FAITH BACKED BY ACTIONS
- Sermon By: Apostle Jackson Kgopolo
- Categories: Faith, God, Hope, Pray
Who are you? How many of you have declared themselves as children of God?
This was a question posed by the man of God as he unpacked the secret behind backing one’s faith with actions.
He said that if you are a child of God, you are a Christian. A Christian, he says is someone who is Christ like, and for one to say they are Christ like they have to embody the spirit of love, patience, forgiveness and tolerance. You must be ready to forgive and easily release, that is, be like your father who created you and brought into the world – that is Jesus, being Christ, Christ being the word and the word being God.
You have to forgive with ease, for despite the name calling and persecution Jesus kept on praying to the Lord to forgive his enemies for they knew not what they were doing. Going head to head with your enemy bears no fruits. Bother not yourself with them for they are blowing a wind they cannot catch.
Being in Christ does not exempt you from having enemies Your enemies can be those immediate to you – be it your wife, children, uncles and aunts. This the apostle says is by them not being in the same faith stream as you all due to being under the control of a spirit that is inside them. You have to be in a state of tolerance towards such, and know how to best approach and handle them. The bible in James 4: 6 tells us that God promotes the humble and pulls down the proud
Declare
From today I will live like Christ.
Christ was a man of faith. He created everything in faith – me, you and everything in the world. If you say you are Christ like, you must be a man and a woman who walks in faith. We do not use muti nor any powers of darkness, but faith in the name of God. We become strong in Christ is by praying, fasting and believing that the name of Jesus is greater than all problems. Faith is a gift in the name of Jesus, without the name Jesus there is no faith. That faith has to be in action for without action there is no faith. Jesus spoke the word and there was light. He spoke the word and heaven and earth were formed, after forming man out of dust, seeing that the man had no life, he breathed upon him the breath of life, such being action. He went further to form a woman out of the rib of a man, upon seeing that the man was lonely, this also counts as action. If you say you a believer, be a man of action.
God had faith in Himself and He demonstrated it by action. He used His hands, legs and mind to think as to where He could get the woman upon seeing the man he had created drowning in loneliness. With this the man of God tells the congregants that they ought to think.
If you say you are a Christian, you have to walk in action, acting it out for faith without actions is dead. The reason many Christian’s lack endurance and are easily swayed is because their faith, though in the name of Jesus is not action based.
Taking his reading from 2Corinthians 10:3, the man of God says that the strongest part of a human being is not in the flesh, but spiritual. Though we walk in the flesh we do not war in the flesh for the flesh is weak. When Jesus faced the devil in Mathew 4, He proclaimed the impossibility of a man to live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, because the strongest part in a man’s life is not in physical nor the natural but spiritual. When you are alive spiritually, you will live in the physical for the spiritual controls the physical. The good fight towards a prosperous and successful life physically is a strong spiritual life.
Purport it upon yourself today to gain spiritual strength and muscle.
Taking it down to the book of James2:14 the man of God says that the reason behind many Christians inconsistency and lack of focus is the search for power which often drives them from one church to the other, herbalist and many people who they believe can be the source of the power they are in search for. Maintenance he says is by one being strong spiritually, and not by the spiritual strength of those around them. Reliance on others strength will live you with nothing when they leave with what’s rightfully theirs. Your spiritual life is the one that holds things meant for you – be it your business, marriage, financial life. Your spiritual life is very important in maintaining your life’s blessings. God created me and you in action, He did not rely in prayer and fasting alone, but acted it out, hence the need for us as His followers to not only pray and fast, but put our faith into action.
Prosperity first starts in the spiritual before manifesting into the physical. Jesus despite knowing the role Judas was to play in betraying Him, still stayed with Him because He knew He was pushing Him towards where God wanted Him to be. Consider everything that is being done to you by your enemies as a stepping stone towards your destiny.
Challenges must strengthen your spiritual muscle. Never give into challenges nor allow them to dictate your tomorrow. As man/woman of faith, use those as a stepping stone towards getting closer to your greatest destiny. If you do this in faith, the Apostle says that your father (God) will never allow you to go down. We see Isaac in the book of Genesis persevering despite the many challenges and tests he was faced with – this is a true example of a man of faith. Tell your problems and challenges that your God is greater!
The more action you put in towards what you have faith in is what will provoke God to come down. A man of faith is man of action, a man of action is a man who is strong and is not controlled by circumstances.
Challenges must strengthen your spiritual muscle. Never give into challenges nor allow them to dictate your tomorrow. As man/woman of faith, use those as a stepping stone towards getting closer to your greatest destiny. If you do this in faith, the Apostle says that your father (God) will never allow you to go down. We see Isaac in the book of Genesis persevering despite the many challenges and tests he was faced with – this is a true example of a man of faith. Tell your problems and challenges that your God is greater!
The more action you put in towards what you have faith in is what will provoke God to come down. A man of faith is man of action, a man of action is a man who is strong and is not controlled by circumstances.
You must have a pure heart not just a clean heart. A pure heart is different from a clean heart, for a pure heart searches deeper within problems whereas a clean is just fake and serves self-righteousness. Purity means to put in what is needed, not what you need. A pure heart breeds room for discernment.
Prayer:
Give me the grace oh Lord to have a pure heart.
A person who is pure in heart acts upon the scripture.it can sense the mood of its environment, thus offering the rightful aid needed. A clean heart in the contrary often busk in pretense and self-soothing.
Reading from verse 17 of the same scripture, the man of God says that many a stagnated by pride. Yearn for a pure heart, for a pure heart dictates beyond your palace. The day you stop your responsibility is the day your grace becomes dormant. Your responsibility as a wife/husband, mother/father, pastor is the one that will make the grace of God to function. We live by the grace of God, which is made to function by playing out our responsibilities. He can never come when we are just seated.
In closing, the man of God says that a spiritual man is man of faith, a man of faith is a man of action, a man of action is a man of faith. Faith without works is dead. Verse 21 tells us that Abraham was justified by his works, he never questioned God but acted on the words God had spoken to him, thus prompting the grace of God to come down. Until we act on the words God has said to us, God will never come down. Acting upon the word of God is what sets us apart from the world. Acting on the word is what perfects our faith.
Christianity is not only to read the bible. Christianity is to act on the word of God. Put the word in action and it will work for you!