Refusing to get in the Wheelbarrow!

Yesterday i attended the 4PM service at my Church. I normally go to the 1PM service but yesterday i really wanted to see how the Hispanic Ministry was doing so i went to the 4pm. When it was time for the offerings the brother that gave the announcements said "this is the best time, tithing is a commandment from God but offerings is when you show God the love you have for him"

Though i been hearing this for years i never really though about it. I remembered one time that i had about 5 dollars in singles. I remember that i wanted to get some food after the service. I even remember that during that time i was asking God to bless me because i wanted to buy somethings and didn't have the money that i needed. When the offering came around the brother said "Give with Faith, take a step of faith" and unfortunately the story doesn't have a happy ending because i only gave a dollar because in my heart, though i knew what i had to do, my faith was just words not actions. In other words i realized that even though i wanted God to bless me i didn't have the faith to believe that HE would provide.

I came to realize that there is indeed a connection between belief and faith. Belief is the first step, Faith is the next. To illustrate this idea, i would like to show you a story.

There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow.

An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls."

Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I've never been to America and seen the Falls, I'd love to come."

Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily.

The crowds go wild, and chant that he do it again but this time pushing a wheel barrow

He comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?"

"Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it."

"No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?"

"Well of course I do, you just did it."

"No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?"

"Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it."

"Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."

He refused to get in.

The word believe, in Greek means "to live by". Now, this really isn't about money and it certainly isn't about tightrope. This is about a faith that ACTS!

I talked about having a faith that fights a couple days ago. Do you have a faith that acts? I came to realize that my God is a God of response. He loves to give us solutions to our problems BUT we must have a faith that acts. The scripture says:

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
- Matthew 17:20

I don't know about you but i want to have a faith that will allow me to get into the wheel barrow and COMPLETELY trust that God will take me to the other side.

You have to ask yourself, how often do we say that we believe Christ can do it, but refuse to get in the wheelbarrow?

Verses to Read

Romans 1:17, Hebrew 11:1-6, 1 John 5:4, James 2:19-24, Mark 11:23-24