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Facets of Faith 4

Facets of Faith, Part 4

Introduction

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God seeks those who will believe and trust Him. In these lessons, we want to explore some “facets” of faith. According to the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4, there is only one faith, but there are elements we might differentiate within that “one faith.” In these five lessons, we will explore a little bit about them.

The first part of the series will be short, discussing “believing” and what that means. The second part will explore saving faith. The third lesson will explore living according to faith, including how we operate daily and approach provision. The fourth lesson discusses trusting God, which can be difficult when things are unplanned. The fifth and final lesson explores faith as expressed in doing for the Kingdom of God; we demonstrate our faith when we work to glorify God.

Solomon

Proverbs 3:5-8

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Why would we trust the LORD when He has permitted so much to go awry? Look at the mess the world is in! Perhaps He is not the One behind the mess. Perhaps He allows people to do what they want but will work through the mess to do things that will give Him glory.

We are ignorant of infinitely more than we are aware of. God is not. He is infinite in both time and space. The Bible tells us He is outside time and space. That is what eternity is.

Solomon’s words, which we read here and in Ecclesiastes, contain a formula: Do those things God proscribes. Think about those things God proscribes. Be you, but align yourself with God, and all will be well. Do not trust your senses, but God’s Word. The Bible, from cover to cover, is about trusting the LORD. Trusting Him, again, is having faith in Him.

Ruth

Ruth 2:12

12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

Ruth was a woman from Moab. Moab was an enemy of Israel. They did not worship God. Their ways were foreign to those who lived in Israel. Ruth became the wife of one of Naomi’s sons. Naomi was an Israelite woman who fled Israel during a famine. In Moab, she lost her husband and her two sons. When she returned to Israel, her other daughter-in-law chose to stay in Moab. On the other hand, Ruth learned to trust in the LORD God of Israel. When her mother-in-law returned to Israel, Ruth went with her. God provided for Ruth not only food to eat but also a husband. Ruth’s grandson was David, the King, and in the lineage leading to Jesus.

The story of Ruth teaches us that even those who are not with God can trust in Him. Indeed, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Hezekiah

2nd Kings 18:22

22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?

Read much of Chapter 18.

Hezekiah became king of Judah at age 25. The Bible says that he trusted in the LORD God of Israel and that there was none like him before or after him. Ahaz was the king before Hezekiah, who did not do what was right. He built altars, groves, and so forth for gods other than the LORD. Hezekiah tore down the altars, cut down the groves, and removed all the pagan symbols Ahaz had placed to tempt Judah to sin.

Today, in secular American culture, we do not usually have altars and groves to other gods. We have many things that beckon us to seek rather than Jesus. Anything you put before God is an idol no different from Ahaz’s altars, statues, and groves.

Four years into Hezekiah’s reign, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, destroyed Israel and carried her away into captivity. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was no more during Hezekiah’s reign. Rather than capitulate to Shalmaneser, Hezekiah appealed to God. Let’s read what happened when Hezekiah trusted the LORD.

2nd Kings 19:5-7 NKJV

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Chapters 18 and 19 give an excellent example of what it means to trust the LORD and how it will go for the one who trusts Him. We always expect God to operate one way. However, trust in the LORD and watch what He does. He will accomplish His will in ways you are likely not to expect! Instead, you will be amazed.

Jehoshaphat

Read how the LORD God delivered Judah from Ammon, Moab, and Seir under Jehoshaphat’s reign. The king sent the worship team in front of an insufficient army to meet the three opposing armies in battle. God caused the three to think the others were the enemy. They all destroyed each other, so all the enemies were destroyed when Judah’s army appeared. All that remained was the great wealth they had all taken with them. Read of it in 2nd Chronicles 20.

2nd Chronicles 20:21-25

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

One may be tempted to say, “That was then.” How much more that we live in the time of grace with Jesus. Trust God! See if He is not merciful to you!

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