Radical Faith | Faith Series

Today’s sermon will be based on Hebrews 11.

Today, we continue our deep dive into the topic of radical faith. Paul, in the book of Romans, said that anything we do as a believer without faith is sin. Everything we do for God has to be by faith. What is faith? Faith is the confident assurance of things we hope for. It’s something that is yet to happen. It is the evidence of things we have not yet seen. That’s what faith is all about. Faith is not having it before you believe. Faith is believing before it comes, and knowing that it shall come to pass because it is written in the Bible, and our God is not a liar.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen. I see that my family members will be saved irrespective of what situation I’m seeing with my eyes now. I know it because it’s the promise of the Lord, I know it’s coming. I’m not allowing the physical realm to manipulate my belief. I believe it shall come to pass; I see it coming. They will be saved, I don’t care what the devil said; God has the last words.

Faith is all about believing what he did on the cross, and His words become a rhema in my life. And I hold on tight to these rhema. He was wounded for my transgression, bruised for my iniquity. By His stripe, I am healed. I may not have seen it in the physical, but I believe it has already been done. I put my faith in His words, and it has set me free from the law, sin, and even death. I am no longer under the law; I have been set free. Friends, live in that revelation every day.

What Is Radical Faith?

First, let’s take a look at what a radical person means. A radical person is not your usual person; they are different from others. They speak, act, and see differently. That’s why many times when you see a radical person, you think they’re acting strange. Jesus said it this way, “If you can believe, all things are possible for those that believe.”

Peter thought he saw a ghost walking on the water and then realized it was Jesus. But he wasn’t 100% sure, so he said, “Lord if it’s really you, command me to come,” and He said, “come!”

Can you imagine what the other disciples think of Peter when he said that? In the middle of the storm, trying to get out of the boat and to walk on the water? If it were me, I would be observing and stay on the boat because I wasn’t sure who commanded Peter. In this story, we are witnessing radical faith. Peter stepped out, in the middle of the raging water. He put his faith in the Man who told him to come. God is able to hold you according to what He said over your life. We have to understand this.

Our Words Are Powerful – God Partners With Us

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Hebrews 11:3 (KJV)

God speaks. In Genesis, when creating the universe, God spoke, “Let there be light,” and there was light. He spoke, “Let there be,” and there is. We need to learn that Faith and your word come hand in hand. God is teaching us in the New Testament that our words hold power. We speak what we believe.

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Romans 4:17 (KJV)

God put that manifestation power in us; that’s why the Bible says:

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)

Whatever you think is what you declare. Our mind and belief are so powerful, but often times we are feeding ourselves with garbage. We have a psychologist here in church, and I need to sit down and speak with her. Thank God for Christian psychologists who understand the power of the word of God. In the book written by Caroline Leaf about controlling toxic thoughts, she asked Christians, “who switched off your brain?”

God has put everything we need inside of us to achieve our purpose. But we have gone out of our way to destroy it. It’s time to come back to the Bible, the word of God.

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Genesis 2:19 (KJV)

From the beginning, God wants to partner with us. That’s a privilege. God could have named the animal Himself, but He chose to say to Adam, “Go have fun naming these animals.” That’s a privilege. How are we framing our life? What name are we giving to this situation? With faith, you have the power in your tongue to rename that situation.

In order for faith to grow and we begin to speak it, we need to fill our minds with His word and promises. Theologians noted that there are 7,000 promises of God in the Bible. That’s a whole lot of promise. Apostle Paul said all the promises of God are yes and amen.

Radical Faith Never Gives Up

A person with radical faith will never give up. Abraham didn’t give up. God said He will make him a father of nations, and Abraham believed. He never gave up. To a lot of his peers, Abraham for sure looked crazy. His friends would have advised him to see a psychiatrist. 80+ years old and waiting for a son? not only a son, but many sons? By rationale and logic, he is crazy. But Abraham is already pregnant with God’s promise. If I (Pastor Lawrence) ever told you something that discourages you, tell me “Pastor Lawrence, you didn’t receive that promise. That promise is mine. So I will see it happen” You have the permission even to tell pastors to shut up. Don’t ever let anyone take you away from God’s promises for you.

Our Mind Limits Our Faith

For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

Job 3: 24-25 (KJV)

The things he feared happened to him. That’s why Job cried to the Lord; he said he needs his savior. We are lucky; Jesus already paid the price for us. He is our mediator; we can now boldly access the throne of God. Jesus is your only mediator to the throne of God. The Bible says He is the truth, the way, and the life, and nothing comes to the father except through Him. In your church, you have pastors, elders, bishops, and teachers, but they are not your mediator. They are there to encourage your learning. By far, they are not your mediator; Jesus is, He is the author and finisher of your faith.

Our faith and belief are going to determine how we act. Yes, faith is not just speaking what you believe, but it is also reflected in how you respond to your situation. Apostle Paul said that no situation is new for us, and for every situation, God provided a way out to demonstrate His glory. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us, not the other way around.

The Story of Susan Wesley

I want to give you an example of radical faith. Susan Wesley, she’s the mother of the Methodist church. She has 19 children and her husband left her. Then 9 of her children died. In our generation now, we’ll probably say that she will commit suicide, but she didn’t. She fought; she has faith. She will put on a veil and pray; that’s her sacred room. Her children understood that when she put on the veil, she is untouchable. Every day, she will pray that God will provide her family for food, and she will not remove the veil before the bell to her house door rings. Her neighbor helped to provide for her family’s need for food as she is not a working woman. Her house burnt 2 times; the second time the incident happens, her children were separated and taken into different families. She didn’t know where her kids were, but she prayed, and the children returned. The same faithful prayer is still working today. Her God is our God. Today her children John and Charles Wesley are famous men of God. All her children serve the Lord. She also forgave and wrote a love letter to the husband who left her. This is what God called faith. She never allows bitterness to take over and change her.

Another example is Smith Wigglesworth. He said many read the bible in Greek, in Latin and so on, but he advises people to read the bible with the leading of the Holy Spirit. He recommended that we consume the word until it consumed us, indicating that without the Holy spirit, our understanding of the bible is just that, powerless. We need God to give us the rhema word. You need to read the words until it becomes you, believe it, speak it, then act on it. James said that faith without work is dead. Anything is possible with God.

Many of us thought that God is evil and mean, but He is not. He is good, and he paid it all for us; don’t let the enemy or your mind twist the truth.

Today, anything that we can’t explain, we said it is the will of God. In 2020 the church closed due to covid, and many of us said it is the will of God. It is not; it was our will. We failed; we limit God once again. Then many of us back then believed that the rapture will happen, but I don’t believe it. I know the rapture is going to happen, but not now, not when we’re under persecution. I’d like to believe the rapture is going to happen when the world is relaxing. Look at the book of Noah; he was preparing for the great flood, and people made fun of him. The flood wasn’t coming until he finished building the arc. The bible said that while people were relaxing, having fun, partying, suddenly the flood happened. I believe, the same will happen for the rapture.

We need to be sensitive and connected to the Holy Ghost. All these things we have on the earth, we will leave it one day. I told my kids I’m not living them any will because the will I am going to leave them is Jesus. My kids will see that I am living in righteousness, and will follow my example.

Conclusion

So again, what is radical faith? it is following the instruction of your leader, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You should not be moved by what you see, nor what you feel; you should only be moved by what Jesus told you.

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Luke 9: 1-6 (KJV)

In these verses, Jesus commanded his disciple to put their faith into practice. He asked them to take nothing but trust in Him as the God who will provide. He asked them to step out and put their faith into action, healing the sick, casting out demons.

Many of us have received instruction from the Lord but we didn’t act on it. Why? because we want the express miracle. But God often doesn’t do express, because when we receive it that way often we won’t have the character to handle or maintain it.

If today you receive 1 million Euro, without the right character and wisdom, you will be destroyed. If you don’t believe me, research on lottery winners. You will see cases whereby families were harmonious before and suddenly after receiving such a huge sum of money, everything exploded into a mess. Why? because they were not ready to manage such wealth. It will be easy for the enemy to plant pride, hedonism, and many other deadly temptations and sins.

And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

Luke 22:35 (KJV)

Faith in Jesus works. He provided everything for his disciple even though they stepped out without anything. You have to remind yourself that God is good. Take your time to adore God, to thank Him for your life. When you’re facing a situation, remind yourself of what God has done in your life and in others. Testimonies strengthen our faith. Speak to your mind “Look what the Lord has done in my life.” Wherever faith goes, signs, wonders, and miracles follow. We should not bow down; we have Jesus. Our faith is in Jesus, and He will make all things possible.