What is Faith? The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. A strong trust and confidence in God even when things are unseen or uncertain.
Humans get the opportunity to hear the Word and become doers of the Word through Faith. As a believer we need to know the promises of God, basically our history in order to understand what God promised, our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God promised Abraham, that he would bless his descendants, bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him, and restore the blessings lost in the garden of Eden.
-Abraham is a revered figure, considered the first of the Hebrew patriarchs and a key figure in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), known for his faith and obedience to God, and for being the father of a great nation.
-Isaac, the son of Abraham, was an obedient son who learned to trust God from his father. He’s the second of the patriarchs of Israel, the only son of Abraham and Sarah, and the father of Esau and Jacob
-Jacob also known as Israel, was the ancestor of the Israelites. A patriarch considered the forefather of the Israelites, known for his cunning and later, for his transformation into "Israel" after wrestling with God. We as Christians should study the journey of Faith as our forefathers had.
As I think about the first fall of mankind with Adam and Eve; they had it all, but because of the manipulation of the enemy, it caused them to feel pain physically and mentally, from labor pains to the grief of losing a child.
Let’s start from the beginning, God made Adam. Adam was given total control over the land and everything in it, the living creatures of the land, of the sea and of the air. With everything God gave Adam and Eve, they didn’t want for anything. All God expected in return was love through faithfulness and obedience. God also gives us “free will” and a self- conscience personality. Eve made a choice to listen to Satan rather than trust what God stated to Adam about the tree of good and evil. Was it a factor of wanting to know the difference of each (out of curiosity) or to be like God, being superior like him? I personally think Satan took advantage of Eve.
Have You ever played the telephone game? From the time you start the message until it makes it around the room, the last person has a different message. I believe Satan used that as a persuasive tactic to get Eve to believe that she wouldn’t die … that Adam might have misunderstood what God said. (Remember, she heard this message second hand)
You know when you hear a message second hand, you’re iffy about the delivery. I’m the one to say let me hear it from horse's mouth. or show me proof! But when it comes to the Word of God, I listen to my pastor, but I go to scripture to see it for myself. Eve was expected to believe the Word of God as Adam spoke it …
I believe that Eve just wanted to know the difference between Good and Evil, she had no idea that she was talking to the evil one in disguise! Satan for sure knew the difference because he was the evil one that was thrown out of heaven. After that conversation Satan became the exploiter of the first human female. And the 1st sin was committed.
Satan from the beginning has been trying to build his army of devils. Trying to demise our Lord God as Ruler of all.
Eve had no intention of becoming greater than God and God knew that… but her actions and her doing as Satan said and not as Lord God said, showed disobedience. Genesis Chapter 3 proves that even in the mist of God showing discipline and tough love to them, He still gave them the opportunity to be given the power to crush the enemy’s head. Satan wasn’t expecting that! This is a lesson of reference that the Lord God has our back as long as we display our faith in Him as ruler and obey His Word! This was the first example of the move of God setting the enemy straight on our behalf. Moving forward we see our Forefathers reference this same incident and making the choice to follow Faith in Truth! The enemy for decades has tried on many occasions to bring the Lord God’s name down by distracting us humans to be unfaithful to the rules and commandments that are set in place for us.
Believers, we have the promises to stand on. We must not take matters into our own hands or listen to the lies of the enemy but to go to God in prayer. Let him fight the battle for us!
Here are 3 things we should focus on in our journey of Faith:
1: Build a relationship with God, he sacrificed his son for our sins! Believe that only through Christ you shall be saved! James 4:8:
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you".
John 3:16"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".
2: Explore the Cross and what it stands for .. Why was the struggle necessary.. Why is your struggle necessary. Luke 9:23 "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'"
1 Corinthians 1:17-24: The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
God never said it would be easy, but he will be there with you through it. (Joshua 1:9)
3: Be his helping hand in the process …. Play your part in being the Church. Serve others and bring them to the light. Profess the name of our Lord God in Faith.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 emphasizes that believers are part of one body, the body of Christ, with diverse yet complementary roles. The church is called to share the gospel, make disciples, and serve others.
We have the opportunity to regain our spot in paradise. True Faith will get you to the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we can have the opportunity through True Faith to live an eternal life with him. Amen!
BE BLESSED BELIEVERS!
Love, Angelia