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).
“I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)?” Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world (Romans 1:8). Faith can be so tangible, so observable, that people will talk about it. A friend of mine was married to a very wealthy man until he divorced her and hid his assets so well that she was left penniless. When she asked the Lord what to do, He said, “Live by faith.” That meant she had to be totally dependent on God and inquire of Him every day in order to live and even eat. The first thing He told her to do was go to the airport and stand in a certain line. When there, a man came up to her and said, “I don’t know why, but the Lord told me to give you my ticket.” She looked down and the ticket read “Tokyo, Japan.” She didn’t even ask why; she simply got on the plane. She’s been following His instructions ever since and has traveled the world like this, accomplishing prayer projects He asks her to do. Her faith is observable. She lives in a house designed by her, decorated exactly to her taste, and she drives a new car every year. The Lord sends people to her with these gifts because she obeys, unquestionably. Another man sends her the latest cell phone and pays all her bills for that phone, every year! World-wide known faith anyone? Anyone?
0 Comments
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)? Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name (Romans 1:5). I have a simple definition for Grace: “all that God has, and all that God is.” He gave this to us as a gift for our New Birth. Now we have to learn how to live with this gift. How do we use it? As we accomplish His will, we discover that Grace is actually working for us. Apostleship means we have been given certain assignments—as an apostle is a “sent one”—and as we go to do that assignment, we do it through His Grace. For instance, in my early years as a Christian, the Lord told me to go and love people and not be concerned about who loves me. In my carnal self I am always wanting to be loved, but in my spiritual self, I love to love others, and I find I have the Grace to do it. This verse instructs us to obey the faith among the nations for His name. As a missionary to France, I can enthusiastically tell you, that if you are not praying for—supporting a missionary to—a particular nation that God has put on your heart, maybe even taking a short-term missions trip there, then you are not accomplishing your assignment. Actually, it frightens me when people come up and confess that they were called by God to be a missionary to a certain place, and that they have never responded to that call. It frightens me because there are so many of them. Would the Lord have already returned if everyone obeyed? 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 the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily (Acts 16:5). My son has lived in Tanzania for many years, so during my visits, I’ve taken a few Safaris. It seems like everyone I meet on these Safaris has favorite animals. Some like lions, some like elephants, and I like zebras. Why the lowly zebra? Because it reminds me of the church—The Body of Christ. They have all these crazy stripes on their bodies, and though they look similar, no two zebras are ever alike. When a lion sees a zebra who has strayed from the herd, and he or she sets sights on the animal, all the zebra has to do is run back to the herd, and the lion is outwitted, as his eyesight only allows him to fix on one animal, but who can tell one zebra from another in the herd? That’s the joy of having brothers and sisters in Christ. When the lion-pretender, Satan, comes stalking us, we have each other—we have the church, where we are strengthened in our faith. We need support in our faith walk, and we have it in the family of God! 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)? This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9). Please notice something very important here. Paul’s faith did not heal this man; the man’s own faith worked the healing. So many people think they must find some anointed Christian to pray the prayer of healing over them. That’s not true. Jesus paid the price for all healing; it belongs to us now; all we have to do is appropriate it with our faith. We use our faith, in this case, to receive what has already been given. Please notice something else about this Scripture, “This man heard Paul speaking.” It is important to hear preaching about healing, because as the Word about healing is taught, our faith grows, and we enter a state of reception of what has been taught. As we fill ourselves with Scriptures about healing, we will find ourselves more and more filled with faith to be healed. 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)? But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith (Acts 13:8). Sometimes it seems like my entire world is trying to turn me away from my faith. I may be trusting God, happily whistling away on my faith walk, and BLAM I’m attacked. If I believed them, I’d think I was stupid for trusting a non-existent God. I’d sit down on a pity path and cry myself silly. I seem to get challenged on every side. “Well, you’re not healed, are you?” they shout into my face. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to say back, “Yes, I am healed. You can’t see it yet, that’s all. But I can see it. I KNOW I’m healed.” We have to remember that Satan is the prince of this world. Adam willingly gave him the authority God gave, intended for all of Adam’s seed, and Satan, if we will let him, will lord it over us. We have an enemy, and above all else, he wants to steal our faith. God, since He gave us this great planet earth, cannot operate for us outside of our faith. He can’t go back on His word. That’s why our faith is so important to Him. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Without our faith, we would not diligently seek Him, and without our faith, He cannot reward us. And God loves to reward us! He’s the greatest Dad of all!!!!! 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)? Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7). What does that mean, “obedient to the faith”? Priests would have to obey the dictates of the church or synagogue they serve, but what dictates does faith have? It’s a simple matter of trust, isn’t it? Well, not completely, you see it is a New Testament Law. The old law may have been finished, but it didn’t die. Jesus came to fulfill the law, which indicates to me that faith is an actualization of that fulfillment. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith (Romans 3:27). Remember, when you operate in faith you are operating in one of the Laws of the Lord. Are there other Laws in the New Testament? Oh yes. Look for them as you read your Bible. 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)? And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit(Acts 6:5). When it came time to choose Deacons, they chose Stephen because he was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit comes to fill us up when we receive Jesus as our Savior and our Lord. Is it possible to be as full with faith as we are with the Spirit of God? Apparently so! How can this be? Well, we know from Romans 12:3 that when we were born again, we also received a measure of faith. We know this measure was small because Jesus spoke of little faith, He also spoke of no faith, and at one point He likened the size of faith to a little, tiny mustard seed. He said things would be done according to how much faith we have. So how can we get to be as full of faith as we are of the Holy Spirit? We plant our faith like a seed. We water that seed with the Word of God. We patiently watch it grow, and as it grows, we can pull fruit from it like any successful farmer. In other words, we make our faith grow by exercising it like hoeing the dirt around the faith plant like the farmer does. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith (Jude 1:20). If faith is holy and it builds us, then we better be putting it into practice. Believe for the little things in life, like a parking place right where you want your car to be, like the freshest produce just being put out as you walk in the market door, like having someone buy you a cup of coffee, or tea, or whatever you want. Like your spouse being especially romantic, like your children offering to do the dishes. Build from the small things to the larger ones, like the building program at church being fully funded before the first spade of dirt is turned over, like buying that house you’ve always wanted, like revival overwhelming your town. I think you get my drift! Whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). 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)? And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all (Acts 3:16). When Jesus left this earth, He gave us His name to use. His name carries all the power of God. The entire universe, and all other places in space, bows to this simple name: Jesus. Even evil bows to this name. It’s a name we can trust. It’s a name we can cherish. Yet look at how the world treats this name! They use it to defy, to blaspheme, to tarnish, to damn; they defile this name, they spit on this name. Do they think these acts go unnoticed? Or that God is so weak He isn’t capable of retaliating? “Vengeance is Mine!” He says. I have watched it in my own family. From all outward appearances we look sharp; we look like we’ve “got it altogether.” But the branches of my family who smear this name, all have miserable lives, many dying young or dying long drawn out deaths. Those who revere this name live long, strong lives, looking younger than their years, enjoying divine health to the end. When Jesus comes again, will He find faith in His name? 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)? Guess what the Gospel of John says about faith! Absolutely nothing. The word isn’t used. However, he mentions “will” 112 times. The Bible says the soul is made up of three parts: mind, emotions and will. We understand what role the mind plays and the role the emotions play, but what about the will? Does such an entity exist in our being? Apparently so and apparently with great effect. We use our will to strengthen our faith. I personally find that coupling my will with my faith makes the fight of faith much easier to win. After all, what we say is what we will and what we will is what we say. Our words create our future. What will your future be like when Jesus comes again? 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)? 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" (Luke 18:16,17). What are little children like that our Lord should say we must receive the Kingdom of God like they do? Little children have more faith than any adult I’ve seen. A parent can give them a good smack, in public, embarrassing them, yet they are back in their parents arms immediately. They trust that everything is good, and all discoveries are wonderful to behold. They believe everything they hear and see. I think the Lord would be thrilled if His followers would just automatically believe Him, have faith in Him—never question, never doubt, just happily with joy—trust Him. That kind of faith moves the Lord! |
Marty DelmonWriter Archives
December 2018
Categories |