Faith and it's hidden dynamics
Faith is not an inclination or positive energy / impulse towards something based in your senses and feelings in the heart
- Because we don't create the universe including ourselves
Faith is something not predictable (you cannot guess the outcome, even your senses know that it is doomed)
Faith, if comes from the wrong source, it will lead to destruction. (Co 2:23)
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22 NIV)
- Don't read too much into it, this verse is calling you to pray by faith
- Be influenced by the promise God gives you here, believe, and receive whatever you ask in prayer
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7 NIV)
- Becoming one with The Lord (in Spirit) - Heart and mind (relationship) >> come to Lord boldly and ask Him
- God wants to create a person that is god-ly (god and I = one! and his desire is my desire)
- Is God's desire your desire? It's My love for people your burden for people? You sacrifice or it's your life to serve others?
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14 NIV)
What is faith?
- Faith (believe), Word (what bible says), Will - having the word of God in you so that you are living in a state of constant spiritual conviction
- Not merely memorising, it is about you living in Him
- Is your working, living etc always about testing his will? (Ie constantly living under spiritual conviction)
- A person with faith, natural response when things happen - come to God and seek his face and know what's wrong.
- Faith is developed and deepens when you continue to live under this spiritual conviction
- Enabling power of God
- Because of the Word, you are enabled by God to do things you cannot otherwise do based on your inclination and senses
- Did you check, are you being enabled by god into doing certain things? Or because you have the X / external factor?
- Word --> divine influence on you (grace) and understood by you --> it equally enabled you to do certain things without any external factors
- We should seek this faith - His word and will, become the only reason why you do certain things, or not do certain things
- Could be constrained by human factors
- Conditions eg gifted before you lead the church Etc, study extremely hard before you can be used by God in your workplace, human performance
- Don't make faith conditional, rather, that condition is where your joy is, your faith deepens
- Seek kingdom first? No, it's kingdom that gives you the satisfaction to the fullness
- Cannot be constrained by logic, but it is more than logic
How to increase faith (Lk 17)
- The smallest faith can accomplish the greatest task
- Where is the motivation to ask for faith? Jesus is actually trying to tell us the complicated nature of faith
- God is the sole giver of faith. Nature of faith is not to increase the impulse of faith. Knowing this truths it will set u free from the guilt or rebuke of not having enough faith to do certain things
- Dont let your sadness or reproach becomes the bottleneck of your faith
- Use the little faith you have right now to look to God (his wisdom, might, guidance) and do the very will of what he calls me to do now
- Attitude of the servant
- We are always the debtor because God is always giving to us (Jesus, everyday...)
- No matter how much we have done for God, it never makes god being repaid, it only make us dependent on grace
- Grace-relying and servant hood that makes this faith
- Liberated not being "merited, works-driven"
- Hidden dynamics
- Don't always look at how small you are (oh no mustard seed only), and look at the hurdles that are so huge in front of you. Then you do as much as you could, hoping to resolve things your way and realise you lose faith.
- “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:19-21 NIV)
- Look into the finished work on the cross, and live because of the Christ in you
How to exercise our faith rightly
- Exalting Jesus (His personality )in our lives
- Christian faith always point people towards subject of faith - Jesus - loving kindness, peace loving, merciful, willing to suffer loss, complete humility and none of self
- Faith has to be exercised rightly through sober judgment of your roles and gifts
- For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3 NIV)
- Faith puts you in proper place (not exaggerated and unrealistic place)
- What god has destined you to do, do you do it?
- Exercise faith in your role and gift
- Exercise faith in times of trial
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- Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4 NIV)
- Mature and complete = abide to God in the midst of suffering, not giving yourself into temporal relief, emotions, even though you suffer wrong for doing right, but your joy is complete :)