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Exactly What do I Believe

2/16/22

• “Imitate God like little children” really got me thinking, just exactly how much of who God is and what He does are we supposed to imitate? A key point to this truth is, like little children

• Mark 10:15,NKJV- Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

• The question is, just exactly what do we believe?

• Did He really mean that we’re to actually imitate the things He did?

• Not only does the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells us to imitate God, Paul says it this way in Corinthians, imitate me as I imitates Christ. Jesus told us, “If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father.” “I came from Heaven to do the will of the Father who sent me.”

• Matthew 28:18-20,MSG- Jesus told His disciples: God authorized and commanded me to commission you:
• Go out and train everyone you meet, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.

• After accepting the truth about Jesus, possibly the next biggest thing we've got to get settled is, do we believe the Bible to be the word of God to us today?

• This is why we can’t over emphasize the power of believing. That means, even if we don’t understand truth yet, believing the Bible is God’s word is an absolute. At the end of the day, believing comes down to a decision. And it starts with understand that the Bible is a spiritual book.

• By design, when God’s created makes room for His word, it’s God’s word that produces faith when we yield to it. And simply put, faith is what we believe. So, to what extent are we allowing the Bible to shape our beliefs?

• God’s word is incorruptible seed. And everything about God’s Kingdom is like sowing seed. Luke even says that God’s word is the seed sown. Psalm 119 says , Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

• Isaiah 55:11,AMP- So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void, useless, without result, without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17,NKJV- All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

• 2 Corinthians 1:20,NKJV- For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

• If God is expecting us to imitate Him, to follow Jesus’ example, to do the things He did, then where are all the healings today?

• Seriously, if Jesus told us to follow Him, to do what He did and said, if His word is forever settled, if His word enlightens our path, if we’re honestly suppose to imitate Him. Then what happened to the healings?

• Could our believing have anything to do with it? What about unbelief?

• In Jesus’ own home town He could do no mighty works because of their unbelief. Mark 6:6, And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

• Teaching the word is the remedy for unbelief. Remember, faith come from the word. Not only is our minds renewed when subjected to God’s word, His word is also the spiritual force that develops faith in a believer. And faith without a corresponding action is useless.

• Colossians 2:6,NKJV- As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
• The AMP goes on to say, walk in union with Him, reflecting His character in the things you do and say. Therefore we walk by faith, not by sight.

• Here’s the deal, there’s only one way to receive Christ, and that’s by grace through faith. So by grace, through faith we are expected to live our new lives in Him.

• So back to the reason for our titled, exactly what do I believe?
• Can a persons faith have anything to do with God’s healing power?
• Can a persons faith have anything to do with God’s saving power?

• For some reason we’ve concluded that these two spiritual realities are different. For example, we pray for healing, but symptoms still exist, so we assume it to be different than salvation. But let’s not kid ourselves, if we went by that philosophy, there’s no way you could be sure you’re saved. There’s days we don’t feel saved, and no doubt days we don’t look or act saved.

• Does what we believe line up with God’s word?

• By design our believing has everything to do with the realities of our new world? That also means unbelief has major influence into our new lives in Christ. Remember, Jesus in His home town couldn’t do any mighty works because of unbelief.

• In Matthew 9, Jesus asked the blind men, “do you believe I’m able to do this?” Then He told them, “according to your faith let it be done to you.”

• Here’s the thing, these guys weren’t even born again. And because of that they had to get to Jesus. But now, because He has come to us, given us His Spirit, given us new lives, He actually lives in us, allowed His body to be beaten beyond recognition. Just maybe He’s asking us the same thing He asked the blind guys, “Do you believe I’m able to do this?” Remember, Jesus doesn’t change.

• We’re told to imitate Him, called to follow Him, and every where He went, He healed, how are we suppose to interpret that? Let’s take it a step further, according to Romans, if we have to believe and confess to be saved, just maybe believing and confessing has something to do with healing?

• I cannot over emphasize the importance of SPEAKING GOD’S WORD into our situation.

• Even though God designed us to live a certain way, until we make a conscious evert to stop resorting to our human reasoning to determine the realities of His word, our faith will remain undeveloped. This is why Isaiah was asking if anyone was going to believe any of this stuff.

• When we study the life of Jesus, why do you think He healed everywhere He went?

• John 6:38,NKJV- For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

• Keep in mind, Jesus told us, “I am the way and the truth.” And if you’ve seen Me you’ve seen the Father.

• A thorough study of His life in the New Testament will reveal that He healed 100% of the people that came to Him for healing.

• Matthew 4:23,NKJV- And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

• Keep in mind, we’re called to follow Him, imitate Him, do the things He told us to do. So, just exactly what do we believe?

• Matthew 10, Jesus gave His first disciples authority to heal all sickness. Then He sent them out, and in verse 8, He tells them, “heal the sick.” Luke 10, Jesus appoints 70 more disciples and sends them out and tells them, “heal the sick.”

• Think about this, Mark's version of the great commission tells us that part of our commission is to lay hands on sick people and they will recover.

• Jesus told us in Luke, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."

• So why would He train His first disciples to live and minister a certain way, then command them to train everyone they discipled to live the same way, then move back to Heaven and expect us to live a different way and not even say anything about it to His closest followers, or at least leave us something in His word instructing us to live differently?

• What if, we don’t see something like healing operating in our church simply because we fail to talk about it enough to allow the Holy Spirit to establish faith in us concerning healing?

• Here’s the other side of this truth, if everything in God’s Kingdom operates in seedtime and harvest, and His word is incorruptible seed, and it’s been sown in our soul, just maybe we’ve got to believe that it’s growing right now.

• Mark 4:14,26-28,NKJV- The sower sows the word.
• And He said, The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
• and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
• For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

• Seed doesn’t do anything until its put in the ground. So back to our original question, exactly what do we believe? Just maybe Jesus is asking us the same thing He asked the blind guys, “Do you believe I’m able to do this?”