Walking by Faith

This is an except of the message I spoke during a Saturday's service last month in church.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor 5:7 (NKJ)

Our church motto is Forward in Faith. And rightly so, as we have been moving ahead through faith in God  to see the realisation of the church building and its subsequent expansion without borrowing any money from financial institutions.  

Faith makes God possibilities available to mankind.

“ …with God all things are possible.”  Mt 19:26 (NKJ)

“ …all things are possible to him who believes.”  Mk 9:23 (NKJ)

The thing that connects us to the eternal world is faith.  The world says, “Seeing is believing.”  But God says

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  Jn 20:29 (NKJ)

“Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”   Jn 11:40 (NKJ)

We all begin our journey of faith through the various God-encounters in life, culminating in our conversion experience.  Some of the God-encounters could be the following:

·     Influence of family members, friends, relatives or even strangers (to attend church or Christian gatherings); I’m heartened by the wonderful testimony and work of Sis Esther who spoke to 3 persons recently, inviting them to church meetings and they came!

·    Being placed in a mission school; my first encounter with Jesus was in a Christian Brother School, where they used to recite the Lord’s prayer and Hail Mary.  In secondary school, I was invited by a friend to a YFC meeting where I was converted.

How did we exercise our faith? We believed in the promises of God as found in His Word concerning salvation and eternal life such as John 3:16 and Rom 6:23.  It is that same level of simple trust in God and His Word that will enable us to grow in our faith walk. We have to overcome our old nature of being dependent on sight    

Young children, by virtue of the fact that they have just been implanted the spirit of life by God, bears the imprint of God in their lives.  That is why Jesus said that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child shall not enter it (Mk 10:15). In the recent church camp, we were told that children believe what they do not understand.  They are like a clean slate whereby parents and significant others would influence them for better or worse.  As time progresses, children become more self-conscious and aware as they are being exposed to the world through the 5 senses.  Sight takes over child-like faith. 

In our journey of faith, our trust in God is often tested by time and trial/tribulation.  They are God’s instruments to build faith & character in us.  The wise man, Solomon, tells his son to   

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Pr 3:5-6 (NIV)

Trust is an attitude of the heart that submits to God’s ways.  The mind (sight) is often impatient and takes over to override what God has spoken.  This can be seen in Abram and Sarai, where the test of time was used to mould and stretch their faith.  Mind you, Abram already believed God when God showed him the stars of heaven and said that his descendants shall be as plentiful as them.

Then the word of the Lord came to him (Abram): ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ Gen 15:4 (NIV)

After a period of anxious waiting, Sarai persuaded Abram to have children through her maid, Hagar (Gen 16).  Through human understanding, the Arab nations were brought forth, which resulted in the perpetual conflict we see in the Middle East since time immemorial. It took another 14 years since the birth of Ishmael before Isaac came.  We see that Abram’s straight path became crooked; it became a valley for Sarai to grapple with, especially in contending with her slave Hagar who despised her when she got pregnant.    

The other test of faith is the trial/tribulation that comes to our life.  It can be broadly categorized into 3 big areas: health, possessions and relationships. 

Sickness and ill health is an avenue for us to stretch our faith in God to believe Him for healing.  We have to remember that God also uses medical practitioners to bring healing/health to our bodies.  Sometimes God chooses not to heal some so that we can empathise with others and be a blessing to them or to keep us humble.  Case in point: Paul’s thorn in the flesh; Joni Eareckson (quadriplegic) & Nick Vujicic (born w/o limbs).  Our body is but a jar of clay where the Spirit of God uses to work his love and wonders amongst men.  If we are not healed physically this side of heaven, we will be on the other side.  In the meantime, our real person, the spirit man, can speak life to others.  Be a river that flows, not a reservoir that hoards.

There was period in my life, during my 20^th birthday, when I was hospitalized due to the passing of black stools.  I became anemic and had fainting spells.  My aunt came to pray for me during lunch time almost everyday.  She prayed in tongues for my healing.  Despite being subjected to a battery of tests, the doctor couldn’t find the cause of the bleeding.  I was healed after about a week’s stay in the hospital.  Since then, I have never had a similar occurrence. My eyes were opened to the healing ministry Jesus brings.    

Where possession is concerned, I have in mind assets and loved ones; the Bible tells us that we cannot serve both God and mammon (Mt 6:24).  They have the power to draw us away from the simplicity of devotion to God.  We can be busy making ends meet (not enough) or earning our next million (not satisfied).  The next test that Abraham faced was to offer up his only son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice.  You could well imagine what went through Abraham’s head when the word was given.  However, Abraham passed the test with flying colours.  Let’s read the commentary on Abraham by the writer to the book of Hebrews (11:17-19 KJV):

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

“Just the very act of letting go of money or some other treasure, does something within us.  It destroys the demon god.”       Richard Foster

Jesus said that thief comes to steal, kill and destroy (Jn 10:10a) ie. our faith in God. 

Don’t allow possessions to side-tracked you from the straight path of having intimacy with God. The camp speaker says that the longer we walk with God there is a constant need to get our wheels realigned.    

Relationships or people can test our faith like no one could.  Abraham did not deal rightly with king Abimelech when he lied to him that Sarah was his sister.  Many have been disappointed by Christians; the way they behave and speak. This has to do with giving and receiving offences.  Because of bad experiences, some stay away from joining an oikos or move to another church.  Sure, we tell people not to look at men because they’re fallible; but not everyone is made of Teflon material.  When some get hurt, they hurt badly.  What this means is that we all have to make it our goal to grow towards spiritual maturity and not let carnality have the better of us. 

The apostle Paul says, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” 1 Cor 11:1 (NKJV).  He also mentions that “..you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”  2 Cor 3:3 (NKJV)

How is your faith walk?  There are many things in life that will prevent us from walking the straight and narrow path God has destined for us.  Our paths may be crooked, strewn with obstacles/mountains along the way and there are also deep ravines or valleys we are encountering.  But God has promised:

“I will go before you and make the crooked places straight ..”  Is 45:2

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.  Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.”         Is 40:3-4 (NKJV)

In the near Middle Eastern culture, to prepare for a monarch’s visit, great lengths have to be taken to make a smooth passage to welcome his entourage.

God is in the business of

·         Lifting every valley: depression & low points in your life

·    Leveling every mountain: humbling you & clearing roadblocks in your life

·    Straightening your crooked paths: bringing you back to the goal of having intimacy with Him