Four Characteristics of Faith

Last summer (2012) I taught a class called “Communion with God” through Solid Rock Ministry Training School. There were 15 students in the class, all hungry to know God more and deepen their relationship with Him. I couldn’t ask for a greater environment as week in and week out we encountered God in a unique way. If you are in the Milwaukee area and are looking to do the same, Solid Rock is the place for you. Our desire is to lay foundational teaching for a passionate relationship with Jesus as well as to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

I want to take a few moments to give you snapshot into a particular topic that we talked about during our class, and something that has been incredibly powerful for me personally. 

Note: For this to be especially useful to you, I recommend taking time to look up the verses. There is a lot more that could be said about each characteristic, but I have chosen to make each as simple and concise as possible!

The following are four Characteristics of Faith:

1. Faith is aggressive in it’s appearance (Mt. 11:12). What I mean by this is when people saw Jesus, they would often do things they had never done before, and probably would never do if not for His presence. The Woman with the issue of blood pushed through a crowd just to touch His garment believing she would be healed (Lk. 8:43-48). Four men with a paralyzed friend could not get to Jesus because of the crowds so they decided to cut a hole in the roof of Jesus’ home just to lower their friend in on a bed so He could be healed (Mk. 2:1-12). Faith is always accompanied by willingness to do what has not been done before, for the sake of receiving what couldn’t be received without it. "Faith is spelled R-I-S-K" -John Wimber
2. Faith is submissive in its attitude (Mt. 11:28). Faith does not come by exercising extraordinary will, it comes through a surrender to the finished work of Christ. As you rest in Jesus' finished work, works of faith become a natural and consistent occurrence in your life. Those who act aggressively out of faith do so because of the internal surrender to the truth of His greatness and acknowledgment of their powerlessness without Him (Mt. 5:3, Jn. 15:5).
3. Faith is affectionate in its conduct (Js. 2:14-17, 1 Jn. 3:16-18). “Faith works through love” (Gal. 5:6). Works of faith are meant to be expressions of love – not just another accolade to decorate your ministry career. “The aim of our charge is love that issues from… a sincere faith.” (1 Tim. 1:5). When love is our motivation, faith will move mountains.
4. Faith is Vocal in its expression (2 Cor. 4:13). Jesus taught that the mouth is the place of overflow from the heart (Mt. 12:34). Those who have faith in their hearts cannot help but release it in their words. A vital part of every believer’s life is grasping the significance of confessing truth, because the demonstration of the Spirit follows the declaration of the believer. This is foundational when learning how to exercise the authority we have in Christ through faith.

These four characteristics of faith are not comprehensive. They are simply things I have found to be true in the word of God that I have applied practically to my life.  I hope they are just as helpful to you.

Be Blessed!

Andrew

PS - Any and all comments are appreciated! I'd love to hear what the Lord is speaking to you as you read through this - I learn a lot myself from it!

The Battle for Your Mind!

One of my primary responsibilities as a pastor is to empower the family of God to grow up in all things into Him who is the head – into Christ (Eph. 4:15). More than a responsibility, it is a great passion for my life – I want to see the people of God walking in their destiny. One of the many avenues that I get the privilege of doing that is through writing, hence these blogs. I appreciate you taking the time to read them, and even more that you apply these things to your life! (3 Jn. 4)

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If every promise in the bible is for the believer (which it is), and you were the enemy, what would you try to scramble? If you answered the belief system of the believer, you are correct.

There are two elements that are at play every time a promise of God is realized in a person's life:

1. The promise given by God
2. Belief in the promise by the believer

Because the promises of God cannot be changed or altered in any way, the enemy goes after your belief system – in other words, he seeks to wholly corrupt your mind through deception.

The battleground of the Christian life is largely in our minds. As I pointed out in my last blog, God wants us “to change the way we see things until His Kingdom fills our consciousness” (Mt. 4:17). Satan’s objective is literally the opposite in that he wants our minds fully given over to his kingdom; and he has been working tirelessly towards that end for Millennia.

I say this to make you aware of the war that is being waged over your life at this very moment – the likelihood that Satan has strategies in place working to scramble your belief system right now is extremely high. Why? Because if he can somehow keep you from believing that God's promises are for you, then they will never be experienced and appreciated by you. Some reading this may not think that's all that big a deal, but do not be fooled – failing to realize the promises of God in your life come at the high cost of your life.

This begs the question, what are you doing now to hinder what the enemy is seeking to do? Hopefully you have some solid answers to this question. Either way, I will provide a few that will be helpful to you below:

1. Spend time seeking God through His Word today. The Word of God is given to us in order to shape and mold our belief system. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we become more convinced of heavenly things than we do anything else. That is to say that the Word of God has been given to you as your primary weapon to protect the promises of God on your life.
2. Spend time thanking God for His promises to you. You will be glad you did, because thankfulness positions you to realize what God has already promised you. In John 11, Jesus first thanked His Father for hearing Him before He made the command that raised Lazarus from the dead. Never underestimate the value that thankfulness plays in realizing God's promises! (For another powerful example, meditate on the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17).
3.  Spend all your time walking by faith. In other words, learn to value what God says over what anything else seems to be saying. By doing so you declare to the enemy that neither he nor your circumstances have dominion over you, the promises of God do. If you learn to do this you will learn what it looks like to walk victoriously through every season of life, I promise you.

Be Blessed!

Andrew

(As always, any and all comments are welcomed below. I would particularly love to hear any other answers that you have in mind in regards to that last question! Also, if this blog blesses you in any way, please share it with others via facebook/twitter/etc.)

A Contagion in the Church?

There is a contagion (a harmful or corrupting influence with the tendency to spread) in the church today. It has been slowly devouring God’s people – leaving them depressed, powerless, and without genuine purpose. The sad thing is that most have not perceived it. Instead, they have simply received its effects as if that’s just the way it is supposed to be. The contagion I am speaking of is none other than a distorted Gospel.

This distorted Gospel is preached from our pulpits and propagated through our small groups. Its effects are more serious and more far-reaching than we would ever give it credit. Its external effects are unmistakable because it is first pervasive in our thinking. This has been the aim of the enemy from day one: to distort the Gospel and rob its power to transform every part of a person’s life – beginning with their perspective.

Jesus’ first message was aimed at our perspective (“repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” [Mt. 4:17]). Repentance, simply put, is a change in perspective. What Jesus is calling us to do is to change the way we see things until His Kingdom fills our consciousness. When we see and believe the Gospel rightly, it will have its intended effect on the whole person!

The distorted Gospel is taught in such a way that sin fills our consciousness.  This causes us to become more aware of the potential for sin than we are of the already finished work of Christ (Jn. 19:30). When this happens we lose sight of our value to God and put on a false identity – something the bible calls “the old self” (Col. 3:9), out of which wickedness flows as a natural consequence.

But God did not fearfully and wonderfully make us so that we would live perpetually under the effects of a sinful nature (a false identity). He made us in His image – to be an expression of His glory on the earth (our true identity)! It was for this purpose that He died – to restore that which was lost (Lk. 19:10)! He has now separated our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12)! In doing so He made provision to get sin off of us so that the truth about who He created us to be would manifest itself! You are now commanded to reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus! Come on, admit it – that just makes you free!

We are to preach and teach the Gospel of the Kingdom so that our perspective shifts towards Jesus (Acts 26:18) and not towards sin. Doing so will bring us into a God consciousness – a great place to be! When this happens, we are “renewed in the spirit of our minds” and put on “the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24), where sin is not named amongst us and good works become a natural consequence (Eph. 2:10, Titus 2:14).

This blog is already too long, so I’ll just leave you with a few questions in light of the things above (I encourage you to not ask yourself these things. Ask the Holy Spirit!):

• Am I primarily living from a sin consciousness or a God consciousness?
• What do you want to reveal to me about the power of the Gospel that will transform the way I see things today?

Be Blessed!

Andrew

(As Always, your thoughts are appreciated below in the comments section)

A Resolution Towards Your Resolutions

It’s a well-known tradition to make a resolution going into the New Year. A resolution, by definition, is “a course of action determined or decided upon; a firm determination or resolve”. While I am not against resolutions, I am against waiting until New Years to make any (but don't not make any on New Year's either!) Having said that, I do want to encourage anyone reading this to make a resolution in regards to your resolutions with me.

Resolutions by nature initiate change where change is honestly needed. We have all made them (whether we know it or not). In fact, our culture is full of people who gladly sign the proverbial dotted-line during this time of year on a new resolution that they hope will fulfill their expectations of a “better life”. Those resolutions consist of everything from working out more in order to shave off a few unwanted pounds, to spending more time with family and friends.

Many of the common resolutions people make in light of creating a “better life” for themselves can be great things, and I’m not here to tell anyone to stop making them. Today I simply want to challenge you to approach this year of resolutions differently: Let’s not make today about a resolution that will fulfill our expectations for a “better life”; instead let us resolve ourselves to make a year’s worth of resolutions based upon God’s expectations for a surrendered life. After all, Jesus did not come to give us a “better life” according to our expectations, but rather to exemplify the surrendered life according to His Father’s expectations.

“...the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (Jn. 5:19)

“I seek not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.” (Jn. 5:30)

“…for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him [the Father].” (Jn. 8:29)

Here are the first of my resolutions for 2013:

• To pursue God beyond any pursuit of Him I have had in the past.
• To make room for an insatiable hunger for His presence moment by moment.
• To never make excuses for powerlessness in my life.

We have been given life in order that we would bear the image of the Eternal God. This year I want my resolutions to be motivated to that end. I hope you do too!

Be Blessed!

Andrew

(If you have any resolutions that you want to share, please post them below in the comments section. I would love to hear and be inspired by any resolutions that you have made!)