05/31/2026
PROFILES OF FAITH
“Choosing to Imitate those with a Refined and Faithful Faith”
The Crossings Church
5/31/2026
“Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Peter 1:7 GNT
CHOOSING TO IMITATE THOSE WITH A FAITHFUL FAITH REQUIRES THAT…
1. I Choose to be Faithful to God in times of UNDENIABLE BLESSINGS
“Should I go on? There isn't enough time for me to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Through faith they fought whole countries and won. They did what was right and received what God had promised. They shut the mouths of lions, put out fierce fires, escaped being killed by the sword. They were weak, but became strong; they were mighty in battle and defeated the armies of foreigners. Through faith women received their dead relatives raised back to life. Others, refusing to accept freedom, died under torture in order to be raised to a better life.”
Hebrews 11:32-35 GNT
“When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”
Hosea 13:6 NIV
“Every God-born person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.”
— 1 John 5:4-5 MSG
2. I choose to be faithful to God in times of DELAYED BLESSINGS.
“Through faith women received their dead relatives raised back to life. Others, refusing to accept freedom, died under torture in order to be raised to a better life. Some were mocked and whipped, and others were put in chains and taken off to prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword. They went around clothed in skins of sheep or goats—poor, persecuted, and mistreated. The world was not good enough for them! They wandered like refugees in the deserts and hills, living in caves and holes in the ground.”
Hebrews 11:35-38 GNT
“We can’t allow ourselves to get tired of living the right way. Certainly, each of us will receive ⌞everlasting life⌟ at the proper time, if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 GW
“I know your troubles. I know that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things that some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan. Do not be afraid of what will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die. If you are faithful, I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:9-10 ICB
NOTE: This choice requires a COMPELLING faith, not just a CONFESSING faith.
““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21 NIV
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can [that sort of] faith save them? You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
James 2:14, 19 NIV
“…we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,”
Romans 1:5 NASB1995
“but now has been disclosed, and through the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;”
Romans 16:26
- Does my faith compel me to refuse to COMPROMISE regardless of the COST? Y / N
“…But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.”
Hebrews 11:35 NLT
- Does my faith compel me to seek GOD’S APPROVAL over MAN’S APPLAUSE? Y / N
“Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.”
Hebrews 11:36-38 NLT
- Does my faith compel me to be RESOLUTE regardless of the RESULTS? Y / N
“All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”
Hebrews 11:39-40 NLT
““Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our super-spiritual projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’”
— Matthew 7:21-23
“But the person who endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:13 GW
