Harnessing the Power of Faith in God's Sovereign Plan
Matt. 8:13 And Jesus said…as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee…
Our reward is in direct proportion to our faith in Christ. You may be tempted to think that God is going to do what God is going to do, regardless of how you pray. That is contrary to every lesson Jesus ever taught about prayer and faith. Do not think that God’s Sovereignty has no place for man’s free will and persuasive faith. It is the marriage of both that yields God’s ultimate plan.
In God’s sovereign master plan, He willed for His purposes to be forged through the faith of His creation. No doubt it all starts with God and it all finishes with Him, but somewhere in the middle He desires for us to play a part in His will being done here on Earth. Could He do it without us? Yes. Will He do it without us? No! It is therefore important to understand that we must get involved in His plan in order for His ultimate will to be accomplished in our lives.
That is why we forfeit the ultimate blessing when we yield to doubt instead of faith. Imagine all of the “what could have beens” in our lives to date. How then do we get involved? By simple faith and obedience. To trust and obey Christ is our duty. You cannot have trust without obedience, and you cannot have obedience without trust.
Your whole Christian experience will be filled with moments in which you have the opportunity to either exercise your faith, or else diminish it. Each time you choose to believe, you build up your most holy faith. God will test you in small things to prepare you for greater things. Only let Him lead you, do what He says, and trust Him, and you’ll never go wrong.
It is a valuable lesson to me to learn in our text that MY faith matters to Jesus. My faith is very specific to my needs. My faith is very specific to my location. My faith is very specific to my mountains. My faith is very specific to my circumstance. My faith is very specific to the situations that I face each and every day of my life.
So, when Jesus says, “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee!” That tells me that Jesus is not just answering generic, vague, general prayers which apply to any situation; He is answering my prayers according to my faith for my unique, specific situation. Hallelujah, what a Savior! He tailor-cuts His blessings to fit with utmost precision and accuracy any need that I have!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Our reward is in direct proportion to our faith in Christ. You may be tempted to think that God is going to do what God is going to do, regardless of how you pray. That is contrary to every lesson Jesus ever taught about prayer and faith. Do not think that God’s Sovereignty has no place for man’s free will and persuasive faith. It is the marriage of both that yields God’s ultimate plan.
In God’s sovereign master plan, He willed for His purposes to be forged through the faith of His creation. No doubt it all starts with God and it all finishes with Him, but somewhere in the middle He desires for us to play a part in His will being done here on Earth. Could He do it without us? Yes. Will He do it without us? No! It is therefore important to understand that we must get involved in His plan in order for His ultimate will to be accomplished in our lives.
That is why we forfeit the ultimate blessing when we yield to doubt instead of faith. Imagine all of the “what could have beens” in our lives to date. How then do we get involved? By simple faith and obedience. To trust and obey Christ is our duty. You cannot have trust without obedience, and you cannot have obedience without trust.
Your whole Christian experience will be filled with moments in which you have the opportunity to either exercise your faith, or else diminish it. Each time you choose to believe, you build up your most holy faith. God will test you in small things to prepare you for greater things. Only let Him lead you, do what He says, and trust Him, and you’ll never go wrong.
It is a valuable lesson to me to learn in our text that MY faith matters to Jesus. My faith is very specific to my needs. My faith is very specific to my location. My faith is very specific to my mountains. My faith is very specific to my circumstance. My faith is very specific to the situations that I face each and every day of my life.
So, when Jesus says, “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee!” That tells me that Jesus is not just answering generic, vague, general prayers which apply to any situation; He is answering my prayers according to my faith for my unique, specific situation. Hallelujah, what a Savior! He tailor-cuts His blessings to fit with utmost precision and accuracy any need that I have!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill