Every person who commits their life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will be challenged to grow in faith. Jesus challenged his disciples to stretch their understanding to see the impossible things they could do through and with Jesus Christ. There are three aspects of our life with God that enable us to stretch our faith and grow in wisdom and righteousness. They are: Obedience, the Word of God, and Seed Faith. Today we will look at Obedience and the Word of God and next week we will explore Seed Faith.
Obedience
Faith always requires action. With most of the promises of God, there are accompanying conditions that we must carry out in order for God to fulfill His promise to us. For instance:
- God promises that if we give, then it will be given back to us in the same measure we give (Luke 6:38 );
- If we die to ourselves and our own desires and live to God, we will be given new and abundant life (Matthew 6:33 , 10:39 ); and
- If we forgive others, then we will be forgiven (Matthew 6:14 ).
Faith will bring us to a place of obedience. We are called to obey God and that obedience will open up a new growth in our faith.
The Word of God
Paul writes, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 ). God’s Word sparks new faith in our hearts and unleashes our ability to believe God, to listen to God’s counsel and instruction.
Paul writes: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable:
- For teaching;
- For reproof;
- For correction; and
- For training in righteousness,
So that the man or woman of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15 -17)
Next week we will move on to explore “Seed Faith”.