TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 19th NOVEMBER 2023)
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
But 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.” Hebrews 11:5-6 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 323RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
We bless the lord God Almighty for the breath in our nostrils and His Spirit in our lives. Day unto day we have been seeing His kindness and marvelous love.
We owe Him gratitude for being alive. The Psalmist says bless the LORD oh my soul and forget not His benefits.
There are so many benefits in our lives that have made us benefactors of a loving and merciful Father; who lives in Heaven and at the same time in our hearts. Making Heaven closer and accessible. We give Him the glory for all of the benefits.
It is our prayer that they keep flowing in our lives, in Jesus precious name. Amen!!
We have been looking at visionary living; a kind of life that is not possible without the laws that governs it. We are on the next law that governs visionary living – the law of faith. The truth is, without faith, visionary living will be impossible. That is why the law of faith must be understood and applied daily in our quest to lead visionary lives.
Yesterday we saw what the Bible says about faith. It says;
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3 NKJV
The first thing we see in this scripture is a definition and the next a law.
It defined faith is an assurance or a confirmation of things that have become real to our spiritual senses but are yet to come into natural reality; in other words, are yet to become visible. Those things only register in our hearts as convictions.
The scripture teaches that genuine faith perceives the things that are yet to come to our natural sense, as real facts. It creates an assurance in our hearts or a confirmation that functions as proofs of the existence of those things.
JOHN THE BELOVED, ONE OF THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS, EXPRESSED HIS OWN FAITH THIS WAY;
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you…” 1 John 1:1-3 NKJV
Faith is presented here as a complete hope or confidence in God, born out of what one has heard, seen, looked upon, and handled in the realm of the Holy Spirit concerning the word of life.
That complete hope and confidence will manifest as a strong belief in God, His word or His bottomless things, based on strong convictions rather than physical proofs.
Based on this law, whatever we hear, see, look upon or handle in the realm of the Holy Spirit, will birth a strong belief in us that is not based on physical proofs, and move us to do things that are called faith actions.
The three Hebrew boys come to mind here.
When the were face to face with the consequence of not obeying the king, they had a strong believe that God will save them. Though there was no physical proof of that, because no one saw anything to suggest that, but they had convictions that were born out of things their spiritual senses touched, handled, or looked into in the realm of the Spirit at the time.
The Bible captured their faith action in these terms;
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 NKJV
THIS IS REAL FAITH IN ACTION. THE RESULT WAS AMAZING.
It all began with what the heard, saw or touched in the Spirit realm at the time.
What they heard, saw, touched and handle, or looked into, concerning the word of life of their dispensation, propelled them to believed God, and take such daring action against the king.
In New Testament terms, we can say, their faith in the Son of God brought the son of God into their fire. That was visionary living in demonstration, and the result of the same. The king would later react in the worse possible way, but their faith would see them through. The Bible says;
“Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:22-25 NKJV
This story tells us that, our faith in Christ will always result in the manifestation of Christ in our lives. That is why without faith, it is impossible to please God.
In simple terms, we can say, without touching the bottomless things of God with your spiritual senses, it is impossible to please God. All who were before us pleased God by a strong confidence or belief that was born in them when they touched the bottomless things of God in their dispensations.
FROM ABEL TO ENOCH, AND TO NOAH AND TO THE REST OF THEM THAT WERE MENTIONED IN HEBREWS 11.
Our devotional text says;
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
But 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.” Hebrews 11:5-6 NKJV
Do not live a Christian life, that is not born out of a faith you caught, when you experienced God yourself. It will not lead you to Heaven. It is the faith we catch after touching the bottomless things of GOD that will help us to live lives that please Him.
That faith will propel us to take faith actions that will bring into manifestation (into our lives) whatever we may have heard with our spiritual ears, seen with out spiritual eyes, and handled or looked into concerning the word of life.
Visionary living is actually a manifestation of faith. It is a life of faith.
A life of faith is a life that you live based on a strong belief in God that is born out of His bottomless things that you have touched, rather than physical proofs.
It is a life you live based on a complete confidence in God that was developed in your heart through encounters that revealed His divine plans and counsels for your life to your spiritual senses.
For instance, when we say “live a life of faith in 2024,” we are saying live a life of confidence in God, born out of the bottomless things of God that your spiritual senses will pick in 2024.
Meaning, your spiritual senses have to be in constant touch with the invisible or bottomless things of God all through the year. I hope you understand me!
When we say “we are saved by faith,” it means we are saved by a confidence developed from the bottomless things of God that one has touched about his or her salvation. And that confidence will in turn transform into actions of faith that can be described as a life of the fear of GOD, manifesting in purity, right standing with God, holiness and intimacy with Christ.
That is why faith without such manifestations is dead, or we can say does not exist. Genuine faith will have proofs or fruits to show that it is there (read James 2). We call that character fruits.
As always, there is so much on faith, but some of the most critical parts of the subject have been shared. And that is enough for the day. It is my prayer that these revealed truths will enable us lead visionary lives in Jesus precious name. Amen!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:7-10 NKJV