How to Have a Rock Solid Faith | Part 1

Salvation is only the beginning. Listen to Adrian Rogers for saying God is in the business of building site's. When God gives you salvation. He's not finished with these beginning with you getting saved does not mean where valve finished product. God is not finished with you yet God wants to build a new a rock solid, very welcome to the word finding featuring the dynamic lesson explained pastor and Bible teacher Adrian Rogers as we just heard God is in the business of building our faith in these desperate days we need a faith that will hold fast in times of trouble when the winds of circumstances and floods of affliction come we need faith like an anchor in Romans chapter 5 we learn just how God builds us up to have a rock solid faith. If you have your Bible turn there now we again hear from Adrian Rogers.

I heard somewhere a little boy who had a horse. The horse was really just an old burning mag horse was decrepit sway back and was it much of a horse really sort of a flea bitten horse man was making fun of the little dinosaurs. Now the boy love the horse very much because they been pals for a long time man in order to ridicule a little boy and have some fun with him said the sun is that horse any good is a guesser is the best horse in the whole world is it will sunny you don't look so good, said, can he run fast. He said no sir, but he can stand fast now. I want to talk to you about how I have a faith that will stand fast how to have an anchor that will grip the solid rock how to put some spiritual steel and concrete in your life because in these desperate days in which we are living. You will need many Christians today are being blown about by the winds of circumstances and they are being scattered by the storms of calamity and they are being swept away in floods of affliction. They don't have an anchor that will hold in the store. To the contrary that life seems to be built on egg shells and Jell-O.

They are weak and floundering saints, and God wants us to be strong. God doesn't want us to fold up and give a God wants us to look up and stand God wants us to have a foundation that is sure the book of Romans is a foundation for faith, a solid word one unsure a would you like to have wrought solid faith. Would you like for your anchor to hold missing God is in the business of building site when God gives you salvation. He's not finished with you. Eight. He is beginning with you. The Bible says in Philippians 1 verse six he who hath begun a good work in you will perform it. So getting saved does not mean right now the finished product. One man was wearing a lapel button and I just had a series of letters on it said the BPG INF WMY that's all it settled on the button and a friend asking what does that mean he said it means. Please be patient. God is not finished with me yet and God is not finished with you yet God wants to build a new a rock solid great night Scripture tells us how he does that in four steps. I want you look at it right now beginning in verse one. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the whole of the glory of God and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patients experience and experience how and how make is not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Now, I would ask your question. When God saves you. What does God give you as the byproduct of that salvation is a piece or is it tribulation.

The answer is yes. Now we read about the peace of God in verse one. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But notice verse three and not only so, what we glory in tribulation don't think dear friend that when you get say that all your debt is peace and is no problem, no RA, no tears, no disappointment. Although when God is going to build into you a rock solid is going to mix in some tribulation for things I want you to notice my folks, this is for your welfare. Don't let this blow past.

I mean this is God's word to you now. When I just playing games.

If you want to have a solid faith. When you going to have to learn today.

What number one conversion brings conflict. Did you get that conversion brings conflict versus wanted to talk about our conversion being justified by faith… Peace with God is talking about access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God yes praise God hallelujah we like that. But now move in verse three and only so, but we glory in tribulations.

Now the word tribulation means pressure that's literally what the word means is translated here tribulation, but it was used when you would crush the grapes to get wine. The same word tribulation Jews.

It was here when you would crush all of us begin oil and God wants to build into your character. The wine and oil of his strength and his love and so God is going to bring God is going to bring pressure into your life, because without pressure. God will not make you a strong site you need conflict you mean pressure conversion brings conflict on diamine is a lump of coal. This been under pressure for a long long time. You need to understand the ways of God that when you're having trouble and heartache and disappointment. God is over it all, the word luck does not belong in a Christian's vocabulary and the word FAT does not belong in your vocabulary.

God is watching over all the you may not be able to understand palms Watson said were reason cannot waive their faith must swim which you must understand that God is over all and when you come to Jesus you going to come into conflict and pressure.

Now this conflict and this pressure may come from Satan or it may come from God, but God is over it all. Satan will bring conflict to cause you to stumble, God will bring conflict to cause you to stand, but you're going to know pressure is a Christian now some of this pressure is going to come from the world. You know the Bible says in Romans 12 verse one. Don't be conformed to this world. The minute you come to Jesus. This world is going to begin to bring pressure on you to squeeze you into its mold and you feel at everyday in the entertainment world in the business world in the social world in the political world, there will be incredible pressure upon the child of God in this world with its theories and with its drills. This world is going to come against you in so many ways but not only is the pressure going to come from the world.

It's going to come from the flesh. To find out that the once you get saved you receive a new nature, but the old Adamic nature is still there. The proclivity to sin is still there. You feel it.

I feel it you never get beyond the Bible calls this the flesh.

It is an enemy inside before they'd you're going to feel a civil war within you. I felt it when I first got saved as a teenage boy. I can remember a particular time after I'd given my heart to Jesus.

I was out with some friends and an incredible temptation came to me and I can remember as it were yesterday being credible or that was going on within me because my flesh that Adrian bet something you want to do that. Something you need to do. Everybody else is doing it, and the Holy Spirit say to me know your different you cannot do that and I felt the biggest battle going on in my heart and I pray that I struggle as a new Christian friend you feeling when you come into salvation. You can find out that the world will be working on you. This lien into its mold. Can you find out that inside there's something that rises up in you and areas ranging in you a conflict, a Civil War that's in August. The Bible says flesh resist the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. Galatians 517 the flash lust death against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary one to another, that not only will there be the conflict with the world and not only will it be the conflict with the flesh, but the conflict with the devil himself friend you never really understand the power of Satan to you get say you get say is well. I don't have any difficulty with the devil will if you don't let me tell you wise because you and the devil are traveling in the same direction you turn around you have a collision with a broad value in collusion with which you turn around and you start therefore if you've never met the devil is because you and the devil going in the same direction.

That's all I'm saying to you is when you get say when you give your heart to Jesus. Satan is going to level all of the artillery of hell against you if you are not struggling against the devil. If you are not in battle with Satan back to you. You must be a little better than Jesus because he was Satan came against Jesus. He comes against me and he will come against you was a man who had the farmhand worked on this farm. The man was not a believer. The farmhand was the two of them, however, were friends and they went out the duck hunting together and the man was not a believer or saying to the farmhand a said luck is always talk about fighting with the devil and wrestling with her that Lisa and I never have to fight with a deadline about the rest of the devil.

I'm not even Christ. He said boss if you and I shot two dogs one was wounded, and one was dead which one would you go after first he said well I guess the wounded duck. He said that's right, he said the devil know you are dead duck friend that is programming.

If the devil doesn't bother you just because you're dead duck.

You have to bother you, but I'm saying this lesson to me. Conversion brings conflict conflict like you never know you may get the idea that you're not even say because here you're sailing along, and then one day you get God to Jesus and paying for comes the world comes a flash comes in battle against you Bible calls that tribulation. The Bible calls that pressure but not only will he come from Satan to cause you to stumble. Income from God because you to stay in God himself will bring tribulation pressure.

The Bible says, whom the Lord loves he discourages and disciplines. Every child of God you say listen, God is not trying to make you happy. God wants to make you holy and temptation in testing and trials are part of life. It's a false gospel that says if you come to Christ there be no adversity in the be no misfortune to be no persecution there be no pain. The late great Vance Abner said.

He said I'm often amused and amazed by the way we equate Christianity with success, popularity and prosperity. We may not admit it, but we use the same old days that the world uses, except we use religious language. It would appear that gain is godliness with us in spite of Paul's formula that godliness plus contentment equals prosperity. No, I'm telling you folks, that the first step in God building a raw solid faith is conflict.

He tells us in verses one and two that we can be saved.

Then he tells us in verse three that we need to glory in tribulation.

I remember the word tribulation means conflict. It means pressure. Step number two step number two not this what God is going to do to build character and the life conflict teaches constant say conflict teaches constancy notice again, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.

Now what is patience, not the ability to thread a needle, not the ability to finish a crossword puzzle know the word patience means constant see it means consists didn't see you see when the pressure comes back crisis comes. It doesn't make you it just reveals what you're made of the same son that melts the ice hardens the clay, but word patience again. It means endurance. The new American Standard said it brings about perseverance. Goodspeed says it produces endurance. How many was a pastor, I want strep. I want victory.

I won't prosperity high on contentment. All you Taylor everybody wants those. I wonder if I would ask how many of you will patience.

Very few of us would say I won't patience but you never have these other things that I just mentioned without patients without constancy, without endurance, you see tribulation works patience might come up close.

I would tell you something you will never learn much of anything worth learning. If you don't have constancy endurance and patience. You just won't do it if you want to learn how to play the piano.

You don't have to learn the scales. If you're going to learn Greek, you have to study the verbs. Sorry about that. If if you want to lose weight. You're going to have to have constancy. If you want to build character you're going to have to persevere, you're going to have to end our there is no instant maturity conversion brings conflict and conflict is meant to teach continuance constant say Bible calls it patience. What you do when the conflict comes with four things you can do some people just retreat, they just run away from conflict by whether physically or emotionally. They may get a plane ticket. They take a pill only turn up a bottle with a can legally take a gun they just try to run from conflict. One man said the way to fight a woman is with your hat is a what you mean is it, grab it and run so someone conflict comes as a retreat is when conflict comes.

They resent I mean I say I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I went down I got baptized I started going to study start start typing now look what is happened to me and that they get a garage with job they become cynical and retreat. They resent others resign, they just cave in. They give they lie down on the field and surrender the shield and they give into discouragement and despondency. But what is God's plan. God's plan is not for you to retreat. Not for you resent not for you resign with the resolve by faith that you will follow him faith, listen to me faith is shown more inpatient and constant say than in any other way if you really have faith when trouble comes, you will endure. Faith is not receiving from God the things you want merely so much as it is accepting from God the things he gives tribulation works patience.

Don't try to wiggle out of what God is doing. Joe said, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Winston Churchill was a man who looked like a bulldog stood like a bulldog. There was a lot of said, never, never, never, never give up and he reminded us that a bulldog has his nose slanted backward so we can hold old and still breathe bulldog. Now what you need to do is to get a bulldog grip on Almighty God. And like Joe said I don't care what is happening what my children do what the doctor tells me what my banker tells me I will not let go my anchor told you see what is this constant say William Barclay describes it so well. I want to listen what he said it is not the patient's that can sit down and bow its head and let things descend upon it and passively endure until the storm is passed, it is the spirit which can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope. It is not the spirit which sits statically in during in one place, but the spirit which bears things because it knows that these things are leading to a goal of glory is not patience which grimly waits for the man, but patience which radiantly hopes for the doll. That's the kind of endurance that the child of God has how I wish you would hear what he says so. So notice conversion brings conflict.

Conflict teaches constant say and constancy develops character watch look in verse 40 will and patient's experience. Now what is it mean to experience character patients, constancy, brains, character, and God wants to build and do you character God wants to build and view rocksolid faith. God is building a science with spiritual steel and spiritual concrete is a reputation as one of us. Think about your characters what God your wife know about your God was to build character and your life.

This word experience was used in the Bible of gold is tried in the fire and comes up you say more, that is, it has character to Missy God is going to put you in the fire of affliction. Why test to the faith that can't be tested can't be trusted.

So God is going to put you in the fire of affliction to test you, and that's the way that you're going to learn how much cross they may be in your life that needs to be burned out of your life. The sludge that's in the gold you see that's the way God builds character and coming up tomorrow will you part two of this important message. In the meantime maybe you have a prayer request that you'd like to share with us. Is this something that is weighing on your heart right now and love worth finding. It's one of our great honors to come alongside and pray with you and for you, go to our website homepage LWF.org/radio and scroll down to our prayer wall. There you will find the option to either submit a prayer request or pray for others. This is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry in the community praying continually for one another's needs. Can't wait to hear from you again go to LWF.org/radio to find our prayer wall if you like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety: 1877 love God, to order how to have a rocksolid faith. This message is also part of the insightful foundations for our faith series for that complete collection.

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Remember these words of comfort from Pastor Rogers. Satan will bring conflict to cause you to stumble, God will bring conflict to cause you to stand sure to tune in next time for the conclusion of how to have a rocksolid faith right here on love worth dying a listener in Alabama included an encouraging note to her recent donation. As you know this year is been filled with challenges and new ways of doing things that we did not expect to ever do because of the Cova 19 pandemic we've been unable to attend worship services as usual.

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