Focus: The Business Of Faith

Text: Eph.1:16-19

"Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may KNOW WHAT is the hope of his calling, and WHAT the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And WHAT is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power."

The Christian faith is eternally enterprising. Believing in Christ is a lifelong commitment. Our faith is both a sweet privilege and a sacred responsibility. It involves:

Enjoying God, engaging for Christ, enduring with Christ, and expecting the return of Christ.

Paul prays for all of us as Christ's followers to experience the hope of His calling, to enjoy the riches of His glory, and to encounter illimitable power of God that made possible the resurrection of Christ from the dead. He prays for us to have eyes that see the unseeable and for our inner being to be flooded with the light of divine revelation.

*Enjoying God

The Christian's God is enjoyable. He is not a relic of the past, but our very contemporary. Every believer can encounter God for himself in every generation and situation. We experience God in degrees of glory. We move from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory. In Christ the 'unknown' and 'unknowable' God has revealed Himself. Christ is the revealer of God. 

The Spirit of God in us reveals Christ to us. The joy of knowing Christ is ever growing and spiritually refreshing.

The psalmist says, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps.16:11). The Christian is a hedonist of some sort. We find infinite delight and sweetness in our God. We experience unexplainable pleasure.

Paul in Philippians 1:25 talks about "the joy of faith." In 1Thessalonians 1:6, he talks about "the joy of the Holy Ghost." Peter, in 1Peter 1:8, tells us about rejoicing "with joy unspeakable and full of glory." God is our chief joy. We know real and unending laughter in Christ. Christians are hilarious people. We radiate joy and inspire hope. The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb.4:16). Part of our experience is that God meets our needs. He is our Shepherd; He provides and protects us. He prods and leads us. Before His throne of grace we obtain timely help and needed grace. He neither leaves nor forsakes us. We enjoy the treasure of His presence.

*Engaging in good works

Our faith is more than a sweet privilege; it is a sacred responsibility. Our faith places a divine burden upon our shoulders. We are called to do and excel in good works. Paul declares, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph.2:10). Our destiny is rooted in good works. We cannot believe and not behave what we believe. The word 'believe' is a verb. It is action-oriented. James says, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (Jam.2:17). Our Lord Jesus Christ says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Mt.5:16). Paul adds, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father" (1Thes.1:3). Faith must roll up its sleeves and get down to business - the business of the kingdom of God and of the Lord's house. It's about faith and the work it produces, love and its labor, patience and its connectedness to hope.

*Enduring with Christ

The Christian faith has enduring power. Christ in our lives is peace within and crisis without. Our Master Jesus Christ says, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (Jh.16:33). James asserts, "Behold, we count them HAPPY which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" (Jam.5:11). Imagine happiness and endurance linked together! The word 'happy' in the Greek speaks of the blessedness that comes from God. 

The person who endures for Christ is endowed with the fortune of divine blessedness. The man who endures is fortunate.

Paul says, "For therefore we both LABOUR and SUFFER REPROACH, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe" (1Tim.4:10). Again he says, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2Tim.2:12). That's a divine guarantee. Reigning with Christ is conditioned by suffering with him. Paul exhorts us, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2Tim.2:3). The Christian faith is not exactly a jamboree. We are required to be jubilant, but not to play games with our faith. Our faith causes us a lot of trouble, but at the same time, it fetches us eternal trophies.

*Expecting Christ's return

The Christian faith connects us to time and eternity. Our faith empowers us for a victorious living in the world of time and plants in our hearts hope for eternity. Our faith is a hopeful faith. As God's people we are forward-looking. Paul writes, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit.2:13). 

Our Master Jesus Christ is coming back for us, and for having a hope of this brand, we purify ourselves and remain vigilant against that future date when He returns to receive us to Himself.

Jude breaks out in a matchless doxology: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). We have hope of eternal life and heavenly bliss.

Embrace and enjoy your faith in Christ! Get involved in the faith enterprise! Your future is sealed and secure! Your life in Christ makes sense; your work of faith and labor of love are eternally rewarding.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter