PASTOR DARRYL BAKER

Matthew 9:36
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Simple question for every believer to think about. If Jesus gifted certain believers to be shepherds over a local flock, why would He do so? If you are someone who does not have a church that you actually go to with a pastor that Jesus anointed to be there, why would He give such gifts to men if in fact He did not want you to attend church and be connected to a shepherd?

If Jesus knew that you did not need a church body and a shepherd to pastor you, then there was no need for Him to place such a calling on their life. Jesus was moved with compassion for those who did not have a shepherd. He said they were weary and scattered. Weary means to trouble and annoy. Scattered means without the protection of a shepherd. For those not connected and attending a local church with an anointed shepherd, you are a much easier target for satan.

Jeremiah 3:15 also states that the Lord gave shepherds to feed you with knowledge and understanding. This knowledge and understanding are crucial for every believer living in these last days to be protected from the deception of our enemy. If you do have an anointed shepherd but you are not consistent in going to church, you are missing out on the knowledge and understanding God has for you. In Hosea 4:6 God said His people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Jesus anointed your shepherd to help protect you, and to help you become a disciple of Christ.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Matthew 11:28-29
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

In the book of Hebrews, we are told the children of Israel did not enter into the rest God had for them because they did not obey what God told them to do. The Bible calls this unbelief. Unbelief is when we hear what God’s Word says, but we choose not to believe and therefore act upon His Word. We instead choose to do life our own way. In doing so we are not taking His yoke upon us and learning from Him, and therefore we are going to be heavy laden in life, not experiencing the liberty He has provided for us.

But when we come to Jesus and get born again and then come to the Word of God and learn of all He has done and choose to walk by faith, we find rest for our souls. Our soul (our mind) needs to be renewed to learn of what Christ has done for us. This is how we take His yoke upon us. A yoke is what they put two animals in side by side to pull a cart or a plow. This made it much easier for each animal because they were not pulling alone. When we learn of what He has done and choose to exercise our faith in Him, life becomes much easier.

Walking in unbelief is based on living life according to the ways of man, but faith is based on the facts of God’s Word. Walk by faith, choosing to come to the Word of God and not questioning what He says, but just believing in and acting up His Truth. When we do so then we will walk in His rest as we see our faith in God work for us. For when you walk by faith and not by sight, you have taken His yoke upon you and are therefore resting in God.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

John 8:44
The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn’t know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he’s doing what comes naturally to him. He’s a liar and the father of lies.

One of the primary tactics of the devil is to manipulate and take advantage of people through fear. Whenever you make a decision in life based on fear, you are headed the wrong direction. If we have made a decision based on being afraid, then we have accepted a lie from the father of lies himself. Jesus said in Luke 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

We are to walk in the fear of the Lord, which means to have an awe and reverence for God. But to make choices in life because you are afraid of sickness, disease, or things in this world based on fear means you have believed a lie. Knowing the Truth will set you free from making decisions based on fear that will only lead you into bondage. Satan wants to control your life, and when we choose lies over the Truth, we are following the way of fear.

God’s Word tells us that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. This greater One who lives in you is greater than anything you will face in life. To not give in to the lies we must base what we believe on the Truth of God’s Word. Knowing the Truth will set you free from the lies of satan. Making choices based on fear will always lead to bondage, but making choices based on the Truth will liberate you from this liar and his deceptive ways.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

1 Timothy 1:19
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.

As a believer, a key to living a victorious life is clinging to our faith in Christ Jesus. When we do so we are walking by faith (what God has said), and not by sight (what we see in the natural), believing in what Christ has done for us. If we lose our confidence in God through sinful actions as 1 John 3:21 teaches, this will undermine our faith walk. One of the things that helps us to know when we are doing so is our conscience. Deliberately ignoring this voice can shipwreck our faith.

When a ship became shipwrecked in the days of the Bible, it was usually because the ship had run aground on a sand bar or was sunk because it ran into rocks under the surface. In either case that ship is going nowhere. This is what can happen to a believer’s faith if they do not pay attention to their conscience. The conscience is the voice of our spirit man within (Romans 9:1). If we reject the voice of our spirit, we to can shipwreck our faith, causing it to go nowhere.

The conscience or voice of our spirit is where we learn to follow the guidance of our spirit man, which when born again will lead us in line with the Word of God. When we ignore our conscience, we can get out line with the Word. Our conscience will reveal when we have missed it with God, and if we listen and repent, we maintain our confidence toward God and our faith remains active. Listen closely to your conscience so that you do not shipwreck your faith.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Hebrews 11:39
All these people were known for their faith,…

All of these people spoken of in Hebrews 11 were known for their faith in God because they walked by faith and not by sight, putting their complete trust in Him, and so can we. In the verses that follow the above scripture in Hebrews 12:1-3, we find some key nuggets of truth that will help us in our faith walk so that we can be known for our faith, our complete trust in God. Let’s look at them together.

We must lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us. The weight referred to is anything that is keeping us from our walk with God. Anything that keeps you from knowing God better is hindering you from putting your trust in Him. We also need to lay aside sinful acts that will deceive us and as 1 John 3:21 tells us, sin will hinder our confidence in God. We must also have endurance to live by faith, simply meaning we don’t back down, nor do we ever stop trusting and believing our God.

Next, we are told to look unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. This statement in the original language means we give Him our undivided attention. Jesus is the Word (John 1:14), so we never take our eyes off of what God’s Word says. In doing so we are only considering Him, the Word of God, not our circumstances. Faith never takes its focus off of what God has said. So, learn to apply these truths in your daily life, and you to can be known for your faith in God.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Matthew 8:17
This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.”

Jesus at Calvary carried away sickness and disease for us all. The prophecy of Isaiah 53:4-5 has been fulfilled. All we have to do is receive by faith in our hearts what He has already done for us. Healing comes from the Spirit of God, and it manifests in the physical body. Healing is a part of the salvation package purchased for us, for by the stripes He bore in His body, we are healed.

Acts 10:38 reveals that healing is for everyone as Jesus Himself was anointed by God and went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Many often question if it is God’s will to heal them, but Jesus proved it is His will for us to be healed, for no one who ever came to Jesus for healing was ever turned away.

Take the scriptures that reveal healing in the Bible and meditate on them until they become real to your inner man, your spirit. As you continually declare those verses to yourself faith will come, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by God’s Word. Scripture reveals to us in Proverbs 4:22 that God’s Word is a medicine to all our flesh. Keep taking His medicine by declaring His Word on healing over yourself, and you can receive what He has already done. Here is a great resource for healing: https://cffchurch.com/healing.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

John 16:33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Because of the fall of man, we will in this life face times of trouble for satan the god of this worlds system is is out to kill, steal, and destroy. But Jesus has defeated him for us. As 1 John 5:4 tells us the way we obtain victory over the evil of this world is by our faith. If we learn to develop the faith we have been given, we cannot be defeated. Let’s look at the key elements to the God kind of faith.

1. Faith is present tense. Faith sees what God has said as already ours (Heb. 11:1).
2. Faith is evidence of what we hope for. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word, so God’s Word is our evidence of what belongs to us (Heb. 11:1, Rom. 10:17).
3. Faith does not look at what is seen in the natural, but looks at what God has said (2 Cor. 4:18).
4. Faith believes in the heart and speaks God’s Word as already so (2 Cor. 4:13, Rom. 4:17).
5. Faith has corresponding action for without it, faith is dead (James 2:26).
6. Faith works through love (Gal. 5:6).
7. Our faith is in God, and our faith is based on His Word.

Develop a clear understanding of the God kind of faith and continually feed on God’s Word, and you can walk in the overcoming victory Jesus has already won for us.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Hosea 6:6
I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices.
I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings.

In Mathew 9:13 Jesus quoted this verse above from Hosea and then said to go and learn what this means. The key word to this entire verse that the Lord wants us to understand is the word loyalty. The word loyalty here refers to a steadfast love. It is an adherence to another from the heart. In other words, because of one’s devoted love for God, they will be completely loyal. This is what God wants from us.

Notice it says He wants our loyalty, not our sacrifices. If you have a true loyalty to God, a steadfast love for Him, then going to God’s house to worship and serve Him, sharing the gospel, and giving to the work of the Lord is not a sacrifice to you. Many feel that they have to “sacrifice” their time and money for God, but that is not what God wants. Our Father wants you to want to do these things because of a steadfast love for Him.

What does this steadfast love, this loyalty lead to? He tells us in the above verse, that we may know Him. Sadly, many Christians know about God, but do not intimately know God. Why? No loyalty. When the basic things scripture teaches us that should be a part of our lifestyle as a believer become a sacrifice to you, you have left your first love. Scripture teaches us in the last days the love of many will grow cold. If this is true for you repent and renew your love for God, or you will drift further away from really knowing Him.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

John 15:9
I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [continue in His love with Me].

The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit when we got born again. To walk in His love is simply a choice we make. The love of God is not a feeling, but a spiritual fruit that will change one’s feelings. Love is seen in what you do, not how you feel about someone. The God kind of love is not interested in what I can get, but what I can give. It’s focus is not on self but on others.

Galatians chapter 5 verses 22-23 tell us the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits are a part of every born-again believer. It is the fruit of our new spirit man. A key to walking in the fruit of the spirit begins with love. When you walk in love you will walk in the remaining fruit of the spirit. You cannot walk in God’s love and not experience joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. The rest of the fruit are a result of love.

So to abide in love there are some things we must do. First, act upon God’s love. Love requires us to treat others just as you want to be treated no matter how you feel. The love of God is not a feeling, but a fruit of the new you. Secondly, God is love, and when we take time to fellowship with God, He rubs off on us. So, make the choice to act on God’s love instead of your feelings, and stay in close fellowship with God. You will experience a much better life by abiding in God’s love.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

John 15:7
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

This is one of the most powerful truths in the Bible. Think about what Jesus said here. To abide means to be one with. We abide in Jesus when we become born again and take the time to walk with Him, staying in close fellowship with the Lord. This is an often overlooked key to faith, diligently seeking Him (Hebrews 11:6). Our faith is not in the Word, it is based on the Word, but our faith is in the One who spoke that Word.

The Word abiding in you means that Word has become one with your heart. This is a vital key for us to see this verse of scripture work for us. Many may have head knowledge of God’s Word, but that is not the same as His Word coming alive within your heart. Until it does, it will not have the power to produce through us what God has said. For that Word to come alive in us, we need to take the time to meditate in and upon His Word.

To do this you must give the Word of God your full attention as if Jesus was the One speaking to you. Beyond hearing the Word preached in church, you need to read God’s Word, seeing that Word as a reality in your life. You must learn to accept what God’s Word says above all else, making His Word the priority in your life. When you take the time to focus your attention on God’s Word, turning away from other distractions, His Word becomes alive in you, and you can ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas