How much faith do you really have? Do you have the faith of a mustard seed? In Luke chapter 18 it says, “When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?”
I don’t think there is much doubt that we are living in the last days. It is kind of like a little kid waiting for Christmas, he thinks it is never going to get here but it finally does and the waiting is over. Jesus is coming back and that is a fact and we need to be ready. The question is will He find faith on the earth? There is a lot of talk about faith and there are many books written on the subject but how much is really demonstrated.
Think about the world system it seems like the enemy has come in like a flood and very little is being done about it. Many church buildings stand empty ready to be sold. Christians seem so discouraged and in despair, there seems to be very little joy and excitement in their hearts. It is easy to look at the church you are attending and think we are doing fine and we are growing, but what about the individual person are they growing and think about yourself are you growing or are you existing or just stagnating?
What I would like you to do is look at the church as one body around the United States and beyond because the real church is universal not just one building, and to be precise, it is not a building at all, it is the believers that occupy the building. Think of these things that are and have already taken place and where is the outcry from the church? Prayer has been all but banded in our schools, the gay marriage bill has just been passed in NY State and other states as well. Abortion has been legalized, gambling, prostitution, evolution are running rampant and many Christians are buying into it. Our judicial system is corrupt, most of our government leaders can’t be trusted. Our rights are being taken away, it seems like every day, and the list goes on and on and, like I said, where is the outcry from the church?
I know this isn’t a ‘feel good’ message but it is the truth, every believer needs to hear. Like I have said in other lessons, it is not what we want to hear that is the most important, many times it is what we need to hear and hide in our hearts that are the most important. If you feel like you’re being convicted by this message you’re not alone I am right in the boat with you, so to speak.
Is faith just an idle word? No, faith is an action word, left to itself it will accomplish nothing but if applied in, and through, our lives the sky is the limit. Doubt will accomplish nothing! If the church would rise up as a unit and apply just a mustard seed size faith to any kind of situation, it would be accomplished.
Is faith believing in God? I think that is part of it but I think you have to go further and believe that God will do it. When you pray, believe that God will answer, not just that He can if He wants to.
Think of David and Goliath’s situation. In this situation Saul, the King of Israel, and his whole army were being taunted by a Philistine soldier who was called Goliath, who looked like a giant to them. Because of doubt they were very scared. Then a shepherd boy comes on the scene, his name was David. But this young shepherd boy had something none of the rest of them had! David had a strong faith and he loved the Lord. He must have thought it was strange to see all these seasoned soldiers scared of this one man. To make a long story short he put his faith into action and ran out and faced the giant. This reminds me of something you probably have heard, ‘The bigger they are the harder they fall.’ David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” You can read about it in 1 Samuel 17.
David said it, he believed it, and he did it with the Lord’s help and that is what I call faith being applied. If this isn’t enough to boost your faith into action, read the faith chapter in Hebrews 11. Then we need to do what David, and so many others have done, that is to start applying our faith to every situation in our lives. Then what we think are giants that stand in our way will start to crumble and fall and we will be victorious like David was with the power of the Lord with us.
Praise the Lord and have a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment