You've Got To Believe

Pastor Tim Howard
January 23, 2010

I like to watch the Arizona Cardinals play football. Kurt Warner is a quality quarterback who provides a great example for people to follow and he knows how to win in the playoffs. I believe in that team! When they defeated the Green Bay Packers a couple of weeks ago, however, I had my doubts. The score was tied at 45 to 45 when regulation time ran out. Both teams had shown tremendous resilience and both offensive units were able to score at will. The referee flipped the coin when overtime was about to begin and Green Bay won the toss. My heart sank and my mind quickly succumbed to doubt. Then, in the stands I saw a sign held up by a Cardinals fan that said: “YOU’VE GOT TO BELIEVE”.

In the game of football, our beliefs are rather harmless but in the weightier matters of life, what you believe will deeply affect you and others. A person makes decisions on the basis of their belief system. What you believe will direct your steps and determine your future reality. If you believe the truth and act upon it, the Bible tells you that you will experience freedom, life and fruitfulness. If you believe a lie and act upon it, you will reap other consequences that can lead to devastation.

Adam and Eve believed a lie. Read Genesis chapter three and you will discover that their decision to disobey God’s commandment was rooted in their failure to believe His words. God had created a garden for them to live in and enjoy forever. They were allowed access to every part of this wonderful creation with the exception of one small area. If this directive wasn’t followed, they were told to expect serious consequences, which included death. It would seem to be more than gracious and loving but even though they heard His instructions Eve was the first to disobey and Adam followed. Both yielded to the voice of temptation.

Have you ever heard the voice of temptation? It always conveys a lie and leads you to believe in something that will hinder your progress and derail your life. It always promises more than it delivers and causes more problems than solutions. Lies come in various forms but the voice of temptation will say and sound something like this: “Go ahead, no one will ever find out! It’s a good thing, everybody is doing it! What two consenting adults do is nobody’s business and it won’t hurt anyone! The goal justifies the means! If it feels good, it must be right!” This voice is being heard every day.

Some people insist on believing what they want to believe regardless of the truth. In the comic strip called Born Loser I laughed when one man was speaking to another man and said: “I’ll say this for you, my boy, you are a man of conviction, even when you are absolutely positively flat out wrong, you refuse to recognize it!”

YOU’VE GOT TO BELIEVE but make sure your beliefs are rooted in truth since your actions follow the path of your beliefs. There was a television game show years ago called Truth or Consequences, which was enjoyable, but life isn’t a game and there are consequences when you don’t embrace truth. When you base your decisions on God’s directives, however, you will build a bright future.