Faith Boost

Hello Family!

We sort of took a little break from our theme of overcoming this week. The reason I say sort of is the same reason love God and love people are the two most important commandments; the effects of faith when it comes to overcoming is the same as the effects of loving God and people - victory and obeying the rest of the commandments are respectively inevitable.

Let's just say this week we took an alternative route on our journey of overcoming.

So what is faith?

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the [a]substance [footnote: realization] of things hoped for, the [b]evidence [footnote: confidence] of things not seen. [Faith makes hope substantiative; faith adds value to our hope]

Why is faith important?

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for [synonyms: because, considering, since] he who comes to God must believe that He is [faith is based on the belief that God exists and you wouldn't go to God if you didn't believe in Him], and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him [the experiences of those who diligently sought God (like those listed in verses 4, 5, and 7) proved that God was pleased with them. So faith is important because it pleases God; we understand that it pleases Him because we know that God desires a relationship with us all and we have seen what happens when we seek God (hence Matthew 6:33)].

Who is faith for and how is it applied?

Hebrews 10:36-38

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry [In other words, God is coming soon and He will not be late]. Now the just shall live by [synonyms: by means of, through, support of] faith [as the just, your lifestyle should be fueled by your faith]; But if anyone draws back [goes back to the lifestyle they left], My soul has no pleasure in him.”

How much faith was I given?

Romans 12:3

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. [Everyone is given something. What you end up with depends on what you've done with your allowance.]

Faith is the Currency of the Kingdom

Currency: circulation [movement] as a medium [or means] of exchange [transaction]

Currency requires action or movement in order to keep its value and to remain in the flow of the system of money. In the same way that the world we live in has its systems of constant transactions, so does the Kingdom of God. Faith exchanges happen all the time in different ways, and just as currency can get different things based on its value and where it's being used, your faith transactions can yield different results depending on where you are. 

What I took away from this was to not let anyone discredit my faith moves because we may not be in the same season, and perhaps my transactions are acceptable forms of "currency" in this season but is foreign in the season of the person who is trying to discredit my payment. It works vice versa; we cannot discredit the currency (or faith) exchanges that others are making. At the same time, we shouldn't shortchange ourselves by using another season's currency in this season.

The same way we use both dollars and cents (some of us will go back to pick up the quarter we saw on the ground. why? because it has value and enough of them will make dollars), we should be able to go to God with both the "big" and the "small" things in our lives without a tally system of how much we're "bothering" God.

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Side Note:
What is tithing?
Tithing is giving God 10% of whatever income you receive.
What is an offering?
An offering is not your tithe. It is whatever additional money you feel moved to give.

Following the system of tithing is an indication that you are allowing God to be involved and have His hand in your finances/financial situation. This is a faith transaction; it is trusting God to hold up His end of the deal by rebuking [punishment, disapproval] "the devourer [the enemy] for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, ”says the Lord of hosts... [Malachi 3:11]

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There is power in disagreement: We often hear, when people ask for prayer, that they want us to come into agreement with their prayer, which is fine. However, there are some lies that the devil tells us and sometimes that we and the rest of the world tell ourselves, and those are the things we have to disagree with because it disconnects you from whatever the lie is.

Jesus gave us an example in Matthew 4 of what to do with those often enticing lies: 

Disagree + Resist

Thing is, the only way you would have known that is if you had the Word in you. "Praise confuses the enemy. The Word makes him flee." As seen in 2 Chronicles 20:22, as the people sang and praised, God was able to set ambushes against the enemy (the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir) and as they ended up killing each other #confusion. James 4:7 tells us that if we resist the devil, he will flee. The best way, as Jesus showed, to resist the devil is to use the Word (Deuteronomy) against him. 

Faith comes by hearing (general: spiritual teaching, wise counsel, testimony, etc.), and by hearing the Word of God || Fear comes by hearing & seeing

The Story of Joshua & Caleb: Numbers 13:1-2, 17-33, and 14:1-9 [I don't want this to be too long  and Pastor read it aloud, so I won't copy the whole thing here, but I REALLY encourage you all to read it again on your own...after all, this is Bible study]

Points from the scriptures that Pastor touched on:

• The reason fear comes by hearing & seeing: the spies went and saw giants in the land, were intimidated by them, came back, reported that they saw the giants, and the congregation wept and were afraid. The spies saw and were afraid; the congregation heard and was afraid.

• "The enemy gets us by dressing up as something we're afraid of." Discernment eliminates deceit. Be not deceived, it's a setup.

• "This isn't your first time seeing a giant; it may be your first time seeing this giant, but you've seen one before." Because it didn't take you out, I think it's safe to assume you've/we've also seen giants fall and this one can, too.

• Delight is reciprocal. Delight is when God's purpose, resolve [decision, intention], and choice are in view. Numbers 14:8 says, "If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’" When God sees His purpose in creating us, is reminded that He intentionally chose us, and is pleased by us because of our faith, the land flowing [continuous] with milk and honey can be in our foreseeable future. 

The last metaphor mentioned was in relation to the connection of a phone. A phone on 1% when plugged in is much less stressful than a phone that is on 1% that isn't plugged in. One is going to die and the other almost died. It is the same condition, but the connection is different. "Even when you're low, when you're connected, there's no fear." #PlugIn

Beware: Do not connect to a plug that does not support the health of your battery. Though it may charge your battery now; it will have long term negative effects.

Sometimes we have to choose to be charged or to be comfortable. Everything is not within arm's reach. Some things require you to get up [out of the comfort zone] in order to get connected.

Til next time,

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