We will continue today with eight more things we can do by faith:
13. FAITH IS OUR SHIELD; Ephesians 6:16 makes us to understand that with the shield of faith, we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. When we get born again, we become the enemy of satan and his prime target. We become marked men and women for betraying him by moving from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Understand that MARKSMEN are MARKED MEN. So Satan launched every form of attacks, firing arrows and darts at us to injure or afflict us. But God has made provisions for our defence & protection. He has given us the SHIELD OF FAITH to quench the arrows and attacks of the enemy. Jeremiah 1:19 says, they will fight againt us but they shall not prevail against us. As believers, our lives are shielded and protected as long as we remain in Christ and abide in faith, Psalms 91:4-5. We cannot be victims except we make ourselves vulnerable.
Our shield of faith wards off the arrows that fly by day and the terrors of the night.
14. WE OVERCOME & OBTAIN VICTORIES IN LIFE BY FAITH; We win life’s battles by faith and not by doubt, anxiety, worry or fear. 1 John 5:4 says whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world, even if it is inanimate objects, how much more we His children that are precious to Him?. It is not our intelligence, wisdom, connections or prudence but our faith that help us to overcome in the battles of life.
15. WE BRING GOD INTO OUR SITUATION WHEN WE OPERATE IN FAITH; Doubt, murmuring and fear do not allow God to step into our matter. There are only two places in the Old Testament where faith was mentioned; the first place is Deuteronomy 32:20 while the second place is Habakkuk 2:4. In Deuteronomy 32:20, God was not pleased with the Israelites despite all the miracles He wrought for them from their release from slavery, to the passage through the red sea, the provision of manna in the wilderness, etc., because they did not operate in faith but in unbelief, doubt and murmuring. He described them them as a people in whom there is no faith . The result was that God said He would hide His face from them and await what their end would be, which was not palatable. In Habakkuk 2:4, the Bible says, the Just shall live by his faith. When you don’t operate in faith, God hides His face from you, but when you operate in faith, God shows up and intervene in your matter.
16. OUR LIVES PAN OUT ACCORDING TO OUR LEVEL OF FAITH; Mathew 8:13 makes it clear that the miracles we will experience will be as we have believed. We set the boundaries/ limit and how far God can go in the affairs of our lives by our level of faith. Mathew 9:28-29. The blind man believed God for his sight and it was done unto him according to his FAITH.
17. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO USE OUR FAITH TO CALM THE STORMS OF OUR LIVES; Luke 8:24-25, When storms arise in the journey of our lives, we should apply our faith to calm the storms. We should not be jittery and afraid in the face of life challenges, but rather affirm our faith. In the above text, Jesus first calmed the storm and then turned to His disciples and asked them, “Where is your faith?” The measure of faith that you received when you got born again is meant for you to deploy to calm the storms of life.
18. FAITH MAKES THE BELIEVER TO BECOME INVINCIBLE; To be invincible is to be unconquerable, undefeatable and unpredictable. No situation, storm or challenge can defeat you when you are a person of faith, Mark 10:27 and Mark 9:23 make us to understand that with God all things are possible and all things are equally possible to him that believes. With faith, we resemble God in our operations and what we do and we can take on any challenge and be victorious. We can live life in the supernatural dimension when we live and walk by faith.
19. OUR DAILY NEEDS ARE MET BY FAITH; Not with worry and anxiety, Mathew 6:25-32 was Jesus’ personal sermon on worry. Those who operate in faith don’t worry about the needs and cares of this life. The faith that we have and put into action will bring in the required and needed blessings to take care of our needs. Faith with works is what we are talking about here as faith without works is dead. On the other hand, works without faith is hard labour.
20. WE RECEIVE HEALING, WELLNESS & TOTAL WHOLENESS BY FAITH; Whatever we have faith for in our health is a done deal. The Bible is replete with examples of people that exhibited faith for their healing or those of their loved ones. In Mark 2:5, Jesus saw the faith of the friends of the paralytic man and He responded by healing him. In Acts 14:7-10, Paul observed the faith of the man at Lystra that was born as a cripple from the womb and he healed him. In Mark 9:19-23, we saw the importance of the faith of the recipient of a miracle – i.e. the father of the deaf and dumb boy. In Mathew 15: 22,26 and 28, the great faith of the mother whose daughter was demon-possessed delivered the healing to her daughter. In Mathew 9:20-22, the woman with the issue of blood was healed as she touched the helm of Jesus’ garment, for she said in her heart “If only I can touch the helm of His garment, I shall be made whole” and finally in Mark 10:50-52, the blind man received his sight in response to faith as Jesus asked him, what do you want me to do for you and he replied, “that I may receive my sight”
God is going to meet us at the level of our faith in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer Points;
1. Believe God for something you desire this week and it shall be done by agreement in prayers.
2. Start the journey of faith by giving your life to Jesus if you haven’t done so yet. Say the prayer of salvation to receive your own measure of faith to live life with.
Culled from 14th June, 2020 Sunday Service by:
Rev. Tony Akinyemi
Lead Pastor, THE SHEPHERD’S FLOCK International Church