It’s quite obvious that in a building, everything can be changed except the foundation, which means we should not tamper with the foundation. Such is the spiritual, just like the scripture says, you cannot lay another foundation. But the question here is, for you who claim to have received the Holy Spirit and have the revelation of God, where is your faith? Well, my question may not be so explicit yet not until you read on to understand the kind of ‘faith’ Jesus asked whether he would find, when he comes back. So, follow me closely!
Text: Luke 18:1-8, Hebrew 11:1, Hebrew 11:32-40, Matthew 8:5-11 Luke 7:1-9
There are three kinds of faith that we have. The first is the Natural Faith, which is the faith you don’t need to believe in God to exercise. The second is Faith in God which is the faith of the people of the Old Testament as recorded in Hebrews 11, and lastly is, the Faith of God: This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It will be needed to examine the last two kinds of faith.
The Faith in God and the Faith of God
Abraham was the first man God cut covenant with as regards the faith we have. To the carnal mind, it would be foolish of a man to set on a journey to a place where he knows nothing about just because he had a dream, but Abram did. What would that mean to a spiritual mind? Faith! Abram had faith in God that he could move at the impulse of God’s command which he received in a mere dream -so to say. Coming to Isaac, it should be natural for him to travel with the people to Egypt to escape the famine in the land, but God told Isaac to remain in the land, and to sow in that land of drought. Funny right? But Isaac believed in God, stayed in that land, sowed his seed and he got the reward of faith.
It was by that faith that Daniel was able to dream the king’s dream and gave the interpretation. When he stood before the king, here was his response; “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days…” Daniel 2:28. It was by this faith in God that Joseph refused to sleep with Potiphar’s wife.
Spread out through the Old Testament, with men who only had faith in God, God wrought great wonders that history cannot erase, we saw a hallmark of God’s demonstration of power, feeble men frail in themselves, yet distinguished simply by their faith in God as they walk through the surface of earth’s soil. Hebrews 11 gave a record of women receiving their dead back to life, people who out of weaknesses were made strong, valiant in battle. People, who though didn’t receive the promise, remained steadfast, strong, embraced the things that are far off and confessed faith! Their astute walk with God, their unflinching trust in Him and their unbending faith in things not seen, they became clouds of witnesses to us who would believe in the God they exalted all their lives.
Meanwhile, in Hebrews 11:40, the bible made us understand that God provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect without us. Abraham who was a conduit through whom the promise of the Faith came to all had such a faith that could be reckoned for the Gentiles who were not yet engrafted. We now have the privilege in the New Testament to receive the promise that Abraham had long patience for, we become heirs of the promise which transcends to us having the faith of God which is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Abraham had the promise, believed, and passed his faith to Isaac, and Isaac to Jacob. And from there, Christ came. The coming of Christ paved the way for the New Testament saints to have the faith of God (the revelation of Jesus Christ). Amen!
Upon the revelation of Jesus Christ, the gentiles were able to have a commensurate result. An example was the Gentile woman needing Jesus to heal her daughter who was dying, Jesus gave a ridiculous response to the desperate cry of this poor woman, yet, faith responded without offense, without finding fault. Oh brother, the faith of our Lord Jesus has patience as part of its component, the faith of God still stands in the midst of ridicule, the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ endures. Your unbelief does not hurt God, it rather hurts us. After faith responded in this woman, Jesus exclaimed, “O woman, great is thy faith!” The Gentile Centurion whose servant was sick, and needing Jesus’ help also responded with such an outstanding faith that cannot be failed.
Friends and elders, we have the revelation of Jesus Christ, we know what the seals are, we know what the revelation of the stars in God’s right hand are, we are quite knowledgeable, and it seems all we’ve heaped up as head prowess have only served a great hindrance to seeing the mightiness of God, we become too knowledgeable for God to demonstrate his dynamics to and through. We seem to know so much of God in complexity of doctrines till we can no longer see His simplicity any longer. With our gathered knowledge, no miracle has been wrought, no deliverance has been noticed just yet, we shout away the denominational world for their miracles when we have none to point to ourselves, and I’m tempted to ask, do we have faith? Where are the signs, where are the wonders, where are the miracles? Are we even noticed as one with the revelation of Jesus Christ? Are the days of miracles passed?
Oh, the church needs the revival, the bride needs to awaken her lover from where she left him, He is not dead, He is still alive and potent, the blind can still see, the lame can still work, the deaf can still hear. Let’s not be in suffering because we fail to exercise the faith Christ has given us already. Or you think you don’t have it? Common, you do! Christ has chosen us in Himself to be blameless in Love, before the foundation of the world. Don’t carry a burden that simple faith can resolve. Reignite your faith, it still works! Exercise your faith, put it to work, don’t bare needless pains dear sister.
Should we in any way be willing to quicken our faith in God again, then we can respond to the question of Jesus “Shall He Find Faith” with a resounding “Amen!”
May He find that faith in you, and may he find that faith in me, Amen!
Shalom!