Faith | Pr Janaronson Nagaraja

You're listening to a message to go from as church. We hope this message

will light up your day. The topic for today is very simple. It's

called faith. I want to say faith, sing sing threema three iman in

Bahassa. It's called faith, not eat manna, it's iman right. Faith.

If you're a believer in Jesus this morning, you have faith, then

to your neighbor and say you have faith. In other words, your faith

is not empty. In first Cornington's chapter fifteen was fourteen, it says,

and if Christ is not reason, then our preaching is empty and your faith

is also empty. If you're a believer today, you will believe that Jesus

came born of a virgin birth, live a sinless life when on the cross

as a perfect sacrifice. Not only that three days later he rose again.

Not only that he's coming back again for you and me. Now, if

you believe in that, your faith is not empty. You have faith in

you. That means you have the potential in God to do great things.

You have that propensity to achieve your destiny in God. So turn to your

neighbor on the left, all right, tell them you can do great things

in God. Right, And to not a neighbor. Have faith, And

you answer them, I already have faith? Right Why because your faith is

not empty. So the first point, your faith is not empty. Second,

your faith has a size Mary, Chapter seventeen, verse twenty. So

Jesus said to them, Jesus was referring to his disciples, because of your

unbelief. For assuredly, I say to you Eve, you have faith as

a master seat. You will say to this mountain, move from here to

death, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.

Now this is in a context when Jesus was praying high up on a mountain.

While he was still there, father brought a very sick child. The

Bible says that he was suffering from epilepsy. So the father brought the child

to the disciples for the disciples to pray for healing to heal the child,

and obviously the child wasn't healed. So and Jesus came down from a mountain,

met up with the group. He immediately cast out the spirit of epilepsy

and the child was healed. So when the disciple had a private moment with

Jesus, they ask Jesus, why is it that we couldn't cast it.

Why is it that we couldn't heal? And this is the direct answer that

Jesus gave because of your unbelief. So unbelief in our life is actually very

counterproductive to our faith. With unbelief, we cannot achieve anything in faith.

But interesting, Jesus says, if you have faith as a mustard seed.

Mustard seed is basically one of the smallest seeds, like compared to your Durian

seeds, it's very small. And Jesus use here a mustard seed compared to

a mountain. I don't know how many gazillion mustard seeds can make up a

mountain, but suffice to say, the principle is that when you have faith,

even as small as a mustard seed, you can command the giants in

your life, that situation in your life to move. So jesus requirement to

you and I in this context isn't really high. He didn't say if you

have faith as a mountain, if you have faith as big as the earth.

All he asked of you and I is to have faith as a mustard.

See. So there's a difference between unbelief and doubt. Here. Unbelief

basically means a total rejection of God's truth, a total rejection of his promises.

That's unbelief. You don't believe. Doubt basically means you are still not

sure a part of your belief, a part of you is not too sure.

So with doubt you can still grow in your faith because doubt is part

and parcel of the human experience. But unbelieve is already like a decision not

to believe. So Jesus says, because of your unbelief, and you and

I know that for us to grow in our faith, it can only thrive

in a challenge. Faith doesn't grow when we are in our most comfortable stick.

Faith always thrive when there is a challenge. Faith will always grow when

there is a situation that causes us to have no one to depend on,

nothing to call upon. Accept our belief and our trust in God. That's

how faith grow. So I said, faith has a size. Every challenge

has a size. To some, praying for a headache is a challenge,

but to others, praying for someone with terminal ill disease is another challenge.

So we all have different level of challenges. God doesn't always put us at

a level hundred challenge immediately, I believe the Lord always give us a stunting

point, and as we grow in a faith, the challenge will grow bigger,

bigger and bigger. Let me give you an example in the Bible.

David was a shepherd boy. He was very faithful to his role as a

shepherd boy. Bibles told us that when the lion and the bear came and

took away his ships, David wan and fought the lion, fought the bear

to rescue the ship. So there was a famous saying that after the lion

and the bear was Goliah. Golia was a huge giant, way bigger than

a lion, way bigger than a bear. But in God, David took

down Goliah. So that shows me that our challenge in life will grow bigger

and bigger. There's part and parcel of life. In fact, you know

what was after Golia. It was King Saul. King Saul was so jealous

of David that he actually wanted to murder David. He threw a spear to

David. So I want to prepare you if you're eighteen years old, nineteen

years old, your challenge in life, or your challenges in life will grow

as you mature further in the Lord. We can't deny challenges in life.

This is the reality. But God's truth transcends our reality. His promises will

give you the assurance and comfort that as you place your faith in Him,

you are able to triumph in this challenges. Your faith can grow. Your

faith shouldn't just remain at the minimum, which is a master sip. Your

faith in as much as it is not empty, should continue to grow bigger,

bigger, bigger and bigger. You know, it takes faith maybe for

someone to give to the Lord in single digit amount, but you're can do

grow in your faith the Lord. Are inspired to move on to two digits,

from a two digit to a three digit, from a three digit to

a four digit. And when a Lot has prospered you it will be from

a four digit to a five digit. Different level, but we all have

a starting point. So Lot told me that we should continue to grow our

faith and not remain at the point where we are stagnant. It's easy to

be at a level where we are just comfortable and stagnant in our faith.

What is stategnancy. Basically, there's no no movement, no motion, no

circulation. We are just there, not growing and very comfortable stagnant. So

I'm going for a few reasons why some of us are in a place where

we feel very stagnant. We are not growing, And at least of course

it's not exhaustive. It's just from my experience and not from chat GPT drawing

up from my experience a right Number one, we are not willing to take

risks to come out of our comfort zone. Faith equals to taking risks.

I love Venus testimony. She stepped out of her comfort zone. She can't

really confidently at one point communicate in Malay language Bahasa, but she choose to

step out of a comfort zone, took the faith to trust God. And

it's amazing the testimonies that she shared. So many of us we are still

at a place where we are not willing to take the risk. We say

that we trust God, we say that we have faith in God, but

how many of us are willing to really step out to take the risk and

put im measurement to our belief. So it's not just about the talking,

but it's about the walking. Because talk often costume nothing, it isn't It

doesn't really require a lot of faith to talk. It requires a lot of

faith to walk, So to walk basically means to come out of your comfort

zone. Second, there is a fear of commitment. There's a fear of

committing to the things that you know God has called you to do, for

example, to serve in church. It's a commitment. I don't deny that

it is a commitment. And where's maybe stars we are unable to do so

yet because there's a fear of the commitment which will consume our time. Third,

no anticipation of what to expect. There's no looking forward to a break.

True, life's all good, but it's life all God. Now we

can live our day to day life feeling very comfortable. All is well.

No sense of dependency on God's When was the last time your faith was really

really stretched and challenged? Isn't it at a time when you are looking forward

for something that you really really want an answer from God, that you really

really want to break truth from God. It could be a provision, It

could be an open door, it could be a salvation of a left one.

It could be a direction that you're looking for that puts you at the

age of dependency on God. But most of the time, from my experience,

we stagnated because there's no sense of anticipation, there's no sense of looking

forward. Fourth, we are in a place where there's no high dependency on

God. We all depend on God, right, but high dependency means God,

if you don't come true for me tomorrow, I'm good as date.

God. If your provision doesn't come true for me tomorrow, the bank is

going to take over my house. The bank is going to take over my

cart. And you caught me here. I invested here, Lord, see

me true. High dependency on God. Lord, tomorrow is my finest submission

date. You know, I have tried to study and I still can't complete

this assignment. High dependency on God. God. I have been unemployed for

two months, three months. I've knocked on every door. Every door is

closed and bills to pay. If you don't come true for me in the

next two weeks to three weeks, I'm gone. It places you in that

place of high dependency on God. So we shouldn't leave in the minimum through

the minimum. Now, next one is we are still living with milk.

We are still living it found fundational teachings instead of solid teachings, taking meat,

going into the deeper words of God. Applying his word last one laziness.

It just caused a spade a spit. If we are lazy, we

can never grow our faith. This is that laziness in growing our faith,

laziness in participating in the things of God. So these are some of the

reasons why in my life, when I was at a point of statenancy,

I have discovered. So how do we grow our faith? There are many

ways. You probably have heard a lot of good sermons out there on how

to grow your faith. Today, I'm gonna give you five points. It's

all in the acronym of faith f focus. To grow our faith, we

require focus second Corinthians, chapter five or seven, for we walked by faith

and not by sight. I would like to reiterate again that in the Christian

faith, we believe first, then we see. The world will tell you

see first then belief. Nothing really great has been achieved in faith. If

we want to see first, then we believe. In my life, in

the life of XI money, XNELI and X Church in total, it has

always been belief first. Then we see XI money was planted out of faith.

If God showed us all the hundreds of life across the years that we

would have touched then only we planned. That is not faith. But because

we planted, we didn't know one day you will be sitting there, right

here, right now, at that place. We will know that family will

come. God. They didn't show us that God told us to plan here.

Therefore we plan. That is called faith, for we walk by faith

and not by sight. Many people will say that Lord, show me a

sign, show me a physical sign, and you demand a lot to show

you a sign. For some people who have probably difficulty in believing Jesus,

they will be as bold to say, let me see Jesus, then only

I believe. Sometimes it's not about what you seela because Jesus clearly came two

thousand years ago. They saw Jesus, they touched Jesus, they had conversation

with Jesus. But yet still their heart was hardened. They didn't believe.

So it's not about the seeing. It's always with a believing. So if

you're a believer here this morning, you're a Christian, you believe in Jesus

as a Lord and savior, continue to leave a life of faith, believe

in him, trusting him. Because we are living in a day where our

faith are being tested our faith sometimes are being mocked. Our faith are being

challenged in all kinds of ways. People in the West, more and more

of them are leaving God, and it's slowly coming into this part of the

world. So it's getting difficult to keep our faith, is getting more difficult

to even keep our faith. In our walk of faith, we will be

bound to be distracted. There will be distraction. That's why focus is important.

If you are focused, you won't be easily distracted. Sal Of you

may have experienced in becoming an athlete. Sal Of you may have experience in

going for gym because you're focused to build your muscle. You're focused to trim

down certain kilograms in your body, and you're not easily distracted. To keep

your faith, you need to keep your focus. When you keep your focus,

you keep your faith. Met you fourteen if you can turn there,

tells us and encounter that peter head with Jesus. So they were all in

a board in the middle of the night sailing and suddenly Jesus, after his

devotion time with the Father, decided to meet them. So back then,

there no act taxed, there's no boat taxed, there's no uber, there's

no grab whatever, Jesus was so good man. He walked on water,

and he was walking towards the boat. So we're verse twenty two. What

happened Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to

the other side, while he sent the multitude away. And when he had

sent the multitude away, he went up to the mountain by himself to pray.

Now, when evening came, he was alone there. Amazing Jesus,

he never gave up his devotion time, no matter how busy he was.

He always priority ties his prayer time. And he was twenty four. But

the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the wave,

for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night,

Jesus went to them walking on the sea. Wow, have you ever

thought he could have just appeared in the boat, just like how he appeared

in a room when it was locked, and appeared to the disciples, especially

Thomas, who doubted him, and he had to show his unneil Peer's hand.

Have you ever thought about it? He could have just flew, could

have just been teleported, But he decided to walk on water. How cool

is that? So? Verse twenty six says, and when the disciples saw

him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying it is a ghost,

and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them,

saying, be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, it is. If it

is you, command me to come to you on the water. So he

said come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he

walked on the water to go to Jesus. Peter was the second man that

successfully walked on water. Is an amazing picture of faith. Faith counts by

hearing and hearing the word of God. Peter says, Lord, if it

is you, come, the Lord say come the boat back. Then speaks

about his safety, speaks about his comfort zone. Right. The law of

gravity will tell you that as you step out of the boat, you will

sing for sure. For sure, But faith often triumphed over wisdom. That's

why it goes back to you believe. Then, you see, Peter still

needs to make a decision whether to believe or not. So obviously he believed.

Therefore he walked on water. It takes faith. But what happened after

that it was thirty. But when he saw that the Wien was boisterous,

he was afraid and beginning to sing. He cried out, saying, Lord,

save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and

said to him, Oh, you of no faith, all you of little

faith, why did you doubt? So it was doubt that causes Peter to

sing down. What happened to Peter He was distracted with a wave. He

was distracted with the wind. You know, in life, when we have

started out in faith, there will be a lot of distraction, and often

this distraction will cost you not to focus in the Lord, not to focus

on his promises. Here yesterday, when I was praying for all of you,

a word that the Lord has revealed to me, it's just this distraction.

The Lord showed me that many ours are distracted with different things, and

it's because of that distraction we lose sight and we lose focus on Him,

on his word. Don't lose sight of Jesus. Keep your focus and especially

the leaders here in someone because I know the price you pay to be here.

Many of you who don't stay in, so many I too, don't

stay in the life now probably would weekend, So I know the price you

pay. You say, distraction will only come when there is a challenge.

So rather than focusing on God your champion, as you have declared in a

song earlier, I'll focus. Then it's turned towards the challenge, and we

get distracted with all kinds of things our emotions. We began to ask ourselves,

is it worthy to serve? Here? Is it worded to soul?

Is it worded to sacrifice? Hebrews Chapter twelve, verse one to two.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of weakness,

let us lay aside every weight and the scene which so easily and snares

us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Looking on too Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who

for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the

shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

Scripture is clear that in our walk of faith we require endurance. Faith

doesn't come. Your faith was purchased with the price, and that is the

blood of Jesus, far more precious than any precious metal stones in the world.

So faith was purchased with the price, and he requires an endurance to

keep it. But you and I know that in the world today our discouragement

can weigh us down, especially when things doesn't go our way, especially when

we say that God, you have told me this, I've obeyed you.

But nothing is moving, nothing is growing. It weighs us down. Let's

not forget there's also sin, the presence of sin, that it's our constant

battle, consistently trying to draw us away from God. So the only way

the Bible tells us to run with endurance is to look to Jesus, the

author and the finisher of our faith. Because it is Jesus will give you

that strength. It is Jesus who will give you that grace, as our

dear we need have shared. My grace is sufficient for you, for my

strength is made affect in weakness. It is Jesus who will open the door

for you. No, sometimes we get so distracted, even in looking for

a job, go from one hit hunter to another, hunter, to recruiter

to recruiter. We knock on every door, and it distracted us from understanding

that it is Jesus who will open the door for us because the door that

he opened, no man can shut, and the door that he shuts,

no man can open. Sometimes we go for counsel after counsel after counsel,

forgetting that there is really a counsel in us, through the Word of God

and through the Spirit of God in us. So we get distracted. Don't

get distracted. Stay your focus, sarvice. We are way down with the

prospect of our future finances. We're worried about our capability, whether we can

continue in our role in church, whether we can continue our role in the

marketplace. I realized that when God calls an individual to do something, often

it requires the individual to enter into a new experience or to be able to

demonstrate certain skills that the person never really had. David never really took down

a giant before, but yet he trusted his God to take down that giant.

Moses have never led thousands of people before, but yet God chose to

him, called him equip him to lead his people out of the Promised Land.

Likewise, Joshua never fought so many battles in his life before, but

Blba tells us that he defeats that at least that the old kings so don't

be weighed down by your problems and your challenges, because it's only temporal.

I say to you that this season of yours will pass. If you remain

faithful in God, he will show you a way out. He will sustain

you, He'll be there for you. So focus also comes from knowing your

priority. So focus speaks about your eyes. What do you see? When

Moses sent the spies into the Promised Land, ten saw great giants. We

couldn't take this promised land. Two came back in numbers chapter thirteen. Only

Joshua and Aleips say we can take on this giant. Where was their focus?

Focus was obviously in God. The other ten their focus was on the

giant. So focus speaks about your eye. Second, take action, James

Chapter two was seventeen to eighteen. Thus, also faith by itself, it

does not have works. It's date date. But someone will say, you

have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works,

and I'll show you my faith by my works. So faith can grow true

works. Take action. It's always easy to pray than to give. And

when you're a raised fun people say I'll pray, I'll pray, But it's

not a challenge to give. You know, it's a giving that that is

an act of faith, is an action. How about in the context of

mission, is always easy to pray for missionaries, to pray for the mission

field, than to actually take that step of faith to go into missions.

It's easier to pray for the church at large than to build through participation with

the church. So take action, grow your faith. But we know they're

in faith. Action will always cost us something. Walking by faith will always

cost you something. It's an action. First time saying you serving Joe,

I'm sure it costs you something to be a backup. Seeing faith will cost

you. The question is are you willing to pay the price? Are we

willing to sacrifice? Is it there's a difference between fantasy and faith. All

of us we have very good fantasy in our mind. One day I'll go

to the mission field, i will duties, I'll do that, one day,

I will give days that, one day, I'll serve in church,

one day, i will witness in the marketplace one day, one day,

one day, or playing in your mind, that's fantasy. If you don't

take action. If you take action today to actually go to actually do that's

faith. So don't live in fantasy. Live by faith. So action speaks

about your hand and feet. So focus speaks about your eyes. Action speaks

about your hand and feet. I invoke God's word Romans, Chapter ten was

seventeen. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of

God. The source of your faith comes from the word of God. Some

one hundred and nineteen was twenty five. My soul clings to the dust,

revived me according to your word. In the same chapter was twenty eight.

My soul melts from heaviness, strengthen me according to your word. How many

of you recently you are affected by the reason opr hike by Bangnagara only the

front row affected as well. I'm also affected a lot. You see.

One and a half years ago the Lord showed me that I should buy the

property in Knieli. I stay in subang Jaya. So when we planted Nili,

it was in twenty ten. So for a good ten to eleven years,

I've been like most of you, traveling in an hour right, Subang

Nili, Subang Nili, afterward, come Nieli, weekend, come nil but

never really had a place to stay, and sometime I would stay in Airbnb

with one or two leaders, and we repaid a price. So when the

lord says, okay, now it's the time for you to have a property

in NIELI I cut a long story shot. It's God ordained, he provided

for me. I went a hit. I purchased that property. Right.

So the first hike saw an increasing in installment, all right, So I

was very recent. Second hike saw even a higher increase in installment. I

can tell you when I saw the letter last week. The letter only came

last week, in the first week of July, so a letter from a

bank, right. My first response to those of you who are affected,

was like said, Lord, you ask me your body's property, right,

and it's just getting too much to pay. And I get really discouraged because

it's really a lot. It's a lot plus my maintenance fee comes up with

two thousand plus a month for a space where I only use it for the

weekend and sometimes day to day. So I got to pick my focus.

Is my focus on that white piece of paper and that although deduction every month,

or is my focus on him who have called me to purchase it.

I was watty down last week because I was meditating on this then the Lord

reminded me the only reason why I have purchased it was because he told me

to, and he reminded me the scripture he gave me at the process of

purchasing it. Do you draw me to the one treat the Lord your God

himself crosses or crosses before you. So at the point of praying, when

I was reading this scripture, it resonated with my heart, ir resonated with

my spirit, and I fall back to that Lord, you take care of

Villa, all right, you take care of it. So what I'm sharing

with you this example is because you must understand faith comes by hearing and hearing

the word of God. So when you go into a devotion time, when

you read the word of God, he will give you revelational word that confirms

certain thing in your spirit. He will give you words that will confirm your

decision. And even if you have made the decision, Let's say you quit

your job, you move to a new job because God I've told you to

make certain decisions, and you make it. But if it is confirmed by

His word, you can be rest assured that His word is your keeler,

that you can rest upon. His word is the source of your joy.

So in God's word, God's word gives you the authority to triumph over your

situation. How many if you want to live by faith? Now, they're

not easy. You know by his word it I'm telling you it is worded.

Ever since I made that investment, yesterday I had a vision alignment with

the campus students in our church. Let's reflecting with them. I say we

should give God all the glory because from January to June we have seen twelve

salvations in the house God showed to me when the investment was made. He

gave us Kneeli Springs as a venue, and we have seen amazing testimonies leading

out of it. So when you move my faith, there is that testimony

a waiting for you. Keep pressing on t trust God Pros. Three five

to six. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not

on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall

direct your path. How is trust built? Trust is built true relationship with

someone that is built over a period of time. So if I ask you

today, can you trust God? I hope you say you can, because

out of the many years walking with the Lord, you have seen his goodness.

You have seen his faithfulness. You have seen that He has showed you

time and time again. He is in control. So it's interesting that in

this verse it says, lean not on your own understanding. The moment we

make a decision, a critical decision in our life, leaning on our own

understanding, we have to be careful because often it may not align to God's

intended will for you. So trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not in your own understanding. Also speaks about faith, because often

it's not about your understanding. It's about what He requires of you, which

is obedience. So faith also speaks about obedience. So if Peter stepped out

of the boat, it is also obedience. He obeyed the Lord's word.

Come therefore he stepped out of the boat. So obedience will also cost you,

hence soul. The prophet says. Sorry, Samuel, the prophet says,

obedience is better than sacrifice. So acknowledge God he will direct your path.

So focus speaks off the eyes. Action speaks about hand and feet.

In woking, God's word speaks about your mouth. Trust speaks about your heart.

As I says here, trust in the Lord with all your heart.

So trust speaks about the heart. Last point for today, h Holy Spirit

John fourteen twenty six. But a helper the Holy Spirit home the Father will

send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your

remembrance all things that I say to you. You have the Holy Spirit in

you. He will give you that ability to continue to grow in faith,

walk in faith, not to remain statenant, and to give you wisdom to

make decisions that are godly, to make decisions that causes you to consistently depend

on God. All right, So these are a five point is I leave

it you today if you want to move out of the place of stignancy.

Number one, keep your focus on Jesus. Whatever he asks you to do,

just do it. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Number two, take

action right. Faith is a word's actionable. Take an action, make that

decision. I in what God's word basically means. Use God's word to be

your compass. Use God's word to be the authority over your situation. Remember,

Jesus says, if you have faith as small as a master's seat,

you will command to this mountain. So you use God's word to command situation

in your life, to align to God's will upon your life. Te trustcott,

Trustcott, trust God, even if you can't see it, even if

you can't feel it, even if it's not happening. Trust, Trust,

trust because you know you know God is faithful. Five He has given you

His Holy Spirit. We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit x church dot org. We are also

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a good week, a hit for you. God bless