Believing Is Receving

Hello All!

I know I haven't posted anything in a while. It has been a busy time here in Thailand. 

Here is a sermon I wrote to keep your spirits up. If you like what you read, please send me an email to adrianamcpherson@hotmail.com and let me know! I love hearing testimonies on how God has been changing hearts around the world! Stay blessed and forever focused on the goal!

Believing Is Receiving

You have heard people say, “I will believe it when I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says,” If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle.” Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we believing for is called faith.

We are going to look at Hebrews 11 – known as the “living by faith” chapter. This chapter highlights numerous ancestors that lived by faith. The original readers of Hebrews were converted Christians and were suffering abuse; property being taken away, public insults, disowned from family, and even imprisonment. In these early days, they accepted such persecution gladly, even joyfully! But as the trials continued, some people began to lose heart and feel down. To these discouraged people, Hebrews 11 presents a stirring reminder of true faith. For example, Abraham, in v.8, goes to a place he would later inherit, even though he didn’t know where he was going! But because of his faith and trust in God, he obeyed and went. If we jump down to v.11-12, Abraham and Sarah were very old and barren but God not only blessed them with an heir to the kingdom, but their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. Of course, hundreds of years later, Jesus comes, as promised!, and through Jesus we are co-heirs to that same great kingdom! As you read on towards the end of the chapter, a lot of these people did not receive the promise they had hoped for; some were beat and ended up beggers, hiding out, wearing goatskins. Many, unfortunately, died horrible deaths.

Faith is most like a difficult race. The runner has his eyes on the prize, and despite temptations to slow down the pace, he refuses to let up until he crosses the finish line. In my journey, ive felt like this. Ive only been a ‘true believer’ for a year and half and have had moments where I wanted to give up. “What is the point”, I would say. But in my heart of hearts, I know I will never stop pursuing God’s promises for my life because He hasn’t and never will stop pursuing me! I will run this race until God calls me home and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In the story of the healing of the bleeding woman (Mark 5:24-34), there were many people who touched Jesus (v.31) but nothing happened to them. Because they didn’t touch Him faith! But when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 long years came to Him and touched Him, Jesus felt power leave His body (v. 30) and it sparked off an explosion of healing in the woman’s body. Hearing about how good, kind, and loving Jesus was fired up her faith to believe that He could and would heal her. So convinced she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (v. 28). Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, quite the opposite! She acted in faith and ONLY THEN felt the healing in her body.

In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love towards you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He will freely give you every good thing (Romans 8:32). He wants you to declare, by faith, that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And no matter what or how long you have had a problem, there is an explosion of healing and restoration will take place and you will receive what you are believing for!