Take a Leap of Faith
Luke 17:5-6
5 And the
apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 So the Lord
said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry
tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey
you.
I learned an
interesting scientific fact: The African
Impala (antelope) are amazing creatures.
During jumps they have been measured to attain ten feet in height and
land thirty feet from where they began. Yet
I’ve seen impalas in zoos inside enclosures with short fences. Why don’t they just getting a running start
and leap over the enclosure fence? The
answer is simple; impalas will not jump if they can't see where their feet will
land.
I have a lot in
common with those impalas. I can make
great leaps in faith as long as I can see where I’m going to land. But I don’t like to leap if I don’t know
where I’m going to land.
A nineteenth
century evangelist in England named George Mueller said of faith, "Faith
does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is
humanly possible. Faith begins where
man's power ends."
Putting that in
Biblical language,
In Biblical terms: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen.
Exercising true
faith means that sometimes we have to leap when we can’t see the landing
area. Sometimes we have to leap in faith
and trust that we’ll land where God has planned for us to land. I have leapt on occasion, with much fear and
trembling, and those have been some of the best times of my life. Scary, but rewarding times.
How about
you? Is there something in your life you
really need to change? Maybe it’s a loved
one / co-worker / close friend who needs to get saved and you’re waiting for
God to send someone to tell them the Gospel.
(Maybe God sent you and you’re just not doing what you need to do.) Maybe it’s some addiction you need to get authority
over. It could be smoking, drinking,
sex, gambling, over-eating, whatever. You
can do nothing and nothing will change or leap in faith and determine to kick
the habit and pray and seek help and let God help you. Or maybe there is something in your church
not getting done and you’re waiting for God to tell someone to do the
work. (Maybe it’s you who needs to roll
up your sleeves and get to work.) We all
have areas in our lives where we can do more but we sit in our pew and be
comfortable doing nothing.
Step out! Leap! It’s
a given that if you do nothing then nothing in your life will change. Stop talking yourself out of stepping out in
faith. Remember, Biblical faith begins where
our ability ends. God’s power is made
manifest in our weakness. What is
faith? It’s the substance or the
manifestation or the reality of the things we hope for. Faith is God’s evidence of what we can’t
see. No great work of God’s Kingdom is
done on our strength. Great works are
done by leaping out in faith. By leaping
to someplace where we can’t see where our feet will land. Faith is taking the leap and expecting that
God will make a good landing zone for us where one does not now exist. Faith is not logical. Faith goes against the wisdom of the
world. Faith is taking risks in a world
where people expect to be safe and comfortable from cradle to grave. Faith is not comfortable. Faith is not being satisfied with “life as
usual.”
In the coming
year, exercise your faith and see where your feet end up landing.
Stephen Cram January 12, 2014
Daniel 1:8
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile
himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he
drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself.
I have posted two sermons and a Praise Chapel TV message
on YouTube. They can be seen on my blog
at http://stephencram.blogspot.com/
and leave a comment.
Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.
Join Pastor Jon Tuesday nights at 6:30 for Praise Chapel
TV at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/praise-chapel-tv
.
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King
James Version of the Bible.
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