Faith - I need more faith

simplicityinthegospel.com/2012/06/more-about-faith.html

Faith is like flying gracefully against the wind.

Let Faith Do The Work

Watching over the bay on a windy day, I observed how easy it was for a seagull to glide
forward against the strong wind without flapping its wings. I saw other birds vigorously
flapping their wings in an attempt to move against the wind. In some instances, the wind
was too strong for them that instead of gaining ground, they lose some. Observing the
seagull gracefully glide compared to the awkward attempt by the other birds flying against
the wind brought faith into my mind.

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So many Christians attempt to apply faith
into their life in a time of difficulties,
however, some end up struggling to a
point of discouragement and fall short to
rise above. The emotional feeling is more
of a battle to make faith works rather than
to let faith do the work.
Some Christians are like birds that flap
their wings hard and vigorously yet
become tired and lose ground instead. I
was one of those birds. My mind was full
of anxiety, doubts, and fear. I wanted to
believe yet I failed miserably. I would not write this commentary unless I’ve learned an
important lesson. This is not to put down Christians but primarily an exhortation. I share
freely as God intended to all Christians to do.

Once and awhile we see a Christian going

through life as if the wind was behind
his/her back when in fact, the wind is
strongly against him. He mastered flying
like a seagull going through all obstacles
that life can throw at him. How does he do
that? What makes this seagull so different
from the other birds?

What makes some Christians face life so

differently than any other Christians? Is it
all in the technique?

Ray Stedman explained it this way:

“Some seem able to learn it, and from time to time we see someone virtually come alive and their
Christian life is simply transformed by learning to operate on this principle . They lose their
egotism, as extroverts; or they lose their introverted feeling of self-consciousness...They begin to do
things and to enjoy them, experiencing the blessing and excitement of Christian living. Others say,
"I see all this, and I want to do it too. I know what is said about how to rest, but I try it and it
doesn't work. Why? Why do we fail?”

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What principle have they learned to apply?
They learned to rest in the Lord, but how? This
is where most Christians hit a hurdle. It is like
an athlete who practices improving his/her skill
yet have shown no improvement, no gain in
their performance. Why? Is it because he/she
practices under the same principle and the
same technique?

In (1 Timothy 6:12(a)), we received this analogy:

"Keeping your faith is like running a race. (b) Try
as hard as you can to win that race,"(ERV). What
does it consist? An athlete is up early in the
morning practising all day long, putting great
effort to follow precisely the instruction given, yet by the end of the day no gain, no personal
record broken. So many athletes then believe that they have reached their full potential and
accept the status quo. But then, there is this one athlete who refuses the status quo and will
question the technique and look elsewhere for resources.

This is why some Christians fall into a rut. They keep

applying the same principle taught over and over
again without showing any improvement into their
Christian lives, living a defeated life as if it was
intended to be, according to God’s will. I myself
experience being stuck in a rut.
Some are exemplary Christian; nonetheless, they
are not at rest. When life conditions challenged
them, they feel defeated and some burn out. The
feeling of abandonment is great, and rejection from
God sinks in. They question everything, many doubt
their salvation status and seek answers. They consult, only to be told to keep on going,
double the effort and blamed Satan for causing these defeated feeling.

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James described these Christians has been
like waves of the sea driven and tossed by
the wind. They are double-minded
Christians, unstable in all their ways,
(James 1:5-8). Doubts cause them to be
unstable. I know! I was exactly like that.

What caused me to doubt? I doubted due

to the principle that I lived by.

Ray Stedman described a Christians

living a defeated life:

“I'm afraid most of us fit the self-description of someone who said he was a mouse studying to be a
rat. By our best efforts we can rise to a high level of mediocrity -- inadequate, unable. Why? Simply
because we are depending on our effort. We are either extroverts, confident that we can do things
and therefore frequently falling flat on our face; or we are introverts, so afraid to try anything that
we don't even dare show our face. It is all because we are looking to ourselves as our resource; our
background, our training, our gifts, our talents, our education, etc. It either results in feeling that
we have what it takes and can be confident, able, and powerful; or, as we look at ourselves we say,
we don't have what it takes and therefore we can't take it and we won't even try. So, we become
either over-confident and under-equipped, or under-confident and overworked, trying constantly to
make up by activity what we lack in results.”

Does this describe a bird attempting to fly against the wind? Is this what life is to you, a
constant struggle? Is it time that you question the principles that you are constantly
applying day after day? Some of those principals are taught in some churches (not all). This
is one of the reasons I am so against some church denomination's “Statement of Belief”. It’s
served its purpose to guide its members; unfortunately, “Statement of Belief” becomes a cap
to further understand God’s word. Most “Statement of Belief” has never been reviewed
since the church foundation.

A messenger from God instructed Daniel that at the end time, knowledge will increase,
(Daniel 12:4). We are instructed to seek God and to learn from Him. Doesn't the bible
teaches that we wrestle against principalities, (Ephesians 6:12), against the wrong technique
that we were made to believe that if applied correctly we will have victory over all hurdles.
Wrong principalities have crept in the body of Christ,- it foundation nonetheless many are
unchallenged.

In many cases, it is not the church leaders fault, but members, who are benchwarmers and
who refuse to apply the good teaching of their ministers or pastors.

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In my commentary title, “What kind of truth do you want God’s word to be?” I point out that
most Christians are victims of their own demise. Most Christians do not question what is
being taught to them or live by. What principalities and belief had they accepted as God’s
word when actually it is not? For one example, “God helps those who help themselves” is
not in the bible. Another one is, “Faith and obey to keep your salvation” is also not in the
bible. Both statements implied that works are needed either to gain and to keep your
salvation or work is required to have your prayers answered. How many pay tithes to buy
favour from God?

Some Christians will even quote to you that “faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead,”
(James 2:17). What is misunderstood is that it is a faith that produces work not the other
way around, works that produce faith. As pointed out in (1 Thessalonians 1:3), “We
remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love,
and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Even with this understanding most of us will pray, asks

God for His intervention yet do not wait. Most of us will
act like Sarah, Abraham's wife, taking the matter into her
own hand guessing God’s will. This is where the wrong
principal “God help those who help themselves” is applied.
The bible is specific. It instructs to wait on the Lord. “The
LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who
seeks Him,” (Lamentations 3:25) and “Therefore the LORD
will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He
will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD
is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for
Him,” (Isaiah 30:18).

The specific reason why God wants all Christians to wait is

so that no one can boast of their own works that they
received His blessing. To wait on the Lord is to show the
world, your friends, and family members that it is God that did all the works. God wants
you to testify by doing nothing but wait on Him. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By
what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith,” Romans 3:27

The Perfect Law of Faith

To see the perfect law of faith at work, we are to go to the Old Testament, in the Book of 1
Samuel chapter 17. David, son of Jesse of Bethlehem, was the youngest of all his sons. Let us
take the time to read the whole story. This is a commentary. It is not a daily devotional
study. This is for Christian seriously wanted to make a difference in their life. Therefore it is
important to view this lesson in all its perspective. The ERV will be used to make it easy to
read. As you read please look for the motive in David battle against Goliath and what gives
him the assurance of victory over Goliath.
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1 Samuel 17 - Goliath vs. David

1 The Philistines gathered their armies together for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their
camp was between Socoh and Azekah, at a town called Ephes Dammim.

2 Saul and the Israelite soldiers also gathered together. Their camp was in the Valley of Elah.
Saul’s soldiers were lined up and ready to fight the Philistines.

3 The Philistines were on one hill. The Israelites were on the other hill. The valley was
between them.

4 The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath, who was from Gath. He was over 9
feet tall. Goliath came out of the Philistine camp.

5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of armor that was made like the
scales on a fish. This armor was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds.

6 Goliath wore bronze protectors on his legs. He had a bronze javelin tied on his back.

7 The wooden part of his spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. The spear’s blade weighed 15
pounds. Goliath’s helper walked in front of him, carrying Goliath’s shield.

8 Each day Goliath would come out and shout a challenge to the Israelite soldiers. He would
say, “Why are all of your soldiers lined up ready for battle? You are Saul’s servants. I am a
Philistine. So choose one man and send him to fight me.
9 If that man kills me, he wins and we Philistines will become your slaves. But if I kill your
man, then I win, and you will become our slaves. You will have to serve us.”

10 The Philistine also said, “Today I stand and make fun of the army of Israel. I dare you to
send me one of your men and let us fight.”

11 Saul and the Israelite soldiers heard what Goliath said, and they were very afraid.

12 David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was from the Ephrathah family in Bethlehem, Judah.
Jesse had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man.

13 Jesse’s three oldest sons went with Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab, the second
was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
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14 David was the youngest son. The three oldest sons were in Saul’s army,

15 but David left Saul from time to time to take care of his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16 The Philistine came out every morning and evening and stood before the Israelite army.
Goliath insulted Israel like this for 40 days.

17 One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this basket of cooked grain and these ten
loaves of bread to your brothers in the camp.

18 Also take these ten pieces of cheese for the officer who commands your brothers’ group
of 1000 soldiers. See how your brothers are doing. Bring back something to show me your
brothers are all right.

19 Your brothers are with Saul and all the Israelite soldiers in the Valley of Elah. They are
there to fight against the Philistines.”

20 Early in the morning, David had another shepherd take care of the sheep while he took
the food and left as Jesse had told him to. David drove their wagon to the camp. The soldiers
were going out to their battle positions just as David arrived. The soldiers began shouting
their war cry.

21 The Israelites and Philistines were lined up and ready for battle.

22 David left the food with the man who kept supplies. Then he ran to the place where the
Israelite soldiers were and asked about his brothers.

23 While David was talking with his brothers, the Philistine champion fighter came out from
the Philistine army. This was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath. Goliath shouted things
against Israel as usual. David heard what he said.

24 The Israelite soldiers saw Goliath and ran away. They were all afraid of him.

25 One of the Israelite men said, “Did you see that man? Look at him! He comes out each
day and makes fun of Israel. Whoever kills him will get rich. King Saul will give him a lot of
money. Saul will also let his daughter marry the man who kills Goliath. He will also make that
man’s family free from taxes in Israel.”

26 David asked the men standing near him, “What did he say? What is the reward for killing
this Philistine and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is this Goliath anyway? He is

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only some foreigner, nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he can speak against the
army of the living God?”

27 So the Israelite told David about the reward for killing Goliath.

28 David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers and became angry. Eliab
asked David, “Why did you come here? Who did you leave those few sheep with in the
desert? I know why you came down here. You didn’t want to do what you were told to do.
You just wanted to come down here to watch the battle.”

29 David said, “What did I do now? I didn’t do anything wrong! I was only talking.”

30 He turned to some other people and asked them the same questions. They gave him the
same answers as before.

31 Some men heard David talking. They took David to Saul and told him what David had
said.

32 David said to Saul, “People shouldn't let Goliath discourage them. I am your servant. I will
go fight this Philistine.”

33 Saul answered, “You can’t go out and fight against this Philistine. You’re not even a
soldier! Goliath has been fighting in wars since he was a boy.”

34 But David said to Saul, “There were times when I was taking care of my father’s sheep
that wild animals came to take some sheep from the flock. Once there was a lion and
another time, a bear.

35 I chased that wild animal, attacked it, and took the sheep from its mouth. The wild animal
jumped on me, but I caught it by the fur under its mouth. And I hit it and killed it.

36 I killed both a lion and a bear like that! And I will kill that foreigner, Goliath, just like them.
Goliath will die because he made fun of the army of the living God.

37 The LORD saved me from the lion and the bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go and may the LORD be with you.”

38 Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on
his body.

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39 David put on the sword and tried to walk around. He tried to wear Saul’s uniform, but
David was not used to all those heavy things. David said to Saul, “I can’t fight in these things.
I’m not used to them.” So David took them all off.

40 He took his walking stick in his hand and went to find five smooth stones from the
stream. He put the five stones in his shepherd’s bag and held his sling in his hand. Then he
went out to meet the Philistine.

41 The Philistine slowly walked closer and closer to David. Goliath’s helper walked in front of
him, carrying a large shield.

42 Goliath looked at David with disgust. He saw that David was only a handsome, healthy
boy.

43 Goliath said to David, “What is that stick for? Did you come to chase me away like a dog?”
Then Goliath used the names of his gods to say curses against David.
44 He said to David, “Come here, and I’ll feed your body to the birds and wild animals.”

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come
to you in the name of the LORD All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said
bad things about him.

46 Today the LORD will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed
your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other
Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel.

47 All the people gathered here will know that the LORD doesn’t need swords or spears to
save people. The battle belongs to the LORD, and he will help us defeat all of you.”

48 Goliath the Philistine started to attack David. He slowly walked closer and closer toward
David, but David ran out to meet Goliath.

49 David took out a stone from his bag. He put it in his sling and swung the sling. The stone
flew from the sling and hit Goliath right between the eyes. The stone sank deep into his
head, and Goliath fell to the ground—face down.

50 So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and one stone! He hit the Philistine and
killed him. David didn’t have a sword,

51 so he ran and stood beside the Philistine. Then David took Goliath’s own sword out of its
sheath and used it to cut off his head. That is how David killed the Philistine.
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When the other Philistines saw their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

52 The soldiers of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. The
Israelites chased them all the way to the city limits of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. They
killed many of the Philistines. Their bodies were scattered along the Shaaraim road all the
way to Gath and Ekron.

53 After chasing the Philistines, the Israelites came back to the Philistine camp and took
many things from that camp.

54 David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he kept the Philistine’s weapons at
home.

In all the Israeli army under Saul’s command, what made David so different? To David
brother Eliah, David was cocky, snotty, and full of himself. David kept asking the same
question concerning the reward given to the one who would defeat Goliath. The king would
offer his daughter to marry, the highest position of command within his army and the
victor’s parent would be exempted of all taxes. Wow! That last one would make a daddy
proud.

What was David’s motive behind questioning

the men facing the Philistine? Was David
interested in the reward and receiving honour
and glory? Let read that verse 26 again: David
asked the men standing near him, “What did he
say? What is the reward for killing this Philistine
and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is
this Goliath anyway? He is only some foreigner,
nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he
can speak against the army of the living God?”

As you can see David was not interested in the

reward. David was offended to hear Goliath
insult toward his God and God’s people. He
loved so much the Lord that hearing Goliath
speaking against the God of Israel made his Sources: MGB
blood boil in his vein. Why did David keep
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questioning the men? I believe that is because
David was seeing the fear in Saul’s army, the hopelessness, and the lack of conviction
toward God of Israel.

Out of the thousands of Saul soldiers only David had the audacity to confront Goliath. David
faith was exceptional. Why was David faith so different than all other soldiers? Didn't they
hear the same stories of their God did to the Egyptians, and to the occupant of the land
promised to Abraham and his generation? Yet these stories did not give any of them the
courage to confront Goliath. Jack Kelly from gracetrufaith.com hit the nail right on the head.
David had a purpose. This is how Jack explains it in his commentary title David’s Story Part 1
by impersonating David:
“ Now before you accuse me of an excessive dose of youthful bravado, consider this. The
Lord had sent Samuel to anoint me as Israel’s next king. Then he empowered me to kill a
lion and a bear, showing me that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me before His promise
came true.” http://gracethrufaith.com/the-bible-thru-the-eyes-of-its-writers/davids-story-
part-1/
David faith was based on God’s promise. He believed that he had a purpose in life ordained
by God. David believes in God’s words. He literally took God by His words. He chose to
believe. He took the decision to believe. That is the principle that Christians are to apply. It
is to make a commitment to trust in the Lord as He commanded in (Pr 3:5-6):

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not
on your own understanding; In all your ways
acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

This is not a suggestion. It is a commandment

to believe. It offends our Lord when the Israelite
refused to walk into the Promised Land. The
consequence was 40 years in the desert until
the unbelief generation died.

God’s mercy never fails.

His grace endures forever. Although they

refused to trust in the Lord, the Lord took care
of all their needs for those 40 years. The same
Jesus is with His Church. He takes care of each
individual no matter what level of faith each is
experiencing. He will never forsake His own. Sources: www.biblebios.com

Once saved, we are always saved. Inasmuch

Israel is God’s people to perpetual so is anyone
who by an act of faith, believed that Jesus is the one sent by God to forgive our sins, and
believed that Jesus is God, that He died and bodily resurrected.
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We are sealed with the presence of God’s
spirit in us. (2 Cor 1:22, Eph 1:13). The
Oxford Dictionary define seal as: a device
or substance that is used to join two
things together so as to prevent them
coming apart, a design resembling a seal
embossed in the paper as a guarantee of
authenticity, and a thing regarded as a
confirmation or guarantee of something.

Only Jesus has the heavenly authority to remove any seal, (Revelation 5:5) or to ascribe a
seal (Revelation 7:3, John 20:22). Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you, (Hebrews 13:5).
We are at one with Jesus.

So you see, as much as Saul’s soldiers were of God’s army, no one trusted God. So it is
among Christians, where few take the extra commitment by faith to trust Jesus in all parts
of their life. A seagull was taught young to fly gracefully against a strong wind. Few
Christians once born again learned to trust in the Lord. Jesus commands us to learn from
Him in the early part of our Christians life so that we might be prepared to face the
difficulties that life challenge us, (Matthew 11:29). We are not like a seagull who learned by
instinct. Yet, we have been given a teacher by the name of Holy Spirit to help us along the
way, (John 16:13). Enoch lived 365 years. He walked with the Lord for 300 years. It took him
65 years to learn to trust God. Do you have 365 years to live? No, life is much shorter.
What is the wrong principal are you living by that keeps you from trusting God? What
causes you to doubt? The consequences are that when a storm shows up in your life, you
are too weak to fly in faith and therefore fail. In your feeling of failure, you asked why God
allow difficulties in your life. You can’t have one foot in the church and the other in the
secular society. The teaching principal of the secular society is 180 degree opposite to Jesus
teaching.

Christians live with a purpose: We are the beacon of hope.

Yes Jesus is merciful, yet He commands us to grow in trusting Him, to let Him live through
us, and that is for a purpose, which is so that we may be a beacon of hope to this world, to
let our light shine so that whoever sees us may ask us what make us so different. That is
how we can give glory and honour to Jesus. Not by just attending church service once a
week, but by letting Jesus live in us daily. That, my Christians friend is what we called
'bearing fruits'. The promise made to David applied to us also. God will never forsake us for
we have a purpose, even to death.

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Sources: http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/poems/a_beacon_of_hope.html

As long as we fulfil God’s purpose in our life, God will keep on blessing, even when living in
poverty. James explained that “if a believer is poor, he should be proud because God has
made him spiritually rich,” (James 1:9). It is not your lack of faith that makes you poor; for it
is God purpose to make you spiritually rich in the knowledge of His words. Wealthy or poor,
God has a purpose for each one of us and that is to bear fruit no matter what is the
circumstance and condition we find ourselves in. No matter what life throws at us, learn to
fly like a seagull gracefully against the wind. How do we that? By letting Christ lives in us,
(Gal 2:20). Did we not die in Christ (Romans 6:8)?
Therefore, ask the Lord to show you the wrong principal, the false teaching, and the myths
that causing you to struggle in your life. Please read my article titled, "What kind of truth do
you want God’s word to be? I promise you, God will answer your prayer. I encourage you to
read my commentary titled, “Rest”.
Everything that I have written, I personally experienced, therefore, be assured that this is a
testimony of God working in my life. Everything I share is free. It is my way to share God’s
blessing to you. It is my goal to live by what I preach as my commentary titled “Faith applied
is faith invested “ suggests. Growing in faith is continuous, (Romans 1:17, Romans 10:17).

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 By Jim Richardson

Wrong Principals which are Stated as Truth

There are some crimes or sins which people might commit which cannot be forgiven
by God.
The Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves.
When He lived on earth, Jesus was human and committed sins.
The Bible is not totally accurate in all of its teachings.
It doesn't matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same
lessons.
The whole idea of sin is outdated.
All people will experience the same outcome after death, regardless of their
religious beliefs.
If a person is generally good or does enough good things for others, they will earn a
place in Heaven.
The devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.
He was crucified and died, Jesus did not return to life physically.
The Holy Spirit is a symbol of God's presence or power but is not a living entity

LET FAITH DO THE WORK

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 https://youtu.be/LYOsn-QXeVA

Sources:

What type of Christian are you? http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_questions3.php

Lambert Dolphin, at http://www.ldolphin.org/. Very resourceful web site. I suggest that you
download a free book title, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done”

Jack Kelley, at http://gracethrufaith.com/. Question and answer. He will reply pertaining to

any scriptures that you have difficulty understanding. He also has available, Bible study
in MP3 format and ebooks. I recommend that you read this excellent commentary title,
"Cognitive Dissonance".

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