The Faith God Wants (SUNDAY March 9, 2025)

Dr. Martin Alphonse

Talking about the end times is often like a family driving in a car. Throughout the journey, the child sitting in the backseat keeps asking, “Are we there yet, dad?“ In fact, speaking about the second coming of the Lord, we can say that it is close . Another way to look at it is to say, “how can we say with certainty that this is not the time for the Lord coming?”

In Luke 18:1-8, we read the parable of the unrighteous judge. Even though the commonly understood message about the parable was about the persistent prayer of the widow, we see that Jesus closes that parable by wondering if He would find faith on earth at the time of His return. His concern was about whether He will find end-time faith.
I want us to look at Paul’s epistles to Timothy on the subject of faith. I do not want to focus on end-time faith only, but also on everyday faith. The word “faith” in its multiple forms is used so many times in Timothy. 1 Timothy uses it 16 times and 2 Timothy uses it 6 times.
In Timothy, we read about many warnings as concerning the loss of faith:

• “keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. 1 Timothy 1:19-20 - Hymenaeus and Alexander have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. That indicates those that had faith, but lost it.

• “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” 1 Timothy 4:1 - Again, this speaks about people who fell away from the faith through wrong doctrine and deceitful teachings.

• “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 - Here are those that have denied the faith, if they do not provide for their families.

• “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 - Again here is a warning about the greed for money, causing people to wander away from the faith.

• “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11 - Paul warns Timothy about things that he must flee, just like one would need to flee from an approaching fire, such as the one that engulfed areas in California recently. We must instead pursue faith among other things.

• “Fight the good fight of faith; O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:12, 20-21 - once again, Paul is exhorting his disciple Timothy to guard what’s been given to him, to fight the good fight of faith so that he would not go astray from the faith like some did.
  These warnings have clearly been given with a view that it is possible to once have faith and then lose it. So we must be very vigilant in these last days to avoid losing our everyday faith.
  In the epistles to Timothy, Paul speaks about faith that has the following characteristics:

1. Sincere faith

2. Successive faith.

3. Survived faith.

4. Scripture-fed fairh

5. Spirit-fanned faith

1. Sincere Faith

“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
2 Timothy 1:5
The use of the phrase “sincere faith” raises the question, “Can faith be insincere?” The answer is yes. Faith can be insincere in its motive and its usage.

“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Paul connects faith with resurrection and with hope. I see faith and hope as twins. One does not exist without the other. If one has hope only for things of this earth, for material things, they are to be pitied. Such so called Christians are so pathetic.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matthew 7:21-23

Every time I read this scripture or when I hear someone quote it or when I use it in my own message, I shudder. Millions of people are calling on Jesus right now, “Lord, Lord”. It is not those who called him, “Lord, Lord,” that enters the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father.

Many people prophesied in Jesus name, they cast out demons in Jesus name, they performed miracles and healing in his name. They felt that these actions were proof that God was with them, because they could not perform these miraculous works without the power of the Holy Spirit. However Jesus told them to depart from Him. It is possible that this happens, because faith and the gifts of the spirit are all gifts from God (1 Cor 12). Also, we read in Rom 11:29 that the gifts and the calling are irrevocable. Once God gives His gifts, he does not take them away. How would you use the gifts that God has given you? Will you use them for your glory? Will you use them so that people will come and praise you? Will you use them to make wealth or a name for yourself? No wonder God says to such people that He never knew them.

Paul writes: “ If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Cor 13:2

Also, Jesus after he cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit, and His disciples were amazed, he said, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” He speaks about faith that moves the mountains, but He immediately tells them to forgive everyone so that the Lord may forgive their transgressions.

Everyday faith must be sincere.

Pass On Your Faith!

It is like a relay race, where you pass the baton on to the next runner, you ought to pass the faith on to your children. Pass on your faith.

2. Successive Faith

“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” 2 Timothy 1:5

Paul speaks about the faith that was first in his grandmother, then in his mother also lives in Timothy. Three generations successively has that faith. Three generations had the faith successfully passed on. I believe that Lois and Eunice did not forget their Jewish roots.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9

“Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.” Joel 1:3

It is like a relay race, where you pass the baton on to the next runner, you ought to pass the faith on to your children. Pass on your faith.

In Luke 15, we read about the parable of the lost sheep. But that is not the first time Jesus spoke about it. In Matt 18, Jesus spoke about children saying that unless one changes and becomes like little children, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven. He goes on in the same passage and speaks about the lost sheep. The same story that he speaks in the context of adults, he speaks in the context of children. We have to pass on our everyday faith to children.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. Matt 18:12-14

3. Scripture-Fed Faith

There is a prayer called “Shema Yisrael” in Deut 6:4-5

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a]  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

This prayer was repeated by the Israelites at least twice a day. In the morning when they woke up and at night when they were putting the kids to bed, they said this as the last prayer. This is the first thing that a child would hear when they wake up and the last thing they hear before they go to bed. Imagine how sweet their dreams would be!

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim 3:14,15

From infancy Timothy knew the scriptures. My wife is a Montessori teacher. The founder Maria Montessori found in her research that 3-month old babies can understand what you are saying. The Bible confirms this finding! “From infancy” Timothy knew the scriptures!

Continue in what you learned. What did you learn? You learned about salvation. Who did you learn from? From your mother and grandmother. How did you learn? From infancy you learned the scriptures.

Rather than let children learn from mobile phones and social media, let the mothers and fathers be the first source of learning. And it’s a dangerous world, let them learn the scriptures.

4. Survived Faith

Paul speaks about Timothy’s grandmother and mother. What about his father? His father was not a believer. He was a Greek. Acts 16:1 says, “Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

It was a requirement to be circumcised. Why wasn’t Timothy circumcised as a Jewish boy? Maybe because Timothy’s father was a Greek and not a believer. We don’t know anything more about his father. We only know that Eunice raised him as a single mother. Paul adopts him as a spiritual son. Looking at the possibilities, Timothy had many influences when he was growing up:

1. His mother’s side was Jewish who passed on Jewish culture to him. He spoke Hebrew and Aramaic.

2. On his father’s side, his uncles, aunts, cousins, were all Greek. So he spoke Greek and had influence of the Greek culture.

3. Finally the ruling power was Roman. So he had the influence of the Roman culture as well.

Three cultures converged in Timothy’s life. Just like for Indian children growing up in America. They have the Sub-Indian culture such as Malayali, Telugu, or Tamil. Then they have the American influence. My friend Sam George calls the children the coconut generation: brown outside, but white inside. And over that, they have the church culture.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 Tim 1:2

Again multiple generations are spoken of here.

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.  The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 2 Tim 2:3-6

Paul uses three comparisons here referencing the three major influences in Timothy’s life:

• Soldier: The Roman soldiers were the greatest fighting power of the time. But Timothy’s commander now is Jesus

• Athlete: The Greek were the best athletes of the times, inventing the Olympic games. Compete according to rules and be disciplined.

• Farmer: The best farmers are Jews. Jesus used so many parables from farming and agriculture.

Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 2 Tim 2:7

Towards the end of the letter in 2 Tim 4 also Paul goes back to the same theme while providing his parting words:

• I fought a good fight (like the Roman soldier)

• I have finished the race (like the Greek athlete)

• I have kept the faith (the Jewish faith)

End time faith requires us to fight a good fight and finish the race and keep the faith. You cannot do the others without faith, because faith is foundational.

5. Spirit-Fanned Faith

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  2 Tim 1:5-6

What was the gift of God? The Holy Spirit of God as well as the faith itself!

The gift of God that was within you by the laying on of hands. “ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Tim 1:7, 8

Don’t let the gift in you become inactive. Keep stirring it. Fan it to flame. I grew up in a small village where the wooden stoves were kept aflame with a pipe through which you blew air to fan the flames to burn brighter.

I get energized by the words in Eph 3:20, 21:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! 

There are four things that we hear here:

1. God is able

2. To do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine

3. According to His power

4. Which is at work within us already

God’s power is already within us. Keep stirring the gift of God that is within you.

This is the kind of faith that God wants us to have in these last times.

Your Fruit is God’s Divine Nature Being Formed (Bearing fruit - 2, SUNDAY MARCH 2, 2025)

We are continuing our meditation on bearing fruit.

We started with Jesus assertion in John chapter 15:8 that the Father will be glorified when we wear much fruit and we will be His disciples indeed. It is such an important outcome of a Christian faith that in order to become disciples and part of his kingdom, we ought to be bearing fruit. It is not an optional exercise.

We looked at the parable of the sower, which Jesus said, was fundamental to the understanding of all parables. Jesus spoke about a sower who sower seed that fell on four types of soil. The first type of soil was the wayside where the seed did not even sprout before the birds came and ate them away. The second type of soil was a stony ground that had no depth and even though plants had sprung up, they had no root in themselves. Then affliction and prosecution came on behalf of the word they fell away. We spent most of our time discussing the third type of soil, which I believe is also the most common type of soil in the Christian world today. These were healthy plants, except for the fact that they were not able to bear fruit because of thorns. We also hear about what the thorns are. They are the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things. 

Today we're going to be looking at apostle peters description of the Christian life, and his advice on how to prevent a condition of unfruitfulness. 

Notice the number of the times the word "knowledge" is referenced in this passage.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

Peter's blessing to the church is to be have grace and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God. Because God's divine power has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Most of us have memorized this verse and often repeat this verse. It is a great promise that everything that we need for living and for living in a godly manner has already been given to us, but hear we also hear about how we have access to it. It is through a true knowledge of God. A true knowledge of God's glory and excellence. Or a true knowledge of God's greatness and goodness. If we look closely at these words, goodness and excellence, we see that they speak about two distinct characteristics of God's person. Technically speaking, they are God's attributes and His character. 

• God's attributes are the essential qualities of God, the qualities that are His nature by definition, because He is God. Examples of this include His omniscience (He knows everything), His omnipresence (He is everywhere), His omnipotence (He can do anything), His eternality (He has no beginning and no end).

• God's character is His moral attributes, the qualities that define His personality. Examples include His love, His mercy, His justice, His patience, His kindness.

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

It is through knowing these qualities that we have everything we need for life and godliness, for the precious and magnificent promises that we need to partake of the divine nature are given to us through the knowledge of His character and attributes. 

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭2-8

God wants us to not stop at having faith. He wants us to grown in our faith and diligently add to our faith moral excellence. Sometimes we do not emphasize God's call to us to be morally excellent or people of virtue arguing that God called us while we were yet sinners. But God called us to not remain in our situations of moral depravity. He called us inspite of our sin, that we may be holy unto Him. Because He is a holy God.

To our moral excellence, we ought to add true knowledge. True knowledge that comes from knowing Him, the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

He then encourages us to add self-control. God has blessed us with His Spirit who is able to strengthen us to gain victory over the challenges we face. He brings discipline into our life. 

Peter then mentions perseverance. Perseverance comes because of the hope that we have in God. That whatever happens in our life, His is on the throne. True perspective helps us grow in perseverance. When we know that we are not only raised from the dead, that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, we know that whatever happens in this world does not have the power to shake us. With a heavenly perspective, we are able to see that we might be in a difficult situation at the moment, but God has a purpose for it; it might be to prepare us for a situation in our life in the future, it might be to show His strength to deliver us so that His name might be glorified. The deliverance we are desperately seeking might just be around the corner. It might be a few years away. Whatever it is, having God's perspective will give us great perseverance in our journey with Him. Hallelujah!

Add godliness, which is devotion and purity. As God's children, we ought to have deep devotion and love for Him and we must seek to become more and more like Him. 

Add brotherly kindness for your fellow believers and even for those that are not yet in God's kingdom. 

Above all add love, God's perfect redeeming love to our lives. More than anything we need His transforming love. 

Essentially, when we study these qualities and those mentioned as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, we see that they reflect Christ’s nature. God did not save us to be better people. He saved us to become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Becoming Christ-like is God's ultimate purpose for our lives. Having these qualities make us more like Christ. And that is fruitfulness.

And Peter exhorts us to keep adding these qualities in increasing measure. In a growing measure. More and more. Not just one filling a few years ago. But every time, these qualities must be added to our lives so that we avoid become fruitful in the knowledge of God. Because fruitfulness is God's purpose for our lives.

“Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. People must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.”

‭‭Titus‬ ‭3‬:‭13, 14‬ ‭

Finally, I want to mention this reminder to be generous in giving as a key to be fruitful. A lack of generosity can make you unfruitful. It's God's nature to give and He wants His people to also be those that help those in need. Engage in good deeds to meet the pressing needs of those in the ministry, those in the kingdom, and those in your circles and outside. Doing that makes you open-minded and unselfish. This leads to fruitfulness in God. 

May God help us to grow in relationship with God in adding all those qualities mentioned in 2 Pet 1 so that we bear fruit that please Him. Praise God!

Let Not Thorns Choke Your Fruit (Bearing Fruit - 1, SUNDAY FEB 23, 2025)

In John 15, Jesus spoke to His disciples about being The Vine. If we remain in Him and He in us we will bear fruit. I would like to focus on one verse from that passage.

"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

John‬ ‭15‬:‭8‬ ‭

For most of my Christian life, I believed that the goal of preaching is to make the hearers believers or to convert them. Much later did I understand that believing is only the starting point. Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples. The verse we read earlier provides one definition of being a disciple: one who bears much fruit.

Jesus didn't come into the world to make people believers. He came to save us from our sin and to make us a part of His kingdom.

Jesus came into this world and initiated a kingdom. Kingdom that is very different from the kingdoms of this world. A kingdom has a king, a dominion or a territory, subjects, and rules. 

 The kingdom of God also has all of them:

• Our King is God in heaven.

• The dominion or territory of God's kingdom is spiritual, and does not have physical boundaries. It's in fact beyond time as well. 

• Its subjects, and are disciples. So wherever you live on the Earth, you are subjects of His kingdom if we are His disciples. Again, not believers (who are in the periphery), but according to John 15:8, we become disciples by bearing fruit.

• Laws: God's word written in our heart is the law of this kingdom, but the central commandment that encompasses everything is love.

‬‬We often focus on getting the theology correct, and the experience correct, but we get the life wrong. God is not pleased by perfect theology or amazing experiences. He is pleased when our lives reflect His glory by bearing fruit and we thereby become His disciples.

Jesus often spoke to his disciples in parables. Parables are simple stories with common elements familiar to the audience and present a moral message.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke about a sower sowing seed that falls on four different types of soil. He speaks about what happens to each batch of seed.

1. The wayside: Some of the seed fell by the wayside. The seed was eaten by birds, so they never grew. Jesus explains and says that this seed is snatched away by the devil. The easiest way in which the devil can prevent the word from bearing fruit is by snatching it away before it bears fruit. We need to make sure that the word we hear and read is not lost by treating it with reverence and humility.

2. Rocky ground: the next type of ground we are here about is rocky ground. There is no room for roots to grow. When they receive the word, they receive it with great joy. However, when affliction or persecution comes on account of the word, they just fall away. The Bible says that it is because they did not have any root in themselves. We can rely on another persons experience or faith to carry us through the times of testing that will invariably come. Our pastor, elders, our family, our friends cannot carry us through situations for which we need our faith to overcome.

3. Among thorns: the third type of soil that we hear about had thorns growing in them. Jesus described three types of thorns: the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things. These are so common in our life, and Jesus warns that they have the ability to choke the word such that the word does not bear fruit. If we look around and into our own lives, we might notice that this could be the most common type of soil. So often, the pressures of this world prevent us from the word bearing fruit in our lives.

   • The worries of this world. It is a certainty that there will be problems in our life. But let us not focus on our problems so much that they become a source for worry. We need to always have our focus on God Himself. Whatever we focus on we elevate. Sometimes we face a problem in life, we feel that the problem being removed by a supernatural act is what bearing fruit really is. Let us look at our Lord Jesus who is our example. Hebrews says that He was perfected by the things He suffered. ("For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. Heb 2:10) It does not mean that Jesus was less than perfect and became perfect. But that in each situation, from His childhood to the time of His death, in every situation, His response to every trouble, every temptation, every suffering was perfect in the eyes of God. When we face situations in life, that is how God wants us to bear fruit: respond in a way that is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. That is bearing fruit.

   • Deceitfulness of Riches. Riches are deceitful because they deceive us when we think it gives us security, when we think that we have mastery over them and really do not, or when we think that if we accumulate enough we will be satisfied. The richest people in the world with obscene amounts of riches still don't think they have enough. It's a curse. Paul writes in 1 Tim 6:9-10, "Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." This is strict word of caution. We can observe that those that seek to become wealthy will be overcome by that desire and they will rarely be able to bear fruit. Paul, in multiple epistles, equated covetousness with idolatry. Wealth takes the place of God and becomes the object of our worship! 

   • Desires for Other Things. In the verses preceding the ones quoted about in 1 Tim 6, Paul does tell that that we ought to be content having food and clothing. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us that it is the gentiles that seek after food and clothes and we should only seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. Paul gives us a little bit of extra leeway allowing us to seek food and clothing! Before this, Paul does tell that that we ought to be content having food and clothing. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us that it is the gentiles that seek after food and clothes and we should only seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. Paul gives us a little bit of extra leeway allowing us to seek food and clothing!

4. Good Soil: The fourth batch of seed fell on good soil, where it had good root, and the thorns were not present to choke the fruit. So the seed bore a thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold of crop. We ought to bear good fruit pleasing to the Master. We do that by doing the following
   

   1. ​​​​​​​Making sure that the devil does not snatch away the word that is planted in our hearts

   2. Making sure that we dig deep roots through our devotion to God, fellowship, worship, and sharing our faith

   3. Making sure that the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things do not choke the fruit in our lives. 

Let us bear much fruit for God's glory so that we might become the disciples of Christ indeed!