Strengthen Your Faith

Let me ask you something. What is absolutely paramount for a follower of Jesus Christ? That is, what MUST we possess, as Christians, in order to see and experience the kingdom of God? Both here on earth while we are living and even more so, the coming Kingdom that He will establish for all eternity!

This “thing” that I am asking you about, this trait, this attribute, is not only crucial for our walk, but even more importantly, it is mandatory for even being able to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of our lives!

PROMPT PEOPLE FOR ANSWERS

Yes, it is our FAITH!

Without active FAITH in our lives, we cannot come to the TRUTH of who Jesus really is.

And the FAITH that I am talking about, that is required for gaining entrance into the kingdom of God, is not our own FAITH and our own doing, but rather, it is given to us as a gift from God, as tells us,

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

That initial FAITH that brings us to the understanding of who He is and that prompts us to cry out to Him, comes via Holy Spirit, as He draws and convicts our hearts to repentance!

This is not natural FAITH,as we find in what we believe and know to be true in the world, but rather, it is SUPERNATURAL FAITH, that is imparted by God for salvation!

So, you and I come to the point of salvation and justification, completely bankrupt and unable to enter the kingdom on our own.

The grace that allows us to ask for salvation belongs to God and the FAITH that moves us into this new life belongs to Him as well! These are gifts that He gives to us.

tells us,

James 1:17–18 ESV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

And it is the subject of FAITH and that of a believer, that I am briefly wanting to talk with you about tonight.

I know that I have covered different aspects of FAITH over the past few years, but when it comes to God and His Word, there is never enough teaching that will do them justice! AMEN?!

And FAITH, is such a crucial aspect of our walk with God, that it deserves frequent attention.

It is in fact one of the three main virtues of the Pauline epistles, as found in ,

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

And it is LOVE, which Paul states as being the greatest of the Christian virtues, as LOVE is the very description of Yahweh and His very essence!

For God so LOVED us that He saved us!

And although it is always LOVE that we are progressively moving towards, the more that we grow in our relationship with the Father; it is FAITH which launches and drives that move!

This why FAITH starts the Pauline virtues. Even in his other epistles, where he mentions these Holy virtues, you will find FAITH as the forerunner.

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Colossians 1:4–5 NLT

4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

Colossians 1:5 NLT

5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

I especially love how that Paul lists these three together, as the garments that we are to don, so as to have the full assurance of our eternal position with the Lord, as we see in ,

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1 Thessalonians 1:7–8 NLT

7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,

1 Thessalonians 1:8–9 NLT

8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.

1 Thessalonians 5:8–10 ESV

8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

1 Thessalonians 1:8 NLT

8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,

It is our FAITH in God and our LOVE for Him, that guards and protects our hearts and it’s the blessed HOPE of eternal salvation that guards our minds from straying and believing false teachings that will lead us astray from the TRUTH of Jesus Christ!

Just as we see in , where Paul lists the armor of God that is to be put on for spiritual warfare, so here we see the implements of a soldier that are to worn at all times, so as to protect against surprise enemy attacks and his fiery darts that are launched from a distance, unknowingly!

It is the shield of FAITH that stands out in front of us in war as it serves to thwart the arrows of the enemy. And so here, we find FAITH, again, serving as a barrier to the enemy’s attacks against our hearts, as our FAITH and LOVE in and for God, protect us as a breastplate!

And we are never more like God, than when we LOVE our enemies and forgive them, because God is LOVE. It is His very nature and essence, as tells us,

1 John 4:8 ESV

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

And as we draw closer to God and our relationship with Him grows, we begin to move into a deeper and deeper understanding of that inexhaustible virtue that we call agape’ LOVE.

But, it is our FAITH and belief in Him, that drives us prompts us to step out of the boat and move against natural logic and understanding!

We can say that we LOVE God, but our FAITH prompts us to demonstrate it!

makes the correlation between our FAITH and our works and states that true FAITH will produce good works which will demonstrate who we are in Christ and thus show the LOVE of Christ to others.

Truth be told, our FAITH in God, invariably begins to manifest the LOVE of God in our lives, because it begins to chisel away and remove everything that is of the world in our lives:

It is our FAITH in God, that leads to repentance and asking for salvation, which thereby removes guilt and shame and condemnation and leaves us righteous and just and holy before God, as the Bible says:

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

FAITH, is the action step of belief and the Christian’s FAITH, as it deepens, prompts us to move forward closer to God.

And when we move closer to God, the cares and the concerns of this world begin to fall away from our hearts and minds.

Once the desires for this world have been removed, the LOVE of and for God is all that will be left within us!

It is FAITH that begins to prove to us that we have nothing in this life to fear, because the Word of God tells us that God, Himself, will fight for us and protect us!

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Isaiah 41:10 NLT

10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

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Romans 8:1 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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Romans 8:31 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

And if the cares of this world and the shame and condemnation of this world and the fear of this world are removed, via our FAITH in God and His Word, until the LOVE of God and His will for our lives is all that remains; why don’t all professing Christians walk in this level of FREEDOM in Christ and move in this level of FAITH?

Why are so many of us like the other eleven disciples, sitting in the boat and waiting for Jesus to climb in and take the oars and lead us to safety, when the safest place on the sea, is standing beside Him. Especially when He says openly to the those who desire to be with Him, “COME”!

And probably the key answer to that question is found within that very account in the Bible.

How many of the 12 disciples called out to Jesus and said, “Lord, if that is really you, call to me and tell me to come to you walking on the water”?

Right, only ONE, Peter, had that amount of faith to do so.

We must move in FAITH if we want to see Holy Spirit moving in this church and in this county and in this nation!

In fact, one little city of believers who begin to move in FAITH and in accordance with Holy Spirit, can shift a nation.

Look at the last large movement that took place down in Pensacola, Florida. One church and one man starving for the presence of God, turned the attention of the whole nation and even other parts of the world!

And why..........because the one called out to Jesus and said, “You tell me to come out on the water, and I will come” and the Lord said, “COME!” (IT WAS DONE IN FAITH!)

There are two very important aspects about the FAITH of the believer, that the author of Hebrews points out to us. tell us,

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

So, first and foremost, without true FAITH and belief in God, you and I CAN NEVER, EVER please God!

FAITH demands action, based upon what you believe. If you are filling your vessel with the WORD of God, then you will begin to see your FAITH level increase, because, as the Word says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

And when your FAITH begins to increase, so does the spiritual unction to move in it!

Secondly, with this passage in Hebrews, as your FAITH increases and your belief in who God is and what He desires for your life increases, you can then begin to truly seek Him and draw closer to Him.

And the end result of this desire and action, is that God begins to REWARD those who do so!

The Greek for word used in this passage for, “those who sincerely seek Him”, means - “to exert considerable effort and care in learning something”.

In other words, this word is not talking about someone who acknowledges God on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings and at the occasional mealtime.

This word is talking about the person who DESIRES GOD’S PRESENCE and who makes the extreme effort to be closer and closer to GOD; ALL OF THE TIME!

And whenever I hear people speak of this passage sometimes, they use the part of God as a “RE-WARDER”, to push that message of all of the benefits of Christianity. As in, if you want all of the great perks and joys and pleasures of God, then you must have FAITH!

What many people don’t want to hear, or consider, is that God rewards in more than one way.

Sometimes, the reward for moving more and more in your FAITH towards God and desiring more and more to serve God, is that God, as the vinedresser, prunes your branch back to make you draw even closer and become even more dependent upon Him and become even more fruitful for the kingdom!

says it this way,

James 1:2–4 TPT

2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! 3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. 4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.

And you may be like, “You mean to tell me that my reward for growing in FAITH in God, is that He allows discomfort and trials to come into my life? That’s my reward?!”

YEP! It could be! But then again, the odds are highly in favor, that if it is not your heart’s desire to serve Him at all cost, then you will never have to worry about seeing that reward, because you will not be pressing in to that level with Him to begin with! AMEN?!

Here’s the thing guys, In , when Jesus was giving His Olivet Discourse to His disciples, regarding their question as to when the end was going to come, He said this, “

Matthew 24:13 NLT

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And my point is this, the people who come into a relationship with Jesus and do not keep pressing in and growing in their FAITH and belief in Him, become those that He mentioned in , where He said,

Matthew 7:26–27 ESV

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

There are going to be those who do not push into and pursue that deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus and their FAITH is so shallow and weak, that when trials and hardships come against them, they collapse and fall away from Him.

For this very reason, Jesus said, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

“Endure”, literally means, ‘to resist, to hold one’s ground, to not be moved.’

And someone who is going to resist everything that the world throws at them and hold their ground not be moved from their walk with the Lord, is someone who has developed and grown in their FAITH with the Lord Jesus!

Jesus is looking for those who will do as He said and “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him”!

It is like John Wesley said one time, “Give me a hundred men who love nothing but God and hate nothing but sin, and I will shake the whole world for Christ."

It doesn’t take many… but it does take someone who decides to be FAITHFUL!

In December 1944, the German army launched an unexpected attack. In what was to become known as the Battle of Bulge, the Nazis drove deep behind Allied lines. Writing in WW II about the reaction of the American troops to this attack, James Jones said

“No one of these little road junction stands could have had a profound effect on the German drive. But hundreds of them, impromptu little battles at nameless bridges and unknown crossroads, had an effect of slowing enormously the German impetus… These little die-hard ‘one man stands,’ alone in the snow and fog without communications, would prove enormously effective out of all proportion to their size.”

The moment that you or I come know Jesus as our Lord and savior, (through the gift of FAITH from God), then Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all of our sins and makes us righteous in the eyes of God! We move from sinful and unrighteous to the position of JUSTIFIED and righteous before God!

For this reason, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

Then Paul elaborated on this and said to the church in Galatia, in ,

Galatians 3:11 ESV

11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

We are saved by FAITH, we are healed by FAITH and we will be rewarded one day according to the level of our FAITH.

Galatians 3:11 NLT

11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

I watched some video footage today of a tribe that I remembered reading about years ago in my dad’s National Geographic magazines.

This men of this tribe of people, have for centuries, performed a ritual that serves two purposes.

One, it proves their manhood.

Two, it supposed to appease the gods for good crops and vegetation that year.

These men (and little boys) climb this rickety, hand made wooden tower, upwards of 80 to 100 feet in height and then tie these vines to both ankles and then leap off!

Sometimes the vines are longer than they thought (NOT GOOD!)

Sometimes one vine, or both may not hold and break (STILL NOT GOOD!)

And still other times, the come down unscathed!

Right before the men jump, the other men in the tribe are down on the ground shouting and singing and cheering them on and building up the FAITH of the man to make the leap of FAITH!

This leap of FAITH is now called, “land diving”! These are the original “bungee jumpers”!

Interestingly enough, would anyone care to venture as to what the name of that island is called where this tribe lives?

It is the island of PENTECOST!

I find it very intriguing that the island where the men stir one another up to take a leap of FAITH is names after the very day in history in which the Holy Spirit of God was poured out into the flesh of men, to stir them up, so that they would take the leap of FAITH and move forward with the gospel message!

We are to do the same thing today, in the church and in the world, as says,

Jude 20 NLT

20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,

I may, either this Sunday, or next Wednesday share with you a passage found in , where Peter gives us some actions, some virtues, that serve to build and strengthen our FAITH in the Lord!