Are You Feasting or Starving Your Faith?
Share

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b)
Jesus, as was his way, had just finished telling his disciples a parable – that of the persistent widow. The parable was “…to show them they should always pray and not give up” and what God’s response to prayer will be (Luke 18:1-7). But then Jesus asked this question, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (v. 8)
Why would Jesus ask such a question? After all, according to Wikipedia, Christianity is the largest religious group in the world, with nearly 2.4 billion people who call themselves Christians – or nearly one third of the entire global population. Here in the U.S., nearly seven in ten Americans identify as Christian. Wow. Surely Jesus would find some measure of faith among so many.
But not so fast. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offered a rather direct teaching – not told in a parable – about true and false disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
While Jesus offers no further explanation of who might be who, he follows that teaching with a parable of the wise and foolish builders – one who heard his words and put them into practice and one who did not. He who put them into practice was “like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (v. 24-25). However, all those who heard his words and did not “put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (v. 26-27).
Perhaps we need to ask ourselves – which one are we?
The verse of the day commentary in the YouVersion Bible app put it this way:
“In Mark 4:9, Jesus invites us to listen – to hear and obey, encouraging us to pay careful attention to His words: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (ESV) Jesus isn’t just asking us to audibly hear His words and carry on with our personal agenda; He’s urging us to actively listen and obey, to live by His truth.”
A transformed life should be the evidence of listening to and obeying Jesus’ teachings.
“Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear’” (Mark 4:9).
Starving Our Faith
“The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).
For much of my life, I was that guy who claimed to be Christian, who believe in God and that Jesus died for our sins – but it had no impact on my life at all. None. I knew the Bible to the extent that I heard it in sermons and whatnot, and my young memory let much of it stick. I knew what I was supposed to do and not do and had all the great talking points, but when it came to applying it to my life – nothing. It just sat there in the back of my brain somewhere – and never made it the foot or so down to my heart. Had Jesus returned at that point in my life, he would have found me with no faith. It simply wasn’t there.
How many of us allow all that this life supposedly has to offer – the supposed paths to happiness that are really the thorns - to get in the way? We let ourselves be kept too busy – or so we think – to take the time to slow down and truly know the Lord through his word and through prayer? Families, jobs, new cars, houses, new phones. We choose to go after a “happy” and “successful” life in the here and now, buying into the current culture that everyone has a right to do what they want, when they want. We have the right to pursue happiness as we see fit to “feel good about ourselves.”
All this to the detriment – the starvation – of our faith.
Let’s face it – we live in a faithless wasteland. People have lost faith in their marriage, in each other, in our government, and even (perhaps especially) in God. And rather than recognizing it, we choose to wallow in it. Like quicksand, it drags us further and further into the muck. And we grow further and further from God.
Lust, pride, hatred, jealousy – all these dominate our world. John summarized it:
“For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16).
In the meantime, Jesus teaches us a different way. A way which leads to the joy, peace and abundant life He promised us.
9 Outcomes of Feasting Our Faith
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:35-36)
True discipleship is about much more than just salvation. It is a mindset that drives how we live our lives here and now. While he was on earth, Jesus had much to teach us – and it was more than simply salvation after life on earth ends. Jesus had much to teach us about how his disciples will live and grow in their faith now. How they will live their lives.
1. Love God with Everything We Have (Matthew 22:36-38)
“’Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”
If we love God with everything we are, then everything else seems to fall into place.
2. Love Others as We Love Ourselves (Matthew 22:39-40)
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We do much for ourselves each day. Perhaps we can try to put others before ourselves. A difficult thing.
3. Forgiveness – if We Want It, We Must Be Willing to Give It (Matthew 6:14-15)
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
What is stopping you from forgiving someone? You think they don’t deserve it? Well, do you? Forgiveness of someone who has hurt you, frees you to have peace and joy, rather than resentment and holding a grudge.
4. Guard against the Love of Money (Matthew 6:24)
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’
Money itself is not evil – it is a necessity in this world. But money can wield power over a human heart, and if we put anything before God, then we set ourselves up for trouble.
You control your money, don’t let money control you.
5. Trust God to Provide for Your Earthly Needs (Matthew 6:25-34)
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (v. 33-34)
It is so easy in this world – especially here in the west – to get concerned about all we need and providing for our families. But rather than worry, God asks us to trust Him to provide. He loves us that much.
6. Generosity (Luke 6:38)
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
We should be generous with our time, our talents and our treasure. When we rid ourselves of being overprotective of money and trust God to provide, generosity is the natural outflow.
7. Serve Others in Humility (Matthew 23:11-12)
“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Volunteer somewhere – more than setting up chairs at your church. Serve. It is a great way to serve our faith while eating humble pie.
8. Simply Following the Rules and Laws of Religion Gets You Nowhere (Matthew 15:11)
“What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Jesus held his harshest criticism for the legalistic religious leaders of his day. Jesus taught that following a list of impossible-to-keep rules and laws is not what made men holy. Religion is useless if it doesn’t radically transform our heart.
9. Being a Disciple of Christ Means Denying Ourselves (Matthew 16:24-25)
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’”
Jesus denied himself and gave his life on the cross for us. Denying ourselves and choosing God’s way is an amazing way to find the real meaning of your life.
How Do We Get There from Here?
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water”(Psalm 63:1).
Many contemporary believers today seem to carry a negative or ambivalent attitude toward spiritual disciplines. So many appear to believe that it’s enough to simply say you believe and attend church. We leave Bible study to the pastor’s Sunday sermon (how do you know if he’s right or wrong?) and pray when we want something to go our way. Then, when it doesn’t – we take a further spiritual step away.
So many of us have lost – or perhaps never found – the hunger and thirst to learn more. We cling desperately to the hope the gospel offers, thinking it’s enough if we simply believe.
How do we expect to come into a relationship with the Lord? G.K. Chesterton said, “Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried.”
We work hard to achieve so many things in our lives: our jobs, sports, our hobbies, our pastimes and so much else. Those who play professional sports don’t simply walk onto the field or court and suddenly perform as champions. We have to work to learn our jobs to get better at them. Don’t we owe it to Jesus to make at least the same efforts to be His disciple?
Salvation is intended not just for after the day we die – it is intended to start right now. Today.
Like anything though, it might mean one step at a time; baby steps towards creating the disciplines and habits that will lead us to the abundant life promised us.
Read the Bible and pray every day. Start with 15 minutes and start with the gospels, reading one chapter every day. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you.
Simply spend quiet time with the Lord or just talk to him about what is going on in your life – the struggles, the joys, your praises and your pains. A.W. Tozer once wrote that if we don’t feel the deep desire to know God, we are to simply pray to him to help us want that.
Look I get it. Between work, the kids, the family, keeping the house up – life is busy and can be like a train wreck. But maybe take a few minutes away from social media, or television, or wherever it is you spend your downtime. Trust me, it will be worth it.
Find a Bible-believing church and attend regularly. Get involved.
Yeah – get involved. Attending a big church can be intimidating until you get involved and it seems to shrink. Make sure they are Bible believing and Bible teaching. That is critical.
Get involved with other Christians and keep each other accountable. Learn from each other.
Most churches now offer small groups, or home churches. Join the men’s or women’s groups. Get involved!
Is it worth it to gain the whole world while we lose our soul? Which words would you rather hear? “Away from me you evildoers, I never knew you” or “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:24-29)?
Yeah, me too.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/eddiestock
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.