The celebration last weekend of the 18th September, Chile's Day of Independence, and this year also the bicentenary of the Republic, was an impressive and beautiful event. Two hundred years as an independent nation, and most of that as a stable democracy, is a great achievement. During its history, Chile has been a predominantly Christian nation. While there have been, and still are, many problems and failures, the behavior and culture of the people have been greatly influenced by Christian teachings and values. I often watch Alfredo Cooper’s TV program: “Hazte Cargo” (which means "Take Charge") in which he and his guests discuss and defend the Christian traditions of Chile.
How sad and depressing, in contrast, I find the spiritual and moral condition of my country of birth: Great Britain. It is the nation where the Anglican church originated, based originally on firm biblical principles. These Christian principles were adopted into the government, and originally formed the basis for British law and public policy for several centuries. Great Britain has since fallen a long way. Every year now, almost 200,000 babies are deliberately killed before they have a chance to be born. Private and public morality has fallen to appallingly low levels. Of men and women who live together, less than 50% are married to each other. Almost 50% of babies are born to couples who are not married. Senior figures in the government have been convicted of corruption for misuse of public funds. Great Britain is now so hostile to Christians, that nurses and other workers have lost their jobs because they offered to pray for their patients, or for wearing Christian crosses around their necks, while on duty. What makes it worse, Christian leaders in Great Britain seem to do, or say, very little in protest about what is going on.
I hope Chile does not go down the same road. Christians in this country must unite to prevent the liberal agenda taking root here. I believe, if they do not do this, it will grow much more quickly than they think is possible.
I pray often for Great Britain. I pray there will be a great Christian revival. I pray that the people will accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I pray that Christian morals and principles will, once again, be established throughout the country. However, Great Britain presents a great challenge to me for prayer. When I pray, I find it difficult to pray with faith, to believe that what I pray for will happen. I believe God is in control but, somehow, the job seems so big, the corruption is so great, and I find it hard to expect that anything will change.
Actually, this is a fundamental problem that all Christians face in daily life. Our faith does not seem big enough to confront the problems within our own personal ambit, not to mention the larger problems of the outside world.
The same question faced the people who lived in Judah and Samaria at the time the Lord Jesus was fulfilling his ministry on Earth. They had their own problems and difficulties, just as we do. Every day they confronted their personal sins and failures, and those of their families and neighbors. They struggled to make a living, and faced the deceit and exploitation of the world around them. For many years they had suffered under a brutal Roman occupation. Also, their religious life, which God intended to be a source of joy to them, consisted mostly in trying to fulfill a multitude of deadening duties and works, loaded onto them by their religious leaders, who did little to help them, and remained largely indifferent to the tribulations of the people for whom they were supposed to be Pastors.
The Jews at that time, as they still are today, were people who knew the scriptures. They had heard of the coming of a Messiah who would rescue and deliver them from the many types of oppression which they suffered. You recall our first reading today, which they certainly would also have heard. Let me read it again: Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
But the overwhelming number and magnitude of problems they faced must have lead to the same crisis of faith that we experience today. They must have prayed for God to save them, and put an end to the evil around them, but could they truly trust that he would hear them and answer them?
That passage I just read is from one of the great prophecies in Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. We see that it not only predicts salvation as a whole, i.e., Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you, where it refers to the personal and national renewal we need so much, but it also announces that this salvation will include healings from sickness, and relief from many other causes of sorrow and oppression. The Messiah, when he comes, will have authority over all these things.
Our Lord Jesus, of course, is the Messiah who was promised to the Jews. As we have been studying Matthew over the last weeks, we have seen how he clearly demonstrated, for all those with open hearts and minds, that he truly did have the authority to heal the sick and give sight to the blind. Still, however, there is the need to have faith in order to receive the blessings that Jesus brings. In the passage from Matthew we heard today, when Jesus heals the two blind men, he says to them: According to your faith let it be done to you. So how do we overcome the crushing weight of our doubts and fears and unbelief, and have true faith in God’s promises?
Well, the first step, of course, is to admit the needs we have in our lives, and recognize that only God himself can meet them. However, while God certainly wants us to have faith in him, we must also clearly understand that it is only by his sovereign grace, in the first place, that can cause faith itself to be born in us. Faith starts with God, not with us. The whole process of our life as Christians begins with God’s grace. Without it there would be no Jesus, no salvation, no deliverance from sins, no help for us in time of trouble, and no Holy Spirit in our lives. In fact, there would be nothing that would require even the smallest measure of faith.
However, our wonderful God is gracious. He has, indeed, made a way of salvation for us, and has a plan for a new life for every one of us. He has given us many evidences of his great love for us, and his power and intention to fulfill all of his promises for us. He has given us plentiful reasons to have faith in him, and to live our lives by it. As Paul says in Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
The second point to recognize is that the initial amount of faith God requires of us is not great. You will remember that Jesus in a parable told in Matthew 13:31-32, compared the amount of faith needed to a mustard seed, which is one of the smallest seeds there are. The act of faith begins with a very small first step. In Matthew 9:27, 28, which we heard today, it says two blind men followed him, calling out, Have mercy on us, Son of David! When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him... Do you see what the blind men did? First, they followed him, crying out for mercy. Second, when he didn’t answer them right away, they came to see him when he was indoors. All of this shows they were putting their faith in him. It wasn’t much, but it was a beginning. They also showed faith when they recognized his identity. The two blind men called him “Son of David,” which was a Messianic title. In fact, they recognized Jesus was the Messiah even before Peter the disciple did, which is recorded later in Matthew 16:16. As we heard in the first reading today, from Isaiah, the coming of the Messiah was also expected to give sight to the blind, which was another aspect of the faith they were putting in him. You see, just like a long journey begins with the first step, so great feats of faith begin with first simple act of trust and confession.
The third point to realize about faith is that God already understands how weak we are, and how difficult we find it to put our faith in him. He has compassion on us, even in our weakness. Do you remember the story from Mark Chapter 9, when Jesus was asked to heal a boy with an evil spirit? After seeing the boy have a convulsion, he has the following conversation with the boy’s father : Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”. We must not be afraid to come to God for our needs, even if our faith is very weak. He wants to hear us and help us. And it is only by using our faith that it will grow. It has been said that faith is like a muscle in the body. If there is a muscle in my body which I don’t use, that muscle will become weak, isn’t that correct? However, the more I use and exercise that muscle, the stronger it becomes. Well, faith is like a muscle. When we have faith in God, and God answers our prayer, and we see how faithful he is, then our faith will become stronger for the next time we need it.
The next thing to understand is that, in a sense, exercising our faith is not doing something, but learning not to do something. Let me explain what I mean. The famous Christian writer C. S. Lewis once said that putting our faith in God is like learning to dive into the water at a swimming pool. From the time we learn to walk as young children, we find out that, if we fall down, we generally harm ourselves. Therefore, our natural instinct is to stop ourselves falling at all costs. Now, if I dived into a swimming pool when there is no water in it, then, of course, I will certainly hurt myself very badly. However, if there is water in the swimming pool, that is a different matter. It is possible to dive into a swimming pool full of water without hurting myself.
If we want to dive into the water, we have to learn to give up the safety of standing on our legs, and surrender ourselves to the force of gravity trusting that, when we enter the water, it will stop us from hitting the bottom and getting hurt. We trust in the protecting power of the water.
Putting our faith in God is similar to this. We must learn to stop trying to do everything for ourselves, and having complete control over our lives, without trusting anybody else. We must surrender the control of our lives to God, trusting that he will protect, guide, and provide for our needs. Of course, when we do this, there is the possibility that it could go wrong, and that we may be harmed. However, as Christians throughout history and throughout the world will tell you, the amazing thing is - it works! If we trust our lives to God, he always looks after us, and never lets us be harmed. He is always faithful to his word, and he always keeps his promises. Just like the swimmer who gives up the safety of solid ground, and trusts in the water to catch him, the Christian who steps out in faith in God, finds that the Lord’s arms are always around him to stop him from falling.
Faith, you see. is not the same thing as belief. Sometimes the words are used as if they mean the same thing, but this isn’t true. Many people say they believe in God, but that doesn’t mean very much, by itself. James says even the demons believe in God. Faith, on the other hand, consists in believing in God, and recognizing our complete dependence on him, and making the decision to trust in his word and act upon his promises, even when there is some risk to ourselves.
Before the Lord Jesus healed someone, he always required that, either they had faith, or other people acting on their behalf had faith. The reason for this is that, when we put our trust in God and depend on him, and do not try to deal with the problem ourselves, and the answer to prayer comes, or the miracle happens, it is God alone who gets the glory! Jesus always wants to glorify his Father. This is why, even when the two blind men came to him to be healed, and even called him Son of David, he still asked them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? Jesus forced those two men to clarify in their hearts that they not only need his help, and recognize his identity as the Messiah, but also that they also acknowledge his authority and ability to heal their, otherwise, unhealable blindness. Only when they did this, and put their faith in him, could he heal them.
Let me ask you now, what are you going to do after hearing the word of God today? In the gospel reading today, three things are described that happened after Jesus did his miracles.
(1) After Jesus healed the blind men, he asked them not to tell anyone about it. However, they disobeyed him, and told many people about their healing.
(2) After Jesus drove out the demon from another man, all of the people were amazed and said: Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel?
(3) The Pharisees refused the plain unmistakeable evidence of the sovereign work of God among them, saying, with deliberate unbelief, It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.
What is your reaction going to be? I hope you may do three things. First, I hope you will have faith in God, entrust yourself to him, and fulfill his purpose for your life. Second, unlike the Pharisees, I hope you will not harden your heart, but that you will be open to see the amazing power of God working in your life, and let your faith increase as a result. Third, I hope that, after seeing God’s wonderful love for you, and his grace towards you, you will decide to be completely obedient to him, so that he will get all the glory from the way you live your life.
