This past Sunday Pastor Carl continued the Summer of Faith message series by contrasting internal faithfulness with external faithfulness. Trusting Faith is expressed by being faithful to God and His ways. Faithfulness is a heart condition where a person decides that following Jesus is the beginning of their ethics.
Internal faithfulness is the ability to trust God to move in our lives. But faithfulness is more than that, it’s a connection with God on a spiritual level where His Spirit lives in us in our lives become an extension of His.
Pastor Carl shared the story in Luke 18 of the widow who was demanding justice from the judge. Even though the judge did not fear God and did not respect man, because the woman bothered him relentlessly he made a just ruling. Jesus said that just as the judge would make a righteous ruling, God will bring justice to his people who cry out to him day and night.
If we understand the mind of Christ and what God calls just, we can petition him to see justice in the earth. Often we get faith backwards. We have a desire in our heart and take it to God so that he can fulfill our desire. This is not faith, its presumption. Psalm 86 teaches us to cry out to God that we may learn his ways. Then, understanding God’s ways and his sense of justice we can pray and watch him move in our life and the lives of people around us.
When we live a life of faith we live a life that fulfills our purpose. Our life of faith brings God’s sense of justice into the earth. Jesus charged his disciples to exhibit this external faith bringing justice when he commissioned them in Matthew 10, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely received, freely give.”
Whatever we have received from God, we are expected to freely give it away. This week Pastor Carl encouraged everyone to lean in to three things.
First, deal with our internal faith. If we believe that God has us, try to believe that God has the things that concerns us. He can be trusted because he is faithful.
Second spend time with God asking where He wants us to trust him more. We are to ask God to teach us his ways so that we may know Him.
Third, in our time of prayer we should ask how God wants us to display our external faithfulness. It could be sharing our testimony, inviting someone to church, or simply sharing our faith in God with someone else.