Season 3 Podcast 155 The Invisible God, Pt I

The Invisible God Pt IWe should not overlook the power of an invisible God.  The imagination of man is far stronger than any idol made of wood, stone, or metal.  It requires no effort to go from ego-centric faith (faith in self) to ecto-centric faith (faith in others), but to move from ecto-centric faith to Theo-centric faith (faith in God) requires humility, both to achieve and to sustain. Only one of the ten lepers came back to give thanks.  That is why it is seemingly more difficult for those who are shielded by temporal or worldly success to move from the first two levels of faith that provided their success into the unknown third level of faith.  Sometimes tragedy or other misfortunes force one to be humble, but that is no guarantee.  Only to the faithful does faith in an invisible God appear essential in this world.  But the first step is humility:"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)All faith ultimately is Theo-centric; however, God may bless us through ecto-centric faith or the faith of others as with Naaman, captain of the host of the King of Syria.  He was not a believer, but he was told that Elisha could cure him of his leprosy.  However, when he was required to do a simple act such as bathe in the river Jordan seven times, he became angry.  To bathe in the river Jordan was all that he was asked to do, but he refused. It was below his dignity.  That teaches us a lot about the nature of faith.  Sometimes it is filtered down so that all that is required of us is some small and simple act of humility which we refuse.  Fortunately for Naaman his servant was wiser.  His servant said,“My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?”  (2 Kings 5:13)Naaman followed his servant's advice:  “14  Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”  (2 Kings 5:14)It is no coincidence that Naaman was required to act first before he could be cleansed.  Had he not bathed seven times in the river Jordan, he would not have been cleansed from his leprosy.   Nor is it an accident that bathing in the river Jordan, where hundreds of years later Christ was baptized by John, symbolizes baptism, a requirement for all Christians upon entering into the Kingdom of God.  Baptism symbolizes spiritual cleansing, washing away of sins, or sanctification. Is not baptism considered by some too simple a thing to attend to, yet it is the gateway to the kingdom of God.For most of us life is very ordinary, and the greatest of miracles appear in such ordinary ways that they go unnoticed.  The Lord may bless us through ecto-centric faith by providing the necessary tools or by ego centric faith, brought about by our own special gifts, not recognizing that all gifts come from God.