotes “to live, to act, to conduct in a certain way.” Romans 4:12 tells us, “And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.” Also, Romans 6:4 tells us, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  

Paul wrote that we walk by faith referencing the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is traveling to another country. The sense here is that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things which are unseen, and not with reference to the things which are seen. If I walk by what I see then the decisions I make will be based on my perception and understanding of what I am seeing. Therefore, I do not have to believe God for anything because I am making my decisions based on what I am seeing in front of me. That my friend is not walking by faith. Walking by faith means that I am choosing to walk towards something that has yet to be seen, realized, or available. It has not manifested yet, but I know it is coming. Paul said it this way, “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (Second Corinthians 4:18) By faith, you have come this far and by faith you shall continue. This first sentence says how far you have come (this far) and by what means you did it (faith). The next few sentences begin to fill in the gap of how you did it. Let us look at the next line in the song.

The second line in the song says, “Leaning on the Lord.” What does it mean to lean on someone? To lean on someone means you are choosing to allow them to support you – to help you carry your load. You depend on this person to help you accomplish whatever it is you are working on. This line makes it clear that you came this far by faith leaning on the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “(5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” I want to share a story with you about your Church leaning on the Lord. This story touches on how this Church walked by faith while leaning on the Lord. It tells of how they refused to believe what they could see but focused on what was unseen. According to your Church’s historical documents, the following is recorded: “In 1941, Edna Building & Loan Co. demanded that we give them a deed to the property, and they would give us a contract and we would pay them $1,800 a year. This we refused to do. We called our attorney, Mr. William H. Towers, to council us concerning this matter. The Edna Building & Loan Co. started foreclosure, but they could not find who to sue. Since the church was not chartered and the mortgage was against so many members and many of them were dead, they could not tell who was officially in charge or in whose hands the property rested. While they were trying to get started, the Federal Government foreclosed on the assets of the Edna Building & Loan Co. of which we were apart. We now had to prepare to meet the Federal Govt. and pay off the mortgage which at the time was $12,600. This was during the lean years when the depression was on and nobody had a job or money to amount to much.” The rest of the story concludes with Pastor Washington creating a plan to raise the money and pay off the mortgage in one year. I believe that plan was Spirit led as they trusted God and leaned on Him.

This Church has a history of its members choosing not to lean on their own understanding but trusting the Lord and leaning on Him. You see, we can go to school and learn some things – things that make perfect sense. I can learn math and understand that 1+1=2. I can learn this in school and use my own understanding of this equation to work out some of my money problems. But what this song is talking about is “leaning on the Lord” so when we see a problem 1+God=More than Enough! You see what I am saying? When we add God to any of our equations, He changes the formulation in such a way that our understanding cannot comprehend what the answer will be. When we are leaning on God, 1+God will always equal more than enough. I don’t care what you are facing, invite God into the equation. The song “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” says “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine; leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.” Depending on how you sang the song, the person hearing it never hears that it is Christ’s arm you are leaning on. But for the one singing it, you know Whose arms are being referenced! Let us move on to the next sentence.

The next line says, “Trusting in His Holy Word.” The song says that while you were leaning on the Lord, you were trusting in His word. Think about this in your mind. You are walking down the street with a close friend who is supporting you and as you lean on them for support, they tell you everything is going to be okay. They tell you what actions they are going to take on your behalf and because you trust your friend, you believe them. Trust is defined as “the firm belief in the honesty and reliability of another person…. confident expectation; hope.” If you trust someone you have a firm belief in their honesty and you are confident in your expectations of them. Think about what this means with our walk with the Lord? The song says we are trusting in His Holy Word! Do you understand that everything God speaks to us is Holy? When He speaks to your spirit, that is a Holy word being spoken to you because of the One speaking. It is not just the written spoken Word; it also includes the specific word He speaks to you directly through your spirit. Does that not give you pause when you think about the Spirit of God, the most Holy One, speaking a holy word into your spirit? Because God is holy, every word He speaks is holy!

Again, Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “(5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” The writer states that we should trust in the Lord with all our hearts. He left no room for doubt, discussion or debate. All means all; it means with everything; with all your heart. Our trust should be so strong in the Lord that even when our understanding disagrees with what God is telling us, we will yield to God. We sing a song that says “I will trust in the Lord….until I die…” When we sing this song we are making a profession through praise that we will trust in the Lord until the day we die. The psalmist wrote, “(8) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. (9) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalms 118:8-9) David also wrote in Psalms 56:3, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Strangers Rest, you have come this far by faith because you have leaned on the Lord and trusted His holy Word! When this Church experienced times of fear, it put its trust in the Lord and every time God worked it out! Won’t He do it!!! The song says that we have come this far by faith; leaning on the Lord; trusting in His Holy word…and then comes another strong declaration.

The next line says, “He’s never failed me yet.” This declaration is emphatic and clear: God has never failed you. As an example of this, I want to reference another story found in your Church’s historical document. It says, “Then the dark days came. We were …. barely raising the general expenses of the church and we were not paying on the mortgage. Mr. R. D. Meeks went to the Water & Light Dept. and got them to continue our water and lights for a year and a half without payments being made.” Can you imagine a utility company today allowing a Church to not pay its utility bill for a year and a half? That was God once again not failing this Church. When you read the Church’s history, especially the first 40 years, God did some amazing things, which would make you wonder “why” He did it. I believe God did it because He knew what this Church could mean to this community and this city. And I want you to hear me on this – that has not changed! With everything that needs to be done in this physical buliding I am standing in faith and believing God that He will provide what this Church needs to get it done. This Church has a history of walking by faith – are you a part of that history today?

In this “He’s never failed me yet” line the writer makes it personal. Before it was a community song, “we’ve come this far….” But in this line it changes from “we” to “me.” I like “me.” I cannot speak for you, but I can speak for “me!” I cannot tell you that God has never failed you, but I can surely say He has never failed me! I cannot tell your story, but I can expound on the story of “me” in great lengths. I cannot speak about what God has done for you in your faith walk, but I can tell what He has done for “me.” I can tell you about the early morning discussion in December 2023 between God and “me” when He told “me” to allow my name to be submitted as a candidate for this interim role. I could tell you what He said about this Church and why I was to come, but I won’t because that information was for “me.” You see, even before I was officially considered for the role, God told me I would be here and what I was to do while I was here. All that you have seen me do since I have been here is simply working the plan that God had given and continues to give to me. Remember Jeremiah 29:11 when God said, “For I know the plans that I have for you….,” From the search committee binders to the sermons preached, I am just following the plan God has given me. But His plan was established and given because of your faith and trust in Him. This line professes that God has never failed “me” so when you are singing this song and you get to this line, it’s no longer about the Church body – it is now about you!

The writer of Hebrews wrote, “(5) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.’ (6) So we may boldly say: ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6) The writer of Hebrews reminds us that God has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. God cannot fail us – that is simply not Who He is! And the Bible also says God cannot lie. The first two verses of the book of Titus records the following: “(1) Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, (2) in hope of eternal life which God, Who cannot lie, promised before time began.” (Titus 1:1-2) There are individuals who do not understand that God has never failed them because something bad happened to them. They falsely assign blame to God thinking He was responsible or that He allowed it to happen. We know that bad things happen to good people and God is not the source of those things happening. So this line changes the song from being community focus to now being personal. There is no way to sing the words of that song without reflecting on something God has done for you.

In Deuteronomy chapter thirty-one, when Moses was 120 years old, he gathered all the Children of Israel together to give them his last counsel. He shared with them that he would not be allowed to take them into the Promised Land, but that God would cross over and lead them into His promise. He told them that God would continue to do for them what He had already previously done for them. In other words, he was telling them to walk with the One who had proven Himself over and over to them. In the sixth verse he makes the following statement: “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) To fail means to not accomplish something that was meant to be done. To forsake means to turn your back on or to give up. He told them to be strong and of good courage because God will never fail nor forsake them. He will do exactly what He said He would do, and He would never turn His back on them if they walked with Him. They were not to worry about what they would face as they crossed over because God was with them. Moses wanted them to walk in confidence and even though he would not be with them, God was going to fulfill His promises to them and bring them into the Promised Land in a mighty way.

Before I move to the last sentence, I want to address the word “yet” in this sentence. This sentence says that God has never failed me yet. The use of the word “yet” is not in anticipation that He is going to, but rather a proof statement verifying what He has already done and what is expected that He will continue to do. He has never failed me yet nor do I ever expect Him to fail me. It has not happened, and it will not happen! End of story! It reminds me of what David said in Psalm 37:25 – “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.” Now we come to the exciting line of the song, and it begins with an “Oh”!

The last line I will address in this message is one of my favorites. It says, “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, can’t turn around, we’ve come this far by faith.” That word “oh” is a word that is used for added emphases and in this sentence, it was used seven times! “Oh” can be used to express a range of emotions, such as surprise, disappointment, pleasure, fear, or joy. If you asked me to describe a piece of cake that I was eating and I said “it is good” you would walk away thinking that the cake was good, but maybe not have an immediate desire to try a piece. But, if I told you, “Oh, this cake is so good” you would probably think that it is worth having a piece. But if I said, “Oh, oh, oh, this cake so good!” I would not get to the third “oh” before you would be asking for a piece yourself. It all about the “oh” and how you say it. In this sentence there are seven “Ohs” and they are meant to add emphasis on the fact that we cannot turn around. Oh, we cannot quit or stop moving forward. Oh, when the road gets rough, we will keep on fighting! Oh, when times are hard, and we have bills to pay; we will keep on believing God! Oh, when all our friends and family have left us and we are standing alone, we will find God right there beside us! When you are thinking about your situation and what you are planning to do about it, add in that “Oh” and make a difference. Oh, I will be praying this week! Oh, I know God has a plan and He will work it out! It is all about the “Oh!” Strangers Rest, as you talk about and celebrate the past ninety-nine years please add in the “Oh”!

Those seven “Ohs” push the importance of not giving up! Paul, after serving in the ministry for over 30 years, wrote to Timothy before his death and told him the following: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (Second Timothy 4:7) Paul had completed his course and he was looking forward to the next phase of service in God’s presence. Speaking of those who walked by faith, the writer of Hebrews said they walked believing God for something that they could not see. Hebrews 11:13-15 says, “(13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (14) For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. (15) And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.” The writer says that as they walked in faith, had they been looking behind them from where they came from they would have found an opportunity to return. Instead, they kept their eyes going forward. They accepted that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth and sought something different. They refused to go backwards. The last sentence in the chorus repeats what was said at the beginning; we have come this far by faith. Again, this is a final statement or declaration of truth. Although you have not completed the course; you have not arrived at the finish line; you have not fought all the battles; what you have done; where you have gotten to as of this day, was accomplished through faith.

Strangers Rest, as I conclude this message this morning, I want to ask you a question that was once asked of me. “Where do you go from here?” In October of 2023, when the decision was made to close our Church, I was asked that question by others. What they did not know is that I was asking that very same question of God. All I knew at the time was that even though our Church doors were closing my ministry was not. This time last year I was mourning what was about to take place, even as I worked to continue delivering the Word of God on Sundays. To say it was hard is an understatement. Then God sent me here. I resisted initially as I fluctuated between mourning and being angry at my situation, but I chose to be obedient. I thank God for the last seven months. You see, I wasn’t sent here just to help you, God sent me here to heal. Thank you Strangers Rest for helping me to heal and allowing me to be a recipient of the grace and faith that this Church has walked in for ninety-nine years.

So where do you go from here? My suggestion is that you fulfill what God has called you to do in this place. The verse in the song says, “Just the other day, I heard a man say, he did not believe in God’s word. But I can truly say, the Lord has made a way, He’s never failed me yet.” What do you do from this point forward? You go out and find those men, women and children who do not believe God’s word and share with them that God has never failed you and then you give them examples of what you are talking about. When you do this, you are fulfilling the great commission that Jesus gave to His Church when He said in Matthew 28:19-20, “(19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” 

Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.”  (Numbers 6:24-26)