“I’m a Pilgrim”
Reid Tait
Midland SDA Church
July 17, 2010
INTRODUCTION: Last week Norman told of the Long Journey. This week we will look at the journey and “How to Believe” for we are truly pilgrims. A pilgrim is one who journeys in a foreign land. An early Advent Hymns #444 I’m a Pilgrim is the bases of this sermon and 445 titled I’m But a Stranger Here. The early Adventist looked forward to seeing and being with Jesus. Mary Dana wrote “There’s the city to which I journey: My Redeemer, My Redeemer is the light. Jesus is the light of the New Jerusalem. Thomas Taylor wrote “There at my Savior’s side, Heaven is my home. Brother and Sisters is your faith strong. Are you determination and your faith strong enough to feel the pull of a gracious Heavenly Father and a loving compassionate Jesus. Are you a Pilgrim? If the earth is your permanent home, than you are not a Pilgrim. Let us be pilgrims together. Are you a believer without seeing?
PRAY
Open your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, the eleventh chapter and the sixth verse (Hebrews 11:6). Paul is writing the Hebrews about the faith of their forefathers and right in the middle of the paragraph he puts the following in verse 6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” We must believe the promise found in Acts 1:10, 11 “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Are you a Pilgrim? Do you believe even though you have not seen.
Copy the story of King Frederick II
The next question that naturally presents itself is., How do we get faith—how do we believe. Turn to Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We need to hear from the pulpit, from the experiences of our friends and neighbors. We need to read and know God as a personal friend and Savior.
When we have understanding, we can exercise intelligent faith. The disciples exercised their faith when they understood what Jesus was telling them.
H. M. S. Richards wrote in his sermon titled “How to Believe”“Knowledge is essential to faith. None of us could believe in something of which we were entirely ignorant.”
Confidence in what we read in the Bible is necessary to have intelligent faith. Unless we have confidence in the person giving us information, we cannot believe what he says.
As we travel this pilgrim way do not be afraid to ask God for things that you need, for the spiritual blessings that we must have, for forgiveness of sins and the assurance of redemption.
The story is told of a man who went to Alexander the Great and asked for some money as a marriage portion for his daughter. Alexander told him to go to his treasurer and ask for what he wanted. He went and demanded an enormous amount. The treasurer was startled and came to Alexander and said that he thought a small part of what the man had asked for would be enough. “No”, said Alexander, “let him have it all. I like that man. He does me honor. He treats me like a king and proves by what he asks that he believes me to be both rich and generous.”
This man honored Alexander, but do we honor God when we bring our petitions to God in prayer. Is our faith weak or strong? We ask little we receive little. Weill we honor the God who created the universe. Do we, fellow pilgrims, believe we are children of God, looking for our heavenly home, looking forward to mansions and most of all to see Jesus. Turn to song #468 “A Child of the King”
We must remember that there is great sin in doubting or disbelieving God or His Word. Turn in you Bibles to 1 John 5:10 “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself, he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”
When we refuse to believe what God has revealed in His Word, we virtually set ourselves up as judges, and decide in our own minds that what God has said is not true. We set ourselves above God and judge Him. H. M. S. Richards “This is the Great sin which besets many today.” Do not let doubt lay at your door!
Turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 12:1-4 as I read from the Living Bible “Since we have such a huge crowd of men . . . watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.
2. Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because the joy he knew would be his afterwards, and now He sits in the place of honor by the thrown of God. 3. If you want to keep from becoming fainthearted and weary, think about His patience as sinful men did such terrible things to Him. 4 After all, you have never yet struggled against sin and temptation until you sweat great drops of blood.
Paul is coming to a conclusion after listing the great men of faith that we shed anything that will hinder us from achieving our goal of “a Heavenly home for truly Heaven is our home
The pilgrim journey may seem long to some and short to others but we cannot “tarry” Dana wrote “ Here in this country so dark and dreary, I long have wondered forlorn and weary” Taylor writes “Short is my pilgrimage, Heaven is my home’. Both are right, it seems long today our pilgrim walk, but compared to eternity it is but a moment.
And so in the words of the old son, “Faith is the victory that overcomes the World” Dwight L. Moody said, “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul”.
Are you a Pilgrim on a journey to our heavenly home—looking forward to that place of heavenly rest near to the heart of God. If you are, stand with me as we sing, I’m a Pilgrim #444.