The Power of Faith
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
What is the power that comes though our faith in the Lord? God is not pleased unless we have faith to be obedient to his will. If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14: verse 15). But does obedience have any effect on the power we receive from faith? How is faith related to our motivation to minister to this world, study God’s Word, pray, and fellowship with other Christians? Could faith be the catalyst that unites all aspects of our Christian life?
We will now look and see that without faith we never grow spiritually and our walk may be nothing more than works to ease our conscious. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19) We study the Word and know God reveals his love for us by sending his Son to the cross with our sins, and this is the beginning of God’s love in our hearts. However this love starts out as a primer for spiritual growth, and without spiritual growth this love lies dormant in our heart.
Spiritual growth is based on God’s character, giving and receiving, which defines all creation. For example, the oceans give up moisture to make clouds, and the clouds bring rain on the land creating streams and rivers that feed back into the ocean. It is the same for us, we give and receive, we reflect Christ to others and we receive from God. Spiritual growth comes from the Word, Prayer, Christian fellowship, and obedience. So how does faith play into our spiritual growth?
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Our faith will never appear in our heart without knowing God and his promise from his Word. But this alone will not cause faith to grow or spiritual growth. We study the Word to change our thinking, but we serve the Lord to change our heart. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. (First John 2:3) This is where faith is needed, to serve the Lord and letting God change our heart.
We step out in faith ministering to people, getting to know them and revealing a compassionate and helping heart enabled through the Spirit. As we continue ministering God’s love and compassion pours out of our heart, and we start to identify with the heart and emotions Jesus reveals as he ministered. This identifying our heart and emotions with Jesus heart and emotions has a heart changing effect on us, and drives us closer to the Lord seeking his guidance and strength. This heart change results in a great need for his Word, prayer, and Christian fellowship. These becomes of paramount importance because we realize we are spiritually ineffective without the Word, prayer, and our Christian brothers and sisters. This is where we receive from God and ministering to others is where we give.
It is faith that allows us to follow the Spirit in ministering to others which changes our heart. We cannot know the heart of Jesus if we minister in our own guidance and strength. Only the Spirit can guide us on a path to a changed heart. Pray for faith because it leads to the heart of Jesus, a heart filled with love and compassion, which is the power that comes from faith.
Today exercise your faith by trusting the Lord to guide you by the Spirit. Slow down inside and notice people, and seek opportunities to be encouraging and Christ-like. Spend time in prayer that will open doors for opportunities to bring Christ to needy souls. Always be active in your ministry just a Jesus showed us in his Word, and search for souls to minister.
Prayer: Lord open doors that I might be an encouraging light for Christ to someone today. Increase the love in my heart that I may see people as you see them, and increase my desire to meditate on your Word, to call on you in prayer and seek fellowship with my Christian brothers and sisters. Thank you Lord for changing me, molding me, and disciplining me, to become more Christ-like and a better witness for Christ. In Jesus name, Amen