Kingdom of God – Faith

10/11 mins

The topic of faith is a huge one and we will be learning about it for the remainder of our days. While I only scratch the surface in this blog, I hope you find these thoughts helpful.

Faith in Who?

People (at least in the first world) put their faith in all sorts of things. It might be their career, their social status, their possessions (eg home, car), their bank balance, other family members, their soccer team…the list is a long one! Our ‘god’ is the person or thing that is our major focus; that is where, in reality, we put our faith.

As Christians, we choose not to put our faith in any of those things as they are rather shallow or temporal. Instead, we put our faith in the God of the Bible. Why? Because we become convinced that He is most worthy of putting our faith in, particularly as we learn about who He is.

Our ‘god’ is the person or thing that is our major focus

Who is He? The Bible tells us that He is (among other things) the ‘ancient of days’, He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, He is the Lord God Almighty, He is the Creator, He is Father. He is also relational, He is love, He is good, He is truth, He is light, He is life, He is faithful, He is powerful, He is kind, He is generous, He is forgiving, He is merciful, He is gracious, He is long-suffering, He is dependable, He is all-knowing…the list goes on and on.

Can you trust Him? Only time and experience will tell. I would urge you to try out faith in Him, because He is wholly true. After all, He is the Truth (John 14.6). I think you will be glad you did.

Faith is Trust

Faith is trust. This is illustrated by the following video clip about the famous tight rope walker Blondin…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdlOiWH6g4Q

One of the best known Bible verses is this: “For this is how much God loved the world – He gave His one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life” (John 3.16, TPT).

The verb ‘believe’ used here is an active verb. Literally, it means to have faith in Jesus, to trust in Him (like Blondin’s mother), to rely upon Him, to depend upon Him.

Faith is unsighted. But it’s not blind!

It also means to cling to Him. You’re out at sea in a small boat and suddenly a storm blows up. You’re hit by a massive wave and the boat begins to capsize. You jump for it; you can hardly swim. You’re cold, frightened, tired. You think you’re going to die. Then suddenly, something lands in the water close to you. You look up and see a life ring.  You see the lifeboat 20 metres away and the crew ready to pull you aboard. You grab the ring. You cling to it like your life depends on it – because it does! When Jesus died on the cross, He threw you a lifeline. Grab it; cling to it. Otherwise, sin will pull you under.

Another well known Bible verse about the nature of faith is found in Hebrews 11.1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see“(NIV). The Message paraphrase says it this way: “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”

In other words, faith makes us confident about things we have not received, yet are confident we will receive in due course. Our hope about these future things is certain, not vague. Faith is foundational to living with hope.

The rest of Hebrews 11 sets out numerous examples of faith demonstrated by many well known characters of the Old Testament story. Some surprising people make the cut, like Rahab the prostitute (Joshua 2.1 and 6.17ff), Jephthah who made a very foolish vow (Judges 11-12) and Samson who had a problem with women (Judges 13-16)! They were far from perfect, but they exercised significant faith in God when it really mattered.

“Many thanks for the guy who healed my knee after an accident…I was in a wheelchair. Tell him I’m restored.“

Church visitor

We also learn from Hebrews 11.1 that faith also gives us assurance about or ‘a handle on’ what we can’t see. As the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians Christians, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5.7). Faith is unsighted. But it’s not blind! We might not have something yet, we might not ‘see’ it yet, but we are sure of it because of God’s promises. We can read of these promises in His divinely inspired Word (the Bible). God has given us more than 5,000 promises in His book!

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In July 2019, D came into the church in a wheelchair with his wife and grandson, on a trip from the Midlands. He said that he came from a really rough background, one where church going would have been ridiculed. He was a believer but did not go to church regularly. He would often say a prayer, especially when he came into church buildings (although he didn’t today as his wife and grandson were with him).

He was in a wheelchair because he damaged ligaments/tendons in his left knee while crossing a road nine months ago. Now the ligaments/tendons in the other knee were also injured due to his weight distribution in trying to protect his bad left knee! We laid hands on and prayed for his knees. He said they got warm. He got out of his chair and walked up and down the church. He said it was at least 50% better. As he left, he said “I don’t know how to thank you.” Our time together was truncated because, while D seemed in no hurry at all and very responsive, his wife and grandson had already left the church and were agitating to move on. He took a postcard and said he would keep in touch with how it goes.

Later the same month, D wrote on the church’s social media page: “Many thanks for the guy who healed my knee after an accident…I was in a wheelchair. Tell him I’m restored.” I replied: “Thanks D. That’s great. Jesus is the healer. We are just the messengers.” He replied: “Can’t thank you enough. How do you say thank you for such a lovely divine healing” I replied: “If you can, go along to a lively church where you are made to feel welcome.” I then sent him the link to a church with good reviews, near where he lived.

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Faith for Salvation

First and foremost, we trust God for salvation. Another word for salvation is ‘freedom’. As we saw in John 3.16 above, all who put their faith and trust in Jesus ‘will not perish but will receive everlasting life‘. Nothing and no one else we could put our faith in gives this promise, let alone has the ability to deliver on it! God alone can save you from the separating, isolating effects of sin. Simply ask Him to forgive and cleanse you from all sin and rebellion, and ask to be reconciled to Him. Our life here on earth – which on its own can seem so short and meaningless – is part of a bigger narrative. Don’t miss out on life after life!

“…whoever believes in [Jesus] will not die but have everlasting life.”

John 3.16

You might like to look at this Alpha course session on faith…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLMyOr2fAoE

You might also like to look at a simple way of remembering the essential message of faith in God using symbols…

https://faithin5.com/

Faith for Life Now!

What else might we trust God for? Essentially, everything! Here are some examples:

1. Forgiveness. God forgives you as you forgive those who sin against you (Psalm 103.1; Matthew 6.14,15).
2. Identity. You are His child, not a stranger or servant (Romans 8.15-17; John 1.12).
3. Help. God never leaves or forsakes you (Matthew 28.20).
4. Hope & a future. God has plans to prosper you, to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29.11).
5. Provision. God can meet all your needs (Philippians 4.19).
6. Answered prayer. God hears and answers your prayers (John 14.13,14).
7. Strength. He strengthens you for what He calls you to (Philippians 4.13).
8. Healing. He heals through you (John 14.12).
9. Endurance. You will not have to endure anything beyond your ability to withstand it (1 Corinthians 10.13).

A Couple of other Things about Faith

You may have heard the phrase ‘stepping out in faith’. Faith is active, not passive. Like a muscle, it grows by exercising it. You increase your faith by doing things God asks you to do. For example, will you trust God by giving back to Him the ‘firstfruits’ of your money? I’ll say more about this under ‘G’ and ‘Giving’ but the good news story below may inspire you.

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In 2017 K says, “My wife and I recently sat down to review our finances after a busy (and expensive!) 12 months, including purchasing and renovating our first home, and getting married. Part of this included reviewing the amount we give to the church and to charity – we continued to give during this particularly expensive period, but we scaled back as the budget got squeezed. Having grown up without a Christian faith, the concept of tithing has required quite a significant mindset change for myself in particular. I constantly find myself needing a reminder that everything I have is thanks to God’s blessing, and when we give we are merely giving back to God what is His.

Reading Malachi 3:10 one morning was the prod for us to review our giving: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

At the end of June we increased the amount of our standing order to our church, and also added a few more charities to our regular giving schedule. Being a newly married couple in a house which still requires some renovation, increasing our commitment to give required some faith that God would help us make ends meet. Less than one week later and completely out of the blue, we received £1,350 as a payment for expenses I incurred last year for work I did for my parents’ company, and which I had forgotten about. Incredible! God is good!”

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You may have heard it said that faith is spelt R I S K. Because we live by faith and not by sight, faith involves taking risks – the risk of praying for healing, knowing that you have no power in yourself to heal; the risk of giving to God, knowing that the sums don’t all seem to add up; the risk of forgiving someone, knowing how they have betrayed you, ruined your reputation or taken from you.

Faith is spelt R I S K

Do bear in mind that faith is NOT spelt F O L L Y! It is wise to pray about and discuss with your trusted others big faith steps you are considering.

Live by faith. Move beyond your comfort zone. Trust God because He is wholly true.

• Reflect on the nature of the God in whom you trust.
• What do you think of the Good news stories in this blog?
• Are you trusting God for all the circumstances of your life?
• In what area of life has your risky faith been justified?
• What do you need to trust Him for right now – health, job, finances, a relationship?
• What is preventing you from trusting Him, relying on Him or clinging to Him?

I hope you enjoy this recent song by Matt Redman about faith rising…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDSoMLnUwJA

Prayer

Gracious and loving Father. Thank you that you are trustworthy. Help me to trust you in all the circumstances of my life, good and bad. I bring before you today the issue of… [tell God where you want to trust Him but perhaps are struggling to do so]. Father, show me the way forward; help me to be sure of the thing I hope for. In Jesus’ name. Amen.