1168-Living by Faith to Receive Blessings#
1168-Living by Faith to Receive Blessings
(JP Text Group - Beautiful Compilation)
Ephesians 1:13-15:
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
Let us pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You. Thank You for gathering us before You with love. Today, You want to supply us with what we need through Your word. Please grant us faith and strength in Your word. I am willing to open my heart to receive Your word. Holy Spirit, help me to know You more. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!
In the Bible, God has given us many promises, all kinds of blessings come from above.
1 Corinthians 2:9, But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Isn't this a blessing? God cannot give us curses that we haven't even thought of in our hearts. What God gives us is His heavenly blessing. Ephesians also specifically mentions something,
God has made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself; (Eph 1:9)
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, (Eph 1:11)
In whom ye also trusted, that is the gospel that brings us salvation.
In the gospel, God not only saves us but also gives us an eternal blessing called inheritance.
This is what Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Jesus does not just want us to be saved. We wouldn't need to gather if that were the case, because at the moment you accepted Jesus as your Savior, acknowledged that you are a sinner, and laid all your sins upon Him, you were already saved.
God has also left us with abundant blessings; He wants us to receive that abundant life on earth. This life can be understood as: He wants us to live for the Lord on earth, storing up eternal rewards in heaven. The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance.
God has prepared abundant blessings for us in heaven. They are beyond our imagination. So when a new day begins, you can pray, "Lord, I thank You, this is a beautiful day, I am full of expectation to see what blessings You will bestow upon me."
Verse 13 says, In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.
God promises us that the Holy Spirit is in our hearts. He will guide us on the path ahead. Before believing in the Lord, we relied entirely on ourselves and did not know the way ahead. After we believe in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit will guide us on the path ahead, and we walk the path of righteousness. In this, we will see God's abundant supply and blessings.
Verses 17-18: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”
After you believe in Jesus and are saved, you can expect God's blessings to come upon you every day. Many Christians are confused, saying, "I know God has many blessings, but this blessing has not come upon me."
Where is the problem?
We need to understand this correctly through the Bible; as long as faith is correct, life will definitely be correct.
First, Living by faith does not mean ignoring God's natural laws.
In daily life, we not only need to declare our spiritual blessings but also ask God for wisdom, to teach us how to live correctly. Many people say we should live by faith. But this does not mean that people can ignore natural laws.
Brothers and sisters, natural laws are also established by God. For example: When God created, fire has the ability to burn objects. Has God's law changed today? No. You believe in Jesus, under God's protection, but if you put your hand in the fire, what will happen? But you cannot say, "Lord, why didn't You protect me?" If faith exceeds God's promises, it will become void.
In matters within our ability, God will not reveal to us supernaturally every day.
For example, after you wake up in the morning, do you need to pray, "Lord, should I eat today?" Because this is something you can completely do by yourself. There is an extreme teaching that says, in everything, you must pray and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, even to the point of praying about which piece of clothing to wear in the morning. Brothers and sisters, this is not faith.
God has given us free will. He has also given you the right to choose. Living by faith does not include whether you should eat, whether you should sleep, and so on. If you want to eat, eat; if you want to sleep, sleep. God has already given you freedom, which itself is a blessing from God.
If faith contradicts God's principles, even if miracles are seen, things may repeat, causing loss. For example: There was a person who was not in good health, and later prayed to God, and God healed him. But then this person continued to stay up late and eat irregularly. Not long after, the old illness recurred. Was it because God did not heal completely, or was it a lack of faith? Or was it something else?
This requires wisdom; some bad habits need to be corrected even by believers. We must take good care of our bodies. Do not say, "Our God is so merciful; I can not exercise, eat whatever I want, and do whatever I please." In the end, you will make your body very unhealthy. If you get sick, do not complain about why the Lord did not protect you.
Some people do not understand. We are protected by God; why do I have such a situation? This is not living according to God's laws. Living against natural laws is not faith.
Recently, someone asked me, "My child is sick every year, and we have to go to the hospital for medicine. This year I accepted Jesus; if I take my child to the hospital, does that mean I am not living by faith?"
Even if you take your child to the hospital, you can still pray because God can heal your child through the hands of doctors and experts. This is also one of the ways of faith. It is not only by raising hands in prayer that healing is called faith.
Some people misuse the term faith. Clearly, it is selfish desire, but they think it is faith.
There was a brother who, I don't know where he learned his teachings, believed that as long as he had faith, God could accomplish everything for us. There was no need for any effort from people; we just needed to rest and could receive supernatural blessings.
He recklessly used his credit card to buy all sorts of unnecessary things, and in the end, he owed a lot of money. This person even said, "It's okay, I will pray to God, and He will supernaturally pay off my debts."
He was also unwilling to work, just praying in the church every day. Is this behavior faith?
You cannot say he has no faith; he prays earnestly every time. Full of faith!
“Lord, I completely believe in You, because I am Your beloved son. Even if I make mistakes, You still love me. I believe You can supernaturally help me pay off my debts.”
For nearly three years, the bank kept pursuing him for debts, and he never saw the supernatural he spoke of.
We are children of God, but that does not mean we can be lazy and do nothing without putting in any effort.
Although Jesus is the Son of God, He did not provide food for His disciples every day. Although He performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, that was a special situation and should not be seen as a normal way of life. So do not misuse faith.
Proverbs 10:4-5
He becomes poor that deals with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He that gathers in summer is a wise son: but he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.
Many people think God is a God of blessings, so we do not need to do anything. Such people will not see abundance come. In fact, they are missing a step, which is to apply the word in life.
Second, Receive God's word, then—act.
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
This is the promise God gave to Joshua. God told him to often meditate on God's word, let God's word become his strength, and act according to this word. Then his way will be prosperous, and he will have good success.
How do you understand this word today? You should often meditate on the words of Jesus Christ. Such words should not depart from your mouth. Let God's word become the standard of our lives. Let God's word become the power of our actions. When we act according to God's word, we will experience His presence and His wonderful grace.
Meditation is the motivation; putting it into action will yield fruit. God has never said to rest every day and do nothing; He will supply all our needs.
We need to have correct faith.
God's word clearly states, to observe and do all that is written in this book. Your way, as you walk, will see blessings come upon you. Everything will go well. As you walk, God will guide you to go here and there. Every path you walk will be kept by God. There is a verse in the Bible; understand it correctly.
Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Many people misunderstand this verse; they say, "Jesus said, even the birds do not save, do not store food, and do not work, yet God feeds them. Even if I do not work or go to the office, God will take care of me."
They forget one thing: Jesus spoke of birds. Birds that are flying. Jesus did not say all the birds in the sky.
Lazy birds will starve to death.
When I was young, I learned about a story called the cold bird, which was about to freeze to death but did not take action. In nature, if animals are that lazy, they will freeze to death. But God prepares all kinds of insects on the ground, and when the birds fly in the air, their eyes can see food. Jesus said that God has prepared blessings for the birds in the air; as long as they are flying, they can receive blessings.
Receiving God's prosperity, to receive by faith means: God has prepared today's blessings; I believe and expect these blessings to come in what I do.
Let’s look at a story:
Exodus 16:14-17
And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, and omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
God provided food for the Israelites from heaven. But it did not fall directly into the mouths of the Israelites; it was around the camp. The Israelites could gather this food according to their appetite. But God had one limitation: they must finish gathering before sunrise, or it would be gone.
Exodus 16:21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Every day, the Israelites believed by faith that God would provide food; as long as they went out to gather manna, they would reap blessings. Just like many of us going to work today. You believe God has bestowed blessings today, so you diligently work, and good things can happen.
Encourage our brothers and sisters, to use your talents, use the wisdom God has given you, to be successful like Joseph, and to work wisely like David.
You should work hard and diligently fulfill your work requirements; this is a person's duty. In the process of working, God will bless you and make everything go well. Of course, we need to view this correctly; we are not working under pressure but enjoying it, seeing God's different supplies and grace every day.
Genesis 39:2-5:
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
When Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brothers, later when he arrived at the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard, his master discovered Joseph's uniqueness. You who work, ask God for wisdom, let your boss see your uniqueness, let them see the glory of Christ in you.
When Joseph's master saw that the Lord was with him, his master realized that whatever work he assigned to this slave, he could do it best. Because Joseph relied not on his own wisdom but on God's wisdom. We can imagine that even when he was a slave, he received God's blessings by faith. Because he believed that even if he was here, God was with him, helping him.
Many Christians complain, "Lord, please hurry and save me from here; I don't want to be a slave anymore; I don't want to do this." But Joseph did not. He asked God to bless everything he did. He might say, "When I was in my father's house, I didn't do anything, but now that I am a slave, I want to do my best in what I do. God, bless me." His master saw: the Lord made all that he did to prosper. Joseph found grace in his master's sight.
When you rely on the wisdom God has given you and do your work to the best of your ability, you will also find grace in your boss's eyes. This grace may be a promotion, a raise, or many bonuses. In short, God will elevate you.
When Joseph was promoted to steward, he received greater authority. His master entrusted everything in the house to him. We must not misunderstand prosperity, saying, "When I enter this company, God will change it overnight because I am here, and God will make the performance roll in." Family, we still need to work diligently. Be a model for others.
Joseph did not enter this house one day and the next day his master promoted him to steward. He was recognized through repeated actions, and his master discovered the grace of God upon him.
Therefore, your prayers must be persistent. If you do not see results now, do not lose heart. Because God is at work.
There was a man named David. David was once a shepherd, and in the process of taking care of the sheep, he had his unique qualities. The Israelites were a nomadic people, so they treated sheep as their children. One day, while David was delivering food to his brothers on the battlefield, King Saul saw him and let David stay by his side. How did David do his work?
Let us read verse 14 together: And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him.
When David was doing things, he relied on God, and God was with him. Even Saul saw that this young man was wise in his work. They all applied God's word to their lives.
2 Samuel 5:2
“And in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that ledest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.”
When Saul was king, it was David who led the Israelites in and out. In this process, God blessed him. In the hearts of the people, David was deeply loved because he cherished their lives as he did his sheep. This is the reason God made David prosperous.
Do not underestimate the work you do; do not say, "Let me do this? It is too much for me. How can I do such small things?" If you cannot be faithful in small matters, you will certainly not be able to do big things. When you do small things well, God will elevate you step by step. The blessings that come to you will become greater.
Let’s look at another person named Gideon. What kind of ability did Gideon have? You might say I have no special ability; God can bless you with the ability you have now.
The Midianites attacked the Israelites, and Gideon was afraid; he was threshing wheat in a winepress. At this time, God's messenger said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” (Judges 6:12)
Gideon said, "O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
God said to Gideon: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.” (Judges 6:14)
Could Gideon fight? Could he knock someone down with a single blow like our Chinese kung fu? He did not have that ability. The ability he had was to use a staff to thresh wheat. God said to use that ability. Gideon thought, "What can I do? All I can do is make barley cakes; how can this win?" God said to use that ability.
God wants you to use what you can do, not what you cannot do. Gideon said, "Okay, I will go." He was still not at ease and tested God several times. Finally, feeling anxious, he went to the enemy's camp and still was not at ease, so he went to listen to what they were saying. He heard two people talking about dreams, "The sword of Gideon! I saw a barley cake that crushed us all."
When Gideon heard that a barley cake could crush them, he said, "Alright, I am not afraid anymore; three hundred men are enough." God used this method to ignite Gideon's faith and showed him the blessing. Three hundred men defeated one hundred twenty thousand.
Third, Believe in God's power, receive revelation from God, and you will experience His power.
Believe in God's power and pray often before doing anything.
No matter what you are doing, you should first put prayer first, then take action. If you do not act, nothing will happen. Let me give you an example, perhaps you will understand. Before Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, was Moses also afraid? He did not know how to cross the Red Sea, so he cried out to God. God said: “What is that in thine hand?” Moses said: “A rod.” God said: “Stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” (Exodus 14:16)
Isn't God's word very clear?
If Moses prayed at that moment, "Lord, please quickly part the Red Sea," would anything happen?
What if he prayed all night? Two days?
Nothing would happen.
When will the Red Sea be parted? Only when Moses raised his rod over the Red Sea would it be parted.
Brothers and sisters, when will you be blessed by God and see blessings? It is when you stretch out your rod toward your difficulties, which represents you using Christ's authority. In the process of your prayer, God's blessings have already begun. If you do not act, things will not change.
In other words, do not push everything onto God. Do not say, if You bless me, I do not need any effort or action. Such thinking is incorrect.
James 1:22-25
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Earlier, we saw that God has prepared for us all kinds of spiritual blessings, heavenly blessings, and earthly blessings. Later it says, you have heard such words, and then you must act, truly act. You will be blessed in what you do.
This blessing is here, but you can only receive it when you act. The original meaning is: you will be blessed in this matter. Others hear it but do not act; they have no share in this matter. But you hear it, you act, and you will be blessed in this matter.
The original expression here means: you have a share in this blessing. So you must listen to the word and also act on it. Do not finish speaking today and go home to do as you please. At work, if you want to scold your boss, scold him; when you get home, if you want to scold your children, scold them. Treat them as if you are serving the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, although we are under the New Covenant, although we talk about grace, this does not mean we will condone sin. It does not mean that God no longer condemns my sin, and I can sin at will; there are some things we should not do.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
The meaning here is not that they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, but that they cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
If a person lives in selfish desires while hoping for God's blessings, it is very contradictory. If God blesses us in selfish desires, it is not beneficial to us but rather causes us loss. The things mentioned above prevent people from inheriting God's blessings. Those are the things we need to stay away from; as long as we ask God for wisdom and revelation, we can completely escape those things.
The word inherit used in the original text is the same word used in another place. Genesis 21:10-12
Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Isaac inherited all his father's inheritance. It was not a result of his effort but because he was a son. And he obeyed his father's words.
How did Paul advise the Corinthians, who were saved but behaved poorly?
1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
Paul did not say: You must repent well; you must acknowledge your sins every day before God to free yourselves from disgrace. Paul's meaning was, think of something else; although you were like this in the past, you did such things, I now tell you, you have a new identity because through the blood of Jesus Christ, you have been justified, cleansed, and sanctified. Only when a person receives such revelation can they truly change.
His meaning is, you are no longer the past you; you are now a prince of God. When you go out, you should have the demeanor of a prince. The demeanor of a prince cannot be, "This thing is so good; I want to steal it." That is not what a prince should do; what a prince should do is, "I want this (I will buy it), because my father is very rich." That is the demeanor of a prince.
A few days ago, when we were talking about this, a sister went to the library and accidentally tore a page while reading. She thought, I will put it back; actually, no one will know because it is a library, and no one can know this. But after she closed the book, the Holy Spirit said to her, "Remember, child, you are my beloved son; buy this book, and I will give you enough money." After she bought the book, she was quite happy. She felt she did what a beloved child of God should do.
You must know that now you are princes and princesses. Your behavior should match your identity.
Paul advised the Corinthians like this; they were once drunkards and greedy, but now you are princes; do not drink excessively; now live out your prince's demeanor.
So faith is not wishful thinking, but living out the likeness of Christ in life, and you can expect good things. For example, if you are signing a contract with a client who has not yet made up his mind, you can pray: “Lord, give me the ability and give him a firm heart to sign this contract with me.” When you pray like this, you see the result of this matter; you declare it. This kind of prayer is called a prayer of faith. Your prayer is to receive God's prosperity by faith. God hopes we prosper in all things; we must believe in God's promises in what we do, fully trust God's words.
Galatians 6:9, And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Maybe you are facing some obstacles now, but do not lose heart; you will be like Joseph. The trials you face now are stepping stones to your high places.
Let us pray together:
Father, we especially thank and praise You. We believe in You, and You are willing for us to prosper in all things. You want us to live by faith, with the words of Christ as our standard.
I believe You will bless the work of our hands. I believe this week is a blessed week; wherever I go, You will be with me, grant me wisdom, and make me wise in my work. The seeds I sow by faith will surely yield a rich harvest.
Please grant me the revelations I need every day, let me emulate the likeness of Jesus Christ, work diligently, and let those around me see the glory of Christ in me. All glory be to You. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!