http://brettrbagwellfaith.blogspot.com/
Christmas is less than a week away and New Years day is around the corner. We are all going to be looking for the perfect resolution. Many of us may turn to diet plans or the gym while others turn to new job outlooks or get rich quick schemes. I have been led in the past few weeks to start a revival. Why do we need a revival? We need a resolution in our Faith. We need our faith to be revamped. We need our faith in God to be strong. Many in this world only seek God when they have hit rock bottom. It would be awesome to see people have faith in God when they were on the mountain top of life as well instead of waiting on a sickness or hardship to bring them to their knee's.
When we have faith we are trusting in God with all of our mind, soul, and strength. There are times that we do not have faith in God and when that happens we are doubting God and his power. That is not where we should ever be with God. We should always trust that God will come through for us.
There is a story in the bible (Mark 9) where a father brings his son to a group of ministers to cast out the unclean spirit in his son. The ministers could not cast out this strong unclean spirit and they were regulars at casting out demons on a regular bases but for some reason, they just could not case away this demon.
Mark 9:17-18, "And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”
Why could they not cast out the demon? Jesus had given them all the power they needed to take away daemons. They had authority over all powers of the enemy.
Luke 10:19, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you."
Clearly the ministers were lacking something because if Jesus had given them all of the authority over casting out demons they should have been able to handle the boy. What they lacked in their authority was FAITH.
Mark 9:19, "And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”
We need to stop thinking God is like the average human. We have all started to make God into the image that he is like one of us. When this happens we lose faith because so many times we are let down by family and friends on simply tasks. Well....God is not a family member or a friend. God is our father and savior and he will always come through. It is time that we start taking him more seriously. If God says we can take out demons we must trust that he has given us the ability to take out demons in our lives. Pastor Robert L. stated, "If he says we have the right to be healed in Jesus' name, then we have that right, and we ought to start trusting him and believing it."
FAITH KEY #1: Knowledge brings faith
Knowledge of the truth (In God's Word) brings faith. There is this new movement in our country that believes we can 'believe things into existence', which is NOT the same kind of faith that us believers should have. Our faith should be based on knowing what God's word has to say about something. Our faith should be based on God's Word.
Romans 10:17, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
FAITH KEY #2: Faith and a pure conscience
What is the connection between conscience and faith? We must know that we are clean spiritually, because our faith depends on it to be. How can we confidently approach God, when our conscience is dirty? The truth is, we cant!
Hebrews 10:22, "let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
FAITH KEY #3: Faith works through love
The last key in running in faith is to be grounded in love so your faith will run through love. The bible tells us, we should be rooted in the love of Christ, if we want to experience the fullness of God, who is able to go above and beyond for our needs.
Ephesians 3:16-20, "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the [a]saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."
We all hit times in our lives where we feel we cant trust in God because we hit rock bottom or become seriously ill. These are strongholds that we find ourselves in. If we begin to see God as a cruel person, how can we begin to believe that it is his will to heal and bless us? Strongholds can be devastating to our faith! I just pray that if you have a stronghold that this time of year you may overcome it and work to build your relationship with Jesus Christ. Do NOT let today pass and your relationship with Jesus Christ still be weak! Start Growing your faith today! Start Trusting in Jesus Christ Today!
Make YOUR Faith Move Mountains!
Rev. Brett R. Bagwell
When we have faith we are trusting in God with all of our mind, soul, and strength. There are times that we do not have faith in God and when that happens we are doubting God and his power. That is not where we should ever be with God. We should always trust that God will come through for us.
There is a story in the bible (Mark 9) where a father brings his son to a group of ministers to cast out the unclean spirit in his son. The ministers could not cast out this strong unclean spirit and they were regulars at casting out demons on a regular bases but for some reason, they just could not case away this demon.
Mark 9:17-18, "And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”
Why could they not cast out the demon? Jesus had given them all the power they needed to take away daemons. They had authority over all powers of the enemy.
Luke 10:19, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you."
Clearly the ministers were lacking something because if Jesus had given them all of the authority over casting out demons they should have been able to handle the boy. What they lacked in their authority was FAITH.
Mark 9:19, "And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”
We need to stop thinking God is like the average human. We have all started to make God into the image that he is like one of us. When this happens we lose faith because so many times we are let down by family and friends on simply tasks. Well....God is not a family member or a friend. God is our father and savior and he will always come through. It is time that we start taking him more seriously. If God says we can take out demons we must trust that he has given us the ability to take out demons in our lives. Pastor Robert L. stated, "If he says we have the right to be healed in Jesus' name, then we have that right, and we ought to start trusting him and believing it."
FAITH KEY #1: Knowledge brings faith
Knowledge of the truth (In God's Word) brings faith. There is this new movement in our country that believes we can 'believe things into existence', which is NOT the same kind of faith that us believers should have. Our faith should be based on knowing what God's word has to say about something. Our faith should be based on God's Word.
Romans 10:17, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
FAITH KEY #2: Faith and a pure conscience
What is the connection between conscience and faith? We must know that we are clean spiritually, because our faith depends on it to be. How can we confidently approach God, when our conscience is dirty? The truth is, we cant!
Hebrews 10:22, "let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
FAITH KEY #3: Faith works through love
The last key in running in faith is to be grounded in love so your faith will run through love. The bible tells us, we should be rooted in the love of Christ, if we want to experience the fullness of God, who is able to go above and beyond for our needs.
Ephesians 3:16-20, "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the [a]saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."
We all hit times in our lives where we feel we cant trust in God because we hit rock bottom or become seriously ill. These are strongholds that we find ourselves in. If we begin to see God as a cruel person, how can we begin to believe that it is his will to heal and bless us? Strongholds can be devastating to our faith! I just pray that if you have a stronghold that this time of year you may overcome it and work to build your relationship with Jesus Christ. Do NOT let today pass and your relationship with Jesus Christ still be weak! Start Growing your faith today! Start Trusting in Jesus Christ Today!
Make YOUR Faith Move Mountains!
Rev. Brett R. Bagwell