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We all have at some time in our lives prayed for "MORE FAITH."
So the question is this: "What is more important, a lot of faith in a small God, or a little faith in a big God?" It is a no-brainer that all we need is a little faith in a big God to move mountains. However, in order to trust God for both the possible and the impossible we need to grow or mature as the disciples did in their faith. It does not necessarily mean "more faith" as it does "strengthened or mature faith." The disciples went through a growth time which I call their PROGRESSION OF FAITH. It is where they moved from FAITH TO FAITH in their walk with our Lord. Faith was not instantaneous with the followers of Christ. They started out just like us. They heard Jesus speak and they began their walk of following Him. In these series of studies we will learn how to move from faith to faith. In study Part 1 we said that the first step was when our Lord Jesus came on the scene and two of the disciples of John the Baptist leaves John to follow our Lord. This happened when you were saved. In order to come to Jesus as Savior we had to leave something. We had to leave the world and our own lives in order to receive His life. The second step from study two was the moving in faith in cleaving and following. The disciples not only left John the Baptist but they joined themselves to Jesus and followed Him. This is the doctrine of leaving and cleaving. In the third step of moving from faith to faith we find the disciple Andrew going out and telling his brother, Simon about Jesus. It is a witnessing encounter. However, what Andrew shared and what Simon heard was more mental assent than a heart change. It was a revelation of the mind. We will see in later studies that Andrew and Simon really had no deep understanding of who Jesus Christ really was. They had to grow in their understanding about the Messiah and Savior of the world, as we do. They had to grow in their understanding that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that He was God. He was 100% man but not mere man. He was 100% God and although He was 100% man, He was never less than God. Although Andrew had limited knowledge of the fullness of Jesus Christ, he shared what mental knowledge he had with his brother Simon. We don't need to be saved for 40 years to start witnessing. We don't need to have 100 Bible verses memorized to share Jesus with our family and friends. We just need to share what we know and allow the Holy Spirit to do the rest. We all need to start out in our faith with a revelation of the mind about the Lord Jesus Christ. I had a head knowledge about Jesus Christ long before anything else. And God used it to move me from faith to faith. John 1:41 ESV He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
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Speaking the Word with boldness!
Have you ever had a open door to share the Lord Jesus Christ and deep inside you knew you should, but, there it was, FEAR? Rising up within you from no where was this fear that seemed to shut you down. Confusion started swirling around in the brain about what to say next. And you found that it was easier to say nothing about the cross and our Lord Jesus Christ and just continue with the conversation that was in the emotional safe zone. Then you walked away feeling a sense of guilt that you missed your opportunity and if that person dies and goes to hell, his or her blood will be on your hands. Well be of good cheer, because we have been blessed with a "much more" promise that we can speak the Word of God without fear. Boldness to speak the word of God without fear. Philippians 1:12-14 ESV I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, (13) so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. (14) And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are MUCH MORE bold to speak the word without fear. Paul was in prison, yet still preaching the Gospel message. This imprisonment served to boast the confidence among the believers to proclaim Christ with much more boldness and without fear. This should serve to encourage us to proclaim the Word without fear for we have not just the Apostle Paul as an example but centuries of godly saints that served and preached in the face of persecution. We cannot keep doing more of the same thing and expect different results.
We currently have more church building than in the history of mankind. We currently have more Pastors than the history of mankind. Yet we have moved from being a semi-Christian moral nation to an unchristian, immoral nation to an ungodly amoral nation. Lawlessness is rampant both outside the church and within the church. God is still God and His plans will be filled and His glory will cover the earth. Believers must decide if they want to do their own thing or get in on what God is doing. We must decide what we believe and how to share it. The church (the Christians) need to rethink how we are reaching and training people. |
AuthorCharles Morris. Founder and Senior Pastor of RSI Ministry, RSI School of Ministry, and RSI Publishing L.L.C.. Archives
March 2021
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