Faith That Works: From Hearing to Living

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
James 2:20–24

This morning, as I was tarrying in the Lord’s presence, asking God to reveal a word in season, I felt the Holy Spirit teach me about faith. I pray that as I write these words, the Lord will minister to your hearts as He wants to, according to His power and His glory.

1. Faith Hears

Romans 10:17 talks about faith. How does it get activated? How does it come?

It comes by hearing. We have to hear the message.

What are we hearing?

The Word of God.

Other translations say, “the message about Christ,” “the Good News about Christ.”

What is this Good News about Christ?

We see Jesus say this very clearly in Luke 4:18–21:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

20 He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. 21 He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

Through Jesus, we overcome Satan, sin, sickness and self, and ultimately even death!

I want this to sink in for a moment for you.

2. Faith Takes Hold

Faith, my friend, is not just about knowing Jesus intellectually!

Yes, we know in our intellect that He has conquered Satan, sickness, sin and self.

The Bible says even the demons know about Jesus, and they tremble!!

Faith that remains only in our intellect is not living faith.

James says faith without works is dead.

True faith is faith with works.

It is faith that takes hold of the knowledge of Christ and allows this message to sink in so it is no longer just an intellectual understanding. This knowledge is visible in how we live.

Living faith makes Jesus known through our lives.

3. Faith Walks

So, if He has conquered sin, when we are tempted, we take authority in Christ and can firmly say NO to what entices us.

When Satan comes against us, the Bible calls on us to resist him, and he will flee. The Bible also calls on us to put on the full armor of God when Satan’s fiery arrows are sent our way to destroy us.

When sickness ravages our bodies, we are not consumed by it in our thoughts and in our lives. We believe God for healing, while continuing to draw upon His strength and grace to live in obedience to Him.

I am reminded again of Pranitha Timothy.

Living with constant chronic pain is very hard. Imagine doing it for three decades!! Yet she was still a wife, a mother, and a very active social justice advocate.

How is it possible to do so much?

She relied daily on strength from Jesus to accomplish His call upon her life. Because she obeyed, God enabled her and even empowered her husband and children to work together as a team, honouring God’s call.

Pranitha was not living out a selfish ambition.

She was living a life of obedience.

When selfish desires take hold of us allowing selfish ambition to rule us instead of allowing Jesus to lead us, what can our response be?

How can we honour our faith in Jesus in those times?

What did Abraham do?

Here he was, given a son, his only son, and in his old age.

Yet Abraham did not hesitate to offer up Isaac when God tested him.

Was he being absurd to do that?

No.

The Bible says Abraham believed God was able even to restore Isaac back to life if He wanted.

Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham concluded that God was able to raise Isaac up, even from the dead.

He was unwilling to let anyone or anything stand in the way of his devotion to God.

There is something else I believe we need to understand about walking out our faith.

Under the old covenant, God gave His people the law. Again and again, we see Israel turn away from Him, experience the consequences of their rebellion, cry out to God and return to Him.

But we are living under the new covenant.

We are not under law, but under grace.

And grace does not merely forgive us when we fail. Through the Holy Spirit, grace empowers us to walk differently. God’s grace gives us power over sin.

As it says in Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

God has not simply told us how to live and then left us alone to somehow figure it out.

He has given us His Holy Spirit.

His Spirit lives within us.

He teaches us.

He instructs us.

He warns us.

He convicts us.

He guides us.

He strengthens us.

He reminds us of truth.

He helps us walk out our faith in the everyday decisions of life.

I was reminded of a scene from the movie Overcomer.

A father who is bedridden and has lost his sight because of diabetes records an audio for his daughter as she prepares to run an important race. As she runs, she listens to his pre-recorded voice.

He encourages her.

He warns her about what is happening around her.

He tells her when to conserve her strength and when to push harder.

He helps her understand what she cannot see for herself in that moment.

She still has to run the race.

She still has to move her legs.

She still has to endure the pain.

She still has to give everything she has.

But she is not running without a voice guiding her.

And for the first time, this girl who had never won a race before finishes first.

As I watched that scene, I thought about the Holy Spirit.

Friends, the Holy Spirit is not merely a voice from the past giving us prerecorded instructions.

He is the living presence of God within us.

He is with us in the race.

When we are tired, He strengthens us.

When we are tempted, He warns us.

When we begin to drift, He convicts us.

When we do not know which way to go, He guides us.

When lies surround us, He reminds us of truth.

When we want to stop, He strengthens us to keep going.

But we still have to respond.

We still have to obey.

We still have to walk.

We still have to run the race set before us.

This is what living faith looks like.

We hear His voice.

We take hold of His truth.

And then we obey.

Faith hears.

Faith takes hold.

Faith walks.

And we do not walk alone.

The Holy Spirit is God’s constant presence with us for all of life, teaching us, leading us, correcting us and empowering us until the day our earthly race is finished and we are with Him forever.

Friends, the Bible says God has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

2 Peter 1:3 says this:

“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

This morning, I believe the Lord is calling us to not just have faith intellectually, but to walk in faith through action.

How?

Through the knowledge of Jesus. How? By remembering who He is and what He has done.

In the way we deal with Satan, sin, sickness and self. Because He conquered them all.

And ultimately, when our time on earth is over, He has also conquered death so we may live with Him forever!

Hallelujah!!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I repent for the ways I have reduced faith to something I know intellectually, while continuing to live according to my own strength, my own desires, my own fears and my own understanding.

Forgive me for the times I have heard Your Word but have not allowed it to change the way I live.

Today, I renounce the old ways of unbelief, fear, self-reliance, selfish ambition, compromise and passivity.

I renounce every way in which I have allowed Satan, sin, sickness or self to rule my thoughts, my decisions and my actions instead of allowing You to rule over me.

Lord Jesus, I take hold afresh of all that You accomplished for me on the cross.

Teach me to walk in the newness of life You have given me.

Let my faith no longer remain only in my words or in my understanding, but let it become visible in the way I live.

When temptation comes, help me to walk in obedience.

When Satan attacks, help me to stand firm and resist him.

When sickness touches my body, help me to believe You for healing, to receive Your strength and divine enablement, and to refuse to let sickness have the final word over my life.

When self rises within me, help me to deny myself, take up my cross and follow You.

May my life loudly testify that I believe You.

Let my actions agree with my faith.

Let my choices agree with my faith.

Let my words agree with my faith.

Let the way I live agree with my faith.

I leave the old ways behind, and by Your grace I choose to walk forward in the newness of life, living out my faith in action, for Your glory alone.

In Your matchless name, Jesus.

Amen.