30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 24 13-35 JESUS IS KNOWN IN THE SCRIPTURES 19 09Apr2022 Luke 24 30-31 Walking by faith and not by sight
📖 Luke 24:13-35
19 – 09Apr2022 – Walking by faith and not by sight - Luke 24:13-35 - JESUS IS KNOWN IN THE SCRIPTURES - Bible reading: I Peter 1:8-9
“Lord Jesus, You are teaching us to walk by faith in You and not by sight. You are teaching us to obey You, when, externally, everything is contrary to obedience. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
Luke 24:30-31 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. (31) Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Jesus broke bread with the disciples. Their eyes were opened and they knew Him. As soon as they knew Him, Jesus vanished from their sight.
The Lord had met with the disciples. He connected, reprimanded, taught and explained the Scriptures, fellowshipped, broke bread and He opened their eyes to know Him. Now the time came for the disciples to move forward. He vanished from their sight.
This is how the Lord relates with us. He meets us at the point of our struggle and He lifts us up to know Him. He does miracles in our lives. He is always with us. The Christian life is not about going from one exhilarating experience with God to the next, but walking by faith and obedience to Him.
II Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Many of us, want and expect regular thrills from Jesus. We want a miracle, a prophecy, a healing, a deliverance or a spectacular occurrence to happen in our lives. These are the kind of testimonies that tingle our ears. If these do not happen then we are discouraged and our walk with Jesus fades.
God does miracles in our lives but the Christian life is a life of faith demonstrated by obedience.
I Peter 1:8-9 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, (9) receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
As we learn to walk by faith in Jesus, there is inexpressible joy and glory. This life of faith in Jesus is the assurance of our salvation.
Thomas had to learn this lesson of faith, the hard way. Thomas had made up his mind that he would not believe in the resurrected Christ unless he saw and felt Jesus. The Lord was patient with Thomas and intervened.
John 20:28-29 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" (29) Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
This is the basis of our walk with Jesus. We do not see, yet we believe. This life of faith and obedience is an enduring life with Christ, not a life that is being blown around by circumstances. Endurance in our daily life comes by seeing Him, who is invisible.
Hebrews 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Faith is all about depending on the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This is our identity as disciples of Christ. The world around us finds it strange that we live by the evidence of things not seen. The world lives by what is seen, tangible and verifiable.
This is where we stamp our distinction. We demonstrate to the world a life of faith in Jesus. We manifest truth. We rejoice and are full of His glory. This causes people around us to be intrigued and provoked. They ask us about our faith, which gives us the opportunity to introduce them to Jesus, who makes them see and know Him.
Our love for God is revealed in living by faith and obedience to Him. There is no other way to express our love for God. This is why the song, Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus…, becomes fully meaningful.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith presupposes obedience to God. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. We cannot claim faith in God, without obeying Him.
James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Faith must be demonstrated in our actions, choices, decision making, relationships, handling of our time, talent and treasure. The everyday issues of our life must be faith-based.
Obedience is of our ‘will’. Our will has to be surrendered to God’s will. This is the baseline for the disciples of Christ. We must will, His will. This is the doctrine of Jesus.
John 7:17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.
Let us learn to walk by faith and not by sight.
Thought to ponder
Is there consistency in your walk with Jesus or is your life, erratic?