A new level of faith
I just got back from Korea where I was attending Ps Yonggi Cho’s Church Growth Conference. It was unreal. I was hanging out with Ps Phil Pringle and Ps Kong Hee and listening to Ps Cho. That’s about as good a week as you can have!
This guy has built the largest church in the history of Christianity by prayer, faith and the Holy Spirit.
He preached a message on faith that took me to another level.
Here are 3 keys of faith from Ps Cho
1. Faith swells in an environment of faith.
It is so important for us to live in the faith zone, to operate in faith and to remain firmly in faith.
I think in the world today – we can have the intention of living by faith but are tempted by and often give in to the doubts, fears and realities that surround us every day.
Our faith gives way to fear.
We need to constantly be putting ourselves in an environment of faith – being in church, getting around great leaders and inspiring people, reading the word of God, spending time in prayer and seeing visions.
2. Faith wants to have a clear goal.
We need to know what we are applying our faith to. Define your goal and bring it before God in persistent prayer.
Keep your goal in mind and see it coming to pass. Pray for it, aim towards it and never let it out of your sight.
3. Language is the clothing for faith.
How cool is that thought!
Faith needs an expression and this happens through your words.
What you speak is what is inside you. So faith expresses itself in your life by your words. So speak words of faith and life and keep speaking them.
Lets be people that build the future by faith!
How to get more of Holy Spirit in your life
1. Repent
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
You need to repent and be baptized
This is step one in living by the Holy Spirit
2. Wait on the Holy Spirit
Acts 1: 4 – Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised….
You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
We need to learn how to wait – for the spirit of God
We have lost the art of waiting – So often we charge on ahead – making our own way
We don’t like to wait in this world –but if you want the Holy Spirit –you need to wait on God
This is what we do in church – we learn wait on God
Isaiah 40: 31 – they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will rise up on wings as eagles
3. Believe in the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power
The Holy Spirit moves on your faith – without faith you won’t experience the Holy Spirit
Smith Wigglesworth said
Believe that when you come into the presence of God you can have all you came for. You can take it away, and you can use it, for all the power of God is at your disposal in response to your faith
Come on lets put our faith in God’s power
4. Live by faith
Galatians 3: 14 –so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit
Faith actions what we believe
Your faith attracts the power of God
It’s so easy to give up – to accept where you are and what is happening
Faith is a fight that won’t give up – fight the good fight of faith – you will be commended
Faith considers all the reason why a miracle can happen
A fully convinced mind – is what moves God
Live in the realm of the spirit – it’s a realm of power, victory and abundance
5. Don’t resist the Holy Spirit
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit
Some people are so resistant – don’t have a position of doubt – have a position of faith
Don’t hang back but step in – the power of God is like a river – you have to step in
6. Be filled by the Spirit
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Let yourself be filled with the Holy Spirit – be consumed by God
What else would you want to be filled by? some people get filled with rage, anger, bitterness, alcohol, lust, depression, disappointment – but we are called to filled by the Holy Spirit
7. Pray in the Spirit
Jude 1:20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
To connect with God – we need to be in prayer – to be anointed by God we need to pray
Prayer is our relationship with God – there is no other way – prayer keeps us in the spirit
Eternity
Eternity
Ecclesiastes 3: 11 says
Everything is beautiful in it’s time
Your time is coming – a time for your gift – a time when our life is needed for an eternal purpose
Most of us are living before our time
We are in preparation for our moment of great impact
Many people miss their time – People give up before their time
I want to encourage you – don’t miss your time
Don’t miss the beauty of your life
Offload discouragement and regret – If your in God your best days are ahead
Your time will be beautiful
Don’t sell out for second best
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men
We are created for Eternity – so why do we spend so much time focused on this world?
If you listen to your head – you will live for the here and now
If you listen to your heart you will hear the sound of eternity
Eternity is set in our hearts – it is inside of you
There is a sound of heaven in you
In your heart is an eternal purpose
If you could really see your life with the backdrop of eternity – you would live differently
Don’t be a success in this life and a failure in eternity!
1 Timothy 6:12 says Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Lets live our lives in the context of eternity
Loyalty
Loyalty
MARIO PUZO, the writer of the Godfather series said “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other”
Today in the world loyalties shift around depending on how things look for us
Disloyal people are everywhere – people shift loyalties so easily
It might be the world’s way – but it’s not God’s way
The whole story of the gospel is about a God who didn’t give up on us when we were worth giving up on
Ruth is one of the great stories of loyalty in the bible
She commits her future to a widowed old lady
There is nothing for Ruth to gain – yet she is faithful to this old woman
And her faithfulness is greatly rewarded
A foreign Moabite girl – is included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ because of her loyalty and faithfulness
Loyalty is proved when the pressure comes on
The time will come when loyalty will be tested – stand up in the test – don’t cave in and bail
Loyalty is about sticking together
Be a loyal friend – speak highly of people
One of the qualities I admire the most is loyalty
I love to hear people defending people behind their backs – speaking highly of one another
There are a hundred reasons to bag each other – but it is beautiful when people defend each other
Proverbs 3: 3 – 4 says Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Make a decision – I’m going to be a loyal person
