FAITH IN THE WISDOM OF GOD

1Corinthians 2:5

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

I feel impressed to bring your attention to this passage one more day. Last time I looked at this on a personal level, that is, the wisdom of men. But it is more so, on a corporate level. 

There are a lot of things that man naturally in his wisdom acts upon. It is generally believed that before you can afford to have some good things in life you must have been earning very highly, or you must go into debt. Or that it is only when you live in a certain part of the world that you can really have a good life. Some people begin to express “faith in God” from these positions.

The fallout from such is that you may begin to believe that you will have the good things of life because you have a good job, or that you are living in a certain part of the world or that you are working in a certain place. 

If you are that kind of person, then your faith is in the wisdom of men not in the power of God. Does it mean you should not desire to have a good job? No, it does not mean that, but that your faith should not be in the job but in God’s ability to provide. The same way, you can relocate to another country to live in if you so desire, but do not do so on the premise that that is where you can make it. Let it be because, God led you there.

Confession/Prayer: 

My faith is not in human philosophy or machinations but in the ability of God.

WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE?

Isaiah 53:1“Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

Faith believes and holds unto the report of the Lord. The world we live in will present to you a lot of reports that are not in tandem with God’s report. You have economic report from the government, health report from your doctor, financial report from your bank. But thank God, He too has reports, and God’s reports are found in His Word, the Bible. 

Whose report are you going to believe? Faith believes in the report of the Bible. Notice our text for this morning: the arm of the Lord, which speaks of His power, is revealed to only those who believe the report of the Lord.  

So it does not matter what report, your doctor has given concerning your health, your bank statements, if they are not in line with God’s report, they are not final. It is God’s report that is final, believe his report today and you shall see the power of the Lord, you shall see the glory of the Lord.

Confession/Prayer: 

I believe the report of the Lord. His report says I am healed, I am blessed. My needs are met.

LOVE IS A BELIEVER

1Corinthians 13:7 (NET) “It (love) bears all things, believes all things…”

You know what, love believes, love is a believer. He who loves is someone who believes and he who believes should be someone who loves. Jesus said he that loves me will keep my commandment. I paraphrase that to say he who loves God will believe or have faith in God. 

I want to say to you my friend that if you love God you should not have problem believing God, the same way, spouses should not have problem believing themselves and in one another. 

I have said before that you should have faith in the love of God, but now what I am saying to you is that if you love God, believe Him. If you are having problem believing God, check your love, because love believes.

Confession/Prayer:

I love God and believe and trust Him with all of my heart and lean not unto my own understanding.

LET YOUR FAITH STAND IN THE POWER OF GOD

1Corinthians 2:5

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

My Pastor, Dr Tunde Joda, once told a story about a young man who was promised a job by an uncle of his who was the head of a government parastatal. He was asked to resume on a Monday but by the weekend there was a change of government and the uncle was relieved of his position, which automatically meant that the promise of a job cannot come to reality for the young man. 

What, you ask, is the relevance of this? The young man spoken of above would have been rejoicing and telling people God has provided him a job.

One of the things you must be careful about in your faith walk is the direction of your faith. Some people claim they are walking in faith because they have calculated in their heads the possibility of something happening, so their faith is in the wisdom of men not in the power of God. 

The Message Bible renders our text thus:

“…your life of faith is a response to God’s power”, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” 

I like that. Your faith, my faith should not be a response to some human calculations but to the ability and power of God. That is clear isn’t it?

Confession/Prayer: 

My faith is in the power of God only.

CONFESSION LEADS TO POSSESSION

Mark 11:34,24  “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”.

Let me add one more thought on our text for meditation.  I pointed out that faith will work by saying it and praying it yesterday. Today, I want you to understand that after you have prayed it, you still have to say it. 

Why? Look at verse 24 again:

“…when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them”. 

But take a look at 1 Corinthians 4:13;

“…we also believe and speak.” So if we insert this into verse 24 it can read like this:

“…when ye pray, believe that you receive them, (and say that you receive them), and you shall have them.” 

This is because, it is confession that leads to possession. This is why some people do not see answers to their prayers, they do not say it after praying about it. Therefore, when ye pray, believe and say and you shall have them.

Confession/Prayer: 

I believe I receive that which is my heart’s desire. Father I thank you that according to Mark 11:24, I have received that which I asked for in prayer.