“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” — Hebrews 11:1
Have you ever looked at a Spider up close and noticed how much of a strong thick web it is able to weave and how it is so strong that when we touch it with our finger, it attaches and we end up destroying the web when we take it off? And then there’s the times we sit and watch as the spider just sits on its web for hours waiting for its meal to come and get tangled. We ask ourselves “why doesn’t it just go out and catch some food?”
Well, because a spider is a very patient insect. It doesn’t need to go out looking, because it has faith that if it took its time to build a strong web, that it will catch a decent meal. It knows that the stronger the web the bigger the meal, and maybe more then one meal! So if a spider has faith that waiting on the web for days, nights, and hours that it will soon catch something, than why can’t we have faith and patience in the Lord blessing us with a “Meal”?
So today I will be talking to you, my Christian Brothers & Sisters about Our Faith in our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. You see, just because you haven’t received your blessing today, doesn’t mean you won’t get it tomorrow, the next week, or next month. Most of us worry so much about things that we tend to lose our faith in Him. If you trust in Him, you don’t have to worry, because He WILL provide. Christ Says “Don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing” (book of Matthew). Just for a second, take a calendar or clock and look at it. Notice how the days on the calendar are going forward to the right just as well a clock goes in the same direction. And as you keep observing, you notice time/days are steady going forward and not backwards? That is because yesterday is irrelevant now. It’s a NEW day.
So when Christ tells us not to “let our right hand know what our left hand is doing”, He is telling us to not let our Present (right hand) dwell off our Past (left hand). We have to distance our hands away from each other. Because if we were to always keep our “hands together” (past & present) how would we be able to “open and close doors”, and when I say that, I mean how would we be able to move forward when our backwards is right on the side or in front of it? I know your probably reading and asking “Martin, This don’t have anything to do with Faith”! But it does, because if you had faith yesterday, then you know that your yesterday’s problems are fixed for today’s blessing from Christ. Which means, if you were not to eat much yesterday, you will surely eat plentiful today. But a lot of Christians worry consistently about things, when Christ says “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, live righteously, and He will give you everything you need) (Matthew 6:33). “Martin I’m still lost” Well, here it is. Worry can tear a lot of Christians out of faith. Because soon when you worry about one thing, you will soon worry about another. If you have faith that Christ “got your back” then you don’t need to.
Faith can take you so far to where you can look up, have no money one day, But Christ blesses you with food the next with an extension on your bills. Have no car, but Christ offers a ride through someone, have no house, But Christ provides an apartment. You see when you have faith, stuff is going to constantly happen, but there is always a “but” at the end. When you have faith in Christ, you never go unnoticed. Look at Peter, when he, Jesus, and the Disciples went out into the boat to fish. Jesus told Peter to cast his net out and look how peter ‘worried’ that no fish will come. Jesus said to “trust in him and have Faith”, and soon the net filled with fish. Look at Joseph, had been wrongfully imprisoned, but remained Faithful into Christ and became a king. Look at Job, Satan told God he can turn Job away from God. He killed Job’s Family, and gave him soars everywhere on his body, and Job STILL remained faithful in Christ. These were men in the bible that remained in faith no matter what happened to them and others around them. One day a friend of mine asked me how I can remain in faith in Christ and pray every night when a lot goes on around me. And I replied, “Because If I pray today, I know that if I don’t wake, I will rest in peace tomorrow because I have prayed today. Today will take care of my tomorrow if God allows it. And if tomorrow comes, my prayer will have fixed my yesterday’s tomorrow which is today”. Then he says so you are never worried about the next day? I say never. Tomorrow is in God’s hands.
Faith is a key that can never tarnish, and it can get through any door you place its key in. Whether or not we as Christians know this, but we have faith everyday. It doesn’t necessary means we have faith in the RIGHT criteria’s. A drug dealer has faith that he will make money and pay his bills the next month, when he calculates all the drugs he’s received, A Project Manager has faith that when a specific project starts, it will be successful, and a rapper has faith that he/she’s album will sell and go platinum because of that ONE single being a hit. But nothing will prosper unless we use God’s Plan: Faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says “We walk by faith, not by sight” and Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. What it means (2 Corinthians 5:7) is that we walk by the faith and trust in God and in His promises, not by what we see Him doing for others. And, Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is a “substance”. (Annotation: Assurance and foundation).
What this scripture tells us is our faith is the fullness of faith in God which leaves no room for doubt. Faith in Christ is the reason I can see the morning, faith in Christ is the reason I can eat a bowl of cereal, faith in Christ is the reason I can walk to work, faith in Christ is the reason I can hear the birds singing, and faith is the reason I can smell the air. Faith in Christ is the reason I am no longer haunted by my past, faith in Christ is the reason I can say no to drugs now, and faith is in Christ is the reason I am who I am today. A lot of unsaved adults and teens haven’t been showed or introduced to faith, and if so, they have been using it in the wrong areas. Instead of that family member saying “Having faith in Jesus, and Jesus in you, you can accomplish anything”, you have them saying, “Child that ain’t gone work because you’re too young” or “Man, that won’t work because you’re too old”. Christ says if we remain in Him, He will remain in us. Now, Faith will not always having a pleasant “beginning, middle, and ending”, and no one said keeping the faith will be easy.
Trust me, I know. Quick example, I myself, back in 8th grade I was doing homework, class work, and projects through the ‘beginning’ of my final year before stepping into the ‘real world’(as my mom would say). All through the 1st marking period I was getting good grades, staying on task, and doing everything I needed to succeed. Then as I progressed through the ‘middle’ of the school year (2ndrd marking period (Before Semester grades released) started, my Principal had told me I was barely passing my classes, and was at the danger of not graduating. So not thinking too much about it, I kept allowing myself to go lower and lower, until one day my mother had gotten a call saying that I will not be graduating. Shocked and angry, my mother had told me I was not able to do anything. And not thinking too much, I thought everything was a joke. Until the next week, later that night, we found out that my brother was gunned down. Now I’m thinking, no brother to see me graduate, I won’t be graduating, and I’m completely unhappy with life and myself. So the next week (week before graduation), my mother (at the time was not herself) called the school and asked will there be any chance that summer school will start, Principal said no. (At the time, summer schools were being cut). So now I am COMPLETELY at a stance in my life. Until one night I prayed until I eventually fell asleep. I asked God to pick up the broken pieces of my life and help me put them back together again. Christ asked me was I ready to trust and have faith in Him that He WILL take care of me, I said yes and received Him. Next week (day before Ceremony), my mother had gotten a call saying that they just got approval to open Summer School. I passed and made it on to the 9th grade!
I know your thinking “Martin what does this long story have to do with faith?” Well my Christian brothers and sisters I’m gone break it down to you. My beginning was great, had faith in everything I did, my middle, I stumbled off track slowly because of one thing and faith was draining, and my ending was heading downhill. But when I received Christ and put my faith in HIM, He made a way for my ending to take the place of my beginning. But this time, in a whole NEW way. The very second I was heading toward destruction, I received Christ and my faith in Him is what made me have the ability to “Step back up” and “walk again”. You see, Christ tests our faith in Him by putting us through trials and tribulations to see if we lose that faith. And a lot of us do, but then He helps us grow our faith in Him stronger than what we thought it was before.
So as I close, I leave you with this, keep your faith in Christ and you can succeed in anything. Grow your “strong web” with Him. Have faith that when you “weave that web”, Christ will “steer food on the path to your web”. Receive Him and be patient, because a strong “spider”(man or woman) with a thick “web”(faith in Christ) will never go “hungry”(without being blessed).
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