The greatest faith (part three)
In my previous blog I spoke about how faith is essentially a quality of the heart and that it is fed and grows only by our hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Jesus spoke of" the greatest faith in the gospels" and to understand this kind of faith is to have a clear goal as to how to maximize pleasing God since the scripture informs us very clearly that "without faith it is impossible to please God"
It therefore follows that the opposite must also be true that with ever increasing faith we more and more please God.
What kind of faith did Jesus refer to as the greatest faith?
Matthews gospel chapter eight provides us with the answer to this.
It is the story of the Centurion whose servant is gravely sick and tormented and he approaches Jesus to heal his servant.
"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum,a centurion came to him,pleading with him,saying
"Lord my servant is lying at home paralysed,dreadfully tormented".
And Jesus said to him,"I will come and heal him"
The centurion answered and said,"Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.
But only speak a word,and my servant will be healed.
"For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.
And I say to this one,"Go," and he goes; and to another
"Come,"and he comes; and to my servant,"Do this,"and he does it."
When Jesus heard it,he marvelled,and said to those who followed,
"Assuredly,I say to you,I have not found such great faith,not even in Israel!"
The passage is concluded by Jesus saying to the centurion
"Go your way; and as you have believed,so let it be done for you."
And his servant was healed that same hour.
Jesus was willing to go and lay hands upon the servant and to heal him but the centurion surprises Jesus by declaring that he is perfectly willing to simply take Jesus at his word,for He understands the authority that Jesus is under and therefore the authority of his spoken word.
(Jesus said that he did not do anything or say anything that he did not see or did not hear His Father doing or saying,making himself subordinate to his Fathers authority at all times)
Jesus commends the Centurion for taking him at his word alone before he saw any evidence to support his confidence in that which Jesus had just said.
This is faith in its simplest and most pure essence.
It is having faith in Gods word that is in what he has said without needing to see in the process of our believing that our circumstances have immediately changed.
It is holding onto Gods Word tenaciously and believing it with all of our hearts even in the face of every contrary circumstance because we know that through faith and patience we inherit the promises.
God does not promise us immediate deliverance every time we pray but he does require that we believe what he has said with the same measure of confidence that a young child would trust implicitly the word of their parents whom they trust and love.
Why do we wobble so at the promises of God?
Most often it is because we are impatient and think that because our circumstances do not appear to change as quickly as we wish them to therefore our prayers have failed or our faith was insufficient.
What a lie that the enemy sows into our minds in this.
Our faith is often at its strongest and its purest when we are facing the reality of circumstances that scream at us to the contrary and yet we will not let go of our assertion and trust that what Gods Word says is the way that it is going to ultimately be in this particular circumstance of our lives.
Notice that Jesus said to the centurion that "As you have believed,so be it done for you."
And his servant was healed that self same hour.
The power of God moved to change that circumstance and so it will to, in our lives as we truly believe that what Gods word says has the final authority over this circumstance of our lives, and what God has said he has power also to perform.
Contrast this response of the centurion which Jesus commends with that of another person in the gospels;one who was not willing to just take Jesus at his word at first but whom Jesus was able to bring around to this same kind of faith which the centurion showed.
(This should be an encouragement that we to can walk in this centurions example no matter how much we may have wobbled in the past)
The incident is found in Johns gospel chapter 4 in the healing of a nobleman's son
"There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee,he went to him and implored him to come down and heal his son,for he was at the point of death.
Then Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders,you will by no means believe."
The nobleman said to him,"Sir,come down before my child dies!"
Jesus said to him,"Go your way;your son lives."
So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,and went his way.
And as he was going down,his servants met him and told him,saying,
"Your son lives"
Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.
And they said to him,"Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."
So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him,
"Your son lives."
And he himself believed,and his whole household.
In this second instance the nobleman who approached Jesus requested that he come down to his house in the expectation that he would lay hands upon him there or command the sickness to depart him and heal him.
The thought that he could simply take Jesus at his word and know that it would be just as effective and just as powerful as if Jesus was there in person standing over his son did not occur to him.
Notice Jesus initial response
"Unless you see signs and wonders,you will by no means believe."
Jesus was characteristically going to the heart issue in the man,and was identifying where his faith was.
In this instance it is evident that his faith was in what he could see,"If you come down"
In other words he wanted to have Jesus physically present with him and pray for his child and in the process see a miracle transpire.
Jesus is lovingly but firmly redirecting him towards the truth that faith in his spoken word is in itself enough to see the power of God move to change the circumstance that represent our need.
Both this passage and the passage in Matthew are specifically challenging us to have faith in God, and specifically faith in his word alone.
It is encouraging that in this instance the nobleman was quick to grasp the lesson that Jesus was teaching him for we are told,
"Jesus said to him,"Go your way; your son lives!"
"So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,and he went his way."
He went his way,that is he did not require to see first and then to believe.
Rather he believed and that on no other evidence than what Jesus had said to him;and before he had reached his home he was met with the news of his sons miraculous recovery.
The challenge of these Scriptures is very clear;we too must deepen and strengthen our absolute confidence in Gods word.
The bible is not just a book of ethics or a historical record,it is God breathed and full of His life.
It is life giving and strength giving, able to heal and to transform.
It is able to straighten out things that are crooked and to demolish all human pride.
It is the way that God imparts more of his own life to us it is the means by which we were saved and the instrument of our sanctification.
However all of the above will be to little effect in our lives unless we exercise real heart faith in the Word of God continually.
In 1 Thessalonians Paul commends the church because "When you received the word of God which you heard from us,you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth,the word of God which also effectively works in you who believe."
The word of God only effectively works in our lives as we actively believe what we have heard.
It was John Wesley who once said that the greatest counterfeit to true heart faith that the devil has successfully substituted in the church is mere mental assent.
Sadly this is true.
Many Christians are not seeing circumstances change in their lives because they mentally assent to a biblical promise but do not really at heart believe that what God has said will come to pass in their lives.
The author to the book of Hebrews underlines the same truth when he sites the example of the old testament saints who failed because of their unbelief.
"For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them;but the word which they heard did not profit them not being mixed with faith in those who heard it"Heb 4 vs2
The word will not profit us also unless it is mixed with faith in us who hear it.
And so it is our solemn and yet joyful responsibility to ensure that our hearts are full of Gods words and that we too are combining it with faith.
How do we ensure this?
By putting it in our eyes and in our ears and in our mouths and then and only then it will get down into our hearts.
"The word is very near you in your mouth and in your heart"
Many people like the nobleman's son want to see signs and wonders before they will believe.
They want Jesus to come down that is to see him change their circumstance before they believe that it is his will to really do so.
Jesus however requires something more of his followers.
He requires that we "only believe"based on no other evidence then what he has said.
The bible is full of wonderful and life changing promises which God has given us to show us His intention to do us good, and to bless us.
What he requires is our obedience and faith.
Not faith only without obedience or obedience without faith but both working in tandem together to enable us to inherit his promises.
God does not gives us his promises to tantalize us, but to assure us of his goodness love and faithfulness to do for us what he has said, if we will believe.
All of Gods promises Paul tells us are yes in Him and in Him are amen.
They are not perhaps possibly and maybe.
We must root out our unbelief which hides under the guise of intellectualism and be like little children again in our readiness to believe.
Through the exceedingly great and precious promises of Gods word we are made partakers of the divine nature Peter tells us, that is we we become participants of more of his life.
Things can change and things will change if we,like the nobleman will believe the word that Jesus has spoken to us, and go our way.
In my previous blog I spoke about how faith is essentially a quality of the heart and that it is fed and grows only by our hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Jesus spoke of" the greatest faith in the gospels" and to understand this kind of faith is to have a clear goal as to how to maximize pleasing God since the scripture informs us very clearly that "without faith it is impossible to please God"
It therefore follows that the opposite must also be true that with ever increasing faith we more and more please God.
What kind of faith did Jesus refer to as the greatest faith?
Matthews gospel chapter eight provides us with the answer to this.
It is the story of the Centurion whose servant is gravely sick and tormented and he approaches Jesus to heal his servant.
"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum,a centurion came to him,pleading with him,saying
"Lord my servant is lying at home paralysed,dreadfully tormented".
And Jesus said to him,"I will come and heal him"
The centurion answered and said,"Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.
But only speak a word,and my servant will be healed.
"For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.
And I say to this one,"Go," and he goes; and to another
"Come,"and he comes; and to my servant,"Do this,"and he does it."
When Jesus heard it,he marvelled,and said to those who followed,
"Assuredly,I say to you,I have not found such great faith,not even in Israel!"
The passage is concluded by Jesus saying to the centurion
"Go your way; and as you have believed,so let it be done for you."
And his servant was healed that same hour.
Jesus was willing to go and lay hands upon the servant and to heal him but the centurion surprises Jesus by declaring that he is perfectly willing to simply take Jesus at his word,for He understands the authority that Jesus is under and therefore the authority of his spoken word.
(Jesus said that he did not do anything or say anything that he did not see or did not hear His Father doing or saying,making himself subordinate to his Fathers authority at all times)
Jesus commends the Centurion for taking him at his word alone before he saw any evidence to support his confidence in that which Jesus had just said.
This is faith in its simplest and most pure essence.
It is having faith in Gods word that is in what he has said without needing to see in the process of our believing that our circumstances have immediately changed.
It is holding onto Gods Word tenaciously and believing it with all of our hearts even in the face of every contrary circumstance because we know that through faith and patience we inherit the promises.
God does not promise us immediate deliverance every time we pray but he does require that we believe what he has said with the same measure of confidence that a young child would trust implicitly the word of their parents whom they trust and love.
Why do we wobble so at the promises of God?
Most often it is because we are impatient and think that because our circumstances do not appear to change as quickly as we wish them to therefore our prayers have failed or our faith was insufficient.
What a lie that the enemy sows into our minds in this.
Our faith is often at its strongest and its purest when we are facing the reality of circumstances that scream at us to the contrary and yet we will not let go of our assertion and trust that what Gods Word says is the way that it is going to ultimately be in this particular circumstance of our lives.
Notice that Jesus said to the centurion that "As you have believed,so be it done for you."
And his servant was healed that self same hour.
The power of God moved to change that circumstance and so it will to, in our lives as we truly believe that what Gods word says has the final authority over this circumstance of our lives, and what God has said he has power also to perform.
Contrast this response of the centurion which Jesus commends with that of another person in the gospels;one who was not willing to just take Jesus at his word at first but whom Jesus was able to bring around to this same kind of faith which the centurion showed.
(This should be an encouragement that we to can walk in this centurions example no matter how much we may have wobbled in the past)
The incident is found in Johns gospel chapter 4 in the healing of a nobleman's son
"There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee,he went to him and implored him to come down and heal his son,for he was at the point of death.
Then Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders,you will by no means believe."
The nobleman said to him,"Sir,come down before my child dies!"
Jesus said to him,"Go your way;your son lives."
So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,and went his way.
And as he was going down,his servants met him and told him,saying,
"Your son lives"
Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.
And they said to him,"Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."
So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him,
"Your son lives."
And he himself believed,and his whole household.
In this second instance the nobleman who approached Jesus requested that he come down to his house in the expectation that he would lay hands upon him there or command the sickness to depart him and heal him.
The thought that he could simply take Jesus at his word and know that it would be just as effective and just as powerful as if Jesus was there in person standing over his son did not occur to him.
Notice Jesus initial response
"Unless you see signs and wonders,you will by no means believe."
Jesus was characteristically going to the heart issue in the man,and was identifying where his faith was.
In this instance it is evident that his faith was in what he could see,"If you come down"
In other words he wanted to have Jesus physically present with him and pray for his child and in the process see a miracle transpire.
Jesus is lovingly but firmly redirecting him towards the truth that faith in his spoken word is in itself enough to see the power of God move to change the circumstance that represent our need.
Both this passage and the passage in Matthew are specifically challenging us to have faith in God, and specifically faith in his word alone.
It is encouraging that in this instance the nobleman was quick to grasp the lesson that Jesus was teaching him for we are told,
"Jesus said to him,"Go your way; your son lives!"
"So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him,and he went his way."
He went his way,that is he did not require to see first and then to believe.
Rather he believed and that on no other evidence than what Jesus had said to him;and before he had reached his home he was met with the news of his sons miraculous recovery.
The challenge of these Scriptures is very clear;we too must deepen and strengthen our absolute confidence in Gods word.
The bible is not just a book of ethics or a historical record,it is God breathed and full of His life.
It is life giving and strength giving, able to heal and to transform.
It is able to straighten out things that are crooked and to demolish all human pride.
It is the way that God imparts more of his own life to us it is the means by which we were saved and the instrument of our sanctification.
However all of the above will be to little effect in our lives unless we exercise real heart faith in the Word of God continually.
In 1 Thessalonians Paul commends the church because "When you received the word of God which you heard from us,you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth,the word of God which also effectively works in you who believe."
The word of God only effectively works in our lives as we actively believe what we have heard.
It was John Wesley who once said that the greatest counterfeit to true heart faith that the devil has successfully substituted in the church is mere mental assent.
Sadly this is true.
Many Christians are not seeing circumstances change in their lives because they mentally assent to a biblical promise but do not really at heart believe that what God has said will come to pass in their lives.
The author to the book of Hebrews underlines the same truth when he sites the example of the old testament saints who failed because of their unbelief.
"For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them;but the word which they heard did not profit them not being mixed with faith in those who heard it"Heb 4 vs2
The word will not profit us also unless it is mixed with faith in us who hear it.
And so it is our solemn and yet joyful responsibility to ensure that our hearts are full of Gods words and that we too are combining it with faith.
How do we ensure this?
By putting it in our eyes and in our ears and in our mouths and then and only then it will get down into our hearts.
"The word is very near you in your mouth and in your heart"
Many people like the nobleman's son want to see signs and wonders before they will believe.
They want Jesus to come down that is to see him change their circumstance before they believe that it is his will to really do so.
Jesus however requires something more of his followers.
He requires that we "only believe"based on no other evidence then what he has said.
The bible is full of wonderful and life changing promises which God has given us to show us His intention to do us good, and to bless us.
What he requires is our obedience and faith.
Not faith only without obedience or obedience without faith but both working in tandem together to enable us to inherit his promises.
God does not gives us his promises to tantalize us, but to assure us of his goodness love and faithfulness to do for us what he has said, if we will believe.
All of Gods promises Paul tells us are yes in Him and in Him are amen.
They are not perhaps possibly and maybe.
We must root out our unbelief which hides under the guise of intellectualism and be like little children again in our readiness to believe.
Through the exceedingly great and precious promises of Gods word we are made partakers of the divine nature Peter tells us, that is we we become participants of more of his life.
Things can change and things will change if we,like the nobleman will believe the word that Jesus has spoken to us, and go our way.
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