PASTOR’S CORNER, David Hoffman, First Church of the Nazarene, Liberal
When I was only 10 years old, my Daddy told me, “Son, there is no guarantee of tomorrow in this life.” Uncertainty about the future can bring a paralysis of fear and anxiety to us humans. My dad was not a Christian at that time, but he did receive Christ as his personal Savior when I was 28 years old; he was 47 years old.
Nevertheless, Christian believers receive a comforting word of encouragement that we do not walk alone. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence to walk alongside us as our guide, counselor, companion, and helper. (John 14:16-18, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15) As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.” Some people live by the principle “seeing is believing”; however, for the believer “believing is seeing” due to our trust and confidence in an eternal God who has the foreknowledge of the future by His omniscience. He is all-knowing!
We can trust an unknown future to a known God. In our home, we have a sign by the kitchen sink that says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. God is already there!” It is a reassuring reminder to trust in the Lord. In fact, at the age of 13 my life’s philosophy became the same as Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight (or direct your paths).”
Christian believers also receive a guarantee of tomorrow in eternity promised by the assurance of the Holy Spirit’s witness. The apostle Paul stated in Romans 8:14-17, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Our Heavenly Father provided salvation by the universality of His grace through His Son Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. The human response to His divine initiative is to appropriate His grace by faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” We receive His gift by accepting it and allowing Him to change our lifestyle.
We simply must confess our sins, repent of our sinful actions and attitudes, turn away from the former ungodly life and accept His loving forgiveness to change us. (I John 1:9) We must “walk in the light as He is in the light” God provides daily, moment by moment by personal relationship. “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” (I John 2:6)
I am inspired and intrigued by the heroes of our faith in the pre-Christian era in the Epistle to the Hebrews chapter 11. Verse 1-2 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Habakkuk 2:4 states, “The righteous will live by faith.” Paul quotes it in Romans 1:17 as his entire theme for Christian believers in his Epistle to the Romans.
The word “faith” is utilized 28 times in Hebrews chapter 11. We live by faith by trusting as well as confiding in God’s great love. May the Lord help us not to presume on His gracious will by following our own desires and ambitions.
Our prayer for faithfulness in relationship to our sovereign Lord (He has the last word after all) could be as follows:
God, grant me the confidence to trust your word and commands, such as when you created the universe (“one spoke”) ex nihilo (out of nothing) rather than accepting a Big Bang theory, since “what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Hebrews 11:3)
God, give me faith like Abel who brought his best offering from the “fat portions of some of the firstborn of his flock.” (v. 4; Genesis 4:4)
God, give me faith like Enoch, who “walked with God and was not.” (Genesis 5:21-24) Only Enoch and Elijah never experienced death, but they were raptured by God into heaven.
God, give me faith like Noah, who spent 100 years preparing the ark for the flood “when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (11:7)
God, give me faith like Abraham, who was willing to go wherever you led him - “when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (11:8) His faith was commended for trusting God’s promise to him for a land, heir as offspring when he was 100 years old, blessing as a nation and willing to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (instead God sent His only Son as sacrifice for sin later).
God, give me faith like Moses, who trusted your power in Egypt in the exodus and provisions in the desert or wilderness wanderings.
God, give me faith like Joshua, who witnessed the drying up of the Jordan River, so the people could cross into the Promised Land, and the fall of Jericho.
God, give me faith like David, who faced the giant Goliath and later served you as king.
God, give me faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who never yielded to peer pressure and refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol.
God, give me faith like both Josephs, Gideon, Samuel, Ruth, Rahab, Esther, Daniel, prophets, Jesus and his disciples, Peter, John, Paul, and so many more.
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Man’s way is trying, but God’s way is trusting!! God is a promise keeper, so you can trust Him with your life. My daddy trusted Him, and his favorite hymn was “Victory in Jesus.” He told me to tell everybody about Jesus so we could all be together with the Lord forever in heaven, but only if we walk by faith, not sight.
