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Journal,
You will never find in Scripture where a believer is told to live his or her life by reason and logic. Why is that? It is because the Lord is limitless in what He can do.
Our walk with the Lord is not to be built upon what we can do. Our life is to be built upon what God can do. This is the great lesson of faith.
When the Angel of the Lord promised Abraham and Sarah they would have a son at the appointed time, Sarah said to herself, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
Sarah didn’t realize that the Lord could hear her heart. He turned to her, and said, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Gen18:14)
Hundreds of years later we hear the Lord say the same thing to the prophet Jeremiah, “Behold, I am the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jer32:27)
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Biblical faith has always been an issue of the heart.
Believing in the Lord Jesus is an issue of the heart. Learning to trust in the Lord is an issue of the heart. Seeking to hear from the Lord is an issue of the heart. The issue at hand is that we actually live from our heart. This is why the sage said, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs [borders, outgoings, forces] of life.” Pr4:23
It isn’t that the Lord is against our reasoning with Him. In one place, He says, “Come now, and let us reason together, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; thought they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”
However, it is one thing for the Lord to reason with us, it is altogether another to let Satan chip away at our faith. The Lord reasons with us to build up and increase our trust in Him. Satan reasonings are to tear us down, to cause us to doubt, and to eventually bring us to a place of unbelief.
Paul reached into this issue of reasonings when he wrote, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2Co10:5)
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A realm without limitations.
Believers are called to walk in a realm that is without natural limitations. The faith realm is a knowing realm. The realm of faith is ‘the Lord speaking into our lives’ realm. The governing principle of our faith walk is the Word of the Lord. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (John6:63)
To appreciate God’s call to faith we need to reach back to the beginning. Adam was created to live in harmony with the divine will of God. When he rejected the way of the Lord, Adam lost his true spirituality. He became a world-minded man. The new birth reverses that process.
A born from above person now participates in the kingdom of God, and is well able to live a spiritual life. [The word ‘spiritual’ comes from two Greek words that speak of invisibility and power.] Living a true spiritual life means living in and under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit.
The call to live by faith is a call to trust in God and to live from your access to Him. Paul said, “For the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom14:17)
When a person is born again, the heart fills with the presence of the Lord. This means that our faith is now in-breathed by the Holy Spirit. Paul explains it this way; “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal2:20)
This is why Paul placed such a stress on believers not being ‘worldly-minded.’ This is because the realm of faith is also the realm of the Spirit. A worldly-minded person is unable to walk on the level of pure faith. It is foolishness to him. Cf. Rom. 12:1,2; 1Co3:1-3; Eph 4:17-24.
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A Summary on Biblical Faith
- In Mark 11:22, where Jesus says, “Have faith in [ek] God,” the stress is on the faith that originates from God.
A good example of what the word ek means is in John 7:38. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From (ek) his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”
- Bible faith is a spiritual reality. The only way to live by faith is to live in communion with God. The fact that a person has faith is evidence in itself that he or she has been with God. (Or belongs to God.) Cf. Rom10:17; Eph4:17-21.
- This is why New Testament faith is couched in spiritual terms. In 1Co4:13, it says, “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believe, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak.” Jude 23, says, “But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”
- A primary distinction between spiritism and the true realm of faith is that in spiritualism, man wants to be in control. And so spirits accommodate him. In true spirituality you find loving submission to the will of God. A truly spiritual person seeks to please God, and seeks to live according to the Holy Spirit. Cf. Eph 5:6-10, 15-21.
Here is the portion of Scriptures that puts Biblical faith on the right page. Pay close attention to the words that refer to God speaking into our lives:
“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?
“Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.
“Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; …
“…and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.
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So, there it is….
Think about it. How is your walk with Him. Be encouraged. Just let Jesus be in charge. Here is your song for today. It is titled ‘I’m Not Gonna Worry.’
Much love in Christ Jesus,
Buddy
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