Understanding the Faith For Greater Works (Part 6)

Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is

designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. You know, yesterday in the training

center, I think someone asked a question in my

group. It was asking, I can't remember who asked

the question yesterday, but I remember the question

throughout. Can't bring it in my mind, but how

often should we teach a particular truth? You

know, how often should we teach the idea of salvation

by grace? And I said, we teach it every day,

right? We preach what God has done. We preach

salvation by grace through faith every day because

we have the tendency to forget every day. Hallelujah!

We have the tendency to forget that we are saved

by grace through faith. So every day we need

to be reminded of this truth. In fact, that is

a summary of the Christian life that God God

alone saved us. Hallelujah. God alone did what?

He saved us. Okay? God alone saved us. And it's

not by our works. Our sister was leading us to

pray, and we see in Romans that it is God Himself

that has saved us and given us the anointing

of the Spirit. And it's not anything of our own.

Alright? John chapter 14 verse 12. Even as we've

John 14:12

been examining, We've been examining the faith

for greater works. John chapter 14 verse 12 to

John 14:12

verse 14, which is a theme for the year. Where

we get the theme for the year, the text for the

year. Moses shortly I say to you, he who believes

in me, the works that I do, he will do also.

And greater works than this, he will do. because

I go to my father and whatever you ask in my

name whatever you ask in my name I will do that

the father may be glorified in the son verse

14 if you ask anything in my name I will do hallelujah

so then in verse 12 we see the importance of

faith okay in verse 12 we will discuss this for

several weeks the importance of faith for greater

works and we have seen many times that faith

this faith originates from God the faith comes

from God the faith that will enable us number

one to be born again and also to do the works

of God to do that which God has recreated us

in himself through Christ will do is by faith

and this faith we've established several times.

In fact, I've been very intentional every time

I stand here to speak, to be very deliberate,

to emphasize. The emphasis has always been to

point us to where this faith comes from. And

if we can, you know, memorize this and keep repeating

it every day, it becomes a reality in our hearts.

And I think it will shape the way we live our

Christian life. So the faith is a result of,

you know, Jesus going to the father we see this

he says because I go to my father Jesus had to

go to the father and we see this on we saw this

on Sunday We saw that this is a centrality of

the Eastern message that Jesus Had to go to the

father Jesus had to go to the father. I'm going

to the father reflects all speaks of his death

Right while he was on art was telling his disciples

that I must go to the father and going to the

father speaks of His death speaks of His barrier.

It speaks of His resurrection. Going to the Father

speaks of His ascension. He's indwelling by the

Spirit in the hearts of men. Hallelujah. So,

and then not only that, but its corresponding

benefit to the Church. How do the Church benefit

from the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus

Christ? justification and the gift of the Spirit

and all that we see in our lives. So verse 13

and 14 introduces a concept of prayer. Hallelujah.

Look at verse 13. He says, and whatever you ask

in my name, okay? So this speaks, first of all,

we said, we established several times that Jesus

was speaking to the disciples and the context

is that He is going to die. Okay? And in His

death, those who believe in Him will do greater

works. So verse 13 and 14 introduces us to the

concept of asking and receiving from God. And

I trust that in this quarter, you know, we'll

be able to deepen our understanding on the concept,

an important component, which is prayer. And

prayer also is a work of faith. So similarly,

in the text that we used, we saw Jesus also teaching

In Mark chapter 11, verse 12 to 14, we see that

Mark 11:12–14

Jesus was teaching about faith and in it, he

also talks about the issue of prayer. Mark 11,

Mark 11:12

verse 12. Mark 11, verse 12. Now, the next day

Mark 11:12

when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry

and seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves,

he went to see if perhaps he will find something

on it. And when he came to eat, He found nothing

but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

In response, Jesus said to them, Let no one eat

fruit from you ever again. And his disciples

heard what Jesus said, verse 20. So they came

to Jerusalem, verse 20, verse 20, verse 20. Now

in the morning as they passed by, they saw the

fig tree dried up from its root, from the root.

verse 21 and Peter remembering said to him rabbi

look the fig tree which you cursed has withered

away so Jesus answered and said to them have

faith in God have faith in God 23 for as surely

I say to you it believes that those things he

says will be done he will have whatever he sees

the person will have whatever he says and having

whatever he says comes from the point of having

the faith particularly the faith of God in him

verse 23 verse yes verse 24 therefore I say to

you whatever thing you ask you see he bring in

the idea of asking whatever you ask whatever

things you ask when you pray believe that you

receive them and you will have them And whenever

you start praying, look at verse 25, we can equally

see in verse 24, Jesus introducing the concept

of prayer, verse 24 again. Therefore I say to

you, whatever things you ask when you pray, what

do you do? You believe that you have received

those things and you will have them, okay? So

the prayer I've seen in verse 24, the result

of faith or we will call it the work of faith

John also teach this in 1st John chapter 5 verse

John 5:13

13 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 and 15 13 to 15

John 5:13

1st John chapter 5 verse 13 to 15 these things

John 5:13–15

are written to you who believe you see faith

believing is essential those things I have written

to you who believe particularly the believer,

the Christian, okay? Who believe in the name

of the Son of God that you may know that you

have eternal life and that you may continue to

believe in the name of the Son of God. Now, this

is a confidence that we have in Him, in Jesus,

in God. That if we ask anything, if we ask anything

according to His will, His will is that He hears

us. Hallelujah. And if we know that He hears

us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the

petitions that we have asked of Him. So in God,

there is no unanswered prayer. Okay? In God,

we don't see anything as unanswered prayer. But

in Mark 11 verse 25 to 26, we'll see an introduction

Mark 11:25–26

of a concept. We'll read 20 to 24, but in 25

and 26 we'll see a concept introducing Mark 11,

the previous text. Let's read from 24. Therefore

I say to you that whatever things you ask when

you pray, believe that you receive them and you

will have them 25 And whenever you stand praying,

if you have anything against anyone, what do

you do? Forgive that your Father in heaven may

also forgive your trespasses. So what verse 25

is introducing is an idea of forgiveness and

answering of prayer. And what this suggests is

that we forgive. Alright? So that we will be

forgiven. Look at verse 26. But if you do not

forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive

your trespass. And if you are reading from the

NIV, you will not see verse 26. Alright? If you

are reading, if your Bible is NIV, you will not

see verse 26. If it's good news, also I think

you will not see verse 26 and other translations.

So we see something quite remarkable in this

verse. Jesus seems to be saying, or Jesus is

saying that there is a condition, there seems

to be a condition for answering prayer. The verse

is applying that forgiveness is conditional on

us forgiving others. And as I said, verse 26

is not in some Bible translation. It means that

the verse is not found in some some of the oldest

manuscripts. I think Pastor Victor taught us

this when he was teaching us the canonicals,

right? The canonicity of Scripture, how the Scripture

was collected, you know. And it will be important

for you to go back to listen to this teaching

again. And you know why verse 26 especially is

not in some Bible translations, and you see a

footnote there. You know, so I don't want to

go back into the details of that, but you can

listen to the teachings and learn from that again,

once again. But Matthew 11, 25, 26 gives us a

notion, gives us a notion that there is a condition

to God answering the prayer of those who believe

in Him. And I want us to note particularly that

these statements of Jesus, alright, especially

in the gospel, what Jesus was teaching under

the gospels were actually statements made under

the law. The Bible will let us know that Jesus

Christ, you know, came under the law. He died

under the law. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

we see that Jesus Christ came in the era of the

law, and it is in his death, his burial, and

his same that was in existence. Or rather, he

fulfilled, or he brings to completion, that particular

system. He brings to an end, as it to say, that

system. So, in the four gospels, Fundamentally,

under the law, there's a system. People forgive

so they will be forgiven. Okay? There's a condition

to receiving forgiveness in the whole system.

People have to forgive. There's need for us to

make this clarity as we teach about faith so

that we will not begin to appropriate things

that is not meant for us. Hallelujah! So prior

to redemption, forgiveness is conditional. And

what is the condition? The condition is that

you forgive. If you don't forgive, then you don't

receive forgiveness. Okay? But in the epistles,

let us see the scriptures as, let's see Ephesians

Ephesians 4:31

4 verse 31. After redemption, Ephesians 4 verse

Ephesians 4:31

31 and 32, we'll see a change. rough, anger,

clamour and evil -speaking be put away from you

with all malice and be kind to one another, tender

-hearted, forgiving one another. And why should

we forgive one another? Even as God in Christ

forgives you. So we see that after redemption,

okay, forgiveness is rooted in what Christ has

done. Alright? We forgive because Christ has

forgiven. This is a very important thing to note.

Before redemption, the missing link is actually

Jesus' sacrifice for sin. Man forgives so that

God will forgive. And as I said earlier on, this

is a system that was under the law. But after

redemption, as we can see in verse 32, of Ephesians

4, we forgive because God in Christ has forgiven

us. So forgiveness initially was based on our

performance, right? Forgiveness was rooted in

what we do, okay? Because that was a system that

is under the law. But after redemption, we see

that forgiveness is rooted in what Christ has

done. It is by understanding God's forgiveness

that we forgive Okay, so God forgives us because

of Christ Not because of what we do God forgives

us because of Christ not because we did anything

Ephesians 1 verse 17 will tell us Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:17 Ephesians 1:17

verse 17 says that the God of our Lord Jesus

Christ the father of glory Is it Ephesians? 1

verse 7, sorry, not 17. 1 verse 7, in him we

have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness

of sins. In him, talking about Jesus Christ,

right? We have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of sins according to the riches

of his grace. Not according to what we've done,

but according to the riches of the grace of God,

we have redemption, we have forgiveness of sins.

So after Jesus died on the cross, we see that

our forgiveness is grounded in what He has done.

No longer in what we do or what we will do. All

right? Another text, Colossians chapter 1 verse

Colossians 1:14

14. We see Apostle Paul as well. Clearly stating

this in Colossians chapter 1 verse 14. Colossians

Colossians 1:14 Colossians 1:14

chapter 1 verse 14. In whom? All right, let me

read from verse 13 to give us. greater context

he says he has delivered us from the power of

darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of

the son of his love in whom so now forgiveness

is in whom forgiveness is in the person in whom

we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness

of sins hallelujah so forgiveness of sins is

no longer in works or by works. Forgiveness of

sins is no longer in what a man can do, in what

a man can achieve. Even if you go to the law,

you discover that men could not even keep the

law. All right? So we now have confidence in

the place of prayer. We now have confidence as

we approach God. We now have confidence in our

conscience. Because our approaching God is not

based on the works of the law Amen is not rooted

in the works of the law. We now have confidence

in the place of prayer because God in Christ

has forgiven us Because God in Christ has forgiven

us. So there is no condition for receiving from

God except faith and That faith in reserve is

not from us but from God So we have the assurance

that God will hear us. Amen? So when we approach

God, we're not approaching God because of anything

that we need to do or anything that we've not

done. Because oftentimes when we pray, we start

looking at ourselves, what have I not done? What

have we not done? Or what should we do so that

God will hear us? We approach God from the place

of our position, our position in Christ. The

redemptive work that God has done in Christ gives

us the confidence to approach Him especially

in the place of prayer, we have communion with

the Father, we approach God, we commune with

God, not based on anything that we have done,

not based on anything that we should do, but

on all that God has done for us. Hallelujah.

So Jesus Christ becomes the foundation by which

we relate with God. So we must understand the

context of Jesus' conversation because we are

talking about faith. Hallelujah So it is important

that we emphasize this It's important that we

emphasize this That faith is from God Galatians

Galatians 2:16

2 verse 16 He says knowing that a man is not

justified by the works of the law but by faith

of Jesus Christ Even we have believed in Christ

Jesus That we might be justified by the faith

of Christ and not by the works of the law For

by the works of the law no flesh Shall be justified

All right, and we said this several times that

this faith Comes by hearing of the Word of God

Romans 10 verse 17 speaks of how we receive faith

Romans 10:17

This faith comes when we hear the message This

faith is transmitted to us through the message,

through a message. And the message is a message

of the gospel. Alright? We receive it by the

message of the gospel. So, what happens to the

unbeliever when we preach to them? What happens

to the unbeliever when we go out to minister

or we go out for evangelism? I think this was

one of the questions I was trying to discuss

with Pastor Emma. You know, maybe we should have...

establish more conversation on that. What happened

to the unbeliever when we go to preach to them?

When the gospel is preached, does the unbeliever

exercise faith to be saved? Do we ask them to

believe so that they will be safe? Do we ask

the unbeliever to exercise faith so that he will

be saved? Does the unbeliever have the capacity

to exercise faith? Because if the unbeliever

has faith then he's no longer an unbeliever Okay,

faith is from God right we've always been emphasizing

for past weeks that faith is from God So when

we bring the message to the unbeliever Okay Do

we ask the unbeliever to exercise faith? It's

an argument I'm dropping Because if we're asking

we're demanding faith from the unbeliever Then

where can the unbeliever produce that thing?

The word that does preach to him. Okay. Now,

Pastor Emmanuel told us that in the Bible, firstly,

he says that faith describes salvation. I'm just

making a recap of what he told us. Faith describes

salvation. Am I right? Right? He also said faith

in the Bible describes teaching or doctrine.

When we see faith sometimes Okay, the Bible used

doctrine as onto faith, and also the word faith

is also used to describe the believer's conduct.

Okay, we can go back and listen to it again.

The conduct of the believer. It is used to describe

salvation. It is used to describe doctrine or

teaching. It is used to describe the life or

the conduct of the believer. and then he read

some scriptures to us in relation to these concepts

that the Bible explains faith and I want us to

read those scriptures again and we will see Galatians

one of the scriptures he read for us was Galatians

Galatians 3:26

3 verse 26 quickly so we can save time Galatians

Galatians 3:26

chapter 3 verse 26 says for you are all sons

of God true faith in Christ Jesus all right so

Specifically, this is speaking about the believer.

Okay? This text speaks of who? It speaks of the

believer. The believer became a son through faith

that is in Christ Jesus. So, salvation is through

faith. Alright? Another text, 1 John chapter

1 John 5:4

5 verse 4. 1 John chapter 5 verse 4. is born

1 John 5:4

of God, overcome the world, and this is a victory

that has overcome the world. Our faith, okay?

Our faith. And of course, our faith here, the

faith for salvation, is actually the faith that

comes from God. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse

2 Corinthians 13:5

5. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 5. Examine

2 Corinthians 13:5

yourself as to whether you are in the faith.

This is talking about the conduct of the believer,

okay? This is talking about the conduct of the

believer. Examine yourself as to whether you

are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not

know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless

indeed you are disqualified? Alright, so here

the faith here is speaking of the conduct of

the believer. Another text we read was 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 4:6

chapter 4 verse 6. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse

1 Timothy 4:6

6. If you instruct the brethren in these things,

you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ,

nourished in the words of faith. Talking about

doctrine here, right? In the words of faith.

Words of faith has to do with the teaching of

faith and of the good doctrine which you have

carefully followed. So faith here speaks about

doctrine. It talks about teaching. Jude verse

3. Jude verse 3. Deut. Verse 3. You don't have

Deut in your Bible? It's before Revelation. So

this talks about doctrine, contending for the

doctrine. Alright? 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse

1 Timothy 6:11–12

11 to 12. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 11 to 12.

1 Timothy 6:11–12

Yes. But you, O man of God, flee these things

and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,

patience and gentleness. Verse 12. Fight the

good fight of faith. lay hold of eternal life

to which you were also called and have confessed

the good confession in the presence of many witnesses

hallelujah so if you read through this we know

that the context is about doctrine okay second

Corinthians number five verse seven second Corinthians

number five verse seven second Corinthians number

five verse seven side all right Ephesians number

six verse sixteen Ephesians six verse sixteen

Of course, this also speaks of conduct. Above

all, taking the shield of faith, which you will

be able to quench all the fearing debts of the

wicked one. James 1 verse 6 to 8. James 1 verse

James 1:6–8 James 1:6–8

6 to 8. Prayer. But let him ask in faith with

no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave

of the sea. driven and tossed by the wind. For

let not that man suppose that he will receive

anything from the Lord. He is a double -minded

man, unstable in all his ways. So this fundamentally

is speaking to a believer, how the believer ought

to walk in faith. That is sharing of your faith

Okay communication of your faith. That is the

way you live your life the way you live the Christian

life May become effective By the acknowledgement

of every good thing which Christ in you Which

is in you in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. So fundamentally

to all the scriptures we see very importantly

that It is the description of a believer. Okay?

In all these texts, the varied expressions, especially

in the epistles that we've seen, of faith. It

describes either what has happened to the believer,

or it describes teaching or the doctrine that

concerns the believer, or it describes the way

the believer ought to live and conduct himself.

Hallelujah. So it does not in any way or this

text in no way speaks of any man that is not

born again All right, that is to say that a man

This life can only be found in a man that is

born again This can only be found in a man that

is born again. How does the Bible describes the

unbeliever? How does the Bible describes the

unbeliever? Now understanding is very important

All right? For us, when we go to preach, how

does the Bible describes the unbeliever? Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1

2 verse 1. The Bible describes the unbeliever

as a dead man. Ephesians 2 verse 1. And you,

Ephesians 2:1

of course, all of us that are in Christ, He made

alive. Who made us alive? God made us alive.

who were dead in trespass and sins. So our former

condition was that we were dead in trespasses,

we were dead in sin. Verse two, in which you

once walk according to the cause of this world,

according to the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit who now walks in the sons of disobedience.

So our former identity is of disobedience. Okay?

You and I were sons of disobedience, among whom

also we all once conducted ourselves in the loss

of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh

and of the mind, and whereby nature, the nature

of the man that is not born again, his nature

is that he is a child of wrath. Okay? He is under

condemnation. He is a child of wrath. And there

is a spirit that is at work in him. And that

spirit is a spirit of disobedience. So the unbeliever

is dead in trespass and is a child of wrath.

And the response that we can see from someone

that is dead is what? What response can we see

from a dead man? We'll see death, right? To wake

a man That is pretending to sleep to wake up.

I mean there's a common saying That is difficult

to wake a man that is pretending to sleep than

actually a man that is sleeping a Man that is

dead is dead and No matter what you try to do

to a man that is dead. He cannot respond Okay,

so you cannot make a demand from a man that is

dead Probably sometimes this understanding should

help us to lower our expectation from unbelievers.

All right Because we so much expect some miraculous

way, we expect a lot from them that we will not

see. Hallelujah. So a man that is not in Christ

is a dead man. Okay? A man that is not in Christ

is a dead man. Romans chapter 8 verse 5 speaks

Romans 8:5

more about this particular person. Romans chapter

Romans 8:5–8

8 verse 5 to 8 also speaks about this man that

is not born again. For those who live according

to the flesh, their mind, right, are set on the

things of the flesh. But those who live according

to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For

the carnally, to be carnally minded is what?

Is death. But to be spiritually minded is life

and peace. Now this is a contrast of two different

individuals. Okay? Because the carnal mind that

is the one that does not have the Spirit of God

in him, the one that is not born again, this

is his identity. He is enmity against God. He

is an enmity against God. He is in opposition

to the things of God. For that particular mind

or that particular man is not subject to the

law of God, and the law of God is the law of

faith. Nor indeed can be. There is no possibility

for such a man to obey the Lord of God, verse

8. So then those who are in the flesh, they cannot

please God. Hallelujah. So the judgment concerning

a man that is not born again is that he cannot

please God. There is nothing he can do of himself

that will bring pleasure to God. He does not

have the ability to do what pleases God. The

man that is dead does not have the ability to

please God. Those who are in the flesh and those

who are not born again cannot please God because

God is pleased by what? By faith. Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:6

verse 6 talks about how God can be pleased. The

only way that God can be pleased is by faith.

And the time we're talking about that text, Hebrews

Hebrews 11:6

11 verse 6, we say that that faith is the faith

of God. or without faith, it is impossible to

please him. For he who comes to God must believe

that he is and that he is a rewarder of those

who diligently seek him. So the unbeliever is

given life by faith that God, that the unbeliever

receive life through faith, that is a gift from

God. Ephesians 2 verse 1, let's go back to Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1

2 and see how that unbeliever Okay, can become

a life He says I knew he made a life who made

the unbeliever who made the dead man come to

life God All right, because the dead man is dead

and he does not have the ability to come to contribute

to his coming alive So I knew he made a life

who were dead in trespasses and sins now move

down to verse 4 From verse 4 we read to 9 But

God who is rich in mercy not I wanted to focus

on who is responsible here Okay, who the responsibility

lies on in bringing that dead man to life? All

right, but God who is rich in mercy? Because

of his great love with which he loved us Even

when we were what we're dead in trespass what

happened? He made us alive together with Christ.

By grace, you have been saved. How? And raised

up together with Christ together and made us

sit together in the heavenly places in Christ

Jesus. We don't see any of our works or any of

our contribution in this. The next verse. That

in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding

riches of his grace in His kindness toward us

in Christ Jesus. Everything was done by God in

Christ Jesus. For by grace, importantly, now

focus on this verse, very, very important. Says,

for by grace, you have been saved through faith

and that not of yourselves. And that not of yourselves.

What is it? It is the gift of God. Hallelujah.

So the man coming to life is the gift of God.

Because he's a dead man. A dead man cannot give

himself life. A dead man cannot contribute to

him coming to life. God in totality brings a

man back to life. The grace and the faith is

the gift of God. All right? The grace, the salvation,

And the faith is the gift of God. So what the

man does is that he receives the gift of God.

This is very important. The dead man receives

the gift of God. So faith, this is what faith

does. Because faith is a gift. It removes any

ground for human boasting. All right? It takes

away any idea of pride from man. It takes away

any possibility of we beating our chase. You

know the common language we use to say I give

my life to Christ. It shows how we give something

to God so that we will receive something in return.

Because it is by faith, it takes away the tendency

of boasting. We have no play in it. We have no

work in it. We have no work in it. You know the

human mind always wanted infused responsibility

Okay So you mean is free. Of course is free.

You mean God did everything of course God did

everything Because it is fit which is a gift

takes away any possibility for Boston. Look at

first Corinthians up to one verse 28 first Corinthians

21 28 to 31 and the best things of the world

and the things which are despised God has chosen

and the things which are not to bring to nothing

the things which that are that no flesh should

do what should glory in his presence okay God

wants to ensure right that no flesh will glory

in his presence If there's any possibility that

a man will take glory, if man, if anything can

be traced to the action of man, then it's not

from God. Okay? That is why even the life we

live, it says we live by the faith of the Son

of God. Even the life that we live today as believers,

we live in response to the complete, you are

not trying, see the life you're living, you are

not constructing a life. You're not building

a new life. All right? Even when your character

is transforming, you're only responding to what

God has finished in you, complete, by His sacrifice,

by His death. All right? So it takes away the

place of Boston. Boston has to do with, you know,

what you contributed, what you did, what started.

But of Him, you are in Christ Jesus. who become

for us wisdom from God and righteousness and

sanctification and redemption. That is, that

as it is written, he who glories, what should

be his glory, let him glory where? In the Lord.

That he who glory, let him glory in the Lord.

That is he who will boast, let him boast in the

Lord. First Corinthians chapter four verse seven.

First Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. So will

1 Corinthians 4:7

the dry bones live again? Right? It's by the

work of God that the dry bones will come back

to life. Okay? First Corinthians 4 verse 7. For

1 Corinthians 4:7

who makes you differ from another? And what do

you have? What do you have? What has the believer

has? Okay? Received. What? for what makes you

differ from another, and what do you have that

you did not receive? Including, listen, including

the manifestation we see today, pastors have

been teaching us about the gifts, you know, the

gifts of the Spirit, the gift of the assignment

of Spirit, the gift of healing. It's not because

you fasted that you produce it, all right? It's

not because you did some spiritual disciplines,

then... You formulated, you know, you batted

it from the place of consecration of, you know,

we try to, we try to show our effort in manifesting.

See, what do you have that you do not receive?

Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you

boast as if you had not received it? Okay. Why

do you boast as though you do not receive it?

Titus 3 verse 5. had to strip the tree verse

Titus 3:5

5 not by works of righteousness give me verse

4 so that we can have context to this text but

when the kindness and the love of God our Savior

towards man see the kindness and the love of

God our Savior towards man appeared not by works

of righteousness not by any work that man did

which we have done but according to his mercy

he would He saved us through the washing of regeneration

and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. So it is

the work of the Spirit that a man becomes born

again. Are we together? The regeneration of the

Spirit of God makes, look at the dead man. Just

have a picture of the dead man on the floor.

And the Spirit of God brings him back to life.

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.

All right? Quicken us as we become born again.

Hallelujah! So, Romans 4 verse 2. Romans 4 verse

Romans 4:2 Romans 4:2

2. So that faith is a gift from God and it takes

away the place for busting. It takes away the

place for pride in us. For if Abraham was justified

by works, right? If Abraham was justified by

something he did, he has something to boss about.

Because he did something so God did something

so he will have a point to bust but not before

God You know how that means it is by works Everyone

will have something to bust but it's not before

God because before God, you know what all of

us are on the same scale before God All of us

are wretched before God All of us are dead as

pertaining to the things of God as pertaining

to the life of God If we could produce a life

by ourselves, if we could contribute to having

life of ourselves, then we don't need God. So

scripture will constantly teach that faith is

not conjured up by the human will. Faith is not

produced by human will, but is sovereignly granted

as a gift from God. Faith is granted as a gift

from God. Jesus will say no one can come to me

unless the father what? Unless the father draws

you. You can't come to God on your own terms

or by your own ability except the father draws

you to himself. John chapter 6 verse 44. Give

John 6:44

me that text. John chapter 6 verse 44. Yes. Says

John 6:44

no one can come to me unless the father who sent

me draws him and I will raise him up. where at

the last day look at verse 65 verse 65 verse

65 verse 65 yes and he said therefore I have

said to you and no one that no one can come to

me unless it has been granted to him by my father

all right and Acts chapter 3 verse 16 we'll see

Acts 3:16

where you know Peter was preaching Acts chapter

Acts 3:16

3 verse 16 and it speaks of the faith which comes

through him and his name and true faith in his

name has made this man strong whom you see and

know yes the faith which comes through him has

given him the perfect soundness in the presence

of you also the faith by which we see Peter healing

the man is the faith that comes from God in Philippians

1 29 He sees, you know, it has been granted of

Christ. Philippians 1 .29, Philippians 1 .29

says for you, for to you, it has been granted

on behalf of Christ. Not only to believe in Him,

but also to suffer for His sake. So it was granted

to believe and also to suffer. It has been granted.

And we'll see Peter also writing first. 2nd Peter

1 verse 1 talks about those who have received

the faith of the same kind as us. 2nd Peter 1

verse 1, yes, says Simon Peter, a born servant

and apostle of Jesus Christ, those who have obtained,

not obtained is to receive, those who have received

like precious faith. So the faith was something

that was received with us by the righteous of

God and Savior Jesus Christ. So faith is something

that has been received from God. Okay? How do

you know faith is God's gift? Left to ourselves,

no one will ever believe. The Bible says in Romans

Romans 3:11

3 verse 11, making reference to, you know, the

text in all this, it says, there's none who understands.

Romans 3 verse 11, none who understands. There's

Romans 3:11

none who seeks for God. There's none who understands.

There's none who seeks after God. So then, it

does not depend on the man. Who wills all the

man who runs but on God who has shown mercy Romans

9 16 Romans 9 16 talks about God showing mercy

and not by the wisdom and the effort of man so

then it is not of him who wills no of him who

runs but of God who shows mercy You know, so

God draws the sinner to Christ and gives the

ability to believe Without that divinely generated

faith one cannot understand an approach to the

Savior One cannot understand an approach to the

Savior All right, so first Corinthians 2 verse

1 Corinthians 2:14

14 will speak about the things of the Spirit

the things of faith you say that a natural man

does not accept the things of the Spirit of God

For they are what they are fully to him. They

are foolishness to him And he cannot understand

them because they are spiritually appraised.

They are spiritually discerned. Okay? So what

really happened when we preach the gospel? So

what really happened when we preach the gospel?

Since we say that the dead man cannot exercise

faith because all that comes from the dead man

is death. There is no ability in him to please

God because he's dead. Because he has no faith

in him so he cannot please God. So what happens

when we preach the gospel? Now we must understand

the gospel. that we preach is actually the power

of God. Okay? The gospel we preach is actually

the power of God that brings men to life. Thomas

1 of 16 talks about it as I ran up. For I am

not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For what

is it? It is the power of God toward salvation.

So the gospel you preach is what gives power

to that dead man to come to life. For it is a

power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,

for the Jew first and also for the Greek. The

gospel produces and births salvation in the man.

So the faith of God comes by the gospel. The

faith of God comes by the gospel. Romans 10 verse

Romans 10:17

17 talks about by hearing right? Hearing by the

message. So the faith of God comes by the gospel.

The gospel is a power of God. So the duty of

men is to welcome the word. The duty of men is

to welcome the word when it is preached and not

be rebellious to the word. You know what makes

a man an unbeliever is that he is preached to,

right? And he heard and he didn't welcome it.

That's what makes him an unbeliever. So the response

of a man is to accept the world Is to we'll see

so subsequently in text maybe on Sunday We'll

see where every single place the gospel was preached

in the book of Acts We'll see what is expected

of there. That is that that should believe all

that will believe Okay, so God only requirement

to hear the gospel the requirement is that men

should hear the gospel Then faith is given by

the gospel Then they believe Do you hear what

I just said? The requirement is that knowing

hear the gospel, right? Then faith is given to

the gospel Then they believe We're going to look

deeper into this subsequently So faith is not

our response to what God has done Faith is not

responding to what God has done Actually, faith

is what God has given. The gospel is everything

God has given humanity to come to life. Hallelujah.

So we must be very mindful of this reality as

we preach the gospel. We will see subsequently,

okay, how gospel was preached. Moses will tell

them, look and live. All right, look. We appreciate

you being here today. We hope you carry this

word with you throughout your week. Don't forget

to check the show notes for additional insights.

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Until next time, stay blessed.