Understanding Faith Part Two – Doctrinal Faith The Greek Word “little faith” (ὀλιγόπιστος – oligopistos) is used five times in the New Testament and four of those occurrences are found in the Gospel of Matthew. In each occurrence Christ showed His disciples areas where their faith still lacked the depth and maturity necessary to withstand the rigors, challenges, and trials of life. Our faith may be stronger in specific areas, but Jesus wants our faith to grow and mature in every area of our lives. Each time Jesus confronted them with their weak faith He included the rebuke, “O You of Little Faith.” Jesus’ motivation for pointing out their “little faith” was not to humiliate or discourage them, but to help them to recognize aspects of their faith that needed strengthening. He wanted them to develop an unshakeable faith, enabling them to stand strong in the face of whatever trials, hardships, or uncertainties life would bring. From the four times that Jesus says, “O you of little faith” in the Gospel of Matthew, we can identify four things that attack our faith and God’s strategy to overcome them. There are four aspects to faith and each one releases God’s Glory: Creative Faith – This is the power of faith – the Glory of His Name Doctrinal Faith – This is the truth of faith – the Glory of His Word Persevering Faith – This is the strength of faith – the Glory of His Life God Conscious Faith – This is the reality of faith – the Glory of His Presence The first time Jesus rebuked His disciples with the words, “O you of little faith” is found in Matthew 6:30. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? This rebuke relates to Creative Faith and warns against those things that oppose receiving God’s provision and resist God working miraculously in our lives. Through creative faith, God’s provision is released in our lives whether through miracles, healings, or His divine supply for those areas where we are experiencing lack. It is evident from reading the context of the reproof, “O you of little faith,” in Matthew, Chapter six, that it contains a warning against worrying. Of the six times the Greek word for worry is used in the Gospel of Matthew, five of those occurrences are found in Matthew, Chapter 6 in relationship to “O you of little faith.” Worry is the enemy that attacks us so we are unable to operate in creative faith. Worry paralyzes us so we are unable to step out in faith and trust God for His provision. The second aspect of faith is Doctrinal Faith. The opposition that comes against doctrinal faith is error of doctrine. Doctrinal Faith releases the Glory of His Word. When we understand and apply God’s Word correctly to our lives then the glory of His Word is manifest for the entire world to see as they witness the life changing message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at work within us. When we have wrong doctrine it brings confusion and disgrace to God’s Word. Error of doctrine has often caused schisms and divisions in the Body of Christ, sometimes resulting in the formation of cults. Error of doctrine can result in many false teachings, from legalism to justifying sinful and destructive lifestyles. Error of doctrine has caused some Christians to do terrible things in the name of Christ, from the crusades to cults like Jim Jones and David Koresh. Some of the leaders and pioneers of the Reform movement were guilty of anti-Semitism, persecuting and even killing those who did not agree with their religious views. Some Christians in the Reform movement who held to the doctrine of infant baptism persecuted and even killed Christians who taught adult baptism or believer’s baptism. The real root of the problem which caused such violent behaviour was not the doctrine of baptism but their view of God. They saw themselves as acting on behalf of God, whom they wrongly perceived as an angry and vengeful God.

Understanding Faith Part One – Creative Faith The Greek Word “little faith” (ὀλιγόπιστος – oligopistos) is used five times in the New Testament and four of those occurrences are found in the Gospel of Matthew. In each occurrence Christ showed His disciples areas where their faith still lacked the depth and maturity necessary to withstand the rigors, challenges, and trials of life. Our faith may be stronger in specific areas, but Jesus wants our faith to grow and mature in every area of our lives. Each time Jesus confronted them with their weak faith He included the rebuke “O You of Little Faith.” Jesus’ motivation for pointing out their “little faith” was not to humiliate or discourage them, but to help them to recognize aspects of their faith that were weak. He wanted them to develop an unshakeable faith, enabling them to stand strong in the face of whatever trials, hardships, or uncertainties life would throw at them. Jesus was preparing His apostles to establish the Church on such a firm foundation, that even the gates of Hell could not prevail. Jesus’ disciples became so strong and unshakeable in their faith, that even in the face of persecution, it was their persecutors who became unhinged. In Acts 17:6 it is recorded that the Jews lamented to the Roman rulers about the power, persuasiveness, and how unstoppable the gospel message was by describing the followers of Jesus as “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” However, before the Church and the Apostles could be established in the grace of God, their unshakeable confidence in Jesus Christ had to be established and the “littleness” of their faith had to be overcome. The Greek word ὀλιγόπιστος (oligopistos) “little faith” comes from two roots, “little” ὀλίγος (oligos) and “faith” πιστός (pistos). The Greek word “little” ὀλίγος (oligos) conveys the idea of something that is small or weak. The word “oligos” is used to emphasize the smallness of something. The Greek word “faith” πιστός (pistos) speaks of a strong and unshakeable confidence in someone or something. Thus ὀλιγόπιστος (oligopistos) “little faith” may be seen as an oxymoron or a contradictory term because faith which is meant to make someone strong, confident, and unshakeable is actually so weak and small that it results in people who are insecure, hesitant, unstable, and easily shaken. “Little faith” actually conveys the idea of lacking faith and confidence in God. An example of “little” ὀλίγος (oligos) being used in combination with another word to convey weakness is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:14. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NKJV) 14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. The word “fainthearted” ὀλιγόψυχος (oligopsychos) is made up of the two Greek words “small” (oligos) and “soul” (psychos) and thus a small or weak souled person. It defines a person who is very weak and easily discouraged, timid, and collapses at the least hardship or adversity. In the same way “little faith” ὀλιγόπιστος—oligopistos—means a faith that is small, weak, and easily collapses at the least opposition or difficulty. In contrast to Jesus’ warning against having “little faith,” He spoke about faith as a mustard seed in a very positive light. Matthew 17:20 (NKJV) 20So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. After Jesus rebuked the disciples for their unbelief, He encouraged them by saying that even if their faith was as small as a mustard seed it could move mountains. Mark 4:31–32 (NKJV) 31It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.

Seeking and Obeying God’s Will John 7:1-18, NKJV 1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him. We witness something startling in regard to Jesus’ half-brothers. They were not only unbelieving and skeptical toward Jesus—they were sarcastic and downright hostile! 6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” 9 When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. Jesus clearly stated that his half-brothers were of the world. They identified with the world and the world identified with them. The hostility his brothers exhibited toward Jesus reflected the same hostility the world exhibited toward Jesus. New Slide 10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” 12 And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” 13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. The Jews had many questions and opinions about Jesus. Some said He was a good man, while others accused him of being a deceiver. The contrary opinions the people held about Jesus were shrouded in fear because the Jewish religious leaders threatened the people not to speak about Jesus. 14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” Whenever Jesus spoke, His words impacted people. The people were astonished at the depth and authority of His words. “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” 16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 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. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” Jesus confronted their questions about His identity, His authority, and His teachings—“My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” Jesus’ statement is bold and clear. He declared that His teachings came directly from God! Then Jesus provided the way in which we can know if His teachings are from God—by desiring to do God’s will! “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.” Later on in the New Testament it clearly indicates that Jesus’ half-brothers came to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and they became His devoted followers. In the Upper Room when the 120 believers gathered together in Acts, Chapter one, Jesus’ half-brothers were named among the faithful believers. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (Acts 1:14). Apostle Paul referred to James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, in Galatians 1:19 as “the Lord’s brother.” Jude identified himself as the brother of James, indicating that he too was a half-brother of Jesus. (Jude 1). Jesus’ half-brothers no longer saw Him simply as their brother, but as their Lord, their Creator, their Saviour—in short they saw Him as God.

God’s Providential Hand at Work in the Book of Esther Part Two — God’s Hand of Deliverance A brief review from last week … Providence can be described as God’s unseen hand working behind the scenes being manifest in what appear to be coincidence or random chance in a way that brings about God’s purposes. “God’s Providential Hand at Work” could be a good subtitle for the Book of Esther. There are at least four things that are unique about the Book of Esther: Prayer is not mentioned once. The name of God is not mentioned once. Although God is not mentioned once in the Book of Esther, one cannot help but get the distinct impression that God is involved in every detail of the story. There are five unique acrostics found in the Book of Esther that reveal God’s divine hand of providence. These five acrostics serve almost as God’s finger prints. What is an acrostic? An acrostic is a series of words in which certain letters such as the first letter in each word that form a word or message. An example of an acrostic: FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real These five acrostics are not randomly scattered throughout the Book of Esther. They are strategically placed by God in specific places in the text to produce distinct patterns revealing God’s providential hand at work. The events of the Book of Esther took place between 478 BC and 473 BC, a five year period. The captivity of the Jews in Babylon ended 60 years prior to the events in the Book of Esther. All the Jews were free to leave Babylon and return back to the land of Israel. The Jews could have returned to Israel and served God in their own land, but because of their backslidden condition the majority of them continued to live in Babylon—the land of captivity. The Book of Esther has four main characters: There was Esther—a young and beautiful Jewess whose parents had died. Mordecai— Esther’s uncle and guardian. King Ahasuerus—the absolute monarch of the Persian Empire who was very unpredictable and hot tempered. Haman—an Agagite, who became King Ahasuerus’ most powerful noble. He hated the Jews and used his position of power to concoct a plot to annihilate the Jewish people. The story began with King Ahasuerus giving a great feast lasting 180 days to celebrate his glory and the glory of his kingdom. At the climax of the feast he commanded Vashti, his beautiful queen, dressed in her royal apparel, to parade herself before the king and his half intoxicated guests. The queen refused and the king was infuriated. The king sought counsel from his royal advisors who advised him to pass a royal decree, stating that Vashti should be removed as queen and forever be banished from the king’s presence. When the king cooled down he missed Vashti and felt lonely. His royal advisors counseled him to gather the most beautiful virgins in his kingdom and the one who truly ravished his heart would become his new queen. This led to the king choosing Esther to be his new queen. Ultimately, God would use Esther and her position as queen to defeat the wicked plans of Haman to annihilate the Jewish people and provide a great victory for God over the enemies of the Jews. The advice given to the king by his royal advisors to depose Queen Vashti contains the first of the five acrostics found in the Book of Esther. This first acrostic is not making a statement about husband and wife relationships, but about God’s sovereignty to place people in positions of authority and to remove them. The issue is not whether the king should have been more reasonable or whether Vashti should have been more respectful. It demonstrates God’s foreknowledge and sovereignty in preparing the way for Him to meet a pending future need that had not yet become apparent. At the instruction of Mordecai, Esther kept hidden her Jewish heritage and the fact that Mordecai was her uncle. Mordecai commanded Esther to do so simply because, like all the Jews who chose to remain in Babylon, he was fearful and backslidden.

God’s Providential Hand at Work in the Book of Esther Part One – The Rise of Haman The word “providence” in English means: “timely preparation for future eventualities; the foreseeing care and guidance of God, especially when conceived as omnisciently directing the universe and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence; a manifestation of divine care or direction.” Providence can be seen as God’s unseen hand working behind the scenes being manifest in what appears to be coincidence or random chance that brings about God’s purposes. A skeptic will never see the miraculous, only unexplained events. However, a committed follower of Jesus Christ will have confidence that God is weaving the circumstances of his or her life together to bring forth God’s glory and purposes. As followers of Jesus, we cannot successfully maintain a life filled with unshakeable confidence, thanksgiving, and joy unless we are able to look past the circumstances of life that confront us and see with eyes of faith the Holy Spirit at work behind the scenes. Trusting in God’s sovereignty and providence enables us to deal with the uncertainties of life. John 10:4 (NKJV) 4And when he brings out his own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know his voice. God has promised us that not only will “He never leave us nor forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5), but that He actually goes before us and prepares the way. This describes God’s divine providence—“He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him.” Leading us is God’s part, following Him is our part. Romans 5:8 NKJV 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus’ death on the cross was an act of God’s divine providence. Before we were even born Jesus died for us so we could be saved and redeemed. Deuteronomy 1:29–30 (NKJV) 29“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, God revealed Himself to Israel as the God who went before them to prepare the way. This revelation should produce a deep sense of confidence, security, and peace in our hearts For the Jews to be gathered back into the land of Israel after being scattered throughout the nations for almost two millennia is an act of God’s foreknowledge and providence. Let’s review the historical context of the Book of Esther to better understand the setting in which the story took place. The events of the Book of Esther took place between 478 BC and 473 BC, a five year period. The Jews, because of their many years of rebellion against God, were conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and carried into captivity by the Babylonians some 140 years prior to the events described in the Book of Esther. The captivity of the Jews in Babylon ended 60 years prior to the events in the Book of Esther. All the Jews were free to leave Babylon and return back to the land of Israel. The reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem took place 40 years prior to the events in the Book of Esther. Ezra, the priest, left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem about 20 years after the Book of Esther to teach the people God’s Laws, commandments, and statutes, as recorded in the Book of Ezra. Nehemiah left Babylon and returned to Israel and became governor about 30 years after the Book of Esther. He rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and strengthened the people in their commitment to God, as recorded in the Book of Nehemiah. New Slide Esther was probably younger than twenty years of age at the beginning of the story. (She might have been as young as 16). Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, might have been in his mid-forties. Mordecai’s great-grandfather, Kish, had been carried away as a captive into Babylon. (Esther 2:5-6). Mordecai himself was born in Babylon. Mordecai was a child of the captivity. Mordecai had heard about the land of Israel, but he had lived his entire life in Babylon.

Intercession — An Essential Part of Every Christian’s Life 1 Timothy 2:1 (NKJV) 1Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, In this verse we see four components to intercessory prayer: Supplications Prayers Intercessions Giving of thanks Supplication is crying out for God to involve Himself and do whatever is needed. Supplication is much more than just making a need known to God. It is identifying with the need, joining ourselves to the need, and being so moved by the need that we cry out to God for the need. Supplication has three components: 1. Recognizing the urgency and desperation of the situation or need. 2. Recognizing our poverty and helplessness to meet the need ourselves. 3. Recognizing that only through God’s intervention can the need be met. Supplication is assessing the situation and recognizing that if God doesn’t show up then everything will be lost. Supplication is recognizing our own poverty and helplessness and knowing that only God can help. Supplication is not like asking someone to help us change a tire. It is more like hanging from a cliff by our finger tips and calling out to the only person who is strong enough to lift us from that precipice. Although supplication is a desperate cry for God to intervene it is not rooted in anguish, but earnestness, and a firm and unshakeable confidence in God’s love, mercy, and faithfulness. Prayer, unlike supplication, is simply making our requests known to God. Ephesians 1:16 (NKJV) 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: Philemon 1:4 NKJV 4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 1 Thessalonians 1:2 NKJV 2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, The Greek word translated as “mention” means “remembrance; memory; recollection—by implication recital.” Prayer does not always incorporate supplication nor does prayer have to be intense. Prayer can be as simple as mentioning the names of the people who are on our hearts and asking God to help or bless them. Giving thanks over a meal and praying God’s blessing over the food does not involve supplication unless the person who prepared it is a really bad cook and you suspect you may die of food poisoning. The third component of intercessory prayer is intercession itself. Intercession is standing between the person and God for the needs of the person. Jesus is the only true intercessor. We do not intercede on our own. We co-labour with Jesus in us to intercede through us. Intercession is free of self-interest since we are praying for the needs of others. Intercession can be seen as a legal term, for example, when an advocate or lawyer intercedes on behalf of his client and represents that person before a judge. Intercession is deep warfare as we stand in the gap between the need and God. In intercession we take hold of God and we take hold of man and bring the two together. The fourth and final component of intercessory prayer is thanksgiving. Thanksgiving wraps everything up and is an expression of our faith in how God will answer, so we do not leave empty but filled with faith and strength, leaving heaviness, worry, and unbelief behind. Christians sometimes speak as if only some Christians are called to be intercessors. Intercession is not a separate ministry for a chosen few but the response of any believer’s heart stirred by God’s heart for the needs of others. If we never feel stirred to intercede we have not been moved by the plight of others. Intercession does not always involve emotions but is simply our choice to spend time before God and have focused and earnest prayer. Intercession moves us beyond ourselves and our needs to be touched by the needs of others. Some may be called to spend more time in intercession than others, but we are all called to be intercessors. Intercession really exemplifies our calling as Christians.