Faith is the action we take based on what we believe and what we believe must be in total agreement with what God has already recorded in His Word.

We know it is God’s will that Christians continue to develop and come to full spiritual maturity in Christ.{Ephs.4} .
We don't have to pray about that. We know it's His will to forgive others. We don't have to pray about, we have to apply it. We know it's His will that we give to be a blessing to others and help in the work of getting the Gospel out. We don't have to pray about that, we just need to give. We know it's God's will that sit under the teaching of His word. We don't have to pray about that. To apply that revelation we need to sit under sound doctrine. Doctrine is just another word for teaching. So, we need to sit under anointed, sound teaching.
Throughout the Word of God, we are told to prepare our heart, to guard our heart and to set our heart on the things of God. The Word prepare means to establish, fix, make ready, and apply. This is a word of major importance.

Often, when Christians are learning to live by faith, we form the misconception that we have no role in receiving answers to prayer, having our needs met, or walking through difficult situations. Many believe if something is God’s will, it will happen, regardless of what they do or do not do. That is a troubling misconception.

The Apostle Paul made it clear that we are to serve God with our Spirit and our mind.
{Romans 7:28-29}
The only way to serve God with our spirit is to be born again. The only way to serve God with our spirit and mind, is to be born again and begin renewing our mind"
{Romans 12:1-2}

There are many scriptures that reveal without faith it is impossible to please God. We are told that we must hear the truth, believe the truth and then act on the truth in order to receive the benefits of the truth. God has given us promises and instructions, however, we determine to a great degree if we will see the promises fulfilled in our lives or not. We also determine to a great degree the quality of our life as a Christian.

God has provided everything we need to live a full, productive, and abundant life. However our heart attitude toward God is our choice and not God’s. He is sovereign and He has sovereingly given us His Word that we m might know how to overcome in this life and rule in this life through one Christ Jesus. That we might walk with spiritual discernment and operate in a wisdom from above.

We are not to base our lives on a wisdom which is man’s wisdom. That is the purpose of the Word of God. To instruct us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us in righteousness. { 2Timothy 3:16}

Often people begin their Christian life with a zeal and passion to know the ways of God. However, over a period of time, for many different reasons, many lose that zeal and wonder why. When I was a new Christian, I was actually told that my zeal for the Lord was wonderful, but I needed to understand that I would not always have that zeal. That after awhile, I would become more mellow in my walk with God. Well, I'm here to tell ya, I never want my zeal for the Lord to "mellow down" That's not the way it's suppose to be. We're suppose to get fired up!

2 Chronicles 12:14; 2Chronicles 11:17
This is speaking of Rehoboam, the king of Israel, who was the grandson of David and he became King at the age of 41 after the death of Solomon, his father. If you were to read about this man, you would learn that at the beginning of his reign, his heart was very sensitive to the Lord. That changed however…after three years into his reign. We are told that his soul was not right within him. Somewhere along his path, he set his mind on other things and was lured away from the Lord.

In 30 years of ministry, I have seen this exact thing happen way to often in the lives of Christians who begin with a genuine love for the Lord and were excited about learning the Bible and learning how to apply the Word in their daily lives. I have seen many who once were sensitive to the Spirit of God, become very dull to His leading. Many became offended in some way and lost their passion for God. This bothers me as much today as it did at the beginning of my ministry almost thirty years ago.

We need to understand that there is much more to Christianity than going to church on Sunday morning and hearing a message. After we hear the Word of God taught, we then have to give attention to the message heard. We have to think about it, talk about it and apply the truths in our daily life. This is where many miss out on the great rewards of walking in the truth. They are not applying the message to the daily affairs of their life.

{Mark 4:16-17} The people all heard the word preached. They all heard the same, exact word. Some of those who heard the Word taught experienced hope rising within them. They begin to believe they could actually have a better quality of life. That is the power in God's Word. It imparts hope!

Mark 4:24 Tells us when we hear the Word, we are to study the word and give thought to the truth we hear. This is the only way the Word of God becomes established in us. When it is not established in us we can become offended, confused or both.

Often Christians are not aware that as we increase in the Word of God, it begins to challenge our lifestyle. The Word will challenge our belief system and habits. It will challenge us to deal with certain attitudes. The Word will challenge our way of thinking and reacting in the daily affairs of life.

James 1 tells us to be doers of the Word. Doers of the Word. Get it? Not readers of the Word, or hearers of the word only. If we don’t put what we learn into operation, faith cannot manifest. Faith is the action we take based on what we believe. Faith only finds expression through the lives of those who hear, believe and apply the Word. Faith is the action we take.

The Word Exposes
The mission of God’s Word is not only to show us our inheritance in Christ and the promises and provisions God has provided for us. The word reveals things about ourselves that hinder our faith. Things that hinder our prayers from being answered, and things that hinder our progress in Christ.

The mission of God’s Word is to ……renew us in the inner most recess of our mind. It is through the process of mind renewal, that we are enabled to bring our habits, reactions, and choices into divine alignment. {Romans 12:1-2}
The Word opens our eyes and we see things differently, including ourselves and our own behavior. This is a necessary process so our thoughts come into agreement with God’s thoughts. The Apostle Paul also referred to this ”mind renewal” as “putting off the old man’s habits and putting on the new man in Christ.” {Col.1:13}

{2 Corn. 2}: is an amazing chapter that reveals to us, that we can know and comprehend the things of God. We can understand our new life in Christ as we allow the Word to become established on the inside of us. No one else can do that for us.

What are your views on how Christians come to spiritual maturity in Christ? Go ahead, express yourself!
TRS