The Test of our Willingness to Obey God’s Command 2: Activating our Great Faith

James 2:18 “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
 

There are several examples in the Bible of people that Jesus deemed to have demonstrated great faith to obtain what they needed in their lives from Him. By this, they showed their trust in Him and also that they were willing to act on the word He would give to them because they knew that He had the power to perform it in their lives.

My first example is found in Mark 7:24-28 of the Syro-Phoenician woman who had a daughter that was oppressed by an unclean spirit. She insisted to Jesus to deliver her daughter from the oppression. However, Jesus’s first response to her was, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” But her answer was in verse 28, “…”Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” NKJV

In this passage Jesus was explaining to her that His assignment on earth was to first minister to the children of Israel (descendants of Abraham by birth) and this way fulfill the law of evangelism which says that we preach the Gospel of salvation first to theJew and then the Gentile (Romans 1:16), and the Syro-Phoenician woman was a Gentile. But to demonstrate that no matter who we are, we can understand that when God gives a word of promise to us, we can rest assure that it will come to pass as we partner with Him and trust that He has the power to do what He said He would do.

This is evident in the outcome of her persistence. Verses 29-30 say, “²⁹ Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

³⁰ And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.” NKJV

Another example is the Roman Centurion who understood how walking and submitting to our heavenly authority releases heaven in a person’s life. The centurion’s servant was lying at home, sick, and dreadfully tormented. Jesus had told the centurion when he asked him to heal his servant that He would go to his house to heal the man. But the centurion understood that all he needed was for Jesus to give him a word and speak it, so he said to Jesus in Matthew 8:8-10, “⁸…’Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’ 

¹⁰When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel….’

Verse 13 also says, “Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour.” NKJV

One last example in this post is the woman that had an issue of blood flow for twelve years. This woman had done everything humanly possible and spent a lot of money seeking healing for her illness but nothing had worked. Then, when she found out that Jesus was visiting her town, she decided to not care about the social consequences that could come for showing up in public in her condition. 

She chose to press in for her breakthrough no matter what and touched the hem of His garment. This caused virtue to flow out of Jesus for her and immediately she was healed. But Jesus marveled and noticing that virtue had flowed out of Him decided to inquire who had touched Him in such a way. For her act, He acknowledged publicly her great faith and said in Luke 8:48, “^48… “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”” NKJV

So what these three Bible personalities that were not necessarily children of Abraham by birth (but through their faith in Jesus and their acknowledgment that He is their Lord and Savior), have in common is that they knew that if the Lord had given them a word of promise, that was enough for them to know that as they chose to turn to Him, partner with Him for the manifestation of the word, and through their belief and obedience to every command, they were fully convinced that it would come to pass.

Mark 11:24 indeed reiterates, “²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” NKJV

So how do you trust God and like Abraham, who also demonstrated this persuasion, do the works that demonstrate and activate your great faith? 

1. Seek the Lord in prayer as demonstrated in 2 Chronicles 7:14. “¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” NKJV 

This Scripture highlights what is important for us to get that word of promise and guidance from God for our circumstances. We need to humble ourselves before Him with prayer (and sometimes with fasting) and inquire of Him to search our hearts and show us what is in us or in our lives that could hinder the manifestation of what He wants to do in us, for us, and through us. We are required to turn from what He shows are those wicked ways. This will open the way for Him to speak what He will do in our circumstances or a word of promise to help us fulfill our destiny.

In addition to that, praying with our spiritual language is important because it helps us have all the angelic assistance we need to remove hindrances, speak the revelations we need in order to advance in our journey to our promises, and will also reveal mysteries concerning this promise and the warfare that we need to partner with God for in order to remove any demonic hindrances that are obstructing the manifestation no matter how long it takes to see its fulfillment. 

1 Corinthians 14:15 tells us, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” NKJV

Romans 8:26-27 also states, “²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” NKJV

It is important to also explain that when God gives us a word of promise, He is also making a covenant with us. For this, we are required to partner with Him to obtain this great faith towards the fulfillment of our promise. Exodus 34:10-12 say,

^10 “And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. ¹¹ Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ¹² Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.” NKJV

In this covenant, God will give us our part that we must obey. In verses 11 and 12 He is asking us to obey His command as well as take heed to ourselves in what we do and should or should not allow in our lives. 

2. As part of our agreement with God for this covenant promise, we are to sow an offering of His choosing and in the place He also chooses. This can take any form whether in finances, or by serving others, or worship, but we need to allow Him to tell us what this offering will look like that He will accept.

Deuteronomy 12:14 says, “but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.” NKJV

3. Confess the word of promise over your life and declare the things that are not as though they are. Romans 4:17 explains, 

¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;” NKJV

Hebrews 11:1-2 also says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” NKJV

This is because faith comes to us as we hear the word of God and confess it, but also as we obey every command He gives to us concerning this promise and as we continue to pray with thanksgiving for what He has already done for us for He will not change His mind (Numbers 23:19). Therefore, we need not be anxious or afraid of anything.

Philippians 4:6 tells us, “⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” NKJV 

Romans 10:17 also says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” NKJV

 

4. Finally, allow God to order your steps and guide you by His Holy Spirit. This means that we trust Him and not lean on what our carnal mind can reason about your circumstances. Proverbs 3:5-6 describes, 

“⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” NKJV

Psalm 37:23-24 also declares that God has our steps that will take us to our promises already planned out for us and even as we stumble and may fall in trying to obey His word and commands, we can be assured that He will help us get back up and see to it that we make it to the fulfillment of His promise to us.  

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand. NKJV

These steps are always to conform to God’s command to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind by spending times of intimacy with Him and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves for faith works through our thoughts and deeds that show this love. (Luke 10:27; 1 John 4:20). To Him alone be all the glory.▪

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The Test of our Willingness to Obey God's Command 1

Philippians 2:13
“for it is God who Works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” NKJV

There is an important aspect of our walk with God in which He will test our willingness to do something even if in the end we will not have to do it. This is a test that God uses to see if we are more motivated to worship Him or our promises. He is the God who makes the promises, and therefore, our loyalty should be towards Him, the one who determines when and how they will manifest.

Only He knows what it will take for us to get to our promised lands. However, because it is important for us to not succumb to idolatry on the way to our promises, there will be times, even repeated times, in which He will test our willingness to “kill” those promises.

We see this example with our father of faith (trust in God), Abraham who was asked to put a knife to his son, Isaac. He and his wife Sarah had been believing for 25 years to have a son and God had shown His faithfulness and powerful hand to manifest that promise to them in their old years even though they had made mistakes on the way to that manifestation.

Genesis 22:9-12 says, “9Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order, and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’
So he said, ‘Here I am.’

12And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.’” NKJV

Because God will not share his glory with idols (Exodus 20:23; Isaiah 42:8), He will make sure that there is no idolatry in us when we reach our destiny. And that is one chief reason why He asks us to abandon or put on the altar what He has promised us, whether on the way to its manifestation, or afterward.

It is also vital to highlight that being willing to obey guards our hearts from defilement. While we know that there is protection in our obedience from the wiles of the enemy, there is also protection of our hearts (our souls) from being contaminated with the influence of the world and our healing is procured, be it mental, emotional or physical as we seek His help to be healed when we have received wounds due to our steadfastness to obey every command from God no matter what He asks us to do or whether we understand it or not.

This is what Abraham did. He did not understand fully what God was asking of him when He asked him to slay his only son that was promised to him and that he had to believe for so many years. God had done a miraculous thing for him and his wife by giving them a son while defying the natural laws of child bearing. So, if God is the God of the generations, why did He decide to test Abraham by asking him to slay his promised son?

The answer to that question is that God is the God of the families. And because He wanted to show that family is important to Him, not only was Isaac a manifestation of His miraculous power, but he was also a testimony that just as there is seedtime, and harvest as long as the earth remains (Genesis 8:22), there is also a fight for families to remain in the earth in the way designed by Him because that is how He chose to bless us, multiply us, and make communities.

But this blessing is to be passed down to the next generations of God’s servants to be determined co-laborers, Bible believers, hungry for more of Him, and willing and obedient to do His good pleasure on the earth.

Isaiah 1:19 says, “If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land.” NKJV
This was also true of Abraham since God had in mind the multiplication of his family as well as the blessing He had planned for every family that will learn what Abraham exemplified on the earth for them to bless themselves. Genesis 22:13-18 says,

13 “Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God. 14 So Abraham gave that place a name, “The Lord Provides.” Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord, he will give us what we need.”

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time. 16 The angel said, “You were ready to kill your only son for me. Since you did this for me, I make you this promise: I, the Lord, promise that 17 I will surely bless you and give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky. There will be as many people as sand on the seashore. And your people will live in cities that they will take from their enemies. 18 Every nation on the earth will be blessed through your descendants. I will do this because you obeyed me.” 19Then Abraham went back to his servants. They all traveled back to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed there.” ERV

This blessing included a continual provision, wealth to be able to walk in dominion in the earth, protection from his enemies, authority and victory over his enemies as God fought his battles and gave him great plunder from the battles. Abraham also received many descendants of sons and daughters, natural and spiritual that would learn to apply in their lives what he modeled in obedience, authority, willingness to be radical in his relationship and partnership with God, as well as the ability to be a blessing to others.

As you see, in verse 19 of the passage, Abraham could eventually return to having what he had to leave for the Lord's command and everything that had been scattered in his life was returned to him because he had passed the test of his will to obey the Lord, whether he understood the mandate or not.

So, know that when God asks us to "kill" our promise (leave it aside, get away from it or let go), he is testing us to see if we worship the promise more than Him. He also has multiplication and greater blessings in mind for us that will help us achieve the greater works that Jesus promised we would do on earth more than He did. This will also help us develop and increase the ability to be influential in others for the Kingdom of God. Remember, our job is not to understand the reason for the mandate, but to obey the mandate. To him alone be all the glory. ▪