In need of faith that puts God at work
In need of faith that puts God at work
Daniel 3:17-18 “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” NIV Bible
Extra Reading: Daniel 3:1-17
The times in which we live need men and women of faith. In the Old Testament the three Hebrew men had a defiant faith. They cried, “The God we serve is able to save us from it” (Dan. 3:17). We are talking about the fiery furnace here. These men never doubted God’s ability, even though they were not sure of His plan. As a matter of fact God did not choose to deliver them from the furnace but in it. Their faith had gone beyond getting into the fire. They refused to bow to the small gods of Nebuchadnezzar. Their faith believed when it could not see. In the New Testament days iron gates yielded to an angel’s touch when prayer was made without ceasing unto God for Peter. God gave the three men a sturdy faith in Him. I need a faith that will not shrink when pressed hard by challenges of this world. I have heard of this prayer, “Lord, You are able to do the impossible”. That prayer is very good and will build up confidence of the person praying it. One pastor once said, “My theology says that God can do it, but my mind says something different.”
Faith honours God. God honours faith and goes wherever faith puts Him. Faith can do all that God can do. Its sole desire is God’s glory, and it would not ask anything amiss (1 John 5:14). Our faith must long for an overthrow of the powers of darkness. True faith yearns that the world might know the message of Christ’s redeeming love. We need a faith that will go out there to challenge the skeptics and scoffers of our day, and tell them, “Jesus saves. Jesus is alive today. Put your faith in Him.” God does not need lazy and self-excusing Christians in the matter of personal devotion to Jesus and active engagement in soul winning. The church needs a new injection of the living God now. Otherwise, we will die without faith. The church needs Christians who will firs, renounce all known sin, secondly, sorrowful confession that we have failed so much and have been satisfied so long with the status quo, thirdly, a seeking of God’s face in earnest prayer, and finally, Bible study, in order to uncover the promises of God directed to this desperate age and our needy churches.
Shdrach, Meshach and Abednego triumphed over Nebuchadnezzar because they had unwavering faith in God. Elijah could not have gone to heaven without experiencing death if he did not have a living faith in God. Spiritual faith cannot be kept in a watertight compartment of the mind. Faith gets into the will and into the heart. Faith sets the affections on fire. One great value of reading the Word of God is that it is faith-feeding, for “…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10;17). Men of faith see-they see the unseeable. Men of faith know a dimension that is unknown to those who pray only routine prayers. God demands faith, for He says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). Faithlessness hurts Christ and also hurts His cause.
Prayer: Almighty God, thank you that we serve You, a God who is able to save us from a fiery furnace. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen!
Rev. Samuel N. Modise
