As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22
Are we exercising faith in God or is our faith divided between God and the prosperity God has given us. Where is our Christian faith when more people are healed through medicine than by God? Can you remember the last time anyone asked God to heal them when at church? If you can was God glorified in anticipation for doing what he promised? Sometimes we have to stop to take notice of what is being said and realize that God hears the same things as we do. How prayer requests are worded tells you where the faith of men rest.
Perhaps we need to ask a question to determine whether we are depending on God or in the prosperity God has given us? For the most part people depend on God when they are in desperately in need and seek God for favorable answers. Prosperity gives you a means to leave God out of the equation because you can solve the problem within your own means.
As Christians are we supposed to give our all to God and wouldn’t our trust in him be a part of our overall reliance in his love? However in prosperity our trust diminishes our need for God. On the other hand prosperity is a real way to test our faith in God.
Perhaps we are getting spiritually lax in that we are listening to God’s word but not putting it into practice. Jesus said those who hear the word of God are blessed if they obey it. I have to admit that we can hear the word of God but the words we hear don’t always ring the bells in our loft.
However most of us don’t really hear the bells worn on shoes as much as an eight foot gong someone is beating to death. The truth is that bells worn on shoes can be heard easily when you are listening for them. Those who live next to the freeway don’t hear the traffic anymore because they have become accustomed to the noise. Is it possible that we have become so accustomed to the word of God that it has lost our attention because God’s word has become like the old hat that we keep around but never wear?
Has God’s word lost its importance to Christians? The problem is that people get tired of things that never wear out and are left on the shelf like an old hat. On the other hand God’s word is able to refresh you when you make the effort to listen to what God is saying. God’s word is even more refreshing when you do what God is telling you to do.
God’s word goes to the heart faster when you have exercised his advice and know that God’s dynamic power is working to supply your every need. Consider this; telling the truth is a part of God’s holiness and if one promise failed the truth of his word would lose its value. Instead God says ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night then my covenant with you can be broken (Jeremiah 33:20). And again my word will not return void but will accomplish what I sent it to do.
Breaking our Lord’s covenant with the day and night is impossible for man to do, therefore we need to understand that all things are possible with God. Our faith in God moves God to do what we think is impossible. At the same time it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11
Does our faith remind us to ask because those who ask receive (Matthew 7:7-8)? Have we truly repented without demonstrating a changed heart according to your beliefs that reflect Christ’s death burial and resurrection? Faith is more than belief because faith in God demands an action that demonstrates our beliefs. In other words.
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. James 2:18
Our faith in God is extremely important but without revealing our faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore it becomes necessary to understand how to demonstrate our faith to please the needs and holiness of our God. For the most part we utilize our faith in God when asking God for our needs in prayer. The bible tells us our prayers should be filled with praise; adoration and thanksgiving that glorify God. Releasing our faith through verbalized praise; adoration and thanksgiving is a good way to anticipate our answer and glorify God.
Our prayer of faith should always glorify God in return for the benefits we receive. Faith is important to understand our heavenly father because our faith demonstrates a strong relationship with God that depends on our knowledge of God’s promises. Still in the overall picture God’s children should show a reliance of on their father to honor the promises he has made. In other words we should be like a little child pulling on their father’s pant leg saying “you promised!” God knows how to give good gifts so our prayers should be filled with praise; adoration, thanksgiving that gives glory to God expecting what you asked for.
Throughout the scriptures Abraham was credited with righteousness many times and we may only understand that Abraham was credited with righteousness because he believed God. Believing God is the initial phase of faith because every Christian has been credited with righteousness (being Justified and accepted) on the same basis as Abraham was.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:10
The bible confirms that every Christian begins their walk with God using faith through the scriptures stating that we are saved by grace through faith not of works. The bible speaks of your faith as;
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." John 6:29
Faith hinges on your choice to believe in Jesus Christ. Still, your faith in Christ has to agree with your personal beliefs and the words of your mouth. It’s our faith that encourages God to be glorious by responding to your needs beyond your wildest expectations. How can Jesus be your Lord if you do not obey him and if you do not obey him will he respond to you favorably?
The bible speaks of faith as a shield - a barrier placed in front of you to quench the fiery darts of Satan. In other words, the spoken word of truth and your knowledge of God that demolishes the lie or the fiery dart that Satan hurls at you. Joshua 1:8 says do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth. When you consider this picture the book of the law was meant to be projected words from your mouth forming a shield of faith so you may be able to walk in the truth of God’s word.
Abraham was credited with righteousness because Abraham was fully persuaded that God was able to do what God had promised (Romans 4:21). Abraham experienced the goodness of God over his lifetime and was able to fortify his faith by verbalizing his beliefs that God would provide. Those words glorified God and Isaac remembered them the rest of his life.
Jesus said
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
Think about exercising your faith as if it were the principle of sowing and reaping. In other words, stating what you believe is your confession of faith but in God’s sight It is your seed of faith. Reaping what you sow is harvesting the fruit of your lips. (See Proverbs 12:14 and Hebrews 13:15). You also glorify God through your sacrifice of praise and please God with your faith. Remember what Romans 10:10 said?
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:10
You are justified and credited as being righteous through your belief but it wasn’t until you acknowledged Jesus as Lord that you were saved. Confessing your faith with your mouth came first then salvation. The person who believes what he says will happen and will have what he requests in prayer. God wants you to acknowledge receiving what you ask for before the answer is in your possession (Mark 11:24).
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father John 14:13
God desires to be glorified through our trust in him. Additionally God wants us to do what is in our power and that is to believe we have what we asked for before we have the answer in our possession. It demands faith and confidence that God is able and will do what he promised.
Do we exercise faith in God when our faith divided between God and other concerns? Exercising our faith pleases God because he receives glory from doing the impossible. Who knows it may be a challenge for God to do the miraculous. He may love challenges and do things he has never done before. It’s not surprising that God loves to confound the wisdom of the wise and do what the wisest person cannot fathom.
Why can’t we expect more from an awesome God who created the heavens and the earth? Certainly anyone who is able to create an environment for you to live in is able to conceive and create things that are unfathomable to the human mind or do what our imagination or dreams cannot explain.
When we challenge God to do the impossible we allow him to be himself. We allow God to exercise the skills in his power to please another person. Sometimes we have to wonder isn’t that what love is all about? 2/27/2014
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