GROWING YOUR
FAITH
To
grow in your Faith, you need to know the following tips:
·
Develop a good
prayer life. Pray always.
·
Develop
perseverance in studying the scripture.
·
Learn to
meditate on the word of God, Listen to God and apply whatever you heard, learnt
and received into practice.
·
Humble
yourself at all times, and eschew pride before God and men.
·
Embrace life
of righteousness.
·
After you have
fulfilled these steps, hold the bull by the horn.
·
Never fear nor
doubt God or your ability in any case such as; healing, deliverance, sowing,
sacrificing and taking action as directed by the LORD.
·
Always
acknowledge the Holy Spirit.
·
Always take
action whenever you are led in a well-discerned spirit. Faith without action is
dead.
DEVELOP A GOOD PRAYER LIFE. PRAY ALWAYS.
Developing a good
prayer life tells who you are and how God values you and be able to listen to
you. Prayer is an ingredient of communication between humankind and God. Good Prayer
should involve consistency, perseverance and timeously.
Psa_55:17; Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he
shall hear my voice.
Dan_6:10, Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his
house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled
upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God,
as he did aforetime.
Scripture has told us here that prayers are
to be made to God thrice a day, that is; Morning, Noon and Evening. The most
appropriate, being that ninth hour (9) of the day or Eventide. Peter and John
went for prayer regularly and in on eth season, the Lord used Peter to heal the
cripple at the beautiful gate;
Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of
prayer, being the
ninth hour.
3
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him
with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to
receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I
none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk.
The
wonderful Faith of Cornelius was shown in Acts 10:1-6, how an Angel visited him
at hour of prayer.
Act 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called
Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man,
and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people,
and prayed to God alway.
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the
ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him,
Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid,
and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms
are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose
surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose
house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
DEVELOP PERSEVERANCE IN STUDYING THE SCRIPTURE
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law
doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also
shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Studying
the word is a very necessary act; that have to be done, without reservation.
You should develop serious attitude of studying the scripture.
You can
only get a success, breakthrough, prosperity and connection from God when you
seriously embrace prayer. Walk in your salvation by consistent closeness to God
in prayers. Even God will use you as a
vessel of honour to touch other people’s need.
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.
Paul
instructed the beloved son Timothy to do all that is possible to study. To
study requires some elements of perseverance, timeous work; hard work is
involved in studying. One needs to know that knowing God entails serious study of
the commandments, statutes and the ordinances. These will certainly allow you
to live fulfilling your destiny.
Israelites
were appealed to hear the words of God. It shows that they are out of the way.
They are doing their own thing instead
of God’s. However in Act 2:22, the scripture tutored them by a reminder
message; “Ye men of Israel, hear
these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and
wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know:”
2Co 4:18 While we look not
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the
things which are seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
LEARN TO MEDITATE ON THE WORD OF GOD,
LISTEN TO GOD AND APPLY WHATEVER YOU HEARD, LEARNT AND RECEIVED INTO PRACTICE.
Jas 1:22 But
be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For
if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass:
24 For
he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner
of man he was.
Attentive
listening leads to good hearing. Hearing the words of God grows our Faith. What
you hear informs you. If you are informed, you are equipped and if equipped,
you can stand firm to face any situation. The information you had will prepare
you to get through all odds and come out successfully a great achiever. It
prepares and mold you a perfect being. Paul said in Philemon verse 5, Hearing
of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all
saints; (1:5). Paul’s spirit was boosted in the communication of love of
Philemon to the saints. Philemon was able to communicate in love and having
faith of great reward ahead for the good work of love in faith through Christ;
because he had been eaten the word.
When
you heard the word, the next thing is to meditate on it. Meditation is the
source by which a believer spend time, thinking about the message of God. It is
an expression of a person’s thoughts on the words of God every morning before
going out and at night, to have reflections of what you encountered. How you
dealt with others? What you said to people? How you handled some matters? The
success, peace and love that you earned that day; who made it possible? Thinking
on the word of God will help you to understand God, his plans, direction for
you and how He want you to serve Him and
succeed.
Each
moment means a lot as you meditate on the word and you will be able to show it
in love as Philemon did to Paul and the Saints. 2Pe
2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and
hearing, vexed his righteous soul
from day to day with their unlawful
deeds;) You must be vexed in your soul
to do what others cannot do or failed to do. Having the words of God creates
the difference. It makes you a champion among men. You cannot agree in their
terms to behave in their sinful order. You cannot hate, but love. You cannot
disperse, but exalt. You see a different you. You can see in you an encouraging
personality, not villain. In you is a Loving being and embodiment of Christ the
Lord.
Jos 1:8 This
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is
written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou
shalt have good success.
9 Have
not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither
be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whither-soever thou goest.
EMBRACE LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Righteousness
will exalt any Nation that lives in it, while, destruction awaits the people
who defies it. What righteousness can do in your life, nothing else can do it.
Righteousness will lead you to live a life of boldness, joy, love and peace. No
greatness can earn you these in life. No amount of riches will give you
boldness, joy, love and peace if there is no righteousness in you. The
scripture said that the wicked runneth when no one pursuit him.
You
walk on the street boldly if you are not afraid of any law. Meet people
anywhere if you do not owe anyone. Meaning; you have not wronged people in the
office, in the neighbourhood, and business arena and so on.
Often,
righteousness will lead one into possession of great blessings.
Gen 30:33a, So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to
come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: Jacob knows he live in
righteousness of God and served his uncle who was his in-law, Laban with
sincerity of heart; fearing God. When Laban dispossessed Jacob his wages and
gave him hard condition concerning the flocks he attends to for Laban, he
realized God of righteousness. God who loves righteousness does not forsake,
nor abandon the righteous. Jacob stands firm in faith to God’s promise to him,
his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. However, one needs to know that;
·
Faith is the first consideration to righteous
living
·
Walking with God.
·
Trusting in God
·
Obeying the laws and commandments of God
·
Working at the orders of God
·
And Love of God and the things of his Kingdom
shows that one lives in righteousness.
David expressed his joy in serving,
following God and doing his will in2Sam.
22:17-26,
2 Sam.
22.17, He sent from above, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters;
18 He
delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for
me.
19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the
LORD was my stay.
20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he
delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness:
according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not
wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from
them.
24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself
from mine iniquity.
25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to
my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright
man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
God
will always fight for the righteous even when he is weak or sleeping, when he
has knowledge or not of the oncoming impediments from the wick one. He defends,
fights and gives us victory over the enemy if we live righteously. Blessings
and righteousness comes from God, Psalm 24.5, 35.5.The book of Proverbs 13.6a,
said that, “Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way...” Fear is the dangerous enemy that will pull
one down when your ways are not right with the LORD. Proverbs 15.9 speaks of
God’s punishment of the wicked and the showing of love to those who follows
righteousness. Certainly, you are not and will never be alone if only you will
hear the word of God today and accept it and walk in his righteousness. Since I
was born, but now I am getting old, I have never seen the Lord changes. God is
always in the generation of the righteous, Psalm 14.5. The eyes of the Lord is
upon the righteous, Psalm 34.15. The righteous will cry, and the Lord heareth,
and delivereth them from them out of all their troubles -17. Many are the
afflictions of the righteous; but God delivereth him from them all -19.
AFTER YOU HAVE FULFILLED THESE
STEPS, HOLD THE BULL BY THE HORN.
Holding the bull by the horn means,
asking, knocking and seeking. You shall decree a thing and it shall come to
pass and your ways shall be lighted up and your light will shine.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you:
8
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
You see
now that you have to hold the bull by the horn and unlock you blessings through
faith.
Mat
18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.
Jabez
was wise on this account that, he could not let go the opportunity before him
in asking for God’s blessings on him even as the mother named him Pain. He called
the Lord, God of his Fathers demanding for the restoration of his honorability
-1 Chro. 4.9-10. Jabez seized the opportunity he had in righteousness of God to
place request for change of destiny and prosperity, and God answered. God has
no option than to grant him what he asked for. God is granting you, your
honorable request.
Isa 26:2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous
nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he
trusteth in thee.
Gates are bound
to open for any Nation, Family and or Person who lived a righteous life. God
surely will keep them in perfect peace whose mind trusted only on him. You
should acknowledge God’s readiness to answer and do what you asked for. Before
the righteous could open mouth to pray, he is listening and before they ask, he
is doing it. God honors his word more than his name. That is why he said that
his word could not come back to him void.
Matt.6.8 said, Be
not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have
need of, before ye ask him
NEVER FEAR, NEITHER DOUBT GOD NOR YOUR ABILITY.
In any
case, such as; healing, deliverance, sowing, sacrificing and taking action as
directed by the Lord, cast away doubt, and hold onto faith. It is not you, but
God that does the watering. He is the husbandman, while Christ is the fountain
that he collects the water from for the plant(s).
Psa 3:6, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people,
that have set themselves against me
round about.
God is
the chief host of the heaven and earth. No amount armies shall stand him in
battle. And no one shall defeat you if he is fighting for you. Gideon defeated
the Midianites armies with only three hundred men. Jehoshaphat, King of Judah
defeated Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites with only PRAISES. The priest led the
Judean armies with praises onto God, singing; “God is good, his loving kindness
is forever”, the Angels of the LORD laid ambush against the three nations that
besieged Judah at the valley of Engedi.
In your
case, if only you can PRAISE. If only you can praise the LORD of Hosts of Heaven.
Praising his glorious work moves him into battle against the enemies of His
beloved Children. It was only Praises, which the Israelites used to pull down
the walls of Jericho. The same Praises made God to destroy the Prison gates,
doors; and cut asunder the chains and shackles placed on Paul and Silas. You
must experience such amazing deliverance in Jesus name, Amen.
God
always give us assurance of His Love toward us in times of trouble by letting
us know that He is gonna silence the enemy one.
Isa
51:12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a
man that shall die, and of the son of
man which shall be made as grass;
13 And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that
hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and
hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if
he were ready to destroy? and where is
the fury of the oppressor?
There
might be enemies and foes, but what God demanded is our co-operation through
trust. Don’t fear, but trust in His saving power. When you trust Him, He will
contract your problems for himself. He will release heavenly chariots with
flaming swords to fight the enemy on his behalf.
Prophet
Elisha encouraged his servant Gehazi not to fear the Assyria Armies; which surrounded
them for the Angels with them are greater in number, power and equipped than
they that are against them.
Psa 27:1 The LORD is
my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to
eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be
confident.
Fear
can cripple any person irrespective of status, class, wealth, or riches you are
in control. Avoid fearing the uncertainty but fear the Lord alone.
ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE THE HOLY SPIRIT
God
is for us, With us and In us. Kenneth E. Hagin in his book, The holy Spirit and
his Gifts, emphasized that, to have God be for us guarantees our success; “…if
God be for us who can be against us”, Rom 8.31. The moment you realized that
God is for you, fear will diminish to zero level in your nerves. Then, you
become fearless. No matter how difficult
the situation may be, no matter how dark the clouds that hang upon the horizon
of your life may be, you are calmly assured that you must win in every circumstance,
because God is for you.
Emmanuel
means, God with us. If God is with us, we cannot be defeated.
1
Cor. 3:16 stated, Do you not discern and understand that you (the whole Church
at Corinth) are God’s temple (His sanctuary), and that God’s Spirit has His
permanent dwelling in you – to be at home in you (collectively as a Church and
also individually)?
It
may not only be that God is for you, but God is with you. As a Christian, know
it that God is with you no matter the situation. In you going and coming,
acknowledge that He is with you.
And if God is
with you, he is in you. 1Co 6:19 What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye
are not your own?
Your
ability to acknowledge Holy Spirit that is for you, with you and in you; will
propel you to do anything without fear or doubt. It no more you but Christ that
lives in you, through the Holy Spirit doing all manners of work. Ability will
come to do abundantly more than you expected. There will be strength to engage
in every work.
2Co 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath
anointed us, is
God;
22 Who hath
also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
The earnest
of the spirit being Holy Spirit
