When the Lord comes will he find your faith? Our believing will make it so. We already have been given the gift of faith.
Luke 18:6 “And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
I don’t want to say much about the parable prior to this scripture except that the woman kept pestering the judge with her request. Time after time she went to him until he agreed so her continual coming wouldn’t weary him. Not giving up was faith on her part that he would agree to help her. When I look at the verses above, it can be scary. There is a note of sadness in the words.
Back in the 70’s I would never have believed verse 8. The church houses were full; there were real revivals. Who would have thought the world would get in the shape it’s in? The time for real faith and belief is here and now. We’re in our greatest crisis, one more than terrorism, but one for hearing and believing God; we’re in a crisis of faith. We see it from others and sometimes in ourselves. The devil wants us to doubt this vital link to God. He knows if he gets us to doubt he’s on the right track.
There is no excuse for quitting. This decline of faith in the Lord is given over to things that can’t save. Citizens have lost faith in the government, in their neighbors, and even in each other in general. In a sense we feel justified. The devil knows the more chaos he causes will be the way to get people to lose their faith in God. He’ll tell us that he’s not the same God he used to be or times wouldn’t be changing as they are. It is getting worse, and Jesus said it will be hard to find faith on the earth.
We can look at the world and our communities, but let’s look at ourselves. Will Jesus find our faith? The only way he can find it is if it’s there. Faith makes the bridge where we find God as well as the one where he finds us. Everyone who abandons the faith is not found of God. No matter how big the adversity is, God can still see faith. That makes the difference. At the pool of Bethesda, the man waited for angels to trouble the water, but he had the ability to believe on the Lord. Belief in angels wasn’t enough. When Jesus came to the man, he didn’t have to wait on the angels. It’s also not enough for us to believe in the house of God; we must believe in the Lord. The important thing was this man’s faith, and Jesus saw it. Can he find yours—right now?
Jesus sees those who try to do their best, yet at times we all have trouble with our faith. We get weak, troubled by the devil and confused. We have to trust in Jesus. We can’t believe just any old way. Too many have sold their faith to the eastern religions which practice faith in self. In this time, our faith in God is the greatest need in the world. Verse 8 says “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Before that time comes, what kind of faith does he see now? Is it weak? Is it absent? If we want to be recognized of God, we must believe in him. There is no reason not to have it. If things are falling apart, God isn’t. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are still the same. The Word of God, the promises of God are as good here in 2010 as ever. Prophesies say at the end times we’ll see a decline. Do we have to give up? NO! Jesus was persecuted with the faith that we would be saved. Faith begins and ends with God, and we’re in the middle.
We may not figure faith out completely, but let’s not depart from it. The widow aggravated the judge so much that he gave her what she wanted. She dauntlessly believed in his authority to make it happen. God wants us to come to him and keep coming. We always have a choice. We’re busting at the seams with faith. There is no such thing as a soul not having enough faith to be saved. We use only a small percentage of our brain. Imagine what we could do if we could use it all. Imagine what we could do if we’d fully use faith. We have all the reason in the world to believe him.
There is no benefit in losing faith in God. The more willing we are to use faith, the stronger it is. As professed Christians, we ought to wholeheartedly use it more and in better ways. As Jesus looks down right now, does he see faith? What does he see in you?
Have faith. Increase your faith. Protect your faith. Use your faith. After all, it’s there.
“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;” Rom.10;8
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 