As Christians, we are called to faith,
Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) – Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
We are challenged on a daily basis to believe, to have faith, to invest in the future that we cannot see. If there is one thing that we endure as Christians, it would be the ridicule of this world about faith. To be honest, it is probably one of the toughest assignments that God has given humans. If I ask you to be honest, you will probably be struggling with an area of your faith right now, or at least remember a time when you did. So is faith rewarded? Is it necessary? In this fleeting world, can we believe?
1 Peter 1:24-25 (AMP) – For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word [the good news of salvation] which was preached to you.
As this scripture says, we live in a temporary world, where we live temporary lives, with temporary needs. How do we then evaluate God’s infinite and eternal wisdom and plan? How can we consider things we don’t know and include things we don’t understand? When you accept that God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, has heard your petition, then I can confidently and honestly say Yes!! I can personally vouch that faith does not only reward, but it overwhelms the practitioner.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) – Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].
If ever you believed in something - believe in the following:
Romans 10:11 (AMP) – For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].”
2 Peter 3:8-9 (AMP) – Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
If we read this the wrong way, it would seem that God is your butler, genie and safety net. At the snap of your finger, He will grant you your wish. All you have to do is believe! Sounds like the Bible is another version of the law of attraction. If we go down this track, Christians don’t have to be sick, struggle with money, experience heartbreak, disappointment, and will always get the promotion…
Philippians 4:19 (AMP) – And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
If we read things out of context, it does seem that way, doesn’t it? I mean that is what it says…
Not really. Not at all. Not in the slightest. Not even close.
In a previous post (Why do we need to struggle?) I make the case that we are the created and that God is the creator. He is not there to make our lives comfortable or better, we are here to practice what we will do in heaven. That means that we will have to endure until we have learned the lesson.
We are here to glorify His name, He is not here to make sure you get what you want.
So what is the truth?
Galatians 2:16 (AMP) – yet we know that a man is not justified [and placed in right standing with God] by works of the Law, but [only] through faith in [God’s beloved Son,] Christ Jesus. And even we [as Jews] have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty].
As a reborn Christian, (insert your name here ______) I believe and have faith in my salvation, I believe that I have received God’s forgiveness for my sins. That’s the basics, it’s like a qualification statement to being a Christian.
Romans 10:9-10 (AMP) – because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.
That is faith sorted out, isn’t it? Done. I’m born again, saved, tadaaa…
No.
It is the beginning of faith, the first step…
Galatians 3:11 (AMP) – Now it is clear that no one is justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing] before God by the Law, for “The righteous (the just, the upright) shall live by faith.”
This means something else. Living in faith is not a once-off checkbox thing. It means that now we will start to follow Jesus, His teachings, obey His instruction, and submit to His will. We need to GROW!!
James 2:17-18 (AMP) – So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]. But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].”
Christianity is a show me and not tell me system.
By relinquishing our own selfish (sinful) desires, and adopting the much more difficult path of following Jesus, we will start to see God’s plan for ourselves, for the earth, for humanity. It is when we “discover” God all around us that we receive faith by believing more and more.
Hebrews 11:6 (AMP) – But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.
That does sound strange. I will learn to have more faith by believing more…
2 Corinthians 4:18 (AMP) – So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.
Yes, you will begin to change, you will start seeing past the obvious. You will start understanding. As these things are revealed to you and become more and clearer, understanding will lead to TRUST!!!
John 5:24 (AMP) – “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.
John 12:44 (AMP) – But Jesus loudly declared, “The one who believes and trusts in Me does not believe [only] in Me but [also believes] in Him who sent Me.
Trust comes from the discovery that Jesus died for your sins before you were born before you knew His name before you accepted Him. He already paid the price in full (Past tense). Trust comes from realizing that God LOVES YOU!!! Trust comes from acknowledging that you breathe based on His Grace, your heart beats because He wills it to. Trust comes from realizing that God chose you, He created you, he supplies for you, He grants you this life to prepare for His eternal Kingdom, where you will be one of His children forever.
This trust yields only one outcome – gratitude. Through gratitude, we start…
2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP) – And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
It is through this cycle of transformation that God reveals Himself, His plan for you, your absolutely amazing future and His unrelenting favor on you and your life.
When you are here; you can read…
Philippians 4:19 (AMP) – And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
From this perspective, this text is absolutely true…
God will supply your every heart’s desire because your heart will be in harmony with His will. You will seek things in your life that would glorify Him. You will seek things that would carry the gospel forward. You will seek things that would help others.
Your requests will be based on the value most important to God.
LOVE
Originally posted on - https://discoveringgod491609808.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/from-faith-to-t...
Anton van den Berg is a normal person. I have no specialized theological training but I have led a life of hard and tough lessons. Like silver, I had to be taken to the furnace to get rid of a lot of impurities. In that process, I have learned to let certain things go, and to attach to other values. These posts represent some of the pivotal growth-moments in that journey. I hope that it would assist you on your journey in some way. May God Almighty, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit be with you.