Do you have enough faith?
Without faith it is impossible to please God. That's what the book of Hebrews tells us. But is all faith the same? Is God always pleased if we have faith? I believe the answer to that is NO. Sometimes you hear people extolling the vitues of faith - if you just have enough faith - everything will be OK. It reminds me of the friends of Job. In the Old Testament, Job, a righteous man suffered a series of great catastrophes. His friends came to comfort him and then proceeded to tell him that God always rewards the righteous and punishes the sinful. Therefore, Job must have committed somee great sin. (With friends like these ...)
Today, there are groups around promising great things to Christians. If you just have enough faith, you will be blessed in your finances, blessed in your health, blessed in your relationships. You will be like the legendary Midas. Everything you touch will turn to gold.
I came across an article today in WorldNetDaily that touches on this issue.
Evangelist drowns trying to walk on water
Pastor reportedly told congregation he could repeat miracle of Jesus
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
An evangelist who tried replicating Jesus' miracle of walking on water has reportedly drowned off the western coast of Africa. Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle, and he attempted it from a beach in Gabon's capital of Libreville.
"He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus," an eyewitness told the Glasgow Daily Record.
"He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back."
If you have enough faith - can you do it? "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That's what the apostle Paul wrote. So, why aren't Christians flying up in the sky, turning water into wine, raising the dead, healing everyone in the hospital, and feeding cities with 5 loaves and 2 fish?
Is it just because we don't have faith or is it something more?
The Bible does not teach faith in faith. It doesn't teach that you can do everything if you just have enough faith. It does raise the importance of faith but it centers that faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His plans for your life. He doesn't promise his followers that they will experience the American dream if they just have enough faith. He called his disciples to hardship. He said we should take up our cross and follow him.
And so we follow. Not the American dream, but the dream that one day, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. And we pray - Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is done in heaven.
God Bless you
Pastor John
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