But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. [John 12.37]
Did you know this verse is as true today as it was the day it happened? Jesus proved God's will concerning every situation He encountered that was not as-it-is-in-heaven (infirmity, hunger, & nature itself). And yet, people STILL did not believe.
I find it remarkable the extent to which people do not believe Jesus even today. Whether it is not believing what Jesus did (does), or not believing what He said (and therefore says today).
Just in today's OYCB reading alone I found outstanding encouragement regarding faith in Christ:
Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” [Matthew 21.21-22]
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. [Mark 11.22-24]
I am fully aware that there are those who, using elaborate and even eloquent explanations, argue that these passages simply cannot be taken as 'final authority' and must be considered in moderation relative to other passages from the Bible. While this may sound reasonable to most, I call the proponents of such "moderation" to research the scriptural origin behind their argument. This research will reveal that the source for scriptures cited to moderate unlimited "faith" will not be Jesus Himself. It is safe to say that Jesus is our final authority on faith.
We must realize that the religious leaders of His day tried to use scriptures in rebuttal of Jesus and His works of faith. The New Testament proves that campaign was ill-willed.
I addressed this recently in a post called Full Surrender, but it is worth repeating here now what was said there:
"...we need to find the foundation of what we believe in what Jesus said and then understand everything else from there."
If the words of (even) the Apostle Paul seem to "counter" something Jesus said, prudence would have us interpret what Paul said according to Jesus instead of interpreting what Jesus said according to Paul! And yet, theologians and people everywhere do the latter all the time. Should not this practice alert us to a serious problem?
In fact, John defined this very problem, quoting from Isaiah, in the actual context of the opening passage above!
“The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts—so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.” [John 12.40]
Like Pharoah of ancient Egypt, when they encounter God - the very thought of Him - doubters' eyes are blinded and their hearts are hardened. And, the most ironic part of all this is that Isaiah prophesied long before Jesus that they would not be healed! Healing, more often than not, is the subject matter of unanswered prayers to which people give priority to sources other than Jesus Himself for explanation.
In contrast, Jesus said our prayers are unanswered because of our lack of faith. The ONLY caveat Jesus mentioned was unforgiveness in our hearts (Mark 11.25). So, when we base the effectiveness of our prayers and faith on what Jesus said, we have only one problem: ourselves (either our lack of faith or the presence of unforgiveness in our hearts).
We hear this defense all the time, "I know I prayed in faith, but God did not answer..." In other words, "I AM NOT THE PROBLEM!"
People get proud and therefore defensive about their faith and, in that emotion, completely ignore their actual lack thereof according to Jesus' words. Instead, they pursue a pseudo-spiritual (emotional) understanding to comfort them instead of yielding to Jesus' words leading them to repentance!
I want to add something here at this point. People quite often use Paul’s discussion with God about his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12) to defend their own “thorn.” While God’s famous answer to Paul’s three-time request to remove the thorn is profound, it may not be what most people think…
God’s answer regarding the sufficiency of His grace should prompt immediate recollection that it was none other than the Apostle Paul who penned the following statements about grace:
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace… [Romans 4.16a NKJV]
For by grace you have been saved through faith… [Ephesians 2.8a NKJV]
Paul’s obvious understanding of the relationship between grace and faith seen here should alert us that God was gently reminding Paul that He had done His part in the sufficiency of grace. In essence, God told Paul, “Your problem is not the availability of My grace, but instead the insufficiency of your faith!”
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]
If there is ever a question in regard to unanswered prayer in our lives, wouldn't it seem more appropriate to humbly assume personal shortcoming (the real possibility of our lack of faith) instead of defying the very words of Jesus to claim otherwise? We should not allow pride to prevent us from drawing ever closer to God and His power.
Jesus came and spoke and demonstrated God's power, all the while teaching us to do the same... But in elaborate and eloquent moderation (rebuttal) of Jesus' words, many (if not most) still do not believe in Him.
Father, thank You for the clarity of Jesus' demands about faith. I want to be found in pure faith - and I want to be found faithful in my pursuit of it. I want to know You and be known by You in and through Jesus Christ!
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