In Times Like These....The Just Shall Live by Faith (Part 2)

(Philippians 3:20) "For our conversation is in Heaven; from whence we also look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." 

On February 28, 2011, I wrote a post entitled, "In Times Like These....The Just Shall Live by Faith."  I was mentioning that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen as Hebrews 1 declares.  The Bible declares in Hebrews 10:38 that the just shall live by faith.  Regardless what age you're living in, you must live by faith if you're a child of God.   Anybody that pays attention to the news knows we're living in tumultuous times.  Troubles are on every hand.  We have wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, etc. taking place.  Last Friday Japan experienced a 8.9 magnitude earthquake, which is the fifth worst earthquake ever experienced since recordkeeping began in the late 1800's.  There have been riotings taking place in the Middle East such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.  As time progresses, riotings will become more commonplace in the Middle East.  We're witnessing riotings in America on a lesser scale with the protests that took place in Madison, Wisconsin over pension and healthcare benefits for public sector workers.  We live in an age where if people are dissatisfied they are going to protest to have their way, regardless of whom is affected by it.

When it comes to the subject of faith, some people in this modern age of Christianity view faith in terms of what the Charismatic movement has preached.  Many Americans who view Christian television think of faith in terms of believing God for divine healing or material prosperity.  I don't belittle the fact that God is a God of divine healing and that God supplies all our needs.  However, faith isn't limited to faith healing.  Faith is trusting God with our lives.  Faith is trusting that God will do the impossible.  Faith is trusting God when you can't see it happening with the visible eye.  A Christian whose faith is directed toward the Lord recognizes that God is not regulated by the world's system.  Right now, the world's economy is in shambles.  Several countries, including America are on the verge of bankruptcy.  Many states in America such as California, Illinois, and New York, are on the verge of bankruptcy.  Even though the economy isn't in good shape, God's economy isn't limited.  The Bible in Psalsm 50:10 that he owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  That means God's economy isn't limited.  God can provide regardless of the situation.  Read about Elijah and the widow woman in I Kings 17.  She only had one handful of meal and a little cruse of oil.  Elijah had a word from the Lord and told her to make a cake for whatever little handful of meal she had left.  She did what the prophet told her and the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruse of oil (I Kings 17:16).  God provided when it seemingly was impossible.  There hadn't been any rain any Zarephath for a long time.  However, God wasn't regulated by the circumstances in that land.  The widow woman trusted God and did what Elijah told her to do.  God blessed her for it.

When I read Philippians 3:20 the other week, something jumped out at me.  I recognized that you can link that verse with Hebrews 10:38 that says the just shall live by faith.  How?  Think about some of the great men of faith in past centuries.  Think about some of the great Christians who have lived in past years whose faith stood tall.  Think about those in the Bible who were full of faith such as Abraham, Moses, Paul, Steven, etc.  Consider those that were martyred for the sake of the gospel.  Anybody who's read church history or who's read "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" probably has read about Polycarp.  Polycarp was a 2nd century bishop in Smyrna, which was the church that was small and persecuted.  It was a church that loved God and followed him.  He died a martyr.  He was bound and burned at the stake.  He was later stabbed when the fire failed to touch him.  On the day of his death Polycarp is recorded as saying, "Eighty and six years I have served him," "How then can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?  Bring Forth what thou wilt."  Polycarp was burned at the stake for refusing to burn incense to the Emperor.  He would not blaspheme God.  How could a man have such extraordinary faith?  Why would a man be willing to be burned at the stake for his faith?  It was because his conversation was in Heaven.  His mind was on eternity.  It wasn't on this life.  That's how he could prove himself faithful even unto death.

Every Christian man and every Christian woman throughout the ages whose faith was unwavering was due to the fact that their conversation was on Heavenly things.  Their mindset was on eternity.  They knew this life was temporal.  They knew that eternal bliss is only found in Heaven.  They were striving for the mastery.  They didn't allow the things of this world to sidetrack them.  No Christian man or woman can have faith as strong as that of the Apostle Paul or any martyr, for example, unless their conversation is centered on Heavenly things.  The very purpose for the proclamation of the Great Commission before the whole world is simply because there's a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun.  One of the reasons why many Christians are losing sight of the importance of the Great Commission is because their conversation isn't centered on Heavenly things.  Their focus isn't on things above.  You can't be mission minded if you don't understand this world is just temporal.  Eternity is where our focus must be.  We've lost sight of that in this generation of Christianity.  Day after day our thoughts are always centered from making it day to day.  We've hung our harps upon the willows and our minds are centered on this present life.  We think about things that influence us personally such as inflation (high gas, food prices, etc..), corruption in government, our families, raising our children, making preparations to send our children to college, and contemporary affairs, etc.  We allow carnal things to flood our minds on a continual basis.  No wonder why we're so down in the doldrums.  You can't live in victory and allow yourself to be bombarded by the pressures of this world.

I'm not insinuating that we shouldn't pay any attention to the affairs of the world.  There was an old adage that said that a person that's heavenly minded is no earthly good.  That is true if we have the mentality of Seventh Day Adventists and sit in a rocking chair waiting for Jesus to come.  We'll be no earthly good in that sense.  However, God has not called us to withdraw from the world.  We're to have an influence in this world.  We're to be an influence for the cause of Christ.  We're not to be isolated from the world.  We're to be insulated in the sense we're not to allow our minds to be polluted with the filth of this world.  However, we're to reach out to others with the gospel and be a living testimony that Jesus lives.  There's a place for the world's affairs.  But we must recognize we're not going to reform the world.  We're not going to create a utopia in this world.  I'm all about Christians involving themselves in government.  However, we must recognize this world won't last forever.  This world is corrupt and is ripe for the appearance of the antichrist and the Great Tribulation.  This world will never be perfect and sinless until the Prince of Peace comes back to this world in His Second Coming.  When Jesus rules and reigns during the Millennial, then life will be at bliss.  Not until then.

No Christian can live by faith unless their thought life is centered on eternal things.  Living for Jesus is all about eternal things.  We're here for a season to warn the world of the wrath to come.  This present world isn't what life is all about.  There's an old song which says "The Best is Yet to Come."  There will come a day when Jesus will come for his bride.  The dead in Christ shall rise first and those that are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:17).  There will come a day when our faith will become sight.  Until then, the just is to live by faith believing and trusting in Christ.  That won't happen unless our hearts and minds have a proper understanding of eternity.  The hope that's within us is what keeps us going.  We can live by faith because we know a better day is ahead.  It's because of that we can rejoice and thank God the day will come when faith will become sight.  We'll see Jesus face to face and we'll know that everything we experienced in this life was worth it all.  In closing, I'll repeat a sign-off a preacher uses everytime he closes his broadcast on radio:  Keep looking up, Jesus may come tonight.