4 Jan 2020
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Why faith ?
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Rom 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
In a court , if justice is in our favour, from there on we don’t have to worry about how to move forward. But justification is the prime important thing . For our own justification before God is through Faith, not through our good works. Once justification by faith happens , all good works follow. Good works are the fruit , not the root. Faith is the root.
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How can we truly Practice faith?
(Faith in simple terms means the belief that someone else can do the job for you )
1)Its is by being Self less and not self dependent . 2)By removing our own desires & our own intentions of the heart.
3)To rejoice in other's success
In our world ,we are taught that , its all about fulfilling our own dreams & goals - a kind of selfish attitude. Can we enjoy the success of others. A Faithful friend always enjoys your success. For eg David was a great King . But Jonathan was the heir to the throne. But Jonathan made himself invisible. He lay aside the intentions of his own heart. He was enjoying the success of David. Jonathan was practicising faith , he was faithful to David. 1 Sam 19:2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself
Moses could have become the heir to the throne of Egypt. He became invisible, removed his own intentions & goals. He was looking at the welfare of his brothers . He was practicising faith.
Abraham became invisible , he left everthing and responded to the call of God. He was glad in carrying out God’s plan and ways. He was awaiting and enjoying the success that his generations will possess. Heb 11:39-40 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Jesus is the perfector of faith. He was totally dependent on his Fathers will . His life was for others .Heb 12: 2, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.( Even shame was conquered, we don’t have to be shameful any more)
Why is faith Important to God? Bible always emphasises on,having belief, having faith, why?
. We cannot express LOVE , without faith . If you want to express Love, we need to be faithful & faithfilled. If you need to express love to your wife we need to be faithful and display faith. We want others to love us, if so be faithful to them.
Jonathan was faithful to David because he loved David, 1 Sam 18: 1-5 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armour, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
Moses was faithful to his brethren because he loved them.
Abraham was faithful to God, because of his love to God.
If we want to express an eternal love to someone, be faithful to them always. Jer 31: 3 says ," I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
If you want to show express love to God, show Faith in Him. It is when you are faithful to others,that they will see your LOVE. 3 John1: 5,6 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church.
God is invisible. He enjoys in mans success. He does many things in our Life even without our knowledge. God is faithful to us. Like God, do we enjoy in others success, Are we faithful.
Jude1:20-21 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
If we observe our married life,inorder to express love,there is a need to show faithfulness . What happens further when we express faithfullness, by being invisible, denying our intentions and desires & enjoying in the success of your partner ? As we express our faith and love , the next step after that builds up to relationship or Covenant ( Marriage is a covenant) . Jonathan enters into a relationship or a covenant with David as a result of their Faith & Love. 1Sam 18: 3 .You will notice after several years, Saul’s son Mephiboseth was saved by David. He was given a big place & wealth during Davids reign.
God enters into a covenant with Abraham & Moses as a result of his faith . God has entered into a covenant relationship with all humanity through Jesus Christ. By this faith we have a covenant or relationship with God which puts us in a right standing with God.
Rom4: 5 his faith is counted as righteousness,
Righteouness means to be in right standing with that person. What follows is signs miracles & wonders. Faith rooted in love follows covenant and then Righteouness and then followed by signs , miracles & wonders.
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Lets consider a passage of how faith , promises & right standing with God can lead to Signs, wonders & Miracles. Who gives us faith and how we can apply it. Lets take a passage for great faith commented by Jesus himself.
Mat 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Mark 7 :What Defiles a Person
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”[e] 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”[f] (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[g] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Mathew 15 :What Defiles a Person
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.[c] And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.This portion is very important because it has helped me to live a life in faith. It’s a revelation of who gives you Faith and how we can apply our Faith
Now Jesus was fleeing away from the Pharisees and scribes, the people who followed the law. If you read those passages , you will notice there is no miracle happening there. Jesus gets tired with the self righteousness of the Pharisees. If you want to have Jesus in your life, keep yourself away from self righteousness . It is not our righteous deeds which will lead us to a miracle or to heaven with Jesus. When we approach Jesus , ward off your self righteousness, Titus 3:4-5 .Sidon tyre(phoencia) is the place of Jezebel. Remember ,Elijah healed a widow of Zarephath ,was from Tyre sidon region .Now has he enters Sidon-Tyre, into a home candidly, he did not want anyone to know his presence.Yet he could not be hidden. When Jesus is in your heart or house, its difficult to hide Him, people around will know it.
This Lady was a gentile. No where , it is mentioned about her husband. It seems like her husband is dead or living and perhaps of no value to her. A gentile lady approaching a Jew during those times was a bit difficult. She & her daughter with demon might have been downcast by the society. The society saw her ,as a sinful person and might have been an outcast. No one in this world could solve her problems. Gentile with a demon possessed child was an outcast among outcast . She heard about ,Jesus healing everyone. She knew that Jesus was Messiah and the son of David. Even the gentiles were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah.( Like the Samaritan lady). She came running from afar and fell on his knees. She knew, that she knew that Jesus could heal her !! She really knew he was the Messiah and was ready for any confrontation or rebuke. No remark from Jesus could put her faith down. During the period of your sickness or trial , God will put you through several tests, to make sure we endure and keep up the faith
Lets observe the sequence of events in Mathew 15: 10 -28 :-
She hears about Jesus
She locates Jesus
She reaches Jesus
She prays and pleads to Jesus.( Till this time she was operating in her natural with her best efforts, we sometimes stop or withdraw as we reach this stage with no success .)
She is even rebuked by the disciples( Christian community around may try to make you feel stupid- in the natural).
It may also come to a stage when God intervenes finally in a way not seemingly favourable..
It may appear that all situations and even God is not with you- Please note this situation, this is exactly the point when the natural is about to turn into supernatural. The point of all resources closed - is the point of all resources being opened.The light flows just after the Darkest spot.(2Cor4:6) Please note behind the darkest spot , parallely the Holy spirit is preparing your healing and provision. God has a covenant and promise with us during our darkness. There is a promise hidden in that darkness or situation.
Isaiah 42:6-7 , 6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. I remember ,once i shared with an Hindu lady whose husband was jailed . She received this verse with utmost faith and eventually could see the glory of God in her own life.
Continue praising God during that Dark spot. ( Remember the passage where, Jesus said to Peter that , the holy spirit is the one who has revealed to him about whom Jesus was ) .By Jesus presence , the Holy spirit came upon the Lady and gave her the faith to sustain. While this happens ask the Holy spirit to help you utter , a statement or declaration of faith. She uttered a declaration of faith to our LORD.
( By doing this you are changing the natural situation into a supernatural situation. Your healing or provision depends on this declaration of faith) . Personally I myself , in 2011 had to go through a depression affected with all sickness…My sugar was not coming down…..My father mentioned , that diabetes can be controlled through some ayurvedic doctors by exercising the pancreas. I told him ,right now I am working with the person who created my pancreas. There is a need to declare our faith verbally .
An hypothetical story …Just assume you are a wealthy person having lot of business , you are highly merciful & charitable.
The whole world knows about your charity. You are going to kerala for a vacation like a king. The place where you stay is a place of Christian community and there are some tribal areas near to your village. These low caste people are basically labourers. These people have been serving your community since generations with hard labour in the fields .You know how they charge very high for a day’s labour ( Rs 800 or more). There is a gap and separation with them since generations. These tribals are basically pagans, idol worshippers etc. The news of your coming gets spread in the tribal areas as well. There is a labourer named Papi pelayan with a wife and 10 children. He has been at the peak of poverty and lack. The whole family blames him and calls him as cursed . Nothing he does turns out to be good. His family is having adverse debt beyond a level that he can never ever pay in his lifetime. Life is a hell for him. He has heard of your charitable nature, but somehow couldn’t meet you all these years. He has been enquiring with everyone about your arrival. You never visit these tribal areas due to a gap and separation. Papi pelayan is determined to meet you somehow this time. You try to pass by that area very candidly, but the news of your presence has been already spread. When he heard that you are near his area, he comes running from afar to meet you. Finally he manages to reach you and falls on his feet. He cries out loudly for your mercy. Notice he is not conscious about any borders or gap with your clan . He doesn’t know that as a conmmunity law, a low caste is not supposed to interact with you. He is not bothered about any of this, he just knows that you are merciful and you can meet his needs. He doesn’t bother the rules, his position, his religion and anything. He has blind faith in you as a person and is confident that you can solve his problem. He tells you his problem and requests for help. You keep silent for a while . Your brothers come and tell you to sent that guy away & he is unnecessarily troubling you-“ Sent him away .You tell him in reply , “ I have come only to help my own brothers who are weak,not tribals like you.” He says that ,” I am also like your servant and I know that my master will show mercy to a poor servant like me.”
Suddenly you pull out a bag full of money and give it to him.
Imagine , another approach by this person Papi pelayan. He is a bit rough and tells you , Me and my people have been serving you for past two decades. I have come to request my benefits for serving you unconditionally for a long time and my family is in debt. In reply ,You would say, " don’t try to speak me into laws or rules , we have been paying your wages for all the work you have done then and there, at that time itself. You would sent him away empty handed. We are sometimes like this in our approach to God . His self righteous faith – now in the second approach ,was trying to justify himself- but if he believed in his master who could justify and reward him, actually that kind of faith would have been counted as right.
Romans 4:4-5 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
Jesus has commended about great faith with two people in the bible - the Cananite woman and the Centurian .A preacher once said ,there is a common factor between these two and if you understand that factor, you can understand the secret of great faith. We know one is woman & other a man; one is a military guy and other a homemaker.
Both of them were gentiles, not Jews , both of them never knew about the 10 commandments, torah or the prophets. They were not Law conscious and didn’t bring any of their self righteouness. They blindly believed that Jesus had the power to Heal. They were Jesus conscious. They were not Faith conscious and were not aware about their faith. They believed that Jesus would be Faithful. When you become Jesus conscious, then Jesus will turn around and say- “Great is your faith. “ Both of them had a humble nature.
As Romans 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
This lady was considered like a gentile or a Dog. She was not circumcised. But if we truly observe a dog, its man’s best friend ,faithful among all animals. Observe their eyes , Can you see an eagerness to love, always having a hope that its master will provide. It is full of love.
Her faith was completed by her hope that God can only heal her daughter. This Hope came out of her love and eagerness for her daughter. Due to this love she could bear all insults. 1 Cor 13:7, about love
Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Opposite of faith is Fear.
We know 1 john 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Which means perfect love brings in Faith.That is why God wants us to believe , so that perfect love is displayed, casting out all fear & bring faith. ,.followed by covenant, signs miracles & wonders