Believing Is Only Half the Coin: Put Legs on Your Faith

Sermon outline

Believing alone is only half the coin: God's kingdom runs on laws, so be specific about what you want, add action to your believing, guard your words and make quality decisions as one of God's trophies on display.

1. Go and heal the sick: you are not afraid of devils

   God never told us to pray that the sick may be healed; He told us to go and heal them, so every worker at the crusade carries an anointing to heal the sick and cast out devils. As a boy he was afraid of the devil because he did not know his rights in Christ. Believers are not ignorant of the devil's strategies; God has given them armour and information, and people perish for lack of knowledge.

   Illustration: As a small child he was told not to walk at midnight and would run past a graveyard; now he jokes that a graveyard is the safest place, because 'those folks can't do anything to you'.

   “We are tongue-talking, devil-chasing, anointed men and women of God.”

   • Matthew 10:8
   • 2 Corinthians 2:11
   • Ephesians 6:11
   • Hosea 4:6

2. The church is a spiritual thing, not a natural thing

   If board meetings, committee meetings or the wisdom of the world could take the church forward, the best qualified executives would run it. Many churches went wrong by handing leadership to qualified people who led by their senses. Demons are not afraid of your education; a believer renews his mind by the Word, and when challenges come, he prays and speaks the Word. The fight is the good fight of faith, not a fight with one another, and without the joy of the Lord you have no strength.

   Illustration: Accountants and attorneys put on church boards and councils start to lead the work of God by carnal knowledge, unless they also carry a calling.

   “Demons are not afraid of your education in the world.”

   • Romans 12:2
   • 1 Timothy 6:12
   • Nehemiah 8:10

3. Bind the spirit, not the person

   When people manoeuvre against you, it is the spirit working in the person, not the person. God has not given us power to override people's wills, because they are free moral agents, but He has given us power to bind the forces at work in them. Take authority over the spirit, break its power and send out love towards the person. A threatening letter can bring fear, but you have a more sure word of prophecy.

   “It's not the people, it's the spirit in that person.”

   • Matthew 18:18
   • Ephesians 6:12
   • 2 Peter 1:19
   • 2 Timothy 1:7

4. Don't talk love and faith: demonstrate them

   Saying 'I love you' is cheap; love must be expressed, especially when someone is being ugly towards you, and anyone not walking in love is still a baby in Christ. In the same way, calling yourself a person of faith means nothing until a trying circumstance shows it. James says to put legs to your faith.

   Illustration: If a tiger comes up and says 'I'm a dog', that does not make him a dog.

   “Don't talk faith, demonstrate it.”

   • 1 John 3:15
   • James 2:17

5. Believing and faith are two different things

   Believing is mental assent; faith adds action to it. Many Christians stay in their believing and never act. Spiritual things are laws in operation, and only when believing and action come together will they 'tender' and bring results.

   Illustration: Three pictures: with a need of 500 rand tomorrow and 50 rand in your pocket, believing says God will meet the need, but faith puts the 50 rand in the offering when the Lord says so. A starving man is handed a fresh KFC burger, keeps telling the church and the choir 'I believe', and dies in his believing. A coin sliced into head and tail halves will not be accepted at a shop; you need both halves.

   “So he died in his believing.”

6. Be specific: decide what you want from God

   Jesus asked a blind man what he wanted, to locate his faith and desire. The first step to answered prayer is to decide what you want: not just a car, but which car, colour and series, written down with a picture where you pray. Be specific about a job, an increase or the number in your cell. God put numbers all through the Bible because that is how He thinks.

   Illustration: Israel's twelve tribes, the five thousand men fed with a counted number of loaves and fish, the three thousand and then five thousand saved under Peter's preaching, the water pots at Cana and the twelve disciples. Some prayer groups fly in prayer to nation after nation for hours, but cannot say what they asked for or measure any result.

   “Many of your prayers are not being answered because you are not specific.”

   • Mark 10:51
   • Acts 2:41
   • Acts 4:4
   • John 2:6

7. Plot your course: set goals

   It is better to have zeal than to lack it, because zeal can be trained. Spirituality is not confusion: take the prophecies you have received and chart your course, with yearly, monthly, daily and even hourly goals. A cell leader should tell God specifically how many people he believes for and move the goal line once it is reached.

   Illustration: It is very hard to turn a donkey into a prized racehorse, but a racehorse with a few issues can be trained. In the world a sales rep is measured against a target of a hundred suits and a teacher follows set procedures for exams, yet in church people act as if there are no targets.

   “If you do not have goals, you will not achieve them.”

8. There is godly order, and there are rules of prayer

   In God's house there is order: pastors, leaders, ushers, deacons, security and sound each have their place. Prayer also has rules and different kinds. In the prayer of agreement, find someone with faith, specify the need, agree and pray, then congratulate each other because it is done in the spirit. Faith grabs hold of what it cannot see, just as Abraham said God would provide.

   Illustration: After praying the prayer of agreement, do not turn to your partner and ask 'I wonder if God heard us'; say 'congratulations, you've got it now'.

   “Faith grabs hold of things it cannot see.”

   • Matthew 18:19
   • Genesis 22:8
   • Genesis 22:13

9. Speak the language of the new man

   Jesus stood at Lazarus' tomb and said, 'Father, I thank you that you always hear me.' There is a language of the born-again believer and a language of bondage, and whatever you speak is where you will live. Idle words are inoperative words that bring no result, and Jesus said you will have what you say. A word spoken by a born-again Christian carries power for life or death.

   Illustration: A relative told of a born-again woman who said of her dog, 'I hate this dog, I wish it would die'; by the afternoon a poisonous snake had bitten it and it was dead. He mentions their new book on the language of the new man.

   “Lord, when I pray, you'll always hear me.”

   • John 11:41-42
   • Matthew 12:36
   • Mark 11:23

10. Rejoice when others are blessed and partake of their blessing

    Jealousy delays your own blessing. When a brother gets a new car, genuinely rejoice with him, lay a hand on the car and offer to fill his first tank; you become a partaker of his blessing and move closer to your own. If someone is more anointed than you, do not fight them; sow a seed into their life. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved unto them, and sometimes we should bless people who can never repay us.

    Illustration: Two ways to react when a brother drives in with a new car while yours is still jerking: tell your wife he is showing off, or say 'what a nice car' and pay for 300 rand of petrol as a seed.

    “If you see someone else anointed, more anointed than you, don't fight the person.”

    • Ephesians 2:8-10

11. You are a trophy of His grace on display

    God always causes us to triumph in Christ, and we are a sweet savour to Him; another translation says He leads us as trophies of His victory and displays us. His Word is His will, and His will is for you to prosper and be in health. So do not wait to see where God can use you: God is waiting on you.

    Illustration: He loves the smell of fresh bread, and after praying in many places he has smelt perfume like roses, as someone did when they prayed recently.

    “If you want to know God's will, get to know his words. His word is his will.”

    • 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
    • 3 John 2

12. All it takes is a quality decision

    Success comes from quality decisions: this is my church, this is my pastor, I will never miss church, I will partner financially, I will tithe as a lifestyle, I will pray early before I speak to anyone, and I refuse to be discouraged. For every one person who dislikes you, ten love you, so stop focusing on the one. See Christ in every brother and sister whatever their background, honour the elderly as well as the young, and answer negative words with love and prayer, because all things work together for your good.

    Illustration: A new deacon who complains that everyone hates him since his promotion is asked to count: maybe one person dislikes him and fifty love him. People make time for the well-dressed and avoid someone scruffy, yet that man is carrying Christ.

    “All it takes to be successful is to make a quality decision.”

    • Romans 8:28