Active Living Faith
The
end times… the end of the age… the days when Christ returns… we
think of mighty armies at war, horrible religious repression, greed,
violence, arrogance and so forth. Have you ever thought of faith
as an issue related to the end times?
Luke
18:8 Jesus positions faith as a question for the end times…
when He returns. His question Jesus asks you to think about the
possible answers. What is the answer? Yes or No? Are we close to that
end time? If so, what do we see? What would faith look like?
If
you consider faith as simply belief in any entity; a body of
teachings, an institution, or perhaps even a person, then on you
could argue people show plenty of faith.
-
in all the various religious dogmas out there [belief and confidence they have truth]
-
in science & technology [belief and confidence in observable data]
-
in political ideologies [belief and confidence their way will work]
-
in persons of fame and talent [belief and confidence the right person can get it done]
Yet,
all these objects of faith are fickle and with enough passage of time
prove unreliable.
Our
age also shows a great loss of faith… in marriage, in government,
in the military, in journalism, in education… a loss of faith that
truth even exists and is knowable… a loss of faith that there is
meaning and purpose to life… a loss of faith in any kind of
positive future.
Many
people are turned off and tuned out… immersing themselves in
alternate worlds of drugs, social media, entertainment, and sex. Our
young are taught life is merely a series of highly personal choices
and experiences, each person alone and adrift. Captain of your own
ship… but going nowhere.
The Faith We Need [You Need] is Active Living Faith
Will you worship God YES/NO? If yes, then how does that become active
and living...
Will you worship God as He has instructed or as you please? Will you
get up out of your sofa and come before Him at the time He has
appointed?
…
to do as He has instructed, rather than how you please, is active
living faith in God.
Luke
18:1-8 another example of active living faith. Why is this active
living faith? [answer: perseverance]
Was
her confidence that the judge’s better self would eventually shine
forth? No, the circumstances and situation indicated she would fail.
The judge was unjust, he didn’t care about people. She won out
through sheer endurance. How much more should we expect an answer to
a request made to God the righteous judge in accordance with His
will!
God
promises “I will answer”… at the right time and in the right
way to get you to the point where you can achieve the fullness of
your potential as a child of God. Have confidence that this is so!
Have active living faith!
Question:
When the Son of Man comes… will He find people with active living
faith?
I
started off listing things humanity commonly puts their faith in,
science, politics, religious dogma, human goodness etc. The very idea
of faith presupposes some ideal outcome, some goal, or end game.
Humans
want to “feel good” or “be happy”. That future happiness
usually takes place in a setting of prosperity, health, and peace [a
setting without fear or worry]. We hear a lot about this goal of
peace.
People
light candles for peace, they hold seminars for peace, they propose
treaties for peace, they protest for peace… even beauty contestants
tell us that what they want is world peace and an end to hunger. It
seems like a universally desired outcome.
Imagine
Miss Universe [as the representative of humanity, Serena Strawman]
standing before God… “we want peace, and an end to world hunger”.
God
says: ok, I’ll show you how to have world peace, but all of you
have to do the stuff I tell you to do.
Serena:
like, what?
God:
here’s the list of stuff
Serena:
[reads list]… hmm, there are a few problems in here. Like item # 7…
by that you mean no sex outside of marriage… I don’t see what
that has to do with world peace. Can’t we just strike out a few of
these items?
God:
No, it doesn’t work that way. You have to buy into the whole
program. TRUST ME
Serena:
Your list isn’t quite what we had in mind… we sort of saw it as…
no killing, justice, lots of personal freedom, people get to do what
they want, pursuing personal happiness.. you know
God:
That won’t make you happy. That is not how I designed you to
operate. TRUST ME
Serena:
Why didn’t you just make us to work that way… like make us want
the things that lead to peace?
God:
I want you to think for yourself. I want you to choose what is good.
I want you to be on my level.
Serena:
this list of stuff to do isn’t going to work. There has to be a
different way.
God:
There isn’t any other way. TRUST ME
Serena:
Well, I think were going to try some other options. We’ve got some
pretty good ideas of our own we want to explore. Your list has some
real keepers on it… maybe we’ll use some of those in the mix.
God:
You’re going to get mixed results.
James
4:1-3 we want what God has to offer [peace, health, prosperity]
but we don’t trust Him to show us how to get it. We want things our
way. When Christ, the Son of Man, returns will He find faith? Will he
find people actively living in faith?
What is Faith?
Is
faith an emotion? Is faith how I feel about myself and my standing
with God? Is it more?
Romans
3:25,28 faith begins in your mind and heart [your spirit]. You
begin with a mental acceptance that you need your record cleared and
that you can be cleared of all charges through the blood of Jesus
Christ.
Once
you have made peace with God the substance of your ongoing
relationship with Him is faith. You learn and accept His plan for
humans, and for you. You gain confidence that He wants good things
for you. But you also move from merely believing IN
God… to believing God.
Romans
3:31 you express faith through what you do. You uphold and follow
His instructions. [from Strong’s to uphold
sustain the authority or force of anything]
James
2:14-19
Satan
and demons believe in the existence of God. They just don’t believe
what God says and they won’t do it. They believe there is another
way. But, God who made them, and made us, says there isn’t.
Many
people on earth believe IN God, but do they believe
God… do they trust He knows the way to peace, prosperity, healthy
life, and happiness?
I’ll
go further… Satan believes Jesus is who He said He was, the Son of
God. Its no stretch to say Satan believes and accepts the fact
of Jesus death… and that Satan gets the logic of how Jesus death
can pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.
So,
believing those two things cannot be the sum total of faith?
Hebrews
11:6 two elements of faith are itemized here: you must believe
that God exists and that He is judge and rewarder. If you see
injustice God will judge and reward. If you do wrong God will judge
and reward. Plus, there is a third element: to seek out God…
ACTION.
Definition of Faith
The
word translated faith is pistis. In Greek it means a sense of
conviction, that you have been persuaded, convinced, especially
conviction based on hearing. So, faith can be understood as a
feeling. It could also be understood as a collection of ideas that
represent your personal creed.
How
the word [pistis] is used in scripture adds depth and dimension to
our definition:
-
Mark 1:14-15 Acknowledgment of God’s revelation of truth
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2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 a flawed set of teachings produces a flawed faith. To seek God is to seek the truth [Kingdom of God, New Covenant, Jesus’ sacrifice]. What we teach matters.
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John 1:12 personal surrender – I do not know the way to peace, prosperity, health, life, and happiness. I need you, my Father and Creator, to show me.
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2 Corinthians 5:7 conduct inspired by such surrender. I am going to do the things you show me and I’m going to stick to it. Even if circumstances appear [by sight] to demand other options.
Faith…
begins with thought. Acceptance that there is a living God, and
acceptance of the truth He reveals to humanity. But real living faith
is active and doing.
Real
living faith changes minds [thoughts, emotions]… and faith changes
how we live by changing what we do. Through faith we uphold
God’s law, His instructions about how to attain all our hopes and
dreams, and the hopes and dreams of humanity… for peace,
prosperity, life, and happiness.
You
can get all those things… when we have faith, and when we
live in faith.
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