How To Activate Your Faith

It is both/and: Believing and Active response.

b. Exemplification: Prove it.

Hebrews 11 proves what I am saying here about faith. IT proves that it is both action and belief.

1. “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man.” (Hebrew 11:4).

In Genesis 4 Abel offered the best he had to give because he believed in and was responding to his provider. It’s both/and. Belief and active response.

2. “By faith Enoch was taken from this life… without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:5–6).

Enoch believed in God and He actively responded to Him by seeking Him. Belief and Response.

3. “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” (Hebrews 11:7).

Noah believed in God and He actively responded by being obedient to His directions to build an ark.

4. I encourage you to go through the over 20 examples given through out this chapter of faith in Hebrews 11 and see how everyone mentioned as being faithful were people who believed and were also active.

They had a belief that was made known as they responded to God in action pleasing to Him.

c. Accentuation: Clinch it: emphasize the truth.

If we desire to activate our faith as Christians we need to look closely at the things we dare say we believe.

Example 1:

I for one believe that God is going to grow this church. What’s the response?

I invite, I reach out, I share the gospel, I meet the needs of people, I relate to people, I share the excitement I have for what is happening here at NCofG.

But I do all of this, not because I’m doing for doing sake… not because I desire to attain some numeric or material goal. I do this because I believe that God desires to grow this church.

Example 2:

I believe that God calls me to love . What’s my response to that belief?

I talk to you, I look for ways in which I can comfort you, I tell you I love you, Maybe I give you a hug, I pray with and for you, I love people that are not loveable in my eyes, I treat them with respect and honor.

I do all this, not because I feel that this proves I’m a Christian or makes me a better Christian. I do this because I believe in God and seek to respond to Him in ways that I know please Him.

Example 3:

I believe that God desires me to love Him with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind. What is my response to this belief?

I talk with him through prayer, I spend time with Him learning who He is through Scripture, I praise Him for all of His Glory, His Wonder, I do all things in order that He might be glorified in my life.

I do this for no other reason than the fact that I want to respond to Him.

That’s the type of faith that is needed. A faith that is both/and.

I think that a great exercise for all of us in this new year to take part in for the activation of our faith is to ask similar questions to what I have been asking myself. We should sit down and meditate concerning the things we believe God desires. And then ask ourselves the question, “What is my response to that belief that I have?”