The past few weeks, we’ve learned some powerful truths from God’s word about Him and about ourselves revealed through the simple phrase, “…BUT YOU!”
Knowing these truths are awesome, but knowledge without application is pointless and worthless. If truth is not lived out and applied in our lives, we just become full of ourselves instead of being full of the Spirit!
1 Corinthians 8:1
…knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
We must move beyond knowledge and puffing ourselves up to emptying ourselves out by building others up in love.
It’s kind of like Violet Beauregarde while visiting Willy Wonka’s factory. We’re good at grabbing things from the Kingdom of God for ourselves. However, everything that we receive, we are supposed to freely give away. If we don’t we do this, we become all puffed up and full of the Spirit’s wine. Unless we’re pressed and emptied out, we’ll explode!
Jesus said:
Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
God’s word is like a seed ready to break out of its shell and spring forth life! God’s word is like a cloud heavy and ready to pour out refreshment and to quench the thirsty!
So what role do we play? How do we move from knowing God’s truth to experiencing God’s truth?
Faith!
Not faith in ourselves, but faith in God. Faith in His nature, faith in His character, and faith in His power.
As Americans, we rightfully value independence and in our ability to work hard and to not only succeed, but to thrive!
As duel citizens, it’s challenging for us to adjust to God’s Kingdom culture where everything that we receive is by faith and not by the work of our own hands.
It’s challenging to adjust to God’s Kingdom culture where our righteousness can only come from receiving it as a free gift by faith and not by doing what is right.
We’re not alone, though. Jewish people were struggling with this concept just as badly as us Americans do…
There’s a very fine, but very distinct line between faith and works and it all comes down to heart motive.
Which one comes first? Faith or works?
Which one is priority?
Which one is leading?
Which one is following?
Is it doing works by faith? This is obedience. It wholly depends on God and His ability and not at all our own.
Or is it doing works for faith? This is doubt. It wholly depends on us and our ability to earn something from God.
Are we employees or children of God?
Are we hired hands or servants of God?
Let’s learn together how to make this transition back to faith.
Romans 4 (NLT)
1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
What did Abraham do to become righteous before God? Abraham believed God.
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). If it’s not good and if it’s not perfect, it’s not from Him. If we’re asking for something from God and we’re not receiving it, then He either has something better prepared for us or it’s just not the right time.
If you’re making a cake and you take a big spoon full of just the eggs and oil, it’s not going to be good. You didn’t patiently wait long enough for the other ingredients to be added. If you bake it for 15 minutes and then take a big spoon full of it, you’re going to badly burn your mouth and it won’t taste right. You didn’t patiently wait for it to be perfectly baked.
If you hang in there and wait for all of the ingredients to be added, for it to be fully baked, for it to be fully cooled, and for icing to be spread over it, that cake will be good and perfect!
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
When we work, we receive our wages shortly afterward. When we receive a gift, we have to wait for the right time. We don’t give up and lose heart if we don’t receive any Christmas gifts to open on December 15. No, we understand that the right time is coming. From December 15 to December 25, the eagerness and expectation build. Although there is still nothing under the tree, we still can imagine what it will be like the day that they show up.
This is faith; being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It’s an eager expectation of the good and perfect gifts that are certainly coming at just the right time. We won’t be receiving them because of what we’ve done, but because of who we are.
Did Jesus ever heal someone and then tell them, “Your hard work has made you well.”?
No!
Did Jesus ever heal someone and then tell them, “Your faith has made you well.”?
Many times!
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:
7 “Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sins are put out of sight.
8 Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10 But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!
Again, which came first? Was it the faith of Abraham or the works of Abraham? Did God call Abraham righteous because of His faith or because of what He did? It was the faith of Abraham that God honored and exchanged that faith for righteousness. Abraham did works to express his faith, not to earn his righteousness.
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous – even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)
16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s.
Again, do we receive God’s promises by doing good deeds?
No!
Do we receive God’s promises by faith?
Yes!
Are God’s promises certainly received by those who have faith?
YES!
God’s promises are free gifts to simply be received. They are given because of who we are and not because we have earned them like wages through works.
For Abraham is the father of all who believe. 17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
This is a powerful verse for us! We have faith because of God for whom nothing is impossible! We have faith because God’s perspective is full and perfect! We may not see it, but our eternal God can see it right here and right now. He speaks to things that are not as if though they were because for our eternal God who sees the future, they already are!
Romans 4:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did
Romans 4:17 American Standard Version (ASV)
God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.
Romans 4:17 The Passion Translation (TPT)
God can raise the dead and call into being things that don’t even exist yet.
Romans 4:17 New Century Version (NCV)
God who gives life to the dead and who creates something out of nothing.
Romans 4:17-18 The Message (MSG)
Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do.
Wow, “deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do.” It’s an intentional decision. Do I trust my own abilities or my own circumstances or do I live on the basis of what God has said He would do?
When everything is impossible and hopeless from a worldly, natural perspective, will we give up or will we press in and press on? Will we rely on facts or on God’s truth? Will we live by sight or live by faith?
18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping – believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead – and so was Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
We can all appreciate the faith of those who approached Jesus with impossible situations who instantly received their miracles. The blind could see, the deaf could hear, the lame could walk, a boy with epilepsy delivered, and more. However, I’m personally more inspired by and more challenged by those who persevered by faith and waited for decades before seeing any degree of manifestation of God’s promise coming to pass in their lives.
Facing the fact that it is impossible, but choosing to live by faith and remain fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.
There is a process here that we find as a constant to receiving God’s promises.
God speaks.
We hear God’s word.
We believe God’s word.
We speak and stand on and live by God’s word. Again, just believing it.
God’s word is fulfilled.
Romans 10:13-17
13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[Joel 2:32]
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[Isaiah 52:7]
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[Isaiah 53:1]
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
So for us, or anyone else for that matter, to receive what God’s word promises, there are some things that need to take place. We can’t expect anyone to have faith in God if they’ve never heard the message about Him.
The first promise that most of us receive is the gift of salvation. Someone tells us what God’s word says about us, our sin, and what Christ has accomplished. If they believe that message and put their faith in it, then they are forgiven of all of their sins, adopted into God’s family, and given the Holy Spirit all as a free gift.
That’s God’s response to their faith. God’s word says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
They can’t call on the name of the Lord if they don’t believe in Him. They can’t believe in Him if they don’t hear about Him. They can’t hear about the Lord if no one tells them about Him. No one will tell others about Him unless they are sent to do it.
Romans 10:16-17 The Message (MSG)
Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
Today, the Lord is making it very clear that He is sending you! You have a living hope inside of you! You have God’s message and word within you! You have a mouth capable of speaking it out! You have a relationship with people that will hear you!
Maybe they will choose to believe it and maybe they won’t. That part is on them, but for them to hear the good news about Jesus is on us. Sometimes, we condemn people and their way of thinking and behaving, but never stop to think that maybe they just don’t know any better.
Maybe no one ever loved them enough to tell them that there is a better way. Maybe no one ever came alongside of them and showed them this new way to be human! I’m sure people have told them about their wrong doing, but has anyone ever told them about how to do it right?
This goes beyond just salvation, too! Forgiveness of our sins is just the beginning. That’s supposed to be like the appetizer that makes us hunger and thirst for more! That is the beginning of our salvation, but we have the opportunity to step into the fullness of our salvation and to fulfill our life purpose!
Every one of God’s promises are received the same way that we receive salvation. We hear God’s word, we choose to believe it, we put our faith in it, and we receive it’s fulfillment.
All of us should have unfulfilled promises of God in our lives that are in process.
We’ve read it or heard it.
We’re working to believe it. We’re desiring to be like Abraham and to be fully convinced with not a single doubt of that promise being fulfilled and God’s ability to do it. Maybe we’re like the man whose son had epilepsy who told Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:22-27
22 “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
Don’t be surprised when you begin to pray and believe God’s truth about a situation and it seems to only get far worse! The enemy never leaves without a fight, even for Jesus, Himself. Things may look more and more hopeless and impossible. That’s OK, our God can even raise the dead!
We’re working to believe God’s word. That’s OK, keep shaking off that doubt and keep pressing in even when things seem to be getting worse. It’s always darkest just before the dawn. If it’s getting worse, that may actually mean that your breakthrough is just around the corner!
We’re tempted to allow doubt to seep in when things get worse. When we see things going further away from what God’s word says, we’re tempted to stop believing that God is going to come through this time and that maybe He has some other plan. God speaks and fulfills. He isn’t a liar! The enemy whispering that in your ear is the liar!
Keep believing and remain fully convinced no matter what happens. God is able! Whatever happens, having faith and believing God’s word is expressed through our own thoughts and words and attitudes and actions. This is living out our faith and living out God’s truth!
It may be a valley of dry bones that are absolutely hopeless. Speak into that valley! Prophesy God’s truth to those bones! Combat doubt and opposition and fear and anxiety with truth every time.
Speak to that part of your body that needs healing the way that Elijah spoke to those dry bones, “HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
Prophesy to that unsaved loved one “HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
Speak to that broken relationship “HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
Prophesy to that bondage that you just can’t break free from “HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
Whatever your situation, it’s a new day and there is a new hope arising!
It’s time for God’s people to rise up and choose to live by faith and not by sight.
It’s time for God’s people to stand firmly upon God’s truth and to stop excusing away powerlessness!
It’s time for God’s people to drive away doubt the way that Jesus drove out the robbers from the temple!
It’s time to give the enemy an eviction notice from your eyes so that they only see what the Lord is doing!
It’s time to give the enemy an eviction notice from your ears so that they only “HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
Let’s start living by faith!