FAITH IN ACTION

FAITH IN ACTION

We will be talking about the call that God gives each one of us to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk as a Christian which is really putting our faith into action. Faith without works is dead.  People watch what we do even more so than what we say. 

We know of God’s great love for us and that through His Son we are given eternal life and through the example of Jesus we can co-labor with Him so as to be a reflection of Him.  We have been given authority through the inheritance He left us and we can truly become Jesus here on the earth.

The Holy Spirit is the breath of God within us and His main purpose is to point to Jesus and this is done through the spiritual gifts that He bestows on the believer.  These gifts are tools that we can use through the workings of the Holy Spirit to bring others to Him and manifest God’s love to all of us.

PRAYER

Thank You God the Father, for Your love and compassion.  Thank You Jesus for Your love and compassion and sacrificing Your life in atonement for our sins and by whose Resurrection we are assured of salvation and thank You Holy Spirit for Your guidance, power and manifestations that are an important part of our growth in our walk in life.  Heavenly Father, Who in our experience of worship has given us a foretaste of Your Kingdom, nurture deep within us all that it signifies, that it may bear fruit in our hearts and homes; and so extend Your Kingdom and honor Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

God has a very special blueprint for our lives.  The only way to truly experience God is to experience Him by getting to know Him more through Scripture, prayer, worship and spending special time with Him in prayer which is really a conversation with God and like any conversation we need to be good listeners.  We need to listen to seek God’s voice every day. 

 

We can know God’s will for our lives by walking with God.  We need to cultivate our relationship with God and trust in Him as it says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.  In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” (The Every Day Life Bible Amplified version)

We should surrender God’s will to ours and obey what we already know to be God’s will. God has shown us clearly in the scriptures how we are to direct our lives.  We know something is not God’s will if it does not line up with the scriptures and God’s commandments.

When you seek to discover God’s will for your life, pay attention to how He has gifted you.  His plan for you will always be directed to the gifts He has given you.

We have inheritance in Christ.  This was given to us by Jesus when He gave us the Great Commission before He ascended into heaven.  The inheritance Jesus gave us was His authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the gospel.  

Authority is an important part of the Gospel because we then become emissaries commissioned to do what Jesus did.  An emissary is an agent that represents or promotes the interests of another.  So, in essence, we do re-present Jesus here on the earth and in order to represent Him, we need to have an intimate relationship with Him just as Jesus had with the Father.  Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father doing.  We also need to know His will as written in the Bible.  He has commanded us to do the things He did and greater things we will do because Jesus has ascended to the Father so now it is us representing Him doing His work for His Kingdom on the earth which is to draw all mankind to Him.

One tool that we can use to establish our authority is the Word of God and the armor of God which is our defense against the enemy.  In Ephesians 6:13-17, it says, “Therefore put on God’s complete armor; that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day (of danger), and, having done all (the crisis demands), to stand (firmly in your place).  Stand therefore (hold your ground), having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.”

We can also find strength and power through the Holy Spirit.  As we talked about in the teaching about the Fire of God, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit gives us special power and strength to live the Christian life exhibiting not only the fruit of the Holy Spirit—peace, joy, love, self-control, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and faithfulness but the gifts of the Holy Spirit---Word of Wisdom; Word of Knowledge; Gift of Faith; Healing and Miracles; Discernment of Spirits; Speaking in Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues.

How do we put our faith into action?

1.     We need to read the Bible which is B (basic) I (instructions) B (before) L (leaving) E (earth)  

2.     We need to know Who God is and know His will according to His Word.

3.     We need to seek and know God’s will for our lives.

4.     We need to pray.

5.     We need to be Spirit filled using the gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever He chooses to use these gifts through us.

6.     We need to exemplify the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives so others can see God’s love in us.

7.     We need to be emissaries for His Kingdom so that others will come into the Kingdom.

8.     We need to be “doers of the Word.”  In other words we should not just be giving “lip service” but show Who God is by our actions.

BE THE CHURCH!!

The Body of Christ is usually referred to as the Church.  I think Church is really a misnomer because most people think of it as a building or an institution.  Jesus spoke of the Church as “living stones.” Jesus is the cornerstone but not of a building but of a body of believers. 

What do I mean by “be the Church”?  I mean we need to act as Jesus did and go out to the people and minister to them not just sit in our comfortable seats in church and think that we have fulfilled our Christian duty.  We don’t even have to do great exploits.  How about not cutting someone off on the freeway or letting someone else get in line ahead of you or paying it forward for someone who is short a few dollars at the check-out line?

We need to be a living, breathing example of Who God is.  How about praying for someone in the grocery store or on the street who seems to be in pain.  Just listen to the Holy Spirit.  He may ask you to do something that you are uncomfortable with.  Joyce Myer once said, “Do it afraid.”  Yes, step out in faith.  You never know how a simple act can affect someone.  Share your faith.  Start with your family, neighbors or wherever you go even if it is a simple, “God bless you.”  

Robert J. Morgan one told the story of a preacher who was approached by a man who wanted to join the church.  “But,” the man said, “I have a very busy schedule.  I can’t be called on for any service, like committee work, teaching, or other such things.  I just won’t be available for special projects or to help with setting up chairs or things like that.  I just want to sit through Sunday worship and then go on about my business.”

The minister thought for a moment, and then replied, “I believe you’re at the wrong church.  The church you’re looking for is three blocks down the street, on the right.”  The man followed the preacher’s directions and soon came to an abandoned, boarded up closed down church building.  It was a dead church---gone out of business.

Let’s not become a “dead” Church but a living, breathing agent of change to bring God’s Kingdom here on earth to accomplish His will.  We  need to live by example and maybe, just maybe, others will see Jesus in us and want to walk with Him and be one of those living stones with Jesus as the cornerstone.