THEME: STANDING IN FAITH
LESSON: Five
TOPIC: FAITH AND ITS CORRESPONDING WORKS
TEXT: Mark 11:23-24; Romans 10:9-10; James 2:14-26; 1 Cor 16:13
MEMORY TRACK:
In our last study, we learnt that the cycle of faith-exercise is completed when accompanied with corresponding actions. We saw that our confession is what brings our faith to reality. An example of such is the twelve spies that were sent by Moses to scout the Promised Land. Two kinds of companies were produced; one of faith and the other of unbelief, which is a product of the words of their mouth. They received of the Lord according to their confession. Therefore, the power of life and death lies in the tongue.
Faith and corresponding action:
Faith without its corresponding action is dead because the cycle of faith is not completed or aborted when our faith is not backed up with corresponding action(s).
Building up your Faith by confession:
It is stated in the scripture that every believer has a measure of faith (Romans 12:3; 2Cor 10:15). This faith can grow bigger and can diminish depending on what we do with it. One of the ways we grow our faith is by confessing the word of God with regards to what we are believing God for. Our faith grows as the word of God grows in our mouth and our faith diminishes as the word diminishes from our mouth. Even when our faith is not strong enough to face certain mountains, we must maintain the attitude of faith confession until our faith is strong enough to receive what we desire of God.
Speaking unto the mountain (Mark 11:23):
One of the things that must be clear to us is that every mountain has ears, and those ears are opened to faith. As immovable as a mountain appears to be, the only thing that can move it is the confession of faith. When the word of God flows from our mouth, it causes the immovable to be moved and cast into the sea. The word of God is the changer that does not change.
Sowing into the spirit by confession (Gal 6:7):
The scripture says, whatsoever a man sows he will reap. We must also learn to sow the seed of faith into our life by confession. Anything we sow into our life by confession is what we end up possessing.
Pulling down Strong Holds and imagination by Confession (2 Cor 10:1-5):
We have gathered so much knowledge from different quarters and through experiences of life. This experiences/knowledge often turns into stronghold that render faith-exercise useless because they are not borne out of the word of God. These strongholds often weaken our faith and cause us to lose battles. One of the ways by which we pull down these strongholds is by confession.
Whatsoever He tells You Do (John 2:1-5):
One of the basic principles of faith is yielding to the instruction of the Lord. It might be necessary atimes to both say to the mountain and hear what the Lord is saying about the mountain.
The prayer of faith also requires us to hear what the Lord is saying concerning a situation. And when we yield to such instructions, regardless of how foolish it seems, the resultant effect is great. If we do not follow the instruction of the Lord concerning situations of life, our confession will be ineffective.
Obedience, the work of faith (Romans 16:25-26):
One of the corresponding actions of faith is obedience to the instructions of the Lord with regards to what we are trusting him for. Abraham believed God and was counted unto him for righteous. We noticed through the scripture that every time God spoke to Abraham, a substance of faith is birthed, and this is accomplished by a corresponding action (Gen 15, 17, 21). We also saw that the faith of Rahab, the harlot, was accompanied by a corresponding action. She hid the spies from being lynched by the men of Jericho because she believed that the city would be overturned (Heb 11:31). This is a corresponding action.
Walking in Wisdom:
Another work of faith is walking in wisdom in relation to natural laws that work when they are obeyed. For instance, the principle of sowing (giving) is a corresponding action that should precede our faith. We also need to understand some basic principles of how to live a sickness free life such as eating to live. Many believers are walking in the reverse order to this by subjecting their body to abuse through the things they allow to go into their system. Many people eat not only because of hunger but to satisfy the gratification of the flesh which in turn negates faith exercise (1 Cor 6:12-13).
Walking in the reality of answers to Prayer (Number 14:7-9):
Another corresponding action that should accompany our faith-exercise is engaging our imagination rightly according to God’s word, to envision or see with our inner eyes the reality of God’s promises for us in life. This often come when our heart is filled with the word of God to the extent of creating a vivid reality of answers to prayer according to the word of God. This is one of the ways to make our mind fruitful.
Thanksgiving, the highest corresponding action of faith (Philippians 4:6):
Thanksgiving is both a kind of prayer and an attitude. Thanksgiving is the number one sign that we believe God hears us when we pray. It is an attitude that we must possess and arm ourselves with to live a victorious Christian life. The opposite of thanksgiving is complaining and murmuring about what the Lord has not done. If you truly believe, you will give thanks. Thanksgiving is not what we do because it is convenient but because that is the commandment of the Lord to us as believers (Col 4:2, 1Thess. 5:18, Heb 13:15)