Post by Gaz on Oct 22, 2020 7:17:50 GMT 10
A word from Gaz about Faith 9-10-20
If we are honest enough to admit it, many of us who profess to believe in Christ find it hard to live by faith, not by sight. We find it hard to obey God's Word to preach the Gospel, do good to those we don't know and won't benefit from, to love our enemies, and to give our lives for Him who died for us. Why is it so hard?
Seeing is a natural thing
The normal man sees through his eyes, and does things based on what he sees. He wakes up in the morning, goes through the day's routines and usual schedules, travels to where he needs to go to, and does things he needs to do according to how he sees fit.
The usual man is governed by his senses. He responds to stimuli that he receives through his senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Simply put, he lives his life based on what he knows and is certain to be true based on evidences he can observe. "Seeing is believing," so to speak.
Seeing with supernatural eyes
The life that God calls us to live, on the other hand, requires us to trust in what we cannot see with our natural eyes, rely on what we cannot touch physically, and believe what we are unable to observe with our senses.
The life that God calls all believers to believe is based on what we believe in – the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot see God, and neither can we touch Him physically. We are called to simply believe in Christ, and from this belief we are given sight: to see the Kingdom of God.
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We are called to believe in something we don't see, but can be certain of:
"He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true." (John 3:33)
Why it's hard to walk by faith
So why is it hard for us to walk by faith? Perhaps, the answer isn't really hard to realize: perhaps the answer is simply because we don't really believe in Christ and in what He has done for us. That's going to be a problem.
You see, friends, anyone who truly loves Jesus Christ will do what He says.
John 14:15-23; Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I amin My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [c]manifest Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Anyone who believes in Christ will not be ashamed of the Gospel, understanding that the Christian life is lived in faith:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. or in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, "The just shall live by faith."" (Romans 1:16-17)
Why our Lack Of Faith:
According to the Bible, righteousness depends on a person’s faith in the word of God.
Not by works, but some people believe it's by works, and some don't realize how much work it takes to stay in faith.
Some reasons why people don’t believe:
1: Because you have to make yourself believe something that doesn't seem real and you'll be scoffed at, and persecuted for doing, and talking about it.
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
2: Because the things that you hear, see, touch, taste and smell are not faith-based and are much easier to believe and live by.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
3: Because the only way to increase your faith is by getting your actions, words and thoughts to line up with the word of God and this goes against the actions, words and thoughts of most people in society.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
4: Because God can tell how much faith you have by measuring your actions, words, and thoughts for His word, so faith is proven by the congruency of all three, not just one or two.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
5: Because you have to let go of family members and friends who still live according to the flesh or else the devil will use them against you to keep you from increasing in faith.
Matthew 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
6: Because money, power and fame doesn't impress God especially since He's the one that allows it, and furthermore according to the word of God those things could be considered a curse.
Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
7: Because you can't rely on your own ability, hard work, knowledge or give yourself credit for accomplishing anything since God is the one who's in control of everything by allowing and disallowing all things.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
8: Because the devil doesn't care what you believe, as long as it's not the word of God, so he's going to fight you until the end to keep you from making ground.
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
9: Because life is not fair according to the way most people believe, so people tend to take a negative approach against faith, but faith in the word of God is the thing that evens up the playing field for anyone to succeed.
Matthew 17:20 ...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
10: Because building strong faith in the word of God takes years of reading, praying and doing and it's not the most pleasurable thing a person could be doing with their time.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Our Christian lives should be Faith in Action in every area of our lives. Our faith is our light, which will shine before others. This is the true act of evangelism to the world! This is how we obey Christs commandment and win souls.
Hebrews 1:11: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In this passage we learn that faith would be regarded as the foundation upon which hope is built…” Faith has the connotation of assurance (see Hebrews 3:14; II Corinthians 9:4; 11:17) … Faith might be looked upon as the guarantee … the “title deed” of things hoped for … Faith carries the central idea of something that underlies visible conditions and guarantees a future possession.
Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” This passage notes that an individual must have faith that is absolutely reliant upon God’s testimony regarding the mission and atoning death of God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:24).
The individual must have faith in the Redeemer, whereby he rests completely upon Christ alone for salvation.
faith is the affirmative response to God’s will and Word. Man possesses faith when he takes God at His Word. One does not need to see something to believe it. Faith is the acceptance of something merely because God has said it.
“…blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” said Jesus (John 20:29).
The Six Types of Christian Faith in the Bible
Actually there are six kinds of expressions of faith in Scripture.
1. Doctrinal Faith – Called “the faith,” Doctrinal Faith refers to the content of Christian belief. “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”(Jude 3).
2. Saving Faith – Saving Faith is what it takes to trust in Christ and in Him alone for salvation. “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”(Acts 1:31).
3. Justifying Faith – Justifying Faith is the believer’s reliance on the fact that God has declared him righteous. “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
4. Indwelling Faith – When you trust God’s Word implicitly and its ability to work in and through us, you have developed indwelling faith. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”(Galatians 2:20).
5. Daily Faith – Daily Faith is that day-to-day dependence on God, which is part of the sanctification process. “For we walk by faith, not by sight”(II Corinthians 5:7).
6. Gift of Faith – This is a special ability of faith, resulting in a vision of what God can do. This faith is the means by which we can achieve that vision, and the power with God to get answers to prayer. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” Hebrews 11:1-3).
The Walk of Christian Faith Life
The Christian life requires patience and the growth of personal faith.
When we live by faith we are being set apart to God, which. is the meaning of “sanctification.” The Bible teaches that “positional sanctification” is a past action on Calvary. Progressive sanctification is being carried out daily, and future sanctification will take place when we arrive in the presence of God. Daily sanctification requires an exercise of faith, “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
As we live by faith, God is able to use us and cause us to grow in grace. Sometimes daily growth seems minute or even nonexistent to a casual observer. We may sometimes become frustrated with the apparent lack of progress, not able to see the forest for the trees. It is good from time to time to look back and see how God has been working in our lives.
As a bricklayer places one brick upon the other, building a large tower, he may feel his progress is insignificant. Yet, the tower will be built one brick at a time. It is the same in our Christian lives. God makes the big changes through a series of little ones. We must learn to trust God for the little things so we can enjoy great growth. We must trust God daily so we can enjoy yearly gain. Like any other growing experience, living by faith is taking one step at a time.
We grow in faith through the Word of God. As we make the Word of God a part of our lives by reading, studying, and memorizing, we begin to grow in faith (1 Pet. 2:2). Every Christian needs to hear the Word of God taught and preached regularly (Ps. 1:1-3).
We grow in faith by following biblical principles. A growing faith is an obedient faith. Usually, the exercise of faith will be rational, in keeping with what God wants done. We must put complete trust in the principles of the Bible and not trust our feelings. Faith is not a blind leap into the dark. Faith is following the light of God’s Word.
We grow in faith through seeking the Lord. The doctrine of “seeking” the Lord is not usually emphasized, but it is biblical to search for God. “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek” (Ps. 27:8). Our faith will grow as we seek God. First, we will begin to recognize the issues that keep us from God. Then, as we search for a better relation with the Savior, we will come to know God experientially.
We grow in faith through confessing our sins. No Christian will live a sinless life, but God is constantly cleansing us through the blood of his Son. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (i John 1:17). When we as Christians do sin, God will forgive and cleanse us if we confess our sins to him (i John 1:9). Every time we recognize sin in our lives and rid ourselves of its hindrance, we grow in faith.
We grow in faith by surrender. The Christian must constantly surrender to the lordship of Christ. We do this once when we are saved, but there are also subsequent times to surrender to Christ. As we yield our lives to the Lord, we are growing in grace (Gal. 3:3; Col. 2:6). Paul challenged the Romans to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).
We grow in faith through constant communion. If we want a growing faith we must have a constant communion with Jesus Christ. As we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with Christ, we will develop our faith more fully. Jesus recognized that we would become like those we spend time with (Matt. 10:25). As we spend time with the Lord, we will become more Christlike in our faith.
We grow in faith through the testing of difficult experiences. once we are saved, our faith is nurtured as we grow from victory to victory. Paul describes this “from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). God wants us to have faith in himself because that pleases and glorifies him. But living faith is not something we receive as one takes a vitamin pill. With the opportunity of taking a step of faith there is the risk of success or failure. When we successfully trust God we should learn through the experience and grow thereby. Faith must come from man’s heart, which is governed by his free will. Therefore, to develop a person’s faith, God will sometimes manoeuvre a man into a corner so that the creature is forced to look to his Creator in faith. Through such experiences, man has an opportunity to grow in his faith.
Faith for us as Christians is the essence of live; for with it we believe and are save, with it we become overcomers of this world and with it we show outlives to others and we please God!
So many Christian’s live defeated lives because of unbelief; their lack of faith keeps them from receiving all that God has for us. And keeps us becoming all we can be in Christ Jesus.
My prayer is that each one of us starts to live in Gods word building up our pure faith. We have sickness and other things in our lives that can be overcome through faith. I did not say healed or live with no problems, I said overcome!
If we are not living a live full of faith and our lives do not show our spiritual fruit, then are we saved! Are we truly born again!
Are you in bondage to rules and regulations that make you keep laws or ordinances that are religious? Are you in bondage to church doctrines? Are you in bondage to worldly lusts?
Gal 3:23 say’s: But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, 6kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore gthe law was our 7tutor to bring us to Christ, hthat we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Gods Word is where we get faith, if your church or even your own beliefs do not line up with Gods word then you need to get right with God.
To walk in the Spirit, you must live according to God's promise, trusting in the integrity of God Himself. Faith must have an object, and the object of your faith is God, made known through His Word. God has proven Himself to be worthy of your trust. There are thousands of promises for you contained in God's word, and no Christian has ever found any one of them to be untrue. When God says something, you can stake your life on it — you can know that He will not fail you.
In Romans 8:28 Paul writes, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."* Do you believe this promise of God's Word? If so, you logically acknowledge the reasonableness of the command of God in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Have you learned to say, "Thank You, Lord," when your heart is broken because of the loss of a loved one? Do you thank God when your body is wracked with pain? When you receive a letter terminating a love-relationship? When you have financial reverses? When you fail an exam? When you are unemployed? Do you thank God when you are discriminated against personally, religiously, or racially?
You may say that only a fool would give thanks to God under such circumstances. But you know "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). And if God has commanded you to give thanks, then there is good reason to do so. This is one of the most exciting lessons I have ever learned — the lesson of saying "Thank You" even when things go wrong.
Finally, may I remind you that if you desire to walk moment-by-moment, day-by-day, in the fullness and power of God's Spirit, you must!
Be sure that you are filled with the Spirit, by faith — on the basis of God's command to be filled and by claiming His promise that, if you ask according to His will, He will hear and answer.
Be prepared for spiritual conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Know your resources as a child of God. Your strength must come from the Lord. You must abide in Him.
Live by faith, drawing daily upon the strength of our Lord, upon His wisdom, upon His power and His love, giving thanks in all circumstances.
I hope this word encourages you to live by faith and trust in God with your whole heart!
Strength them Lord through your great love and your word, I ask in Christ Jesus name .
Amen and Amen
Gaz.
If we are honest enough to admit it, many of us who profess to believe in Christ find it hard to live by faith, not by sight. We find it hard to obey God's Word to preach the Gospel, do good to those we don't know and won't benefit from, to love our enemies, and to give our lives for Him who died for us. Why is it so hard?
Seeing is a natural thing
The normal man sees through his eyes, and does things based on what he sees. He wakes up in the morning, goes through the day's routines and usual schedules, travels to where he needs to go to, and does things he needs to do according to how he sees fit.
The usual man is governed by his senses. He responds to stimuli that he receives through his senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Simply put, he lives his life based on what he knows and is certain to be true based on evidences he can observe. "Seeing is believing," so to speak.
Seeing with supernatural eyes
The life that God calls us to live, on the other hand, requires us to trust in what we cannot see with our natural eyes, rely on what we cannot touch physically, and believe what we are unable to observe with our senses.
The life that God calls all believers to believe is based on what we believe in – the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot see God, and neither can we touch Him physically. We are called to simply believe in Christ, and from this belief we are given sight: to see the Kingdom of God.
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We are called to believe in something we don't see, but can be certain of:
"He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true." (John 3:33)
Why it's hard to walk by faith
So why is it hard for us to walk by faith? Perhaps, the answer isn't really hard to realize: perhaps the answer is simply because we don't really believe in Christ and in what He has done for us. That's going to be a problem.
You see, friends, anyone who truly loves Jesus Christ will do what He says.
John 14:15-23; Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I amin My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [c]manifest Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Anyone who believes in Christ will not be ashamed of the Gospel, understanding that the Christian life is lived in faith:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. or in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, "The just shall live by faith."" (Romans 1:16-17)
Why our Lack Of Faith:
According to the Bible, righteousness depends on a person’s faith in the word of God.
Not by works, but some people believe it's by works, and some don't realize how much work it takes to stay in faith.
Some reasons why people don’t believe:
1: Because you have to make yourself believe something that doesn't seem real and you'll be scoffed at, and persecuted for doing, and talking about it.
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
2: Because the things that you hear, see, touch, taste and smell are not faith-based and are much easier to believe and live by.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
3: Because the only way to increase your faith is by getting your actions, words and thoughts to line up with the word of God and this goes against the actions, words and thoughts of most people in society.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
4: Because God can tell how much faith you have by measuring your actions, words, and thoughts for His word, so faith is proven by the congruency of all three, not just one or two.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
5: Because you have to let go of family members and friends who still live according to the flesh or else the devil will use them against you to keep you from increasing in faith.
Matthew 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
6: Because money, power and fame doesn't impress God especially since He's the one that allows it, and furthermore according to the word of God those things could be considered a curse.
Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
7: Because you can't rely on your own ability, hard work, knowledge or give yourself credit for accomplishing anything since God is the one who's in control of everything by allowing and disallowing all things.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
8: Because the devil doesn't care what you believe, as long as it's not the word of God, so he's going to fight you until the end to keep you from making ground.
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
9: Because life is not fair according to the way most people believe, so people tend to take a negative approach against faith, but faith in the word of God is the thing that evens up the playing field for anyone to succeed.
Matthew 17:20 ...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
10: Because building strong faith in the word of God takes years of reading, praying and doing and it's not the most pleasurable thing a person could be doing with their time.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Our Christian lives should be Faith in Action in every area of our lives. Our faith is our light, which will shine before others. This is the true act of evangelism to the world! This is how we obey Christs commandment and win souls.
Hebrews 1:11: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In this passage we learn that faith would be regarded as the foundation upon which hope is built…” Faith has the connotation of assurance (see Hebrews 3:14; II Corinthians 9:4; 11:17) … Faith might be looked upon as the guarantee … the “title deed” of things hoped for … Faith carries the central idea of something that underlies visible conditions and guarantees a future possession.
Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” This passage notes that an individual must have faith that is absolutely reliant upon God’s testimony regarding the mission and atoning death of God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:24).
The individual must have faith in the Redeemer, whereby he rests completely upon Christ alone for salvation.
faith is the affirmative response to God’s will and Word. Man possesses faith when he takes God at His Word. One does not need to see something to believe it. Faith is the acceptance of something merely because God has said it.
“…blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” said Jesus (John 20:29).
The Six Types of Christian Faith in the Bible
Actually there are six kinds of expressions of faith in Scripture.
1. Doctrinal Faith – Called “the faith,” Doctrinal Faith refers to the content of Christian belief. “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”(Jude 3).
2. Saving Faith – Saving Faith is what it takes to trust in Christ and in Him alone for salvation. “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”(Acts 1:31).
3. Justifying Faith – Justifying Faith is the believer’s reliance on the fact that God has declared him righteous. “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
4. Indwelling Faith – When you trust God’s Word implicitly and its ability to work in and through us, you have developed indwelling faith. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”(Galatians 2:20).
5. Daily Faith – Daily Faith is that day-to-day dependence on God, which is part of the sanctification process. “For we walk by faith, not by sight”(II Corinthians 5:7).
6. Gift of Faith – This is a special ability of faith, resulting in a vision of what God can do. This faith is the means by which we can achieve that vision, and the power with God to get answers to prayer. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” Hebrews 11:1-3).
The Walk of Christian Faith Life
The Christian life requires patience and the growth of personal faith.
When we live by faith we are being set apart to God, which. is the meaning of “sanctification.” The Bible teaches that “positional sanctification” is a past action on Calvary. Progressive sanctification is being carried out daily, and future sanctification will take place when we arrive in the presence of God. Daily sanctification requires an exercise of faith, “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
As we live by faith, God is able to use us and cause us to grow in grace. Sometimes daily growth seems minute or even nonexistent to a casual observer. We may sometimes become frustrated with the apparent lack of progress, not able to see the forest for the trees. It is good from time to time to look back and see how God has been working in our lives.
As a bricklayer places one brick upon the other, building a large tower, he may feel his progress is insignificant. Yet, the tower will be built one brick at a time. It is the same in our Christian lives. God makes the big changes through a series of little ones. We must learn to trust God for the little things so we can enjoy great growth. We must trust God daily so we can enjoy yearly gain. Like any other growing experience, living by faith is taking one step at a time.
We grow in faith through the Word of God. As we make the Word of God a part of our lives by reading, studying, and memorizing, we begin to grow in faith (1 Pet. 2:2). Every Christian needs to hear the Word of God taught and preached regularly (Ps. 1:1-3).
We grow in faith by following biblical principles. A growing faith is an obedient faith. Usually, the exercise of faith will be rational, in keeping with what God wants done. We must put complete trust in the principles of the Bible and not trust our feelings. Faith is not a blind leap into the dark. Faith is following the light of God’s Word.
We grow in faith through seeking the Lord. The doctrine of “seeking” the Lord is not usually emphasized, but it is biblical to search for God. “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek” (Ps. 27:8). Our faith will grow as we seek God. First, we will begin to recognize the issues that keep us from God. Then, as we search for a better relation with the Savior, we will come to know God experientially.
We grow in faith through confessing our sins. No Christian will live a sinless life, but God is constantly cleansing us through the blood of his Son. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (i John 1:17). When we as Christians do sin, God will forgive and cleanse us if we confess our sins to him (i John 1:9). Every time we recognize sin in our lives and rid ourselves of its hindrance, we grow in faith.
We grow in faith by surrender. The Christian must constantly surrender to the lordship of Christ. We do this once when we are saved, but there are also subsequent times to surrender to Christ. As we yield our lives to the Lord, we are growing in grace (Gal. 3:3; Col. 2:6). Paul challenged the Romans to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).
We grow in faith through constant communion. If we want a growing faith we must have a constant communion with Jesus Christ. As we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with Christ, we will develop our faith more fully. Jesus recognized that we would become like those we spend time with (Matt. 10:25). As we spend time with the Lord, we will become more Christlike in our faith.
We grow in faith through the testing of difficult experiences. once we are saved, our faith is nurtured as we grow from victory to victory. Paul describes this “from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). God wants us to have faith in himself because that pleases and glorifies him. But living faith is not something we receive as one takes a vitamin pill. With the opportunity of taking a step of faith there is the risk of success or failure. When we successfully trust God we should learn through the experience and grow thereby. Faith must come from man’s heart, which is governed by his free will. Therefore, to develop a person’s faith, God will sometimes manoeuvre a man into a corner so that the creature is forced to look to his Creator in faith. Through such experiences, man has an opportunity to grow in his faith.
Faith for us as Christians is the essence of live; for with it we believe and are save, with it we become overcomers of this world and with it we show outlives to others and we please God!
So many Christian’s live defeated lives because of unbelief; their lack of faith keeps them from receiving all that God has for us. And keeps us becoming all we can be in Christ Jesus.
My prayer is that each one of us starts to live in Gods word building up our pure faith. We have sickness and other things in our lives that can be overcome through faith. I did not say healed or live with no problems, I said overcome!
If we are not living a live full of faith and our lives do not show our spiritual fruit, then are we saved! Are we truly born again!
Are you in bondage to rules and regulations that make you keep laws or ordinances that are religious? Are you in bondage to church doctrines? Are you in bondage to worldly lusts?
Gal 3:23 say’s: But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, 6kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore gthe law was our 7tutor to bring us to Christ, hthat we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Gods Word is where we get faith, if your church or even your own beliefs do not line up with Gods word then you need to get right with God.
To walk in the Spirit, you must live according to God's promise, trusting in the integrity of God Himself. Faith must have an object, and the object of your faith is God, made known through His Word. God has proven Himself to be worthy of your trust. There are thousands of promises for you contained in God's word, and no Christian has ever found any one of them to be untrue. When God says something, you can stake your life on it — you can know that He will not fail you.
In Romans 8:28 Paul writes, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."* Do you believe this promise of God's Word? If so, you logically acknowledge the reasonableness of the command of God in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Have you learned to say, "Thank You, Lord," when your heart is broken because of the loss of a loved one? Do you thank God when your body is wracked with pain? When you receive a letter terminating a love-relationship? When you have financial reverses? When you fail an exam? When you are unemployed? Do you thank God when you are discriminated against personally, religiously, or racially?
You may say that only a fool would give thanks to God under such circumstances. But you know "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). And if God has commanded you to give thanks, then there is good reason to do so. This is one of the most exciting lessons I have ever learned — the lesson of saying "Thank You" even when things go wrong.
Finally, may I remind you that if you desire to walk moment-by-moment, day-by-day, in the fullness and power of God's Spirit, you must!
Be sure that you are filled with the Spirit, by faith — on the basis of God's command to be filled and by claiming His promise that, if you ask according to His will, He will hear and answer.
Be prepared for spiritual conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Know your resources as a child of God. Your strength must come from the Lord. You must abide in Him.
Live by faith, drawing daily upon the strength of our Lord, upon His wisdom, upon His power and His love, giving thanks in all circumstances.
I hope this word encourages you to live by faith and trust in God with your whole heart!
Strength them Lord through your great love and your word, I ask in Christ Jesus name .
Amen and Amen
Gaz.