Are You Going Through the Motions of Faith?
Scripture: James 5:16Devotional Series: Preparing for Persecution
Teaching: Preparing For Persecution pt. 7 (WED 2021-05-05) by Pastor Star R Scott
There’s no limit to what we can be in Jesus Christ. There is no limit to how victorious we can be over our flesh. Every man sins when he’s drawn away of his own lust and enticed; amen? We sin because we choose to sin. Sin does not have power over us. I am not under the power of sin any more, but the flesh still works and manifests itself in me. Frankly, I just choose myself more often than I would like to and that’s what it all comes down to. Every time we find ourselves living below what God has provided for us, it’s because we have been choosing self in this relationship, whatever it might be. “Why could we not cast out these devils?” “Because you were choosing yourself. You were arguing who’s the greatest among you. I gave you power over all the power of the enemy. You went out. You came back rejoicing and saying, ‘The devils are subject to us! We saw Satan cast down, praise God!’” He said, “Don’t rejoice in that the devils are subject to you, but rather in this, that your names are written in the heavens,” amen? Hallelujah!
We’ve had an opportunity, in the last year, to pray for two people who died, and neither one of them was raised. So, I automatically begin to ask myself the question if God has given us that authority in part of our ministry? Now we all know I’m not talking about the fact that we can run around and raise anybody we want, any time we want. That’s not what the Scriptures are indicating when we’ve been given this power to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cast out devils. Our warfare is not with flesh and blood, it’s against principalities and powers. We need to come to the understanding that it’s our relationship with Father. It’s in that intimacy, when we hear the rhema from God in an intimate time, when God will speak to us to where our faith will become energized. The Word comes from heaven and our faith becomes energized. Listen! The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Effectual, fervent, “divinely energized.”
Most of our praying, and the reason we’re not seeing these things, is because we’re saying words but it’s not divinely energized. We’re praying based upon concept, biblical revelation, biblical truths, but we have not been in the bosom of God. We are not representing the heart of God. We’re going through, for lack of a better term, the motions of faith. Where is the real faith in the church in this hour? In us, especially, a people who are seeking it, longing for it, wanting God to be glorified? Why are we not seeing? Why are we living beneath what God has provided for us? I’m tired of it! I’m tired of seeing people sick with COVID‑19, and them not being healed. Jesus healed them all (right?) that it might be fulfilled, what was spoken by the prophet, declaring that by His stripes we are healed; amen? We’ve taught on all of the other aspects of it. We’ve taught on the sovereignty of God. We’ve taught on the fact that we, as Christians, are not separate from tragedies that take place in earth. We are Adam’s children. There is a curse upon this world. This world is even being affected. Sin is even affecting the natural world as it’s reeling like a drunk man, the Scripture says. It’s not carbon deposits that’s causing our atmospheric problems, it’s sin! This world is under judgment, the very earth itself, but it’s going to be purged by fire; hallelujah! And there’s going to be a new heaven and a new earth; amen?
We’ve had an opportunity, in the last year, to pray for two people who died, and neither one of them was raised. So, I automatically begin to ask myself the question if God has given us that authority in part of our ministry? Now we all know I’m not talking about the fact that we can run around and raise anybody we want, any time we want. That’s not what the Scriptures are indicating when we’ve been given this power to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cast out devils. Our warfare is not with flesh and blood, it’s against principalities and powers. We need to come to the understanding that it’s our relationship with Father. It’s in that intimacy, when we hear the rhema from God in an intimate time, when God will speak to us to where our faith will become energized. The Word comes from heaven and our faith becomes energized. Listen! The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Effectual, fervent, “divinely energized.”
Most of our praying, and the reason we’re not seeing these things, is because we’re saying words but it’s not divinely energized. We’re praying based upon concept, biblical revelation, biblical truths, but we have not been in the bosom of God. We are not representing the heart of God. We’re going through, for lack of a better term, the motions of faith. Where is the real faith in the church in this hour? In us, especially, a people who are seeking it, longing for it, wanting God to be glorified? Why are we not seeing? Why are we living beneath what God has provided for us? I’m tired of it! I’m tired of seeing people sick with COVID‑19, and them not being healed. Jesus healed them all (right?) that it might be fulfilled, what was spoken by the prophet, declaring that by His stripes we are healed; amen? We’ve taught on all of the other aspects of it. We’ve taught on the sovereignty of God. We’ve taught on the fact that we, as Christians, are not separate from tragedies that take place in earth. We are Adam’s children. There is a curse upon this world. This world is even being affected. Sin is even affecting the natural world as it’s reeling like a drunk man, the Scripture says. It’s not carbon deposits that’s causing our atmospheric problems, it’s sin! This world is under judgment, the very earth itself, but it’s going to be purged by fire; hallelujah! And there’s going to be a new heaven and a new earth; amen?