FaithTime
- Will sent me this the other day and I thought it was perfect for the intro to our new talk, “FaithTime.” “By revelation, or the unveiling of the essence of the truth in God’s word with supernatural vitality and enlightening clarity.”
- Through this divine revelation, not only is humanity exposed to the realities of the kingdom of God, it’s how a human navigates the unseen world of the believer.
- Because we’re so exposed to the things of this world, it automatically pulls us away from our true identity and purpose. We’re sons and daughters of God, designed to imitate Him.
- But if we constantly feed our soul with a consistent diet of worldly, anti-Christ indoctrination, there’s absolutely no way we can ever actually live a life of faith.
- And according to Romans 10, there’s only one way that changes, we need some FaithTime. Without revelation, without the unveiling of the essence of the truth in God’s word with supernatural vitality and enlightening clarity, we will never overcome unbelief. The primary killer of our faith.
- Mark 9:19-25,NKJV- He answered him and said, “O FAITHLESS GENERATION, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
- 20, Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
- 21, So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
- 22, And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
- Jesus said to him, “IF YOU CAN BELEIVE, all things are possible to him who believes.”
- Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
- When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!
- We’re living in a time where we get bombarded with so much information that making time for faith to be developed becomes more of a challenge every day.
- One major challenge Christians face today is confusing information with faith.
- 2 Timothy 1, Because of your GENUINE FAITH, (real, true, authentic) I’m reminding you to STIR UP THE GIFT OF GOD that’s in you.
- That being said, the other side of this reality is, not genuine faith.
- And according to Paul, the genuine is recognizable. So what’s it look like? More specifically, what is it?
- Hebrews 11:1,NKJV- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
- NLT, Faith is the reality of what we can’t see.
- MSG, The fundamental fact of our existence is that this TRUST in God, this FAITH, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.
- The Amplified says, faith perceives as fact what hasn’t been revealed to our human senses.
- Faith is spiritual substance. We have to remember, everything about God’s kingdom is like a seed, including faith.
- Faith actually starts as a conviction in the human soul to the degree that it produces a fixed expectation from what God has told us. It’s a divinely inspired trust.
- Remember, it’s the unveiling of the essence of the truth in God’s word with supernatural vitality and enlightening clarity.”
- Here’s what’s sad, much of society, not to mention, a percentage of the church really doesn’t see the value in developing a life of faith. We’ve reduced it down to some religious term or philosophy.
- At the end of the day, it all starts with this one simple question, do you believe the Bible to be the word of God for your life today?
- Once we make up our minds on this reality, its up to each of us to begin laying a foundation for living a life of faith. We’ve got to get the word of God issue settled.
- Genuine faith, real faith accepts the Bible as God speaking right now. This kind of faith is a what takes you past the demonic, unbelieving manipulation that,”man wrote the Bible.”
- Truth is, according to Hebrews 1, the integrity of God’s word is what holds everything together.
- Psalm 138, Lord You have magnified Your word above Your name.
- John 1 tells us that God’s word became flesh and dwelt among us.
- Jesus said, My words are spirit and truth.
- Here’s a perfect example, if we’re born again, according to Jesus we’re no longer of this world. We’re built to live a different way, the faith way.
- Habakkuk 2:2, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38,
- THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH
- Let me ask you this, throughout your day, how often do you think about actually living your life by faith? Living like it really is the fundamental foundation of our existence?
- Living with the conviction in your soul that faith is the substance you’re life is based on, to the degree that you have this fixed expectation from what God has told you, you have this divinely inspired trust.
- What if the reason the Bible teaches us that we’re to live by faith is because God designed our born-again lives to function a different way?
- What if Christianity was never meant to be a bunch of religious, legalistic traditions, but actually a completely different way of living?
- Actually living our lives according to what we believe instead of what we see? Crazy right...
- Seeing God’s promises as spiritual substance. Adopting His promises as the fundamental foundation of our existence.
- This is why the apostle Paul told us in Colossians, that the same way we received Christ is how we are to live our new lives in Him.
- Christian means, like Him.
- Being a Christian isn't just knowing about Jesus, it’s living like Jesus.
- I honestly don't think God gave us new lives in Christ just to hang around here doing our own thing until we get to Heaven.
- Living by faith chooses to accept what God tells us. In an unwavering confidence, completely trusting what He tells us.
- Developing a fixed expectation concerning the unseen promises of God. In other words, walking in the spirit, not in the flesh.
- There has to be transformation in our thinking before our will allows us to engage in a different dimension, to engage in spiritual living.
- This faith, this inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God is the bridge to that dimension. To spiritual living.
- Paul says, “It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:7,AMP- We walk by faith, not by sight, living our lives in a manner consistent with our CONFIDENT BELIEF IN GOD’S PROMISES.
- NLT- We life by believing, not by seeing.
- All we have to do is come to the place where we live like our father in the faith Abraham did.
- Romans 4:20-21,NLT- Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.
- The more we embrace a God inspired mindset, the more we put into practice our new life.
- A very simple approach to a life of faith is this; FAITH GETS READY!!
- One of my favorite John Wooden quotes is, “When opportunity shows up, its to late to get ready.”
- Remember 2 Corinthians 5:7, We live our lives in a manner consistent with our confident beliefs in what God has promised.
- Mark 11:22-23,NIV- “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
- Jesus's instructions are in response to the disciples seeing what happened after Jesus spoke to a tree.
- And when they questioned Him about the tree, He basically gave this command; "Have faith in God"
- Then He instructed them to speak faith to their situations, to their mountains.
- Now in light of what Jesus has told us, let me remind you; faith isn't magic. And it's definitely not some confession formula for getting things from God.
- But make no mistake, according to Jesus Himself, speaking divinely inspired words over your situation is exactly what He was instructing us to do in His faith lesson in Mark.
- His lesson for them then, and for us now is that we would know how to live in our born again nature, in a spiritual world, all while confined to this natural world.
- This is what Paul was talking about in Romans when he said that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall Live By Faith.
- Understand living a life of faith doesn’t automatically happen anymore than our natural living happens.
- Think about it, they both require education, training, and development.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3,NIV- We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
- Because God has designed us to live by faith, we’ve got to get to the place where we allow what He says to shape and strengthen what we actually believe. How we actually live.
- By revelation, or the unveiling of the essence of the truth in God’s word with supernatural vitality and enlightening clarity.
