Pastor John Collins: Disconnected Faith
“And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and
wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should
they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” Isaiah 8:19 (NKJV).
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV).
Have you ever heard someone say that they are praying to
their dead grandmother for strength? It is not only a Catholic thing but it is
a complete disconnect in a person’s faith and disobedience to God that leads
people to reach out in prayer to their dead relatives, to the ‘saints’ of the
church and especially to Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. Let me be very clear,
Mary, the mother of Jesus is NOT the mediator of your faith and to pray to her
is the same as praying to any other dead person. Jesus Christ is the way to get
to the Father and it is through Him that you must pray.
You have been given a mediator in Jesus who was beaten,
rejected and hung on a tree for the sins of the world. You have been instructed
on how to approach God in prayer in the name of Christ. There is no way around
this rule and there are no exceptions, even for His mother or the so-called
saints or for any of your dead relatives. None of those people will help you,
none of those people are able to provide you with anything and none of those
people have the approval of God to stand as a mediator for you.
Do you think that God takes it lightly that so many
‘Christians’ ignore the words of His Son every day and are praying in the name
of so many others? It is not something to think of casually. Your prayers are
your communication with God and your faith is strengthened by your prayers. God
does listen to the prayers of the faithful and the prayers of those whose
hearts genuinely seek to worship Him in spirit and truth. Be serious in your
prayers as that is the way that you approach God. Think of the holiness of the
tabernacle and how so very few could actually come close. Think of the
instructions to Israel about the holiness of God and how He must be worshipped.
Jesus is now the mediator of your faith and it is necessary to approach both
Jesus and God with reverence and awe. Do not be casual in your faith, in your
prayers or in your attitude about God and Jesus Christ. Take your faith
seriously so that you are able to enter through the narrow gate. Pray as the
Lord has instructed you and do not turn to the right or to the left.
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that
you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:1-4 (NKJV).
