Church Of The Harvest | Sermon Podcast | Cleveland, TN · Word Of Life Ministries - Church of the Harvest

What does it mean to believe - Pastor Tim Salley

·51 min·3 clips

Believeth is continual trust, not a one-time act.

1. Church Of The Harvest | Sermon Podcast | Cleveland, TN centers on Pastor Tim Salley’s reading of 1 John 5 and his question, "What does it mean to believe?" 2. Pastor Tim Salley serves as preacher and interpreter, using the King James text, personal stories, and side comments about Pastor Barb to explain the passage. 3. The sermon asks whether "believe" means intellectual agreement or a lived, ongoing trust that changes conduct. 4. Salley divides 1 John 5 into four sections: the foundation of faith and victory, the witness of Christ, confidence in prayer, and the warning about idols. 5. He says verse 1 through 5 teaches that "everyone born of God overcomes the world" and that "this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." 6. He says verses 6 through 12 present Jesus Christ as the one who came "by water and blood," with "the spirit, the water, and the blood" agreeing in testimony. 7. He emphasizes that Jesus is both "totally 100% God" and "totally 100% man," and says he likes looking at "the man side of Jesus." 8. He says verses 13 through 17 give confidence in prayer, especially the promise that God hears petitions made "according to his will." 9. He says verses 18 through 21 warn that "the whole world is under the control of the evil one" and end with "keep yourselves from idols." 10. He pauses on the word "whosoever," defining it as a formal pronoun that means "whoever" or "any person" and "without exception." 11. He says that definition tests his belief system when the word applies to people carrying "unspeakable" experiences or offenses. 12. He tells a story about a childhood-era mouse problem and a joke about mouse eggs hatching, using it to show how belief can be claimed without being true. 13. He says "believeth" in the King James wording signals a continual, habitual action of trusting Jesus Christ rather than a one-time act. 14. He contrasts that with people in the South who say "I believe" but, in his view, do not show a born-again walk. 15. He says a believer wants to keep God’s commandments and that the commandments are "not grievous," meaning they do not cause great pain, suffering, or sorrow. 16. He describes confidence in prayer as reliance on God, not self-confidence, and says believers can ask "anything according to his will" because He hears them. 17. He tells a long story about arriving at the wrong side of a building, then uses it to contrast getting people into the church with getting them into "the presence of God." 18. He says the truly dangerous sin is continual rejection of the Holy Ghost’s drawing until death, while someone afraid they have committed the unpardonable sin is showing that the Spirit is still speaking to them. 19. The tone mixes teaching, humor, and pointed correction, with a conversational delivery that shifts between Bible explanation and personal testimony. 20. Listeners who want a detailed 1 John 5 sermon with practical application will fit this episode, while listeners wanting a brief devotional may skip it.

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