We read in the New Testament in a letter to the Christians in Galatia, (Gal 3:11) Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." To be justified before God means to be just or right before God. Turn to 2 Peter Chapter 2 for a moment. Read along with me v4-9………..
Anyone who is not right with God will be punished for eternity!
It is important to be justified isn’t it?
How does one become justified or be right with God?
Romans 10:9-10, That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
If you have never believed with your heart that Jesus Christ is your only Savior and confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, would you take a quiet moment right now and think about this and pray to Jesus a prayer like this one: Dear God, I believe in you. I confess that I have sinned against you in many ways and I deserve judgment because You are Righteous, Holy, and Perfect. But now I understand, believe, and accept that Jesus Christ is God who became human to die for my sins. I believe that by Your mighty power, Jesus rose from the dead for me! I confess now with my heart and mouth that Jesus Christ is my only God. Lord Jesus, take control of my life. Amen.
Please quietly pray for a moment………..
If you had just prayed with sincerity in your heart that Jesus is your Savior and Lord, the Word of God tells us you are now justified and now have the title “righteous before God”! Hallelujah! Praise The Lord!
“He is Lord, He is Lord. He has risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord!”
We are justified through Jesus Christ and made righteous and the righteous will live by faith. How do we live by faith? The story in Genesis 24 actually teaches us about living in faith. Genesis 24 is a long chapter to read but we must read the entire chapter to hear the full story. Let us be patient to listen to God’s full word today……
How did Abraham live by faith?
We can note 4 things in v1-9 how Abraham lived by faith:
1. He was concerned about his son Isaac.
Abraham was sensing that he didn’t have much more time to live and he knew that Isaac was sad about losing his mother. It was proper during that time for the father to find a wife for their sons. But isn’t it interesting that Abraham decided for Isaac not to have a Canaanite wife but made sure Isaac stayed in Canaan. You see,
2. Abraham thought about doing the godly thing.
He knew that the Canaanites were ungodly and Abraham did not want to go against God’s promise for his descendants to live in Canaan. Now, did Abraham just meditated and prayed about Isaac and the Promised Land? Absolutely not! Part of living by faith is taking action! Real faith is ACTIVE not passive! And so,
3. Abraham took action by having his chief servant go find a wife for Isaac. What’s the 4th thing we can note of how Abraham lived by faith? It is in the middle of v8! How can Abraham say to his servant, “God will send an angel!”? You see,
4. Abraham was aware and confident about the reality of the spiritual world!
We could end the message here couldn’t we? But God gives us the faith example of the Chief Servant (likely this was Eliezer, based on Genesis 15).
We can note 5 things in v5-54 how “Eliezer” lived by faith:
1. He asked practical questions. We can note this in all his questioning.
2. Eliezer obeyed his master didn’t he?
3. Eliezer prayed to God for guidance!
Look again at v12-14. Was his prayer too hard of a request?
Was Eliezer testing God with his prayer?
Did you hear about the guy who prayed “God what should I do?”; then he opened his Bible and randomly pointed his finger on a verse………….. After reading it he said, God that can’t be it, so he tried it again, this time he read, "So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself." Oh Lord, it can’t be about hanging; so he said, "God I will give you one more chance, this is it, I will do what ever you tell me next, it just can’t be about Judas hanging himself; and so he again opened his Bible randomly and pointed to the verse which said, "Go and do likewise!"
Good prayers are not random prayers! Eliezer’s prayer was not hard at all for God or was it a test. His prayer was practical, probable, and telling about the woman!
Now look again at v21……..
4. Eliezer was observant of how God was answering his prayers!
And in v26 & v52, we can note that
5. Eliezer praised God!
Again, we could end the message here. But God also gives us the faith example of Rebekah!
There is one major thing to note how Rebekah lived by faith: Rebekah said 3 powerful, faithful words; she said “I will go!” Rebekah made a life changing decision by faith to leave her home and go to a strange land and be married to a man she never met. It was by faith because she fully trusted the words of Eliezer.
Wow! Is there anything we can learn from this chapter today? If you are a Christian, you are to live by faith! How do we do it? Follow the examples of Abraham, Eliezer, and Rebekah!
Let’s remind ourselves of what they did.
Abraham was concerned about his son.
Abraham considered God’s will.
Abraham took action.
Abraham was confident about spiritual things.
Eliezer asked practical questions.
Eliezer obeyed his master.
Eliezer prayed to God for guidance!
Eliezer was observant
Eliezer praised God!
Rebekah made a decision by faith.
Let us summarize these actions in application to our lives.
How should we as Christians live by faith?
First of all, we need to be convinced that
1. the faith we need to live by comes from God.
Remember Romans 10:17 which states, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. God spoke to Abraham, Eliezer, and Rebekah in different ways. Today, God speaks to us directly from the Bible. Reading and hearing Scriptures daily is a prerequisite for living a life of faith. Jesus said, people can not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!
How can a person consider God’s will when they don’t learn about God?
How can a person obey God when they don’t know what to obey?
How can a person make a decision based on faith when they aren’t listening to God’s guidance?
Will you make a commitment to live by faith?
Read and hear God’s word daily!
If you don’t know where to start reading, start with the Letter to the Ephesians. Read one chapter a day then read the Letters by John (1,2, & 3), then read the rest of the Epistles. Reading and hearing Scriptures daily is a prerequisite for living a life of faith. Start today!
2. We live by faith by being concerned with our family.
How often do we think of our family members and our church family?
Are we really concerned for them or do we curse them?
Pray for your family and church family on a daily basis.
3. We live by faith by constantly learning by asking practical questions and being observant.
4. Pray all the time! The more you talk to God and really believe you are talking to your Creator, the more you will see and be confident in the reality of the spiritual world!
Pray to God for wisdom! Pray to God to praise Him!
5. Don’t just sit there, take action!
How do you know God’s will for your life? First of all, what is God telling you from the Bible? But you will say, “my question and situation is not in the Bible!” This may be true, but God will always have an instruction for us. You see, like a ship that is just sitting on the dock, God can not steer something that is not moving!
You don’t know what to do? It may not be directly associated with your question but God may be asking you to obey Him first in another area of your life.
Take action and move your ship. Ask God what you need to do first then do it; then listen intently to Jesus Christ, as your navigator.
Jesus is your Perfect and Ultimate GPS!
Jesus Christ will not misguide you. He is not only capable of handling a Global Positioning System, Jesus can handle a Galactical Positioning Sytem!
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who will lead you to green pastures, quiet waters, and paths of righteousness.
And as you follow Jesus Christ, surely goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life!
