Know Faith – A Devotion

John 11:3-7 (NKJV)

Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

 

John 11:11-15 (NKJV)

These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

 

To know God you must have faith. Without faith, it is impossible to know God. Faith is a requirement of God for His People to love and trust Him. Faith is described by worldly definition to be strong unshakable belief in something without proof or evidence. Faith believes the unseen reality of God before He is actually seen by His People. It is trust based on truth rather than on physical evidence. Faith makes hope a possibility. However, faith is not confirmed until the day a person dies. It is at that moment that hope is fulfilled prior to that is simply based on our confidence in God. All that we hope for is revealed in the passing of this life and entrance into Eternity. Eternity is the unseen realm of God reserved for those who love and trust Him to dwell in His Presence. Do you have steadfast, immovable trust in God…unto death? The reality of God is clearly visible in the moment this world fades and Eternity’s Light surrounds us.

 

Jesus loved His Friend, Lazarus. In fact, the Lord loved the entire family. When Lazarus became ill, his sisters knew just what to do. They sent for the Lord to come and heal their brother. They had trusted Jesus Christ. This family believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. However, their hope remained in God. They could see the Lord. Touch Him. Talk to Him face-to face. Why would Jesus wait two additional days before going to the home of his ailing friend and healing someone whom He knew intimately? Surely Jesus did not want Lazarus to die. Jesus told His Disciples that they would head back to Judea, but His Followers were hesitant because the citizens of this city had already tried to stone them. But Jesus would not be stopped. The Lord shared with the disciples that Lazarus was sleeping. They found this to be encouraging news not understanding that the Lord had just indicated that His Friend was dead. Lazarus died waiting on Jesus. His family was in mourning. Jesus was on His Way, but would it be too late. Death is not the end for Jesus. He conquered sin, death and the grave on Calvary. However, humanity defines life from birth to death. Your faith is designed to reach into the Beginning and extend until the end when Eternity becomes your home. Faith is about what we hope for that is unseen. If you can see it, it is not what you hope for as it can now be attained. Jesus Christ knew that these people trusted the Jesus they could see, feel and touch. However, was their hope safely stored in Heaven and the Glory of God?

 

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

 

What is faith? Faith is the reality of things desired with reasonable confidence. Faith makes hope logical not because we can see the substance or reality of it but remain confident that what we believe is true. Faith is based solely on what cannot be seen. Lazarus and his sisters could see Jesus making their faith in Him more confident. However, this would not be the fulfillment of hope. Faith produces expectancy. The premise of our faith is Jesus Christ and His Ability to fulfill our debt to sin and deliver us safely into Eternity. His Purpose is not to make this life better but deliver God’s People from death (this life) to Eternity (Presence of God). Faith makes hope possible. Faith requires getting to know the One in whom we believe. If there is nothing higher, stronger or more powerful than humanity, then this is all there is and people are in a hopeless situation. Valid faith results in the dead being brought back to life through Jesus Christ otherwise hope will never be fulfilled. We misinterpret God’s Power and limit it by simply applying it the life we live on earth and never looking beyond. Life is more than the seventy or so years given to roam this planet. Our natural life is an opportunity to discover faith and reunite with God. This is the ultimate purpose of your existence to walk with God forever. Jesus Christ connects us to the limitless Power of God through faith. Hope is the cord that ties us to Eternity. If this life is all that God had to offer, it would be senseless to put all your trust in Him if that was the best He could do. His Kingdom awaits those who do not lose hope in the building process of faith. To know God, we must expand our faith and broaden our expectation that even unto death God is faithful to fulfill all that we hope for. Faith is the reality of hope in Jesus Christ.

 

John 11:20-27 (NKJV)

Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

 

Faith is the foundation of transformation that allows God’s People to walk from death to life. Martha’s faith in Jesus extended beyond what she could see or understand. She believed that Jesus could have saved her brother in His Illness AND she believed that even in death Jesus was the Son of God. He was her Savior regardless because of faith that extended beyond this life into Eternity. However, many struggle with this concept of faith. It is clear in this conversation that Martha had taken the time to decide what she believed in this moment of sorrow. Her faith was tested and reached beyond the grave. Even in the deepest despair of mourning the loss of her brother, she still believed that God was able and that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. What is the result when your faith is tested? If the answer is even unto death, can your faith carry you beyond the confines of natural life into the supernatural realm of Eternity? This is the realization and reality of hope in Jesus Christ. It is not reserved for today but forever. Faith limited to what is seen is ineffective when Eternity is knocking. Jesus was showing the early believers limits in their faith produced by a Savior that could be seen. He wanted to expand their faith and confidence beyond this world into the Presence of God.

 

Genesis 22:1-3 (NLT)

Sometime later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.

 

God will test your faith to expose its limitation. Will your faith remain even unto death? It is a question I have asked myself many times as our son battles cancer. I wonder if Abraham regretted answering the Call of God that fateful morning. As He walked up that mountain how quiet tears must have flowed. Yet Abraham continued his journey with his beloved child never wavering from the Lord’s command even unto death. I have seen Abraham walking slowly up the mountain many times. Images of a man aging even more than his advanced years with each step fill my thoughts as higher and higher he goes never stopping. Throughout his journey, Abraham surely must have continuously repeated God’s Promises over and over in his head reminding his heart of the Faithfulness of God as it quivered on the verge of breaking. When faith is tested, the truth remains when all we see is devastation. It is the truth that allows hope to become a reality because this world and what we see is nothing compared to the Power and Plan of God that moves us from death to life. In the final moments when the death of Isaac seemed eminent and all that Abraham loved on this earth hung in the balance of faithfulness and reality, God provided a sacrifice. It is in this place that true faith is revealed when the only substitute for our pain and suffering is Jesus Christ and nothing else will do. Faith that is stripped of all falsehood and pretence is answered only by Jesus. This is faith. When it is a reality even unto death, it is real. It is during such times that we must know God intimately and confidently or we will surely fail.

 

Romans 4:16-17 (NLT)     

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.

 

God’s Promise of Eternal Life is received by faith. It is a gift that cannot be earned. Faith enables us to receive this provision of Jesus Christ for His People. It requires faith like Abraham even unto death. It is fulfilled and real at the end of all we can see when things seem hopeless and despair overtakes us because human insufficiency is revealed and total weakness consumes us quieting pride. It is in that moment that only Jesus Christ can fill us, complete us and save us. This is the purpose of faith even unto death into the Glorious Light of His Love. Faith reserved for daily life is helpful but faith unto death is powerful. Such faith will carry you from this life into forever. Abraham believed God enough to sacrifice all that He hoped for trusting the Lord at ALL costs. Faith is abandonment of self sufficiency to total dependency on God, His Way, His Plan and His Purpose. Anything less does not produce hope that is valid, confident and substantial. God desires His People to know and understand real faith. He longs to strengthen the foundation of their life through testing and trials that will lead to the mountaintop experience when all that means anything to us is sacrificed to God’s Purpose in faith with total trust that God is able to do the impossible. Are you facing overwhelming circumstances and impossible situations in your life? Perfect you are right there on the verge of total surrender to God. Seek His Face. Know His Word. (Romans 10:17) Gain confidence in the Person of Jesus Christ and His Ability to carry you from death to life. Truth is the only thing that will sustain you in testing. It is a requirement of faith that cannot be seen. Do you know faith even unto death? You will need it to experience the Resurrection Power of Jesus in life! Martha had it. Abraham demonstrated it in living color. What about you? Are you ready to experience the Fullness of Faith revealed through Jesus Christ who brings us from death to life?

 

Galatians 3:9 (NLT)

So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

 

It was by faith that Abraham was declared righteous by God. Righteousness or right-standing with God is established by total dependency and trust in the Lord. Faith holds nothing back from God but yields everything to the Father confidently and obediently. Are you there yet? The edge of life and death is a scary place where there is no faith. If there is no expectancy beyond what we see with human eyes and know with the natural mind, it is a place of devastation. For those who trust the Lord and are established on a firm foundation of faith, it is only the beginning. The same blessing of righteousness bestowed to Abraham can be yours. The title “Friend of God” is reserved for those who journey up the mountain of faith and endure the testing which reveals genuine faith and trust in the Lord. To know God requires faith even unto death abandoning all that we are and value for God’s Purpose reveals a faith filled with expectancy and hope. It is the vessel that carries us from death to life!