2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT) For we live by believing and not by seeing.
“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything in perfect clarity. All I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (I Corinthians 13:12) A thick fog has blanketed the streets and houses in the neighborhood this morning. It is difficult to make out the house across the street, but I know it is there. Fog is nothing more than tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere making it difficult to see. The same word is used to describe something that obscures and/or confuses a situation or someone’s thought process. One might say that someone is walking around in a fog. As believers, I believe that such is a normal state of life. As what we now on the earth collides with what we are learning about the Kingdom, it causes a new state of understanding called belief. The sun will soon burn away the water that has hindered natural visibility. Lord, I ask you to clear away the foggy areas of my life so that all I see is You.
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for. It is the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews11:1) It is without hesitation that in a few hours everyone will load up in the family vehicle and head to the House of God. What each person encounters will be strictly up to them? Surely as pastors all over are praying, worship leaders preparing the way to enter His Presence, teachers are studying lessons, and group leaders picking up donuts on the way to fire up the coffee pot, the Lord is waiting. He is wondering if today will be the day that the fog lifts from our faith. If it will be the moment that His People choose to believe in Him. Just the Lord, only Jesus. We have made church such a prominent production that many times it is easy to forget what really matters. It is what we believe. The things that we cannot see but trust by faith to be real and true.
Do you believe today? Yes, I believe that I will find a parking spot, be met by a greeter, find a seat in the sanctuary, hear good music, and be brought a good message but will I believe just a step farther by placing one foot into the fog where faith becomes belief. The place where new life begins. The Presence of God is where I want to go. It is the very place that I am called to be where my purpose is revealed and potential exposed to growth beyond that which I can imagine or even think. Corrie ten Boom said, “Faith is the radar that sees through the fog.”
Matthew 8:5-10 (NLT) When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!
The first paper that I ever wrote in Bible College was about the centurion’s faith. It quickly became one of the most inspiring stories in the entire book. Immediately, I had a burning desire to have faith like He did. The kind of faith that made Jesus marvel and amazed Him. The officer made it through the military ranks because he understood authority and power. He not only recognized these two things, but his training and experience allowed him to respond with confidence and absolute trust that if Jesus spoke the word – it would be enough. I want God’s Word to be enough for me to respond to. His Word is all that I need to have all the authority and power of God’s Kingdom at my disposal. My response to God’s Word, His Will and His Way must be marked by submission and surrender. These are the very things that our pride and flesh hate. They are the acts rallied against by our mind, will and emotions as they exact the death blow to sin in our life. Which gives us a new life where there is no room for self in order to make room for all of Jesus!
Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. When the Lord told me that our son would live and not die, I had to make a choice. Trust is always a choice. It is the element of freedom that cannot be forced therefore submission and surrender are absolutely essential to step out of our natural life and secure eternal life. It is the boundary between impossible and possible that can only be overcome by faith. We must move from the place of doubt and disbelief to obtain faith and trust in the Lord to allow Him access to our now rather than waiting on forever.
Mark 9:22-24 (NLT) The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
“Help us, if you can…” Many people pray this way even today. “Lord, if it is Your Will – heal my _______” We must fortify our belief system with truth. Jesus met the woman at the well when she was isolated and alone. (John 4) Her past made it impossible for her to join the other woman. She was an outcast. He imparted life changing wisdom to her that day filling her heart. He said to her that there was coming a day when “true worshippers” would do so in Spirit and in Truth. To live by Spirit and Truth is to live under the power and authority of God. We have the Holy Spirit to produce spiritual fruit to nourish our faith and feed our trust so belief will be born in us. The Truth is God’s Word. We cannot know Jesus and not know the Word because they are one. (John 1) She decided to believe. When she went to tell the others, they also believed. (John 4:42) “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief, Lord!”
John 8:44-45 (NLT) For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!
Born in sin, it is not natural for people to believe the Gospel message. We are born judged. Acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord relinquishes our familial connection to sin that is natural to step into the supernatural realm called hope. To have all the benefits and blessings of being a Child of the King. We must make the transition from death to life in doing just one thing. We must believe in Jesus. He must be our Savior and become our Lord. Just as solider enlists voluntarily, we become good soldiers of Jesus Christ by accepting Him as our Lord. His Word becomes our authority and therefore we submit obedience. His Power becomes ours by surrendering our weakness and inability to His Power. It is not natural so it will require constant attention.
The father of lies tells us many things contradictory to the Word of God but readily accepted by unknowing flesh. Jesus did not come with a long list of demands. He did not come with an assassin’s agenda to exact punishment. He came to offer salvation. He came not to condemn but pardon. The world says that it is too good to be true. Religion adds an addendum to perfect love created fear and anxiety over one’s inability to follow them. Jesus didn’t come for all that but with one purpose in mind. Those who believe would be saved. The only sin that forces judgement over mercy is its refusal to believe in Jesus Christ. I didn’t say that the Word of God does. (John 16:9) We must believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior. We must believe that He is the Lord of our life. This belief by faith and confident hope will cause us not just to trust Him for our forever but allows Him to change our today and tomorrows, too.
John 11:23-27 (NLT) Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
“Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” (John 11:28) Martha’s faith was limited. She could not believe beyond seeing. When Jesus arrived, she scolded Him. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus even revealed Himself to her directly by saying, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” He went on to tell her that those who live in Me will never die. Though her mouth said the right thing, it revealed the reality of her faith. Martha had faith for forever, but she did not believe for that day. Martha was blind to the spiritual significance of what Jesus was saying so passed Him off to Mary. It is easy to get caught up in the rhetoric of faith without truly believing. We must be so very careful as Christians that faith is a verb and not just a noun. We must live by believing not seeing. Faith is believing without seeing and living based on confident hope not human confidence.
John 11:38-40 (NLT) Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”
When Jesus encountered Mary, she fell at His Feet also indicating that she believed if Jesus had been there – her brother would be alive. Jesus was in the midst of them ready to give new life to Lazarus but they were caught up in their circumstance and current conditions believing that it was over. Hope arrived but they didn’t even recognize Him. It says in John 11:35 that Jesus wept. Was He weeping because those closest to Him did not believe? Do you believe that Jesus can bring even dead things back to life? ”So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.”[ This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” (Romans 4:16-18)
John 9:35-38 (NLT) When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
Jesus healed this man of blindness. The Pharisees demanded an explanation of the miracle from the man. He recounted his experience. They continued to harass Him until they finally threw him out of the synagogue because the beggar could not give a natural explanation of his supernatural experience. Jesus came to the man and made an introduction. The man believed.
Thomas was a disciple of Jesus Christ. He was with him for all the ministry and miracles of his years leading up to the Cross. When Jesus came back to life, his close follower and disciple refused to believe without actually seeing the Lord with nail-scarred hands and the fresh scar in his side. Jesus came to Him. It is His Deepest Desire that we believe. Jesus said to Thomas, “Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” Once Thomas finally believed Jesus said these words, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” This is not a message for the lost but those who think seeing is believing. In the natural this is true. Spiritually faith is believing what we do not see enough to trust Him for now not just forever.
Mark 11:22-25 (NLT) Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
True worshippers will do so in Spirit and in Truth. God’s Power and Authority is ready for you. All that is required to have faith in Jesus Christ, to believe in His Word and live according to His Way. To submit and surrender to His Word. There is an inherent danger to demanding God to do it our way or constantly give us signs in order to believe. In Mark15:31-32, the religious leaders demanded Jesus to save Himself from the Cross in order for them to believe. If Jesus Christ had done what they required to believe – no one could be saved. Life was in their grasp. Forever within an arms width away. Yet the tried to call our Savior (the Messiah) off the Cross to satisfy their doubt and disbelief. We cannot demand Jesus to do it our way but believe that His Way is perfect and live accordingly. Belief is empowered by His Spirit and His Word. They become the Truth to live by. We must rebuke the natural desire to see what God is doing and respond to what we know of Him. The Word lights our way and is a lamp to our feet. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and Life who better to guide and navigate us then the Word. The Holy Spirit is our helper. We will never walk alone if we acknowledge Him and partner with Him to discover more faith which fuels our belief. We must fan this desire to know the Lord into a passionate flame of unquenchable desire.
John 8:31-32 (NLT) Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The tell-tale sign of belief is faith and trust demonstrated by obedience to God’s Authority and His Power. It is the very thing that allows us to experience all the benefits and blessings associated with new life and rebirth. The Resurrection Power that brought Jesus forth from the grave victoriously is in us. The key to unlock it is labeled “believe”. Do you believe? The easiest way to know if there is disbelief in us is disobedience. If we truly believe that God is always good, His Word true, His Love unconditional, His Grace powerful and His Glory better than life – we would obey Him at His Word and achieve the faith of the centurion. The kind of faith and trust that amazed Jesus! I would love for that to be the legacy of my life. To trust the Lord for more than just forever. To obey Him at His Word. Lord, help me today to walk completely by faith and not by sight. To step into the deep from which You are calling and not hesitate because I cannot see the way. I want to be where You are Jesus! Take me to that place! Be my Light when I cannot see and my comfort when fear grips my heart! Let the response of my heart in all things to follow you. I want to believe, rid me of all disbelief in Jesus Name!
John 10:25-27 (NLT) Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
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