Sacrificial giving

2 Corinthians 9:8
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” KJV
Another action that is necessary in someone believing for abundance is Tithing. You cannot say you believing God for abundance and you do not want tithe, for this simple reason:

Malachi 3:10-11
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant…” NLT

“Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things.” GNT

When you tithe, you recognize God as your source, and God who is your source is a God of abundance. By tithing you are expressing your faith toward God for abundance also, this is because at the root of someone not tithing is fear of insufficient funds. Tithing is a faith action. The believer who does not tithe is already contradicting his faith. He will not experience abundance.

Another action that can invoke abundance is SACRIFICIAL giving. God Himself exemplified this in giving Jesus to be sacrificed for mankind. He did it so that he can have many sons.
“In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.” 
Hebrews 2:10 NIV

When Abraham gave up Isaac, God swore to him and said, “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you”, sacrificial giving moves the hand of God to bless abundantly.

Corresponding action

2 Corinthians 9:8
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” KJV

Continuing our meditation on the above passage, we are studying faith for abundance. Yesterday, we understood that to release our faith we speak as God did in Genesis 1:20-21 because a man’s belly shall be filled with the increase of his lips. But faith is not just speaking:

“So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).” James 2:17 AMP
Therefore beyond speaking we must back it up with corresponding actions:

2 Corinthians 9:6-7
“But remember this-if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.” TLB

“Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop.” MESSAGE

“[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.” AMP


What will be corresponding action to your faith for abundance? It is sowing much, it is being a lavish planter and being a generous sower. You cannot be believing God for abundance and be acting differently, you have to sow with abundance in mind. This is the ultimate test of your faith for abundance. So learn to think abundance, talk abundance and then do abundance. 

Faith for Abundance

2 Corinthians 9:8

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” KJV

Let us add one more thought in this area of understanding the place of grace in receiving abundance.

Psalm 127:2

“It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil — for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.” AMP

If God can give blessings to one while sleeping what makes you think you can only have abundance when you work for it. Now I am sure you understand I am not promoting laziness or anything like that for the Scriptures are clear on that. But for you to be able to put your faith in God absolutely for abundance you appreciate the above reality.

Now you can release your faith to God and lay claim to abundance in your life. How you may ask?

Genesis 1:20-21

“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”KJV

In the above passage, how did God bring forth abundance? He spoke to the waters to bring forth abundantly. Out of seemingly nothingness, abundance came forth because God spoke to it. That is how your own abundance too will be created.

“A man's [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil].” Proverbs 18:20 AMP

More on Abundance

2 Corinthians 9:8

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” KJV

We said yesterday that abundance is God’s will for the believer. And it means to have more than enough for yourself so that you can give to others. Though it is the will of God for you there is the need to exercise faith to walk in it. You must agree that you it can happen to you, that you can walk in abundance. 

To release faith for abundance you need to understand firstly the place of grace, because this is what God says He will cause to abound towards you. Understanding the place of grace is to understand that walking in abundance goes beyond anything you can do or achieve and neither can you earn it by hard work or your efforts and abilities. It is understanding that it is not about what you deserve or don’t deserve, what you are qualified or not qualified for but what Christ had made available. This is because grace takes you beyond what you deserve or merit. 

Remember that the Scriptures say,

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor that ye through His poverty might become rich” 2Corinthians 9:8

When was Jesus made poor on the cross? Before the foundations of the world, because that was when the Lamb was slain, this was way before you were born, before you sinned and before you knew to do anything.

 “For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ( delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8 AMP

Do you know this salvation that we received includes our prosperity? And it says it did not come by our own doing or through our striving, it is the gift of God. Abundance is the gift of God. Receive abundance firstly as a gift from God.

“Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, and the power to enjoy them and to accept his appointed lot and to rejoice in his toil — this is the gift of God [to him].” Ecclesiastes 5:19 AMP

What does it mean to have abundance?

2 Corinthians 9:8

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” KJV

There are three levels of provision on which people may live: a slave in Egypt, wilderness and promised land level which can be referred to as insufficiency, sufficiency and abundance. But God’s will for you is abundance. This is expressed clearly in His word as our text and other Scriptures witness to:

“The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity — in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground — in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.” Deut 28:11 NIV

Did you se that? He will grant you abundant prosperity, not just prosperity. This is God’s will for you! What does it mean to have abundance? Simply put, it is to have all your needs supplied and have left over for others. The amplified Bible translation puts it very aptly:

“And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].” AMP

It says you having all sufficiency in any circumstance, whatever the need be you will not require external aid or support. Did I hear you say WOW! Well there is still more to come. Beyond that you still have enough to give for every good work and donation when needed. This may look far fetched but this what God can and is willing to do for you. You must accept that having abundance is God’s will for me. That you can have all your needs met and still have enough left over to do good for others.

What you eat

Romans 14:2

“One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” NIV

“One [man's faith permits him to] believe he may eat anything, while a weaker one [limits his] eating to vegetables.” AMP

Have you ever considered that your faith is connected to what you eat and how you eat. Our text for study reveals this clearly that we eat what we eat according to our level of faith. Now the Scripture exhorts us to eat with faith and to eat from faith, how do you do this practically?

Firstly, you must acknowledge your dependence on God for the provision of your food. You must receive it as a gift from Him.

“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.” Ecclesiastes 2:24 KJV

Secondly, as a follow up to acknowledging your food as a gift from God you thank Him for it. Which leads to the third thing. Thanking God for your food, sanctifies it, means, it makes it holy or whole and so does you good when you eat it. Even if there were impurities in it originally or harmful ingredients, their effect is nullified by your faith.

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” 1Timothy 4:4,5. NASU

What you can see from this is that as you apply the principle of faith to your eating, this whole area of your life takes on a new meaning. Through faith your daily meals can take on the nature of a sacrament that you partake of for God’s glory. It can also be a place where your faith in God is renewed on daily basis.

The finished work of Christ on the cross

John 19:30

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said ,”It is finished” and bowed His head and gave up the ghost.”

Understand this, that Christianity is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. This understanding will affect how you see yourself and your standing in Christ. It will also affect your position regarding the blessings of God. 

“You’re not doing anything: you’re simply calling out to God, trusting Him to do it for you. That’s salvation, with your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it right out loud, “God has set everything right between Him and me.” Romans 10:10 Message

“When you come to Him, that fullness comes together for you too. His power extends over everything. Entering into His fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised, keeping a long list of laws. No you’re already in – insiders not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. 

If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting yourself to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life, coming up out it was a resurrection. The blessings God has prepared for us have already been put in place. This is a FINISHED WORK. (emphasis mine) It is complete, settled, over and done with.

The blessings of God are not rooted in our expectation or hope but it’s a heavenly reality. From God’s viewpoint we possess the land of blessing right now. All the blessings we can ever receive from God have already been created and established and are in a holding pattern waiting for us to possess them. 

We tend to look the blessings of God as “potentially” ours, but God sees them as “possessively” ours. Our part is not to struggle to make things happen but to acknowledge the grace of God and take joy as the Holy Spirit makes things happen in us and through us to others.

Knowing God

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” KJV

Still on this thought that to know God you must know Jesus.

“No man hath seen God at anytime, the only begotten Son, which hath been in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John 1:18

“No man has ever seen God at any time, the only unique Son, or the only begotten God who is in the bosom[in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him[He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen, He has interpreted Him and has made Him known]” (amplified)

The first step of knowing God truly then begins with knowing Jesus, to know Jesus, you must yield your life to Him in surrender and acknowledge Him as Lord over your life. This you must do if you have never done so. Jesus Himself said:

“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:7

That henceforth starts when a person surrenders his life to the Lord Jesus. 

A lot of people want to know God but they do not want to go through Jesus so they get frustrated and sometimes what happens is that they get a warped knowledge of God with which the devil uses to destroy their lives. 

When Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me”, He was not making a religious statement, He was just putting down what has been established by heaven. 

So do not delay any further come to Jesus today. And if you already have come to the Lord before, then keep pressing into Him, for the more of Him you know, the more of the Father you get to know and understand.

Knowing God through Jesus.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” KJV

Remember that according to Proverbs 30:2-5, to know God, you have to know His name and His Son’s name. So today, I am saying, if you want to know God look at Jesus.

Hebrews 1:2-3

“[But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order]. He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature…” AMP

John 14:7-11

“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” KJV

You want to know God then go study the life of Jesus in the gospels and as you get to know Him you get to know God. Anything you don’t see Jesus do, don’t expect God to do those things.

Getting to know God through His character

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” KJV

So you get to know God through His character. I have given an example in yesterday’s study. Others are that He is Love, He is Light and He is a Spirit. When you study these out and understand it, it affects how you see God and how you relate with Him. 

Remember I said Jesus in John 17 left His disciples with three things and one of it is His name. Another which reveals God that Jesus said he left with them is His Word.

John 17:8,14

“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me… I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” KJV

This should have been the first thing. You can only know God through His word, not through the words of man or the doctrines of man for God and His Word are one and the same. The reason people don’t get to see God when they read or study His word is because they look at it through the glasses of the traditions of men, philosophy or commandments and doctrines of men.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 KJV

“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee…Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1,3-5 KJV

The goodness of the Lord

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” KJV

So where do you go to know the character of God? Exodus 34:5-7 says:

Exodus 34:5-7

“And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” KJV

The Scripture above shows us His character, Goodness and Truth. Also He is Gracious , Merciful and has longsuffering. Let us take a look at the His goodness, one of the things that I believe a lot of people are not fully persuaded of. God is absolutely a good God.

Psalm 31:19

“Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men!” AMP

Psalm 21:3

“For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.” KJV

Psalm 33:5

“He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” KJV

Psalm 27:13

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” KJV

There are more I could give you to convince you about the goodness of the Lord and how important that you believe in it absolutely. David said the reason he did not faint was because he believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. When you know Him as the good God, you too would be able to believe like that.

The goodness of the Lord

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” KJV

So where do you go to know the character of God? Exodus 34:5-7 says:

Exodus 34:5-7

“And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” KJV

The Scripture above shows us His character, Goodness and Truth. Also He is Gracious , Merciful and has longsuffering. Let us take a look at the His goodness, one of the things that I believe a lot of people are not fully persuaded of. God is absolutely a good God.

Psalm 31:19

“Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men!” AMP

Psalm 21:3

“For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.” KJV

Psalm 33:5

“He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” KJV

Psalm 27:13

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” KJV

There are more I could give you to convince you about the goodness of the Lord and how important that you believe in it absolutely. David said the reason he did not faint was because he believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. When you know Him as the good God, you too would be able to believe like that.

How to Know God Better

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” KJV

The Scriptures say God’s people perish for lack of knowledge. Some people can be said to be in the class of the woman at the well whom Jesus told, “you know not what you worship.” There are a lot who don’t know the God that they claim to serve, that is why they attribute things to Him that don’t bear His signature or character. So for some days in our devotion I want to help you get to know Him a little better. In getting to know God where do we start from as He is more than our finite mind can grasp.

Proverbs 30:1-4

“The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?” KJV

The Scripture gives us a clue where to begin. From the above it tells me that I can know God through His name and through His Son. John 17 confirms this as well, there Jesus in His last prayer said that He has given to the disciples three things, one of them was His name:

“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word…And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (vs 6,26)

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me…” (vs 6, NIV)

“I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me…” (vs 6, Message)

“I have manifested Your name[I have revealed your very self, Your real self]…” (vs 6, amplified)

You can see from the above passage and the different translations, that knowing the name of God means knowing His character. God’s character reveal who He truly is, therefore, to truly know God is to know His character. When you know God by His character, then you can understand Him. What is His character?

Pleasing the Father

Isaiah 56:4-5

“For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” KJV

We are still on the subject of pleasing the Father. Jesus said something in John 15:8

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” KJV

I know there are different types of fruit but the context of the above verse has to do with fruit of soul winning and that’s God’s highest pursuit. If we are to please Him, we must bring our desires to line up with His highest pursuit. 

When you understand this, you will realize that whatever you do in this life has to be geared towards fulfilling this. What you are involved should become a platform for fulfilling God’s highest purpose, which is, giving redemption to man.

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Ecclesiastes 1:1 KJV

Notice how Solomon introduced himself? He called introduced himself a preacher first and a king last. What does that say to you? 

It means you are first and foremost on assignment for God, but you may have a platform for executing that assignment. Solomon’s platform was his kingship. Yours may be your bank job, your being a lawyer or judge, a doctor, etc. Just know this whatever you are involved is your platform for fulfilling God’s highest pursuit.

Why you need to have the prophetic word

2 Peter 1:19

“And we have the prophetic word [made] firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom] and the Morning Star rises ( comes into being) in your hearts.” AMP

Today, I want to share with you why you need to have the prophetic word delivered to you. I liken these times to the situation in Matthew 14:21-33. Jesus wants us to get to the other side but the boat of life is going through turbulent times because the ‘storm’ is out there. 

Just as Peter heard the voice of the Master and stepped out of the boat to walk on the stormy waters you need to hear the prophetic word so that you will step out of the boat of fear and mediocrity and dare to do great things. You cannot live an extra ordinary life in these turbulent times if all you are hearing is what everybody is hearing, you must hear your own word. 

You prophetic word, when it comes it will be like a dog hearing his whistle, it will make run and shout when everybody else wants to sit still.

You also need a prophetic word so that you can bring hope and encouragement to other people around you but who do not have the same hope as you have and who are in stormy waters.

Joseph is a man who had a prophetic word come to him and it brought him out of the prison to the palace. Psalm 105:17-21

How a prophetic word word comes

2 Peter 1:19

“And we have the prophetic word [made] firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom] and the Morning Star rises ( comes into being) in your hearts.” AMP

Today, let us talk about how  a prophetic word or rhema word comes. Interestingly, what you do when it comes that we discussed yesterday also is one of the ways you can receive a prophetic word.

1.      a prophetic word can come to you as you meditate upon God’s word. This is the most common way that is open to every believer. Therefore when you are in a situation and you need God to speak to you, go to the word yourself and meditate.

2.     A prophetic word can come to you as confess God’s word to yourself.

3.     A prophetic word can come tgo you as listen to the word being preached.

4.     A prophetic word can come to you as pray in the Holy Spirit, that is, as you pray in  tongues and interpret.

5.     A prophetic word can come to you through the gifts of the Spirit, particularly, the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, word of prophecy, tongues and interpretation coming through a man of God.

6.     A prophetic word can come to you through the still small voice on the inside.

7.     A prophetic word can come to you through visions and dreams.

The light of God

Isaiah 60:1

“ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you — rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” AMP

The above Scripture indicates that you can only rise out from under the circumstances of life when your light has come. This means when you have been brought to a place of depression or prostration you need light to be able to come out from under that circumstance. But what is this light? 

2 Peter 1:19

“And we have the prophetic word [made] firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom] and the Morning Star rises ( comes into being) in your hearts.” AMP

The above passage refers to the prophetic word as a light(lamp) that shines in a dark place. In John 1, it also calls the Word, Light and this light shines in the darkness. When you are in any negative situation, it is like being in darkness and what can bring you out is light. This light comes to you in the form of a prophetic word or a rhema word as some will call. 

What is this word? It is the word spoken to you by God through His Spirit for that specific situation. Peter says when you receive such word, it is like a light shinning in a dark and squalid place. But then, you still have to pay close attention to this word until that little light becomes a very bright light that drives out the darkness completely. Pay close attention to it means you do what Proverbs 4 says:

Proverbs 4:20-22

“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” KJV

  1.     Give attention to that word, that is, focus on it.

  2.     Put it in your ears, that is, do something with it such that you can hear it with your ears.

  3.     Put it before your eyes also, look at it constantly and 

  4.     Keep it in your heart. How you do this is by meditating on it regularly.

Changes in your life

Luke 6:46

“And why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?”

2Corinthians 3:17

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

In the Message Bible, we see that to walk in the revelation of Jesus as Lord is to recognize Him also as the Master over your life. Our text in Luke says if you call Him Lord, then you are supposed to do what He says. This means, if He is Lord, then His sayings or His word will have final authority over you. 

He will exercise Lordship over your life through your obedience to His word. The more you allow His word to take it’s rightful place in your life, the more your life becomes what God intended it to be.

The second thing that is revealed in the second Scripture text is understanding that Jesus can exercise His Lordship through the Holy Spirit. This means that the Lordship of Jesus also translates to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit in our lives. According to that Scripture, where the Holy Spirit is received as Lord, there will be liberty, freedom and emancipation from every form of bondage. When that happens to you, of course, your life will experience change. 

So if you want to see changes in your life accept the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, listen to and follow Him where ever he leads and you will see definite changes in every area of your life.

Confessing Jesus as Lord

Luke 6:46

“And why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say?”

2Corinthians 3:17

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

One of the things that we ask people to do when surrendering their lives to Jesus is to confess to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, now this is according to Romans 10:9&10. However, it seems that is where it stops with people, but that is where it stops, in fact it never stops. You see the revelation of the Lordship of Jesus you have determines the extent of the change you see in your life, that is, it determines how ‘saved’ you become.

Romans 10:9

“Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” AMP

You see, when you confess Jesus as Lord and understand that as Lord, He is the Master, and He is over everything and everyone. That all authority belongs to Him and everyone shall bow to him, then you know you cannot but have the victory. Everything the enemy, satan does is to try and bring down the Lordship of Jesus in your life, so when you stand up for it, God acts swiftly on your behalf. Case in point, is Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They stood for the Lordship of God in their lives by refusing to bow to an idol of gold and God stood up for them.

Rom 10:8-12

 “So what exactly was Moses saying? The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God — "Jesus is my Master" — embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. 

That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me! Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this — heart and soul — will ever regret it." THE MESSAGE BIBLE

Understanding and walking in the revelation of the Lordship of Jesus is the basis of change, the root of a changed life or a life that is fruitful in the knowledge of Christ.

What trust is

Jeremiah 17:7

“[Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.” AMP

We have been studying trust or trustfulness as an expression of the fruit of faith. Let us look at one more day because the Scriptures say a man who can trust the Lord is most blessed and I believe you want to be that person. Some more things to know about trust:

  

  1.     Trust is a learned response. This means you trust as a result of what you learned by experience. That is, in your dealings with someone, you will only trust if you have found the person to be trustworthy. Your experience of God will affect your ability to trust Him.

Ps 9:10

“And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You…” AMP  

  

  2.     Trust grows by feeding on God’s word. 

Ps 18:30

“As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.” AMP

  

   3.     Trust is  commitment.

Psalms 37:5

“Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.” AMP

Psalms 20:7

“Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.” AMP

Put your trust in God today and you will be most blessed.

Faith as a fruit

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…” NIV

Remember, what got us to this point? Studying faith as a fruit, and we got talking about the expression of this fruit as also trust. Today I want to emphasise to you that it is a fruit of the spirit not of your mind. This means, this fruit is of the spirit realm not an emotional thing. Therefore the trust we are talking about is not emotional but of the spirit. 

David in the Psalms made us to see that while in your emotion you may be disturbed, you can still trust from your spirit:

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” Psalm 56:3,4 NIV

Notice, he said when I am afraid, this is fear, present in the emotions. He still is able to trust because trust runs deeper than fear, it is deep in his spirit. 

What I am saying to you is this, irrespective of what is going on around you or the turmoil that may be present in your emotions you can still be trusting and stable in your faith towards God. Listen to the testimony of Paul:

Acts 20:22-24

“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:  Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. KJV

How is it that Paul could say he is not moved by the bonds and afflictions awaiting him in Jerusalem? It was because he had committed himself into the hands of God in trust. You too can do so today if you have never done that consciously. Maybe you have not surrendered your life to Jesus, do so now unfailingly. Maybe yours is to learn to trust God with your affairs as it is written in Psalm 37:5; 1Peter 5:7.

Spending time with God

Psalm 37:5

“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” KJV

Yesterday, I pointed out that to being stable is an outward expression of the fruit of faith. Today, still looking at this trust, I want you to know that the key to trusting is commitment. 

That is, the act of commitment leads to the attitude of trust. For you to commit something to someone, it means you have a relationship with that person and you know the person well enough. This is an outcome of spending time with God. Paul expressed this in 2Timothy 1:12:

“…for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” KJV

Notice the elements in this verse of Scripture; firstly, he says I know. Trust is based on knowing, you do not trust who you do not know. That is why trust has to be cultivated over a period of time. His relationship brought Paul to the place where he is convinced about what God can do and so he could commit things into His hand. 

If your knowledge of God has not brought you to the place of having enough persuasion to be able to commit your life to Him in trust, then you need to do something about it. The Scriptures say:

Psalm 9:10

“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” NIV

“And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God's Word and the right of their necessity].” AMP

Trustfulness

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 

Another aspect in which faith is seen as a fruit is “trustfulness” as it is translated in the Jerusalem Bible. The fruit of faith in this aspect may be defined as a quiet, steady, unwavering trust in the goodness, wisdom, and faithfulness of God. 

Trust or trustfulness is a quality characteristic of children and yet it is also a quality found in spiritually mature people because it is affected by innocence and longevity of relationship at the same time.

The person who has cultivated this fruit has an unshakeable confidence that God is in complete control of every situation and that in and through all circumstances, His purpose will be worked out. 

This makes the person unperturbed and remains calm and restful irrespective of what is going on. The outward expression of this kind of fruit is stability.

“They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.” Psalm 125:1,2

So it is with the believer who has learned to trust. Others all around him may give way to confusion and panic but he remains calm and secure. Cultivate trust today.

Faithfulness

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Now we will study the second type of faith, that is, faith as a fruit of your recreated human spirit. Faith as a fruit differs from faith as a gift in two main ways. First, the gift can be imparted and received in one fell swoop but the fruit has to be cultivated over time and it is a continuing process. Secondly, the gift of faith is not directly related to the character of the one who exercises it while the fruit is an expression of character.

As an expression of character therefore, we see this fruit of faith expressed as 

“faithfulness” as it is rendered in some translations:

Gal 5:22-23

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…” NIV

Faithful means to be unswerving in allegiance, to be true to one’s promise or oath. It means to be loyal, steadfast and resolute. This fruit is needed in our vertical relationship as well as our horizontal relationships. This is a much needed element in man to man relationship, in our work places and between husbands and wives. God expects us to deal faithfully with one another.

Proverbs 20:6

“Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” KJV 

He rewards faithfulness:

Proverbs 28:20

“A faithful man will be richly blessed…” NIV

Luke 16:10-12

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?” KJV

The gift of faith

Hebrews 11:1 

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 

The gift of faith is given at the discretion of the Holy Spirit in a specific situation to meet a specific need. It is not yours to control or command, it is not intended to satisfy man’s personal whims. 

It is made available at God’s discretion to accomplish ends that originate in God’s eternal purposes. It is said when this gift is in operation, a man becomes, for a time the channel of God’s own faith and acts like God. It’s operation at times is passive in appearance, like Peter sleeping soundly on the eve of his been put to death or Daniel sleeping in the den of lions overnight. 

At other times, it is released also through the spoken words, like Elijah announcing the suspension of rains or Joshua holding the sun in place till the battle was won. The good news is that the believer’s life is not dependent on this type of faith and so you are not expected to wait on this gift before doing anything in God or receiving anything. 

Do not worry either, whatever you have need of, the faith to live by is sufficient to deliver the goods.

Three types of faith

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

There is an understanding that I want you to have concerning the subject of faith. It is that when you talk about faith, there are actually three types of faith in Scripture or three levels of operations of faith. They are:

   a)     Faith as Gift or the Gift of Faith

   b)     Faith as a Fruit or the Fruit of faith

   c)     Faith to live by

Our studies have been centred on majorly on the third type, the faith that we live by as believers. The one the Scriptures refer to when it says, “the just shall live by faith”

Briefly, the gift of faith is that one which is mentioned among the nine gifts of the Spirit in 1Corinthians 12. 

The second one is the that which is referred to in Galatians 5:22 as one of the fruits of the recreated human spirit. While the third form is the continuing personal leaning of the individual believer on God as a lifestyle. Each has it’s place and purpose in the walk of the believer. So we want to look at them, especially the first two so that you can have an understanding of them.

Exercise of faith

Mark 11:22-24

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 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.”

There is something I want to point out to you about the exercise of faith toward God. It is the all inclusiveness of who exercises it and the lack of restriction or the limitlessness of what it can be exercised for.

Firstly, the all inclusiveness of everybody, notice the word, “whosoever”. Exercising faith in God and toward God is for whosoever, it is not for a selected few. It is not for apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers only. It is not for giants of faith or people who are referred to as generals in the body of Christ only. It is not for males only neither is it for adults only. It is for whosoever. Who is a whosoever? Whosoever is anybody and everybody. 

Why is this necessary to point out? It is because, some people in the body of Christ still feel they cannot do some things, like believing God. No you can say to the mountain, “be removed” and the Bible said it will obey you. So wherever you come across “whosoever”, put your name there. Say to yourself, I am the whosoever that the Scriptures is talking about in Mark 11:23.

Secondly, is the limitlessness of what you can use your faith for or against.

“…he shall WHATEVER he saith…” Wow! Whatever? This is huge isn’t it. That you can whatever you say. He repeats Himself again in the next verse: “WHAT THINGS SOEVER  you desire…”. That is still whatever! Hey, friend, there is no limit to what your faith can lay hold unto. 

There is no restriction on what you can use your faith to obtain or achieve, so what are you waiting for? Listen God is not shaking in His boots, saying what have let myself in by telling them they can ask for whatever, supposing they ask what I do not have. No. A thousand times No! He is God, the Almighty, the El-Shaddai, the all- sufficient one. This why Jesus said, “hitherto have you asked nothing in my name, ask, that you may receive and that your joy may be full.”(John 16:23,24).

Again I ask you, what are you waiting for?