Faith towards God II

Praise the Lord Jesus Christ the One who was, Who is and is to come. Hallelujah !

We live in difficult times now where our faith in God is being tested day in and day out. The ability to go through the day effectively and maintain a sound mind requires faith. I believe the year 2020 has been a prelude of main situations that have tested the faith of believers. From Covid to lockdowns, to masks, vaccines – single, double, triple doses with booster shots, global financial difficulties, wars, rumors of wars … and many many happenings that have overwhelmed the world. This is Matthew 24 playing out before our eyes.

“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:4-14 NKJV

With all that is going on around us. A believer needs to maintain his/her faith in God so as not to be overwhelmed. Because thinking on these happenings will put fear in you. Our faith towards God and His promises must be be shaken in order to remain in perfect peace. Yes perfect peace. The peace of God is a reality in the midst of storms.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 NKJV

The secret to having peace in the midst of hardship is to keep your mind on Jesus. Your mind is the gateway to your soul, and all your emotions, will, intellect emanate from there. For you to be in perfect peace (balanced peaceful life, emotional, physical, psychological etc) requires you keep your eyes on Jesus. For as long as Peter maintained his eyes on Jesus he walked on the Sea of Galilee. When he looked at the storm he begun to sink. Hallelujah LORD my eyes are on you only. Because You are the King over the storms.

There is a measure of faith God gives to any one who is born again. To be able to believe in Jesus as the Son of God requires faith. And so the measure of faith you need to believe in God is already deposited in your heart. You need to exercise it to see the salvation of the Lord.

The Bible talks about God dealing with us according to the measure of our faith. This means God does not deal with all of us on the same level. The extent to which you can get God’s attention depends on the faith you posses.

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 NKJV

Great faith. There are some who possess great faith towards God. For these people we see the salvation of the Lord.

“When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Matthew 8:10 NKJV

If there is Great faith then there is also weak faith. And if your faith is weak towards God you cannot attract any good thing from Him. Weak faith walks with doubt and doubt makes you a double minded person. And Bible says such people cannot receive any good thing from the Lord.

“Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.” Romans 14:1 NKJV

In order to move from the realm of weak faith to great faith you will need to grow in the word of God. For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Studying the Word, listening to preachings, podcasts, feeding your spirit will increase your faith from weak to strong and then to Great.

From the scripture below Apostle Paul was admonishing Timothy on the consequences of not having Faith towards God or rejecting faith towards God.

“having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,” I Timothy 1:19 NKJV

When you reject faith, the outcome of your life becomes like a shipwreck. The danger of weak faith is that doubt can make you loose the little faith you have. And when you loose the little weak faith you have you can easily compromise and compromise some more until you conscience pricks you no more. Remember the thief come not but to steal to kill and to destroy. John 10:10

When you lose your faith in God and His word you set your self on a path of shipwreck. Please remember that God will deal with you accordingly to the measure of your faith. Unfortunately it’s not automatic. There is effort required on our part to receive what we need from God.

May the Lord help us to hold on to faith and a good conscience so we are steered far from dangers that can cause us shipwreck.

Shalom peace and life to you. Ps. Ron