By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #279 ~
What a convicting, challenging, instructive verse! There will be birth pains in the end-times – wars, famines, earthquakes, plagues – and Christians need faith. This is especially true in those last few years before the coming of Christ, for that devilish Antichrist will be ruling the earth and Christians will be greatly persecuted. But no matter when we live, we need faith to walk with God, to be strong, and to carry out His work. The truths I am sharing with you about faith are for every Christian, now and in the future.
* What is faith? It means you are looking to God, you are seeking Him. (Ps. 105:4, Heb. 11:6). It means you are trusting God – you are believing Him, depending on Him, and you are not trusting yourself, others, or idols. The result is that you are spiritually connected to God, you have this relationship with Him. A person who has faith is humble, he knows that he needs God, that he can’t live without Him (Ps. 34:4-10). A person who has faith is trusting God’s word, for it’s the basis of faith, and a key for growing in faith. He’s believing God’s truth, obeying His commands, and believing His promises. “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.” Psalm 56:3-4
* Faith is essential. It’s not optional. In fact, God commands you to have faith: “Have faith in God.” (Mk. 11:23). Just as you need food to physically live, so too you need faith to spiritually live. Your entire Christian life is to be lived by faith. “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6). “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). “… He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” (Eph. 3:16-19). Faith is the only way you can be saved, can please God, can be strong, can know Christ and His love, can do His work, and can be rewarded. “We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
* Keys to faith: a) God’s word: “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). When God’s word is in your heart, then the Spirit enables you to believe, to have faith in God. b) God’s character: “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You” (Ps. 9:10). You must know who God is and what He is like if you are to trust Him, to rely on Him. c) Humility: “As for the proud one, his soul is not right within him, but the righteous will live by his faith.” A humble person is needy and knows that only God can meet his needs, and so he trusts Him. d) Examples of others: “In speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:11). Learn about faith by observing the lives of godly people. e) Examples in God’s word: “By faith Abel… By faith Enoch… By faith Abraham… By faith Isaac… By faith Moses” (Heb. 11). You can also learn from the many Biblical examples of people who had faith. f) Prayer: “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mk 9:24). As a believer, you have faith, but you need to ask God to take away your unbelief and give you more faith.
* Faith, little faith, and great faith. In the gospels, Jesus talks about these three kinds of faith. Little-faith people are usually spiritually young, fearful, worried, or self-centered (Matt. 6:30, 8:26, 14:31, 17:20). We all begin the Christian life with a little faith, but should we not become ones who have great faith? There is no doubt that God wants you to keep growing in faith so that you have great faith. Matthew 8:10, 15:28
* You are in the school of faith. The gospels give all these stories of Jesus teaching His disciples to have faith. Yes, they failed, but Jesus was patient with them, and they learned. (Matt. 6:30, 8:5-13, 8:23-27, 9:20-23, 9:26-33, 14:25-33, 15:21-28, 16:8, 17:14-17; Luke 5:17-20, 7:36-50, 8:49-56, 17:11-19; John 9:35-38, 11:25-26). This abundance of stories about faith is evidence of its immense importance. Without question, God is teaching you to have faith, and He’s the perfect teacher, using relationships, work, trials, weaknesses, sickness, persecution, etc. Learn from Him, for He’s daily teaching you to trust Him – “… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Get your eyes off yourself and look to the Master and believe Him.
* Trials are designed to build your faith. Though trials can be difficult and distressing, you must understand that they are necessary. (1 Pet. 1:6-7). Trials are one of the primary ways God teaches you about faith, and about persevering faith. “The testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-12). He has designed trials to make you realize that you can’t get through life on your own strength. “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). You need God every single day. “Trust in God at all times” (Ps. 62:8). Instead of relying on yourself, rely on God, abide in Him, always be looking to Him for the strength you need.
* The result of faith is life, eternal life. By faith, Christ dwells in your heart and then lives through you. Like Enoch, you will walk with God and have a close relationship with Him. You will be filled with the Spirit and have all the power you need to live the Christian life. You will be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. You will have everything you need pertaining to life and godliness – you will be a partaker of the divine nature, sharing in the very life and purpose of Christ. The result of faith is a godly and supernatural life – there’s character, wisdom, endurance, and eternal blessings, and a most satisfying, God-glorifying life. James 1:2-12, 1 Pet. 1:5-7, Rom. 5:3-5, Gal. 2:20, Gal. 5:22
* The importance of persevering faith. Prophecy passages warn us about great evil and great tribulation in the end times – and none of us can imagine how extremely hard it will be. The key to living for God in these days is persevering faith. It’s continually trusting and relying on God, whether it’s for your daily bread, or because family members have turned against you, or because you are about to be martyred. It’s your faith in God that enables you to keep loving and living for Him no matter how you feel or how difficult it is. By faith, you won’t give up, you’ll keep rejoicing, you’ll keep sharing the gospel, you’ll keep loving the saints, you’ll persevere until you die or are raptured. And you’ll also be asking God for justice, for you know that the Lord Jesus will be coming soon to rapture the believers, pour out His wrath, and reign over this world. Remember these verses – “Do not fret because of evil men… for like the grass why will soon wither… Trust in the Lord and do good” (Ps. 37:1-3). No matter what happens, trust and do good!
* A key aspect of faith is hope, is believing God’s word about the future. Having hope means you’re expecting God to bless you after you leave earth and are in heaven. This hope, this conviction that God has an amazing future for you, is an essential component for being able to live successfully for the Lord in the end-times. Learn from the believers spoken of in Hebrews 11 – they persevered, they kept believing that God would fulfill His promises to them about the life to come. And for the Christian, what is this hope, what are some of His promises to you about the future? You will see Jesus, be with other believers, be in heaven, be glorified, be greatly rewarded, and reign with Christ over this earth. Job 19:25-27, 1 Cor. 15:42-44, Col. 3:23-24, Heb.12:22-24, Rev. 5:10
* The most important result of faith is that God will be glorified. Whatever you go through, it’s for God’s glory – and the key to seeing God’s glory is believing Him. Jesus told us, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God” (Luke 11:4, 40). Your ultimate purpose is not about you, but about God being exalted and glorified. Believe in God, and you’ll see His glory on earth and when you are in heaven. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13
Whether you are alive at the coming of Christ or not, you must have faith. I cannot overemphasize the necessity and importance of faith. And let me say – now is the time to grow in faith, to be going from a little-faith person to a great-faith person. Be learning God’s word, be humble, grow in your knowledge of Christ, be passing the tests of faith, learn from others, and keep asking God for more faith. Indeed, it’s a great time to be alive! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understand, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight” all the way to heaven. Proverbs 3:5-6
P.S. We do so many things to physically take care of ourselves, but might you be tending to your spiritual needs, and faith in God is one of your greatest needs. Here are two more posts I would encourage you to read: “You Need Hope to Get Through Life”, and “Don’t Get Mad at the Government – Trust God.”