“Lord Jesus, please teach us to walk by faith in You. We realise that it is walking by sight, that will take us away from faith in You. We tend to walk, so easily, by sight and not by faith in You. Please forgive us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
We will continue to focus on this matter of being saved from this perverse generation, with which Peter concludes his message.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words he testified and *exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
One of the signs of this perverse generation is faithlessness in God. We have also understood that if we walk by sight then we are not walking by faith in God. Faith and sight are mutually exclusive. Therefore, we must be warned that we do not walk by sight.
We must learn to see through the eyes of faith in God. This is the symptom of a truly godly person. Abraham demonstrated this life for us.
Hebrews 11:8-16 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Abraham kept his eyes on God and obeyed. He was willing to travel to the place, where the Lord wanted him to go, not knowing where the Lord was leading him.
Look at how we make decisions. We weigh the pros and cons. We reason out several matters based on our experience and prevailing and expected circumstances. We then decide that this is the action that we will take. We also look for confirmation from God to make sure that what we have decided has God’s stamp of approval.
Whereas, the Lord wants us to make decisions by keeping our eyes on Him, listening to His word, which is His will, and walking in obedience to Him. These decisions that we take by keeping our eyes on God, will seem strange and foolish in the eyes of people around us but that is the Christian life. It is a life of keeping our eyes on Jesus.
(9) By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; Abraham passed on his faith journey with God, to his generations.
(10) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham’s eyes were on his eternal habitation with God.
This is what it should be for us.
(11) … (12) Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. We are children of Abraham because we too live by our eyes on Jesus, not on the circumstances around us.
(13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. When we walk through life with our eyes on the eternal, then, the temporal things of life will become strangely dim.
(14) For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. (15) And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. (16) But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Is your life based on the eternal or is it based on the temporal?
Hebrews 3:12-13 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; (13) but exhort one another daily, while it is called “TODAY,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. When we live on the basis of sight then our hearts will be hardened and we will not be able to discern the ways of God.
Faith in God is what the Lord longs to see in us when He returns. Luke 18:8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
It is our faith in God that will give praise, glory, and honour to Jesus upon His return. I Peter 1:7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
What is the evidence of genuine faith in God? I Peter 1:8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, It is loving God.
Loving God is demonstrated by obedience. II John 1:6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
Let us be warned and be moved to walk in faith, love, and obedience to God. If we do so we will be saved from this perverse generation.