Who do you think you are?

The Father's testimony

"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in my favour, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved." John 5:31-34

"As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" Matthew 3:16,17

Jesus lived from the Father's testimony about him. Even Jesus did not depend on his own testimony about himself, nor the testimony of godly men concerning him. The only testimony that he considered valid was the testimony of the Father concerning him. Jesus, therefore, lived by faith in the testimony of the Father. After his baptism, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted. The devil challenged the testimony Jesus had from the Father saying, "If you are the Son of God..." (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus, however, trusted in the Father's testimony about him.

A new identity

The apostle Paul lived by faith in his new identity in Christ. He regarded his old identity that was based on his education, his heritage, his intellect, his zeal, and his self-righteousness as "rubbish" compared to knowing Christ and finding his identity in Him (Philippians 3:4-11). Paul lived from the reality of his new identity in Christ saying, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Key motivation

Just as Paul lived from the spiritual reality of his new identity in Christ, so he appealed to the Church to live their lives according to the testimony from heaven and the spiritual truth of their new identity in Christ. Paul understood that the believers' key motivation to live godly lives was to believe and live according to their new identity in Christ.

In his letter to the saints in Colosse, Paul writes,

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with hm in glory." Colossians 3:1-4

Paul appeals to the truth of what Christ has done, is doing and will do. He reminds the Church that they have been raised with Christ (past), that they live with Him in God (present) and that they will be found in Him when He returns (future). Consequently, Paul exhorts the Church to put off her old identity and behaviour and to live in her new identity as "God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved" (Colossians 3:12).

Over and over again in his letters to the Church, Paul reminds the believers about their new identity in Christ in order to move them to live godly lives. He reminds the believers that they are not their own anymore and that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit as the key motivation to avoid sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 8:12-16; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1). He explains how believers belong to one another as the Body of Christ as the key motivation to serve one another (Romans 12:4,5). Paul reminds the believers that they are no longer darkness but light in the Lord and so should live as children of light because that is their new identity in Christ (Ephesians 5:8-14).

Life of faith

We see, therefore, that the life of faith is about living in the truth of what God says about us - the Father's testimony about us - because of what Christ has done, is doing and will do. Those who live in the truth of their new identity in Christ will put off the old and put on the new. They will live as God's people who belong to Him and to one another because they know that they are sons of God and that they are the Body of Christ. 

Living according to identity

What attitude or behaviour needs to change in your life if you truly believe the following testimony about your new identity in Christ?

• You are a new creation in Christ, created in Him to do good works. 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:10
• Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 6:19,20
• You are a member of the Body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:27
• You are holy. Col 3:12
• You are light. Eph 5:8-12
• You are a citizen of heaven. Phil 3:20

These are just a few of the wonderful truths that apply to the believer. Faith in the truth of who we are in Christ should motivate us to live according to our new lives in Christ.  

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

Where is the promised land?

"For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles." Galatians 2:8

Peter was a messenger of Christ to Israel, the chosen people of God. His ministry was focused on reaching the Jewish people with the gospel. He so identified with his people that Paul even had to correct him for returning to Jewish customs whilst in Antioch (see Gal. 2:11-14). Reading Peter's letters, therefore, gives us a glimpse of his heart for the Jewish people and God's purposes for Israel and the Church.

God's message to His people 

The Good News that "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18) was Peter's message to the Jewish people. He was greatly concerned about the outcome for "those who do not obey the Gospel" (1 Peter 4:17). In Peter's mind, "the end of all things" was near (1 Peter 4:7) and so his letters carry a sense of urgency about Christ's return and the Church's readiness to meet her Master.

Strangers in the world

It is interesting to note how James and Peter address their letters to "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations" and "God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" (James 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1). It seems that both writers primarily have their Jewish brothers in mind who have come to faith in Christ through the Gospel. Rather than calling their Jewish brothers to return to Jerusalem or "the promised land," the believers are encouraged "as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul" and to "live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1 Peter 2:11,12). God's purpose for His people is that they live as members and citizens of His Kingdom in this world wherever they are. He is not gathering His people to one place but has scattered His people among the nations to be salt and light for His glory (see Matthew 5:13-16)!

Where is the "promised land"?

God's people are not to live for the seen but for the unseen real. Abraham lived by faith in the unseen reality of God's land, promised to him and his ancestors. 

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:13-16).

Even Moses "regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible" (Heb.11:26,27).

The message of the writer to the Hebrews, the Jewish people, is that Christ is the fulfillment of all that was forshadowed in the old covenant. "The copies of the heavenly things" (Heb. 9:23) all pointed to the reality of the invisible Kingdom that is found in Christ. God's people are not supposed to be returning to a physical land but are to be waiting in great expectation for the new heavens and the new earth, "to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God" (Heb. 12:22). Jew and Gentile believers eagerly await a "better country" and the city God has prepared for them!

Let us live godly lives as aliens and strangers in this world as we eagerly await the glorious appearing of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ and the revelation of our heavenly home!

Realizing the Unseen Real

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain – if it really was in vain?  So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?" Galatians 3:1-5

True Salvation

• Man is separated from God "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
• The glory of God - His goodness, His perfection, His purity, His holiness, etc can never be attained by human effort because man is imperfect by nature. Rom.5:14
• In order to gain access to the glory of God, man needs to be "like God in true righteousness and holiness." Eph.4.24
• Christ came as the Mediator between God and man. 1 Tim. 2:5
• Through Christ's perfect life, His death and His resurrection, God gave man a means to be reconciled to Him. 2 Cor. 5:18,19
• By depending on Christ's righteousness, man is reconciled to the Father and has access to His presence and His Kingdom. It is by depending on Christ's right standing with the Father that the believer has access to the favour and glory of God. Rom. 5:1,2

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained acces by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1,2

The Realm of Grace

It is therefore not man's efforts that give him access to the Kingdom but dependence upon Christ. This is how the believer begins "by means of the Spirit" (Gal. 3:3). The believer is born of the Spirit as he depends on Christ's righteousness and gains access to the Spirit's realm, the Kingdom of God or the Unseen Real. In other words, through faith in Jesus Christ, the believer has access to "him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Eph. 3:20). Entrance into the realm of immeasurably more, the Kingdom of God, the realm of grace is made possible through dependence upon Christ (John 3:5).

Faith realizes

The apostle Paul rebukes the Galatians for reverting to a life of works and human effort rather than continuing to depend on Christ for their righteousness. Paul not only addresses the issue of righteousness through faith in Christ but also the issue of miracles and the demonstration of God's Kingdom through faith among the believers. Paul asks, "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" (Gal. 3:5) What Paul is essentially getting at is that the realm of the Spirit (the Kingdom of God) is seen, received and realized by faith in Christ and His Realm and cannot be produced or earned by human effort (John 3:1-12). 

The Kingdom of God is not realized by the believer trying to twist God's arm by human effort but by praying God's will on earth as he sees it in heaven. Jesus taught His disciples to pray this way when He told them to pray, "Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Jesus only spoke what He heard the Father say and only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19,30).  

Jesus revealed the Father's will on earth as it is in heaven - 
He  realized the Unseen Real!

Pray in the Spirit

To pray in the Spirit is to pray as the Holy Spirit prays.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:26,27 (emphasis mine)

The Spirit prays in accordance with the will of God (John 16:13). When God's will is revealed on earth as it is in heaven, the Kingdom of God is realized. Realizing the Unseen Real is the essence of praying in the Spirit. The believer realizes Christ's righteousness in his own life by faith and learns to realize the reality of Heaven on earth by faith. The believer therefore stops trying to change the natural realm by using human effort and depends on the reality of the Kingdom and calls that which is not in the natural as though it were (Romans 4:17). The believer is called to live for the Unseen Real and to live from the Unseen Real (2 Cor. 4:18; Col. 3:1,2; Heb. 11:24-27; 12:22-28). 

Two perspectives

Either one lives from the natural realm toward the spiritual realm or one lives from the spiritual realm toward the natural realm. The first requires human effort; the latter requires faith. The first is evolutionary; the latter is creationist. The first is earthly, the latter is heavenly. The first tries to attain heaven; the latter lives from heaven. The first tries to become holy; the latter lives as a holy one. The first tries to be righteous; the latter produces the fruit of righteousness. The first works for his salvation; the latter works out his salvation. The first is seated on earth; the latter is seated in heaven.

Kingdom Ambassadors

God is calling His people to live as new creations in Christ and to pray heaven on earth so that His Kingdom is realized in the natural realm. Having begun by receiving the Spirit by faith, let us continue to realize the Unseen Real by faith and see God's Kingdom come!

Faith working through love

"The only thing that counts is faith working through love." Galatians 5:6

 Faith

The essence of living the Kingdom life as a follower of Jesus Christ is "faith working through love." Faith is the conviction that God exists and that He rewards those who seek Him (see Hebrew 11:1,6). However, faith without action is dead (James 2:26). True conviction or faith is always accompanied by action for without action a conviction is only an opinion. True faith looks like something and that something is love.

The believer's faith is demonstrated in three essential ways - love for God's presence, love for His people and love for His salvation purposes. Every disciple of Christ will demonstrate all three aspects of this love that the apostle Paul is addressing. All three loves look like something!

Love God's Presence

Those who love God's presence by faith, seek His face. They spend time in His presence in prayer, worship and reading the Bible. They are devoted to having fellowship with God and seek to grow in their knowledge and experience of Him. This agape love is an unconditional commitment to God that is not dependent on feelings, circumstances or knowledge. It is a simple child-like trust in God that learns to enjoy His presence. The very presence of God becomes the disciple's greatest reward (see Gen. 15:1). As believers grow in their love for God, they grow in their love for what is on God's heart. "We love because he first loved us" 1 John 4:19. Love for God is therefore expressed in the believer's love for what God loves. 

Love God's People

God's people are those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ (see Eph. 2:11-22). Loving God's people is expressed by a life devoted to serving the Body of Christ. In the letter to the Hebrews we read, "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them" (Heb. 6:10). Love for the Church is demonstrated very practically. Believers who love the Church are devoted to the local church and the greater Church by spending time with other believers and seeking to help others grow in their relationship with God and supporting any physical needs others may have. The early Church demonstrated this agape love as they shared their lives and their possessions with one another and were committed to fellowshipping with one another (see Acts 2:42-47). 

Love God's Purposes

Those who through faith in Jesus Christ become members of His Body, the Church, are created in Christ to do good works (Eph. 2:10). The believer is therefore included in Christ for a purpose - God's salvation purposes - God's passion to see everyone reconciled to Him. Just as Jesus fulfilled the Father's purposes to seek and save the lost, so the Body of Christ is called to love the lost and seek to reconcile them to the Father's love. Those who have genuine faith will love God's purposes and seek to share the love of God with those who are separated from God.

Faith is therefore expressed through love for God's presence, God's people and God's salvation purposes. All three loves are the manifestation of true faith that is seen in the believer's actions as s/he reponds to God, to the Church and to the lost.

Do you have faith?

"When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8

God expects His people to have faith.

The Holy Spirit says,

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

It is man's responsibility to believe in God and in His promises. The woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years was healed because of her faith! Jesus commended her and said, "Daughter, your faith has healed you." Mark 5:34

Jesus also commended the centurion's faith and said about him,

"I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Matthew 8:10

Faith pleases God and releases God's will on earth as it is in heaven.

How can the believer strengthen his faith?

In the account of the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus reveals how the believer can receive from God.

In response to the Samaritan woman, Jesus replies, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10

The key to strengthening one's faith is to grow in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of that which God freely gives. It is as the believer fixes his eyes on Jesus that his faith is strengthened and "perfected" (Heb. 12:2).

The greater the revelation of God, the greater the faith to believe for the impossible!

If the Samaritan woman had known who it was that was speaking to her and knew what He wanted to give her, she would have had the faith to ask and receive! Faith releases the glory of God - the manifestation of His presence and power.

Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" John 11:40

The believer must understand that faith is required. "If you believed.." There is a condition to the revelation of God's glory - faith!

Unless the believer grows in his knowledge of God and the will of God, his faith will not grow. For this reason the apostle Paul prays,

"We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.." Col. 1:9,10

The believer needs spiritual revelation of God and His will!

I encourage you to spend time in God's presence and in His Word so that you grow in the knowledge of God and in the knowledge of His will. It is as we grow in our knowledge of Him and His will that we will be able to pray with faith and confidence and then see the glory of the Lord!

"When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8

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Are you being saved?

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:47

Salvation is present continuous. Christians are in the process of being saved as long as they believe and remain in Christ.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8,9

You are receiving the salvation of your soul. Salvation is present continuous.

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel." Col. 1:21-23

As the believer continues to believe, he continues to receive salvation.

"And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming." 1 John 2:28

The believer continues in Christ as he continues to trust in God's grace. By faith the believer enters into this grace and it is by faith that the believer must continue to live in this grace until Christ comes again!

"After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Gal. 3:3

"..if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9,10

As the believer continues to believe and continues to confess he is saved and will be saved.

Salvation is union with God that is realised (worked out - Phil. 2:12) by daily and abiding fellowship with Him.

"This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Your initial "prayer of faith" to be saved has gained you entrance into the grace in which you now stand. To stand firm, you need to continue to have faith by continuing to abide in Christ. Your abiding in Christ will bear fruit which will give you confidence on the day He returns.

"...as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world." 1 John 4:17

"...those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him." 1 John 2:5

Are you being saved?

"For 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." 1 Cor. 1:18

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2 Cor. 13:5

When do you approach the throne of grace?

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infimities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16 (KJV)

Jesus has overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. It is by Christ's overcoming Spirit, resident in the believer that we overcome.

Most of us approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace because we have sinned but the above verses encourage the believer to come to the throne to receive from God in order to overcome!

So often we start in the flesh and when we fail we end in the Spirit. Surely God's invitation to His children is to begin in the Spirit and remain in the Spirit by depending on Him for mercy and grace in order to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil?

Paul encourages Timothy and says, "..be strong in the grace that is in Christ." 2 Tim. 2:1

God's mercy means we don't receive what we deserve but God's grace means we receive in abundance what we don't deserve.

Come to the throne of grace and receive mercy and then in your time of need today, find the grace God has given you in Christ to overcome trials and temptation! Don't start in the flesh! Start in the Spirit and end in the Spirit and hold firm to the faith that you profess.

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ!

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The key to praying in power

"It is written, 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' With the same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak." 2 Cor. 4:13

Speak!

The spirit of faith believes AND speaks!

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

A heart filled with faith speaks.

The words we speak because of faith have creative power to influence and change the natural realm.

The apostle Paul writes,

"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:8-10

Powerful words

The words we speak that agree with our faith, have power! To confess is to agree.

"From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him." Proverbs 12:14

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue." Proverbs 18:21

The words we speak have power only when they are in agreement with what we believe. It is not the right words that have power but the words that flow out of a heart of faith!

Faithless words?

Those who use words without faith can get themselves into a lot of trouble!

"Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, 'In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.' Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?' Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding." Acts 13-16

Praying with the spirit of faith

The believer must pray the will of God. If we are praying in the Spirit, we will pray in agreement with God's will so that His Kingdom is manifested on earth as it is in heaven (see Matthew 6:10). The Holy Spirit intercedes in accordance with the will of God and so should we, if we want to pray with the spirit of faith (see Romans 8:27).

The key to praying in power

The key to praying in power is to know and believe the will of God and to speak it into the physical realm. This is praying with the spirit of faith!

How to pray with the spirit of faith

A great way to build your faith and to grow in the spirit of faith is to pray God's Word out loud. For example, you can take Psalm 91 and pray it out loud over your own life. Verse one states,

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

You can pray, "Thank you, Lord, that as I dwell in your shelter I find rest in your presence! Thank you Lord that I can dwell in your shelter and abide in your presence. Thank you that you overshadow me right now as I rest in your presence."

Faith comes from hearing God's Word (see Romans 10:17)! Therefore, praying God's Word out loud is operating with the spirit of faith and it strengthens your faith at the same time!

I encourage you to develop the "spirit of faith" as you believe and speak God's will on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that you will be filled "with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding....so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Col. 1:9-12

Do you really believe?

James writes,

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." James 2:18

Conviction or opinion?

Faith is conviction and whatever someone is convinced of he will reveal with his life - his thoughts, his attitudes, his speech, and his behaviour. Our lives reveal what we believe and are convinced of. The person who believes that prayer is "powerful and effective" (James 5:16), for example, will be a person of prayer. Our true convictions are always audible and visible! The spirit of faith speaks (2 Cor. 4:13)! Conviction without action is opinion. Our outward lives demonstrate what is truly inside our hearts. That is why John says,

"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." 1 John 4:20

1 John was written to help believers know whether they truly believe. John writes,

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13

Evidence of our faith.

What things does John write about that demonstrate that we believe? If we truly believe and are convinced that we are in Christ,

• We will walk in the Light. 1 John 1:7
• We will acknowledge our sin. 1 John 1:9,10
• We will obey God. 1 John 2:3,4; 3:24; 5:2,3
• We will walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6
• We will love the Church. 1 John 2:9,10; 3:10,11
• We will acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. 1 John 2:22,23; 4:2,15
• We will receive spiritual revelation. 1 John 2:20,27; 5:20
• We will do what is right. 1 John 2:29; 3:7,10
• We will not continue to sin deliberately. 1 John 3:6,9; 5:18
• We will lay down our lives for one another. 1 John 3:14-16
• We will have pity on the needy. 1 John 3:17
• We will love with actions. 1 John 3:18
• We will know by the Spirit that we belong to God. 1 John 3.24
• We will overcome the spirit of the world. 1 John 4.4,5; 5:4,5
• We will love. 1 John 4:7-21
• We will have a testimony in our hearts. 1 John 5:9-12

Our actions and words demonstrate what we truly believe, especially when no one is looking!

What do you really believe?

It is both challenging and helpful to look at one's life to see what one is truly convinced of. For example, what does your daily routine tell you about what you believe concerning,

Prayer, Worship, Giving, Loving others, The lost, etc.

True Faith.

I believe God is calling His people to true faith - faith in Him and in His Word. Sadly many believers say they believe in God and in His Word but they demonstrate by their words and actions that they don't actually trust in Him or in His Word. Many demonstrate that they trust more in man, in formulas, in their demonstration of "faith", in the natural (superstition), etc. than in God.

Growing in Faith.

If we find that we aren't really convinced and don't really carry the convictions we should, I want to encourage you to spend time with God in prayer and in His Word so that you will grow in your knowledge of Him. Our convictions cannot be mustered up but will only develop as we look at Jesus. The writer to the Hebrews says,

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith." Hebrews 12:2

In other words, the more you look at Jesus and get to know Him, the more He will convince you of His nature and power and the truth of His Word. As you look to God, He will build convictions in your life and make them stronger so that you will stand firm in your faith and your life will demonstrate your true convictions - the fruit of your faith.