January 12, 2010

IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING THE FAITH

Key Verse
Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 8:10-11, NLT)
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Central Truth

Jesus came to Israel, but they rejected Him and through His followers the Gentiles were invited into the Kingdom. It is important for the church to keep the faith and recognize what God is doing in our day.

Reflections

The faith Jesus was speaking about was that of a Roman captain, whom according to Luke 7 did the Jewish elders respect. He sent some of the Elders to ask Jesus to come to heal one of his servants who was dying. As Jesus approached his home, the centurion sent word again that he was not worthy of Jesus coming, but if Jesus would speak the word, his servant would be healed. This is when Jesus made the statement that He had not seen such faith in all of Israel. He went on to say that many Gentiles would “come from all over the world-from east and west” to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. He said that “many Israelites—those for whom the kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness” because of their lack of faith. They were rejecting the One Who had come to save them.

As we know from history, the religious leaders of Israel did reject Jesus. If we move on to Acts 10, we find that another Italian centurion, Cornelius, feared God and God sent Peter to this Gentile to lead him into the Kingdom. The Jewish leaders frequently rejected Paul and he turned to reach out to the Greeks—Gentiles.

I think we can apply Jesus’ teaching to some in the Christian church today. We see many religious leaders in the American church losing their faith and the people seeking wealth and pleasure and rejecting the truths that Jesus taught. At the same time, Jesus is revealing Himself to thousands of people from all over the world, from the east and the west to bring them into the Kingdom. Many Jews and Muslims are responding to His call and believing in Him, even though for them it may bring persecution and sometimes death. We must keep the faith so that we can be found worthy to sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Discussion Questions

1. Is my church keeping the faith and recognizing what God is doing today?

2. Do you see churches in America rejecting the truths that Jesus taught?

3. How can I help my church to believe for miracles today?

Comments

The views expressed under “Comments” are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Trinity Assembly.

  1. Pastor Keith

    January 12, 2010 08:16 AM

    Ruth (I should say Aunt Ruth), I know you live this out as you are always inviting people to church who are not believers, many are from different faiths, and God is revealing himself to them. At Trinity, we have seen God do amazing things among people from around the world. It is such a thrill to see this happen. Thanks for your insight.

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Ruth Wirtz

Ruth Wirtz

Hello! My name is Ruth Wirtz. I volunteer with international students at Towson University. When I was growing up, my pastor passed on to my family a love for missions. We often had missionaries in our home. I spent three summers working with missionaries. One summer, I filled in for a missionary teacher in the Philippines, another summer I worked in the office of a missionary in Chile and helped with his children, and one other summer in Brussels editing books written by missionaries at International Correspondence. These were wonderful experiences and created in me a love for international people.