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Morning Thoughts |
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Hebrews 11:6, "But without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." This morning, we have all heard the expression, "That is getting the cart before the horse." Many times, our thinking puts things in front that really follow after something else, and faith is just such a concept from Scripture that gets put behind things when it is really a prerequisite for those things. Before someone can come to God, believe in Him, accept Him, confess Him, honour Him, or do the precepts and commands as He would have us do them, that individual must have faith first. Without faith, none of our efforts please Him, therefore faith stands in the forefront of our actions that bring a pleasing aroma into the nostrils of Almighty God. Since all men do not have faith (II Thessalonians 3:2), we can easily surmise that not all men can please God, as they have not the capacity or ability to do so. Yet, even when faith is present, pleasing Him is not a guarantee, for even the most noble of Biblical characters displeased Him from time to time. Therefore, we need to understand that faith must come first to please Him, and how we please Him must be in the right frame. Paul is in the midst of drawing some hard-hitting conclusions about faith. He has laboured to show that Jesus Christ is the realization of all that the old service, dispensation, prophecy, type, and shadow pointed to, and he will conclude his discussion by showing how we ought to view Christ in the light of the things that he has presented. We have to view these things by faith, or we will not view them at all. Those characters that Paul brings to light from the old dispensation, while seeing them in dark shadow, still had the hope of the realization of the promised Messiah and His work. Abel understood what a more perfect offering and sacrifice contained: blood. Enoch understood how to walk with God. Abraham stumbled not at God's promise of a son in his old age, and Sarah had the strength to bring the son forth. Abraham further understood the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by seeing his son Isaac raised back unto him in a figure. The list goes on of those that suffered loss of life and limb and whether in life or death understood their transient existence here. As pilgrims and strangers, our home is in heaven with this transitory life being a fleeting one of nomadic activity. How were all these things accomplished? By faith that came from God to be able to please Him in their actions and thoughts. When we are in the flesh (void of spiritual life), we cannot please God. (Romans 8:8) But walking by faith, we can please Him provided we understand some details of that walk. Faith understands that God is not some demented, despotic dictator that delights in torturing His creation. Rather, faith affirms that God is a just, righteous, and benevolent Creator that shows mercy and exists in truth and verity. Therefore, it is by faith that we understand that God exists, or that He simply is! There is a modern wave of thought that declares, "Everyone, in the back of their mind, knows there is a God. Some just don't act on it." Beloved this is a shameless mockery of Scripture, for the reason not every man can know that there is a God is that not all men have faith. Man's natural state denies the existence of God, and all information provided to him about the matter is dismissed as superstition, hoax, fable, fantasy, or some other fictitious thing. In man's carnal, natural mind, he denies Him (Psalm 10:3), and in his heart, he denies Him. (Psalm 14, Psalm 53) Whether someone desires to speak of man's natural mind or natural heart, both are void of the knowledge of the existence of God. Now, that does not leave man without excuse, for the evidence just of the natural creation is overwhelming enough to show His existence, but ah, even that concept is understood by faith. (Hebrews 11:2) Understanding the existence of God cannot be reckoned by anything other than faith. One of truly amazing things for me to watch (though I am terrible at it) is Christian apologetics. These men are able to reason with non-believers in a logical way and whittle and hone the discussion to a point that all parties can agree upon. At that point, however, the best of apologetics cannot go any further with one that has no faith. Logic alone cannot grasp the concept of God for who He is or what He has done. Paul goes on to declare that faith not only understands the existence of God, but what faith can expect to those that come in faith unto Him. It takes faith to come to something not seen, felt, heard, touched, or tasted by natural perception. But, faith even assures us of what we will find. Faith assures the heart that diligent seeking after God and coming to Him often in prayer, supplication, and service yields the fruit of rewards for service. Faith does not come for the rewards, but faith understands that God is faithful according to His promise to reward His children for diligent service. Too many times, we can become extremists in either direction in our view of God's dealings with His children. On the one hand, some may say, "Well, He may never bless me, and as faithful as I could be, I might not ever get anything." On the other hand, some may say, "Just come to God, and He'll give that to you." In the first extreme, the speaker's thought is void of the promised blessings of God for our faithful service. The blessings may come in ways not expected, and the blessing may be the simple assurance from the Holy Spirit in the heart, "Well done thou good and faithful servant," but dear friends, He has promised to bless us. That should never be forgotten. He is not arbitrary in the way He deals with His people, and faith understands that what He has promised, He will also perform. Did He have to make the promise to bless us for faithful service? Heavens no! But, can He withhold the blessing that He has obligated Himself unto? Heavens no, for that would go against His very nature! On the other hand, faith does not seek after the blessings or rewards, even though it understands the promise of them. Faith does not come out of greed and selfishness that looks toward the reward and not toward the Rewarder. A selfish notion towards God is just as dishonouring to Him as an arbitrary idea of Him. Faith stands between these two points that understands what the outcome is, but also why it is and how it is. Finally, faith's course and purpose is to please God. Too many times, I fear, we look at faith improperly like faith is imperfect. The faith that God has given unto His people is not flawed. Whenever we have "weak faith" or lapses in faith, we are really having weak exercise of faith and lapses in our exercise of it. For example, if I were to sit around all day doing nothing, I would never lose a single muscle in my body. They would all be there with just the same number I had when I came into this world. However, the more I exercise my muscles, the more profitable they are to me. Faith is just as sure and measured as the day the Lord dealt it to each of His children. They never gain more faith or lose some of it, but our exercise of it shows the profitability of it in our lives. The more exercise, the greater profit and more responsibilities we can take on. (Luke 12:48) As we grow in faith (in the use of it), we grow in our walk to please God better and better. When we come to Him more often, seek His face more in the future than we have in the past, and desire and seek His counsel more frequently, our use of faith grows. May we seek to know more of Him, about Him, and feel Him by the use of faith today than we did yesterday, and tomorrow more than today.  In Hope, Bro Philip |