Faith!
1 Amens
FAITH!
Me.
Finland a small incident occurred that highlighted this truth.
Jyvaskyla to
Turku , about a 6 hour stretch through the Finish country side, and I was just worshipping the Lord with my favourite toy. (Ipod)
Read MoreFaith means trusting in a God we can’t see or touch, for many people outside the four walls of the church this seems like such a foolish concept. But, for even to those sitting in churches all around the world, it’s still seems one of the hardest things to do.
However I challenge you to stop and take an inventory of all the occasions that we had to put our faith solely in Him we’d realise He’s NEVER let us down. (Though He’s got a funny way of always looking like He’s about to make a first)
Faith takes on 2 very significant forms:
1. Trust for the NOW!
2. Vision/expectation for the FUTURE!
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Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways are My ways, says the Lord.”
“For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
God spoke to Job & asked him some very searching questions. I don’t have to read the whole chapter just some of the questions God asks Job. You’ll get the point. Job 38
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer
(Ok, its freak out time!!!)
§ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
§ Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
§ To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the Angels shouted for joy?
§ “Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!’
§ Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken.
§ Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?
§ Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
§ Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. (Feel free to interject when you feel you might have the answer)
§ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, that you may take it to its territory, that you may know the paths to its home?
§ Do you know it, because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is great?
§ By what way is light diffused, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
§ Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt,
§ From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen.
§ Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?
§ Can you bring out Mazzaroth (constellation) in its season?
§ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
§ Can you set their dominion over the earth?
§ Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you?
§ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
§ Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?”
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1) Trust for the NOW!
I want to confess something tonight. I am just like a child who continually lacks Faith in God. Earlier this year when I was in
Kat has a younger family member of only 3 years of age and the way his parents treat him is appalling. He has the complete run of the house. He has an absolute reign on the way everything is run. I watched in complete astonishment as I thought to myself this family is a democracy, than soon learned the error of my judgment, realising its no democracy at all. Because that would have to suggest that everyone has an equal say. But this family is in fact an autocracy and King Kid is in charge. It was even at the point where the parents were no longer willing to deny him anything out of fear, but preferred trying to distract him and bribe him. Whenever this 3 year old wanted something, he wanted it now: If his request is possible the parents obey, but if it’s not possible the parents start trying to bribe and distract him.
He absolutely got what he wanted when he wanted it, how he wanted it.
What’s so unnatural about this picture? Why cant he just have what he wants when he wants how he wants it. Doesn’t he have enough foresight and knowledge of the consequences of all his actions to receive what his own way?
And so there I was observing this little drama playing out and at times enjoying it and at other times feeling entirely frustrated. When all of a sudden I felt the voice of God softly whisper in my ear,
“You know He looks like someone that I often have to deal with!
“Oh, really Lord.” I said: “Do you mean the devil?”
“No, I mean YOU!”
Well I was convinced that I was hearing something wrong. Sometimes I feel like I have got somebody else’s antenna and picking up the wrong signals. (God I can pass that on for You if You like)
I replied immediately “No way! There’s no way I’m like that.”
You can guess what happened next… God wasted little time and proved it. OUCH!
Something so trivial occurred. We were driving from
All of a sudden the stupid thing just broke on me. Completely froze, and I couldn’t work out why. It was relatively new and I hadn’t really dropped it yet. I fiddled with it and pressed every button I could and nothing seemed to help. So I decided to pray. I figured I was worshipping, and this was a distraction, God is pretty much obligated to assist. After all I was about His business.
Well nothing happened… Nothing! So I prayed even more and again nothing happened. Well, I spat the dummy? I prayed over it again and nothing changed.
I prayed even harder & louder because sometimes God seems to show signs of deafness. Nothing happened so I started hitting it and speaking in tongues. A man of faith (Tongues) and power (Hitting) Nothing and I was absolutely furious. This continued for sometime until we arrived at our destination and everyone got out and went for a walk so I decided to join them.
During this little walk I had to ask God to forgive me. I tried to explain myself which never works, so I just said I was sorry and if He wasn’t too busy, and only if He wanted to, and if He wasn’t too mad at me could He pretty, please, fix it.
When I returned I discovered that He had. It was completely fine and in working order.
It was at that moment that the truth dawned on me: I AM AN ABSOLUTE, OFFICIAL, COMPLETE BRAT!!!
Than He dropped this passage from Job into my heart and I realise where I had gone wrong.
Here we are His creation on this Earth He so freely gave. The same earth that we had nothing to do with its beginning or it's conclusions but we’re simply tenants. We have our check in time and our appointed checkout time. So why do I continually look up and level accusations at the Giver of life, posing provocative questions that are intended to question His judgments.
§ Oh God why don’t you fix this, NOW?
§ Oh God why don’t you bless me, NOW?
§ Oh God why are you doing this to me?
§ Oh God what about ME, ME and ME?
Not once, when I can remember, has God ever asked me for advice or accepted one of my suggestions.
We need to hear the Voice of God, if you can give Him an adequate answer to His questions than He shall surrender Himself to your every desire.
Otherwise we have to learn the art of trusting HIM.
§ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
§ Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
§ Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt,
§ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
§ Can you set their dominion over the earth? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
Its simple questions that require simple answers…
Have faith in Him for the now. Rest assured that He knows what He’s doing. He’s been at this game for some time now and He’s had plenty of practice at being God. He’s got it all worked out.
Romans 8:28- 28 “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Maybe we can practice that sometime: Praying according to His will!”
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
It doesn’t say all things are GOOD. Nor does it say all things can be good in and of themselves. It doesn’t even say that all things end up good.
Something’s are just rotten but the WORD says that all things work together for good!
Without the whole package it’s just all bad. But wrap it all up and combine it all together and it all works for your good.
It’s kind of like your cooking the most delicious pasta sauce and Jesus is standing next to you and He is giving you precise instructions as to what to put in the sauce. He’s the one cutting and measuring the ingredients and you just put them in for Him. He is the Master Chef and we are just the obedient little children. Ok, He hands you some diced tomatoes and tells you to put it in the pot. You watch Him turn His back (or so you think) and put a little in your mouth just to see if He knows what He’s really doing. They are sweet and full of flavour so you gleefully put them in the pot. (You think to yourself, “Oh I'm so blessed!”) He than hands you some ground pepper and before you add it to the sauce you put a teaspoon of it in your mouth and your mouth explodes with a shocking, peppery ambush, you cry out as you spit it right across the room: “That’s disgusting; I can’t believe You want me to put that in there!”
He calmly says: “Just put it in and trust Me.”.
Than He hands you a diced onion and asks you to put it in also. Well not learning from your past mistakes, and seeing that your trust in Him is a little tainted, you take a mouthful just to see what it’s like and you are met with another mouth ravishing response from your taste buds. And the same dialogue ensues.
“Jesus, I was convinced that you only meant me good! I though You loved me!!!”
He softly replies: “My child, you are going to have to trust me, and I assure you it will all work out.”
The same thing occurs with the garlic.
Than He hands you a tiny amount of finely diced red stuff: You are intrigued because it looks a little like the tomatoes earlier just a lot less. You put a little in your mouth because by now you just can’t trust Him to make these decisions for you. As it touches your tongue you eyes begin to water and your face turns bright red… It was raw chilli… now your mouth and taste buds aren’t just offended anymore they are directly assaulted by what Jesus, isn’t only allowing in your life, but He’s seems to be intentionally trying to hurt you.
God is taking your life and trying to create a perfect symphony of flavour but sometimes all our faith allows us to see is how terrible things can be without understanding that ALL things work together for GOOD! Have faith in God!!! Trust Him in the NOW!!!
You may be chewing on garlic or pepper right now and it’s revolting, absolutely disgusting and you just can’t understand why God seems so silent.
Or just maybe you’re sucking the chilli. It’s not just a foul taste anymore its burning pain and searing agony. All you want to do is scream out to the heavens: “Oh God where are you!”
Hold on children of God for your salvation draws near.
There are countless people who endure the worst life can throw at them and yet they still get up and proclaim God’s goodness. I have a friend in hospital right now suffering from tremendous burns to the majority of her body and I heard the words flow from her very mouth: “God has worked it out for good!”
Mike Gugglielmucci openly told us right here on this platform that he wouldn’t trade these last 10 months of crippling cancer that has consumed his body for anything in the world… Why? Because God makes all things work together for good.
When He told us He would make all things work together for good it wasn’t some empty promise to keep you quiet He was serious. He isn’t so interested in your temporary happiness; He’s interested in your eternal happiness.
It seems everyone wants to ask that stupid question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
And it seems everyone wants to try and preach an answer.
Here’s the answer: It’s the wrong question. The question isn’t ‘why’, its ‘what’.
Instead of asking God ‘why’ ask Him what He’s trying to produce in you. Ask Him what He’s trying to teach you. Ask Him what He wants you to do with what you have. He can handle the why you just ask Him the WHAT!
(Steve Penny asked this question at his sone funeral.)
Hold on children of God for your salvation draws near. Faith is the key. It will always work together for good and than you’ll praise Him eternally for His wisdom and foresight. ‘JUST PUT IT IN THE POT!’
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2) Vision/expectation for the FUTURE!
NOW FAITH IS!!!
Heb 11:1
‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is the assurance, expectation and confidence that He is hearing your every prayer and that He will answer.
Real faith believes that He is moved by your supplication. Real faith has the audacity to believe that the God of all creation has heard your cry and is on the move. Real faith moves heaven and Earth for the glory of God.
“Now faith is…” When is faith??? It’s now! It effects tomorrow and lives in the now! Faith is immediate and requires our immediate attention. It’s among the most challenging things in the world, but always the most rewarding!!!
When God is engaged through faith… (Not just through measly, impotent prayer, He is bound by His own promise to act on your behalf.
Ø “How much power does faith have?”
The answer is another question:
Ø “How much power does God have?”
How often are we guilty of practicing selective faith? I mean many of us have no problems accepting our salvation by faith or our forgiveness… But when asked to exercise our faith for healing, or even worse someone else’s healing, our faith has packed its bags and left. What about when praying for unsaved loved ones, or even revival, do we just look at a distant point in time and think; ‘one day it might happen?’
I want to tell you that’s not how God operates. The bible says that He is the “God who quickens the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Rom 4
If you’re just sitting there muttering vain repetitions minute after minute, hour after hour… with little or no expectation that God actually might do as you have asked: STOP IT! Your prayers are mocking God and wasting your time. He’s not interested unless you actually believe He can and will do what your asking. “Without faith, it’s impossible to please Him!” Heb 11
God’s hands are poised, ready to pounce at the first sniff of faith but all He hears is hope and hope is not faith… Never has been and never will be!
People say stupid things like: “Well we’re just believing that one day God might help us out… Well we’re just holding on till He comes back. We’re just bearing our burdens now.”
Just shut up!!!
How many of our prayers are asked under the disguise of faith, yet in reality they are just hope filled utterances that have no power to move God or heaven. He never promises to respond to hope but He does promise to respond to faith even seeming insignificant amounts of it and He will bow down from heaven and move mountains at just the sniff of it.
It’s kind of like God is bowing over the balcony of heaven just waiting for someone to engage Him in faith. He’s not looking for ability, talent, gifting, charisma, knowledge or anything like that… HE IS ACHING FOR SOMEONE TO CHALLENGE HIM TO MOVE THROUGH FAITH! He’ll come and fill your every desire when you have the guts to put it all on the line and just believe He’ll do it…
That’s the kind of thing REVIVAL hinges on. Not vain, impotent, helpless hope, but some one, and it just has to be one, having the guts to take Him at His word and having the nerve to hold on to Him because He promised He’d answer. Someone who will have the audacity to put all their eggs in this one basket and level their requests at the King of Glory and stand their ground until He delivers on His promises???
That’s the stuff revivals are made of!!!
Comments:
Craig C. Ireland
Blessings
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