IF GOD DOESN’T BEG YOU TO SERVE HIM, YOU WON’T BEG HIM FOR BREAD
THE SUBJECT OF FAITH IS ONE OF THE MOST MYSTERIOUS SUBJECTS OF CHRISTENDOM
WHEN PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND FAITH, THEY RESIGN THEMSELVES TO FATE
FAITH IS THE COMBINATION OF WORD REVELATION, HEART CONVICTION, RIGHT DECLARATION, RIGHT ACTION PRODUCING THE RIGHT OUTCOME
YOUR JOURNEY OF FAITH BEGINS WITH THE REVELATION OF THE WORD AND THEN THE CONVICTION OF THE HEART AND THEN THE DECLARATION OF THE MOUTH AND THEN THE ACTION OF YOUR LIFE
FAITH IS CARRYING THE REQUIRED WORD-BASED RESPONSIBILITY IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE WORD-BASED POSSIBILITY
WHEN YOUR OBEDIENCE IS COMPLETE, YOUR PRAYER IS SMALL. THERE ARE THINGS YOU WON’T PRAY ABOUT AT ALL.
WHEN YOU IDENTIFY WHAT GOD IS SET TO DO. GO AHEAD AND DO IT STUPIDLY EVEN WHEN IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.
THE SPIRIT OF FAITH AND FAITH IN GOD GIVE YOU THE CAPACITY TO BELIEVE EASILY.
DON’T ANALYZE INSTRUCTION, COMPLY WITH INSTRUCTION IF IT IS OF GOD.
THE DIFFICULTY WITH THE MATTER OF FAITH IS THAT WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT FIRST BEFORE WE OBEY IT.
EVERY FAITH PERSON IS A ‘RESPONSIBILITY HUNTER’.
FAITH IS LAYING HOLD OF THE REALITY, RELIABILITY AND TRUSTABILITY OF GOD.
THE BATTLE FOR SOME PEOPLE IS THAT THEY DON’T KNOW FOR SURE THAT GOD IS REAL AND TRUSTABLE.
THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THE devil BELIEVE MORE IN THE POWER OF THE devil THAN THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN GOD.
FAITH IS THE SECRET OF VICTORY IN LIFE BATTLES.
THE FULLNESS OF FAITH IS THE FULLNESS OF POWER.
FAITH GIVES YOU ACCESS TO EVERY POSSIBILITY THAT IS IN GOD
– Dr. Pastor Paul Enenche on “UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF FAITH” || Midweek Power Communion Service || Dunamis International Gospel Centre || Glory Dome, Abuja.
In Jesus’ precious name, I welcome everyone tonight. Thank you Father for giving us the privilege of your presence and of being naked in your presence. 1 Timothy 3:9.
Tonight, we shall be looking at the subject, “UNRAVELING FAITH” or “UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF FAITH”. Church Gist. We have two or three basic objectives. First of all, we want to understand the mystery of faith and secondly, we will understand the profit of faith and thirdly, to understand the way of faith. What leads to faith?
The subject of faith is one of the most mysterious subjects of Christendom. When you talk prayer, people will understand prayer, when you talk holiness, but faith. Church Gist. Many are absolutely unaware of what faith is. To many, it is a difficult mysterious puzzling subject. So, how do I have faith? what is faith? How can I have faith? When people don’t understand faith, they resign themselves to fate. Fate is whatever will be, let it be. Church Gist. So many have resigned their lives to fate because they think they don’t understand faith. I want to say today that faith is both easy to understand and easy to operate. Let me say, its operation is also understandable. So, let’s go, what is faith? We are unraveling faith.
1. Faith is the combination of Word revelation, heart conviction, right declaration, right action producing the right outcome.
So, it is like Faith means Word revelation plus heart conviction plus the right declaration plus the right action equals the right outcome. Very easy. Romans 10:8,17. Church Gist. What is the process? You got a revelation from the Word, you opened the Word of God and you saw some promises of God and you saw some things about God and what your life is meant to be, it gave your heart conviction. Church Gist. That heart conviction gave your mouth declaration, such as, “I can’t be cut short before my time! My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory, I can’t be a beggar and a borrower!” That gave you the right action, “I am expecting to receive of God, so, I become a giver” and by the end of the right action, I end with the right or desired outcome. Many people don’t follow the pathway, so they can’t end at the endpoint. Church Gist. There are people who saw the Word but it has not been sufficiently installed in their heart in conviction. There are those who claim to be convinced but they’re speaking the opposite. They are talking upside down, they talk death. My secretary wrote a letter for something and I said, “no, remove this word, remove that word, we don’t talk like this”. Church Gist. And then, some carry out the wrong actions, every action of his life is fear, yet he’s in faith. And that is the desired outcome.
For the practicality of faith, look at Mark 5:25-27. You look at the woman with the issue of blood. Mark 5:27 “When she heard”, that’s the beginning of her revelation, she heard. She saw something. Church Gist. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Mark 5:28. She heard and then, “she said”. She heard, she got the revelation, she got convinced in her heart that “what I’m hearing about this man can change my life”, so she said with her mouth, “if I can touch it, I can be made whole”, then she carried out the action and touched and then she saw the outcome. Isn’t it a straight line equation? She heard something, that something gave her a conviction, the conviction made her to say something and after saying something, she went and acted and after she acted, she got the outcome. Is it not easy? Church Gist. Very straightforward. So, your journey of faith begins with the revelation of the Word and then the conviction of the heart and then the declaration of the mouth and then the action of your life and then you see the right action. Church Gist. The woman (with the issue of blood) wasn’t talking to everybody. You don’t need to be talking to everybody when not necessary, just talk to yourself, just talk to your situation, just talk in front of your mirror. Am I communicating at all? “I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Church Gist. I am not poor, I can’t be a beggar, I can’t be a borrower!” Hallelujah!
– somebody give the Lord a big clap and a big shout of praise!
2. Faith is carrying the required Word-based responsibility in order to experience Word-based possibility.
What does this mean? It means, you studied the Word and the Word of God showed you what you should do and also showed you what God would do if you do certain things. Church Gist. The Word of God showed you what you should do, what is required of you and it also showed you what God will do for you that is desired of you. Faith is nothing but doing that which God said you should do in order to experience what God said He would do. Deuteronomy 28:1-2. “If you do this, you will see this”. Your decision to do this in order to see this is called faith. Is it easy that way? Should it be translated in our language? (Laughs). Exodus 23:25. Church Gist. What do you do? Serve the Lord your God. What will he do? Bless your bread and your water. Understand it and carry it out based on understanding. If He doesn’t beg you to serve Him, you won’t beg Him for bread.
Two Classical Examples:
i. The Wedding in Cana of Galilee.
John 2:2-4. That is faith! Acting without knowing how the result will happen. Jesus has not performed one miracle, this was His first. Nobody knew He had any miracle working capacity yet the people went ahead to act what they were told. Am I communicating? This is where our major difficulty lies. When He said: “Fill the waterpots with water”. Many people will say maybe He didn’t hear what they said, they said they are looking for wine; He is talking of water. Who told you that we don’t have water to drink? Church Gist. This is where the problem of many lies: Questioning the instruction instead of obeying the instruction, doubting the outcome of the obedience instead of obeying without question. This is where the problem lies, this is where doubt is, this is where unbelief is, this is where disbelief is. “Since I was born I had never seen where they said they were looking for wine and somebody said they should bring water. Please let’s not waste our time, it’s just religious fanaticism. What will He pour inside? Is it Zobo or Yakwa or something?” They went ahead and carried it out and even without prayer, water changed to wine. He didn’t pray one prayer.
When your obedience is complete, your prayer is small. There are things you won’t pray about at all if you are obeying the right instructions. This is where the difficulty lies! (When) you identify what God is set to do, go ahead and do it stupidly even when it doesn’t make sense. Many of us here today, people laughed at us and mocked us. They didn’t know we would amount to anything or what we were doing would amount to anything but we knew what God sent us to do. When we came into town newly – when we started Church. One woman they invited said: “That small children’s Church. Small pikin Church”. Because she was very arrogant and peacockish. Church Gist. She’s been coming here since and it’s possible she may be hearing me now but that doesn’t move me because that is real, it happened. She said: “Small children’s Church? Small pikin Church?” Who told you (that) you can see (the) future on a person’s face? How old was Josiah when he ruled Israel? There are people who are too concerned about age. The best place to be if age is too important is ‘village’ which is the villa of age (Laughing). That is where they will be telling you: “This is the oldest man in this community”. They will tell you age by age, who is… You know? Jesus was 30 years (old) when He shook the whole world and by 33 and half years, His global mission was over. Are you following what I’m saying? Don’t analyze instruction, comply with instruction if it is of God. That is the difficulty with the matter of faith; we want to understand it first before we obey it. That was what happened to Peter.
ii. Peter.
Luke 5:4-6. If not that he changed his mind, he would have said: “I have fished here before. I’m a professional fisherman, I was born in fishing family, I grew there; the best time to fish is in the night. (The) visibility of fishes is poor so they easily run into nets. Now it caught nothing in the night, you’re asking me to fish in the daytime when all the fishes are seeing clearly”. Church Gist. But he said: “Let me better obey this instruction”. And as he obeyed, net-breaking, ship-sinking! They caught a multitude of fishes until the Ship began to sink. That is what obedience will do for you. It will give you results beyond your imagination. Ephesians 3:20.
-I announce to somebody here! Your next action of obedience will produce results for you beyond your imagination. And every area where you are obeying God and it appears like results are not coming. I declare today! That negative narrative is cancelled. If you believe that, shout the loudest Amen.
Now, what the Spirit of Faith does for you: It makes you believe God easily, stupidly. That is, what other people are battling to believe it is easy for you to believe. That’s the kind of Spirit that Papa Oyedepo has. You see? And that’s the kind of impartation we are talking about. It makes you believe easily and stupidly. When people are saying: “Oh! He’s just wasting his time”. It just believes easily. You believe stupidly. Reinhard Bonnke’s Crusade Director came yesterday, went on town tour here. Dr. Mrs Enenche, that Man told me something yesterday that I don’t know whether I should cry. I don’t know whether I can even say it publicly. He said: He travelled all the way to meet Bonnke just before his passing. And Bonnke told him: These days, every time I pray I see the Chariot of Fire. He said: “John! I know that this is the last time we will be seeing. When next we see, it will be up there”. And he turned his hand: “You see this watch? You know who gave me?” He was wearing the watch that he was given in 2007 of Makurdi Crusade. Church Gist. He said: “Pastor Paul gave me this watch. How is he doing? How’s his ministry?” “Yes!” He said: “He’s doing very well, you know he did everything to make sure you came for the dedication of the Glory Dome”. He said: “I know! Because it was supposed for me to come. Send him my regards”. I said: “What?” He said… The Crusade Director told me he said: “Do you know the number of people he met in his lifetime? Do you know how many people gave him any gift?” And… I didn’t know whether to cry, I didn’t know what to do. I will speak with him again and ask him what was the implication of that statement. We will all work while it is day for the night cometh when no man shall (work). When he (Bonnke) told him he said: Somebody prophesied to him and said; God said he would have a minimum of ten more years. He said: “I’m not sure because I’m seeing chariots of fire around”. Hallelujah! That’s our challenge!
When God said a thing like this is to be built, for the ordinary person – “How can it be? In such a depressing economy?” But the Spirit of Faith and faith in God give you the capacity to believe it easily. In fact, one of our pastors asked me about that girl that was brought from Makurdi. You remember the girl that was completely paralyzed with the neck and all of that? Church Gist. He said when he was seeing that miracle, he was so afraid and at the same time shocked. And then when he saw the end of it, he said: “What kind of thing is this?” I said for those types of situations, there are occasions where you saw the end result before you started the prayer.” There are some! You just knew what would happen before you began, just (that) God gives you an impartation, an injection for that moment.
-I prophesy to you today, the grace to believe easily is released upon you right now.
All that you do as a man or woman of faith is to be hunting for responsibility. “What does God want me to do?” Every faith person is a ‘responsibility hunter’. I have said that before, you are hunting for responsibilities. What does God want me to do? What will God have me do? What is God expecting of me to do? And then you don’t analyze, “Okay! How will God do it for me?” You just go on ahead and do what God wants you to do. Church Gist. What He wants you to do. And then you leave it for Him, how He will do His own portion. You leave it for Him!! You do what He wants you to do and you don’t analyze how He will get your own done. “You mean at this age, I can still marry? You mean at this age I can still give birth to children?” Yes! Go ahead and do your own and leave the rest for God. Somebody say a loud Amen. Are you understanding faith?
3. Faith is laying hold of the reality, reliability and trustability of God.
You are laying hold on the reality, reliability and trustability of God in order to experience the possibilities of God. Church Gist. That is, your walk with God has brought you to a point where you are convinced that God is real, God is reliable, God is trustable and then you see His possibilities.
Hebrews 11:6. To come to God is to believe that God is and God is a rewarder of them…so, when we come to the way of faith, we’re going to see this. You’ll come to a point in your life where you know God enough to know that ‘I am not serving a fake God. Church Gist. I’m serving a real God who is real, who is reliable and who is trustable.’ That was what Job meant when he said that ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth and even if this skin worms destroy this flesh, in my flesh I will still see Him’ Job 19:25-27. That is, even if this flesh is destroyed, He will give me another. Job 13:15. Job 14:14. ‘I’m not shifting grounds. Something must change. Church Gist. I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know He’s real. I know He’s reliable and I know He can be trusted. I know I will not be ashamed of my hope in God’.
The greatest challenge is the challenge of knowing whether your Redeemer liveth. That’s where the challenge lies. Many are not aware. Daniel 11:32. People are weak because they don’t know their God. Church Gist. This is what faith is all about. Knowing the reality, reliability and trustability. That was what happened to Abraham. Romans 4:17-21. He was persuaded that God was able. The reality, reliability, trustability and even ability of God. You know, God is reliable, God is real and God is able. The One that can turn water to wine can turn anything, He can change anything.
One day, we were in Jos, after a ministration, a girl who had had an accident, (her) hand broken with (a) metal implant in the hand and all of a sudden began to move the hand, metal gone. Checked, no metal and people are wondering what is happening. Church Gist. I said ‘If God can turn water to wine, He can turn metal to bone’ Where our battle is, is that we don’t know for sure that God is real, that God is reliable, that God is trustable.
You know, the people who follow the devil believe more in the power of the devil than those who believe in God. Do you understand? That’s why some Christians go to consult the devil. Church Gist. The people who follow satan are more convinced of the badness of the devil than Christians are convinced of the goodness of God. That’s why those who believe in evil power boast a lot. You know, because Christians don’t really know who they are. They don’t really know what they believe.
– But those times are changing!
What is the profit of faith?
1: Faith is the secret of victory in life battles. 1 John 5:4. Meaning, faith equals victory. Faith cannot be present and victory is absent. Faith is the victory so, you need your faith to be victorious and to win over the battles from your father’s house. Church Gist. How many of you know there can be terrible battles from (your) father’s house? Father’s house, native altars, native local wickedness. Battles from the office. I’ve seen people battling with landlords, occultic landlords. When they were paying, it was not written on the agreement that the man was an occultic man, they only entered to realize that the whole compound was an altar. Every night, they are in another realm. Church Gist. After every period, somebody’s child or somebody dies. How many of you have heard that before?
I mean, you just found yourself in certain battles you never planned for. The one who wanted to deliver your wife in the labour room was a witch. The one whose vehicle you entered was a wizard. The World is full of ‘wahala’ (trouble). John 16:33…and it is not written on all of these people’s foreheads. Church Gist. You just step in with audacity and step out unscratched because you are not of their kind. You are another kind of person. Not everybody is wasteable, not everybody’s blood is drinkable. Not everybody is even charmable. Not everybody is bewitchable. Church Gist. They come to bewitch you, you dewitch them. You know the meaning of dewitch? They lost witchcraft capacity. They lost their wings. They return back wingless. They say ‘What happened?’ They say ‘I made a mistake. I went towards somebody. I didn’t know on time’.
– In the name of Jesus, I announce to somebody, your victory is here.
Faith is the victory. Church Gist. Faith is the secret of victory.
2: Faith is a secret of spiritual power that is needed for spiritual exploits and goals. Acts 6:8. The fullness of faith is the fullness of power. When we say miracles, signs and wonders, it is not just about blind seeing or deaf hearing. It’s about the extraordinary, your life as a whole is a miracle, it’s a wonder, it’s a sign. Church Gist. Your promotion, your progress, everything about you does not follow the normal process, the normal pattern. 2 Thessalonians 1:11. Faith works with power. The work of faith happens with power. 1 Peter 1:5. Faith is a secret of power. When you are faithless, you are powerless. When you are faith filled, you are powerful. (It’s a) matter of choice.
3: Faith is the secret of possibilities. Things that are not possible normally become possible with people of faith. Matthew 19:26. Now, what is it that makes all things possible with God? Mark 9:23. Church Gist. Those who walk in faith are capable of accessing everything God can do. Only God does the things that are possible and faith can do the things that are possible. Which means that faith gives you access to every possibility that is in God. Mark 11:23.
– I decree today, whatever has been impossible for you is now made possible.
– and as I speak, I see fresh grace and the impartation of the Spirit of faith coming for somebody.
– If you are the one, say a louder Amen!
What is the way of faith?
1. Know the Lord.
Hebrews 11:6.
– if you love the Lord, say Amen!
Truth is, those who love God are plenty but those who know God are few. I’m not talking of book knowledge, I’m not talking of head knowledge, I’m talking of experiential knowledge. Church Gist. Can I ask you a question? How many of you know what they call storm? How many of you have read in detail in a book the description of a storm? How many of you have stood on a seashore and seen a literal violent storm? How many of you have been on top of a sea inside an ocean and witnessed a storm inside, you’re inside the storm? Church Gist. All the people have the knowledge of a storm. The one who heard about the storm knows the storm, the one who read about the storm, knows a bit more, the one who watched the storm, knows a little bit more but the one who was inside the storm knows something about the storm that others don’t know. It is called experiential knowledge.
I’ve been married to my wife for 30 years by April. I’m not 30 years old, I may look like 30 years. The challenge is that we have been in our 20s for a long time. Church Gist. Praise the Lord. There’s an experiential knowledge. I can hand over all the cheques that I have and go to sleep because I know whom I am married to. It may not be the same for some people, when you give your wife the cheque and all the money disappears, but may God forbid such experience. Church Gist. And she can ask me, “Sir, please I am in need of such and such to get this and that done” she knows it’ll be done. Church Gist. It’s time for children’s school, it’s time for this and that and it’ll be signed with a smile because she knows who she is dealing with.
Listen, knowledge makes belief easy. It is easy to believe who you know. I’ve given that illustration before. Church Gist. How many of you, if I say “I will give you a cheque of 500,000 naira”, will you doubt? Why? Number one, you know that I won’t say to you what I won’t do, number two, you know I have the capacity to do that. But somebody on the road said, “I want to give you one million naira”, he met you for the first time. Church Gist. Maybe you’ll be happy because you heard the amount but the other part of you is in doubt. “Is this a 419 (fraud), let me be watching him first”. “Is he an occultic man? maybe he’ll ask for money” which is what they call 419, he will ask for (money). “But I want you to bring one naira first before that One Million (Naira) comes.” You doubt people when you don’t really know who they are. You believe God when you know who God is. In your journey of faith, one of the prayers you will pray is: “Help me Lord to know You. Reveal Yourself to me”. Church Gist. That was what Paul the Apostle said: That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. “God! Show me Yourself.” The knowledge of God will not only fuel your faith, it will do too many things to you. Your audacity, your sagacity, your take, everything about you is changed as you know Him. 1 Corinthians 3:38.
2. Know the Word.
The God that you know, what has He said? Some people have seen people camouflaging us on Facebook: “Eh! You know what? I am eh! So and so, my name is eh Dr. Pastor so and so. This is my prayer line. I have a prophecy for you, this and that. And in order to seal that prophecy, send so and so money to so and so orphanage and also do this and do that.” Some of the people will say they will reply in the comment: “You are a demon, my father in the Lord does not talk like this. Eh! You are a devil, you are a demon!” Romans 8:17. So, you must be able to be acquainted with the Word of your God, it will fuel your faith. What has God said? What has God promised you? What did He say He would do? The Word of God is like a cheque that is cashable any day. Church Gist. It’s cashable any day! It’s cashable in the banks of the Universe, the banks of eternity where the cashiers and the tellers and the angels are on assignment to release what you are coming to cash. Somebody say Amen. When I was getting married, before then I knew where the Bible said: Two are better than one for they have a good reward for their labour. Ecclesiastes 4:9. So, two are better than one. So I knew that I wasn’t marrying for better, for worse. Better means we are smiling today. Worse means we are fighting tomorrow and we don’t use it in any joining. I was talking to a man and his wife the other day, they were married for under one year. Confrontation! I told both of them I said: “It looks like the two of you have a vision and your vision is how this marriage must not work.” (Laughing). They were sitting in my office. I said ‘That is the only thing I can see, that you are convinced. You married to execute a vision, how the marriage shouldn’t work. Under one year, you have carried your wife’s matter to your people, carried her matter to her people. Church Gist. Smile, smile boy, smile, smile girl, both of you have turned into lions to each other. What kind of…? It’s unbelievable. It’s as if your plan is how it shouldn’t work’. I said, ‘We have been together for close to 30 years. Nobody from our both side has ever sat us down and said what happened?’ That day will never arrive. It has not happened, will never. Do you understand what I’m saying? So, you know the Word and you work the Word. Church Gist. You know what God’s Word says so, you work your life in line with that Word. “Thou shall lend unto nations, thou shall not borrow” Deuteronomy 15:6. That is, under any condition. So, if I want to walk in supernatural supplies, begging and borrowing must not be part of my life even when there is no money.
Stand up on your feet.
It didn’t say “Thou shall not borrow except you lack money” It didn’t qualify it. That is, “Thou shall not borrow” means, anything you can do not to borrow, that is including looking for construction site, even though construction sites are scarce these days under the Country we are in. Church Gist. People are looking for what to eat, not many people are thinking of building now. Do you understand? Whatever you are going to do and as you honour the Word of God and do what God’s Word says you should do, then God will say ‘You know what? You have honoured me enough and you follow the Scripture even in these hard times. Let me open you up to resources’.
– Somebody say, Amen.
Who is blessed tonight? How many of you heard something tonight that will change your life? Just pursue the journey of knowing God and just be feeding yourself with the Word. Church Gist. Any area where you need faith to be built, be charging yourself. If you are too afraid, charge yourself on dealing with fear and begin to listen to messages that deal with your preservation, with your safety and security. Church Gist. If your health is failing, look for divine health messages preached, charge your faith on them. If your resources are failing you, charge your faith on them because when you come to the faith frequency, everything is possible.
– I stand by the anointing of God on my life, you cannot be cut short before your time.
Anyone who will say that Amen, say it like a believer.
– What wasted others in your family will never waste you.
– Where blood is wasted, your blood shall not be wasted.
– As men say they are cast down, you shall be saying there is a lifting up.
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