10th September, 2023
THEME: UNDERSTANDING FAITH: Harnessing the power of Faith in the name of Jesus Christ for Our victory over demons and devils!
LESSON: Three
TEXT: Romans 1:17, Romans 10:17, 2Corinthians 5:7 Hebrews 11:1, Mark 11:22-24
MEMORY TRACK
In our last lesson, we learnt by the grace of God that the name of Jesus is the ultimate name that God has given Him above all spirits (good and fallen). Jesus declared that all power in heaven and earth was given to Him when He rose from the dead. He then commanded the disciples to go and teach all nations His name.
The names are secret to exercising spiritual authority against all evil spirit in their various categories.
The name of the Holy Ghost gives us right to cast out demons and heal the sick. But the name of the Son and the Father are used to deal with the spirits of disobedience (principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places).
It was clearly stated that Jesus has given authority over all these spirits to the church, as we come into different allocation of these name (by growing spiritually in obedience to the Lord). Most importantly we were taught that the name of the Holy Ghost is for all believers at every level of growth which we are qualified to use because we are born again.
WHAT IS FAITH (MILK or BEGINNING FAITH)?
In order to keep within the boundaries of the burden for this Sunday School series, we shall be constraining our discussion of faith to MILK FAITH.
WHAT IS FAITH? (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is not an alien concept to humanity. In truth, unbelievers and believers alike use faith in their lives daily. The unsaved fellow uses natural human faith, which is just their belief in a thing without all the verification, (e.g., the way we all sat down in our chairs without checking if they can actually support our weight). This is merely believing with our heads.
Milk faith, however, speaks of not just believing in things but believing in our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:1-2). The beginner’s faith is not directed to things but to the person of our Lord and what He has said and done. This faith is a major component in the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ. It is also described as faith towards God (Hebrews 6:1) or faith in God (Mark 11:22).
The Bible clearly defines what this faith is: It is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is the assurance in our hearts that what we have hoped for is done! Faith here is directed towards the finished work of Jesus. We believe in the work that Jesus wrought during His earthly sojourn and we believe in His present-day ministry.
It is the assurance that what He said is so and what He did is DONE! It is good to point out that we, as believers, are not believing in our ability to believe. This is merely positive thinking (a form of natural human faith) and should not be confused with Milk Faith.
Our faith as believers, is believing in what Jesus accomplished for us with His life.
Faith versus Mental Assent (Romans 10:8-10).
Mentally assenting to something is agreeing in our heads to a thing, without actually accepting that it is applicable to us personally. A good example would be to agree that Jesus heals. Almost everyone might agree with this truth. So, when asked if Jesus is the healer, the mentally assenting person would readily answer, “Yes!”.
Faith is not just mere agreeing in our minds with what Jesus has done. We are not just mentally subscribing to certain truths. Faith is the believing with the heart of what Jesus has done. Faith would not just agree that Jesus is the healer, but would confess, believing in the heart, “Jesus HAS HEALED ME!”.
Faith versus obvious facts
Faith is not a denial of the obvious. Faith people do not bury their heads in the sand like ostriches and ignore obvious facts. Rather, faith is a conviction that the obvious facts are not unchangeable like the truth! Faith is believing in the truth more than the facts.
What is truth? The Word of God is truth! (John 17:17). In the face of obvious facts, faith believes the truth of God’s word and sticks with it in order to bring obvious facts into alignment with God’s word (Romans 3:4).
ACTING IN FAITH CHANGES CIRCUMSTANCES (Mark 16:16-18)
Faith is believing in God’s word! It is good to point out that faith is not just to deal with “serpents and scorpions” (demons) alone, but to also deal with sickness and diseases, and change circumstances (finances, situations etc.). It is by faith in God’s word, particularly in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, that we will bring contrary situations and non-conforming circumstances into subjection to the truth of God’s word.
HOW FAITH COMES (Romans 10:17)
Our believing is not based on what we choose to say God is, or what we would like Him to do. Believers Faith is anchored on the Word of God. It therefore makes sense that ignorance of God’s word, would be a great hindrance to faith!
We don’t just believe whatever we want in the name of Jesus. We need to know what the Word of God has said concerning whatever situation we are attempting to affect. The Word of God gives us an entrance into the will of God concerning any and every matter. Faith begins where the will of God is known. Once we have the word, then we can put faith to work.
CONCLUSION
Faith is a very real substance that comes into a heart via meditation on God’s word. As we keep our gaze on the word of God, faith in God’s word will rise in our hearts. Keep reading and hearing and see your faith blossom and bring contrary situations to their knees! Amen.