WILL JESUS FIND FAITH? IT IS UP TO YOU?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
I have small medicine baggies. You can find them at Walmart or Hobby Lobby. I place about 10 seeds of varying sizes in each bag. I also place an attention grabber in each bag… two donut seeds. I tell the story of the master planting good seeds and the enemy planting tares in the same field. Maybe someone took out the donut seeds and replaced them with cheerios.
I love to share an illustration that can start a thought process. The question becomes what am I going to do with my seeds? What kind of seeds am I planting? This lesson is about the RELATIONSHIP between seeds, planting and THE FAITH OF THE HARVEST.
Talk about FAITH: IT IS ESSENTIAL TO YOUR SPIRIT MAN AS MUCH AS WATER IS TO LIFE. FAITH IS AS ESSENTIAL AS OXYGEN is to your brain. GUARD YOUR FAITH!
BY FAITH YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY TO RECEIVE LIFE.
A weary traveled had been hiking several days. When he reached for his canteen it was empty. The man knew he would soon have to find a source of water or he would die before he could return. He had to find a source of water. After several hours and finding nothing the old man saw a cabin down in the valley below. He was now at a critical point. He had to have water to live. No one knew where he was to rescue him.
Once in the cabin the man found shade and he cooled down enough to survey around him. He saw this small hand pump in a rusty sink. He had hope that there must be water in a well below the surface. The man pumped and pumped and there was not as much as a drop of water come to the pump.
He sat down to rest and thought about death. The man spied a jug in the corner that was plugged. The jug was full of water. The man started to drink the old water when he saw there was a note on the side of the jug. TRUST ME. THERE IS PLENTY OF FRESH COOL WATER BENEATH THE RUSTY PUMP. YOU HAVE TO TRUST THIS MESSAGE. DO NOT DRINK THIS WATER. HAVE FAITH IN THIS MESSAGE. THE PUMP HAS TO BE PRIMED TO PUMP FRESH WATER. POUR THIS WATER INTO THE PUMP AND PUMP. THEN WHEN YOU DRINK AND FILL YOUR CANTEEN… MAKE SURE TO FILL THIS JUG AND PUT THE CORK BACK IN IT FOR THE NEXT PERSON THAT PASSES THIS WAY?
The man studied the message. Shall I drink this water in the jug? Shall I have faith and trust this message that if I prime the pump I will have plenty of cool fresh water. Finally thinking the problem through he decided to trust the message written on the side of the jug. He poured the whole jug of water into the pump and started pumping. Nothing! Not one drop of water. Finally a small stream of rusty water came up. He started pumping harder and faster. Suddenly a flowing stream of life giving water flowed freely out of the old pump. The man was so filled with joy. He had a new hope and a new faith. He drank his fill of water. He filled up his canteens for the return trip.
The first thing the man did was give thanks to God for this provision of cool, fresh water. He filled up the jug and replaced the cork lid. Then the last thing the man did was add a little note. BY FAITH TRUST THE NOTE. BELIEVE ME, I DID IT AND IT REALLY WORKS. YOU HAVE TO TRUST THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY BEFORE YOU CAN GET ANYTHING BACK. YOU SHALL DRINK BY FAITH.
GOD DESIRES US TO OPERATE IN THREE GREAT ISSUES. THERE IS A CORRELATION BETWEEN THIS 3 GIFTS OF GOD…
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (MSG) But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT2) Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
HOW MUCH FAITH WILL JESUS FIND WHEN HE RETURNS TO RAPTURE HIS CHURCH? WILL JESUS FIND FAITH ON THE EARTH WHEN HE RETURNS? THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS UP TO US!
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Luke 18:8 (MSG) I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"
FAITH IS ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO PLEASE GOD.
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.
We soon learn nothing in life goes as expected. In seasons of trouble and trials we find it so easy to lose confidence, trust and faith in others, in ourselves and maybe even in God’s plan for us. We dreamed of success to only find doom and gloom. So we tend to lose our HOPE. When hope is lost then we tend to lose our FAITH. When faith is lost seems our LOVE quickly fades away.
Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 (MSG) "Look at that man, bloated by self-importance— full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive.
We may carry HOPE in our MIND, But FAITH IS CARRIED IN THE HEART. Linda knows a person that has lost all HOPE and FAITH in life. The lady has quit driving, she fears a terrible accident. The lady refuses to leave her apartment as fear of life has robbed her. To go to the doctor they have to medicate her so heavily that she is unaware of her surroundings. She trusts no one. All HOPE IS GONE. When hope is gone, ALL FAITH IS DEAD.
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF FAITH…
• TO EVERYONE IS GIVEN A MEASURE OF FAITH.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
EVERY LIVING HUMAN IS GIVEN A MEASURE OF FAITH. How much is that measure? ENOUGH! Enough for the problems you face. Small easy problems? Then you will be given enough for what you will face. If life gives you big, mean problems God will give you BIG FAITH, SO YOU CAN HANDLE THE BIG GIANTS.
• THERE IS A GIFT OF FAITH THAT IS ALLOCATED AS A SPECIAL GIFT FROM GOD TO BE USED TO MINISTER TO THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE.
1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT2) The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
THERE IS A SPIRITUAL GIFT OF FAITH. I call this an extraordinary confidence in trusting God and standing on His
Promises. We as individuals can know the GIFT OF FAITH. You can accept a measure of faith. But God has a gift of
faith where you can trust the note… EXTRAORDINARY CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S PLAN AND HIS WORD.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY WHAT LEVEL OF FAITH YOU HAVE? THERE ARE SEVERAL LEVELS OF FAITH:
1. NO FAITH…
Mark 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
2. LITTLE FAITH
Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
3. GREAT FAITH
Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
I HAVE A MINISTERAL THEORY: WHY SHOULD GOD GIVE YOU ANOTHER SONG TO SING IF YOU ARE NOT SINGING THE SONG THAT HE ALREADY GAVE YOU? YOU SHOULD SING THE SONG GOD GAVE YOU UNTIL YOU HAVE WORE IT OUT. THEN HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER SONG. Use the mustard seed of faith and it will grow.
JESUS, PLEASE GIVE ME MORE FAITH? JESUS WAS PROBABLY THINKING WHY NOT USE THE FAITH YOU HAVE?
Luke 17:5 (KJV) And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
Luke 17:5 (MSG) The apostles came up and said to the Master, "Give us more faith."
Luke 17:5 (NLT2) The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”
IN PROPORTION OF YOUR FAITH.
Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
CONCLUSION: I HAVE HEARD IT SAID PEOPLE NOW DAYS JUST DON’T HAVE FAITH IN ANYTHING. This is not the truth. You trust your eye doctor and your glasses. You trust the elevator. You trust the battery in your car. You trust the Goodyear tires when you are driving 70 mph. A sailor trust his compass. You trust the scales. You trust the gas pump. You trust your bank. WHY NOT TRUST GOD?
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
WE MUST HAVE FAITH IN GOD AND HIS PLAN. GOD IS A REWARDER TO THOSE THAT ACT BY FAITH.
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.
EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS OUT TO STEAL YOUR JOY, YOUR FAITH, YOUR HOPE AND YOUR LOVE. We must see how fragile faith life is. We must guard our minds to recognize the attacks to our faith.
Your enemy is a “FAITH KILLER.” His plan is to destroy your faith, hope and love. We face the challenge to KEEP OUR FAITH ALIVE AND THRIVING.
Have you ever been threatened by a wasp flying around you? Grab a can of RAID WASP SPRAY and see how the WASP comes crashing down. So we must learn to identify every threat to our joy, faith, hope and love.
Faith is something like SAMSON’S HAIR. When you tell the secret of your HAIR, expect a hair cut. Expect the blindness of your eyes being fried. PROTECT AT ALL COST YOUR FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
My friend I pray the refreshing of the Holy Spirit to rest upon you. Never compare your ministry to others. Just be faithful to your post of duty by faith.
