O Ye of Little Faith
Jesus repeated over and over his themes in the Sermon on the Mount. God reminds us not only who we are, but more importantly, whose we are. In Matthew 6 he reminded the multitude, you don’t need to be anxious and worrisome. Consider the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field…. They toil not neither do they spin, yet God takes care of their every need. Not even Solomon in all his royal regalia was clothed like one of these. If God takes care of them, will he not take care of you? O ye of little faith.
If we rely on our own self serving power then we are men of little faith, However, if we work out out own salvation, our completed wholeness in Christ, with awe, respect, and reverence, then God works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. Jesus said in John 15, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” When we love God above all, then as Paul said, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but (Believing) faith working through love.
In the days of Daniel when Israel was captive in Babylon, King Belshazzar desecrated the holy vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem. The king had Invited his one thousand governors with their wives and concubines to a banquet. While they were feasting, the king desecrated the holy vessels by using them to drink wine and sharing it with his drunken party. Then everyone in the King’s banquet hall saw the hand of a man appear and write on the wall, Mene, mene tekel upharsin. No one could interpret the strange hand writing. Finally the queen spoke up and said that Daniel, God’s prophet could interpret the writing. They summoned Daniel and he said, the meaning is ….. “thou art weighed in the balance and are found wanting”…. That night Belshazzar was killed and his son took over his throne. God is a God of mercy but he is also a God of righteous judgement.
Bill Gothard who taught youth conferences was approached by an unmarried couple at one of his training sessions. They asked him, what if we do not believe there is a God? He answered, that means that you are living in sin and are not willing to acknowledge the sin that has separated you from God.
According to John 3:19-21, And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were obsessed with the letter of the Old Testament law. They thought that their righteousness was in their behavior… in the keeping in their own strict interpretation of the law’s prescriptions. However, they thought they could keep the law in their own self righteous power. Jesus said to them, In vain do they worship me, they draw nigh with their lips and speak great flattering words with their mouth, but their heart is far from me.
They thought they were worshiping God and performing miracles in Jesus’ name. However Jesus said, I will say to such people, depart from me, I never knew you.
After Jesus had spent many days ministering, he said to his disciples at the seaside, Get in the boat, we’re going over to the other side. As they were crossing the Sea of Galilee, a violent storm arose and their boat filled with water and they began to sink. They bailed and panicked as the water filled the boat. They finally woke up Jesus who was sleeping below deck. He said to the storm, “Peace be still.” Immediately the wind and waves ceased. The apostles marveled that even the weather was subject to His command. Then Jesus said to them. Why were you afraid, O ye of little faith?
There are no victims in the kingdom of God. He turns people from victims to victors. As Paul said, But thanks be to God who always give the us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord.
When the Centurion came to Jesus and asked him to heal his daughter who was nigh unto death, Jesus said, I’ll go to your house. Then the centurion said, I’m not worthy of you to come under my roof. I am a man of Authourity like you. When I give a command, I rest in the confidence that my command will be done. Just say the word and my daughter will be healed…. Jesus marveled, I have seen no grater faith, no not in Israel…..
God never honors fear… he always honors faith. In our own power we are men to whom Jesus said, O ye of little faith. Our faith is in the object of our faith, Jesus Christ himself. Our faith is in the power of God through his son our Lord Jesus Christ. For it is Christ in us the hope of glory.
Through the trials and tribulations of this world, God will teach us the meaning of hope and the meaning of love. According to Romans 5, for tribulation worketh patience and patience experience ( His proven character in us) and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.
Jesus had prayed to his Father in the Garden of Gesthemane three times, Please remove this cup of wrath of the sin of the world and the guilt and condemnation of fallen man… this cup of my innocent death. This passage does not give the answer to Jesus prayer. However, the Bible is its own best commentary. The answer to Jesus’ prayer is in Hebrews 12: Jesus Christ who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Thorne of God. Jesus’ prayer was answered when God revealed to him the joy of your salvation and mine.
God is in the business of making men of great faith. He is alive in us when we work out the salvation he has given us… through faith He works in us and through us to will and to do of His good pleasure…. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, his delight is our delight…. His good pleasure is our good pleasure. Then in the power of the faith of Christ in us, God works in us and through us to will and to do of his good pleasure…
That by believing faith that works in love, we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
