Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
James 2:19
In the above scripture, the Lord let’s us know that it is not enough to simply believe God exists and that Jesus is the Messiah. Yes, even demons know who Jesus is and recognize He is God. The difference is, they can and never will make Him Lord of their lives. They do not have saving faith.
In order for our faith to be the God kind of saving faith, we must not only recognize who Jesus is, we must make Him Lord of our lives. We must develop a personal relationship with Him and get to know Him. Yes, once we receive Jesus into our hearts we are heaven bound. We are a new creation and are now become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As it says in Romans 10:8-10: “ But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Yet, without receiving the WORD and acting on our faith, we could end up living a life of frustration and defeat here on earth and having our lives look not much different than a non-believer’s life. God wants us not only to be heaven bound, but to have heaven on earth in our lives here and now. As Jesus said for us to pray in Mathew 6:10: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Jesus gives us the key to being fruitful in faith in Mark 4:3-9 and Mark 4:15-20. Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed. He explains that the seed is the Word, and when it is sown into the good ground of a believing heart that is receiving it, it will be fruitful and produce. The key is that we must receive the word. It’s not enough to simply accept that the Word is true. We must actually receive it for ourselves and then act on it. However, before we can receive it, we must actually know what the Word says. We must study it and learn what God’s will is for us.
The key to having faith that gets results for the better is to:
- Know what the Word says. 2 Timothy 2:15 says; “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Faith begins where the will of God is known. We can’t act on our faith if we don’t know what God’s will is for us. As we spend time in God’s word, we learn who we are in Christ and what His will is for us. We are then able to rightly divide the Word of truth.
- Actually do what the Lord tells us to do. Jesus said in Mathew 7:24-27: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
- Develop a deep personal relationship with the Lord so that we can recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. When we recognize His voice speaking to our hearts, then it gives us boldness to do what He asks of us.
As we diligently search God’s word, spending time reading and hearing His Word, praying in the understanding and in the spirit, then we become more aware of His character and who we are in Him. He desires to reward us. He desires the best for us. As we diligently search the scriptures with an open heart to God, He reveals Himself as our Healer (Jehovah Rapha), Our Provider (Jehova Jireh) our Banner (Jehovah Nissi), our righteousness (Jehovah Tsidkenu), to name just a few. As we seek Him, we begin to realize the love He has for us. When we understand how much He has given for us, and who we are in Him, then we can truly allow Him to be Lord of our life and our lives begin to change. We put action to our faith as Jesus tells us to do in Mark 11.
God takes no pleasure in our sufferings. He takes pleasure in blessing us. However, the only way we can receive those blessings is by believing His greatest desire is to bless us. As we diligently study the scriptures, we see that He is a Good Daddy. He is a loving, merciful generous Daddy! The more we realize how much He loves us and has done for us, the more the love of God is perfected in us. The more we walk in love, the more bold we become to finally do what Jesus says; because faith works by love and perfect love casts out all fear!
If you need break through in your life, if you are feeling stuck and that you aren’t getting ahead, then it may be time to totally immerse yourself in the Living Word of God and get to know what a wonderful savior we serve!
Hebrews 10:23
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”
Proverbs 25:2
“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”
James 2:17-18
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Hosea 4:6
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
.Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Further Reading: Hebrews 11, Mark 4:3-20, Mark 11
