Welcome to the second half of the year. As we step into July, let’s be intentional about thanksgiving. Why not take out a journal and write out what you are grateful for the first half of 2019 which just ended and you’ll be surprise at what God did. This will trigger you for great expectations in the second half of the year. Remember “He (God) is able to do much more than we ask or imagine…” Ephesians 3:20.
Our theme for the month of July is
STEPPING OUT IN FAITH!
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) says “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.
James 2:14-26 (NLT), Key Verses 21 -24
“Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone”
Hebrews 11:7-8 (NLT) “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before…It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where He was going…”
Faith is believing God for things unseen which we hope for and our faith is backed by our actions. The scriptures above depict that some of the main constituents of faith are;
BELIEVE, OBEDIENCE AND TAKING ACTION STEPS.
“Step” is an action word which requires an advance or a movement. STEPPING OUT IN FAITH thus implies the actions taken as a result of our faith in God. Thus, our first topic under the “stepping out in faith” series is no step without yes.
NO STEP WITHOUT YES!
Yes is an affirmation answer, expressed by agreement to take sequential actions. Our YES to God is expressed by our believe in Jesus Christ, agreeing to obey Him and taking actions to this effect. Our faith in God starts with saying Yes to His word (made human in Jesus Christ – John 1:14) and believing in Him. Faith is hoping for things unseen and this requires a lot of trust.
Sometimes, before my boss at my job side assigns a task to me, he tells me “I trust you”. He says this before I even start the work and when he has not yet seen the results. In saying “I trust you” he is implying he knows me, knows my abilities and he has confidence that I will produce the results he is hoping to have, though he has not yet seen the outcome. What more of when we say we trust God?
OUR FAITH IN GOD EMANATES FROM BELIEVING IN HIM, FLOURISHES THROUGH OUR TRUST IN HIM AND IS MADE COMPLETE BY OUR ACTIONS.
In Luke 3, we read the story of John the Baptist preparing the way for the coming of Jesus Christ.
We recognize that John received God’s word, believed and obeyed God, implying he said YES to God’s word. John had Faith in God and as a result, he STEPPED OUT IN FAITH to carry out what God had purposed for Him to do. John’s Faith in God was backed by the actions he took which include moving from place to place to call people to repentance and announcing the Good News of the coming of the Messiah and admonishing the people to believe in the coming Messiah whom he (John) had not yet seen but believed Jesus Christ the Messiah will because of his trust in the word of God. It is worth noting that the leadership at the time was a tough one (Luke 3:1-2), notwithstanding, with his Faith in God, John effectively carried out his God-given task of preparing the way for the Messiah and even openly criticized many wrongs of Herod Antipas (the ruler of Galilee) one of which was marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife.
At the end, John fulfilled his purpose of preparing the way of the coming of Jesus Christ and all the actions he took in fulfilling this purpose came only after He received God’s word, believing and obeying God, implying his YES to God.
The Yes for some may mean accepting Jesus as Lord over their lives. For others, it may mean saying yes to the word God has given you, for some it may mean saying yes to acting on your God-given task/purpose, to others it may mean saying yes to the promptings/leading of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing out duties etc.
We begin the second half of the year with a message to STEP OUT IN FAITH. Notwithstanding, it all starts by saying YES to God.