“But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?” Luke 18:8b (NLT)
That is a penetrating and disturbing question. In the context of Jesus sharing a parable about how the disciples were to pray and not give up, He throws in this one liner that most people read right past. Jesus knew that in the last days, it would be difficult to believe. So, He throws a thought grenade asking, when He returns will He find faith on earth? He saw that false teachers, false prophets and false news networks would rise us, deceiving and being deceived. He saw that because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. He saw that even believers would come under this deception and turn away from the faith (Matthew 24:4-5,10-12, 24).
Is this the hour that Jesus was referring to? Right now, many “church goers” have stopped going. In fact, many churches are not even meeting. There are many people falling or turning away from the faith. Many have found that by not going to church on Sunday’s they have gained many hours for themselves. Many are just out of the “habit,” and have established new habits.
Yet, not all are wavering. Today while many are turning away, the reality is, many are actually turning to God. And fire is growing! We are on the verge of a great awakening! God is looking for people of faith. Much of the church has been living in two worlds, deceiving themselves that they can have both. There is a brutal separation going on between the Bridal church and the Harlot church.
Make it your life quest to answer Jesus’ question with a resounding “yes!” So, what does it mean to live and walk by faith in this hour? Here are just a few verses to meditate upon and pray into regarding faith.
* Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)
* A faith the size of a mustard see can move mountains (Matthew 17:20)
* If we don’t stand firm in our faith now, we don’t stand at all (Isaiah 7:9)
* Faith has a substance, it not just a mystical concept (Hebrews 11:1)
* A faith without deeds is a dead faith (James 2:26)
* We are to fight the good fight of faith – it is something we must engage in (1 Timothy 6:12)
* Our faith must be tested to mature, and how we walk through those trials really does matter (James 1:2)
* We are to walk by faith and not by sight, nor by what we understand (2 Corinthians 5:7, Proverbs 3:5-6)
I think it was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, that when the church ceases to be the salt and light of the earth, we cease to be the church. A salt and light church is one that walks by faith. Today, ask the Lord to show you what He requires, and desires to be one He finds faith filled. Let’s pray for each other that our answer to Jesus’ question from Luke 18, will be a resounding “yes” regarding Him finding faith on the earth when He returns. In fact, ask God you stir, awaken and strengthen your faith. Cry out for Him to move upon the body of Christ in our city and across our nation, to rise up and be the church in this hour. Pray for your pastor to be infused with faith and to lead, teach, preach and live by faith and not by sight, nor by their “own” understanding.
