I WANT FAITH LIKE THAT

Gordon Motes has a beautiful song entitled “Faith Like That.”[1]  The lyrics say:

“I could see his hands were shaking as he took the microphone.
He said my little boy’s not gone he’s just gone home.
Then opened up his bible and read from John 14.
He said, I’m here to celebrate his life not grieve.
It hurts how bad I miss him, but what better place to be?
He’s with his other Father who loves him more than me.

I want to have faith like that, let it be who I am.
I want to see the bigger picture and trust it’s in God’s hands.
I want have faith I want to faith like that.

Well I walked up to him after not real sure what to do.
I hugged him, but wondered who was hugging who?
Before I could say I’m sorry he said,
It’s gonna be alright and as we stood there I could almost hear Him smile.
I thought I could give him comfort yea I thought I believed
I went there for him but, he was there for me.

I want to have faith like that, let it be who I am.
I want to see the bigger picture and trust it’s in God’s hands.
I want have faith I want to faith like that.
I want to walk the walk not just talk the talk.
I want to make it who I am.  I want have faith,
yea I want to faith like that.”

WOW, what a powerful message about faith.  We all struggle at times with our faith and the world presents many opportunities to challenge our faith.  In the song it references John 14 and there is a passage in that chapter that says “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.   My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”[2]

Jesus makes us a promise of preparing a place for us if we are Followers of Christ and that He will return to take us with Him to the place that has been prepared.  Just as the disciples that heard these words spoken by Jesus, we must accept by faith that He will do what He has promised to do.  Because of all the things that the disciples experienced with Jesus in His ministry on earth and all the things written that you and I have access concerning the promises already kept in God’s Word it is by no means a leap of faith but simply a small step of faith that gets us started on the journey to an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.

There is an event documented in Matthew about a Roman centurion that comes to Jesus on behalf of one of his servants.   ^”When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.  ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.’   Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’   The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.   For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.  I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment.”[3]  Don’t miss the fact that Jesus says “many will come from the east and the west” which means gentiles will be welcome at the heavenly table that God has prepared for His children.  There is no doubt that the centurion knew who he was talking to and his faith was placed in Jesus to accomplish his request.  Can you imagine walking up to a total stranger and asking them to heal your servant?  It took faith to make the request and then faith to believe that it would actually be done.  The centurion had both, do you?

In Luke Jesus gives a powerful message to his disciples.  “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.   It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”[4]  Matthew Henry writes in his commentary that there are three serious warnings in these verses: “1. To persecutors, who offer any injury to the least of Christ’s little ones, in word or deed, by which they are discouraged in serving Christ, and doing their duty, or in danger of being driven off from it. 2. To seducers, who corrupt the truths of Christ and his ordinances, and so trouble the minds of the disciples; for they are those by whom offences come. 3. To those who, under the profession of the Christian name, live scandalously, and thereby weaken the bands and sadden the hearts of God’s people; for by them the offence comes, and it is no abatement of their guilt, nor will be any of their punishment, that it is impossible but offences will come.”[5]

No doubt even men who profess to be Followers of Jesus Christ can be the source of causing others to stumble.  We must work diligently to increase our faith so that we can be a source of encouragement rather than a source of discouragement.  Just as in any part of our life that we want to increase our knowledge and/or skills requires the investment of time and energy, increasing our faith requires that we invest in building our walk by faith.  Otherwise, we not only impact our personal faith we impact others as well.  It is vitally important for God’s men to understand that if we are not working to increase our faith then we are moving backwards in our faith!  You see faith is something that will not remain constant.  Too many of God’s men have shifted their faith in neutral and in reality they are taking steps backwards.  This is how God’s men fall prey to the three warnings that Henry gives us.

The story of Peter and walking on the water is often discussed.  Scripture tells us “Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.   But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I.  Don’t be afraid.’  ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?”[6]  Human nature is to focus on the fact that Peter sank in the water.  What God’s men need to focus on is the fact that Peter walked on the water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus.  We are all capable of being like Peter in that we call out and say Lord if that is you tell me to come to you yet when He does call us to Him we get distracted and afraid and if we aren’t careful we lose faith and we begin sinking further and further.

Faith is something that begins small but must be properly maintained and developed so that we can grow in our faith walk.  ”For we live by faith, not by sight.”[7]  Our physical eyes will deceive us but when we rely upon our spiritual eyes we can stay focused on God’s plan for our life.  “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”[8]  God’s men must “continue in their faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.”  I pray that you will take time to do a faith examination and if you find you are struggling with your faith then it is time to get busy doing something about it.  Spend quality time in God’s Word and take time to have conversations with God just like you would with your best friend.  Find a man that is spiritually mature that can be a mentor and accountability partner. Likewise, don’t fail to find a congregation of Bible believing, Jesus loving, Grace teaching Brothers and Sisters with which to praise, worship and fellowship.