What FAITH Can Do For You
by
Pastor Gbenga Shadare
I have always loved talking about faith. Faith is not just the substance of things hoped for or the evidence of things unseen or the means through which believers obtain good report. Indeed, faith is much more than that. Faith is the basis; the foundation of our christianity. It is the vehicle through which we apprehend God and through which receive eternal rewards. Without faith we cannot please God. Without our faith we cannot totally satisfy or appease God. Faith allows us to measure up to divine expectations; its enables us to pander to the divine desires and pleasures. If we do not have faith in HIM and faith to apprehend and appropriate all the fullness of the riches God has for us, then we risk living a sub-standard life. We risk living below God's foreordained standard for us when we do not live according to our faith. Faith is the bridge we walk across to meet God on the other side, to go over to the eternal, divine end where we receive the rewards of our diligent service (Hebrew 11:6)
Today though I want us to look at another angle of faith. I was blessed, while reading this a few days ago and it totally blew my mind. In the following scriptures are contained what I have come to believe as the powerful workings and manifestations of a faith – driven life.
Let us read Hebrews 11:30 – 40
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted,[f] were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us”
1)Faith will bring down the walls of your “Jericho”.
Faith will demolish, destroy, dismantle, bulldoze and bring down all the barriers to progress, the impediments to success, the obstacles to living a life destined and ordained by God. Faith is the antidote to the limitations and the inhibitions, the hindrances, the challenges and the hurdles, the obstructions, the roadblocks, the handicaps, the difficulties, the setbacks and the restrictions to living a ZOE kind of life. Faith will procure victory over life's challenges and trials for the believer. Ask Abraham, Moses, Job, David, Daniel and the patriachs of old. Indeed, without faith our mountains cannot and would not move.
2)Faith is the security for your eternity. It is the guarantee of your salvation
There is only one way to assure our eternity. Faith is both the passport and the visa that secures our entrance into God's kingdom. Even an harlot and a prostitute or a person that is considered the dreg of society or someone without earthly goods can still earn the exclusive access and privilege into God's kingdom. All that is needed is faith. Do you believe in God? Do you have faith the He would do just as he has promised. The bible says that God is faithful in keeping His promises (Hebrews 10:23). Even God is a God of faith! And He requires that quality in humanity. The bible declares that the “just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38; Galatians 3:11; Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4) I like the rendition of the Habakkuk version, “the just shall live by his (own) faith”. In other words, you are responsible for living by your own faith. You determine your eternal destiny by your own faith. I guessed that was what happened to the other robber on the cross who said to Jesus, “Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42) and he got exactly what he requested. It's as simple as that!
3) Faith would subdue your “kingdoms”.
To subdue a kingdom means to dominate and be successful in your environment. It means having favour in the land and enjoying the blessing of your environment, living in peace and security. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are constantly engaged in a battle. This is the battle between the forces of good and evil and we are inextricably involved in this battle. It is not about whether we can opt out of it. This is called Spiritual Warfare. However, we have the comfort of scriptures in knowing that we are on the winning side. Victory is already assured even before we engage in warfare but with faith we shall obtain the victory already promised.
Many people are caught in wrong environments, wrong locations and they are unwitting victims in an unending spiral or cyle of defeat, failure and frustrations. Sometimes, this situation is entirely not of our making but we need to overcome it by our faith. Faith is what helps us to thrive whereever we live. Faith can help you right where you are, to succeed and take advantage of the surroundings where you are. It helps to remember that the kingdoms of this world is the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev 12:10). And our God is Jehovah, the man of war (Exodus 15:3) who is the Commander-in- Chief. The battle is the Lord's and our Lord is the King of Glory who is strong and mighty in battle (Psalm24:8).
4) Faith help you do the right thing (faith helps us to “work righteousnes”).
Doing the right thing requires us to have perception - to understand the situation and know what is the right thing to do. And this perception, or clarity of vision, cannot be adequately expressed without courage. Faith gives us that courage to perceive and do the right thing. Sometimes we come against things that violates our core principles and we may not be able to speak up or stand up for what we know we should. But with the conviction and power of faith, we stand up for our beliefs and consequently do the right thing. Doing the right is powered by faith! The bible says that “whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). This is a very powerful scriptural truth because it affirms the force and the potency of doing the right thing which may not be popular or politically correct but which nevertheless, is right. I love this scripture in 2 Peter 3:17 where it says we should beware of being led away with the “error of the wicked”. One of the best way, an effective antidote against being led away with the error of the wicked, is faith.
5) Faith helps us to “obtain” divine promises.
A divine promise is a divine prophecy that is waiting to come into reality, a potential picture of a future reality. Everyone has equal chances to obtain the promises of God. The promises of God are free; freely given and they are unimpeachable. They are “yea and amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). What makes a person able to appropriate these promises is faith. Faith unlocks the promises of God. With that we can lay claim to the promises which are waiting for manifestation. Because God's promises do not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11), they possess the ingredient, the ability to come into pass; however it takes the power of faith to cause them to manifest. Also, because watches over his word (his promise) to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12), God has an unyielding commitment to making sure His promises are fulfilled in us if we have the right kind of faith for it.
We have to remember too, that because promises have their own time for fulfillmen, they have to be appropriated. A promise is like a pregnancy that must be given birth to. You cannot always see the events that set a pregnancy in motion, but have to wait for 9 months to see the fulfillment. Some promises take a longer time to come into fruition and it is faith that can endure that long period of expectation. It was faith that kept Abraham and Joseph going when the promises they had was, it seemed, at the risk of not being fulfilled. Sometimes we have to suffer many things or endure challenges whilst we are waiting for the promises to c ome to pass. Without faith, we might give up but we are sustained by the power of faith at such times.
Faith keeps us going so we can endure till the fulfillment of divine promises.
6) Faith can stop the mouth of lions - or protect you in dangerous situations.
"The enemy walks about like a lion seeking those he can devour"(1 Peter 5:8) but we are counseled in the scriptures to resist him – the devil, “steadfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9). Faith helps us stay safe in any situation. There is a man in New Zealand called the “Lion Man” who lives with lions and is able to stay safe by radiating fearlessness so lions don't dare attack him.
The things we are afraid of are actually afraid of us.
We have to take terror out of ourselves if we want to stay safe despite all odds. Faith helps us be fearless. It was the faith of Daniel that stopped the lions from devouring him. His faith spoke terror to the lions. Fearless men are men of faith. Fear terrorizes while faith energizes.
7) Faith quenches the violence of fire and the fire of the violence.
There is a difference between 'violence' and 'fire'. Violence causes destruction - which might be repaired or recovered from. But fire incinerates and consumes, its effects are irreparable and its result is a product that cannot be used. And yet, faith can quench destruction and help us avoid losing things we cannot recover. Faith can stop violence from breaking out and at the same it can consume fire from devastate any situation. When we carefully look at the examples of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), we can glean the way their faith worked in the ugly situation they found themselves. They trusted completed not in their own abilities but upon the saving grace of God. And did God come through for them? Absolutely! Psalm 91:3 says our God is able to deliver us from the snare of the fowler (the trapper) and the deadly pestilence. Also, in Isaiah 43:2 we are assured of God's presence when we pass through the waters, rivers, and the fire. God also promised us in Jeremiah 1:19 that he would deliver us from the hand of the wicked. Putting all of these together, I am convinced that men and women of faith, coming together in intercession can prevent the outbreak of wars, violence, riots, unrests and insurrection. There is nothing that is impossible to them that believe. Jesus Christ our Lord categorically declare in the scriptures that if we can believe, all things are possible to us (Mark 9:23). Let all people of faith everywhere get to work and we shall begin to experience awesome results.
8) Faith helps you escape the edge of the sword.
Sometimes we become victims of hatred just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The edge of the sword makes victims out of people who have nothing to do with the situation. Injustices and travesty of justices have led many into untimely deaths, avoidable punishments, persecutions and unnecesssary imprisonments.
I remembered Nelson Mandela. He went to prison as prisoner of conscience, fighting injustices outside even while in prison. But whilst so many others like died, he came out a much better person. He was preserved alive for a reason: so that he could be a beacon of hope and love. Emerging from imprisonment after 27 years without bitterness, he became the leader of a free South Africa. Today, he is widely respected as an icon. But supposed he had not survived? What kept him alive? His faith.
I also remembered a man who wrongly jailed for raping a woman; an incident that never occurred. The woman had lied about the incident. She had concocted it and unfortunately she was believed by the jury and the judge. No DNA evidence was collected and inspite of the man protesting his innocence, he was sentenced to jail. But some years later, the woman plagued by her conscience came out to confess that she lied and eventually the man was released. What changed the mind of the lady – prayer of faith. The man went interviewed made a comment about his faith: he said he knew that he would be released because the woman would come out confessing. And that was exactly what the woman did. Praise God for the power of faith!
Faith, always keeps us safe, no matter the situation. On a very tumultous day, the day of the assasination of the Head of State in Nigeria, my brother and I were stranded at school in the middle of the day. The government of the nation, in the pandemonium that ensued had directly that all schools be closed abruptly and there was no one to take us back home. We got into a car with a group of others going towards home. On the way our car met with an accident and everyone died, except my brother and I. But what happened that day before we traveled, was our mum had had a dream in which she saw us in an accident and she started to pray. Others also prayed and we, as kids, as the accident started just believed God and began to pray, and confessing that we would not die but live to proclaim the works of the Lord (Psalm 118:17) and glory be to His name, my brother and I are alive today to tell the amazing story.
9) Faith makes you stronger than your weaknesses.
Faith magnifies your strength above your weakness. Faith is you doing things everybody thought you couldn't do; overcoming pain, limitations, trials; triumphing over your adversity.
One of the biggest differences between Christianity and other religions is the belief that one who was weak can be strong. The common thread holding the Bible together is stories of weak people becoming strong.
Joseph as a teenager was not a very wise, diplomatic or strong person. Not only did he provoke his brothers, he could hardly defend himself. And yet when the right time came, his faith gave him the wisdom that lifted him up; from the dung heap right to the top. David was also a very precocious child who often displayed signs of irreverence as a teenager but his faith in God kept above his weaknesses. Even when those weaknesses threatened his kingdom, it was the same faith that restored him back to his throne. Faith makes us bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1) and helps us to remain energetic in the face of enervating situations.
Faith makes us valiant, victorious no matter how hopeless the situation. Faith is what makes us audacious, indomitable, spirited, unputdownable, resilient, tough.
Faith gives us a higher intelligence than our enemies so we can prevent attacks, and have stronger defences as a result.
Faith encourages our gifts to bloom, overcome setbacks and keeps us focussed on our goal even in the hard times. The universe was made out of things visible. Its like words coming from invisible ideas.
Faith is the connecting force that makes unseen things seen. We triumph over situations through our faith and we can remain strong and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10) only through faith.
Let us go out and activate the power of faith so that we can see lives and situations transformed. Amen.
