Study 2: FAITH IN GOD’S SPOKEN WORD
Hebrews 11:3
Faith is necessary, essential and indispensable to life – eternal life, abundant life, happy, healthy and holy life, fruitful and fulfilled life. Faith – true, vibrant, dynamic, positively productive faith – must be in the true and living God. Faith in dead gods and deceptive, impotent men is disappointing and damning. Faith in self is deluding and destructive. Faith in man-made system and Satan’s falsehood is dangerous and deadly. God, the true God, the living God, the eternal God, the mighty and powerful God, the faithful God, the unchanging and infallible God, the loving and caring God must be the object, foundation and focus of our faith. This is the only true God, who “framed,” formed, made, created “the worlds” by His Word. The “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Man has to use material things, which already exist to make or manufacture new products. God created all things out of nothing. He is God of all power, of infinite ability.
God is who He is, whether we know Him or not. God can do all things; will do what He can do, whether we know it or not. A father is who he is and can do whatever he can do, whether his child knows it or not. Knowing what the father can do, who he is and what he is willing to do gives the child trust, confidence and peace of mind. Knowing who God is, what His power and authority can accomplish, what He has done and promised to do, how faithful, loving and caring He is grants His child trust, confidence and faith. We have full assurance, firm confidence, unshakeable persuasion that our God will do all He said He will do. Faith permits its possessor to rejoice in firm assurance while waiting for the accomplishment of the promise given by God. Knowing who God is, the believer is “fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He is able also to perform” (Romans 4:21).
1.THE POWER OF GOD’S SPOKEN WORD
Hebrews 11:3; Genesis 1:1-31; Psalms 33:6-11; 148:5,6; Isaiah 42:5; 55:8-11; Jeremiah 32:17,26,27;Ezekiel 12:25,28; Matthew 22:29; Luke 1:34-37; Romans 4:17; Revelation 4:11.
How mighty and powerful is our God! “The worlds were framed by the word of God.” The whole universe was created by God out of nothing. The ability to create belongs to God alone. The vastness of the created universe indicates that God’s power is infinite, without limits. Consider the vastness of our universe. If you could somehow put 1-2 million earths inside the sun, you would still have room left for 4.3 million moons. The sun is 865,000 miles in diameter and is 93 million miles from the earth. Our next nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is 5 times larger than our sun. The moon is 211,463 miles away, and you could walk to it in 27 years. A ray of light travels at 186,000 miles per second; so a beam of light would reach the moon in only 1½ seconds. If we could travel at that speed, it would take 2 minutes, 18 seconds to reach Venus, 4½ minutes to reach Mercury, one hour and 11 seconds to reach Saturn, and so on. To reach Pluto, 2.7 billion miles from Earth, would take nearly 4 hours. Having got that far, we would still be well inside our own solar system. The North Star is 400 trillion miles away, but is still nearby in relation even to known space. Who created all these? It cannot be an accident. Somebody had to make it. Christ affirmed that God is the Creator. And this great, almighty, omnipotent Creator-God is Father to all who believe in Christ. Such a mighty God can recreate, refashion, transform and renew your entire life.
2.THE POTENTIALS OF CHRIST’S SUPERNATURAL WORD
Hebrews 11:3; 1:1-3; John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-19; 2:9,10; Luke 4:32-36; Matthew 8:5-13;
Mark 11:12-14,20-24; John 5:1-9; 11:39-45; Mark 4:39-41; 9:17-27.
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, was involved in the creation of “the worlds”. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made”. “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.” Christ, our Saviour, our Sanctifier, our Healer, our Deliverer, our Baptizer, our Defender, our Provider, is powerful and mighty beyond any limit. In fact, the whole creation, the entire universe is being upheld and sustained by Christ. “His Son, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:2,3). Everything in the universe is sustained right now by Jesus Christ. By His powerful word or command, He upholds or sustains all things – rocks, mountains, seas, animals, men, earth, stars, planets, all distant worlds, the universe – by the word of His power. Christ, with the prevailing word of His pre-eminent power upholds and sustains all things. Nothing can resist His Word. Surrendering your whole life to Him, all things will come under the irresistible power of His Word. Neither sin nor self, Satan nor evil spirit, sickness nor satanic affliction, disease nor plague, infirmity nor infertility, curses nor bondage can resist His authority and power. We have faith in Him because He cannot fail.
3.THE POSSIBILITIES OF OUR SPOKEN WORD
Hebrews 2:4; Mark 16:19,20; Acts 3:1-10; 9:32-43; 13:6-12; 14:7-10; Matthew 17:20; 21:18-22; Mark 11:22-24; Luke 17:5,6; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Romans 4:17-21.
“Things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” God’s creative words called all things into existence, calling “those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). God’s words are creative words; Christ’s words are miracle-working words. The Lord has bestowed divine authority and power on His servants and His believing children. The spoken word of Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, David, Isaiah, Samuel, Jeremiah and many others in the Old Testament had power (Exodus 14:13,28-31; Joshua 10:12-14; 1 Samuel 12:18; 17:45-47; 1 Kings 17:1,8-16; 2 Kings 7:1,2,16-20; Isaiah 37:33-38; Jeremiah 28:15-17). The Apostles and New Testament believers also did great exploits with spoken words of faith, power and authority. To possess and manifest such authority, let us fully give ourselves to the Lord and receive the gift of faith. Then let us learn not to speak our own words. Speak God’s word. Give voice to God’s supernatural Word. Say what Christ would have said to the mountain, to the sickness, to the situation. Speak only what the Holy Spirit says in every situation. The Almighty God will confirm His Word in the believer’s mouth.
* * * * * * *
Congregational Song:
PEACE! BE STILL
1.Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’er-shadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh:
“Carest Thou not that we perish?”
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?
“The winds and the waves shall obey My will,
Peace, be still!”
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be,
No water can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey My will;
Peace be still! peace, be still !
They all shall sweetly obey My will:
Peace, Peace, be still !
2.Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled;
O waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul !
And I perish! I perish, dear Master;
O hasten, and take control !
3.Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer,
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbour,
No comments:
Post a Comment