How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom
they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Rom
10:14)
Suppose that as
you walk down a busy street an old man stopped you and promises to give you $50
million the next day, would you believe him? I doubt you would. You might
probably think it’s a scam. Suppose young man walking with the old man then told
you that the old man is Warren Buffet [one of the richest men on earth], would
your ‘faith’ level increase? My guess is that this new information would most
likely catch your attention. Now if that same person then told you he is Warren
Buffet’s Chief Financial Officer and that Warren gives out that amount of money
to one random person every year; what do you think is going to happen to your
faith? My guess is by now your faith in getting the money would be rock solid!
What did you
think was the significant change from the point when you got that promise which
you didn’t believe and the instant when you ‘suddenly’ had the strong
conviction that you would get the money? The answer of course is that you now
have RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE! Now you know that this old man gives out money like
this every year and that he is in fact Warren Buffet who is worth an
approximate $65 billion! This new information has brought you knowledge about
WHO the man that promised is and therefore you now know what he can accomplish.
Therefore your faith now rest firmly on the knowledge of WHO promised and not
the enormity of what was promised.
Have you ever
wondered why you have not been able to unwaveringly stand on God’s promises to
you in spite of external contradictory circumstances? Maybe you should check
your knowledge level. How much of the character and capabilities of God do you
know and are convinced about? Apostle Paul asked a salient question in the book
of Romans chapter ten; HOW SHALL THEY BELIEVE IN HIM WHOM THEY HAVE NOT HEARD? Did
you see that? You can’t believe in God’s promises if you lack knowledge about
God. If you do not know that HE is an all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing
God; you will have difficulty trusting Him to do what He says He will do.
Most Christians
know the importance of faith. We know that without faith it is impossible to
please God [Heb 11:6]. We also know that we need faith to take advantage of the
finished works of Christ and experience victory. We know that God’s people through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the
violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women
received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not
accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: in short, we need faith to do exploits [Dan 11:32 …but the people that do know
their God shall be strong, and do exploits]. But you
see, faith doesn’t even begin to exist outside of revelation of God through His
word.
The scriptures
say that faith comes by hearing the word of God [Rom 10:17]. We can also say
faith comes by hearing words about God and it would still make sense. God’s word reveal to us the character and
capacity of our father. That how we know he is able to do what he says he
will do. It follows then that the less of God you know, the less faith you
would have. Little wonder the scripture says that without faith it is
impossible to please God and those that
come to him must believe that he is and is a rewarder of those that
diligently seek him. The point here
is that faith is accurately only based on the one who promised and not what was
promised for that which was promised has no substance apart from Him who
promised. So when God says He will do exceedingly abundantly above whatever I ask
or imagine; my understanding that God is all-powerful [capability] and faithful
[character] to fulfill his promise is actually what steadies my faith.
Consequently through
my knowledge of God, I not only know that God can do all things; I actually know
He will do it for me. If God says it, I believe it and that settles it. Hallelujah!
