05/03/2022
How often do we call on the name of the Lord to save us in our moments of trouble, or from our various hardships? How often do we call on His name when we are hungry, or in bodily distress? How often do we call out to Him to save others, or perform miracles to encourage their belief? Do we not trust in His Word, and His promised answer, do we doubt He will manifest Himself always? If we do believe, then why do we hesitate to reach out to Him for certain help, and salvation? We need no priest or intercession because He tells us that everyone who calls on His name will be saved… and yet, do we cry out to Him? Do we hear Him calling us near?
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”
Joel 2:32 ESV
As we go through the process of maturing in faith we grow, and experience various stages of belief. One of those is self-assuredness. We read that Jesus endowed His disciples with the ability to preach, teach, heal, and do great things, and we think to ourselves that this is the ultimate power we are to wield; this is what God intends us to aspire to, but it is not. It is never what we do, but rather the faith by which we do it. Not our hand, but the hand of God on us.
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Romans 12:3 ESV
Jesus walked through a crowd, and a woman touched His garment and was healed. He knew it instantly, but he did not consciously think to heal this woman… that healing came from above…
“She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?””
Mark 5:27-30 ESV
it was the power of God that was upon Him, and the absolute humility of Jesus brought Him to say this to us…
““I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.”
John 5:30-32 ESV
So it isn’t the power that we wield that is the pinnacle of our faith, because, like Jesus, we have no power of our own. Even when the disciples were “given power” and sent out to heal and perform miracles they were a great deal like us in their immaturity… they were excited by these things they felt they were doing… but they were brought back to reality when they couldn’t cast a demon from a man’s son. Do we remember what happened? Listen as the boy’s father brings his unhealed son to Jesus…
“And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?””
Matthew 17:16-19 ESV
Faith… humility… calling on God, and understanding that all power is His. Learning that we can do nothing outside of Him; we can’t even save ourselves. God calls us to Jesus; the same Jesus that died and was resurrected for us., and when we begin to follow Him we are thrilled like children in our new found faith and our amazement in answered prayers. But, as we wield the power of God, we are taught that we actually have no power; nothing, that is, outside the will of God itself. So, as we continue to mature we come to the first great conclusion… only by God’s grace were we saved… then the second, which is that we do nothing of our own power, and that our gifts are just that… gifts. God acts from within us, and through us. We are humbled in this reality, and our humility continues to grow beyond all we thought possible at the moment we first believed. Then the third conclusion comes as we begin to call on the name of God without hesitation, pray without ceasing in the name of Jesus, wait patiently because we can’t go on alone, and prostrate ourselves in absolute humility before God. Step by step we are transformed, and made into mature believers, and the least becomes the greatest. So, let’s ask ourselves today… are we proceeding into true spiritual maturity, or have we stalled in our growth… somewhere in our youthfulness of faith?
“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Ephesians 4:13-16 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for every degree of faith and maturity you lead us through as we worship you, and learn to call out to you always. Strengthen our faith in you through the revelation of your Word by your Holy Spirit. Humble us Father, and teach us to obey you, just as you saved us from sin and death, through your Son Jesus, teach us now, by His example, teach us how to live a righteous and holy life. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is our all in all, and our everything. Praised be your name for hearing us call out to you, and for your certain answer when we call in conformance to your will. Merciful are you who loves us so much that you would send your Son Jesus to live, die, rise from the dead, and provide us with our escape from sin and death through such horrific suffering. Your grace is sufficient to save the world as it flows over us through Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit secures us in your Word as we await the return of Christ to claim us, His bride. Hear our prayers offered in His name, and our humble voices as we call out to you for deliverance and our every need. Remove the shame of the world from your children by the outpouring of your Spirit, and encourage us as our old men dream dreams, and our young men prophesy. Pour out your spirit on all men and women of every race, color, and social order alike, that all of mankind will be saved, by the cleansing power you have brought forth in the blood of Jesus. Find us all to be worthy of spending eternity in your presence, and being called your friends, and children, forevermore. Praised be your name Father, for within it all power resides.
“You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”
Joel 2:27-32 ESV
Rich Forbes