God’s Spoken Ways Rev. Dr. Cecil E. Barry

What Is Faith – The issue is not do we have faith; we show faith every day. We have faith in the things of the world, in ourselves, in our knowledge, in others, and some of us even have faith in God.  The question is not do we have faith, the question is, what are we placing our faith in?  We will experience trouble when we misplace our faith in the wrong person or in the wrong thing. If our faith is wavering, all we do for God will be in vain. It’s not tithing God desires, but a faithful tither. It’s not suffering God seeks, but someone with the faith to suffer for God. It’s not trouble God is looking for, but faith that goes through a storm. Faith in God is not about us talking about faith, it is us demonstrating our faith is in God the Father and Christ Jesus alone.

Come As You Are – is a teaching about remembering how we came to Jesus. Many times, we get a little lost, we get caught up in religion and forget the condition we were in when we came to Jesus. We start believing we came to the Lord, already saved. We forget how bad things were when we came to the Lord. We have been saved and pulled out of darkness through God’s grace and mercy. We came with all our sickness, addiction, troubles, pain, and brokenness. We came as we were, and the Lord transformed our mind, body, and soul. All Christ wants from us, is for us to come as we are, without any religious traditions, and the Spirit of the Lord will teach us the ways of God. The Lord says, come to me, all you are weary, and I will give you rest.  

The Impossible – When we are young, we believe all things are possible for us, anything we put in our hearts and minds we can do, we can achieve it, it can come true. As we get older, we come to understand that some things are bigger than us and require help from others.  As we connect with Christ Jesus, and start to pattern our lives after him, we start to understand what is only possible with God. We come to understand even more that there are many things impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for God, all things are possible with the Lord. We must grow our faith so; it's not based on circumstances and situations in our lives. Our faith must mature, so whether in good times or bad, we believe all things are possible with God. In every situation, we believe, we have faith, that through Christ, we have eternal life with God, and he saves us from every situation in life, including death. Nothing is too hard for God, we must believe, we must have faith.  

Fully Tested – Not many of us like being tested. To show that we are competent in the things we speak of, sometimes we must go through a time of testing, where we show ourselves approved, in life and with God.  It’s one thing to say we know God’s Word, to speak God’s Word to others to encourage them and to correct and teach. It’s another for God to put us through a time of testing to show we are fully tested and humble, and we put into practice what he has taught us before we share it with others. No one likes to be tested, but through learning, applying, testing, enduring, and overcoming, we can grow and mature in our faith in God the Father and Christ Jesus. We ask God to test us, to correct our ways, so we show ourselves approved and can make it home, into God’s kingdom.

Arm Of God – Is there anything the Lord cannot do? Is the arm of the Lord too short to save? Is there anything we have done, if we repent, the Lord will not forgive, and restore us? Is there anything too hard for God? If we believe this is true, why are we still depending on ourselves and others to save us? Why do we live our lives as though the arm of the Lord is not strong enough to save us? As if there are places the arm of the Lord cannot reach. Nothing is hidden from God’s eyes; nothing is too broken that God cannot fix. We cannot save ourselves by taking up arms and living through falsehood. We must allow the truth and love of God to guide us, we must always live based on the Word of God, and not by what we believe. In the loving arms of Christ Jesus, we are protected from all harm, for this is a promise from God. The arm of the Lord is mighty to save, powerful to deliver, and abounding in love. Let us live under the loving arm of Jesus, every day, in all that we do, so God the Father and Christ Jesus receive all the glory and honor, and our lives are blessed by God.  

Anointing Power – As we continue our journey to reach the place of maturity that the Lord is calling us, a step we must take in our lives is to become anointed servants of God. Not many are willing to go this far in their faith because it means living a life totally devoted to God. Why is it important we receive an anointing from the Lord?  It is the anointing of God that allows those who are chosen to walk with God’s power and be protected from the devil’s schemes. God’s anointing keeps his servant focused on their godly purpose and allows them to walk in the power of God’s anointing.  Not so we gain riches for ourselves, but so we are changed and grow in the knowledge of God, and others come to know that the power of God is still at work in the world. The Lord chose us to be anointed servants of God, we must obey, so God’s power is manifested in the world.