Christian Living

The Conviction of His Assurance

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
10/16/20
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“But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!” (Acts 3:6)

Some people are lucky, and it upsets me a bit because I have no luck. I have a friend who goes to the casino and will leave with much more money than what he took with him. He never plays anything but the slots. If I was a gambler, then the slots is a game I’d never play. I don’t have any luck, so naturally, I don’t believe or place much stock in luck. But I can’t say my friend has faith because he does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So as much as I hate to use the word, I say that he is lucky.

If anything goes well for me, it is because the Lord has led me into it, and I have faith in my belief that if He leads, He will provide a good outcome. Doubt is my only stumbling block, so I focus on what I believe is true and with faith act on it till it is seen. Doubt is why I have so much been intrigued by the verse we are looking at today. When I first read this verse, I saw a difference in how faith works I hadn’t seen before. So here let us look at what is and what can be.

I don’t think the natural man has faith in its purest definition. I think he manages his circumstances well, if at all. I am saying that the natural man does not have the faith that can see what is yet not seen. A quick example is that a natural man cannot see Heaven and its glory with his naked eye. For us here to see Heaven, we first have to believe that it exists and then see it through our faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight--.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) Practicing that we live as we are citizens of Heaven because we are. We practice as best as we can living as Divine beings here because it brings us closer to that we believe. It allows others to see the joy we have in communion with God, our Creator, through Jesus His Son. Here we are on the pavement, but in truth, we are walking on the streets of Gold. Think about that the next time you throw a gum wrapper down on the pavement and realize you have littered the streets of Heaven.

If a man does not have faith in his war chest, where does he get that faith? Jesus shows us the benefit of having in our possession the smallest amount of faith. A Syrophoenician woman came to Jesus, who had a demon-possessed daughter. She came from afar in her belief that Jesus could heal her daughter. But Jesus said He had come to save the Jews and rebuked her. But the woman persisted and bowed down before Him and begged for His help. Moved by her act of faith in what she believed of Him, Jesus healed her daughter. “Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.” (Matthew 15:28)

People get faith and wish mixed up at times. I hear people say I have faith that I will win the lottery this time and gamble twice as much. Or I have faith that the sun will come up in the morning. That is not faith. They do not see dollars falling from heaven and therefore gambled their money on that, and neither do that see the sun coming up in the morning as one day it will not. They use the word faith but not as an action based on what they believe but on what they wish for. The woman traveled from Canaan because she believed that Jesus could drive the demons out of her daughter. Her faith carried her that distance because she was acting on her belief, and when Jesus rebuked her, she pleaded because her faith saw her daughter healed by Jesus. And Jesus answered her prayer because of her faith.

Another thing about faith is that it does not sit on the fence. Faith can only be on one side, the side of truth, the truth of God’s will, His plan, and purpose. If your belief is in His truth, you should live by your faith as it is the truth. If God promises that you will have eternal life, then you should live your life eternally, living in the joy of eternal life, and not worry about worldly things but focus on eternal things. The saying is that “if God said it, then it is.” His Word created the world, and you are in it for a time, and you know it is true. When you pray for what God has promised you and what you believe is true, then live as it is in faith. Think about that, who in their right mind can doubt what God has said. “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” (Mark 11:24)

Jesus is our perfect example of faith in action. He is the perfect example of faith in the will of God the Father. He lived it throughout His life and ministry here in the world. It was faith in His Father’s will that set Him towards the cross and set Him at the right hand of His Father’s throne. If we find ourselves in times of difficulty doing the will of God, then our faith in His Word is lacking in seeing what He has set before us, then we need to go to our Lord and ask Him to increase our faith. Even the original disciples had a hard time grasping all that Jesus was teaching them, and they asked and received. “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)

To have faith is important, but we also need to know what to have faith in. Faith is not just for the things we need to function in this world, as Jesus addresses that in a much clearer way to us. He gave us that key in His Sermon on the Mount that we should not worry over the things of this world but focus on the things of the next. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) To know what we should be believing and what to place our faith in, we need to know God’s Word. As my wife constantly tells me, I will never put anything together if I don’t read the directions. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Faith is one of those commodities that produce much and has great power. Not that I desire to do so, but I spend much of my time mountain climbing. The truth is that we all do a lot of time on the sloops of life. When we see mountains coming into our path, it is a time for us to be in prayer earnestly. Our life here in the world will always have trials and tribulations, for some more than their share. My dad always told me to have a little faith in a big God. Simple things are sometimes the most powerful things, and a little measure of faith can do great things. “And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17:20)

Nothing is impossible for God, nothing. He is the Creator of all there is, and I don’t believe He has stopped in that activity. Jesus is preparing a place now for His own. We don’t know or can imagine the extent of the universes we live in or even if this is the only one. God is creating today, and He can do anything according to His will. If God can do all things, then we who believe in Him and act on faith in His Word can also do all things according to His will. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Let us never forget that we have His Spirit living within us that is our counselor. The Spirit interprets the Scriptures fresh to us each time we meditate upon them. He works to transform us from the old person we were to the new creature in Christ; we are becoming and someday shall be. He helps us in our weakness and teaches us in our prayers that we know what our faith is to be placed in. “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

The difference between those who wish for things they never receive wish for things that have no eternal value. People who place their hope in the world and look not to the inevitable future are just over the sun’s rise. They have their desires and wants only to find no satisfaction in the end. Those who believe and act on their God-given faith in His Word have the conviction of seeing the eternity set before them in a place of love, peace, and joy. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, March 20, 2019