Possessed
What is this mystical thing called faith? Faith is not something we possess, instead it seems that faith is something that possesses us. Faith is that bridge that somehow connects us to powers of heaven and brings to reality the “great” salvation of Jesus; Not just a ticket to heaven but a place of undeserved priviledge that provides for everything in life.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand…
Hebrews 11:6 “and without faith it is impossible to please God…”
How do I know if I have faith? Here are a few tests:
If you are gambling everything, I mean everything on Jesus then you probably have faith. Faith causes Jesus to play and bigger and bigger and a more and more important role in life, not less. Faith brings Jesus front and center into life; His words, His power and His grace. When you reflect on those who lived by faith (as told in Hebrews 11) you see those who traded everything to follow Him.
If Jesus is sitting at the head of the table of your life and He is the one calling the shots you have faith. Faith doesn’t say “no” to Jesus, faith says, “yes.” Many times faith causes us to actually make a decision against our own selfish or even best interests. Who leaves behind money, who leaves their home, who turns away from privilege, who dares to walk on water, who chooses hard roads and persecution? People who are possessed by faith do.
Faith dares and risks. Faith steps into the impossible and the improbable believing that God will do what we can’t. There is no salvation without faith. There is no pleasing God without faith. Faith compels us to unprecedented trust in God. Faith causes us to declare that the unseen is true when all the evidence seems contrary.
Why is this important to understand? Because there is an indisious lie that somehow we can get a ticket to heaven, file it away in the emergency drawer, and produce it at the last minute after completely relegating Jesus to a non-entity in our life. That is not faith, that is just wishful thinking.
