And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account, (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth, (Luke 18:8)? So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22). The disciples are astonished that a certain fig tree has shriveled and died overnight after Jesus spoke reprovingly to it. Yet Jesus does not say what I think some people would have liked for Him to have said. He does not apologize for hurting a precious creation of nature. He simply acknowledges that yes, He did this thing, and He did it with His faith. In older translations of the Bible, His words read: “Have the faith of God.” But certain Christians will fight you to the death if you try to use that translation. Tell me, what is the difference? What kind of faith does God have? To briefly respond, His faith never fails. He receives what He believes, and what He says comes to pass. Yet, if we accept “Have faith in God,” aren’t we requiring ourselves to have the very same faith God has? Or are we allowed to doubt Him a bit? I challenge you. Have the faith of God! And don’t apologize for it!
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And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? There are all kinds of ways for healing to be “acquired.” One is by asking for it in prayer. That kind of praying acknowledges that you don’t know you have already been healed by the stripes of Jesus; it means you are still a baby Christian, and as such, God answers your prayers. Another way is by the Word of God. You have learned that you can collect many Scriptures on healing, recite them to the sickness afflicting you, and command the sickness to leave. I’ve known people to be healed by taking communion. They are ones with deep affection for the Body and Blood of Jesus and trust the elements to convey His blessing. I like receiving my healings by speaking to the sickness and commanding it to leave in the name of Jesus. That name carries all power in the universe, and I like using it. But Mark associates healing with faith. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." (Mark 5:34). Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road (Mark 10:52). I don’t need to recount these two stories because the statements of Jesus explain the Truth. Your faith has made you well. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? Mark, being the stalwart soldier in the Lord’s army that he is, doesn’t mince words. The next thing he says about faith is to correlate no faith with fear. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" (Mark 4:40-41). Jesus had been teaching to crowds all day. Even when they got into the boat, little boats scrambled to follow them. He must have been exhausted. We have to keep in mind that He was here as a man, not as God. He put His deity aside in order to demonstrate how to live as a man yet do the exploits of God because the Holy Spirit filled Him. We also have the Holy Spirit living in us and what Jesus did, He said we should do more and better. The water was beating into the boat, no doubt his pillow was drenched, but He was sleeping so soundly He did not notice. As a man Jesus desperately needed rest. He was not pretending to be asleep so He could teach His disciples something. However, neither Jesus nor His Father waste opportunities. Fear means no faith. Faith means no fear. The entire Christian world learns from this one example that even in dire circumstances – be awesome in your faith. Be strong! Command the adverse predicaments to cease and believe that they will. Incidentally, before you travel someplace, it’s a good thing to declare, “We will cross over to the other side!” And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? Mark’s first mention of faith is found in his second chapter, fifth verse, where he correlates faith with the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." Jesus is looking up as He is saying this, looking at the men who opened the roof to let down their paralyzed friend. So His remark is made to the men about their faith, not to the man on the cot, and yet, it is the paralytic who is healed. Why doesn’t Jesus ever say to the man, “you are healed” like He says so often to others? Consider that sin comes from the devil, as do sicknesses. They go hand in hand. God doesn’t give either one of those things to mankind. Therefore, when sins are forgiven, healing is found, and when healing happens, sins are eradicated. But what is in operation to make those two things happen? Faith. Faith that God is God? Jesus is Lord? No. Faith that our sins are forgiven. Faith that Jesus heals all the time. Did the man have to have faith for that? Obviously not. He was probably holding fast to hope that his friends would not drop him! The faith came from the men. How often do you operate your faith for others? And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen(Matthew 28:18–20). Matthew has given us a succinct overview of what Faith is. Now he ends his epistle with the greatest challenge of our lives. It’s one thing to know what to do. It’s another thing to actually go and do it. Obedience indicates faith, even great faith to go and do what He commands. Are you going? If not, are you sending? Everyone not going needs to be supporting a missionary who is going. |
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