Faith of a Mustard Seed Archives

June 21, 2021June 21, 2021

Decree to Establish

²⁴Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:24

Isaiah is prophesying about a future event, but he speaks in the present and claims it for himself: “with His stripes, we ARE healed.” Isaiah said it is done. We are, not we might, or will be, but we are healed.

Peter comes along and proclaims: “by whose stripes ye were healed.” Peter speaks in the past tense. In other words, he is saying it is already done. It is finished. He has now declared and decreed a thing in his proclamation of God’s word: “You have been healed.”

And what does God’s word say about decreeing a thing?

²⁸Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee.
Job 22:28

In other words, if you decide on a matter, by rightly dividing the Word of Truth, “By His wounds, I am healed.” The thing you decreed will be established for you. There is nothing too difficult for God to do. Therefore, all things are possible for him or her who believes. You just have to believe.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Decree to Establish.

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Yesterday’s Faithfulness Guarantees Today’s Victories

³²And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” ³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ³⁶Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” ~ 1 Samuel 17:32-37

By now, Goliath was taunting the Israelite army for a whole of 40 days. That is running to almost a month and a half now, and nothing was being done about him. Even the king, the mighty king Saul was afraid to fight hand to hand combat with the giant.

So, David began to inquire about the situation as if he was going to do something about it. The men who heard him were clutching at straws when they relayed the news to the king. But when the king called him in and saw that he was only a teenage boy, I’m sure his heart fell. His high hopes of Israel’s pride and confidence being restored were quickly smashed.

But David insisted, not out of pride, but out of confidence, because we walk by faith, not by sight. David remembered his quiet time. He remembered how he killed the lion with the help of God. He remembered how he killed the bear with the help of God. He was confident in who his God was because he had spent time with his God. He had a personal relationship with Him. David was able to not only face Goliath but fully defeat him with the help of God because of his great faith.

This is how we are to fight the giants in our lives. Some will say it’s impossible to overcome the giants in your land. They’ll tell you you’re too young like they told David. Or too poor, too weak. Or they’ll bring up your past or your parents’ past. They’ll give you every reason they can think of that this giant in your way will overcome you, but as long as you follow God with faith and confidence, you can overcome any giant in your land.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember the Lion and the Bear.

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Defend Your Beliefs

¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. ~ 1 Peter 3:15

Now, more than ever, we have to be grounded in the Truth of All Mighty God. We can no longer rely on our parents or their parents to get us into the Kingdom of God and build our faith, but we must not step up and do it ourselves. We must be able to give a defense for our beliefs.

This word defense simply means to ‘make formal justification’ for what you believe. It does not mean to argue, as in ‘to row and disagree or fight,’ but simply be ready to give an answer to people who question our beliefs.

When we are unable to defend why we believe what we believe, then doubt takes root in us. And if doubt takes root in us, then faith begins to dwindle inside of us. And without faith, no one can please God. We must prepare ourselves and build up our faith so that we can defend our beliefs when the time comes.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Defend Your Beliefs.

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The Power of Doubt

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. ~ Matthew 28:16-17

Even though the eleven disciples just saw the resurrected Jesus, some still doubted. Doubt can creep into the hearts of even the strongest believers if we let our guard down. Jesus prophesied about His death and resurrection many times to His disciples, but their own version of who they believed Jesus should be hindered their faith and caused doubt in their hearts. When we put our own beliefs and feelings above God’s Truth, the only Truth, then we weaken our faith. And without faith, no one can please God.

Faith comes by the Word of God, not our version of the Word of God. We have to set aside our own feelings, our own beliefs, our own version of the truth, and accept the Truth. This is how we build our faith. This is how we please God by dwelling in Truth. And when doubt comes, we have to bow down and worship, humbling ourselves at the feet of Jesus, just like the disciples who doubted did. Even though they had doubt, they still humbled themselves before Jesus, and in doing so, Jesus rewarded their humility by strengthening their faith with the Scriptures.

When you doubt, don’t be ashamed because doubt happens to the best of us. When doubt does come, bow yourself down in humility at the feet of Jesus, and He will strengthen your faith. He can use anyone who is willing to be used.

LORD God, please help me to seek Your face in humility so that You may strengthen our faith. Show me the verses that we need to strengthen our faith, just as You showed the verses to Your disciples that they needed to strengthen their faith. Please continue to help me grow in our faith and strengthen our relationship with You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Where Does Your Faith Come From?

…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? ~ Luke 18:8

As they say, Faith is more than just the name of a woman. It’s more than just a feeling. It’s crucial to our Christian walk. For the Scriptures tell us by faith the Old Testament heroes who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection:

It’s difficult to walk by faith if our eyes are always searching for proof or evidence. Faith is the bedrock that our firm foundation is built on. Just to clarify, faith in who Jesus is and in the truth of His promises to us is the bedrock that our firm foundation is built on. You see:

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark to save his household. By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age since she considered him faithful who had promised. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. By faith, Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith, Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents.

By faith…by faith…by faith… Everything that was and is done or is worth doing is all done by faith. Faith in the God you serve. We all serve someone or something; we all have faith in someone or something. Who or what do you serve? Who or what do you have faith in?

LORD God, please help us to put our faith in You and You alone. Help us to find our hope in You. Help us to fulfill Your call for our lives by strengthening our faith so that we might be able to endure whatever lies ahead of us. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Stagnant Water

^¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15^NIV

The other night we were out walking, and we passed by a stagnant creek. The water was beginning to smell. It was a disgusting scent that we eagerly wanted to get away from, then all of a sudden Celia had a Jesus moment. The thought came to her that when we are stagnant before God, what is He smelling? Is He smelling a stench?

When we are walking around stagnant, what kind of aroma is reaching God’s nostrils? What kind of stench are we giving off when we are in sin or rebellion? When we are operating in perversion, what kind of stench is rising up to God?

The stagnant stench from the lack of action filled faith is like the river that is stagnant and can be smelled from so far away. The river is no longer living water, it has no life in it. That is what happens when the Spirit no longer operates in us.

In other words, when there is no action to our faith, then we become like that stagnant creek that gave off that awful stench. And if we are giving off a bad stench because of dead works, then it is no longer a sweet aroma but a foul stench in God’s nostrils.

LORD God, help us to never become stagnant before You. Help us to live our lives with action filled faith. Let our faith not just be contained to empty words and empty prayers, but let us act out in faith. In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

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Keep The Faith

⁸ I tell you; He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth? ~ Luke 18:8

Just because you don’t get an answer when you say amen, don’t lose faith. When God put something, a dream, or a vision in your heart, don’t let someone else make you doubt, or more importantly, don’t let them talk you out of it. We put God on a timeline, “OK God, you have three days, or I’ll give you seven days for good measure; if you don’t answer by then, your Word cannot be trusted.”

But I want you to know that not every promise made was seen overnight. Some were, though, like the promise of food in the great famine in the days of King Jehoram. Ben Hadad, king of Syria, besieged Samaria, and the hunger was so great that the people were paying top dollar for a donkey’s head and for dove dung to cook for food. What’s more, they were even eating their own children. And in one day, God said by this time tomorrow… and as sure as God’s word is true, it happened. In one day, the starving people of Samaria were feasting.

But these people did not lose hope or lose faith in who God was or the faithfulness of His promises. And that is what Jesus is warning, don’t let the cares of this life lull you into spiritual lethargy. Don’t let COVID19 or any other seemingly hopeless situation cause you so much fear that you lose your hope or your relationship with the LORD. Trust in the LORD, and He will renew your strength.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep The Faith.

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Live In Patient Faith

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ~ Exodus 32:1

The people of Israel had to just been brought out of Egypt. They were just freed from slavery. The LORD God did many miraculous things before their eyes, through Moses, while they were leaving Egypt. Even though they saw the Egyptians fall to the glorious power of God, when Moses seemed to have been delayed while on the mountains speaking with God, they began searching in other places for other gods. They even went as far as to create their own gods.

This same thing still happens to us today. We seek after God for as long as He will answer us immediately, but as soon as He seems to have gone quiet, and things aren’t going the way we think they should, we take matters into our own hands, and we create our own gods. We begin to seek after false gods and idols. Because of our lack of faith, we try to replace God, either with ourselves or another false god. This is why patience is a Fruit of the Spirit; if we have faith but we don’t have the patience to see that faith in the promise we were given, then our faith, if you will, is pointless because, without patience, we will move on. We’ll do it our way. We won’t be abounding in faith, but instead, we’ll be working in unbelief.

We have to strive every day to keep our focus on God and His promises instead of what we see around us. We have to live in patient faith so that we can see God’s promises come to pass. So that we can dwell in His good and perfect will.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live In Patient Faith.

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Trust In His Name

²¹For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. ~ Psalms 33:21

Joy can only come from trusting in the Name of the LORD. Why? Because without faith, you’re anxious, fearful, worried, depressed, angry. You’re a mess without faith because without faith you are without God. So, put your trust in His Holy name. For it is by His name that we are saved, healed, and given a new life. This is the name above every other name.

Look at this, ¹⁰The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10) The name of the LORD is our safe place. It is our protection. Don’t allow fear, anxiety, depression, anger, or anything else to take away your joy. Your joy comes from your faith and trust in the name of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Put Your Trust In The Name of The LORD.

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Remember His Promises

⁴³So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. ⁴⁵Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. ~ Joshua 21:43-45

The LORD does NOT change. If He fulfilled the promises He made to Israel, He will fulfill the promises He made to you. Don’t be discouraged by the amount of time it’s taking for your promises to be fulfilled. It took generations for the promises to Abraham to come to pass.

I know that in our generation, it can be difficult to have patience because God’s timing isn’t like ours. It won’t always happen overnight. It won’t always happen as soon as we ask. It took Daniel 21 days of constant prayer to see His prayer fulfilled. We’ve been promised that when we ask, we shall receive when we ask in faith. So, don’t give up on the promises you have yet to see. Don’t give up on the prayers you have prayed. Don’t lose your faith.

faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Hold to your promises. Remind the LORD daily in prayer and have faith because our God will fulfill every promise. Not one of His promises fail. EVERY ONE IS FULFILLED.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember His Promises.

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