Dear #DailyFollower,
Introduction
Our journey as new followers starts with faith; Paul states this truth aptly in his thesis about our path to God’s gift of righteousness in Romans 10:8-9, EXB:
8 ·This is what the Scripture says [But what does it say?]: “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and your heart [Deuteronomy 30:14; God’s salvation has been brought near through Christ and is received by faith].” That is the ·teaching [message; word] of faith that we ·are telling [preach; proclaim]. 9 If you ·declare [confess] with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved.
Then, our journey as daily followers continues in faith; Paul establishes this truth in his explanation of how God makes us righteous in Romans 1:17, EXB:
17 The ·Good News [Gospel] shows ·how God makes people right with himself [or God’s righteous character; the righteousness of/from God]—·that it begins and ends with faith [or that advances from one believing person to the next; or that begins with God’s faithfulness and results in people’s faith; from faith to faith]. As the Scripture says, “But ·those who are right with God will live by faith [or those made righteous through faith will live (eternally); Hab. 2:4].”
If faith is this central to our following journey, it is vital to understand the practice of faith so that it becomes much more than something we speak about; it becomes a truth we see and experience in our daily existence.
So, what is the practice of faith?
The Practice of Faith
The practice of faith is to believe in the One that God sent.
Jesus said it (not me) when asked about doing the works of God in John 6:28-29, EXB. He said:
28 The people asked Jesus, “What ·are the things God wants us to do [should we do to work the works of God]?”
29 Jesus answered, “·The work God wants you to do is this [This is the work of God]: Believe the One he sent.”
So, if faith is all about just believing, why does exercising seem to get more complex with every new experience?
Exercising faith seems complex because most of us speak about believing God in words rather than in deeds.
How, then, do we believe God in deeds?
We exercise the practice of faith by engaging in the following:
The Knowing of Faith
The Speaking of Faith
The Doing of Faith
These three things translate belief into tangible outcomes. We move from believing to seeing what we have believed in become a reality.
Let’s explore these three keys to activating faith.
The Knowing of Faith
When we know enough about the author of faith and the possibilities He enables for all who believe in Him, the knowledge can transform our lives.
However, transformation only happens when we intentionally grow in our knowledge of God. When we consistently increase our understanding of Him, our confidence in Him is on a constant upward trajectory until we can say, like Paul in the face of suffering, “I know whom I have believed in. I am sure… (2 Timothy 1:12, EXB).
12 I am suffering now ·because I tell the Good News [for this reason], but I am not ashamed because I know the One in whom I have ·believed [put my trust/faith]. And I am ·sure [convinced; confident] he is able to ·protect [guard; keep safe] what ·he has trusted me with [or I have entrusted with him; my deposit/entrustment] until that day [the final day of judgment and reward].
The knowing of faith births confidence within us to open our mouths and declare the speakings of faith.
The Speaking of Faith
With the ‘knowing of faith’, we receive and hear the Word of God, which builds faith in us with our outer ears. This triggers a change that births a new way of seeing things, so much so that we begin to declare God’s Good News over ourselves with words and thoughts that speak to our inner ears.
Our speaking of faith works salvation within us (Romans 10:8-9, EXB) and continues to birth new things in our existence when we exercise the speaking of faith.
The act of speaking faith plants thoughts of faith actions within our mouths, which make our bodies restless until the spoken words are manifested.
The Doing of Faith
The words our inner ears hear set our bodies on fire with inner restlessness that only gets satisfied when it sees the manifestation of God’s promise in Mark 11:22-24, EXB (my emphasis included in italics):
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God (grow in the knowledge of God and speak the Word of God). 23 I tell you the truth, you can say (after exercising the knowing of faith, then exercise the speaking of faith) to this mountain, ‘·Go [Be lifted up], fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your ·mind [heart] and believe that what you say will happen, ·God will do it for you [it will be done for you]. 24 So I tell you to believe that you have received ·the things [everything] you ask for in prayer, and ·God will give them to you [you will receive them].
The doing of faith takes action based on the words of faith declared, then it requires two more critical actions:
Have no doubts about the words spoken in faith, and
Believe that what has been spoken in faith will happen as decreed.
The faith actions we take based on the speaking of faith move us from where we are now towards the manifestation of faith we desire.
Conclusion
Faith still delivers outcomes today, but it must be bible faith.
Not a mental assent that things will work out well or as we desire. This isn’t faith; it is chance.
Bible faith that delivers is rooted in the following:
Knowledge of God, which we acquire by the knowing of faith,
Word of God, which we activate by the speaking of faith and
Power of God, which enables the doing of faith.
All of the components of faith depend on God, but we must work to grow in our knowledge of God and speak His Word to see His power unleashed to manifest His Word in our lives.
Faith still produces; engage the practice of faith and see wonders break forth in and through your life.
Yours faithfully,
John, a #DailyFollower.
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