Unprecedented  faith - "Creating An Environment Of Faith”

Unprecedented  Faith

“Creating an Environment of Faith”

Joshua 23:1-11

Watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LofvjY-O7h8

As we begin our new series on “Unprecedented Faith,” I think it’s wise to set the stage for creating an environment where our faith can grow and mature as we move forward into the promises of God, and into His vision.

To pursue the presence of God in these times the world calls “unprecedented,” it’s vital that we create an environment of faith in both our lives and the church. The key is remembering that we cannot pursue God’s presence where God’s presence doesn’t reside. So we need to create an environment that welcomes God.

Now, please understand, not only does it take faith to enter into God’s presence, as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:8, “By grace you have been saved through faith,” but it also takes faith to remain there.

The Bible tells us

By faith, Abraham was declared righteous, and by faith, not only are we saved, but we are also sanctified and justified.

By faith, we extinguish Satan’s fiery darts, are delivered from the mouth of lions, and overcome the world.

By faith, healing takes place, nothing is impossible, and it’s by our faith that God is pleased.

Therefore, it’s by faith that we’re to live our lives, and it’s by faith that we draw near to God.

But conversely, our lack of faith displeases God and prevents Him from moving mightily in our lives (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5-6). It was a lack of faith that prevented the Jewish people from entering the Promised Land on the first go-around.

And, this environment of faith is evident in what the writer of Hebrews says, “‘Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39 NKJV)

The writer of Hebrews quotes the Lord through the prophet Habakkuk, warning us not to be like that first generation of Jews who began by faith but fell away. Even though God promised them the land of Canaan, they never set foot in it and instead died in the wilderness because of their lack of faith.

This is why it’s so important that we create an environment of faith.

Now, faith is more than merely saying we believe in God. The Bible says that even the demons believe, yet they tremble in fear because they’re not saved (James 2:19).

Also, faith that doesn’t act upon what it says it believes is a dead faith (James 2:16). Real faith is when our hearts draw near to God and receive His promises and act accordingly.

Earlier in his letter, the writer of Hebrews speaks about this group of Israelites who didn’t enter.

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2 NKJV)

They clearly heard and understood what God had promised, but their hearts didn’t receive it by faith because they didn’t create within their hearts and lives an environment in which faith could grow and be nurtured.

We can know everything the Bible says, and about His promises, but it must find an atmosphere where its power can be released. It’s this environment of faith that’s missing, which is why some are falling back into the world and their old way of life. They never created an environment of faith in their lives or homes.

This faith environment is revealed in Joshua’s parting words to the next generation that had made it in. Twenty years had passed since they entered the Land, and Joshua is still speaking about God’s faithfulness, saying that not one of God’s promises has failed (Joshua 23:14).

By faith, Joshua drew near to God and remained there. And the reason is because he created that environment of faith. In a way, Joshua is our first case study in Unprecedented Faith, but we won’t look at his life today so much as what he taught the people based on it.

“Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: "I am old, advanced in age.” (Joshua 23:1-2)

What the people were about to hear, and what we’re about to look at, is sound advice from a leader who has lived through it all and is now passing down the secret of creating an environment where faith can grow and mature.