*** This was shared at the TERC meeting of Friday April 27th, 2007 ***
We're going to be talking on the issue of faith for a while, until we've learned all we need to know on it. I pray as we dig deeper into the word, our faith will be strengthened in God- Amen.
Hebrews 11 is the model chapter on faith and verse 1 defines faith as, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Why is faith important?
1. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6)
2. Everything we do without faith is sin (Romans 14:23)
Some examples, amongst many, of people who walked by faith include:
** Moses' parents who hid him for 3 months, despite the fact that they were going against the king's decree that he should be put to death (Heb. 11:23, Exo. 2: 1 & 2). They could see with their "faith eyes" that Moses was going to be great in future.
** David, the little shepherd boy, in slaying Goliath, the Philistine giant soldier, with just a sling and stones. But the thing here is that he went to fight against Goliath in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel (I Sam. 17)
** Abraham, in sacrificing his only son Isaac (Gen. 22, Heb. 11:17, James 2:21)
** The 3 Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, activated their faith that even if they were thrown into the blazing furnace, the God they served was able to deliver them from it, hear this, "But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Classic act of faith! (Dan. 3: 19 - end).
To show u how hot the fire was, the soldiers putting them in were burned to death from the intense heat of the flames (v. 23). If u read further down to the end of the story, u'd realize that the 3 of them were bound when thrown into the fire, but when the king looked he saw 4 people unbound and unharmed and this pagan king even realized that the 4th person didn't look normal, but looked like "a son of the gods." (v. 25). Right there and then, the King's mentality changed and he went through a 360 degrees total transformation, and started calling them servants of the most high God, singing praises to the one true God, and he didn't just stop there, he even abolished his former decree and made a new one. Today, i pray that as u activate ur faith in that seemingly impossible situation, God will come through for you and a new decree will be made by the King himself on ur behalf in Jesus' name -Amen.
Like the Hebrew boys, by activating ur faith, u are ministering to the people around you, even Kings. Just imagine if the boys were crying and begging the king? They would've just spoiled the work God was about to do in the life of the king.
Faith, together with prayer, is another weapon we can use in fighting the devil (Eph. 6:16). Paul urges Timothy to fight the good fight by holding on to his faith and a good conscience, so he does not shipwreck his faith as others have done (1 Timothy 1:17 - 20). By pressing on and fighting the good fight of faith, we're going to get to our desired destination. Our mind is so limited to the extent that if we begin thinking with our human mind and walking by sight, we'll fall by the wayside and limit God's blessings in our lives. When u let circumstances and situations around you choke ur faith, and things begin to go haywire, then u start blaming God and every other person but urself. LEARN TO TRUST GOD by activating ur faith in him.
How much faith must i have?
God has given each and everyone of us a certain level/ amount of faith. You just need faith as small as a mustard seed to move mountains, to uproot trees and plant them into the sea (Mth 17:20. Luke 17:6). Don't compare yourself to others, in other words, know ur level. Don't say because Cherub has the faith to run her car on an empty gas tank, i'll also try it. Listen up now, u'll just be stranded for no reason. Just as each person is expected to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, i'd say we should do the same with our faith.
Before u begin to ask for mountain-moving faith, first activate the little you have. U can begin with very basic things. I'm hungry and i want Chinese food, but i don't have the money for it, but i'm trusting by faith in God that i'll eat Chinese food for lunch. It works, trust me.
Faith Series Part 1
Monday, April 30, 2007
3 things our faith will fight for us.
Someone once said fear stands for:
F-- Faulty/ False
E-- Evidence
A-- Appearing
R-- Real
1. The FEAR in our lives. In my twenty som'n years in life, i've come to realize that everyone is afraid of som'n, but how u go about it is what matters. Some people run away from their fears, while others confront it. Most times, when we sit down to examine some of these fears we have, we find out that they're uncalled for. Once you activate ur faith, fear automatically recedes because u begin to have hope, u begin to see things in a new light, u begin to realize that God is able to bring u thru ur predicament. That which u fear most times will come upon u. Even the rich man in the East, Job, was scared of the sin his kids may have committed whenever they had parties, that he'd always make a sacrifice to God in case they sinned. Granted the sacrifice was to God, but he was scared that their sins may bring a curse upon his household. What he feared most came upon him, the kids he was trying so hard to make sure they had a right standing with God eventually died. LET FAITH WORK IN UR LIVES SO WE CAN BE ALL THAT GOD WANTS US TO BE & NOT BE CRIPPLED BY FEAR. Be careful of what u say with ur mouth when u're afraid, 'cos the negative testimony u proclaim may end up becoming reality in ur life.
2. FACTS around u. Dictionary.com defines facts as, "a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true." Something that has been proven time without number. I tell u today, that if u have faith just as small as a mustard seed, ur faith will override the facts just as it did for Joshua when he prayed that the sun should stand still. He realized that if he didn't do that, the Gibeonites would've been defeated. It takes a great person to do what he did. He knew who his God was, that it was him who made the heavens and earth and everything therein. See for urself, "The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down for a full day nothing like this has ever happened before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man." It is only those that know who their God is that will be strong and do exploits.
We often say, everyone must die someday. Even the bible in Heb. 9:27 says everyone will die once and after that face judgement, but do u know that there were 3 men that did not see death? Enoch, Elijah and Jesus. Jesus didn't die technically, 'cos he didn't rot in the grave but he was resurrected on the 3rd day. This doesn't mean the bible is contradicting itself.
That being said, never ignore the facts in ur life. If the doctor says ABC about ur health, review the doctor's report and adhere to the instructions that have been given to u, but put ur trust in the greatest physician of all, the Jehovah Rapha to turn that negative report around for your good.
3. For ur FUTURE. Start confessing what you want for ur future. Declare it, speak it into existence and work towards it. God honors words we speak in faith. Speak his promises into ur future. He has told us his word will not return to him void, until it has been fulfilled (Is. 55: 10 - 11). From personal experience, i've realized that when i trust God for som'n as little and as trivial as getting a parking spot, and he comes through for me, that motivates me and spurs me onto something greater. Especially if this happens in the morning, i'll be on cloud nine throughout the day, and start touching everything with my faith wand.
Have a blessed week everyone, and go out this week exercising ur faith in God in EVERYTHING.
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3 Opinions/Comments:
great post. love the music..can you please bring back the music you had yesterday, along with the ones that had the nigerian praise ?
I love this !
love this!
I love the asking God for little things, I did the same for a parking spot yesterday bcos I was running late for a dental appt, and as soon as I asked, car in front of me pulled out...God is amazing!!!
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