Well, obviously, we're talking about faith here. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the full story of Abraham, but if you're not, you need to go back and re-read it. (CLick Here) This is the dude who took his son up on a mountain and was going to offer him as the sacrifice. That's right... he was gonna kill his son, because God told him to. I'm not going to ruin it for you. Suffice it to say, Abraham was found to have more faith than any man in the world. This is what Paul is talking about when he says it was recorded for our sakes. Not Abraham's.
This is important! Don't miss this. Paul is still setting up his letter here. I know we're in the fourth chapter, but still, Paul is educated. Remember? He knows he needs to set the stage and the groundwork for the bomb that he's about to drop, which is... Jesus is the Son of God. Moses' law is bunk, and the only way you can enter into heaven is to have... (here it is!) FAITH!. This is why Paul is spending so much time on this subject. The Jews and the gentiles were all aware of the story of Abraham. No one, believer or not, doubted the faith that Abraham had. And this is what Paul was trying to make them see. And here's why. Because Jesus had already ascended into heaven. The only way someone could become a Christ follower, is because they had faith that Jesus was who He said he was. Still holds true today.
So.... how's your faith? BIG question. I'll be honest with you. I've had times when my faith was weak. I think it's a natural occurrence. As long as we live on this world, we will always have Satan planting doubts about things in our lives. Especially our faith. The key is to stay in the word. Equip yourself with the spiritual armor that Paul talks about in Ephesians 6. And don't forget that you are the sons and daughters of THE King.... not "A" king, but "THE" King.
-Robbie
I find myself, as I'm sure others do, always believing that I have such a strong faith. But, when you compare your own faith to the faith of Abraham who was giving his son as an offering to God, it's obvious that our faith doesn't compare, not even a little bit. I've read this story several times, and it always literally takes my breath away to think of what a sacrifice that was. I feel like I love God that much and believe in Him that much, but know that I wouldn't be able to do that myself. I know that means that my faith is definitely weak and lacking some key substance.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the more we are equipped with scripture and the more knowledge we gain about the word of God, the stronger we become in our faith. It also prepares us to help others when they feel like they are lacking in their faith and have questions we may be able to help them find answers to.
I also think of the way Isaac must have felt when his life was about to be taken by his father as a sacrifice to God, and at the last moment was spareed. I'm sure this changed his faith drastically, as well.
WOW! When I think of that story. At 100 years old I am sure my desire to have children would have been turned into bitterness and my heart towards God would have been quite hard. Then to be given all that you desire only to be asked to give it away?!?!
ReplyDeleteI think this speaks of how Abraham trusted in God's charachter... thinking He will bring my son back to life or grant me another child or something. Also the heart of Issac. I am sure he could have overcame his 100 year old father's attempts to kill him, but it says nothing of the sort. I hope to have a relationship with God as well as they did so that I know what his charachter is like and so I know His voice!
18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—
ReplyDeleteWow...to have a faith that can't be shaken, to have a faith that is so strong that even when things seem helpless, you don't lose your faith. You just wait, knowing that God will be in your circumstance in His time, not yours...how I wish I could say my faith was that strong and sure. I don't ever feel like I lose my faith, but I admit I have had times in my life where I wondered "Where are you??" When the pain and the hurt were so strong even after praying that you wonder if God heard you. He does...he hears even the softest whisper.
Even now as I have been praying over and over for a job to open up so that Mike can come home, I know I also have to have faith that it will happen. I have to have faith to take that step and say "come home, God has a plan"...without knowing what the plan is. To know that our needs will be met because we have faith. I have to admit it's the scariest place to be in because as strong as I believe my faith is...I still wrestle with fear and the "what if it's not"...and I also wonder can you say you have faith and still have fear about circumstance??? Does the fact that Im nervous about our decision mean that I don't have enough faith? I know the first step is the hardest when you are really walking in faith...I just pray I have the courage to take it.
I was speaking about this very thing, faith, to someone the other day. There is so much media that makes one question things. For example a man recently was able to re-create the Shroud Of Turin using very basic chemicals. There are channels full of so-called men of God that are making money from the audiences watching and that is where thier agenda ends. It can be hard to keep faith at a maximum. Astronauts go through centrifugal force training which at a certain G-force, they pass out. They all describe the moment upon passing out as a tunnel with white light at the end. This is all due to lack of blood to the brain....so, what about the tunnel and light into Heaven? I war with lots of things, and I pray everyday that God shows me the truth above all I see. I guess it is very hard not to be cynical sometimes when you have seen things and been in churches with in-fighting and people not being Godly. At some point, one gets a bit gunshy....
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts so far, guys. Joey, You're spot on. Our faith, I believe, is tested more now than it's ever been. I'm certainly not one of these "End Times" goofballs. However, I do believe that we are possibly living in the beginning of what may be the last days. Now, we all know that "time" to God is something completely different than it is to us. So, that may be the next five hundred years, for all I know. But I do know what the bible says about the end days. Several things I see, often, are false teachers and the propagating of different "paths" to heaven. For this reason, I believe that we are going to be tested in our faith even more than anyone else. So, food for thought..... keep your head on straight. Keep your eyes focused on Him, and don't let yourself fall into the trap of allowing your faith to be shaken by this world.
ReplyDeleteMy faith.... God's been working on me a lot with this over the last couple of years. In a lot of ways, it's been on a fundamental level. My faith has never really been tested like this and as hard as it's been, God is teaching me that He is able, that He is sovereign, and that His Word is true and just. I want to be the woman whose faith grows stronger the longer I'm in my circumstance. Robbie and Joey, you are right about the distractions and the misleading ideas that are out there trying to convince us another way is better. I love what you said Robbie about equipping yourself with the spiritual armor. For me, it's been learning scripture, understanding what I'm memorizing and tucking it away in my heart. There are times when all you have are those scriptures and they always come freely when I call on God.
ReplyDeleteShelly, I think you know when you are making a step in the direction God wants. Even when it's scary, you know it's right. The outcome may not be certain, but you know that you are doing what God wants. Shawn and I were both nervous when he quit being a police officer and went into ministry. We had a lot of our "security" wrapped up in his career. I say that with quotes because it's false security. But, we both knew it was the right thing for him to quit. And, I can tell you now that God sustains! We made some adjustments and have been more disciplined, but we both feel God has truly sustained us. I'll be praying for you and Mike. I truly believe you'll know if or when the time is right for him to quit. Love you.
I'm loving reading all of your thoughts - Shelly- that verse is crazy. It totally defies our human instinct to hope against hope, yet Abraham did and God blessed him for it. I feel like my faith could definitely use some boosting at times. For me, sometimes I feel like God doesn't really care about my simplistic needs when I think of all the horrors in the world. I know God is ominiscient and that He answers many prayers at the same time, but sometimes I feel like I waste His time by asking Him for something which hinders my faith. A lifetime ago, my family went through a prolonged fire and that really grew me closer to God because I literally had no one to lean on. Now my biggest struggle is self-sufficiency, and that can definitely get in the way of great faith. My prayer is that God will open my eyes and open my heart so that when I am tested (and even daily in the little things) my faith in His perfect plans will be great.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to keep the faith when things happen around us that knock it to pieces. I am trying to have faith that God doesn't want to punish me and keep me in the job that I'm in. But every day that I don't get to quit, my faith is tested, and ashamedly I say...depleted. In these times, I grow closer to God because there isn't anyone else who can help me. Maybe that's why our faith is tested.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I absolutely agree with you. I do believe that God does allow our faith to be tested. This is for us to search deep within ourselves and ask the hard questions: Who am I trusting? What am I doing about this? How am I reacting to this situation? God has said in His scripture that He is a jealous God. And we should have no other gods before Him. As trite as this sounds... when we don't put our complete and total faith in Him, we are engaging in idolatry. Plain and simple. This is perhaps the strongest test we face, as His children. To come to Him for everything... good and bad. Great conversation guys! And BTW, does anyone else find it ironic, or perhaps I should say, "God inspired" that our blog right now is completely coinciding with the teaching series!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you, but I feel like a lot of people are looking for evidence of faith for "proof" in what they want to believe. Our world today, to Joey's point, is completley bent on proving or disproving things people have faith in. The thing is, our proof has already happened. God already took the knife out of our hands like he did with Abraham, and made His son the sacrifice for us. Faith is the evidence of things unseen, we must have faith that Christ's sacrifice is all we need.
ReplyDeleteOne definition of Faith says, "belief that is not based on proof." The problem is that our world distorts faith too often and paints it as a "religious" or "fanatic" thing. The truth is, the whole world has faith in things, they just don't recognize it as faith. Faith in their family, in money, in their safety, or their next breath. Our faith provides us with a hope of eternal life, I don't need any more proof than the peace that brings me.
"Can you see God? You haven't seen him? I've never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I've never seen the wind. There's a mystery to it."
- Billy Graham
Philip, loved your take on looking for evidence, proof in what one wants to believe. No doubt, Abraham was a strong man. Can't help but think that in those days they did not have the TV's, books, schools, Bibles (as we know them),etc,etc. How did one build such strong faith? Could Ephesians 6:18 be some of the answer. Pray in the spirt at all times and on every occasion. Maybe God's way is of spirt touching spirit!
ReplyDeleteI don't see that we are developed so much by books, classrooms, and tons of knowledge. It could be many of our conceptions become based on doctrine.
I believe God desires to break our outer shell to bring about a spirit to spirit relationship. Only then could we truly stand in his presence. Lord, I pray that you will strengthen me and all who desire to be in your presence. That you will be our shield of faith.
I read this passage and it actually moves me in a much different way. I think about how Abraham created the alter and tied his son up and prepared to offer him as a sacrifice to God because his faith was strong. It's more symbolic but when the chips are down I'm not sure my faith is that strong that i would be willing to lay down the ultimate sacrifies. Man, that is something to think about especially during Erik's series about the fires of life. How strong is our faith when we know we have to make a big sacrifice or we have to do something with no clue to the outcome other than we have to believe that God is in control?
ReplyDeleteThese thoughts are awesome. Reading Shelly's, Miranda's, and Phillip's comments together brings to mind a conundrum that many people face in their life (me included): We are called to have faith that God will provide when we have faith in and obey his plans for our lives, but Phillip is so right that many people only have faith in their own plans and try to contort their relationship with God to conform to their plans. I have been in this boat before and still catch myself doing it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say that there is a black or white test to figure out whether or not you are in God's will, but there isn't. What I have experienced is similar to Miranda's post: you just know. It's like the Andy Griffith episode where Opie asks Andy "how do I know when I'm in love?" The best answer to that question is the same: you just know.
What we do know for sure is that study, prayer and faith will guide you God's will every time.
I would say my faith is pretty strong...although it is weak at times. My faith seems stronger when I stay plugged in to the word!
ReplyDeleteThe verse that really sticks out to me is verse 5. I really like how it states it in the new living translation. "But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not beause of their works."
Phillip I loved that definition of faith- "belief that is not based on proof" that is so true.