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Truth #16 – God Always Pursues His Own Glory

Our faith will be most firmly established when by it we are seeking God’s glory.

God's glory

God showed something all-important about himself as the time drew near for Jesus to go to the cross. Jesus was teaching his disciples about his approaching death and said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27–28)

Notice the desire of Jesus. Naturally he was troubled at the thought of what he was about to suffer, but he was not shaken. His purpose was firm, and that purpose was to glorify his Father by doing his will.

Then, in response to the prayer of Jesus, God says something about himself that is one of the most important truths that anyone who wants to know God and have mountain-moving faith in him must understand:

“Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified [my name], and I will glorify it again.’” (John 12:28)

God’s glory

God is up to something in the world. He is glorifying his own name. That is, he is displaying who he is—all his dazzling and awesome virtues, attributes, goodness, and ways—and calling us to worship him. This was his purpose from the beginning. It is why he created the universe and why he created mankind.

Why did God save Israel from Egypt even though they did not believe him and repeatedly disobeyed? “He saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power” (Psalm 106:8).

In the time of the kings of Israel when the nation persisted stubbornly in idolatry and broke their covenant with God, why did he patiently wait before pouring out his full anger? He tells us: “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:11)

Aligned with God’s purpose

So God seeks to display his glory always, and this is a crucial truth for those who pray to him and set their hearts to believe his promises. The upshot is, if I am not seeking what God is seeking, I am not aligned with him. If I am totally concerned with my desire rather than his, God might choose to display his mercy by answering my prayer, but he might not.

Surely the majority of the sick, demonized, and hurting people who came to Jesus for help did not have God’s glory uppermost in mind; still, Jesus healed them all and thereby displayed his glory as the Savior. God is a loving, merciful Savior, and all who came to Jesus in faith found that to be true.

There’s more

But God does not stop there. He goes on to teach his purposes and will to those who draw near to him through Jesus. He teaches them to pray and have faith in accordance with his purposes and will. Jesus told his disciples, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Getting prayers answered depends on abiding in Jesus and his words, that is, pursuing his purposes and will.

Similarly, 1 John 5:14–15 says, “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

So confidence—faith—increases as we pray in accord with God’s will and purpose.

Praying with God’s glory in mind

The psalmist prayed with God’s glory in mind:

“For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (Psalm 25:11).

“Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!” (Psalm 79:9)

“For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!” (Psalm 143:11)

“But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!” (Psalm 109:21)

A dual purpose

Notice in that last verse how the psalmist could ask God to act both on the psalmist’s behalf and for the sake of God’s name. It does not have to be one or the other. God does not see our desires as mutually exclusive with his glory. No, our desires can be the arena for him to display his glory.

That is the logic behind Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” To delight in God is to delight in his glory. When we do that, he gives the desire of our hearts, for we have navigated our ship into the ocean current and trade winds of his purpose and will.

When we do that, Jesus promises to answer prayers. He said, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13) So the purpose and desire of Jesus is to glorify his father, and he answers prayers for that reason. When we have the same purpose, our faith can have all the weight of heaven behind it.

Moreover, our faith can be firmly established on God’s command. First Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Takeaway

Faith is established only when it is built on the rock of God’s will and purposes. The bedrock of God’s purposes is the display of his glory. Therefore when we pray and believe God’s promise, our faith will be most firmly established when by it we are seeking God’s glory. Faith that is properly motivated is immovable.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #15 – God Often Requires Those Who Believe His Promises to Wait Much Longer than Expected for Their Fulfillment

Without both faith and patience, we will have neither patience nor faith.

faith and patience

If you intend to be a person of strong faith, who receives answers to prayers—a person established in faith—then you must carefully monitor your expectations about when God will answer.

You do have expectations, of course, and they determine whether you will easily become discouraged or even disillusioned, whether you will give up when the answer is delayed and collapse into a malaise of unbelief, or instead persevere in confident faith.

God tells us what our expectations should be regarding the time frame of the answer we seek.

Hebrews 6:12 and 15 says we should be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises…. And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”

Faith and patience

A person of strong faith must be one of great patience. We must be willing to wait for God. It is through faith and patience we inherit the promises.

This is so because from our perspective, God usually is slow in answering prayer. Abraham’s life is exhibit A in this regard, and he is called the father of all who believe. In many ways his life is the model of the faith life. So our expectation should be that patience will probably be required.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”

Hebrews 10:36 says, “You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

So God’s Word itself, which urges us to believe God and stand on his promises, tells us that God often requires those who believe his promises to wait much longer than expected for their fulfillment.

Proficient at patience

This is not a failing on God’s part, of course. He has wise and good reasons for his timing in all things. He has a plan for us that is vast in scope and literally stretches into eternity, while we have one situation in view.

Naturally the greater our pain, need, and desire, and the louder the clock ticks its reminder that we seemingly are running out of time, the harder it is to wait for God. But that is what faith requires. Faith keeps waiting for God even when it is too late, even when it seems our faith has been futile. The trademark of successful faith is patience.

So get good at patience. Be a master at waiting for God. As time passes and the answer delays, become proficient at growing stronger in faith over time rather than dwindling in faith over time. Never forget or abandon your requests of God.

It is natural to think that the longer the answer takes to appear, the less likely it is that your faith will be answered. Reject that notion! The likelihood that God will answer depends on his Word and your confidence in it, not how much time has passed!

On the road

My approach to long road trips has changed dramatically from what it was when I was young. Then I approached a five-hour trip as though I could somehow turn it into a two-hour trip by pushing the speed limit, urgently passing anyone going slower than I, limiting rest stops and keeping them as short as possible, and maintaining a hurried mindset.

Now I google to see the expected travel time and embark on the trip with that time frame in mind—with minimal stress. My expectation is that the trip will take some time, and I set my mind to patiently drive that long.

When I pray for something, I generally believe the prayer will be answered in the short term, and I think that is the right approach. But when that does not happen, I reset my expectations and settle in for the long haul. I make up my mind to wait for God patiently. I approach that faith situation like a long road trip.

Takeaway

So stand firm. Have biblical expectations about God’s time frame. The Lord is often slow and long. He is patient, and expects you to be patient. He often requires those who believe his promises to wait much longer than expected for their fulfillment.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #14 – God Does Not Answer the Prayers of an Unforgiving Person

If we want to move mountains by faith, then we need both to believe God and forgive others.

Believing God and Forgiving Others

There is a connection between faith and forgiveness. Jesus said:

“Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:22–25, ESV)

This monumental teaching by Jesus on great faith concludes by talking about greatly forgiving others.

And he does not set the bar low. He says to “forgive, if you have anything against anyone.”

“Anything” includes an unforgivable offense, a deeply evil deed that hurt you dearly and can never be repaid.

“Anyone” includes that person you despise.

Believing God and forgiving others

Can we move mountains in the world without removing mountainous grudges in our hearts?

Jesus answers that question with a parable. When Peter posed a question about forgiving others, Jesus said:

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

Gross hypocrisy

“But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

Justice is done

“When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23–35, ESV)

It’s not worth it

According to this parable, we cannot even be saved without forgiving others. So, can an unsaved person move mountains by faith?

Suppose a truly regenerate person struggles with forgiving someone. That is, they alternate between seasons of forgiveness and bitterness. Will they be able to maintain strong faith that their prayers will be answered?

Only God knows, but if none of your faith and prayers seem to be answered over a long period of time, and you are in and out of a grudge regularly, that might explain ineffective faith.

If you get offended regularly, if you feel resentment often, if you are angry with others on a daily basis, if you hate the person who hurt you, that may explain why your faith is feeble and your prayers go nowhere.

Takeaway

Jesus’s expansive promise about faith and prayer is followed by an emphatic call for forgiveness. They are connected. No grudge is worth weakening your faith, or worse, voiding your salvation. Do not give bitterness one square inch of your heart or one slim second of your time. When bitterness knocks, and you open the door, slam that door shut in his face. Do not let anything keep you from being established in faith.

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Truth #13 – Faith Is Completed through Love

You can be strong in faith but missing something crucial. The answer for incomplete faith is love.

incomplete faith

In one of the best known chapters of the Bible, the Love Chapter, the apostle Paul writes a shocking truth about faith. “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 [ESV here and elsewhere]).

If the Word of God says you are nothing, that should get your attention. Faith that can remove mountains seems like something significant; but God says if the person exercising this faith does not have the loving motive of seeking the good of others, then he is nothing. Thus his faith somehow misses its divine purpose. His faith is powerful but misguided, powerful but in the end producing nothing of lasting importance.

The fix for incomplete faith

Therefore, according to this verse, faith and love must be connected. Faith needs to be exercised with love.

It is not that faith cannot do anything without love. Paul says hypothetically that an unloving person can have enough faith to move mountains.

So there is more to faith than getting results; there is getting results for the right reason. Without that, even great faith is flawed. And if it is flawed, it will not be established. Our goal is to be established in faith.

So if you want to be established in faith, if you want to have enduringly strong faith, if you want to have faith that can move not only one mountain but many mountains, then you also need to be a loving person. A Christian who does not love others in a Christlike way has a flaw both in character and faith that will in one way or another negate the good fruits of that faith in the long run.

At least three other passages in the New Testament also make a connection between faith and love.

Galatians 5:6

In Galatians the apostle Paul argues at length against the idea that to be saved a person must not only believe in Jesus but also be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. As Paul nears the end of the letter, he sums up his argument: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

What counts is faith working through love. That sounds like what we saw above in 1 Corinthians 13. But here Paul is not talking about faith that moves mountains; rather, he refers to saving faith—belief in the gospel message. When a person sincerely believes that message, he or she will follow Jesus’s teaching to love God and people.

Still, although the application differs, we again see that faith and love are related. Faith needs to issue in love.

James 2:14–26

James 2:14–26 makes the case that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (v. 17).

Again, if God tells you that your faith is dead, that should get your attention. Something that is dead is flawed. Selah. Dead faith is missing something.

James says what dead faith is missing is works, and by works he explicitly has in mind loving works: “ 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (vv. 14–16)

Later in this section it says, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (v. 18)

Two verses later, “Faith apart from works is useless” (v. 20).

Referring to Abraham, the father of all who believe, James says, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works” (v. 22).

Although James never uses the word love in this passage, he clearly has love in view. Like Galatians 5:6 above, James is referring to faith that saves the soul, not the faith that moves mountains through prayer, but the point is still that faith is related to love. It is in fact “completed” by love. Such faith finds and fulfills its purpose.

Is faith that moves mountains similar to faith that saves one’s soul? Are both “completed” by love? First Corinthians 13:2, which we examined at the outset, suggests they are.

James 4:3

Later in his epistle, James talks about people whose faith apparently is flawed. He says they are praying, but their prayers are not being answered. James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

In other words, they are praying and I assume believing, but their conduct is marked by the absence of love. Here is the contentious context: James 4:1–3 says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

They are being utterly selfish. So this is a concrete example of unloving behavior that negates faith.

Can people pray and believe God for something yet be completely selfish? Certainly. People pray for what they want. Sometimes people want things for good and godly reasons; sometimes people want something for selfish and unloving reasons. Faith is established when it is completed by good, godly, and loving motives.

Takeaway

This strong connection between faith and love suggests that if I want to have great faith I also need to obey our Lord’s command to have great love (Mark 12:30–31).

If your faith is not working, could it be that you are regularly relating to one or more people in an unloving way? Could it be that your faith is flawed by selfishness, greed, pride, selfish ambition?

The pure motive of love for God and people leads to a completed faith that God delights to bless.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #12 – God’s Word Creates Faith

To increase our faith we must learn to absorb God’s Word in the way that creates faith.

increase our faith

Have you ever dearly wanted something and realized to get it you needed more faith?

That happened to me about four years ago. I came to the settled conclusion the church I serve must have the ability to win converts to Jesus. And for that to happen I myself needed to have the ability to win converts to Jesus. The frustrating truth was, the latter was not happening, though not for lack of effort.

But I knew God wanted it to happen. Luke 19:10 says Jesus “came to seek and to save the lost.” When he ascended to heaven, he gave that mission to his church. So I knew we were missing something. One crucial day James 1:5 convinced me God could give me the wisdom to understand what we were missing and what we could do about it.

But there was a complication. James 1:6, the very next verse, told me that to get that wisdom I must have faith.

How we increase our faith

The situation for which you need faith differs from mine. You may need faith for physical healing. You may need faith to get out of debt and establish your finances or to meet the person who will someday become your spouse or to conceive a child or to succeed in school or on the job or to overcome fear or depression.

Whatever your need, we all need more faith for something, and the good news is we can get it.

To get the wisdom I needed I began memorizing Scriptures about God’s willingness to give wisdom. Over the next year I collected a list of 39 Scriptures. One by one I memorized them and spent slow time pondering each one over and over again. Then I would cycle back and refresh my ability to quote the verses correctly and once again ponder each text one word and phrase at a time.

I have been doing that now for several years, and I now believe in every cell of my bones that God gives me the wisdom I ask for. And slowly I have been learning how to lead others to become followers of Jesus.

Breakthrough

Over the past year my breakthrough came. I know of four people who have responded to my conversations with them and said they wanted to follow Jesus. I assume others have as well, for I have given the gospel to hundreds of people in various ways over the same period. Every month or two I get another insight into how to improve and become more effective in this.

I am certain that over the next year I will lead more people to become followers of Jesus than I did last year. My wisdom and effectiveness will keep growing. Why? Because I believe God’s words concerning his willingness to give me wisdom, and so I keep seeking it and I keep getting it and using it. God’s words have created this settled faith in me.

God’s words create faith as acorns create oak trees.

Romans 10:17

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

In this verse Paul is describing how saving faith comes about, and he says it comes when lost people hear the message of the gospel, which is “the word of Christ.” The same principle applies to faith in general. Faith comes from hearing the word of God.

Faith needs an object, it needs content, and the object of faith is God and his Word. (Unlike the department store chain with the one-word marketing slogan, “Believe,” which does not specify what to believe, as though all that matters is belief in something or anything.)

Faith increases as we hear, read, and consider the Word of God and humbly and obediently choose to believe it. God’s word creates faith as acorns create oaks.

The unique vitality of divine words

God’s words are not like ordinary human words.

First, like acorns God’s words are alive. Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and active...” Living things grow and multiply. Living things are active, like the new leader of an organization who brings fresh ideas, energy, and vision. Scripture pulses with life.

Second, God’s words are spirit. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). Notice that he did not say his words are spiritual, although that is certainly true. Rather he said his words “are spirit.” He was asserting something about the nature and essence of God’s words. God is spirit (John 4:24), and his words also are spirit. Whatever that means exactly, it suggests why his words are powerful, uniquely life-changing, and able to create faith, why they are living and active.

This sheds light on why God can say, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10–11).

It makes sense

As this verse illustrates, God’s words are instrumental in nature, and they hold a place at the center of his relationship with us and the foundation of no less than the universe itself. For example:

Jesus is the Word

John 1:1–2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Verses 14–18 make it clear that “the Word” is Jesus.

In John 14:6 Jesus described himself as “the truth.”

Clearly, if God himself can be described as the Word, then words are fundamental to all reality. It makes sense, then, that words are fundamental to our faith.

God created all things through his words

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9 says, “3 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. … 6 And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ … 9 And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.”

Likewise for the remaining days of creation. God creates through his verbal commands.

It makes sense, then, that he creates faith in us by his Word.

God exalts his words for the sake of his glory

The Holy Spirit inspired the writer of Psalm 138 to say to God,  “you have exalted above all things your name and your word” (v. 2).

The Holy Spirit inspired the writer of Psalm 56 to say three times the refrain that he praised God’s words. “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust” (v. 4). “In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust” (vv. 10, 11). And twice the psalmist links his praise of God’s words with his trust in God.

The psalmist’s praise for God’s words inspired his trust in God. God’s word creates the faith that brings God glory.

Takeaway

You need more faith for situations you face. The question is, how badly do you want it? Enough to really knuckle down and work for it for the long haul? To carefully read several chapters of Scripture daily? And to compile verses that pertain to your situation and memorize and meditate on them? To regularly ask God to help you do all this and thereby to increase your faith?

Shifting my analogy: Although it only takes one acorn to create an oak tree, it takes many acorns to feed a squirrel for the winter. The more acorns you squirrel away, the stronger your faith will grow.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #11 (part c) – Faith Can Grow

You will have more faith if you rely on the great reservoir of faith: Jesus.

more faith

Continued from last week May 2

How strong is your desire to have more faith? In the previous two posts we saw that the strength of faith largely depends on one’s choices and actions. God has given us means to faith that we must employ. Here are two more means to faith.

The faith and testimonies of other Christians

Paul wrote to the Christians of Rome that he looked forward to coming there someday so that “we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:12).

Who you associate with significantly affects your level of faith. Even the apostle Paul—who had seen Jesus!—felt it.

We must be aware we associate with others not only in person, but also through what we read, watch, and listen to. (One of the surest ways not to have faith is to eat at the table of secular news media.)

“Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33), and unbelieving company ruins good faith. When unbelief, doubt, and skepticism are in the air, they can linger in your heart when you walk out the door or turn off the screen. But when you associate with people of faith, faith lingers and abides and overcomes.

During the first year or two of the coronavirus situation, when fear and doubt were everywhere, I made it a point regularly to tune in to a Zoom call for my fellow pastors in Illinois because the people on that call were people of faith, courage, and hope. They told stories of how God was helping them and their church. They trusted God even when tough things were happening. And they shared needs and prayed with faith. Invariably when those calls ended, my faith was stronger.

The presence of God within

Writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, the apostle Paul referred to “the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). Paul is not speaking here about Jesus as the object of one’s faith, but rather as the source of faith. He is saying that Jesus is an infinite reservoir of faith and love, from which we can draw faith.

It is from our union with Christ, from his living within us, that we have faith. Elsewhere Paul wrote, “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

So your faith ceiling ultimately does not depend on you, but on the faith ceiling of Jesus. In Christ Jesus is infinite faith, and he will supply faith in your soul as you learn to rely on him.

Learning to draw faith from Jesus within means regularly asking him for it. It means learning to live in the power of the Holy Spirit at all times, choosing to stay in step with him by expressing the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). It means enhancing the awareness of his presence by continual prayer, worship, and thanksgiving.

And it means keeping his words in mind by reading, memorizing, and meditating on Scripture, for the Lord’s Word and presence are profoundly connected. It means receiving Communion and gathering with God’s people weekly, for Jesus is present in both. It means meditating on the works, words, and person of Jesus revealed in the four Gospels, for Jesus the person, in mind, in view, in action, inspires faith. We learn faith in the Father from his faith in the Father.

Faith is circular. You need to receive faith from Jesus to have faith, and you need to have faith to receive faith. When you get into the flow of faith, it keeps growing. Unfortunately the reverse is also true. So step into the flow that is going in the right direction, wholeheartedly, choosing to believe, and your faith will keep growing. There is no end to the faith that is in the reservoir named Jesus.

Next week we conclude the means to faith with the most important of all: God’s Word

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #11 (part b) – Faith Can Grow

To increase your faith consider supernatural events such as the resurrection of Jesus, as well as the signs, wonders, and miracles God still performs today.

supernatural

Continued from last week April 25

How strong is your desire to have more faith? In the previous post we saw that the strength of faith largely depends on one’s choices and actions. God has given us means to faith that we must employ. In addition to the three noted in the previous post, here are two more means to faith, which rest on God’s supernatural works.

The Resurrection of Jesus

The resurrection of Jesus is a cornerstone of faith. When you become persuaded that God really did raise him from the grave, it transforms your worldview, for it implies several things.

One, the resurrection implies that God exists.

Two, the resurrection implies that God is engaged in our world and willing to do miracles. He is not a disengaged deity, the God of the deists, who created the world and then left us and the creation on its own.

Three, the resurrection affirms the reality and possibility of the supernatural, of miracles.

Four, the resurrection affirms that Jesus is who he claimed to be: the Son of God.

The apostle Paul tells how the resurrection of Jesus should increase one’s faith when he prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know…what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:17–20 ESV).

Therefore, to strengthen your faith, meditate on the resurrection of Jesus and God’s promise that the same resurrection power is available to every believer.

Signs, wonders, and miracles

On the role that miracles can have in growing faith, Jesus said, “ 25 The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me…. 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:25, 37–38)

In Acts, miracles played a role in leading people to faith. See for example Acts 8:4–13; 13:1–12.

Supernatural signs, wonders, and miracles from the hand of God still happen in the world, and hearing such testimonies strengthens your faith.

Of course, even Christians, steeped in a culture that holds to naturalism, are skeptical of anything supernatural. A skeptic can always find a reason to discount miracles today, just as people did who doubted Jesus, but many contemporary miracles have been documented extensively and beyond reasonable doubt.

Are there fake miracles and charlatans? Of course. But that does not disprove the genuine.

Several credible scholars and journalists who have written books about miracles and included vetted stories are:

Craig S. Keener (Miracles Today and other volumes)

J. P. Moreland (A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles, and Kingdom Triangle).

Lee Strobel (The Case for Miracles)

Eric Metaxas (Miracles)

Tim Stafford (Miracles: A Journalist Looks at Modern Day Experiences of God’s Power)

Next week: More means to faith

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #11 (part a) – Faith Can Grow

On our own we have zero capacity for faith in the true God revealed in the Bible. Therefore to grow in faith we need the God-given means of faith.

grow in faith

Have you ever wondered why Jesus admonished his disciples for their lack of faith in situations that would have tested even people of much faith?

The most surprising example of this was when a violent storm had nearly swamped the boat they were in, as Jesus slept peacefully on pillow. When the panicked disciples woke him, “he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:26).

We naturally think that it would take enormous faith not to be afraid in that situation. But Jesus faulted them for their fear, for their “little faith.” He did the same on other occasions. When the disciples could not cast out one particularly stubborn demon and the disciples asked him why, he pulled no punches, explaining, “Because of your little faith” (Matthew 17:20).

He said if they had faith only as small as a mustard seed they could move mountains. Yet the disciples did show faith when they left everything to follow him. So why did he fault them on other occasions?

The answer must be they had failed to rightly and fully employ the means of grace God had provided. They had neglected to use the ways God has given us all to grow in faith, and as a result they were men of little faith.

One of those means of growing in faith is reason.

1. Reason

Contrast the twelve disciples with the centurion—a gentile, no less—who rightly employed one of the means of faith, so much so that Jesus marveled. He asked Jesus to come and heal his servant and told him not to bother coming to his home but merely speak a word of command and the servant would be healed.

He explained, “For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:9).

Jesus remarked that he had never seen such great faith with anyone in Israel. On what did the centurion’s faith rest? On the foundation of reason. He had reasoned that if soldiers under his authority had to obey his words, then nature, including the disease in his servant’s body, had to obey the words of someone as manifestly authoritative as Jesus.

Although no one can come to saving faith in God by using unaided human wisdom and philosophy, God has ordained that human reason does play an important role in faith. That is why observing nature, for example, can lead to faith. It is obvious to any sane person without a sinful bias that a world of such amazing beauty, design, wisdom, and glory could not have come about except by an all-powerful and all-wise Creator. That is the right use of reason, and it leads to faith.

Let’s look at more God-given means to great faith.

2. The natural world

In the paragraph above we saw that reason can learn things about God from the natural world, and that is because it also is one of the most important means of faith.

Romans 1:19–20 says, “What can be known about God is plain to [unrighteous people], because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

The natural world shouts, There is a God! He has eternal power! He is divine!

Psalm 19:1–2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”

Contemplating God’s role in the natural world can not only cause people to believe that God exists, it increases the faith of those who already believe. Ponder the complex design of the human body, for example, and you can grow in faith as you realize how great is the wisdom required to create and sustain life (see Psalm 139). And then you reason, If God can do that, he can do this.

3. Obedience

In large measure, faith is an act of obedience. We humbly choose to believe what God says, whether we understand it or not, whether we like it or not.

Romans 16:26 speaks of “the obedience of faith.”

Second Thessalonians 2:10 speaks of “those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” Such refusal is an act of the will. It is a choice. Such refusal is an act of intellectual disobedience.

Jesus told a group of people who raised questions about his credentials for teaching: “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority” (John 7:17).

In other words, the reason many people do not believe Jesus is they do not want to do God’s will. They attempt to hide their disobedient hearts by raising an unending list of questions and objections to this and that about God and the Bible, which they claim causes them not to believe. But Jesus says the real issue is they do not believe because they do not want to believe. They want to sin; they are in rebellion; and they rationalize it with unbelief.

Christians too can disobey intellectually

So how does this principle affect a sincere follower of Jesus? Even after we become Christians, pride and intellectual disobedience can be a problem. Thinking we know better than the Bible in certain issues is common even for Christians, especially when in those issues the Scriptures go against the grain of the wider culture. If we regularly find ourselves questioning, even challenging, the Bible, whether it is true and inerrant in all it maintains, we need to humble ourselves and accept the authority of Scripture over our minds and beliefs.

Faith is an act of obedience. I choose to believe what the Scripture says whether I understand it or not, whether I like it or not, whether our current culture approves or not. Why? Because Jesus always treated the written Scriptures as the inspired, inerrant, Word of God, and I believe that his life and ministry and resurrection from the dead validate his claim to be the Son of God. He knows what he is talking about.

I do not. I am a limited, erring human trying to figure out what is real. Proverbs 28:26 says, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” I therefore have chosen to obey the one who I am convinced knows the truth. And so I obey him by believing what he says. Faith is a matter of obedience to one who has shown he knows what he is talking about.

The mindset I have just described would be disastrous if I have chosen to follow a person or philosophy that is false. That would be “drinking the Kool-Aid.” But having surveyed the field, there is no doubt in my mind that only one person and one book have stood the tests of time, reason, history, proven wisdom, science, conscience, and cogency concerning every aspect of life from family to finances to mental health. No one else holds a candle to the blazing light manifest in Jesus and the Bible.

It is the willingness to obey and believe that determines whether other means of faith given by God—such as nature and the Bible and reason and miracles—result in increased faith.

Next week we will continue looking at further God-given means of faith.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #10 – Faith Is Tested

Is God testing people?

testing

On day one of a college class, teachers hand out a syllabus and explain point-by-point what students must do to learn and succeed. The syllabus lists reading assignments, papers, projects, and tests. Good students pay close attention to everything, and in particular they note how many tests and papers to expect. Students who do not prepare for testing will not perform as well as those who do.

Christians who deliberately use their faith to see God’s promises fulfilled in their lives also understand that testing is a normal part of how God works with believers. Our faith will be tested to see if it is genuine. It is on the syllabus. We should not be surprised by it.

The testing of your faith

James 1:2–4 says, “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Verse 3 speaks of “the testing of your faith.”

Abraham’s life is a pattern for the faith life, and he experienced the testing of his faith. His faith had to endure 25 years of waiting for the Lord to fulfill his Word.

And even after he received his promised child Isaac, he had to pass another hard trial. Genesis 22:1 says, “After these things God tested Abraham.” God told him to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. Later God provided a ram to sacrifice in Isaac’s place, but Abraham did not know how this all would work out until his knife was raised. Only by faith could Abraham do that.

Being prepared

So God tests our faith (see also 1 Thessalonians 2:4). As we exercise our faith, and it takes longer than we hoped for the answer to come, and we wonder how long it will take for the answer, or how much pain we must endure—or whether God will ever answer—we need to remember that our faith is being tested. The period of waiting is not a surprise, nor are the circumstances that deny what we believe. If the symptoms of disease continue when we are believing for healing, it is a test of faith. If bills keep coming that we cannot pay even as we believe for full provision, it is a test of faith.

Perfect and complete

James 1:3–4 revealed one of God’s good reasons for this testing: “…the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The purpose of testing faith is that in the end we be “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” That is now and eternally valuable. And what brings about this precious result is a test that requires steadfastness in faith.

So testing is on the syllabus of faith. Do not be surprised by it. We should enter a faith situation with the awareness that it might resemble the process a medical student goes through to become a licensed physician. If God does not answer in the short term, prepare yourself for the test of whether you believe enough to endure for however long it takes. True faith is steadfast and patient.

The tested genuineness of your faith

First Peter 1:6–7 provides further motivation for those in a spiritual examination. “…now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The motivation is found at the end of the verse. Peter says that the result of faith that is tested and found genuine is “praise and glory and honor” when Jesus comes again. We might initially assume that the one receiving the praise and glory and honor is Jesus. Well, he certainly will receive that in great supply, but this verse is not speaking about his praise. It is talking about the praise and glory and honor that will come to those who have genuine faith.

The New Testament teaches this repeatedly. Jesus said, “If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26). Romans 2:10 says there will be “glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good.” Romans 2:29 speaks of those “whose praise is not from men but from God” (NKJV).

Although 1 Peter 1:6–7 is speaking specifically about the faith in Jesus that brings salvation, I expect that the same principle extends to the faith that believes any of God’s promises. God loves our faith. He rewards and praises faith, as he did with the centurion, who caused Jesus to marvel and proclaim, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”

Proven faith pleases God

And this pleasure of God in faith is one reason we choose to be people of faith in all that God says. God is honored by faith and dishonored by unbelief. We exercise our faith not merely because we want something from God, but also because we want something for God. We want him to be pleased by our faith. And we want him to be exalted through it, praised through it, given thanks for what it accomplishes through his mighty power.

For God has always gotten his glory through his daughters and sons who believed him. From Enoch to Noah, from Abraham to Sarah, from Job to Daniel, from David to Mary. When our faith is tested and we endure, no matter how long it takes or how much we suffer, God is pleased and in the end will get much glory. All because our faith is genuine, worthy of a God as great as ours, and to God worth infinitely more than gold.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

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Truth #9 – Faith Speaks

Living faith speaks and by speaking grows stronger.

faith speaks

King David knew lots about faith. In Psalm 23 he demonstrates the important principle we will explore today.

In verse 1 David writes, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” That is a statement of faith. Similarly, the last verse in the psalm speaks words of faith: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (v. 6).

Speaking confident words about what God will do in the future is a normal part of David’s psalms. Is that presumptuous? Should he attach to each statement of faith the words “Not my will but yours be done,” as Jesus used in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Was David presumptuous when he shouted to Goliath in the hearing of the soldiers nearby, “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” (1 Samuel 17:45–47)

That is as bold a declaration of faith as you will ever see. And as correct as the words “Lord willing” are, David does not say that. He believes he knows God’s will in this matter, and he speaks it out for all to hear. Judging by the results, we can conclude that God approved of David’s confidence in him.

Faith speaks

Living faith speaks and by speaking grows stronger.

Faith must speak, for Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). There is an unavoidable unity between the heart and the tongue.

A heart brimming with faith delights to put that faith into words.

Faith declarations are a fruit of faith feelings. Words are organic to faith. They are like roots growing down from a seed into the earth and like the stem sprouting up from that seed and reaching for the sun.

Unbelief speaks

Unbelief certainly speaks. When we do not truly believe, we can scarcely hold back our negativity, complaints, grumbling, and forebodings.

When the twelve spies sent by Moses to explore the Promised Land returned, ten of them tried to say something positive but then spoke the fear that had taken over their hearts:

“We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.” (Numbers 13:27–28)

Two of the twelve spies—Joshua and Caleb—had faith, and they answered the fears of the ten with a verbal declaration of confidence in what God would do. “Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.’” (Numbers 13:30)

Fearing that the faith of Caleb and Joshua might persuade the nation to invade and fight, the ten spies then spoke the terror and doubt that had taken over their souls:

“‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.’ So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, ‘The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’” (Numbers 13:31–33)

Unbelief speaks and by speaking grows stronger.

The spirituality of words

Spoken words are spiritual and powerful. They are an inevitable, organic element of faith or doubt.

Paul referred to the “spirit of faith.” He said, “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13). The spirit of faith is, “I believed, and so I spoke.”

Spoken words are so spiritually important and such a reliable indicator of the heart that God includes them in his description of how a person is saved. Romans 10:9–10 says:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Confessions matter to God. Our spoken declarations of faith correspond to his spoken declarations of promise.

Faith speaks in two ways

Have you ever tried to speak words of faith when your heart did not believe? You can feel the bifurcation of your soul. It feels as though you are lying (though you are not, for it is never wrong to agree with what God says). Consequently, sometimes we need to declare God’s promise aloud until we can declare our faith aloud.

That illustrates the need for two sorts of faith statements. One is declaring God’s promise; the other is declaring the fulfillment of that promise. Both are important and powerful.

If you are sick, for example, you declare the promise, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2–3). You say it aloud until you believe it, for living faith speaks and by speaking grows stronger. And when you truly believe God’s promise, you declare with a unified heart, “I am healed.” (See By Faith I Already Have the Answers to My Prayers.)

Takeaway

Living faith speaks and by speaking grows stronger.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)