Why is it written: Hebrews 11:6 – “6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”?
Because faith comes from God, (Romans 12:3 – “ 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”) and the only way to increase our faith is getting close to God.
God is Holy and when we get close to God we are hallowed. (Leviticus 21:8 - “8 Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the LORD am holy—I who make you holy.”)
How does it work?
The Holy Spirit starts leading us to God, because He would never leads us to the sin, but only to God, thru Jesus Christ.
We get filled with the Holy Spirit.
He will lead us closer and closer to God thru Jesus Christ.
As we are getting closer to God, we are being hallowed, limited to the boundaries that our body in flesh imposes us.
At that point, our faith is enough to move mountains (Matthew 17:20 - 20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.")
All of this, can sometimes, look like a simple theory, but it is not. Let’s see some events in our Bibles.
In the Old Testament:
II Kings 13:20 Elisha died and was buried.
Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
II Kings 4 1-7: “1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Elisha was a man so filled with the Holy Spirit, so close to God, so hallowed by God that even after his death, his bones kept the Power of God and a simple contact with a dead body was enough to resurrect it.
How many of us, including you and me, could, being alive, resurrect someone in the name of Jesus Christ?
What is missing?
The faith that comes thru holiness.
In the next example, Elisha shows us that He was an ordinary man, like you and me and He didn’t know what to do facing the widow request and ask: how can I help you?
But, guided by the Holy Spirit, He explains as God would provide the resources she needed. And the oil was increased by the Power of God.
As that widow was a woman of faith, she obeyed, but could have received a huger blessing if her faith was big enough to get more jars to pour the oil.
Many times we act like that widow and experience the power of God in our lives, but not completely, because our faith is smaller than a mustard seed. We are not still fully guided by the Holy Spirit and the reason is: we still want to be the lord of ourselves. This leads us apart from God and His holiness.
Acts 3: 1-9: “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God.”
Could it happen today?
Imagine a couple of friends that, going to the church, face a crippled man begging for some help. They could give him some money, if possible, or maybe moved by such a deep love they could invite him to go to their church to attend a special healing service or, maybe they could write down his name in a book for praying or they could even pray for him on site.
Notice that it is not that bad at all but, Peter and John were guided by the Holy Spirit at that very moment and that’s why they were hallowed by God. And being full of faith they were courageous enough and healed that crippled man in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Isn’t amazing?
How many times did you want to have the gift to heal or help desperate people?
What we learnt today is: we cannot decide how much power we have or how brave we are but, if we understand that we are nothing and we need to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and you can call it “humbling ourselves”, so, from this point, the power of the Holy Spirit fills us and we become powerful tools in God’s hands, ready to execute all the good work inspired by the Holy Spirit.
I hope that this brief study can motivate you to get closer to God, because this is His purpose to your life.
Praise the Lord.
About Me
- Pastor Daniel
- At the age of 10, he moved to Recife, where he taught children at the Central Methodist Sunday School. At the age of 13, he went back to São Paulo and continued teaching classes, at this time, to teenagers at the Methodist Church in Vila Mariana. After his 15th birthday, he was playing and conducting worship at the Methodists Churches in São Paulo. On his early twenties he lived in London. At the age of 24, he came back to Brazil, married Adriana and went back to his teaching. A few years later, at 27, he and his family, moved to São José do Rio Preto, 450Km far from São Paulo, where he worked in the Projeto Vida Church as a Biblical School teacher and worship leader. Four years later, he planted his first church, the Igreja Metodista Renovada in SJRio Preto. One year later he was ordained Junior Pastor. In 2000 he moved to Uberaba and attended the Salt of the Earth Church, working as Biblical School teacher and worship leader. At the age of 40, he planted a new church in Uberaba and was ordained Pastor for Salt of the Earth Church. At the age of 41, he planted his third church in Uberaba and got his Theological Graduation.
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