Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I have written many times before about the need for developing a platform of faith. This platform is made up of individual planks which contain Scriptural truths on which we can stand when facing trials and tribulations, satanic assaults, or self-doubt. It is from these Scriptural truths that we develop a sense of confidence, courage, and strength that comes from knowing that we are clothed in the Armor of God. And we add more and more planks to our platform of faith as we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and experience the truth of his words coming alive in us. As Jesus told his Disciples, “If you follow my teachings, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
The unique quality that sets Christianity apart from every other world religion is that our criterion is based on “faith” rather than on works. So what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us “it is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things not yet seen.” In every other religion, the goal is to earn god’s acceptance and favor by one’s deeds. We, however, are told, in Hebrews 11:6: “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” And again in 2 Corinthians 5:7 we are told to “walk by faith and not by sight.” In other words, we are to stand on the Truth of God’s Word and be obedient to it.
Today I would like to talk about two fundamental planks that are indispensable in any platform of faith. If we stood firmly on these two truths alone, think of the courage and security we would have when facing any challenge. The first plank can be found in Deuteronomy 31:6 when Moses passed to Joshua the leadership for taking the people into the Promised Land: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. The Lord your God will go before you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.” That verse is restated many times throughout the Bible because that truth is so powerful. Think about it. If that verse were firmly rooted in our heart, how would it affect how we go about our daily business? Knowing that God will go ahead of us – that he will never leave us or forsake us – should give us incredible confidence and security.
God was referred to above as “one who rewards those who seek him”. Our reward for diligently seeking him is becoming aware of his will for our life, and his first order of business for us is to accept his Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior. When we do this, we are given a new identity. We are in Christ, meaning we inherit everything Christ did on the cross. At this point our eternal destiny is sealed because our sins are forgiven and we now qualify for eternal life. But the good news for us who are still living in this fallen world, is that we also inherit the Holy Spirit who empowers us to rise above the world around us to become the person God created us to be –right here, right now. Notice that the Holy Spirit doesn’t solve our problems for us, but rather he empowers us when we call on him to give us wisdom, insight, courage, strength, patience, perseverance, etc. – whatever it is we need to bring honor and glory to God by our choices. The Holy Spirit – the essence of Jesus Christ living in us – responds by meeting our need(s). Just as God (in the form of the Holy Spirit) was with Joshua , so is the Holy Spirit with us today.
The second Scripture that is indispensable in our platform of faith can be found in Luke 1:37 in response to Mary’s question to the angel Gabriel, “But how can I have a baby? I am still a virgin.” Gabriel’s answer to Mary was, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Wow! How’s that for a firm foundation on which to stand. What more could we ask for? God, the omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, Alpha and Omega, Creator of the Universe, Godhead of the Trinity is in my corner. And not only is he in my corner, but He wants a personal relationship with ME! In fact, he wants to use ME to further his Kingdom here on earth. But you say, “I can’t do that. I’m not qualified.” Well, truth be told, you wouldn’t be the first to say that. But keep in mind…God’s in the remakin’ business and the miracle business.
When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses wasn’t thrilled with the idea. In fact, Exodus 3 and 4 list five excuses Moses gave for disqualifying himself from the job. 1. I’m not good enough (3:11); 2. I don’t have all the answers (3:13); 3. People won’t believe me (4:1); 4. I’m a terrible public speaker (4:10); and 5. I’m not qualified. “Please, anyone but me.” (4:13) Needless to say, God doesn’t always call the qualified ones, but he always qualifies the ones he calls. Also notice that he does whatever it takes to get our attention, or to get the job done. For instance, the Red Sea nor the River Jordan presented a problem for those carrying a staff.
Then there was Jonah, who when called by the Lord to go to Nineveh to proclaim His judgment against the city, went the opposite direction to Joppa where he hoped to find a ship that would take him further away from the Lord. Needless to say, the Lord had to do what he had to do to get Jonah’s attention, so three days and three nights in the belly of a fish did the trick. After the fish spit up Jonah on the shore, he went to Nineveh and the whole city turned from their sin and turned to God.
Then there was Saul, the quintessential Jewish Pharisee who maintained such strict obedience to the Law that he was never accused of any fault. And zealous? Yes! He harshly persecuted the followers of Jesus Christ. In fact, he was on his way to Damascus to bring back more Believers in chains when he had a radical encounter with Jesus Christ. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 8:4) From that moment on, Saul’s life was never the same. In fact, he became Apostle Paul and wrote 2/3 of the New Testament and carried the message of Jesus, the risen Messiah, to the Gentiles.
The purpose of these few examples is to show that God Jehovah of the Bible is Almighty, all-powerful, and nothing – absolutely nothing – is impossible with him. Yet this same Majestic God is filled with love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, compassion, kindness, tolerance and he wants a personal relationship with each of us. Even before he created the world he had a plan in place for our salvation. You see, God honored his choice to give us free will from Creation to 2017 years ago. At that time, after we proved ourselves to be utterly helpless to overcome our sin-nature, God implemented his Gift of Grace, as described in Romans 5:6. “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” All we have to do to accept his free Gift of Grace is believe that he is God and that he is the rewarder of those who put their faith in the Truth of His Word. This is summed up in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but WILL have eternal life.” Notice that the only requirement for eternal life is belief in Him, and this gift is available to anyone.
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May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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