By E L Thornton
Luke 5:18-26 “And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.”
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I do not speak on the subject of “faith”, nor on the “having of faith,” nor do I speak on the “size of faith,” nor the “lack of faith.” The “having faith” problem has already been addressed, Rom 12:3 “—but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Notice it’s the measure of faith not a measure of faith, suggesting that there is one measure of faith, and that all men possess that measure of faith. No one should ever say they don’t have any faith
The size of faith is also addressed in this passage. Jesus talked about a mustard seed, then again He expresses His opinion of “great faith”. But the only thing that makes faith great is when we act upon our faith.
It was an act of faith that caused Nanman to go the man of God and to Jordan
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” Put Elijah on top of mount carmel,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” drove Abraham to Mt. Moriah,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused Elijah to pray for rain,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused Gideon to go to battle and win,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused Moses to stretch forth his rod over the Red Sea,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused David to go to battle with the giant,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused the walls of Jericho to fall for Joshua,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused Peter to take the lamb man by the hand,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””” caused impotent man to pick up his bed, and walk.
An act of faith may be what keeps you from receiving your healing, or whatever. Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
In simple terms, faith, You see things as though they were. You may believe, but unless you start doing things as though you believe, you may never receive a touch from God.
I. OUR FAITH MUST BE IN GOD:
Heb 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
You may have your faith in the many things of this life but, I ask you, which of those things have done anything for you.
You may have your faith in money, and if you have some that’s great, but has money ever done anything for you. The Rich Man lifted up his eyes in hell because of his money. God called the Rich Young Man a fool because of his money. No! money hasn’t done anything for us with God.
You may have your faith in your doctors, and I thank God for them, but the little woman with the blood problem had seen many doctors and had suffered many things at their hands and grew worst. But when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she was made whole.
You may have your faith in government, I feel sorry for you.
II. AN ACT OF FAITH IS SIMPLE:
My car will start tomorrow, but it takes an act.
The lights will come on in room, but it takes an act.
III. ACTS OF FAITH ARE BORN OUT OF DESPERATION:
Ask the engineers to open the Red Sea, no they build dams,
Ask the professionals to build an Ark, no they build Titanics,
Ask the doctors to heal Nanman, no they operate,
Ask the Boilers Makers to call fire from heaven, no they have to have a pilot light,
Ask the Navy Seals to walk on water, no they have to have a wet suit,
Ask the Air Force Avatiors to leave like Elijah, no they have to have wings,
Ask Hodeanie to escape four quardens of soldiers like Peter,
Ask the Carpenters to build a stairway to heaven,
Ask the demolition crew to take down the walls of Jericho,
Ask the Pathologist to raise Lazuras,
Ask 911 to rescue Peter on the deep seas.
No! Acts of faith are most times born out of desperation. When you run out of options, when you’ve tried everything and everything has failed, act on you faith.
If it’s impossible to please God without faith, what must it do to God when we fail to act on our faith.
A man went down the ladder into the cellar of his home to get some merchandise,
his small daughter, standing in a lighted room, looked down into the dark hole that was the cellar. Calling to daddy she said, “daddy can I come too,” Dads reply was, “yes
baby, just jump. She acted on her faith by jumping.
Some of us need to jump even though we don’t see the landing.
