Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Faith without works is dead. The evidence of faith is seen in the outward actions of our lives. Those actions are not efforts to attain to faith. The are the fruit of faith from within. Faith is a matter of the heart, and true works are works that are motivated by the heart. This was true in the life of Abraham. Before he became transformed to be known as Abraham, he was simply Abram. His path in life seemed to be the path of an Assyrian, a Chaldean, but in heaven it was declared differently. God in heaven always saw Abram to be Abraham, but Abram had to choose a path of faith. He had to hear God and respond to God through the actions of his life.
Romans 4:9-15 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
Faith happens when we hear God speak to our hearts. Faith works through love and it is always toward the one who spoke. Faith towards God comes by hearing God in our hearts. It results in actions on our part, but those actions are inspired by a revelation of God’s love in our hearts. We know that God loves us and thus we hear Him in our hearts. We respond with actions of love towards Him and towards who and what He loves. This was the path of Abraham. He heard the voice of God in his heart and he chose to take actions in life that followed the path of his heart. He saw God as his friend and thus he chose to walk a path that increasingly demonstrated that he was a friend of God. A revelation of God’s love empowered Abraham to walk a path of right relationship with God. The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote that Abraham was looking for something that God builds, something that comes from heaven. He died never seeing it, but the effect of path of faith changed the world for us all.
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11:39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Those who have gone before us in the path of faith are made perfect in our continuance in that path. It is a path given by God and not by men. It is given by God for the sake of mankind. As leaders, our path is a path of faith for the sake of those we lead. We are not called to teach people an obedience to some Christian belief system. We are called to lead others into a path of obedience to the faith.
Romans 15:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
As leaders, we must walk a path of faith for the sake of leading others into this same testimony. This is a path of personal relationship with God. The opposite of faith is natural sight and natural sight often inspires fear. In the fall of man, the first sign placed upon the woman was a pain of worry in pregnancy and great pain in childbirth. This was only a sign for all mankind in regard to being able to manifest as sons and daughters of God. The birthing of something new in the earth is always connected to pain and if we walk by natural sight that pain will tempt us to fear death in some way. Pain is part of the birthing process of faith and it is part of the path of obedience to the faith. Holy Spirit in the manifestation of the Spirit of Wisdom is the antidote to the futility of worry and a fear of death for all mankind. Wisdom is an attribute of God and wisdom invites us into the path of destiny. Wisdom for a heavenly path can not be discovered through earthy experiences. It is discovered through a heavenly relationship with Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Wisdom.
I will continue in this next week. For now, embrace the love of God your Father in all things and He will guide your heart into the path of faith. It will require actions on your part that may not make sense to the things you can see or feel at the moment. If it feels like you are not sure, you are a good candidate for the path of faith. The wisdom of God always inspires a willingness to yield and it is not invited by those who believe they already know. Faith is a testimony of an internal relationship with God in your heart. Faith is not about confidence in yourself. It is confidence in God. If you can trust yourself less, perhaps you can trust Him more?
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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