For We Walk by Faith, and Not by Sight

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1 For We Walk by Faith, and Not by Sight 2 Corinthians 5:7: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) As born-again believers, one of the things that God expects of us is that we believe what His Word says about us, and act in faith accordingly. Matthew 14:23-32 is a perfect example in the Word of how we, as believers, can fail to believe God s Word by doubting and not believing what God has said: And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, He walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when He saw the wind boisterous, He was afraid; and beginning to sink, He cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught Him, and said unto Him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. When it comes to obtaining the promises of God, it s going to be a constant battle between your mind and heart in regard to what to believe. When we ve been meditating on God s promises and spending time in His presence and in prayer, we re in a better position to walk by faith than when we ve been distracted by the circumstances surrounding us. In order for us to consistently walk by faith, we always need to consider what God s Word says about what we re facing. For instance, if it s healing, what has God promised regarding our healing and health? If it s finances, what does the Word say about our finances? If we don t constantly stay built up in prayer, and feeding on God s Word, it can be very easy for us to become full of doubt, fear, and unbelief.

2 The reason that none of us can afford to allow ourselves to become this way is because we re all going to need our faith to be productive to the place that we can believe God and receive from Him whatever we need. We need to develop our faith to where we can speak the Word in Jesus Name, move mountains, and bind the devil. When one chooses to ignore developing their faith in God s Word for whatever the reason may be, whether they realize it or not, they re being set up to fall to the attack of the enemy. We have to get to the place in our lives that we can use the Word of God skillfully as the sword of the Spirit to defend ourselves against the attacks of the enemy, as we read in Ephesians 6:12-18: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Before God does anything in our lives, He sends His Word. If we will receive it and act upon it, He can help us. If we refuse or reject it, or choose not to cherish His Word, we limit God from helping and protecting us, as we read in Psalm 107:20-22: He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. Satan does all he can to keep a person ignorant of God s Word. I think of all the time that went by in my life that I didn t know scriptures such as: 1 Peter 2:24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

3 Matthew 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. Mark 11:23, 24: For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 3 John 2: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. Galatians 3:13, 14: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Philippians 2:9-11: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. As long as Satan could keep me in the dark, he could keep me from prospering and living in victory and divine health. You can t make people accept, receive, or even believe the Word. All you can do is deliver it and hope they grab a hold of it and begin to act upon it. When Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water, he was stepping out on one Word of God: the Word, "Come" (Matthew 14:29). Even though no one other than Jesus, had ever walked on water before, Peter believed he could. That is the kind of faith God wants us to have: a faith that just believes God can do anything. A faith that is willing to go as far as to put its own reputation on the line. Any Christian can sit around and say they believe God can do anything, but the one who is willing not only to say it, but also act upon it is the one who is going to get the miracles! And more than that, he or she is the one who s going to be used by God.

4 It was the same Peter who previously gave his boat to Jesus, to whom Jesus later said, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (Luke 5:4). And, it was Peter who was willing to do so in front of everyone, even though they had already fished all night long, only to go right back in faith, believing, to where he had just previously failed. Through that kind of faith, God was able to fill two ships full of fish. When Jesus asked Peter to follow Him, Peter forsook all and followed Jesus. Through his obedience, God used Peter on the day of Pentecost. All through the book of Acts, we see God using Peter, all because he was willing enough to step out for God. That s the kind of faith that pleases God! Don t allow anyone or anything that has happened to you rob you of your faith. All of those are just ploys of the enemy to discourage you from going on for God. No matter how many mistakes Peter made, or how many times he failed, God always got him out of trouble and always used him. Peter is just a typical example of how God can use an average, normal human being if they will just keep doing what they believe God told them to do. The most important thing is: What has God told you to do? Are you doing what God told you to do? And that is all that counts! It s not what God told someone else to do that s important to you; what s important to you is that you do what God tells you to do. He wants you to believe His written Word and not doubt it, and He wants you to believe what He spoke to your heart about doing. He ll supply the grace and mercy, but you have got to provide the vessel, because there s going to come a day in your life that you re going to have to risk your whole reputation and what others think about you to prove to God that you believe, trust and love Him, and are obedient Him. For it was Peter himself who said it s better that we obey God than man. I look forward to sharing with you tomorrow. Remember, God wishes above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers (3 John 2). Your Word of faith pastor, Pastor Jesse Rich

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