Wednesday: Revival, Faith, and the Word
Speaking of the time just before His return, Jesus said, “‘Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ ”(Luke 18:8, NKJV).
Image © Kevin Carden from GoodSalt.com
Evidently, faith will be in short supply in the last days.
How might we define biblical faith? Is faith believing that God will give us anything we want? Is faith centered in our desires? Is faith about asking God for what we want and believing we will receive it if we only believe hard enough?
We should know the answers to those rhetorical questions, shouldn’t we?
Faith, true faith, is always focused on God’s will, not on our wishes. It is trusting in God, believing in His promises, and acting on His Word. Our faith grows as we listen to God’s Word and put it into practice (Rom. 10:17; James 2:17-18). Opening our minds to the teachings of God’s Word builds faith; and doing what God says-even if it is contrary to our personal desires-prepares us to receive the fullness of the Spirit’s power.
Why do some people receive little benefit from reading the Bible? Heb. 4:1-2.
Our spiritual experience is revived when we accept and claim God’s Word by faith. There is little benefit derived from hastily reading the Bible out of a sense of obligation or duty. We are changed as we internalize what we read, and allow the teachings of the Bible to mold our thoughts and our lives.
Compare the faith of the Roman centurion, the paralytic at Bethesda, and the disciples on the stormy Sea of Galilee (Matt. 8:8-10, John 5:6-9, Matt. 14:29-33). What can we learn from each account?
Faith does not grow merely by reading or listening to God’s Word. It comes as we claim His promises as our own and when we believe that what He said applies to us personally. God has given each one of us a measure of faith. It is one of heaven’s gifts (Rom. 12:3). When we exercise the faith that He has already placed in our hearts, that faith cannot help but grow.
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Take Note...
Paul defined Faith as "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Hebrews11:1 and then started the experiences of our patriarchs and heroines of faith. There is a classic example of Revival, Faith and the Word that I am going to use now.
"By faith Noah, being warned (this is the Word of God coming to him) of God of things not seen as yet (this is Faith now because remember it had never rained even once but God had said it was going to rain for the first time), moved with fear (revival now), prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which He condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by Faith.
When God speaks to us today, are we being moved with fear like Noah and believing that for the first time Jesus is going to come to take all of us to heaven? What a revival!
I like your analogy Ngoni. it created a deeper comparison in my imagination. Antediluvians never experienced rain. Could not imagine water falling from the sky in a the form of what we today call rain. Through their eyes they have seen water falling from containers, buckets and such. But rain could not be believed that it could form from condensation of moisture in the atmosphere. What, could they understand, would cause the air temperature to drop enough to cause water molecules to condense enough to form droplets which would be pulled to the Earth by it's gravity.
Today, it is just as hard to imagine that in the near future there will be Jesu's angels raining from the sky. Not pulled by Earth's gravity but pushed by their love for Jesus to pull those of us who believe up against Earth's gravity, towards Jesus's bosom.
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God please always help us to have faith in thee, to hope on those things that we have seen to hear and do your words and to believe that that which you have said you will do you will it, that no matter how long it might take but it must surly come to pass.
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Faith to me is believing in the promise in spite of what the evidencce may be, it is the determination to obey God as Daniel did regardless of the consequences, it is trusting in God as Job did when he was afflicted. I pray that God grants us an increase in faith for these last days.
I do believe if we ask for the Spirit of Truth, when we read God's Word, then there is no question that we receive benefit from our reading of the Bible. Because we have opened the door to Him allowing Him to dwell in us. Therefore we know Him, and see Him. John 14:17 Having done this He now can say, "We will come to you and make our home with you." John 14:23. It is obvious now that He has gifted us with love for Him. The Lord loves to hear you count your blessings, not just ask.
If the only time you talked to your spouse was when you had a favor to ask, what kind of relationship do you think you would have? What a wonderful Saviour we have.
Good day
How do we exercise our faith and claim the promises of God which he has for his children?
Luke 18:8 is asking a question in a way. But if you analize it deeper you find that Jesus was crying for everybody, also encouraging us to be faithful to him. How can we be faithful to God?. Simple by being revived and how can we be revived?. By reading God's word. Let's us grow stronger into Christianity by eating the word of God always.
Each example that we were given in the above text shows the extent of faith each had. It was the circumstances of each that showed the amount of faith that was exercised. Is that not the same with us? Our circumstances dictate our faith instead of allowing our faith to dictate our circumstances. How much better off and more growth would we have if that was the case? As with the centurion, the paralytic, and Peter, each one showed their faith or lack of through the acknowledgement. The centurion knew through his own experience, the paralytic seemed to excuse the reasons for his lack of faith, and Peter(the one closest to Him) sank in the middle of his crisis. How much are we like each one when it comes to what we are going through, do we too allow the circumstances surrounding our lives dictate the amount of faith we have, or do we allow God to see us through because we know He can and will do what is best for us?
Awesome! I'm challenged by this Ngoni. What is it that God wants me to do through me personally that He wants me to move forward in faith? Something He can get done uniquely through me. He thinks that much of me that my testimony would carry weight in His books and in someone or more people's lives (no telling how many) that He wants me to do it. Not someone else...only if I don't respond will He ask someone else who is even weaker than I am like He did for Sis Ellen White when others, brothers, evidently stronger than the frail sickly girl she was, refused to take up the challenge. Your comment speaks volumes because He wants us to be as Noah only better or unique as Jesus even said" You will do things even better than what I did" (John 14 :12)
For it is only by Faith that we can unlock the power of God's miracle in our life. So let us trust, believe rely and depend only in God's word which will never fail us, just like the centurion Officer let's claim his promises concerning any challenges we face in this world today because that which He has said he will do He will certainly do. Our faith in Gor will never fail us.
According to my understanding during our Sabbath School class discussion, A Faith centered on our wishes/desires will eventually die out while a faith based on Gods will to be done will last/increase. This is because Gods answer can be a YES, a NO or WAIT. Therefore brethren,whether we have been asking God for deliverance,healing or to grant us children in our marriage regardless of time passage, let our prayers always include the phrase Your will and not my will to be done.