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The Continuous Testing of Our Faith

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The constant tests to which God submits His people enable them to build character by responding in faith. God perfected Abraham's faith through difficult trials.


What Is Faith?

Herbert W. Armstrong Booklet

Millions lack faith to receive answers to their prayers. To a large extent, this is due to a lack of understanding what faith is.


Will Christ Find Faith?

'Ready Answer' by John O. Reid

At the end of the Parable of the Persistent Widow, Jesus asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith...?" The answer is surprising to many.


Faith—What Is It?

'Ready Answer' by Pat Higgins

Faith is simple in concept; it is believing what God says. Yet it is difficult to display in our lives, and it is often tested. Here is some evidence of faith.


How Can We Measure Our Faith?

CGG Weekly by Pat Higgins

How do we obey this call to test ourselves, to know whether we are in the faith? A good place to start is to see how God measures faith, beginning with Abraham.


Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Ten)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Like with the heroes of faith, our testing will be commensurate with the job God has prepared for us. We must make our relationship with God our top priority.


Faith, Hope, and the Worship of God (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Using assumptions, some have concocted some nine conflicting calendars. The preservation of the oracles has not been entrusted to the church but to the Jews.


Faith (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

We would like God to instantly gratify our desires. Consequently, we find living by faith difficult; we do not trust that He has things under control.


How Satan Destroys Faith

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Because we act on what we believe, any affront to our belief system will alter our choices and behavior, placing us on a destructive trajectory.


Faith to Carry Us to the Millennium

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Kim Myers

How do we get the faith we need to endure this present age? Living faith requires that we match hearing with productive works.


Making Faithful Choices (Part Two)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

God demonstrated to Gideon, through His systematically whittling his army from 30,000 to 300, that His providence, and not Gideon's might, would bring victory.


Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Nine)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The heroes of faith may have had a longer period of testing than those called now, but the trials will come at greater intensity here at the end.


Faith and Prayer

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Constant, earnest prayer keeps faith alive and makes certain the receiving of the qualities that make us in the image of God. God's purpose comes first.


Habakkuk: A Prophet of Faith (Part Two)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

All of God's people should be watchmen like Habakkuk, living continually by faith, discerning, listening to, and responding to God's instructions.


To Test You

Sermon by John O. Reid

Jesus, Joseph, David, and Abraham all endured considerable trials before they qualified for their offices. We must make our calling and election sure.


Faith and the Calendar (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The issue is not mathematical or astronomical, but instead a matter of trust in God's faithfulness, authority, sovereignty, oversight, or ability to govern.


Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Abraham embodied living by faith. Through perpetually living in a tent, he demonstrated his complete trust and reliance upon God.


Faith and the Calendar (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The real issue in the calendar controversy is not astronomical, but faith in God's sovereignty, providence, and His right to assign responsibility.


Lord, Increase Our Faith

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

Faith is a gift which requires continual practice and exercise. God will grant us more faith if we faithfully use what He has already given us.


Facing Times of Stress: Faithfulness

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Prayers often become difficult because we fail to add thanksgiving, praise or adoration toward God. Thankfulness is an obligation to which we are bound.


Hedged About on Every Side

'Ready Answer' by Staff

Satan accused God of hedging Job about on every side, saying that if God would let down the hedge, they could see what Job was really made of.


Defining Trials

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. Reid

Trials define who we are by placing choices before us, forcing us to have faith in God. Character is built by making right, though difficult, choices.


God's Tools

Sermonette by Clyde Finklea

Spiritual maturity does not come about without difficulty, and suffering is one of God's tools to perfect us. Suffering refines endurance and character.


Hope in a Turbulent World

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Greek and Roman myths have shaped the world view of Western culture, including our attitude toward hope, a concept which is often abused and distorted.


Joy and Trial

'Ready Answer' by Mike Ford

What does the Bible mean when it says we should count it all joy when you fall into various trials? What is this joy we must experience, and how do we come by it?


Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Trials are a means to produce spiritual growth, unless we resort to super-righteousness, straining to please God by exalting our works.


Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Sermon by Ryan McClure

It is solely God's prerogative to test and to prove, while Satan's function is to tempt, to trip up, and to destroy. God tests but does not tempt.


We Are Saved in This Hope

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The Scriptures assure us that by combining God's redemptive acts from the past, we are to have an ardent hope in the future, anticipating eternal life.


How Much Does God Love You?

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

I John 4:17 reveals the depth of love God the Father has for us as unique, special components of His creation, loving each of us as much as He loved Christ.


Trials: Much Needed Experiences

Sermon by John O. Reid

God uses trials to test our hearts, but He never places a trial before us to tempt us. God uses trials we bring on ourselves to draw us closer to Him.


When Will God Answer?

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

God does not delay because of indifference, but wants to provide maximum opportunity for repenting, overcoming, and building character.


Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Eleven): Paradox, Continued

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Hard trials are not punishments from God for unrighteousness but tests of faith in which He is intimately involved to prepare us for the world to come.


Spiritual Heat Treatment

Sermonette by Christian D. Hunter

After metal has endured its prescribed heat treatment, it glows brightly. Our job, as God's metaphorical metal, is to endure the trials of heat treatments.


Facing Times of Stress: When God Is Silent (Part Three)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Acts 27 teaches that we must distinguish among several types of suffering. Regardless of the type of suffering, we must remember that God will deliver us.


Ping

Sermonette by Ted E. Bowling

God has given to us spiritual sonar to help us to navigate in uncharted venues. As we pray, study, and meditate, we develop our spiritual sonar.


Patiently Waiting for Christ's Return

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

We must develop an active, God-given restraint and constancy in endurance while facing trials and waiting for Christ's return, trusting that God will provide.


Firstfruits and the Master Potter

Sermon by Clyde Finklea

The Potter and Clay analogy provides instructions for understanding character-building tests and trials in the life-long sanctification process.


Are You Worthy of Your Calling?

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Paul encourages the Thessalonians to thank God for their salvation, surrender without complaint, ask God for wisdom, and look for opportunities to serve.


Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part One)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

We are mandated to live by faith, being given trials of faith in order to chisel our character. We must totally and unreservedly accept God's sovereignty.


Trial by Fire

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Like a loving parent, God brings just the right pressures to bear to bring about necessary change in His children. Each trial has a place in His purpose.


Our Hope

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Our hope is based on having a living Savior. At times we are discouraged and overwhelmed, but God has not left us—though unseen, He is in the trials with us.


God Is Preparing Us For the Kingdom

Sermon by Kim Myers

Today, the church is experiencing more overwhelming trials than ever before, indicating that God is preparing His people for the end time.


Building on a Perfect Foundation

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Many hear or read God's Word and think they believe. Jesus says that many say to Him, 'Lord, Lord,' as if in submission, but they never truly follow Him.


Consequences of a Wrong Focus (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by Clyde Finklea

Contempt manifests itself in bad feelings and wrong attitudes against the source of the problem and against God and the purposes He seeks to accomplish.


Facing Times of Stress: Grieved by Various Trials

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Faith from God will be required to endure and profit from trials, bringing about character and genuineness of faith, as well as patience and trust in God.


The Providence of God (Part Six)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

A spiritual Israelite undergoes a metamorphosis in which his own self-centered will is broken so that God's creative work can be completed within him.


Hebrews (Part Fourteen)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Like Jesus and other heroes of faith, we need to look beyond the present to the long term effects of the trials and tests we go though, seeing their value.


Why Does God Allow Us to Be Afflicted?

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

In God's hands, trials and afflictions are tools to produce refined character and joy, and to move us away from worldly choices and back to His purpose.


Boundaries, Incursions, Migrations, and God (Part Two)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Even though the way God exercises His sovereignty is inscrutable to us , calling the foolish to confound the wise, all He does fits perfectly into His plan.


The Great Work the Lord Has Done!

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

We must not fear but stand firm and be still, watching the salvation of the Lord, actively exercising faith, while God makes short work out of our enemies.


Christianity Is a Fight! (Part 2)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The most formidable foe in our spiritual battle is the flesh. We must mortify, slay, and crucify the flesh, enduring suffering as Jesus Christ exemplified.


Ditching Tithing? Consider Carefully

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

In tough financial times, some Christians reduce or cut out altogether God's tithe. They justify it with an excuse like, 'God wouldn't want me to starve!'


Who Will Be Kept from the Hour of Trial?

'Prophecy Watch' by David C. Grabbe

God promises some Christians that He will keep them from the Tribulation, the 'hour of trial.' Here are the characteristics of those whom God will protect.


The Providence of God (Part Seven)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus and Abraham rose above their emotional pulls by exercising living faith—a faith built on acts of obedience. Faith can never be separated from works.


Psalms: Book One (Part Six)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Psalm 23 depicts the gratitude we should display from a sheep's point of view, as the animal boasts of blessings and marvels about the care of his Shepherd.


Are You Sure You Believe in God? (Part Three)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Real saving faith is a gift from God, but we are obligated to walk by this faith, developing incremental levels of faith through obedience.


Overcoming Doubt

CGG Weekly by John Reiss

Doubt is not without merit, for it can be a springboard to greater understanding. Doubt drives a Christian to seek God in faith, if he deals with it properly.


Double Minded

Sermonette by James Beaubelle

Halting between two opinions stalls a person's spiritual growth and degrades peace and joy, causing him to drift toward despair as trials and arise.


What Is the Church's Work Today (Part One)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The hardest part of God's work is the feeding of the flock the full counsel of God, to get the called-out ones ready to enter the Kingdom of God.


The Crown of Life

Article by Martin G. Collins

We do not think about crowns much, but one awaits us if we continue in the faith! The Bible describes the crowns we will receive when we enter God's Kingdom.


Numbers: The Book of Judgment

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

We live daily in uncharted territory, but the sobering account in Numbers provides a roadmap, establishing God's pattern of judging our pilgrimage conduct.


Abraham (Part Twelve)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Based on his long friendship with God, Abraham could systematically calculate the reliability of God's promises even in the lack of visual evidence.