Faith It, Till You Make It
Hebrews 11
1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
Like the fathers of faith, Paul laid out in the rest of Hebrews 1, we are believing for something we don’t see yet. It’s not wishful thinking, or delusion. We are partnering with the Father through faith to call forth for Appalachia what we believe God has intended for this region. In faith, we believe that Jesus has called First Church to be a revival center (an Antioch Center, see Acts 11 ) in Appalachia. We don’t fully see this now and to be honest, it can sometimes looks like the opposite is true. Only through faith can we continue in hopeful expectation to move confidently into what we believe God has decreed for us. Faith is our guide as we navigate through this world into the reality of what we are hoping for.
Faith is not just a cerebral application of ideas. Faith requires radical adjustments in the way we live our lives. If God has called me to revival, and I am not seeing the fullness of that call... I have to ask the question, “what in me needs to change to better prepare me in faith to walk in revival?” Let's face it, if my faith never evolves from idea to action as illustrated in the reading of Hebrews 11 then I think we have missed the point. If faith is the evidence of things that cannot be seen, then I think we need not to always look like the rest of the visible world. I believe it’s vital that faith not just manifest in our words and thoughts, but that it changes us and transforms our actions as well. Does that guarantee we will always get what we want? Not in my experience. What it does guarantee is that I'm a little less full of myself and a little more full of heaven as I walk toward what I am called too, despite what I see.
As I walk out my call in faith I have made it a practice to ask myself a few simple questions.
What am I believing in God for?
How am I actively walking in faith towards what I believe?
What is changing or needs to change in me as I walk in faith?
As I walk in faith these questions play themselves out, and God begins to speak and create in me and around me, via my faith in Him. 3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
Again, faith is not a tool to demand what we want, but a mechanism to release into the world what we were made for. Appalachia is a big ask, but God is big enough, and He is looking for simple people like me and you to walk and believe in faith for what He wants to do. So in faith, let's continue to believe and respond to all of what God has called us too.
Love,
Pastor John