“Talk what
we will of faith, if we do not trust and rely upon Him, we do not believe in
Him." Antony
Farindon
There are plenty of books out on
faith, and what it means to have faith; however I have yet seen any examples of
any books that specifically outline what faith must be, and cannot be. This is
where we start today.
For many of us we have trod our way
through life attaching the commonly known practices of what was and has been
considered by the modern church as a life of faith. In this endless marching,
little teaching has actually been done on the subject or in how intensely
important having true faith really is. We have come to believe that faith is
just knowing about God, or in some cases simply believing that God can do
things; this is not faith. Faith is so much more than belief, it is so much
more than what we in modern times try to wrap it around or limit it to.
What does it mean to completely trust
and rely upon God? What does it mean when Paul wrote “for whatsoever is not of faith is
sin.” (Romans 14:23) These are some of the questions we will be answering.
Getting to an understanding of faith is an absolute necessity in operating in
faith. If we really want to get into the deep things of God, and be prepared to
receive His promises, then we must move into the deeper realms of faith and the
true understanding of what it means to believe God.
Billy
Cole wrote in the beginning of his book “The Teachings of Billy Cole” “Many
have been greatly anointed of the Lord and suddenly come tumbling down because
they lack personal experience. There is a difference between power and
spirituality. You can be powerful and not be spiritual. You can be spiritual
and not be powerful. What you really want is to be both spiritual and
powerful.” (Cole, 2006) What Billy Cole
understood, and many others, is that it is not enough to just pass through life
operating on limitations. If we truly want to tap into what God gives us access
to, then we are going to have to step outside of our personal comfort zone and
move into the deeper understandings and ways of God.
Comfort
is one of the last things that we will gain access to as we gain deeper
knowledge and deeper callings into the work of God in our lives. Brother J.
Mark Jordan said it this way “It is not only what you believe but how strongly
you believe it that draws the ire of the world around you.” (Jordan, 2007) You will not gain
the praise of those around you, you will even be attacked by those closest to
you, but rest assured that when you follow the will and work of God operating
in true faith, the reward is always worth the sacrifice.
