FAITH - GO THE BOLD
Mark 11:22 (GW)
22 Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God!
This is astonishing - we cannot be complacent about faith.
Faith is not a creed. Faith is an action, a verb. We have a choice; dwell on the negative and fall into complaining, or activate faith and be confident.
We all have circumstances in our lives that have diminished our faith. But the problem is not the problem. The problem is how we respond to these challenges. You don't need faith when all is well. You need faith when all is wrong!
Thanksgiving is the language of victors. Complaining is the language of victims. Everything in life will try and switch off your faith. Your job is to switch it back on Focus on the promises of God. Faith creates that atmosphere where God moves.
The health of your entire world depends on your choice to believe. Faith is a conductor of the power of God. Unbelief is an insulator against the power of God.
Unbelief is a mindset. There are low times for all of us. They can last for longer than we want. Faith lifts you above your circumstances. If you feel like you're stuck in a tomb, roll the stone away. Walk out.
Having faith in God alters our self-perception. We see ourselves as not adequate for life. But God says, yes you are, yes you can and yes you will. In the Old Testament we read that when Sarah was past child bearing age God told Sarah and Abraham that they would have a child. Neither of them believed that was possible. There was no way in their natural abilities they could achieve such a thing, BUT GOD!
Numbers 13:33 talks about the Israelites seeing themselves through the eyes of their enemies, gigantic warriors – When we look at ourselves through the eyes of others we end up comparing ourselves with them. You need to know you are accepted by God. God has big lands for each of us to occupy and they have giants in them. Take up the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God). Be bold. Believe. It takes time for circumstances to shift, but they will. Disbelieve every negative thing. The way you see yourself is the way you will behave.
Colossians 1:22 tells us we are holy in His sight. In this life are we ever holy and blameless ? We are not everything we should be, but we are not what we used to be. God chooses not to focus on our sin and shortcomings, but all that we are in His Son, Jesus Christ.
In Numbers 23:21 we read that God had not observed iniquity in Israel, even though they had done some terrible things, totally offensive to God, but He chose to not focus on Israel’s iniquity. Similarly God chose not to focus on Abraham’s and Sarah’s unbelief after promising them a child. Where the devil will try and ‘rub it in’ Jesus came to 'rub it out'.
See you in church!
