Concerning Faith
Concerning Faith
by Pastor Sam Livingston
Praise the name of Jesus!
Faith can be duplicated, demonstrated, get dilapidated but should never get outdated. Faith activates our movement throughout the Body of Christ. Think about it, we can not physically touch or see Jesus so our communication with him is based on our faith. Even if we could touch him physically, our results would still be based on our faith.
Take the woman with the issue of blood for instance in the gospel of Luke. This woman was able to press through the crowd as a last resort to get to Jesus. She believed that if she could just get close enough to Jesus something had to happen. After the woman’s desperate touch, “*Jesus said who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, who touch me? And Jesus said, somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately (Luke 8:45-47). The scripture said that “she declared unto him” in other words she came clean before Jesus and everybody that was around and explained her situation. This woman validated her reasoning for pressing her way to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Jesus pinpointed who touched him and concluded the setting by saying “*Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace”. Even though she saw him, touched him, spoke to him, she smelled him and heard him it was her faith that made her whole(well). This is where we start this faith session.
Demonstration
Before you we have some dirt, fig seeds, a fig tree and some figs. We shall use this to demonstrate the process of faith. All of us want the blessing from God but how do we get from where we are to where we desire to be. We begin by understanding the process of faith. Take the fig seed and the dirt for instance neither need the other one to remain in its current status. The seed don’t need anything to remain a seed. The dirt does not need a thing to remain the dirt. However, if there is going to be a fig tree produced, the dirt needs the seed and the seed needs the dirt. This however is only the beginning of the process. Sometimes we as Christians stop at receiving the Word like the seed and the dirt coming together. Receiving the word is only the beginning! Romans 10:17 say “so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith is introduced to us by the preaching and the teaching of the Word of God. When the seed and the dirt come together, it still needs some more elements to move the process of growing the tree along. The dirt must be watered and keep at a certain temperature for the seed to sprout and develop into a blade, a twig and on to a fig tree. Likewise, when we come together with the Word, there is another element that must come into the picture to sustain and further our spiritual growth. That element is FAITH! Faith waters and sustains what we hear in the Word so that we can believe it and receive it.
Definition of Faith
As we attempt to define faith, we should be challenged to dig real deep in our quest for personal definitions. Your current personal definition may be slightly different from mine at the moment. A general definition of faith can be the following;
Webster;
Confident, belief in the truth, value or trustworthiness. Belief not based on logical proof or material evidence. A system of religious beliefs or a set of principals.
Bible;
“Faith is the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1)
Webster’s definition implies that faith is a system of beliefs and should not be based on what we think. Stop thinking so much and let God be God! The Bible’s definition is based on the evidence of hope and not what we can see. So then, as we ponder on the word faith, our marbles keeps rolling back to what we believe and how long it takes us to get to the point of believing. The one thing that we must all understand is that faith for the average Christian is like the gas needle on your vehicle. The more you drive your vehicle the needle moves away from full and closer to empty. Likewise, the more we live our faith level is subject to move towards empty if we fail to continue to build it with Godly spiritual growth.
Substance on the other hand takes up space, mass and can be perceived by our senses. To extend the definition even more, faith enables us to create the substance(thing) we hope for by simply believing in what we do not have at the moment. In other words, faith in us creates a space for God to manifest our hope that even the unbeliever can be a witness in the power of God.
Evidence of Faith
Recalling the dictionary’s definition of faith we found that it was defined as Belief not based on logical proof or material evidence. A believer must be able to see it before it appears, touch it before it becomes tangible or Smell it before any scent becomes detectable.
In order to confidently deal with this area, we must first understand what we mean by evidence. Evidence has to do with the data one collects to form a conclusion. If I say that I am a master carpenter, somebody should be able to inspect my work to validate that I am what I say I am. The results of the inspection should support my claim of being a master carpenter. This is why the Lord checks our faith first! God answers our prayers in his time simply to see if we mean what we say. Will we truly wait until our changes come? Remember from the words of Smith Wigglesworth “only melted gold is minted”. This is what true faith causes us to do, our existing form is destroyed, our way of thinking is destroyed, the method of how we believe is changed even our spiritual filters are thickened.
The apostle Paul told the church at Ephesus “Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us,” (Ephesians 3:20). What causes the power to work in us, FAITH. So then, faith becomes evident when we exemplify the power of God!
Paul wanted to remind the church at Ephesus that there is nothing too hard for God. This passage of scripture takes us right back to the definition that our belief should not be based on logic or material evidence. Our belief should be based on God’s unlimited power and our limited power. We can’t even imagine what God have in store for us if we walk upright before him.
Our faith becomes evident when;
* We think outside of the box(church belief)
* We truly take God at His Word
* We expect abundance
* We walk the walk and talk the talk
* We can take chastisement
* We can take ridicule
* We move when the cloud move
* We can stand still when others think we should react
* We can genuinely love our enemies
* We can forgive and forget
* We can be faithful to and unfaithful spouse
* We can live a life of contentment
These are just a drop in the bucket for items that highlights the evidence of our faith. When onlookers can identify our faith, they will flock to us and the church which becomes very pleasing to God. I close this section with this scripture; “But as it is written, eyes hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. (I Cor 2:9).
Copyright 2006. All rights reserved
Pastor Sam Livingston is a seasoned pastor, lecturer, teacher and Author of “The Essentials of Fellowship”. He is married to Meraldine Hicks Livingston and blessed to have two children, Sammy K Livingston Jr. and Candace I Livingston. Pastor Livingston is a graduate of NC A&T State University; B.S., Webster University; Business Administration, MA and he is a student at Luther Rice Seminary’s Master of Divinity program. Total Package Ministry airs via television bi-weekly throughout Coastal South Carolina. He thanks God for the opportunity to carry the healing ministry to a hurting nation.
