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Faith

Faith
By Dennis Huebshman

Romans 10:17, “So then Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (all emphasis throughout is mine)

Hebrews 11:6, “Now without Faith, it is impossible to please Him, for the one who approaches God, must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

Hebrews 6:1, “Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.”

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by Grace are you saved through Faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (9) Not of works so that no one can boast.”
John 20:28-29, “Thomas replied to Him, My Lord and My God. (29) Jesus said to him, have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen, and yet have believed.” (True Faith)

Revelation 3:20-21, “Listen, I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I Will come into his home and share a meal with Him, and he with Me. (understood to include she and her) (21) I Will grant the one who conquers, permission to sit with Me on My throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (two “I Will” promises)

From the time Jesus first started His ministry at about 30 years of age, He ran into people with belief problems; especially the religious leaders of His day. He waited until that age to fulfill a requirement from Numbers 4 that for anyone to work in the “Tent of Meeting” – later the Temple – they would have to be between 30 and 50 years of age. (v. 3,22 & 30)

Even at age 12, Jesus knew exactly who He was when He was found in the Jerusalem Temple asking the teachers questions and amazing them with His understanding. (Luke 2:41-50) Mary and Joseph, even though they knew Him to be the Messiah, didn’t grasp what He meant when He told them He had to be about His Father’s business in His Father’s house. At 12, He wouldn’t be accepted as a credible priest of the Temple as it was bound in tradition. What no one could even imagine was, that this “12-year-old” created the Heavens and the Earth. (John 1:1-3)

Hebrews 11 is a whole chapter in the New Testament dedicated to people commended for their Faith in God. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Moses, Rahab and others are named because of their Faith in the Lord. None of them were perfect, and many had sinned. However, when the time came, they had Faith that God would see them through. Rahab, for example, was a prostitute, yet she is listed in the blood-line of Jesus in Matthew 1:5 as the mother of Boaz, who with the Moabitess Ruth, were the great-grandparents of King David.

God does not always follow what humans consider normal. He knows who has a heart of service that He can use, and who will respond and who will not. His chosen people have been the Israelites even before they had that title. I mentioned “I Will” promises earlier, which God takes very seriously. If it’s a straight “I Will” covenant, it is unconditional, and as far as God is concerned, is eternal. One example is Genesis 12:3, “I Will” bless those who bless you, but “I Will” condemn those who condemn you.” This is still in effect today.

If it is an “I Will If You…” covenant, then it is a conditional covenant based on what actions are required from the recipient to complete. For example, God will save us “If we Will accept His Son, Jesus, and the sacrifice He made for us”. In this case, the choice to have the covenant fulfilled is entirely up to each person, and God is no respecter of persons. (Romans 2:11) All who accept Jesus as their Savior will be saved.

For churches today to preach that the Jews have been replaced by Christians or anyone else is a flat-out false statement. We as Christians, have a covenant because of Calvary, however, it does not replace god’s chosen people. His covenant with Abraham still stands, and there are those who will find this out by treating the Jews with disrespect. Romans 11:25 says that when the time of the Gentiles (everyone who is not Jewish), has been completed , God will again turn His full attention to His chosen. They will be disciplined and taught what is right, and by the end of the 7-year Tribulation period, All will know Jesus is their Messiah. Sad part is, during the Tribulation about 2/3 will perish.

Today, about 1% – 2% of the total Jewish population is Messianic. Those who are, will be taken up with all true believers when Jesus calls them Home in the Rapture. For the ones that die without having accepted Yeshua (Jesus), as with all unbelievers from the beginning of earth’s time, they will be in the long line at the White Throne Judgment to receive their sentence in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:11-15) God loves His people as He loves everyone, but any who did not accept Him before the Cross, and all from the Cross forward that reject Jesus, will not be spared. God is Faithful and Just, and His promises will be completed and will not vary as to the outcome. If God varied by even one promise, then All His Word would be considered false, and we would be hopelessly lost.

Today, we are seeing an increase in the number of people who will not accept Jesus by Faith, or believe He really is a part of God that came to the earth to die for our sins. Satan is convincing a whole lot of people this is all a fairy tale, and that Jesus was just a man in history. He can’t say Jesus didn’t exist because there’s just too much evidence otherwise. However, he can get people to disbelieve the true facts about Him.

In Islam, for example, Jesus is called Isa, Son of Mary and other names, and is identified as a prophet for allah. He is not shown to be the Son of God, but just a good prophet who did not die, but was rescued to Heaven by God in order to return one day and fight against the false prophet, whoever that is. He is mentioned in the Quran in 93 verses and is believed to be a descendant of Abraham, but not through the Jewish line of Isaac. They also disavow all teachings of Paul as not being truthful. It should be noted that Islam started with Muhammad about 600 years after Jesus was on this earth. (source Wikipedia)

As Christians, by Faith we believe the Bible is the true and inerrant Word of God; written by about 40 Holy Spirit inspired men. We believe Jesus is not just the Son of God, but is God. (John 10:30) We believe the God-head is a Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Through archeological discoveries, secular science has proven in many cases the Bible is true and accurate, and things that have been thought to be myths have been proven to have been real.

By Faith, we believe John 14:6, “Jesus said, I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

By Faith, we believe Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; and Romans 10:13 that All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

By Faith, we believe Romans 8:1 that says All who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned.

By Faith, we believe John 3:18 and 1 John 1:5:12 and others that say if we have Jesus as our Savior, we also have the Father. However, if we deny Jesus is our Savior, we do not have the Father.

By Faith, we believe any other teaching is false and satan-inspired, as he wants as many of us to fail as he can get.

Jesus will return to call all true believers to come up to meet Him in the Air In order to be able to avoid the Wrath that is coming soon. This means the Rapture must take place before that Wrath starts, which will be the opening of the first seal judgment releasing the anti-christ to have power on this earth. (Revelation 6:2) Paul describes the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. All who have died “In Christ” from the cross to that day will be taken up first and body and soul will reunite in a new forever body. Those alive will rise up and receive their new bodies on the way. By the way, this will all take place in less than one second.

Therefore, you will not have time to avoid the tribulation if you wait to call on Jesus when you hear the trumpet and shout, announcing the Rapture, that probably only believers being taken will hear anyway. I would strongly suggest that for anyone who hasn’t accepted the Savior and asked Him to forgive you and save you, to do so now. Even the next hour cold be too late. People will still be able to be saved during the tribulation, but at a terrible cost. Most will be martyred

Jesus said we would not know the day or hour, but it’s absolutely certain it will come. All prophesies up to the Rapture have been fulfilled. The remaining ones have to do with the tribulation and millennium.

The old saying, “He who hesitates, is lost!” could prove to be very true very soon. Why gamble? Call on Him today.

Shalom Aleclem (Peace be with You)

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