Sermons on faith
and applauding characters from the Bible who demonstrated faith are easy but
exercising our own faith, in reality, is when we fumble and stumble a lot. Let
us remind ourselves what the Bible says, “But without faith it
is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him.”. Hebrews 11:6. Faith is not a cheap commodity to
be purchased over the counter. Only believing Jesus is the son of God who died
for our sins on the cross of Calvary, buried and rose again, according to the
scripture, will our faith in Him be strengthened. More often than not,
God will put us to test in order to bring stability in our faith. But
passing through rough times and facing crisis, tempts us to look into known
places to get some help. And we expect God to rescue us from the crisis from
the very help we have targeted to receive from. That is not faith. It is good
to acknowledge that God will constantly keep us in the edge of crisis, if that
is His will, in order to build our faith. Faith is the utmost thing
in Christian’s life. Paul says "for we walk by faith, not by
sight.". 2 Corinthians 5:7
At one point the
apostles realized this too. They desperately need their faith to be increased.
Hence, they earnestly pleaded "Lord increase our faith", Luke
17:5. They were with the master all the time, witnessing miracles
performed almost every day by Jesus their master, but nevertheless they aptly
realized that if they need to exist when Christ is not around, then what they
need is faith alone. Soon after Christ’s ascension they started putting
their faith on the spoken words of Jesus, that changed their world upside down,
which is true then and now. Sadly, today faith is substituted by in
numerous tangibles. Do you wish to pray and make the same request
like the apostles? He would, grant your request if you really
mean it. Jesus promised, "For everyone who asks
receives...". Matthew 7:8 CSB. When
Paul summarized after speaking about spiritual gifts puts faith at the top
of the list, 1 Corinthians 13:13, "Three things will last
forever - faith, hope and love.".
We always want to
know the certainty of our tomorrows; wish and ensure we have enough money to
sustain our future. The truth is more than putting our faith in God we put our
faith in our money, our bank balances and our accrued wealth and in some cases
our donors. Christian journey is all about faith and not prosperity.
Therefore, how much ever you try to incorporate views and philosophies equating
blessings to prosperity you will lose ground. If you put self-reliance above
faith, you are sure to run into problems. God will one day strip all the tangibles
we rested our hope upon and discipline us to put our faith in Christ and walk
in faith alone. Refrain from trying to be safe without faith. Nothing like
that exists. Donald English puts it beautifully, "We go for
safety in faith . . . We build up our security while serving the Lord who went
by death to resurrection. The result is a narrowing of the power of the gospel,
and of our perception of its possibilities. . . A safe church or an individual
are rarely an influential one.”.
Jesus made a
disappointing statement when He said, "I tell you that he will
swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he
find faith on earth?” Luke 18:8 CSB. The reason I think
He made this statement is because He foresaw that anything could be made
possible for man in this age due to increase in knowledge (Daniel 12:4).
Digital breakthroughs, commodities and merchandise are making all things
possible for man. Today, faith is also a business. Do not forget this, at the
end He is looking for faith in you. Harry Blamires warns with these
words, “We must not exploit our faith by advertising it as a technique
for achieving earthly satisfactions. The Faith is not a recipe and not a
program. It is a Way. Recipes and programs are made to help you carry out
earthly jobs successfully. But a way is something you walk in.”. Make
faith your lifestyle.
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