Your Faith
Scripture Reading - Habakkuk 2:4 KJV
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Greetings fellow believer in the Awesome Name of Jesus may God’s Grace smile upon you this day while he fills you with all Peace. Today we will speak on the topic of “Living by Faith”. We must start with a few statements of what we are not talking about before we can address the more exact message of what we are saying. First, we are not speaking of denominational faith that is associated with the church the Christian attends. This is used when people say, “I am a Baptist” or “I am Pentecostal“ or “I am Catholic” or even “I am Word of Faith”. The scripture already encouraged us to identify with Christ Jesus alone by boldly proclaiming “I am a Christian”. Remember 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 KJV which states, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” The Lord desires for us to avoid separate titles because they can cause contention (strife/division). We (ihlcc) have seen a lot of believers argue and break off friendship with other believers due to doctrinal differences between various denominations. Therefore, make it a matter of purpose to be known as a good Christian that goes to a bible believing church that loves all Christians equally. Secondly, we are not speaking of God’s Faith. God’s Faith created the worlds. God’s Faith is extremely developed to lay hold of the Word of God (the right scripture at the right time) to bringing change to the circumstances quickly through The Word of Faith that moves mountains and changes situations for the better. God’s Faith is good and awesome. It is not God’s Faith that is a problem or will ever be a problem. No, God’s Faith is pure and perfect. However, we need to use our personal faith to activate the Word of God to make it fruitful in our everyday lives. We all start with a measure of faith when we become a holy Child of God. In Romans 12:3 KJV it is written, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Now this leads us to what we are talking about in the very real fact that you have faith. Remember, you are saved by your faith that believes in God’s Word. Remember Luke 7:50 KJV which states, “And he (Jesus) said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” This knowledge we proclaim to the whole Body of Christ that we need to consider that our own personal faith needs to be recognized and developed by each believer. We say this because if you don’t think about your own personal faith you will not try to develop it to make your faith more stronger. Developing your faith in God will give you more vision which empowers you to believe God for greater things and more favorable results. We (ihlcc) have noticed that certain churches preach, minister and teach on your faith while other churches don’t speak much on the subject of faith. The churches that don’t minister along the lines of developing your own faith will have more people struggle and stumble over the trials of life due to a lack of knowledge. So, do us (ihlcc) a big favor, beloved Child of God, make it a point to develop your measure of faith consistently and thoroughly to make you successful in overcoming all the trials of this life in Jesus Name! You can develop your faith by hearing the Good Word of God according to Romans 10:17. We mentioned the Good Word of God because what you are hearing or reading must glorify God to increase your faith. Therefore, all you hear (listen to) and read should be correctly aligned with the Holy Bible. Another way (avenue) to increase your faith is by developing your love walk through consistently (everyday) operating in God’s Love. It is said that love is the fuel that drives our faith which is New Testament aligned with Galatians 5:6b. We must always remember that God’s Word only works if it has the right spirit upon it and that right Spirit is God’s Love which is shed abroad in our hearts through Christ Jesus. Now that we know the right words are the Words of God for faith to increase and we also know the right spirit to develop the spirit of faith is God’s Agape Love (Agape Love is unconditional love with no strings attached). This brings us to our third faith booster known as Good Works. These works are all works that line up with God’s Word in the Holy Bible. A few of these good works include going to a local church to gather with the other saints, tithing, giving offerings and alms, working, being married, having a good God fearing family, etc. . . Living our faith aligns with the New Testament scripture James 2:14 which states, “Even so faith if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Increasing your faith also requires the application of patience according to James 1:3 which states, ”Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.” Patience allows us to stay steady during the storms of life whenever we are using our faith. This takes us to yet another way to strengthen our faith which is using your faith as a lifestyle unto God. Yes, walking by faith all day and every day. This matches Romans 1:17 which states, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” To live our faith as a lifestyle we must learn to react and respond by our belief in God’s Word not negative or evil reports we see and hear every day before us. This principle lines-up with 2 Corinthians 5:7 which states, “For we walk by faith, not by sight: We (ihlcc) are sure there are other ingredients to developing your faith but practicing these principles on a daily basis is the key to being (living) free both in Christ Jesus (spiritually) and physically upon this earth. Amen!