RADICAL FAITH

Romans 4:20-22 He [Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

Some people think they have faith in Jesus and the Bible, but their faith is only in the realm of their mind. This is called head faith. It is a shaky faith that follows after reason to appease the natural mind. It is a faith without power.

Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus, is an example of a person with head faith.

When he heard that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he found it very difficult to believe that his Master was really alive. Jesus had promised this, but Thomas struggled to be convinced because it went against natural laws and common sense. All his physical senses and human reasoning told him that Jesus died (John 20:24-29). His natural, human faith said “It is impossible for a dead man to come back to life. I’m not going to believe it unless I can see and feel Jesus for myself.” This is not real faith.

Real faith is not based on seeing in the natural (2 Corinthians 5:7, Romans 10:17) but hearing and seeing with eyes of faith.

The type of faith Abraham possessed was heart faith. This is an unwavering faith that is fully convinced God is able to perform what He has promised despite no evidence to support it!

What you want is the unwavering faith of Abraham, which is heart faith. Abraham put faith in what God said and elevated this above his natural physical senses, his emotions, his feelings and the prevailing culture of the day. Abraham possessed a radical faith – he didn’t care what others thought or said, he believed and sided with God.

Radical faith is what produces radical results in your life. These results will never come when you carry a watered down faith because you are conscious or concerned about what others might think.

Ephesians 3:20 reveals the results of radical faith - Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…

God is able to do immeasurably more than your limited mind can imagine. That’s why you need to come to God with a radical faith in the heart. Despite the limitations of the mind, you still have a big heart full of faith that can believe God even when it exceeds the comprehension of your mind!

Although Abraham was old and childless, he refused to be convinced by what his mind and body were telling him. He just believed what God said. “For I have made you a father of many nations” (Romans 4:16-17). That was more than enough for him.

Refuse to look to the circumstances around you or what you do not have. Just be fully persuaded that God will move mountains; He will heal the sick; He will cast out demons and He will cause all His promises to come to pass in your life.

Pastor Wayne Simpson


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Radical faith refuses to look to the circumstances.