Faith Series Life of Faith

In Hebrews 11 6 we read 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. I really believe that friends. I believe God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Years ago I had a heart burden to go deeper with God in my walk with him. I asked God to make me a man of faith and I meant it not knowing at the time what would in what that would entail to make that prayer a reality in my life. Little did I know at the time the deep waters I would have to pass through, the hardships I would encounter, the many trials and adversities that would come my way.

But God doesn't do his deepest work beneath sunny skies but in sorrow filled nights of pounding storms and threatening tempest where things get so distressed that only a real move of God can deliver you. Where faith is built on rolling waters and hammered out on the anvil of trial and adversity, faith has to be developed by the spiritual eyes rather than the physical because one must see beyond his circumstances to recognize God at work. I believe faith and obedience go hand in hand like biscuits and gravy for in Hebrews we read, Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

For God to answer my prayer and make me a man of faith, he had work due in me and that wasn't going to happen all at once or overnight. It would take years to make this desire a reality in my life. Moses had much of Egypt still in him when he fled from Pharaoh to go to the Midian desert.

It took God forty years to get all of Egypt out of Moses. In fact, we read the comments of F.J. Hegel who observed, For forty years on the lonely slopes of Midian the fiery Moses has schooled. There were graves, if I may so speak, scattered all over the mountainside where hope after hope was buried until at last self went down in utter annihilation.

Well, I had a lot of the world in me and God had to get that clean out of me before he could build faith into me. And through the years as God was developing the life of faith in me, he would give me incredible instances of his presence and power and supernatural activity that could only be explained by him. These periods of experiencing God would sustain me, would enlarge me, would enable me to press on to the higher altitudes with him where the air is more rarefied and the view more exhilarating.

I will share an instance of God moving in an incredible way with you today friends to encourage you on in your own walk of faith. Years ago I was preaching in a church where God broke through and disturbed folks and he did the inexplicable. It all began with a burden in my heart to see God move in revival.

I had been invited to take the Wednesday evening service in a church where I felt led to preach out of the book of Amos on the remedial judgments of God. As I preached I noticed several people were weeping. After the service the pastor approached me and said, when I preach the people leave here smiling and talking but when you preached the people left the sanctuary silent and their eyes were red.

From that meeting he asked me to preach to some of the men of his church on a Saturday afternoon for about an hour. I did and all I can say is God moved in and five hours later with those men many of us went home broken hearted that night over what God had done and I was asked to take the Sunday morning service but I didn't get much sleep that particular Saturday night. I was out of bed from 2am to 4am on my face before God crying out to him in uncessary prayer.

It's a wept tears over that church and a burden for revival and to have the faith to see God move in a remarkable way. I didn't know the background of what was going on in that church. I didn't know that that church was on the verge of a split and there was a lot of infighting going on from staff ministers to the members.

All I knew is I felt burdened for God to move in revival and that God was leading me to stay out of bed that night and to be on my face before him giving me the faith to trust him for revival. That Sunday morning it was a packed house and I felt led of the Lord to preach on the Last Judgment. I opened up my Bible to the book of Revelation and chapter 20 on the Great White Throne Judgment and I spoke much on hell and his torments that morning.

About half way through my message I stopped preaching and announced to the congregation I felt that God was throwing a lancet right down the center aisle of that church. Suddenly the looks on their faces turned to alarm and there was a pervading heaviness in the air. I kept preaching hard on the Last Judgment and finished my sermon.

I then looked out upon the assembly and I said, I don't normally give an invitation but if there are some here who need counsel to come forward and I then asked for the deacons of the church to rise and come to the altar to counsel those who may be coming. No one moved. I asked them again because I thought maybe they didn't hear me.

I asked again for the deacons to get up and come forward to help with counseling but no one moved an inch. No one came. It was as if they were all frozen solid in their chairs.

So I gave up my appeals to them and closed my Bible and I left the platform and took my seat on the front row. While they played the worship band, slowly took the stage and began playing a soft worship instrumental. I felt an incredible urge to worship the Jesus who sat on that great white throne.

So I fell out of my chair onto my knees with my back to the congregation. I lifted my arms out and stretched above me as I worshiped the holy God. I heard footsteps behind me as couples came slowly up the altar to kneel there and pray.

Then a young man came running down the aisle. He was jumping up and down like a kangaroo, hollering and yelling, I just got saved. I just got saved.

He came over to me and said, I've come forward in a service before but this time it's real. God really saved me. Well I didn't know what to tell him.

I just stared at him. I don't know if God saved him or not. I find out at the great judgment.

But I do know this. I know the worship leader who approached me afterwards, grinning from ear to ear, and all he could say was, I saw Jesus sitting on his throne. I saw Jesus sitting on his throne.

And one of the deacons came up to apologize to me for not coming forward to help counsel because he said, with a look of startlement, we couldn't get up. It was as if we were frozen in our chairs and we couldn't move. I believe it can all be traced to the day I got serious with God and I asked God to make me a man of faith and I stepped out on a limb for him.

I believe God is looking for faith. How is it with you, friend? What are you trusting God for? Where is your faith? Jesus said time and time again to his disciples, where is your faith? He had to build faith in them, little over time, to where eventually one of them could stand boldly and proclaim, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I to thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.