Okay. All right. The recording is on. Welcome everybody to BC 311, our course on faith. And we're going to continue from where we paused last week. Let's take a moment to pray and then we'll get started. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this new day in our lives. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for the work of your spirit. And God, even today, as we spend time in your Word, we pray that everyone in the class are present here and those connected online will be nurtured in your truth, will be nurtured in the spirit, will be strengthened and God that each one of us will go from faith to faith. We will go from glory to glory in our walk with you. We thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Okay. Good morning. All right. So let me go ahead and share the class notes, lecture notes so that we could all follow together very quickly. Last week we covered chapter nine, just talking about what we need to do to nurture our faith and how do we nurture our faith in God. I'm just going to quickly take a few minutes to review. So we talked about the fact that the Apostle Paul, when he was writing to Thessalonians, he commended them for their faith, for their work of faith and yet he pointed out in 1 Thessalonians chapter three that he wanted to perfect what was lacking in their faith. So while they had faith, they were working in faith. They still needed to be perfected or matured or grow up in their faith. So we can see that. And then in the second episode, once again, 2 Thessalonians 1, he commends them that their faith is growing exceedingly. That's verse three. So our faith can grow. We don't have to stay where we are. So our faith can develop. So how do we do that? We just shared a few thoughts here. First, we nurture our faith with the Word of God. Keep feeding yourself with the Word of God. Go back to the Bible, open it, feed yourself with the Word. Meditate in God's Word. Sow the seed of God's Word in your heart. Secondly, you nurture your faith by being part of a community of faith. That means you be part of a fellowship. People of faith that they can encourage you together, be encouraged. And lastly, we nurture our faith with testimonies of faith to hear testimonies of the stories of people, what God has done in their lives. And that nurtures our faith. Amen. You all with me? Good morning, everyone. Still sleepy? Still awake? All right, now let's go forward to chapter or lesson number 10. In this lesson, what we want to talk about is how to have strong faith in God. Now, how can we develop strong faith in God? I just want to talk about, and the way I've broken this lesson down is there are certain foundational truths in the Word that we must be established in. That means these are truths that you must be really strong in. And you constantly go back, remind yourself about these truths. So five foundational truths. You need to be strong in that. Don't let anybody shake you or tell you otherwise. And then I also want to share four practices, four disciplines. What we must do to have strong faith in God. So it's like this. If a person wants to have a strong, healthy body, there are two things. One is he has to feed himself properly. You have to feed yourself. And you have to also exercise, like you do those exercises. So you need both, right? You need a good diet and you also need a good exercise plan. So it's like that. A good diet, foundational truths that you have to have in your life. Let me talk about spiritual things now, spiritual. And then practices, things that you keep doing all the time. You exercise, you practice, then it makes our faith strong. So let's talk about it today. What are the foundational truths that we must be established in? Number one, we have to be established in the integrity of God's words. That means you and I must settle in our hearts that the Bible is truths. God's word is truth. So John 17, 17, Jesus said, your word is truth. Be established in that. Divert is truth. That means it's in the Bible. I believe it. I'm not going to doubt it. Every promise I'm going to believe. I'm going to believe this word. God's word is eternal. God's word is forever settled. And so I am established. So we are established in the integrity of God's word. So that's very important, right? Because for us to have strong faith, you see, there will be many things that challenge us, situations, yeah, all kinds of things that challenge us.  Where should we go back? We should go back to the word of God. No, the Bible says this is God's word. God, I am settled in this word because you have spoken it. Right? So be established in the integrity of God's word. Secondly, we must be established in Christ's finished work on the cross.  You know what the cross is. What did Jesus do on the cross? And be established in that. That is Jesus finished the work. No questions. No more questions. And we have to be established in the finished work on the cross. So we know Jesus bore my sins. So I'm forgiven. Jesus took my sicknesses. So by his tribes, I have been healed. Jesus became a curse. So I am blessed. Jesus crushed the head of the serpent. So I have authority. I have victory over the enemy. Jesus broke the power of sin. So sin will not have dominion over me. Jesus established a new covenant by his blood. So I am in a covenant with God. Nothing can break that. Right? So you and I have to be established in the finished work of the cross. It's settled. It's done. Right? And that becomes the basis on which we can exercise faith. That because the work is done. You know, we are operating from a place of victory. The work is done. So we're coming from that. Right? So we're not trying to achieve victory. You're not trying to gain victory. The victory was obtained for us through Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross. Right? But we have to be established in the finished work and we operate from that. We operate on the basis of the finished work. You know, why can be, why is it that when we see sickness, we can say you can receive a healing because of the cross? Because by his stripes we were healed. Why is it that when some sinner comes, we can say you can be forgiven because Jesus paid for the sins? Right? That's how we can tell him with all assurance. We don't have to say, well, let me pray and see if it is God's will for you to be forgiven. There's no more need for prayer because it's already done. Right? We don't have to pray and see, is it God's will for you to have your sins forgiven? No. Because on the cross, it is already paid for. It's over. Now, if somebody comes in bondage to sin or some other problem, we don't have to say, let me pray and see if it is God's will for you to be delivered. That will be foolishness. Hey, deliverance already finished on the work was finished on the cross. Satan was already defeated on the cross. So now it is a matter of ministering that victory for that person into that person's life. The devil is an oppressor. He violates. He goes against what God has provided. And so we operate on that basis. No questions, no doubts. The work has been finished. And we're here to enforce the finished work of Christ on the cross in our own lives and as we minister to other people. Number three, we must be established in our identity in Christ. So you and I, we need to know for sure who we are in Christ. Know your identity. This is who I am in Christ and what God has said about you in Christ is truth. That's why we have one whole course, one full course on our identity in Christ, who we are in Christ. You're learning that. Right? So whole entire course. But because that is very important, you need to be established. And I think in your second year, you'll have an entire course on the cross. One full course, one full semester studying about the cross, a covenant cross and blood, trying to understand what Jesus did for us on the cross. Because it's very important. That is the basis for what we do. Right? So being established in the integrity of God's word, being established in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and being established in your identity. You know, James puts, it's not there here in the notes, but I'm just referencing it.   Don't forget what the word says. He says it's like a man who looks in the mirror and then he forgets what he looked like. He forgets his own identity. He looks in the mirror and then he goes, he forgets. Oh, this is what I look like. He forgets. So a believer who forgets the word of God is a forgetful hearer. He forgets his own identity. This is who I am in God. This is who I am in Christ, but we must be established in our identity in. This is who I really am.   So you operate out of that. Somebody comes and says, who are you? Then you'll say I'm so and so son, so and so daughter. From here I studied this, I studied that. Everything about our identity is usually based on some natural things. But really your identity is based on who you are in Christ. Who are you? I'm a son and a daughter of God. I'm part of God's family. God is my father. Jesus is my elder brother. The Holy Spirit is my comforter. He's my strengthener. I am the righteousness of God. I've been justified by faith. I have peace with God. I am more than a conqueror. I'm seated with Jesus in the heavenly places on the Father's right hand, on the highest throne in the universe. Satan is under my feet. All his demons are even lower than him under my feet. That's who I am. That's how we walk. We walk with that sense of confidence and authority. And when we know our identity in Christ, at any moment we can just step into faith. Faith will not be a problem. Because you're operating from who you are in Christ. Number four, we have to be established in the reality of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. So you must know the Holy Spirit is actually flowing through you. St John 738, Jesus said, out of your heart, that means out of your innermost person, your spirit will flow reverse of living water. That means out of you, what are those rivers of living water? It's talking about, it's a picture of the flow of the Holy Spirit, the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit flowing out through you. So you, we must be confident or we have this assurance in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is flowing through me. There are times I feel His presence. There are times I don't feel His presence. It's okay. He's still flowing. Whether I feel or not doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with feelings. Because this is from the Spirit. It's not from your emotions. Out of your spirit, out of your heart will flow the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. So you're confident, you're assured of the reality of this. So when you speak to people, when you minister to people, it's not just you, but the Holy Spirit through you. You're confident about that.  We are just earthen vessels, but the Holy Spirit is flowing. And you're confident, you're established in that. There is no doubt in your mind. Oh, will the Holy Spirit come today? Is He awake today? He hasn't left. He's in you. He is more ready than you are. So just confident about the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. And the fifth truth that we need to be established in is the authority of the name of Jesus, that name in the name of Jesus. You see, when Jesus said that you and I can use this name, when He said, use my name in my name, like Mark 16, 17 and 18, these signs will follow those who believe, believers, those who believe in Jesus. You're saying, in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take out serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they'll recover. So you're saying, those who believe in my name, they will use the name of Jesus. Now understand what it means to use the name of Jesus. What does it mean? You know, if, for example, if the chief minister or some important person said, go to those people and tell them, I sent you and tell them to do this, this, this. So you'll go very proudly, you'll go, hey, chief minister sent me, very proudly, chief minister sent me and do this, this, this. You're very confident. Why?   Otherwise, chief minister will get on their case, right? So that's in the natural. But in a much greater way, Jesus said that we who believe in him will use his name. That means you're going in his name. Jesus sent me. I am here on his behalf. I am standing as, when I'm standing here, it's as though he is standing here and I'm here to do what he would do if he was here present physically. That's what it means. When you say in Jesus name, it means you're representing him, you're standing there in his place to act on his behalf, to do what he would do if he was standing there himself. It is as good as Jesus standing there when you and I say in Jesus name. But then we have to have faith. Have faith in that name. Show you and I are convinced here. I am here in the name of Jesus. When I use the name of Jesus, it's as good as Jesus standing here and I'm expecting those same results. I'm expecting Jesus to do this work because he said, anything you ask in my name, I will do it. Or anything you command in my name, anything you demand in my name, anything you decree in my name, Jesus will do it. He will do it. So this is very, very important to be established in the authority of the name of Jesus. Now think about this. After his resurrection, Jesus said all authority, all authority in heaven and on earth is given to Jesus. That means Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. But on earth, that all authority has been vested or is being exercised or is being expressed through the believers. Because Jesus is physically in heaven. Jesus is in heaven. I shouldn't say physically, God of spirits, but what I mean is he has ascended and is seated at the Father's right hand. He is in heaven. But on earth, physically, it's the believer. And when the believer says in Jesus' name, that name carries all authority. All authority, that name. There's no greater authority than that name. It's all authority. So that's how, that's what it is to use the name of Jesus. And so we need to have faith in that. Now sadly, sometimes believers use the name of Jesus as some magic. They don't understand the spiritual significance. They're not looking at the fact that the name of Jesus has all the... It's more like a magic. Maybe it will work. If it doesn't work, okay, it doesn't matter. Like that. Oh, in the name of Jesus. Now if we use the name of Jesus as though it was like a good luck charm, some magic thing. No. We're not going to see any results. But when we use it or when we speak it because we believe in Jesus Christ, who he is, what his name carries, then we are going to see results. Amen. So these are the five things that has a believer. He must be established. Five truths. First, the integrity of the Word of God. Second, the finished work of Christ on the cross. Third, our identity in Christ. Fourth, the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. And fifth, the authority of the name of Jesus. You have to be so settled in this truth and then keep nurturing yourself because don't forget. See, we all tend to forget. I did it in first semester. First semester course. But the purpose is not to do a course. That's not why you're here. You're here to be established in the truth. So it's not about finishing one course on the Holy Spirit, one course on the name of Jesus and the authority of the believer, one course on identity. Oh, I finished the course. Yeah, you finished the course. But the purpose of the course is not for you to finish the course. The purpose of the course is for you to be established in that truth and for you to live by that truth the rest of your life. That's the purpose. That's why we're teaching you these things, right? We're not teaching you these things so you finish the course. That's not the point.  You have to live. So you can't say, oh, I did first semester course on faith. Finished. Forget about faith. Hey, you can't forget about faith. You have to live by faith forever as long as you're on earth. Once you get to heaven, you can forget about faith. You'll see everything. But as long as we are on the earth, we have to live by faith. So whatever you're learning now has to stay with you for the rest of your life. It has to be with you. All these truths because they make up the foundation for strong faith our identity in Christ the integrity of the Word of God the work of the Holy Spirit the finished work of Christ on the cross and the name of Jesus. These are very important. So you're going to be established on this over and over again. And then, okay, let me just pause here. See if there are any questions from online students. All right. Any questions from anyone online in our class today? Any questions? Everybody okay? All right. I was just looking at the chat. No questions. Fine. We're going to go forward. All right. Let's move on. So the first five things what we saw. I like our diet. You have to keep on feeding yourself. This is our spiritual diet. Keep on feeding yourself these five things the integrity of God's Word the finished work of Christ on the cross your identity in Christ the work of the Spirit the authority of Jesus now. You have to keep feeding and listen go back to the Bible and that's why we put all this as books so it's easy for you. You can take the book. We will get all these books printed resuming printing. So hopefully these books will all be come out in print. We'll have these copies so you can see, you know book on the name of Jesus. It's easy. You can just go through all the scriptures and feed yourself with the scriptures. Feed yourself. So that's one side that's your diet but then exercise what are the practices spiritually what are the disciplines what are the practices that will help develop strong faith. Number one is always declare God's Word now the word we will talk more about this later on but I'm just mentioning this here in Hebrews 10 23 the writer of Hebrews says that as whole fast whole firmly with a firm grip don't give up Confession of our hope or that word can also mean confidence or faith so you are confessing the word confess means to speak to declare it's something you say in agreement so the confession of your expectation the confession of your confidence of your faith without wavering don't waver sometimes don't waver firm hold fast to the confession of your faith because without wavering for he who promised is don't waver because he who promised is God who promised is faithful so don't waver don't waver hold firm to the confession of your faith so at all times when you speak the word confession means to say to declare when you speak speak your faith now I'm not saying that means you don't say that there is a problem if there is a problem here if there is not enough light you say hey I need some light whatever but while you recognize the situation you recognize there is a problem whatever over and above that I know there is a problem but I know what God has said my faith is not on the problem it is in the promise it's in what God has said so that's what I'm going to speak against the problem against that situation against that trouble against that challenge against that need so when we say always declare God's word I'm not saying don't recognize a problem a situation but having understood that there is a problem in that situation what do we do we speak God's word to the problem over the problem into the problem so the problem you are not the final word God's word is the final word my faith is in the word of God so I will declare God's word over and above the problem so this practice will help you walk in strong faith so you have to do this see the Bible says hold fast so if you are holding to it tightly it means there is never a time you are giving up there is never a time all the time you are holding fast to the confession of your faith because he who promised is faithful so holding fast holding fast also means it is an intentional thing it's an intentional purpose holding tight holding fast also means sometimes it's going to require some effort it's going to require I'm determined to hold fast to this promise because the one who made the promise is faithful there is no problem he will not fail his promise so I'm going to hold on to it tightly problems will come and go difficulties will come and go challenges will come and go situations will come and go I hold fast to the promise God said amen so that's important we are going to talk about these things how to do it we are giving us the outline number two for us to have strong faith it's always important to keep a clear conscience to keep a clear conscience it means that there should be nothing in our heart that is condemning us because if our heart condemn us person on 321 says we cannot have confidence in God that means we can't have confidence before God we cannot have confidence our confidence in God is going to be weak so there should not be anything in my heart that's condemning me or I just you know you did this you did that if my conscience is not clear then I cannot have confidence right? and so that's connected next verse talks about receiving from him whatever we ask receive from him because we keep his commandments so in order for me to have a heart that does not condemn me I must keep his commandments then I can have a clear conscience must do those things that are pleasing in his sight right? so if we make mistakes if we do something wrong immediately you say God I'm sorry and don't let it stay don't let it stay God I'm sorry I should not have said that I should not have done that that attitude was not right God that way I spoke was not right whatever you know we may sin and thought word or deed but God that is not right forgive me God clear conscience only then you can have confidence in God ok? so be very quick see we will make mistakes but be very quick to deal with it and we saw earlier in verse 119 that a good conscience is needed to maintain faith a good conscience is needed to maintain faith number 3 what practice must we have to develop strong faith number 3 is always exercise your faith so faith is like a muscle like we said earlier you have to keep exercising it keep using it then it will become stronger and stronger keep using it keep exercising anything you face your reaction must be ok I am going to deal with this by faith ok I will also do whatever I need to do in the natural to make sure you know I am living properly that's true but also want to address it by faith so in every situation our response must be I will handle this by faith I am a little responsible don't be foolish so always exercise your faith and that's important because the more you exercise your faith the stronger your faith will become number 4 always be motivated by love love is very powerful so you have to look into your heart why do I want to do something if I am motivated by love great because faith works through love faith works through so if you are motivated by love great but if we are motivated by pride, by jealousy by self by other wrong motivations faith will not work faith will not produce so faith works through love so always be motivated what's motivating me if it's the love of God go for it faith will work because faith works through love so what did we say for us to have strong faith just quickly review this lesson before I break for strong faith be established in these five important foundational truths and maintain these four practices speak your faith act your faith keep a clear conscience always walk in love speak your faith act your faith all the time keep a clear conscience and always operate in love then you and I we can develop strong faith strong let me just check any questions from our online students alright let's see now joel jachin joel has a question sometimes even when I keep speaking God's word in faith the problem keeps persisting at times it even increases from even unexpected sides I'm caught unaware I get discouraged and tried at times if I'm going in the right direction alright jachin I understand see so what jachin joel is sharing is sometimes we keep speaking the word of God and we don't see any immediate change in the situation in the matter sometimes it might be even getting worse or sometimes more problems are coming on the same thing from other sides which we didn't expect what should we do alright sometimes I'm getting discouraged and sometimes tired whether you're going in the right direction so this is where we have to learn to have faith through time this is called the endurance of faith we have a separate lesson on that but Hebrews chapter 6 in verse 12 says do not I'll just use a different word lazy or do not give up but follow those who through faith and endurance inherit the promise so Hebrews 6 12 follow those who through faith and endurance inherit the promise so how do you inherit the promise we must have faith and endurance another scripture Hebrews chapter 10 I'm answering a question I'm speaking to people here but I'm answering a question Hebrews 10 verse 35 another scripture the writer of Hebrews says do not cast away your confidence because you have need of patience that after you've done the will of God you might receive the promise notice what he's saying don't lose your confidence Hebrews 10 verse 35 because you need some patience you need some endurance after you've done the will of God that means what you're doing is the will of God but you need patience in order to receive the promise so what I would encourage you Justin is along with faith we need endurance or patience Hebrews 6 12 Hebrews 10 verse 35 you need endurance and it is through that endurance that even after we do the will of God we are going to receive the promise now you say why do I need endurance I wish everything was easy first the switch light comes on because the Bible says endurance produces character that's Romans chapter 5 verses 3 and 4 endurance produces character why is endurance important character comes through endurance so in our journey of faith God wants us to receive the promise but he also wants us to develop character so the double benefit you get the promise you also have character builds so that's the journey we are making so we don't give up that you do what you have to do now sometimes you may also only consider is there anything practical that you need to do like some practical steps concerning that matter you can think about it if there are practical things you need to do you can work on that as well alright let's see now there's another question from Chaya when we hold on to promise of God with hope and faith and don't give up those times we have to face people who also believe us and discourage us by telling us full and our faith they think foolishness how to deal with this situation okay so Chaya Paul is asking a question let's see when you are walking by faith there may be people who say you're foolish you're not doing what is right and all of that how do you deal with that situation so what I would say is one is we listen to these people to see if there is any useful thing that they are telling us so we don't want to cut people off from our lives sometimes people could be telling us things that will help us so we have to listen to people so you listen to them saying are they telling me something that is right maybe they are telling me something that I need to correct myself in and if they are giving something useful then we need to take it and we need to accept it and make whatever changes but if they are saying things that have no merit that are that are not really helping us but are actually opposite to the Word of God opposite to what God has spoken to us that's when we need to let me use the word you know cut off what they are saying I am just thinking of a couple of scriptures here Proverbs let me give you the exact words Proverbs I think it's 19 let me get there I can remember the words I just can't remember the reference the verse says sees my son to hear the instruction that call ok Proverbs 19 Proverbs 19 I am reading from the king James it says sees listening to instruction my son that will and you will stray from the words of knowledge so what it is saying is if we don't listen to instruction the right instruction we will wander away and go away from the truth from the words of knowledge so we must listen to instruction so that we can stay in the right path we can walk in the right path but at the same time we have to be careful what we hear and how we hear many times Jesus in his ministry he said be careful how you hear or what you listen to this is in Mark chapter 4 let me give you the exact verse Mark chapter 4 Mark 4 24 take heed what you hear with the same measure you use it will be measured to you and to you hear more will be given so say you know pay close attention to what you're listening and how you listen to so words are important you have to treat them based on the merit of what is being said if it's good instruction receive it if it's instruction that is causing us to go away from the words of knowledge then we reject that instruction so it really depends on what is being said and who is saying it if it's a discouragement to our faith then of course reject it if it's contrary to the word of God reject it if it's contrary to your faith then reject it but if it is giving you some wisdom if it's giving you some guidance if it's opening you up to do something better then of course receive it and you know make whatever changes okay so I hope that was helpful we will take a break now we'll come back we'll answer Krisha's question we'll also take any questions from the class and we will do that okay so let's go for a break we'll be back in 10 minutes thank you