Becoming a Peculiar Person in Christ

Chapter 2: WORKING IN SUBSTANCE FAITH:

The Bible said that, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen" and it also states, "But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that come to God must believe that He is, and the He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek after Him." (Hebrews 11: 1, 6); So for faith to produce: you must live in this world by faith in God. that means a steadfast trust in God that His ways are right with you; and a personal loyalty to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, as well as a moral steadfastness to follow Him. That by trusting God--believing in His provision for your sins and living each day in His power--you can break the cycle of failure in your life. Take the "Shield of Faith," for with the shield of faith nothing can hurt you. This is a faith that believes in spiritual realities; leads to righteousness through seeking God; believes in His goodness, have confidence in God's Word, obeys God's commands and regulates life on the promises of God. For the Lord your God approves of a faith that is able to surrender His promises back to Him for your fulfillment according to His Will. In God this is the victory, that over cometh the world, even your faith. This is the faith that sees eternal realities, experiences the power of God and love Jesus Christ to such an extent that the sinful pleasures, secular values, ungodly ways and selfish materialism of the world, becomes unimportant and unattractive to you and looked upon with disgust and grief. That is when the Will of God becomes your ultimate purpose. Your faith must go beyond what you believe; it has to become a dynamic part of all you do. True faith will transform your conduct as well as your thoughts. It will show the vision that God has for your life, and cause an even deeper commitment of your whole-self to God. Your faith must express itself in your actions. The trust that you have in God through Christ Jesus is what produces substance; that will be your unfinching reliance on God in Christ Jesus. It is taking God at His Word and asking no questions. Knowing that all things whether good or bad work together for good toward you through the love that you have for God. Now you don't have faith in the things, but in God the creator of those things for the purpose of your destiny. Remember Abraham; a man called out from his kindred by God and told to go to a place that he will be shown, when he get there. Abram, then just walked out with what he had and those that were willing to follow him and his trust in the God that he heard call him to go forth. This man died walking toward his faith in God, who promised his descendents a place of rest in the earth for which they lived, but this man (Abraham ) grew old in his walk with God never entering the promise land, left his testimony that his faith was counted unto God as righteousness. So having faith in God through Christ Jesus is not about the things He can give to you; but it's about the God that will perform in that which He promised to you. So as Abraham was, so shall you be, because you have with you and in you now, what he was searching for then. That is Christ and the Holy Spirit of promise, who is able to keep you in all God's way of righteousness. you see then as Abraham, walked toward God and His promises by faith; so God in Christ Jesus desires you to earnestly contend for the faith of the gospel proclaimed by Christ and the apostles. therefore, you must exert yourself to the utmost in the defense of God's Word, even though it will be costly and agonizing.