I am Redeemed! Part 4: Redeeming Faith
Faith without works is dead. Deeds without love is legalism. Most Holy Faith is faith expressing itself as love. These three statements are the cornerstones of applying faith in the lives of Christians. Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the foundation of our faith. However, that is just the initial measure given by God through the Holy Spirit when we are adopted into the kingdom of God. Jesus had a perfect plan for us when He died on the cross. It was to destroy the works of Satan. Satan brought sin and death into the world. Let’s examine 1 John 3:8-10
8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
Sin is missing the mark set by God’s grace and mercy working in your life. Sin is the stumbling block Satan has put in your life to prevent, delay, and hinder you from prospering in God’s kingdom. That is, conforming to God’s image. God’s image is an reflection of Jesus Christ walking in love, power, and authority, and exercising dominion in the territories God has called you to. Sin, when we are bound in it, limits our ability to realize our full potential in Christ. Sin, when used as a resistance to develop our faith in Jesus Christ, can be a tool to catapult us into a higher state of glory. This is why we are called more than conquerors.
Now that I have shared opening remarks, I want to get to the meat of this topic concerning, “Redeeming Faith.” Christians are unconsciously fought most in their faith and as a result do not know how to proactively grow their faith. In Part 4 of I am Redeemed, I want to discuss three things concerning Faith: (1) What is Faith? (2) How does I acquire Faith? (3) How do I grow my Faith?
(1) What is Faith?
Faith as defined by Hebrews 11:1 is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. Faith is activated, according to Romans 10:17, by hearing the word of God. Using logic, faith may be defined as, “Hearing the word of God is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.” The Greek transliteration of faith, “Being fully convinced of what God has said.” In sum, faith is being convinced of what God has said. The substance of faith is God’s spoken word. When God created the Heavens and the Earth as described in Genesis 1, He first spoke, then He saw, and then He judged. God spoke, “Let there be light.” Next, He saw the light. Then, He judged the light as good. God cannot lie. So, when he speaks something, it is. He is the Creator. The Creator’s tool is His voice and the building material is His word. Hence, when God speaks something it immediately exists. This leads me to the next topic of acquring faith.
(2) How do I acquire Faith?
Romans 10:17 declares that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.” I must take a brief aside to declare logically that Fear comes by hearing and hearing the words of Satan (i.e. lies…that is things contrary to the word of God.) When you don’t believe God’s word, you then create a foothold for Satan to create a stronghold of lies thereby crippling you with Fear. Lies are the building block of fear based strongholds. (FYI, a stronghold is a mental set of beliefs that frames someone’s thinking and behavior. You can have a positive stronghold based in faith in God.) If you are to overcome a fear based stronghold, you must have an enter with God’s word and have the Spirit of Truth (aka the Holy Spirit) guiding you into truth and understanding. Okay, enough with the aside.
Faith is acquired first by believing the good news of Jesus Christ i.e. the Gospel. The Gospel is that Jesus Christ was: (1) Born to a virgin named Mary who was impregnated by the Holy Spirit. (2)Lived a sinless life. (3) Was tortured for our transgressions against God (sin) and suffered so that we might obtain peace and healing. (3)Laid His life down on a cross thereby receiving the full penalty of all sin that has ever been committed and will be created. (4) He went to Hell in our place and took the power of death from Satan (5) Was resurrected on the third day by the Holy Spirit after His death thereby granting us the opportunity for eternal life with God. (6) Now, through faith in Him and His blood which atoned for our sins, we now are right with God. This, my friend, is the message which is the incoruptible seed and initial measure of our faith. All faith grows out of this seed. To fully experience the power of God and His love, we must realize what Jesus did for us and His good news to us. Knowing that I don’t have do works to obtain righteousness with God despite my indwelling sin is beautiful. Once you receive this revelation by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Jesus can then begin the wonderful process of destroying the works of Satan and molding into the new creature God intended you to be. In short, faith comes being hearing the good news about Jesus Christ and believing the message in your heart. Faith is activated when the truth of Jesus has conceived love for Jesus.
(3) How do I grow my Faith?
How does one grow their Faith? Once you are convinced of who Jesus is and what He as done, you then can begin to grow your faith. I must emphasize the importance of knowing what Jesus has done because your development in faith is directly proportional to your understanding of Christ. The events Jesus death on the cross and resurrection is the most important event in the history of mankind. Through these events, not to mention the very life of Jesus, created a portal for mankind to enter into God’s kingdom and destroy the works of Satan. In God’s Kingdom, Satan was thrown out of it. When you are living in God’s kingdom, which is based on faith and governed by love, the works of Satan are revoked, remitted, and destroyed. This is the heart of what grace and mercy is. Grace is the covering of the sin by the blood of Jesus. Mercy is the penalty Jesus paid through his suffering and death. We receive grace through the covering of our sins by Jesus’ blood. We receive mercy through Jesus paying the price of sin which is suffering and death. Now, through His resurrection He redeemed us from the works of Satan (sin). His resurrection allows for us to walk as new creatures in Christ. The DNA of this new creature in Christ is the word of God aka the commandments of Jesus. Jesus told us to love God and love each other as He has loved. Through love we fulfill the law. There are two types of word that God speaks. There is logos and rhema. Logos is the reasoning. Rhema is the revelation of the logos. When you hear God’s word, it comes first as Logos(there is a possiblity of immediate Rhema). We have the mental to capacity to learn the reasoning of the word of God as led by the Holy Spirit. Faith is birthed when we hear the revelation of the word and how it applies to our lives directly. This is seen sometimes on Sunday’s when your pastor is preaching a sermon that is directly speaking revelation to your life. This is Logos transforming to Rhema. To grow in faith, you need the Rhema word of God speaking revelation to your heart which equips you to live the word.
The key to growing in Rhema is to consistently flood your ears, eyes, and heart with the word of God. This is done by reading the word, meditating on scripture, listening to sermons/bible teaching, worshipping God, and praying the scriptures. When you want to grow your faith in any area of your life, studying the word on the subject. Then, pray the word and over the subject. Next, listen to what the Holy Spirit speaks to you. Write what He says to your heart. Be obedient to any instructions. Continue to meditate on the word. Share your revelation with others in a small Bible study group or with your family.
I have experience phenomenal growth in my faith as a result these keys. I am a witness to God destroying many works of the devil in my life. I have seen Him do the same for others. In closing, I pray you are activated to grow your faith and take your relationship with God to the next level. The greater you are in faith, the more effective you are can be in any area of your life. I pray you are a better blessing to others, especially your loved ones.
God has not spoken to me yet about the next part of this series. Until the next time, keep fighting for your dream! Love you!!
