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A Call to Exercise Faith

Text: John 14: 1

A CALL TO EXERCISE FAITH

Jesus knew that the state of faith of the Disciples was not great. Faith needs to be exercised in order to be strong. It is good to have genuine faith, but that faith must be strengthened.

“Let not your heart be troubled; You believe in God, believe also in Me.”

John 14:1

1. “Let not your heart be troubled”

a. The hearts of the Disciples were certainly troubled

b. They found it hard to cope with the subject of “death”

i. They were troubled because Jesus had told them that He would leave them

ii. They knew that this meant that He would die soon

iii. They were troubled when Jesus said that one of them would betray Him

iv. Peter was certainly troubled when Jesus forewarned him of his denial shortly

c. The heart must not be so troubled

i. It would bring about deep sorrow

ii. It would hurt their faith

iii. It would weaken them considerably

2. “You believe in God”

a. Well and good

b. But often this belief is:

i. Formal

ii. Vague

iii. Passive

iv. This kind of faith would not be able to help them to overcome their troubled feelings

3. “Believe also in Me”

a. Jesus was urging them to exercise their faith

b. They must actively employ their faith

c. They may talk to the Lord Jesus and clarify any doubt

d. They have been with Him for three wonderful years but their faith was still not strong

e. The only way to have a strong faith is to keep exercising it actively
Jesus wanted to teach them how they may cultivate a stronger faith!

经文：约翰福音 14：1

应用信心的呼吁

耶稣知道门徒的信心状态并非理想。信心必须被应用才会变得坚强。有真实的信心固然好，但是信心必须被强化。

“你们心里不要忧愁，你们信神，也当信我。”

《约翰福音 14：1》

1. “你们心里不要忧愁”

a. 门徒们的心里确实忧愁

b. 他们难以接受“死亡”的概念

i. 门徒的心里感到忧愁，因为耶稣已经告诉他们祂将离开他们

ii. 他们知道这意味着祂即将死亡

iii. 他们也因为耶稣说他们其中一个会背叛祂而感到忧愁

iv. 当耶稣警戒彼得说他即将否认耶稣时，他心里确实感到忧愁

c. 心里不应该那么忧愁

i. 这会带来更深层的悲伤

ii. 这会伤害他们的信心

iii. 这也会大大地削弱他们

2. “你们信神”

a. 信上帝是非常好的

b. 但是，这信经常是：

i. 形式上

ii. 模糊

iii. 被动

iv. 这种信心无法帮助他们克服心中的忧愁

3． “也当信我”

a. 耶稣力劝他们要应用信心

b. 他们必须积极地使用自己的信心

c. 他们可以和主耶稣沟通，来澄清任何疑问

d. 他们已经和祂共度了美好的三年，但是，他们的信心仍然不坚强

e. 拥有坚强的信心的唯一途径就是不断地积极应用这信心

耶稣要教导他们如何培养一个更坚强的信心！