(This past Monday my pastor contacted me with the thought that it might be good to have some other perspectives on our ongoing study of the Book of Romans. With that in mind he asked if I would care to take a look at Romans chapter 12 and see if something caught my attention that I could give a short 5 to 8 minute message on. He would then cover the rest of the chapter in a full length sermon. The following is the message I presented)
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
The measure of faith. Interesting term. If I read this correctly, God deals out, or measures out a specific amount of faith to each person. And by that I mean that each person may not receive the same amount of faith.
That faith is a gift of God is shown several places is scripture. For instance:
1 Corinthians 12:8-9 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
We tend to look at faith as something that is ours in that it comes from within us. Sometimes this has the potential of being a source of false pride. In fact, if we add Ephesians 2: 9 to verse 8 it reads "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." It is true. If your faith came from somewhere inside yourself, then you would have something to boast of.
But that God gives this gift of faith in differing amounts is a thought that may be even more foreign to many of us but is made quite clear in the Bible. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus used the phrase "Oh ye of little faith"? Often he was speaking to his apostles and he said it many times.
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
We read that verse and see great faith, though Jesus calls it as small as a mustard seed. Then there is the story of the centurion:
Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Have you ever looked upon another Christian (perhaps a pastor or a missionary) in awe, thinking they have such great faith. That may explain why we tend to assume that faith is something we generate; seeing someone with more faith shows us our own lack. So we blame ourselves. But maybe the truth is we were not dealt the the same measure of faith.
So if God deals out the faith to us and he gives each person a differing amount does that mean we are "off the hook" so to speak? After all, if God only gave us so much faith, then isn't it natural for us to only act in accordance with that faith. Maybe.... But on the other hand we also see from scripture that the amount of faith we have is not a constant, unchanging amount.
Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
The apostles obviously knew where the faith came from, and who to ask for more. And that it is possible to get more is also shown in scriptures.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
"Faith that groweth exceedingly". Wow, I want some of that!
It is pretty clear that faith is extremely important.
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Yes, that makes faith extremely important. Scary important in fact. But there is one more verse that gives me a lot of comfort when I contemplate these things.
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
That means God will not change his mind or take his gifts back. Some Bible versions use the word irrevocable in place of "without repentance". That means that this faith that Romans 12: 3 tells us is a gift, this faith which 1 Peter 1: 5 says God will use to keep you unto salvation, is something he will not change his mind about. Whatever the measure he has dealt you.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
The measure of faith. Interesting term. If I read this correctly, God deals out, or measures out a specific amount of faith to each person. And by that I mean that each person may not receive the same amount of faith.
That faith is a gift of God is shown several places is scripture. For instance:
1 Corinthians 12:8-9 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
We tend to look at faith as something that is ours in that it comes from within us. Sometimes this has the potential of being a source of false pride. In fact, if we add Ephesians 2: 9 to verse 8 it reads "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." It is true. If your faith came from somewhere inside yourself, then you would have something to boast of.
But that God gives this gift of faith in differing amounts is a thought that may be even more foreign to many of us but is made quite clear in the Bible. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus used the phrase "Oh ye of little faith"? Often he was speaking to his apostles and he said it many times.
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
We read that verse and see great faith, though Jesus calls it as small as a mustard seed. Then there is the story of the centurion:
Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Have you ever looked upon another Christian (perhaps a pastor or a missionary) in awe, thinking they have such great faith. That may explain why we tend to assume that faith is something we generate; seeing someone with more faith shows us our own lack. So we blame ourselves. But maybe the truth is we were not dealt the the same measure of faith.
So if God deals out the faith to us and he gives each person a differing amount does that mean we are "off the hook" so to speak? After all, if God only gave us so much faith, then isn't it natural for us to only act in accordance with that faith. Maybe.... But on the other hand we also see from scripture that the amount of faith we have is not a constant, unchanging amount.
Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
The apostles obviously knew where the faith came from, and who to ask for more. And that it is possible to get more is also shown in scriptures.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
"Faith that groweth exceedingly". Wow, I want some of that!
It is pretty clear that faith is extremely important.
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Yes, that makes faith extremely important. Scary important in fact. But there is one more verse that gives me a lot of comfort when I contemplate these things.
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
That means God will not change his mind or take his gifts back. Some Bible versions use the word irrevocable in place of "without repentance". That means that this faith that Romans 12: 3 tells us is a gift, this faith which 1 Peter 1: 5 says God will use to keep you unto salvation, is something he will not change his mind about. Whatever the measure he has dealt you.
There are a lot of places for a Knuckle to leak oil. Here is a pretty easy and basic tip for assembling Knuckle heads that may help eliminate one.
One thing I see a lot when I dissasemble Knuck heads is that once you remove the rocker boxes, often the lower spring covers (cups) will be loose. Since said cups are held in place by the valve guides, it is an indication that the guide has moved slightly. Obviously if that cup is loose there is nothing to keep oil from running out the bottom.
Lip on guide
What is not so apparent is that the replacement parts available today can be part of the problem! A stock OEM valve guide had a shoulder that measured approximatley .103". The stock OEM lower spring collar had a counterbore in the bottom of it that was approximately .093" deep. That means (if my math skills are still intact) the valve spring would put full spring pressure on the guide, holding it tight down on the cup, and in turn the cup tight down on the head.
Counterbore on lower collar
Unfortunatley, the likelyhood of finding a stock OEM guide is about the same as you stumbling on Elvis' personal Harley (signed under the seat: with love, Prissila). Besides, even if you found the guides, they wouldn't really be the ideal material for use with todays fuels. So it is a given that you will be using reproduction guides.
Here's the problem, though. A typical reproduction valve guide will have a lip that measures only approximately .092". Those of you with higher math skills (or a calculator handy) already see the problem. That's right. The lower collar will no longer hold the guide down, so if the guide moves at all there is nothing to keep the oil from seeping under the lip of the guide and through the guide hole in the cup. True there is still spring pressure on the cup (since the lower collar is now setting on the cup instead of the guide) but that presssure is not concentrated as it should be.
My solution is to machine abut .010" off the bottom of the lower collar. I also use aircraft grade Permatex on both sides of the gaskets that go under the cups, as well as Three-Bond sealer under the lip of the guide itself. While it may be next to impossible to prevent every bit of oil seepage from your Knuckle top end, everything you can do to prevent it is a step in the right direction!
This Sunday morning our pastor continued his series in the book of Romans. The subject was that of being a slave. The text was Romans chapters 6 and 7. One of the most profound statements found in this section of scripture is that every one of us is a slave. Either a slave of God, or a slave of sin.
Romans 6:16-18 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Another point was about the "benifits package" that comes with being the property of either of these owners. Romans 6: 20-22 spells this out; For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
If the matter of who one would choose to serve was simply a matter weighing the benifits, then there is little doubt that everyone would choose to serve God. Holiness in this life, and everlasting life at the end. Pretty much a "no brainer" compared to the alternative of continueing in sin with death as the end. Unfortunatley the unbeliever has little desire for holiness in this life and no real faith that there is anything after death.
The last point Pastor Voigt had (among other points that I have not mentioned) was that of of the saved being more than slaves in God's eyes. In John 15:15 Jesus said: Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
And again in 1 John 3: 1 the bible says: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
For myself, I feel unbeleivably blessed to be a slave of God, unprofitable though I am. To be called a friend? That is overpowering. And to be called a son? There just are no words! What a wonderful, kind, merciful God of grace we have!
Romans 6:16-18 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Another point was about the "benifits package" that comes with being the property of either of these owners. Romans 6: 20-22 spells this out; For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
If the matter of who one would choose to serve was simply a matter weighing the benifits, then there is little doubt that everyone would choose to serve God. Holiness in this life, and everlasting life at the end. Pretty much a "no brainer" compared to the alternative of continueing in sin with death as the end. Unfortunatley the unbeliever has little desire for holiness in this life and no real faith that there is anything after death.
The last point Pastor Voigt had (among other points that I have not mentioned) was that of of the saved being more than slaves in God's eyes. In John 15:15 Jesus said: Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
And again in 1 John 3: 1 the bible says: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
For myself, I feel unbeleivably blessed to be a slave of God, unprofitable though I am. To be called a friend? That is overpowering. And to be called a son? There just are no words! What a wonderful, kind, merciful God of grace we have!
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