Journey into Faith

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Journey into Faith</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Joseph Herrin (10-20-1999)</div> <bR> <bR> <div> What if God called you out of your familiar surroundings and asked you to take a journey into the unfamiliar? What if God began to reveal to you that the quiet, secure life you had been leading as a Christian was a mere vapor in comparison to what He actually had in store for you? What if He said that He had a life of adventure for you to live, a life that involved taking risks, confronting fears, and embarking on a journey to a place that you had never even heard a description of before? Could you adapt? Could you even begin to thrive in such an environment?</div> <bR> <div> Terah, the father of Abram, heard a call from God to leave all that was familiar and to journey to a land where all of the landmarks would be changed, a land that he knew nothing about. He was to leave all that was familiar, including his extended family, and journey to this strange land alone.</div> <bR> <div> Terah did begin the journey, but he did not go all the way. He stopped when he arrived in Haran. Haran was different from Ur of the Chaldees where he had begun his journey, but there were still elements of the familiar there. Terah went as far as he felt that he could comfortably go. He went further than most others from Ur had ever gone, but he failed to arrive at the land of promise to which he was called.</div> <bR> <div> Abram took up the challenge where his father had stopped. At 70 years of age he left his father’s household, although his nephew Lot also traveled with him, and he completed the journey to the strange land to which he was called. Abram was an adventurer, an explorer. He had the mettle of a true pioneer.</div> <bR> <div> It took tremendous courage for Abram to do what he did. He went to a place that he knew nothing about. His journey was based solely on his trust in God and God’s word to him. He had no one to corroborate the word he had heard. He had no fellow adventurer who could tell him of the way ahead. His journey was completely into the unfamiliar.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.</B></div> <div> <B>1 Corinthians 10:11 </B></div> <div> <B>(NAS)</B></div> <bR> <div> Abram, later Abraham, had his life recorded for our benefit. Abraham is the<I><B> “father of faith”</B></I> and we as Christians are his children. We live in an age of faith where the only thing that pleases our heavenly Father is faith, and we are told,<B> </B><I><B>“without faith, it is impossible to please God”</B></I><B> </B>Hebrews 11:6.</div> <bR> <div> The witness of the scriptures is that our Heavenly Father is looking for faith in those who are called by His name. Faith is most clearly revealed as we encounter testing and trials. Certainly Abraham’s faith was revealed in his response to the tremendous trials he faced. </div> <bR> <div> Should we then not expect God to put our faith to the test even as He did Abraham’s? Should we not expect God to lead us into strange lands where we know nothing of them? Can we not expect God to take us to places where all our familiar landmarks are gone and all is strange, new, and foreign? I believe this is exactly where the Father would take all of His “faithful ones” today.</div> <bR> <div> It takes courage to embark on a journey as Abram did. It is courage that the Father requires of the Bride of Christ that is even now being readied.</div> <bR> <div> <B>He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."</B></div> <div> <B>He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.</B><I><B> But the cowardly, the unbelieving,</B></I><B> the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."</B></div> <div> <B>Revelation 21:5-8 </B></div> <div> <B>(NIV)</B></div> <bR> <div> Does it seem strange that the cowardly and unbelieving should be numbered with the vile, with murderers, with the sexually immoral, with those who practice magic arts, with idolaters and liars? <I><B>The cowardly and unbelieving are not only mentioned, they are at the top of the list</B></I>. Consider the following from the book of Hebrews:</div> <bR> <div> <B>But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.</B></div> <div> <B>Hebrews 10:38-39 (NIV)</B></div> <bR> <div> If Abram had been cowardly and had allowed himself to “<I>shrink back</I>” he would not be known today as the friend of God, but rather as His enemy. Isn’t this who the lake of fire is reserved for, even God’s enemies? </div> <bR> <div> God is looking for a people today who will not “shrink back” from what He is calling them to. He is calling forth a courageous people to do exploits in His name. Are you ready for the challenge? God has His children poised to enter into their inheritance in this day. Consider God’s words to Joshua as he was preparing for a similar journey.</div> <bR> <div> <B>“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.</B></div> <div> <B>Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.</B></div> <div> <B>Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for [Yahweh] your God will be with you wherever you go."</B></div> <div> <B>Joshua 1:6,7,9 </B></div> <div> <B>(NIV)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Journey into Faith</B> (Part 2)</div> <bR> <div> Are you ready to begin a journey? Are you ready to take up the challenge as a child of Abraham to become a stranger in a strange land? Are you ready to leave all that is familiar behind, including family, church members, and all the comforts that have become part of what you currently know as Christianity?</div> <bR> <div> The journey will not always be pleasant. Terrors will assail you. Friends will not understand you. Family will forsake you and think you to be crazy. There will even be monotony and boredom along the way. Who knows how much wilderness you must cross to arrive at the promised land to which the Father would take you?</div> <bR> <div> The rewards, however, will be immeasurable. Those with a true vision of where they are going will say with Paul,<B> </B><I><B>“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”</B></I> Romans 8:18 (NIV).</div> <bR> <div> To begin the journey you must first decide to leave all that is familiar, all that you have known. </div> <bR> <div> Why would you choose to leave? Perhaps you like where you are. You like the people, you like the traditions, you like the comforts of what you know as home. Why would anyone choose to leave?</div> <bR> <div> God’s call is not to the rebellious, those who are at enmity with everyone and everything. I’m sure Terah and Abram were comfortable at home in Ur of the Chaldees and found much joy there. God is not recruiting malcontents, He is calling forth those who are hungry for more of Him. He is calling forth visionaries and pioneers who will sell all to purchase the field where the precious pearl is hidden.</div> <bR> <div> The nature of the call begins with a glimpse of something greater than what you have ever known. The call manifests itself as an increased hunger and thirst for Christ and all that He offers. He said,<B> </B><I><B>“My body is true meat and My blood is true drink”</B></I><B> </B>John 6:55. Are you hungry and thirsty for more?</div> <bR> <div> To gain more you must be willing to give up all that you have. God will only bestow His greatest treasures on those who will  freely give all to attain them. </div> <bR> <div> Terah and Abram had to do what Christ advised all of His followers to do, “<I>count the cost</I>.” Once you begin the journey can you finish it? Will you at some point <I>“shrink back?”</I> Will you invest all at the beginning of the journey so that you will not be found lacking along the way?</div> <bR> <div> Yahshua spoke of a man who began to build a tower and, because he did not fully consider the cost beforehand, he was unable to complete it and he became an object of ridicule to all who heard of his folly. He then spoke of a king who considered, before setting forth to battle, whether he was capable of being victorious in a war with an enemy. Wisdom is in counting the cost before starting the journey. Yahshua instructs us to count the cost.</div> <bR> <div> This somber instruction of our Lord comes right after these words:</div> <bR> <div> <B>“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” </B></div> <div> <B>Luke 14:26-27</B></div> <div> <B>(NIV)</B></div> <bR> <div> Terah and Abram left their family and all that was familiar to them to gain that which was promised. You will have to do so, also. You may ask, “Why then are not all Christians making similar choices?” The answer is, “Not all are disciples.”</div> <bR> <div> A disciple is one who commits himself to a certain course for the purpose of being conformed to his master. Would you become as Christ? This is God’s stated purpose for you, to be conformed to the image of His Son. Many are content to remain as they are and where they are. Many are content to view their inheritance from a distance. Few are those who will go and take possession of it. Which camp are you in?</div> <bR> <div> <B>The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.</B></div> <div> <B>Romans 8:19 </B></div> <div> <B>(NIV)</B></div> <bR> <div> God is looking for sons and daughters that He can reveal Himself in. Man was created in the image of God. Our unveiling will be the revealing of “Christ in us.”</div> <bR> <div> If you are feeling a longing for something more, something beyond what the familiar land of your spiritual birth offers, then perhaps you are one of those whom the Spirit is breathing upon right now. If the hunger and thirst is great enough to cause you to consider launching out from where you are, then you must now count the cost.</div> <bR> <div> Many are feeling a call upon their lives today. Not all will complete the course.<B> </B><I><B>“Many are called, but few are chosen”</B></I><B> </B>Matthew 22:14. God is raising up many<B> </B><I><B>“for such a time as this.” </B></I>May God breathe His life on you.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>