The Race of Christian faith

It is very interesting how our life in the faith is compared to a race. Many see Christianity as a mere religion and go about it as another man made religion. But the word of God and our personal relationship with God proves it to us that it is nothing but a walk of faith. The New American Standard translation of the Bible describes faith as “Assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Looking at the word conviction I found myself profoundly amazed. I said within my own heart, what a true translation of the meaning of faith. Yes I said this is the problem with many of us. Yes the conviction part is missing in the hearts of many believers on an ongoing basis. This is how Peter failed his heroic act of walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. This is also why many of us start very well, yet end very bad. We need conviction of the unseen in our hearts to the end. In Psalm 2 verse 12 King David utters a very profound spiritual mystery I believe. Even though in the original context David is speaking about the world and its rulers rejecting the Messiah as the Son of God and is calling them to show homage to Him, but the Holy Spirit gives us a deeper understanding of this verse in the reality of our daily walk with Him. This is what this verse says “Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him”.

Being enlightened by the Holy Spirit these words in the New Testament sound so different than what they mean in their original text. It speaks of the most intimate expression of one’s love to another. “To Kiss” meaning to embrace and express our love. The kissing of the Son that would prevent the state of perishing means to trust and embrace His word with a conviction. Coming up the mountain of faith or as Solomon says in the Song of Songs “ Coming up the wilderness of life” requires more than a onetime trust by a mere confession, but a continual obedience through an ongoing inner conviction of the heart in trusting His word. Paul in the end of his life made this magnificent statement saying. “I have fought the good fight, in finishing my race and in it all I have kept my faith”. What did this mean if not that he kept his eyes on the unseen through a conviction of his heart. Many the Bible say will depart from the faith in the last days. How would that be? By not kissing the truth of the word of God for themselves. They would fall in the state of perishing like the nations who never had its truth introduced to them.

A scary thought to begin with. To remain in faith we need to remain in our convictions of the unseen truth of His word by daily confessing and believing its validity for us. With Satan daily throwing garbage at us to kill, steel and destroy our faith we need to remain steadfast in our convictions of His word in order to counter attack his fiery darts of fear and unbeleif lest we perish from our way. In this spiritual warfare if you and I are found not knowing the word through personal conviction of faith we would lose our ground. Daily as the Adversary the Devil who is seeking whom he may devour throws his darts at us in our minds, we too need to counter attack him by speaking the truth of the word out loud in conviction of the unseen as though it is. In doing this repeatedly and by faith he who means to hurt us would finally walk away. The problem is the lack of our heartfelt assurance of the truth of the word in trusting its validity.

The Devil knows how to destroy us, but we many time have no knowledge of the effectiveness of God’s word through a genuine conviction. The Bible says “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and did not love their lives unto death”. Overcame Who? They overcame the devil by the power of their redemption through the blood of Jesus and the words of their confession of faith in trusting the validity of the truth of God’s word by an inner conviction of the power of the unseen sword of their faith. Folks let us not think we will overcome the devil neither in our human strength or wisdom nor by our initial confession of faith in His Son’s atonement alone.  Paul didn’t why you should and I be any different? He spoke of the reality of this race in His life. Isn’t that enough proof to hook us up to this eternal reality taking place right before our own very eyes? Paul said He fought the good fight of faith and that he finished his race and that he kept his convictions. In Hebrews the 11^th chapter its author says in verse 23 and on “By faith Moses, when he was born was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer afflictions with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”

These actions taken through a genuine conviction of the truth speaks of kissing the Son lest we would perish in our own state unbeleif. Yes doing the right thing by faith in troubled times speaks of the presence of a genuine faith. Believing Him for our needs when no real sign of help could be seen is to trust the unseen in conviction. Letting go and let God is the theme of our message this afternoon. Letting go means to let our fears go and to grab the word and its truth in speaking it out in conviction of our faith at the impossibilities of this life. To trust Him in His word and to continually depend on them and on the invisible attributes of His being speaks of a mature faith. Faith that has been tested in the furnace of afflictions like Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego’s faith. This is the entire purpose of our walk in Him. Since the book of Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 says without faith it is impossible to please God and he that comes to Him “ Must Believe” that He is and that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Must believe here means must have an inner conviction that would carry him to the finish line, and He who began this good work in us is faithful to complete it to the end, if we shrink not. He is the one standing at the finish line to embrace what He has begun in us by His grace. Amen? That is why the scriptures says it to its hearers repeatedly “Whoever has an ear to hear let them hear what the Spirit is saying to His Church”. Meaning whoever has the ability and endurance and faith and conviction of the unseen in their hearts let this kind of hearers listen and obey the message preached at them. Without a true conviction of the truth none will be able to kiss the words of this gospel preach to us today. It is better for us that we would have never heard it, than to hear it and walk in indifference of what we have heard.

My prayer is that today a fountain of faith would be opened in us that would overflow to the everlasting life in Him.

May the Lord’s love and His faithfulness bring us all to the understanding of His truth by a sure conviction in our hearts? Amen?  Amen.