What Does it Mean to Walk by Faith?

by Dena Johnson Martin 

"For we walk by faith, not by sight ."(2 Corinthians 5:7).

Those words seem simple enough.

However, I am learning that fleshing out those words, that simple concept, can be a much tougher assignment. It requires tremendous courage and strength. You must be willing to be misunderstood and even abandoned. You must be willing to give up any semblance of control of your life that you thought you might have. You must be willing to look like a complete fool.

But it is a journey of tremendous blessing and reward. It is a journey that is exciting, life-altering, and mind-boggling. It is a journey that will allow you to see and experience God as he was meant to be: in all his fullness and grace. 

What Does it Look Like to Walk By Faith and Not By Sight?

Walking by faith and not by sight requires you to go to a place you do not know, one that God will reveal as you walk in obedience. Just look to Abraham as an example (Genesis 12:1).

Walking by faith means that you continue to cling to the dreams God has planted in your heart, even when you’ve been thrown away, taken to prison for crimes you didn’t commit. Just look at all Joseph endured (Genesis 37-50).

Walking by faith requires a strong determination to follow God’s plan regardless what life throws your way. Look to Daniel to discover how to have the resolve not to sin (Daniel 1:8).

Walking by faith means you have the courage to stand up for the hurting, broken, and down-trodden, to face death yourself for the good of others. Look at Esther and how she risked the death penalty to save the Jews (Esther).

You just may have to play the part of a fool. Think about Noah building an ark for a flood when it had never even rained on earth. Think about Abraham clinging to the promise that he would be the father of many nations even though he was childless at the age of 100. Think about Moses standing before the Israelites in the wilderness telling them they would eat meat until it disgusted them but having no idea where that meat would come from. Think about Joshua marching around the walls of Jericho as God had told him to and wondering what good it was going to do.

If you choose this path, you must be willing to get out of your comfort zone, to run from the Americanized brand of Christianity that so many of us have known our entire lives. You must be willing to let God take your world and turn it upside down, shake it up, and start all over again. You must be willing to let God out of the neat little box that you have put him in, to let him show up as he sees fit.

Maybe it will be a calling to do something you never dreamed before: foster or adopt children, leave your job and become a missionary, trade in the worldly comforts for heavenly treasures.

Maybe it won’t be that clean and neat and socially acceptable. Maybe, like me, your world will be turned upside down by the pain of adultery and divorce. Or maybe you will be faced with infertility or addiction. Maybe you will have a prodigal child that completely changes the direction of your life. Or, maybe you’ve experienced the loss of a child—a hurt like no other.

I don’t know what your shake up might look like, but I know that if you will give it to God—throw up your arms in surrender and ask him to use it to change your life—he will honor your request. He will take you on a journey, teach you to walk by faith, entrust you with some of life’s most treasured moments.

He will build a faith in you—faith that moves mountains and moves God’s hands. He will teach you to live this life with abandonment, giving you a freedom to walk in all his fullness and grace. He will prepare you to be used mightily in this life for his glory.

Perhaps you’ve already experienced your life being turned upside down, toppled without any control. Perhaps, like me, you’ve found yourself wandering in the wilderness, watching his fire direct your every step by night, a cloud lead you by day. Perhaps you sense you are on the edge of the Promised Land, just waiting for him to give the command to take possession.

And yet, you are tired and weary. You’ve lost friends who don’t understand how you can continue to cling to a promise that is so obviously dead and gone. You are so close and yet feel so far away. You are struggling with temptations to just settle, even though you know it is less than God’s best. You simply don’t know how much longer you can stand.

You are not alone. I see God raising up a remnant of believers, those he knows will be obedient. He is looking for those with clean hands and a pure heart, those who will choose obedience even if it costs them everything this world has to offer. He is looking for those who will throw caution to the wind, believe that he has an abundant life (John 10:10) waiting if we will follow his ways. He is looking for those whose hearts have been purified, whose faith has been strengthened by the trials of this life (James 1:2). He is looking for those who will cling to his promises even when it seems there is no hope.

Be strong and courageous, my friends!

God has specifically chosen you to be a part of this remnant, those who will allow him to take their lives and mold them into what he wants. He has chosen you to have your faith tested and tried, and he promises that the fire will only purify you—not burn you. He has promised that he will be with you every single step, walking with you, carrying you, supporting you. He promises that he is still in control even when life seems to be spiraling wildly out of control.

He is teaching you to trust him so he can do something bigger and better than you ever dreamed possible (Ephesians 3:20-21). He is teaching you to let go and trust him with your heart, your soul, your life (Proverbs 3:5-6). He is teaching you to walk every single day in the spirit so that he can do even greater works in you and through you (John 14:12). He is preparing you to be a beacon of light and hope to a world which desperately needs to see Jesus.

I don’t know where you are on this journey of walking by faith, but I encourage you—beg you, plead with you—to wave the white flag of surrender. Let God take your life, your pain, your loss and use it for his glory. Ask him to do an amazing work in you so he can do an amazing work through you.

Get out of that boat and step onto the water…and never take your eyes off him. It is a decision you will never regret!

Dena Johnson is a busy single mom of three kids who loves God passionately. She delights in taking the everyday events of life, finding God in them, and impressing them on her children as they sit at home or walk along the way (Deuteronomy 6:7). Her greatest desire is to be a channel of God’s comfort and encouragement. You can read more of Dena’s experiences with her Great I AM on her blog Dena's Devos.

5 SIGNS YOU MIGHT SEE CHRIST

by David Jeremiah

Sitting like giant golf balls on the bleak Yorkshire moors of northern England are dozens of strange globes protected by sophisticated security fences. Known as Project Echelon, this is one of the world’s most secret intelligence operations. It’s located at Menwith Hill, a Royal Air Force station eight miles from the English town of Harrogate, and it is the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. Within its 560 acres is an extensive network of spherical domes, satellite dishes, radio masts, computer centers, and processing stations. 

During the Cold War, Menwith Hill intercepted Communist messages, and it broke codes from the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations. Now it’s thought that this RAF base is capable of the world’s most advanced global electronic surveillance, including the interception and content inspection of telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, and broadcasting signals. Project Echelon is the key link in a worldwide eavesdropping network operated by America’s National Security Agency, and it is linked to the spy agencies of several other nations.

 Advocates claim that Echelon will help the West win the war against terrorism. Critics warn that it represents a dangerous invasion of privacy and a grave threat to personal liberties. Some alarmists claim that Echelon has the power to potentially monitor the conversations of everyone anywhere on earth at any time. That may be far fetched, but only a few super-secret souls know the true reach of Echelon, and even fewer know what new technologies are just within the reach of specialists. 

While Echelon may serve a vital role in our national security, think of this tool as one day being in the hands of the Antichrist. Think of Echelon in terms of Eschatology (the biblical study of the End Times). 

And think of this. Project Echelon can never—regardless of technological advances—eavesdrop on the secret counsels of the Trinity. It can never penetrate God’s mind. But the Lord has already revealed to us vital secrets about the future, and He has declassified and released important data about great events soon to engulf the world. We have a source of secret intelligence that no spy agency on earth can duplicate.

Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost wrote in his book, Things to Come: “God, the architect of the ages, has seen fit to take us into His confidence concerning His plan for the future, and has revealed His purpose and program in detail in the Word. A greater body of Scripture is given to prophecy than any other one subject, for approximately one-fourth of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was written.” 

When we study biblical prophecy, we’re investigating the case of current events with secret intelligence provided by the God of time and eternity. 

“24” 

Some of that data is contained in our Lord’s sermon in Matthew 24. In the final week of His life, prior to His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus left the complex of buildings on Temple Mount, hiked down the Kidron Valley and onto the slopes of the Mount of Olives. As they paused to rest on Olivet, the disciples looked back and the view was stunning—the sun setting on the temple. Jesus used the occasion to preach His premier message relating to His return, and in Matthew 24, He gave several signposts to watch for. 

• False Prophets (verses 4-5): Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah,” and will deceive many (NIV). Perhaps you’ve heard terrible statistics regarding the number of sites on the internet devoted to pornography. But did you know that according to a report some time ago on CNN, there are more sites devoted to religion than to porn? With the click of a mouse, you can suddenly summon up any one of thousands of sects and cults and religions with millions upon millions of electronic pages devoted to an ever growing number of false Christs. Never in human history has there been such proliferation of religious information.

• Wars and rumors of War (verse 6). Just since the year 2000, large portions of the world have been devastated by conflict. America sustained more than 3,000 causalities in the attacks of September 11, 2001. The 2003 War in Darfur has caused nearly 5 a half-million deaths. The death toll in Iraq amounts to many thousands. Over 7,000 died in the 2006 war in Somalia. Over 22,000 have perished in the War in Afghanistan. There are ongoing conflicts and insurgencies right now in a host of other nations. As you read these words, someone’s home is being shattered by wars and rumors of war. 

• Famines and earthquakes (verse 7). If you’ve been listening to the news recently, you’ve heard reports of food shortages in various parts of the world. The price of food is rising, and severe famines are forecast, especially for parts of Africa and portions of Asia. Regarding earthquakes, I find it fascinating that there are internet sites devoted to monitoring and reporting on the occurrences of earthquakes on an hour-by-hour basis. For example, one website has a map detailing 208 earthquakes that rattled different parts of the globe over the course of seven days. 

• Persecution (verse 9). As false religions, wars, famines, and earthquakes increase, so does the violence of persecution. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,” said Jesus, “and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” It’s a marvel to me that the news media can spend days talking about the latest celebrity outrage while ignoring the plight of 600 million Christians now suffering persecution and various forms of harassment because of their faith. Advocacy groups estimate that the twentieth century saw more Christians die (about 45 million) just for being believers than in the first 19 centuries (25 billion) after the birth of Christ. And there’s every reason to believe the twenty-first century will be just as bad or worse. There is nonstop persecution against Christians in many countries in the world. One expert, Nina Shea, wrote, “Millions of American Christians pray in their churches each week, oblivious to the fact that Christians in many parts of the world suffer brutal torture, arrest, imprisonment, and even death—their homes and communities laid waste—for no other reason than they are Christians.” 

• The Spread of the Gospel (verse 14). Nevertheless, Jesus indicated that the spread of the Gospel would accelerate. According to missionary experts, 74.5 percent of the world was unevangelized in the year 1800. That percentage had reduced to 54.3 by the year 1900. There was an explosion of evangelism in the twentieth century, and by the year 2000, only 28.3 percent of the world remained unreached. 

As He continued His discourse on the Mount of Olives, Jesus went on to say that other great and perilous events would take place—the Abomination of Desolation described by Daniel the prophet (verse 15), the Great Tribulation (verse 21), and the coming of the Son of Man (verse 27). 

THE END TIMES 

Other passages—especially in Daniel, Zechariah, 1 Thessalonians, and the book of Revelation—add vivid and fascinating layers of information about the End Times, and taken together present a reasonably clear outline of the last days. The purpose of biblical prophecy, after all, isn’t to confuse us but to inform and motivate us. In the process, it does even more. It reminds us that God was present at the beginning of history, He is superintending the progress of human history, and He Himself will be the great consummation of history. 

The God of Scripture is eternal and omniscient. He encircles time and space, and He knows the future as fully as the past. He possesses absolute and ultimate power, and He has written the script of the ages. That script is called Scripture, and studying biblical prophecy is nothing less than an investigation into God’s plan for the future. 

It appears to me that we could well be living in the last days. Alarming as this is, it has always been part of God’s plan, and there’s great comfort in knowing that His program is right on schedule. I’m excited about the future because I’m excited about Christ. In Him, we’re safe and secure from all alarm. We’re hidden in the cleft of the Rock. We’re engraved on the palm of His hand. 

And His hand is at the helm of history

WAKE UP CHRISTIANS!!

We must get ready for the second coming, says RT Kendall

What would you say is the most apt description of the Church today? Would you say it is on fire? Thriving? Turning the world upside down?

People often ask me, “What is the Church doing today in the world?” I usually reply: “Not a lot, in my humble opinion.” There are exceptions, mostly in developing countries and remote places. I also think of the amazing work of Alpha. But generally speaking I think we are living “between the times”, to use Richard Bewes’ phrase.

The famed preacher Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones often railed against the “superficial”. He would have probably used that word to describe today’s Church. AW Tozer wrote that if the Holy Spirit were completely withdrawn from the Church, “95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference”. More recently, theologian JI Packer has commented that America’s Bible Belt is “a thousand miles wide and one inch deep”.

If the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) is eschatological – referring to the last days, as many Bible interpreters believe – we can easily see what our Lord would say about today’s Church. He’d say it’s asleep. Jesus said, “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all [both the wise and foolish virgins] became drowsy and fell asleep” (v5).

The parable of the ten virgins is introduced by Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:1 “At that time” (NIV) or “Then” (ESV). That would refer to what Jesus has said in Matthew 24, surely a chapter that partly describes the last days. If that is true, the parable of the ten virgins is not only eschatological but prophetic: Jesus is telling us in advance what the Church would be like in the very last days. Most Bible interpreters would agree that the parable of the ten virgins in some sense refers to the Church. Five of them were wise, five of them were foolish. But all were asleep.

There are three characteristic of sleep:

1. You don’t know you were asleep until you wake up. We’ve all done this – to lie down for a moment to relax – only to find out we slept for a while!

2. You do things in your sleep you would not do if you were awake. Our dreams prove this. Whether such dreams are unexpressed fears or wishes, as Sigmund Freud might say, we do things when asleep we would not do if awake.

3. We hate the sound of an alarm. How would you like to be awakened at 2am? We resent being woken up. We want to sleep on.

But I believe the Lord intends to wake the Church up and that the next thing to happen on God’s calendar is the Midnight Cry: “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’” (Matthew 25:6). This does not necessarily mean twelve midnight; the Greek literally means “in the middle of the night” – like 2am, when the Church would be in a deep sleep, metaphorically speaking.

A sleeping Church

Here are some signs we are asleep at the present time:

• The absence of conviction of sin
• A lack of the fear of God
• Little sense of outrage over the godlessness of society
• Watching pornography and feeling justified
• Avarice, greed and lack of financial integrity
• No sense of outrage over the Church’s lack of credibility in the world
• Little or no concern about people going to hell
• Little concern about the lack of knowledge of God’s word
• Indifference to the biblical view of marriage
• Indifference to holding grudges and unforgiveness
• Indifference to talking to people about Christ
• Tolerating heresies such as open theism and hyper-grace teaching
• Indifference to the teaching that the Bible is infallible
• Indifference to how much time is spent in prayer and quiet time

I believe that the parable of the ten virgins is very relevant at the present time. It depicts the Church today. We are asleep. We don’t realise it. We may sincerely believe we are wide awake when we are in fact asleep. I would even say: in a deep sleep – like at 2am. Furthermore, we don’t want to be disturbed.

The greatest evidence that we are asleep is our lack of outrage over what is tolerated in the Church and what is going on in the world. Not only are we indifferent to what is happening before our eyes, we have become so used to it that we are virtually impervious to it. The biblical view of marriage is on the way out. Terrorism is at our doors. Church attendance is declining more than ever. We are losing our young people. If someone calls things like this to our attention we say, “Oh yes. It’s pretty awful.” Then we roll over. Zzzzzzzz. “Let me sleep on.”

It's not too late

I believe the next thing to happen on God’s calendar is not the second coming of Jesus but the awakening of the Church before the second coming. It is when the word and Spirit ultimately come together as on the Day of Pentecost. The simultaneous combination of the word and Spirit resulted in spontaneous combustion. The next great move of God on the earth will be an awakening precipitated by a cry that will be so real and eventful that the event of 11th September 2001 will be insignificant by comparison. This awakening will begin in the Church. It will lead to millions of conversions, including many Muslims. The blindness of Israel will be lifted and many Jews will come to Christ. Then will come the second coming.

I would like to think that my book Prepare Your Heart for the Midnight Cry (SPCK) will be a mini wake-up call in advance of the big one. For when this Midnight Cry comes it will be too late for the foolish virgins to become wise. But it is not too late now.

There are three categories of people described or implied in the parable of the ten virgins: the wise virgins, the foolish virgins and Christians not asleep but who lead the way in waking up the Church that will result in the greatest revival in the world since the days of the early Church. These people will announce the soon coming of Christ and, incredible as it may seem to us now, the world will believe it!

Sixty years ago I had a vision of revival that went right around the world. It is what I have looked forward to all my life. The message, in short, was: Jesus is coming soon. And everybody believed it. People everywhere were shaken rigid. I am very aware that they don’t believe this now. They laugh at the thought. But no one will be laughing then. What is more – in my opinion – it is coming soon.

Awakening

What should sadden us at the present moment, however, is that the world does not respect the Church. There is virtually no fear of God in the land.

When Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ on 8th July 1741, the immediate fallout was that men held on to church pews and trees outside to keep from slipping into hell. God only did this once during the New England Great Awakening. But the power of it was so profound that word of that sermon and its immediate effect spread all over New England in days and all over England in weeks. For some reason God does this sort of thing rarely. But when he steps in like that the world is affected by it.

In 1802, in an area called Cane Ridge in Bourbon County, Kentucky a Methodist lay preacher stood on a fallen tree on a Sunday morning before 15,000 people, taking his text from 2 Corinthians 5:10 – “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of things done in the body, whether good or bad”. As he spoke hundreds fell to the ground by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was the beginning of the camp meeting phenomena. The Great Awakening lasted for over 20 years. The Cane Ridge Revival lasted only four days.

Both of these phenomena brought about a fear of God that spread all over America for a good while. But who fears God today? Not many, I suspect. An awakened Church will help restore a fear of the Lord in the nations. No election will do it. No act of Parliament will do it. But God can do it. And I believe he will do it. Soon.

RT Kendall was the minister at Westminster Chapel, London from 1977-2002. His latest book Prepare Your Heart for the Midnight Cry (SPCK) is out now

---

About the Author

RT Kendall

Robert Tillman (R.T.) Kendall pastored at Westminster Chapel, London for 25 years and has authored dozens of books. Find him at www.rtkendallministries.org