Faith in fullest expression

James 2:20-22

“You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that  his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” NIV

We are still on giving the exercise of your faith its fullest expression, and it is by sacrifice. From our text, you can see that it says so of Abraham, but let us see two more examples in Scripture.

Luke 19:8-9

“And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, “This day is

Faith has a starting point

James 2:20-22

“You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that  his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” NIV

Faith in the life of a believer has a starting point. You have heard the statement and if you have not heard it before, let me tell you what it is, “faith begins where the will of God is known”. This is how faith begins. Then we also know from Scripture where faith has to begin from; “…for with the heart

Faith receiving precedes actual receiving

Mark 5:25-29

“Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years.  She had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. 

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,   for she kept saying, "If only I touch his clothes, I will be healed."   At once the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.”  The NET Bible®

Did you notice the process of her healing? The Scriptures say, “at once the bleeding stopped and then she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease”, this tells you faith receiving precedes actual receiving. Putting

Attitude on serving God

Isaiah 1:19

“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.” NIV

We are still looking at attitudes and how they affect us in having the best from God. I want you to know that your attitude will not be automatically good because you are a Christian, it is something you decide to have, I mean right attitude. Let me just pick two areas:

Attitude on serving God: Some people have a bad attitude when it comes to serving God and this is not acceptable to Him. When your attitude is wrong you cannot have the best from God or even from your employer. God

What attitude is

Isaiah 1:19

“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.” NIV

Someone once said life is a series of decisions, and everyday we are making them from the mundane to the serious. It’s the decision you made today that determines where you will be tomorrow, what you will have tomorrow and the kind of life you’ll live tomorrow. So to receive God’s best, it must begin with you, your decision. You must decide you want to have God’s best in life and you are not settling for less. In deciding to have God’s best you do the following:

1.     Believe that God wants YOU to have His best.

2.     Make a commitment to give your best in everything you do.

3.     Stay focused on pursuing God’s

Expect a miracle

Judges 6:13

“And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” KJV

Gideon recognized that if God be with you then miracles should also be present in your life. As a child of God you can have a miracle in your life, so I want you to expect a miracle today.

A miracle is when time and space and natural processes are compressed to make something happen for the individual. In some cases, time stands still. It is also when something that defies natural

The act of giving thanks

Ps 100:4-101:1

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. NIV

Thanksgiving can be defined as:

1.     The act of giving thanks – the doing of giving thanks, it is an action word.

2.     A prayer expressing gratitude

3.     A public acknowledgement of

Making a difference

Luke 7:1-3

“When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.” NIV

Being a value adder is nothing but being someone that makes a difference, a good difference.  The Scripture in Matthew 5 that we saw yesterday, says that you are a light, therefore shine. It says you are like a city

A man’s value

Luke 7:1-3

“When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.” NIV

Have you ever thought of it? What will make a centurion break protocol, break tradition, come off his high horse to go look for Jesus, not on behalf of a family member but on behalf of a servant. The answer is there – this was a servant he valued highly. Some translations say he was a highly

Different compartments of the soul

Proverbs 23:7

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” KJV

Romans 12:2

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” KJV

Let us conclude this meditation on the mind by bringing to you the different compartments of the soul.

Firstly, there is the mind which is the seat of knowledge. It is made strong by receiving information. So feed on the word of God and books generally.

Secondly, you have the will. That is the seat of your convictions, where principles are formed and held unto. 

The knowledge you have and the experiences of life help to form your principles and convictions. So if you feed on the right knowledge and your experiences are filtered through correct information, you will end up with good convictions and right values.

Thirdly, in your soul also is another part that is the

The power of the mind

Proverbs 23:7

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” KJV

Romans 12:2

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” KJV

The mind is a powerhouse and we need to continue to use our minds to glorify God. You have to take deliberate steps to take advantage of the power of the mind. The Scripture has said it that the end result of the carnal mind or the unregenerated mind is death because it is an enemy of God, so we are

Thoughts

Proverbs 23:7

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” KJV

Romans 12:2

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” KJV

What we examined yesterday was more like a side journey from our focus which I believe the Holy Spirit had me take because of you, so let us go back to our focus for meditation. Our Scripture for meditation in Proverbs lets us know what we think is important. I heard somebody say this, “you are not what you think you

Man is tripartite being

Proverbs 23:7

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” KJV

Romans 12:2

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” KJV

Man is tripartite being, he is a spirit, who has a soul and lives in a physical body. God is interested in all parts of our being. Some behave as though, it is only the spirit that God is interested in. In fact let us look at some

Walk!

John 5:1-9

“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 

For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man

Take up thy bed

John 5:1-9

“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 

For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 

The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And

Would you be made whole?

John 5:1-9

“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 

When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into

Direction of your faith

Colossians 2:11-12

“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” NIV

Yesterday , I showed you that your faith is important. Today I also want you to see that where you direct your faith is also important. Our text revealed that we became one with Christ in death and resurrection through our faith in the power of God. It is important that when you exercise faith, that you exercise it in

Your faith is very important

Col 2:11-12

“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” NIV

Your faith is very important. Some people have more confidence in other people’s faith than their own. They have more faith in their Pastor’s faith, or other men of God. But the Scripture above shows clearly that the individual’s faith is important. Here it shows that you became one with Christ through your faith in the power of God. Now that is the greatest miracle you can ever experience, if

Reconcilaition

1 Corinthians 1:18-19

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

The third major thing I believe that the cross represents is RECONCILIATION.

Colossians 1:20-22

“…and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death

Message of the cross

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

In our meditations we have been looking at the message of the cross and its implication in the life of the believer. I want to bring to you by the help of the Holy Spirit how you can by faith work these things out in your life for these things are also by faith. Remember what was said of Moses?

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” Hebrews 11:24 KJV

“[Aroused] by faith Moses, when he had grown

Living the crucified life

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

To conclude on this, let me introduce something here regarding living the crucified life. I believe that when you hear of something like this, some people have the mistaken idea that living such life means you go through life suffering not enjoying the abundant life. You are not the only one to think like this, there is someone just like you in the Bible. Have you heard about the rich young ruler?
Mark 10:17-22

“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 1:18
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

We are still on this not often talked about thing in the body of Christ – the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I ended yesterday’s meditation on the note that if your walk with God had not yet made a demand on the things you love to do, it is still a babyish Christianity. 

I showed you the example of Moses where the Scripture said, when he was grown up, he refused to be called Pharoah’s daughter, he chose to suffer with God’s people. When we talk about denying yourself, understand it is not about sin, it is about the things you love that are not sinful, sometimes they may even be blessings God gave you. Remember Abraham?

“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah;

Denying oneself

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

Another major message that we get from the cross of Jesus Christ is the message of SELF DENIAL or SELF SACRIFICE.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 KJV

The believer who wants to experience the fullness of the life in Christ must be willing to deny himself or be willing to sacrifice his life. To get a true picture of what this is all about, let us look at the above text in other translations:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].” Matthew 16:’24-25 AMP

“Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” THE MESSAGE

From the above translations, we can deduce that to deny oneself means to disregard yourself. Forget yourself and your interests get off the driver’s seat of your life and embrace suffering. Another translation says to say no to things you want. Listen if your walk with God has never brought to the place where you say no to things you like then it is still a babyish Christianity.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” NIV

Love not the world

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

The third thing you die to is the world.

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14 KJV
What is the world, you ask?

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” 1John 2:15-17 KJV

“Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world — wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important — has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out — but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.” THE MESSAGE

“Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires-the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance-these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever.” TLB
James 4:4

“You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.” AMP

When you are dead to the world, you do not get involved with the rat race that people get into, you do not get into bondage of the fashion of the world or the world’s system of doing things.

Free from sin

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

The second thing you die to on the cross is sin.
Rom 6:1-14

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

Yes I know this is along passage, but it speaks for itself. A dead person cannot sin because he is freed from the hold of sin. Because of the cross, you can “let not sin reign in your mortal body”. To live this out in reality, you count yourself dead to sin. Make a confession out this. Say, I am  freed from sin because I am dead. Therefore sin has no more hold on me, sin does not have dominion over me and I will not yield my body to it anymore.”
 When you make the confession, call the particular sin you are struggling with, pornography, lying, sexual sin, etc, by name.

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:13,14. KJV

The death on the cross

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

Still talking about the first imagery that the cross brings to us, remember Jesus said, “Except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and die, it abideth alone.”
When you go through the cross, you died firstly to satan.

Romans 7:1-6

“Do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to men who know the law — that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. 

But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” NIV

Without dying on the cross with Jesus, we could not be free from the legitimate hold the devil had on us through the first Adam. The death on the cross broke that hold just as death releases a spouse from the bonds of marriage to the dead spouse. You are now free to belong to Jesus. Satan, no longer has any hold on you whatsoever. The devil himself knows this and you should know this too. You know what this does, it makes a lie the of this copout, “the devil made me do it.” The devil cannot make you do anything you don’t want to do.

The cross

1 Corinthians 1:18

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” NIV

In Christendom, we rejoice a lot about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and a little about the crucifixion, infact, in some circles the cross is not given any mention at all because our Saviour is no longer on the cross. But Jesus did something to always put the cross before us when He instituted the Communion or the Lord’s Supper as it is called in more traditional settings. He said, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do shew forth my death. So we are not to run away from the cross but run to it. 

Paul also said something that lends weight to this; he said he seeks only to know amongst the people Jesus and Him crucified not resurrected. We have to embrace the cross if we are to have a real resurrection. Moreover, our text for meditation reveals that when we embrace the message of the cross as believers, we are actually embracing the power of God. There are some things that come to us as you look at the cross and what it symbolizes in our Christian walk without which we will not have the fullness of the life in Christ.


The first of these is DEATH. The cross speaks about death. The believer is supposed to be a dead person, in fact every believer is a living dead. To be a child of God you died with Jesus on the cross and also resurrected with Him. The problem is that many don’t want the death experience but the resurrection life, therefore it seems many people just fainted and got resuscitated. 

This is why there is not much difference between their old lives and the new ones. But the Scripture says, “He that is Christ Jesus, is a new creature, old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new.” You cannot be a new creature without going through the cross.

You are an overcomer

Romans 3:25-26
“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” NIV

Some more things we enjoy as we express faith in the blood of Jesus.

• We enjoy our victory in Christ. You are an overcomer because of the blood of Jesus.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelations 12:11 KJV
Not only do we have victory through the blood, we have protection also because of the blood. 

Remember, when the angel of death killed all the first born in Egypt, well he could not go near the children of Israel because they had the blood of the Passover on their door posts. When you express your faith in the blood, you are affirming your victory and protection.

• Faith in the blood releases boldness. 

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” 
Hebrews 10:19 KJV

There are other benefits of declaring your faith in the blood of Jesus, but I want to stop here hoping that you have seen enough not to take the blood of Jesus for granted. From now henceforth, consciously release your faith in the blood of Jesus, thereby affirming to yourself what is yours by reason of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Justification through faith in the blood

Rom 3:25-26
“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” NIV

More on what expressing faith in the blood of Jesus will bring to you. Yesterday, we mentioned two, that is, redemption and access. Today, I want you to look some more.

• We have justification through faith in the blood of Jesus. To be justified is to be made fit. The blood of Jesus makes you fit to called God’s own child.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Romans 5:1,9 KJV

• We are reconciled to God through the blood, therefore every time you express faith in the blood, you release also the reconciling power that is in the blood. The blood removed the greatest rift that ever existed, that of between God and man. Faith in the blood can bring to an end any rift.

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:20 KJV

• We have forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus, to enjoy that you must have faith in the efficacy of the blood.

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7 KJV

Faith in the blood

Rom 3:25-26
“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” NIV

The Scripture says, “they overcame him(satan) by the blood of the lamb…”, to overcome you have to express faith in the blood. What does it mean to have faith in the blood? It means to express faith in what the blood of Jesus has accomplished for us. So what are these?

• The blood of Jesus offers us redemption, so you are to express faith in that redemption made available. Redemption means a ransom was paid for your release, that ransom was the blood of Jesus. Affirm your redemption by acknowledging faith in the blood of Jesus.

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7 KJV

• The blood of Jesus has brought you to God, you who were far off. 

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:13 KJV
This means you have access by reason of the blood of Jesus. When you express faith in the blood of Jesus, you will be able to approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness. 

The words of the old hymn:
Just As I am
Without one plea
But that thy blood
Was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me 
Come to Thee 
O Lamb of God
I come

Come to the Lord just as you are because the blood has been shed to make that possible for you. Do not allow anything hold you back.