I was recently watching videos of church services where many of the pastors were younger and promoted the dynamics we see in services today. What I noticed was that many of them presented messages that were exceptional in biblical exhortation. As they used scripture to tie together the message they were ministering, the message itself was most often about life dramas or living in a world filled with emotional reactions to situations like financial issues, relationships, or social dramas people go through in life.
So ministering to these various issues is relevant to believers’ everyday lives. However, I saw something was missing: there was no practical biblical teaching on applying any faith in them. To start with, we need to acknowledge that there are various levels of faith in the body of Christ, and that those who are learned in faith hold onto it, expressing acceptance of the faith messages that came along in the late ’60s and into the 80s. Those who are in poverty of truth only see faith as a means to believe in Christ, revealing that a marginal dexterity of doctrine has been learned. And there are those who have never heard a real message on faith, so we can assume they are somewhere between little faith and doubt.
What makes faith important to a believer? God factors faith into everything He does and expects us to do the same. Thus, there is the importance of it being in His creation of males and females to ensure they align with His will. It is the governing factor of scriptural truths the Holy Spirit reveals concerning one’s receiving, growing, and using faith. Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Believers are to be taught from the pulpits to have faith that perceives God as the source of all they will ever need, and that there are principles associated with a process that, by faith, obtains whatever is needed. Faith is not something believers make happen on their own; it is a result of the spiritual blessings of God for every believer living a righteous life in the presence of the Holy Spirit. And since faith is necessary to trust God, it comes from Him and is connected to His supernatural realm of power, which makes the word the only means for the revealed truths that increase its working in believers. Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
For anyone to receive and correctly fulfill their part in His plan, living in this New Covenant, there must be a dependence upon God as the resource for all things, both spiritual and natural. Everywhere in scripture, especially where spiritual blessings are concerned, the emphasis is on His multiplying them for the purpose of bestowing benefits upon others, He sees in need of what they will provide. This is an important principle the body of Christ needs to understand so that its purpose will be fulfilled as God intended from the beginning.
Unfortunately, when it comes to faith, many believers define it as operating only to the degree that it enables what they seek, which is most often prosperity of finances and health for themselves. Such blessings are available by faith, but why are so many of His children not abundantly wealthy and/or healthy and highly effective in spiritual matters? I believe it is because, for every area of God’s blessing, there is a spiritually perceived purpose that one must know concerning not only how to receive the blessing but also how to be willing to use it.
Prosperity, for example, is a principle that requires faith in God, the same kind of faith He applies to Himself, and has revealed to us in everything He does. When faith works, this principle will not only bring prosperity to the spirit and soul but also to the finances. 3 John 1:2 (AMP)Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. God’s will is that we prosper in all things, but prospering and being in health is associated with a soul that’s healthy.
So, it is not just about the blessings of wealth, riches, and health; it is also about the need to be met with whatever is required to fulfill them. Faith is the key principle in this process, and it is paramount for everyone who receives from God. But when it comes to money, many are caught up in its ability rather than in the ability of their faith in God to provide it for them. Thus, they end up spending their lives seeking financial gain but devoid of its blessings, revealing a craving for riches that borders on lust, which is not part of the faith in God’s processes.
If we look at the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, we can see something different from what is traditionally imposed. His understanding of being prosperous was for spiritual purposes: his prayer request was not that he could do what he wanted with the blessing, but that he do what God wanted. Rom 1:9-11 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
His belief that prosperity came from God was that God would provide blessings he could use to deliver spiritual encouragement and strength, thus revealing and establishing righteousness in those he witnessed to. So, Paul understood the principle of faith, in that beyond his personal needs, which God would meet, was a spiritual purpose that the Father was focused upon, and he was faithfully confident that God’s blessings were sufficient to do it.
Another key point is that, in a spiritual sense, a blessing of the Lord making one rich means that anything we do through any laborious effort of our own will add nothing to it. Prov 10:22 (AMP) The blessing of the Lord—it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it]. The faith every believer has is secured in the supernatural realm of God, undergirded by the spiritual laws He established. And His placing faith in each believer makes them fully capable of obtaining the spiritual results He seeks.
Though faith is not a natural part of us when born into this earthly realm, when used in some natural means, it, by the word of God, brings forth supernatural forces that are like no other on earth, manifested for the one being blessed for spiritual purposes God ordained to occur by the one applying faith. However, it is possible that whatever spiritual purposes God determined to occur may not be fulfilled through you if you are not faithful to apply principles outlined in scripture.
Today’s churches constantly place uncharacteristic burdens on the faith of those who attend, as seen in the effort leadership puts forth to maintain tithes and offerings. Here, the method of request conflicts with God’s principles for giving by faith, since they are often made not for spirit-led efforts, but for an economic prowess that actually hinders one’s faith. Many congregations have no idea of the financial burdens they are being asked to faithfully fulfill. But they typically respond to the offering time, expecting that what they give will be used appropriately for the church’s ministry and liabilities, because they are told that doing so brings more faith.
This is a process out of character with many of the principles God operates by, as each member complies with a so-called spirit-led effort that is more worldly than not. I know you are saying, “So what if the Church uses an economic system to operate? How else can it be done?” I assure you, there are principles God has that, if applied to His tithes and offerings, would bring an open window of heaven’s abundance of blessings you cannot imagine. Mal 3:10 (AMP) Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Christ never intended for His Church to be built on economic indebtedness; that’s according to a worldly Babylonian system. Economics for the kingdom operates on principles of spiritual perspectives by faith. Thus, church leaders must see that it is Jesus who gave His life to lay a spiritual foundation, of which He is the chief cornerstone, and that every effort must apply the principles He endeavors to operate. Though there will be requirements of money, material goods, and individual laborers in fulfilling His purpose, it is to be for the use of the Holy Spirit to bring about what the Father has already perceived to be done.
Every disciple Jesus sent out, including the twelve, was not only empowered but anointed with authority to operate in the very same way He did. This required faith in the truth He had told them and in what He showed them would occur by the power of God. They healed the sick and cast out demons, all demonstrations of power, along with preaching and teaching the gospel or good news. And everything was done using principles shown to them and us from scripture, revealing God’s intent and concern in His plan of salvation through Jesus, His Son.
Math 10:8-11 (MSG) Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. 9 “Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. 10 You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light. 11 “When you enter a town or village, don’t insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.
Faith endowed with spiritual blessings enables it to accomplish God’s intent and concern. This is all believers need to know; they do not need weeks to plan the details or take offerings to raise funds. Jesus will never send you to do something different from what His Father prophesied would occur. Flowing in His same work of the Holy Spirit so that there is no deviation from any spiritual purpose the Father has perceived comes to pass is by principles revealed by Jesus to believers for the harvest of souls operated by the prominence of faith.
This makes it clear that going forward with the same work requires trust in God to provide whatever is needed to fulfill it. Therefore, we could say the purpose of faith is to manifest the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit for the same intent and concern in the heart of the Father over His creation. Another important aspect of faith is that believers are to know how to be led by the Spirit of God to fulfill their ministerial tasks and to have their personal needs met. Jesus never veers away from a spiritual purpose His Father has revealed.
Many believe Jesus’s ministry was poor, mainly in the aspects of finances and faith among His disciples, when in fact it was very prosperous, not only in economic terms but by the faith standards revealed as they operated in the power of God. This is vastly different from how ministries operate today, using the monetary gifts they so diligently seek to appropriate for their work. Today’s churches and ministries historically place increasing demands on believers’ faith without teaching, preaching, or exhorting the truth that increases faith in the word and the Holy Spirit.
It is relevant that mediocre faith revealed at the pulpit breeds ignorance among congregants, as shown by the fact that, if taught from scripture to increase a believer’s faith, many would be capable of faithfully applying God’s spiritual principles. Thus, leadership would not need to bilk money by using narratives of emotional virtue, but by the Holy Spirit’s instruction of truths concerning giving, all would fulfill the requirements by faith.
I know, doing ministry in today’s Church is to plan out how works, prayerfully led by the Spirit of God, will occur. But way too many church leaders today act as if members grow their faith by believing in more money to do whatever they want, not by believers determining what they do. And no effort is put forth at the pulpit to support increasing the faith of those they hold responsible to fulfill it. Leadership’s efforts today show that they have faith only in the members’ ability to get it done, not in God’s.
If it were all upon God, no lack would ever occur. So does this mean that no church is operating in the principles God has established for believers? NO. There are churches that know the way to operate is by faith in His ability, not in their own, but they are few compared to the total number of churches.
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