PASTOR DARRYL BAKER

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

1 Corinthians 11:28-29
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

When we receive communion scripture teaches us that if we do not rightly discern the Lord’s body, this is the reason why many are weak, sick, and some die early. When we rightly discern His body, we have properly judged ourselves. We discern the Lord’s body three ways.

1. Acknowledging the stripes of Jesus that paid for your bodily healing. With the stripes that wounded Him, we are healed and made whole. This is not a promise; it is a fact already established.
2. Do not speak evil of other believers for they are a part of the body. If we slander and gossip about other believers, we are speaking harm to ourselves.
3. Recognize who you are in Christ Jesus and do not belittle yourself, for you are His body whom He has purchased. When we do not recognize who we are in Christ, we will be hindered in receiving what we have in Christ.

So, if we want to walk in health and healing, we must learn to discern the Lord’s body. When we do, we can experience the benefit of what Jesus purchased for us through the blood He shed. Through the body that He gave for us He not only bore our sins, but He bore our sickness, disease, pain and suffering. Rightly discern the Lord’s body when receiving communion and you can receive what He has provided for you.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, …

Some of the final words Jesus spoke to His disciples before ascending into heaven are here in Matthew 28. Think of how important these words to His church are. He revealed two things in the above statement. He wants every believer to become a disciple, and to make disciples. You are not a disciple just because you are born again, you are a convert in Christ. A disciple is a Christ follower. Let’s look at what Jesus said makes you a disciple of Christ.

1. You become one with the Word of God. (John 8:31) – Jesus said if you abide in (become one with) His Word, you are a disciple indeed.
2. Jesus is your first love. (Luke 14:26) – Jesus said you cannot love anyone more than Him, or you cannot be His disciple.
3. You live to fulfill His will. (Luke 14:27) – Jesus said you must bear your cross to be a disciple. This is fulfilling His will for your life.
4. You are willing to forsake all. (Luke 14:33) – Jesus declared you must forsake all (give Him your complete loyalty) to be His disciple.
5. You bear much fruit. (John 15:8) – A disciple walks close with Jesus bearing much fruit.
6. You walk in God’s love. (John 13:35) – Jesus said all will know you are His disciples by the love you have for one another.

It is a privilege to be a disciple of Jesus, but you must have the “want to” in order to become one. Be a disciple and help make disciples. In doing so you will lead people to Christ and help them become a Christ follower, and there is no better way to live.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Colossians 3:1
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

All who are in Christ should change their focus in life. We should get our focus off of the world and the things of this world, and get focused on the realm of the spirit, putting our focus on God and the things of the spirit. Looking to God’s Word helps us change our view of life. Doing so will help us to see things from God’s perspective.

The key to getting this new view on life is to just accept God’s Word and don’t try to reason it out with your mind. God’s Word is Truth. The Bible does not say God’s Word is true, but Truth. You may see things in the natural that are true, but God’s Truth can change what is true in the natural if you will fully accept what it says, and do not question the Word of God.

Here is how you should approach the Word of God. If God’s Word says it, I believe it, and that settles it. Jesus declared that heaven and earth would pass away, but His Word would by no means pass away. So, look to the Word and accept what it says as the Truth. The Bible tells us that it is impossible for God to lie. So don’t question God’s Word, just believe what it says, and you can see life from a whole new perspective.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Colossians 2:13
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, …

Once we are born again, we no longer reside in death (separation from God) for Jesus has forgiven us of our sin by becoming sin for us (removing what stood between us and God). We have been made alive together with Jesus Christ. You are one spirit with Him. God told Adam if he sinned he would die. Before Adam sinned all that God had made was good. After he sinned evil entered into the world through the death that came from man’s sin.

Death (all that is not good) reigned in the earth and over man. Jesus has tasted death for all so that man could be restored to life by our union with Him, and now by faith in what Christ has done, we can reign in this life over death and all the evil that came as a result of that death. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Pro. 18:21). Remove the taste of death from your mouth by speaking words of life, declaring what you now have in Christ Jesus.

As a child of God death no longer has dominion over you. See yourself as one with Christ, victorious over death, and all the evil that came as a result of that death. For you have been delivered from death and have been made alive together with Christ. Speak in line with God’s Word, declaring who you now are in Christ, speak the Words of life for you have been made alive with Him.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas