Faith Revolution III

“ And the Lord said,“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-32 (NKJV)

In the previous blog, we touched base on the abundant life which Jesus spoke of in John 10:10b. John 17:3 describes this fuller life as follows: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” And, we can know more of God through His words which are spirit and life.

Thus, this more abundant life incorporates a spiritual life. In his book “Your Capacity in God”, Pastor Ulf Ekman points out that the Bible speaks of three kinds of life which we live concurrently, namely: bios (the physical, biological life); psyche (the soul life encompassing our mind, will and emotions); and zoe (the divine, spiritual life).  When we have zoe, we are ready for living the life that God has restored for us through the second Adam -- Jesus Christ. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NKJV)

In the previous blog, we also delved a bit into the thief’s evil intentions to steal, kill and destroy. Just what is the evil one after -- our car, house, heath, wealth, et cetera? Surely, he doesn’t need a car! Hint: it must be something that he knows is precious to God, whether we value it or not. What could it be? Could it be the hidden and secret oil reserve under your house?! My guess was: “that God is good”.

I found the answer on the evening of 24 November 2012 when Dr. A.R. Bernard^, Advisory Chairman, City Harvest Church, was in town. He was in his element best (as usual), “preached hard”, and unveiled what the devil is after by taking this piece of the “jigsaw puzzle” from Luke 22:31-32.

In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus disclosed to Peter that the devil had actually asked for permission to rough him out. But, Jesus told Simon (Peter), that He had prayed that Peter’s faith should not fail. Satan is after our FAITH –to steal, kill and destroy; just as how wheat is sifted using blades to remove the impurities. And, we thought that the devil had stolen our joy or something else for the longest time!

Faith is foundational to the Christian life. Without faith, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to please God; the just (righteous in Christ Jesus) shall live BY FAITH. Get hold of a CD on Dr. A.R. Bernard message, and be encouraged in your faith.

In gist, by the wisdom of God, Dr. Bernard expounded that: THROUGH CONVERSION, JESUS MAKES US A PART OF A PERFECTLY NEW IDEAL IN ETERNITY (IN SPIRIT), BUT GOD LEFT US TO PARTICIPATE IN THE REALITIES OF “TIME”. THEREFORE, THE BELIEVER LIVES IN A TENSION BETWEEN THE IDEAL AND THE REALITY.

Hey, take heart. JESUS has prayed for us believers, too! “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NKJV) JESUS is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Let’s continue to follow Him, our Good Shepherd, and fight the good fight of FAITH!

^ Dr. A.R. Bernard is the founder of the thriving 33,000-member Christian Cultural Center in New York. As a highly sought-after speaker by some of the leading Fortune 500 companies, universities, colleges and faith-based organizations, Dr. Bernard regularly addresses U.S. senators and congressmen. He is also the president of the Council of Churches of the City of New York representing 1.5 million Protestants, Anglicans and Orthodox Christians. Dr. Bernard was named one of “The Powers of New York” by the New York Times in May 2012.