#2 The
Language of Faith
Everything the Israelites had murmured and complained
about was God’s judgement upon themselves. Nu. 14:28 Their discontent, lack of
faith and lack of fear of God brought about murmuring and complaining against
God as they approached Moses and Aaron [God’s anointed]. They spoke their own judgements by the power
of their own words.
Isn’t it true that when we accuse another, we end up
having little room for God’s love in our hearts? And, when we accuse another
how can we be in His will?
Were they judging God? We know they were tempting God. Not
because Moses and Aaron were “gods” but because they were God’s called to bring
the Israelites into their promise land.
Not to judge another begins within us. When we do this, it
doesn’t really matter what the other person says about you, no matter how the
words may burn. If we judge ourselves, we won’t be judged. David wrote in the
Psalms about judging and confessing his sins and always asked forgiveness. This is a good habit to develop for all those
who believe in the blood of the Lamb and the mercies and grace of God.
I am not talking about judging righteously. If we didn’t
judge righteously our country would be in an extreme case of lawlessness, which
seems to be the case where we are today. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites.
They would say one thing and do another.
The Israelites sinned when they spoke against God’s
anointed and, God dealt with them, but He never stopped forgiving and loving
them. Their spoken judgements were commissioned by God to land upon their own
heads.
Moving ahead a couple of thousand years, consider the man
whose name was Saul, a well-known Pharisee in the New Testament. He thought he
was doing God’s will as he persecuted the Christians and put many to death. On the way to Damascus a light [some say it
was lightning] surrounded him from heaven, and he fell to the ground, and he heard
a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul asked, “Who
are you, Lord? Jesus said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Rd Acts 9:3-5
How could he be persecuting Jesus when he was persecuting
The Body of Christ? Because Jesus’s prayer in John 17 has come to pass. All
those who believe are one in Christ, just as He is one with the Father. His
Holy Spirit lives within us, the righteousness of Jesus Christ and that is the
Kingdom of God.
I have said this many times before, but it is always
worth repeating, Saul had to be blinded to see the truth. He repented and confessed
Jesus as his Messiah and was born again and became known as St. Paul. When he
was persecuting the Christians, he was persecuting Jesus Himself. Remember
Jesus asked him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Paul was
forgiven and used mightily in God’s work. He discovered the true love of God
through Jesus. Then, he discovered that he was chosen to be an example of
longsuffering:
“But
mercy was shown me in order that in me as the foremost of sinners Christ
Jesus might display the fulness of His long-suffering patience as an
example to encourage those who would afterwards be resting their faith on Him
with a view to the Life of the Ages.” 1Tim. 1:16 Berean.
Just as the Israelites had blindly spoken against God’s
anointed, they were complaining against God Himself [tempting God] and wanted
to see them stoned. Saul strived to persecute
as many Christians as possible. Not only was he blinded spiritually but also
physically so much so that God used His experience to be able to see the truth.
When we go through our trials, God uses all things
involved and touches many areas of our lives and others too.
There are some of us who carry our faults around just
being who we are, and they can be hard to love, but I believe if we allow the
Holy Spirit to work in our lives, He will always expose to us what we need to
clean up within ourselves before we blame others for our faults. Are we
sensitive to His voice?
Remember Jesus’s words:
“Judge
not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be
judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And
why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not
the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me
pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold a beam is in thine own eye? Thou
hypocrite, first cast out the beam that is in thine own eye; and then shalt
thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Mt.7:1-5 KJV
This is a command from Jesus giving us God’s simple
process of sowing and reaping. I can tell you firsthand early in my Christian
walk I found out something about another believer and was appalled over what
she did within the thoughts of my heart. I did not speak it but thought it. Later,
I walked through the very thing I judged her over. God did not stop loving her
or me, but this is one of His ways of teaching us not to judge others. Perhaps
at the time I must have felt “I would never do that.” Oh, really? The only goodness any of us have
inside of us is Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit. We have a good Father who will not allow us to
get away with any self-righteousness nor any judgement towards another. And no
one is exempt. As a very young believer I listened to the different ministers
sitting in my living room, judge my past. I later discovered they all ended up walking
through the very same judgements they spoke upon me before I was born-again.
I call it tough love. God loves us so much we are shown
where we are in this walk of love and faith then, gives us room in our lives to
plow through it. No one ever said it would be an easy row to plow, but the Bible
gives us plenty of promises to stand upon and pray while we are here.
Too many times, believers become Job’s friends when as he
was suffering had told him how God felt about him and giving him advice. Oh,
they even knew why he was so sick. Read it for yourselves. Their “friendly advice”
angered God.
It is too easy for us to misuse our tongues. How many of
us speak before we take the time to think first? Not one of us is innocent of
this problem. The consequences can be heavy. If we keep thinking about how
wrong another believer is in his ministry, sooner or later we will speak it. I
ask you, why do we feel the necessity to speak it? If a brother or sister has
headed the wrong way and you are convinced, they are in the wrong, why not go
to them in faith, love and talk to them? If you cannot go to them, why not
write them a letter? Ask yourself what motivates you to speak against anyone in
the Body of Christ?
Jesus said we
would know His sheep by their fruit. If
those whom you judge are in the wrong, I guarantee you that God will take care
of it, in His time and in His way.
Our words do count because they are either life or death,
fear and doubt or faith and love and our language comes from what we have
stored up in our heart. If this were not true, the Bible would not have been
written and used by the Holy Spirit to change many lives. Can the holiness of
God’s truth live in a heart of unbelief and doubt? The Israelites ate the fruit they had stored
in their hearts and from their unbelief in what God promised, they reaped His
judgement from the very words they spoke. They judged God’s anointed.
I ask you, is there anything too great for our God? Nothing
is too great or too small, but you must believe that He is and will do it if
you ask in faith. And, this is your language of faith, one of love.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father,
I know I have judged others in the past and I ask that You
forgive my reckless words. I ask You remind me to guard what I put inside of my
heart and cause me to think before I speak. Remind me Father that everyone I
see is going through a trial in their lives. Let me be one of empathy and
kindness that would reflect your Son’s love in all I do. I ask that Your Holy
Spirit stir up a zeal inside of me that would be rid of all lukewarmness and
any pride and replaced by The Language of faith and love. Teach me to listen to
Your voice and not one of the flesh. Help me see through Your lens the goodness
inside of those You love. Teach me to not be so quick to speak and when I do,
to give You all praise, honor, and glory and those who have an excellent spirit
to return their love in all sincerity. Thank
You Father and it is Your Son’s name; Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
For those who haven’t accepted Jesus the Christ as their
Savior and would like to invite Him into their lives today. Your heart must be
willing, repentant and full of belief that He was the complete sacrifice for
your sins. Pray with me:
Heavenly Father,
I come to You with a heavy heart and fully admit I have
been doing things my way and they just have not worked out. I need Your help
Father. I believe You love me, I don’t understand why You gave your love for me
but I need it. I know I have sinned. Please forgive me, [name your sins]______.
Teach me Your ways and give me insight into Your love. Guide me and direct my
life into this new path. I pray in faith and love through Your Son Jesus amen.
If you prayed that prayer with the faith of a small
mustard seed, you have been born-again. Buy yourself a Bible and begin reading
the book of John. Begin to attend a good Bible believing church. Your new
friends have been where you are today and will help you get through the rocky
times, in love, prayer and faith. Welcome to the family! You are loved!
[GodReports.com] In a textbook aimed at teaching ethics and law to high school students, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) changed John 8, egregiously altering the meaning of a famous scene demonstrating the mercy of Jesus Christ. (Image: Screengrab via God Reports)
