FAITH - in English

by: Ps Jeffrey Rachmat // 1 September 2013

 

WHY DO PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE FAITH?
 

Rome 1:17 For IN the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live BY faith"-NIV 
 

Hebrew 11:6
6 And WITHOUT faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must BELIEVE that he exists and that he REWARDS those who earnestly SEEK him.-NIV 
 

1Corrinthians 2: 4-5

4 My message and my preaching WERE NOT with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, BUT on God's power.-NIV

Based on the three verses quoted above, it could be understood that faith is a Christian lifestyle. The righteous are those who make their faith as a lifestyle. 

Especially, faith is our foundation to take a step and be brave to believe in something that we may not fully understood. This is called:  to walk by FAITH and not by sight.

Maria exemplified a life of faith in John 2:1-11, the story of Jesus’ first miracle, the changed of water into wine.

Through this story, we could learn from Mary that when problems occurred, we should first seek God for a solution. Mary had faith that Jesus would be the solution that time, even though she knew that Jesus was not in charge for the wine inventory at the party.

Living a life of faith means:

1) TRUST in God's CHARACTER and TIMING. Whoever turns to Him will never regret but get His rewards. To fully understand Jesus’ characters, we have to be willing to seriously learn His words. By knowing Him well then we will better understand His timing and His response. 

Numbers 23:19

God is NOT human, that he should LIE; NOT a human being, that he should CHANGE his mind. Does he SPEAK and then not ACT? Does he PROMISE and not FULFILL?-NIV

He ALWAYS fulfill His Promises, according to His time and not ours.

2) Do ALL that you CAN do
Although Mary knew she could not do anything at that time, at least she ran to Jesus. Through Mary’s response we must learn to do our best before we invite miracle to come. It is important to do our best and let God do the rest which seems impossible.

This partnership between God and men, provides term that we might call: supernatural. Derived from two words; Super (God’s part) + Natural (Men’s part) = SuperNatural.

It is men’s part to provide barrels, but let God do His part to “turn water into wine”. Therefore, it is men’s part to "stand between the gap" in order to witness His miracles.

 3) It is FOR His glory alone  

Rome 11:36
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
TO him be the glory forever! Amen.-NIV 
 

Ephesians 6:8

Because you know that the Lord will REWARD each one for WHATEVER good they do, WHETHER they are slave or free..-NIV

Let God be the only reason to live. Let His name be exalted and glorified in our lives.  We shall not be proud of ourselves for doing things for Him. Let God be the only one who receives all praises and glory from us.

After the miracle happens, Maria did not try to show to people that Jesus performed a miracle because of her. Maria stepped out the stage and let people be amazed of what Jesus had done.

Mary exemplified a good example of how life of faith does not solely beneficial for our own good, but also for the good of others.

Living a life of faith is living a life that ABLE TO bridge a Super and Natural things. Men should take the role of “standing the gap”, providing “barrels” to experience God’s kindness and love.

Know that God will reward you for what you have done to others.

Jeffrey Rachmat is the founding and senior pastor of Jakarta Praise Community Church (JPCC), one of Indonesia’s most dynamic and influential churches. He is also a sought-after speaker on topics such as leadership, relationship, marriage and business. His book, “Permainan Cantik” has been reprinted six times in Indonesia, and is available in English with the title “The Art of Winning.” Jeffrey and his wife Angela have three children.
Follow @JeffreyRachmat