March 31 Faith is Essential Hebrews 11:6
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina…“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Many decades ago, my daddy began praying for his brother. His prayer was for his brother to come to Jesus and to be saved. Through daddy’s own struggles with life and the application of Faith, in his own life, he never swayed in that desire and prayer for his big brother. Life went on and every attempt to share the Love of God with him, always ended in “Mind your own business!” Undaunted, daddy continued to pray, and he encouraged us to pray for my uncle. Circumstances and situations conspired together that would lead one to believe, that he would never, ever, acknowledge Jesus as Savior; nor would he ever, by faith, receive His saving Grace. Dark days, challenging circumstances and a host of “Life’s Issues” were the defining message of his life! It all came to a head, when my uncle became very sick and he ended up in the hospital, with the diagnosis that he may not survive. Daddy and I went to the hospital to see him and we gathered around his bed and we prayed for him. We were not praying for his survival, but for his soul’s salvation. Afterwards, I asked daddy why we were praying for his salvation, when he was unconscious, and he spoke with confidence, when he said, “He hears us, I pray that he hears the Holy Spirit!” I saw, right then and there that daddy’s Faith, regardless of what he saw, was strong and he could see his brother, accepting Jesus as Savior. Well, his brother did survive and it happened that daddy was holding a revival service down in Jones County and that particular night, as the special music was finishing and daddy was about to climb into the pulpit area, that the doors opened and in walked my uncle and aunt. They slipped into the first available seat and were unnoticed by the congregation, except for my daddy. There was a look on his face that made me pay attention to his words. He preached with passion and with conviction and then, the invitation was offered and the music was playing and the atmosphere was sweet with the faithful worship of the folks gathered there. Then it happened, my uncle slowly rose from the pew and started that walk down to the altar where his baby brother waited. When he arrived at the altar, he took daddy’s hand and they knelt at the altar and they began to pray. When they got up and turned towards the congregation, there wasn’t a dry eye among our family, that were, in attendance, that night. Daddy spoke those words that have been an inspiration to me ever since! “My big brother has come tonight to receive Jesus as Savior and this is an answer to a 40 year prayer! Through my own struggles with life, I have continued to pray for him and tonight, God has answered my prayer!” Daddy had prayed for his brother for 40 years! 40 years! What possessed him to continue to pray the same pray, month after month, with no signs of it even coming close to being answered? A few weeks later, daddy invited his brother to come and offer his testimony, at our morning worship time. There they were, the two men that I loved and admired the most of any men in my life, and they were talking about Faith! Folks; our Faith does not have an expiration date, nor are we to waiver in our commitment to God and our service to Him. Given the circumstances, daddy could have given up on his brother, years ago. Amazingly, through those years when my uncle was so ugly and defiant in his protests against daddy sharing Jesus, to the times when he simply stayed away, daddy’s faith did not waiver and my uncle’s defiance did not stop! Here is the message for today: We are to walk by faith, not by sight! Our faith must be a growing faith and we must apply this faith into our daily lives! Jim Valvano made is famous speech, near the end of his earthly life, and he declared that we are to “NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!” Daddy never doubted and he never gave up on his brother! Is your faith strong enough to see what does not exist, as of yet? Are you growing in Christ so that you can claim the victory, even when defeat seems more likely? Remember - “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Stay Strong, Stay Focused…THE BEST IS YET TO BE!