In this piece, we will be sharing God's word together, and we will be looking at a very interesting topic. We'll be discussing on the subject of faith, but we'll be looking at a dimension of faith that you and I must come into. So, we'll be looking at ‘the consummation of faith’.
Now, that word consummation; is a word that has a deep meaning. So, I'm going to give us two meanings of the word consummation, and two of them are relevant for our discussion as the Holy Spirit leads us. Consummation is the point at which something is complete or finalized. So, when you say something is consummated, you are saying that; that thing has gotten to a point where it has been completed or finalized. So, for example, if we say; we have consummated this meeting, what we are saying is that this meeting has been completed. Another thing we're saying is that this meeting has been finalized.
So, what we are looking at is; what is the completion of faith? Another word you can use to describe it is what finalizes your faith? At what point do you get to, as a believer and you know that your faith has been completed? Or your faith has been finalized? That is some of the conversation that the Holy Spirit wants to have with us.
Another meaning of the word consummation is the action of making a marriage or relationship complete. Oftentimes, the word consummation is used in marital terms. So, when they say a marriage as being consummated, it means that the action has been taken to make that marriage complete, and usually it is by having sexual intercourse, that's for marriage.
Now, why is this important? Until a marriage is consummated, that marriage cannot start fulfilling or arriving at what God wants it to arrive at. Until a relationship is consummated, it does not arrive; it does not start doing the things that God wants it to do. The same thing with your life and my life; if our faith is not consummated, our faith cannot work. We can be trying; we can be going up and down and be saying I have faith and be confessing; if our faith has not been consummated our faith cannot work. So that's why I gave us those meaning of consummated.
Now let's go to the Bible. John chapter 15:1-7. Now, from this Scripture, we're going to be looking at how Jesus described the consummation of faith. John chapter 15:1-7, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (Another word for vinedresser is farmer. My Father is the farmer; He is the one that takes care of the vine. The vine is like a farm; where grapes are planted is called a vine; sometimes it is called grapevine.) It says;
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Now, what is Jesus saying to us in John chapter 15? He said, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you don't abide in Me, you cannot bear fruit. What does He mean? Jesus is saying, remain in Me. What does abide mean? Abide means dwell with Me. What does abide mean? He says, live with Me, make your home with Me and I will also remain in you. Now, look at that statement; come and dwell in Me and I will also dwell in you. Does He not presuppose that when we talk about our faith, it is a two-way traffic? Christ must dwell in you and you must dwell in Christ.
When you want to look at a marriage that is working, you look at them and say these people are into each other. What does it mean? It means their marriage is working; the two of them have become one flesh: they have been consummated. So, for our faith to work, there is a precondition. And that's what Jesus is opening us to in John chapter 15, you must be in Christ and Christ must be in you. We must stop this gospel that say, don't worry, Christ is in me, I have received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, is Jesus found in you? Are you found in Jesus?
That's why Apostle Paul said, put on Christ. In your faith work, it is not enough to say yes, I am born again; I've accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Have you put on Christ? Because, haven put on Christ, is when your faith becomes consummated. That's when your faith becomes complete. The consummated there means that your faith is complete. Why do we have little faith? Why would Jesus’ talk about little faith, it is because that faith is not complete.
When something is little, it means it is not enough. What are the things that make our faith not enough? The summary of it is what Jesus said in verse four. “Abide in Me and I in you”, not or. Abide in Me and; when you see and, it means step one plus step two, it is not step one or step two; that if I abide in Jesus, it is enough: it is not enough. You must fulfill the other condition which is the and. Abide in Me and I in you; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. Now, what fruit are we talking about? We are talking about the fruits of your faith.
The Bible says that those that come to God must believe that He is. The Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith. When something is impossible, it means there is no road there; it can't work. So, if your faith is not producing; your faith is not working. If your faith is not showing you result, your faith is not working. And that's why we're looking at everything about this Kingdom of God; this Kingdom of Christ is centered on faith. So, if your faith is not working, your belief is not working; your life will not work in this kingdom. In the Kingdom of Christ, everything is by faith.
So, verse 4, He said, remain in Me and I will remain in you; and. In this message, if you do not hear anything; here this, remain in Me and I will remain in you, just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you bear fruit; producing evidence of your faith. You cannot produce the evidence of your faith without Christ Jesus.
The Scriptures said that even demons believe in God. Have we read that in our Bible? They believe in God! But does it produce? No! That's why the Bible says faith without works is dead. You think the devil does not know God exist? The devil knows that there is God. If you go to Job chapter one, the Bible says that when the sons of God presented themselves before God, Satan also came. So, if he did not believe in God, He will not come. He was an angel of God.
If you go to the book of Ezekiel, and you read about Lucifer, how he started, the Bible described him as one of those Archangels that had a serious responsibility; created in beauty, to worship God. But, does the belief of Satan have any evidence? Do you see anything in the life of Satan that shows God? No! And that's why we're talking about this; that it is not enough to say and carry cross on your neck and put it in your house and put Bible under your pillow: I believe in the Lord Jesus, I am a believer, I walk with the Lord; in fact, any time you pass and somebody pass beside you, you say bless you; it's not enough.
Jesus said, I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. Evidence of your faith; unless you abide in Me, unless you are in life union with Jesus. Without Jesus, there's no evidence of your faith. Without Jesus, your faith is not complete. Without Jesus in you and you in Jesus, your faith is not complete. I know they preached one moving message one day, and you came out and give your life to Christ and you cried throughout that day; it is not enough. That is the beginning of the journey. You must now be found in Christ and Christ must be found in you.
So, very quickly, we want to learn on how we can complete our faith. How can our faith be finalized; how can our faith be consummated. Our faith is consummated in Christ. That's the first thing we want to establish, our faith becomes complete in Christ. How? From verse 4 of John chapter 15, abide in Me and I in you; that is how our faith becomes complete.
So, when Christ is in you and you are in Christ, you will have what we call an intimate-organic relationship. What you will have when Christ is in you and you are in Christ, is an intimate relationship; organic relationship, not the one that they use fertilizer for. Relationship that is genuine; pure. That when you come, you're not coming to Jesus just to get things from Jesus, you're not just coming to Jesus to marry a wife or to get a husband; you are having intimate-organic relationship that is premised on your love for Him. That's what happens when your faith is consummated in Christ.
The Bible says, looking unto Jesus. When He abides in you and you abide in Him, you will look unto Jesus. You will not look elsewhere; you will look unto Jesus. When people are saying, this woman what is happening? In fact, these are the three ways to go about these things; but you are looking unto Jesus.
Just has that song says, He becomes your way maker, your miracle worker, your promise keeper, and your light in the darkness. You have an intimate-organic relationship. You don't need people to tell you who Jesus is, you know Him. You don't need people to cajole you, you know Him.
So, we're going to look at seven (7) ways our faith gets consummated in Christ. How do we build an intimate-organic relationship with Jesus? You have been hearing Jesus, and all that you know about Jesus is that He is coming soon and He never came. There is more to Jesus than that. What are the seven ways in which you can have an intimate-organic relationship with Jesus; that you can be like the five wise virgins waiting for the bridegroom and you are not tired of waiting? You are waiting with extra oil? How can this become possible in our lives?
Number One: Obedience. let’s go to John chapter 15:10. It says; “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.” How do we build an intimate-organic relationship with Jesus? How do we consummate our faith in Jesus? It is by obedience, keep His commandments. What does this mean? I want us to see Romans chapter 10:17. We're going to spend a lot of time here because this is like the crux of the matter, while others are expressions of it. Romans chapter 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.
So, then faith comes by hearing, how does faith come? It comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When you hear the word of God, what do you do? Faith comes by hearing; faith has come but how does faith get consummated? How does that faith that you have heard be complete?
I want to show us a Scripture in James chapter 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. Faith comes by hearing, but gets consummated by doing. Romans chapter 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” But faith gets consummated by doing; obedience! But be doers of the word and not hearers alone, deceiving yourselves. Many of us have heard the word of God. How many of us are doing it? The reason our faith is not working, the reason our faith is not complete, the reason our faith is not finalized is because we are hearing alone and deceiving ourselves; we are not doing; but be doers. Whatever you have heard in the Word of God, do it! Practice it!
The Bible said concerning Abraham, that Abraham believed God, he obeyed God. God said, Abraham, come out of your father's house, out of your king's men, and to a land that I will show you; then Abraham stayed, is that what the Bible says? Abraham said, God, you are not serious, is that what happened? No! The Bible says, and Abraham departed. Today, we call Abraham the father of faith because of obedience. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham’s faith got consummated by obedience. You have been saying, I've heard the word of God, they say faith comes by hearing, what are you doing? Everything you have heard, which one are you doing?
The Bible says none of the words of the Lord will fall to the ground. There will be a fulfillment of everything that God has said. If the word of God is not working for you, there's nothing wrong with the Word of God; there's something wrong with you. If the word of God is not working for me, there's nothing wrong with the Word of God; there's something wrong with me. The Bible says Jesus the same yesterday, today and forevermore.
Jesus met ten lepers, and said to them, He said, go and show yourselves to the priest. You know, some lepers will say, the leprosy we've been carrying for so long. If it is just to go and show, you think we will not be healed since? But did they argue? The Bible says, as they were on their way, they noticed they were cleansed. And one of them returned and said, you said we should go and we went. And as we're going, this happened, I'm coming back to say thank You and that one became whole.
You know the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, but which one is applicable to you? Which one are you doing? Which one is at work in your life? Believers struggle, because we don't do what God has asked us to do. James 1:22, but be doers. Be doers!! Abraham was a doer; Jesus was a doer. The Bible says and Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, did He stay back? No! He followed the direction of the Holy Spirit; obedience!
The Bible says obedience is better than sacrifice, don’t sacrifice and go to the mountain and be praying, God have you forgotten me, Lord, look at me, do it for me Lord; and you spend three days on the mountain you have sacrificed. Obedience is better than sacrifice. The last thing God asked you to do? Did you, do it? That instruction to fast and pray, did you obey it? That instruction to study the book of Hebrews, did you obey it? That's why our faith does not get consummated. We start the journey of faith but we don't complete it.
God said to Abraham, take your son; that Isaac that you waited 25 years for, take that son that you love, go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him for Me. Did Abraham wait? Was he negotiating with God? He took the son; he didn’t say God; why not give me a ram instead? You know he would have been wasting time because the ram was already locked in the tickets.
When the brook dried up for Elijah; He was at the brook Cherith, the raven was coming to give him meat and he was drinking from the brook and the brook dried up. Was Elijah crying there? Oh God, You sent me to the brook and it dried up. Why? Why me Lord? The reason many of us suck and keep complaining to God is because we have not consummated our faith. God told Elijah, He said the brook has dried up and I'm not going to refill the brook.
Some of us want God to refill the brook; that God, can’t you just send water from heaven and let this brook come back again. Not knowing, there's a next instruction for the next level. And God said, Elijah, stand up! Go to Zarephath, for I have commanded a widow to feed you there. And for some of us, when we get to those kinds of situations; we say there must be a very wealthy person God is directing me to. When Elijah got there, the widow was gathering the sticks that she wants to use to prepare the last meal for herself and her son. In fact, she had resigned to fate that we will die after this last meal, because nothing to sustain them again; that was the kind of provision God provided. And in the midst of that, Elijah's obedience consummated his faith. He got to Zarephath, met the widow and commanded the widow according to the Word of God. And was that the last meal for the widow? No! Obedience is what consummates our faith.
Jesus believed God to the point the Bible says even though He was a Son, He learnt obedience by the things He suffered. We don’t want to suffer because some of the obedience will require suffering. So, we just say no, God can't give me for suffering. God cannot allow me suffer. Jesus, the Bible says He learnt obedience through the things He suffered. And now the Bible says He has been given a name that is above every other name. Now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us.
Act on what you hear. You must be able to respond. Your act must respond to the Word of God. When the utterance of God comes forth to you; respond! Faith is your response to the Word of God. Obedience is how you respond to the Word of God. And Abraham departed; obedience! And Abraham took the son while it was still night, early; he took the son. He said, boy, come; we're going to offer sacrifice, and off they went. And when they got there, they realized a ram was already waiting at the place of obedience. At the mountain of need, God will provide. Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Number Two: Being in the Spirit. 11 Corinthians chapter 10:3-6, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
The second way in which our faith can get consummated in Christ is being in the Spirit. Bible says, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Now, the reason I read that Scripture in Second Corinthians chapter 10:3-6, he said, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, and one of the weapons of our warfare is the shield of faith. The Bible says the word of God is the sword of the Spirit. So, how do you consummate your faith? It is by using the sword of the Spirit and you cannot use it in the flesh; you use it in the Spirit.
I want to show us another Scripture in Galatians chapter 5:24-26, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
And those who are Christ's have crucified, not will crucify. Those who are Christ's; who are those that are Christ? John chapter 15:4, abide in Me and I in you. Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also do what? Walk in the Spirit. So, how do we consummate our faith in Jesus? We are to walk in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit; life is spiritual!
Don't look at somebody and say this one, in fact; I don’t even know. I just don't know why; I just don't like him. The Bible says, test all spirits and know that which is of God. Your faith cannot be consummated in the flesh. Your faith is spiritual, it must be consummated spiritually; you must become a man and a woman of the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. The way Christ will abide in you; He is not going to abide in you physically, He is going to abide in you spiritually. So, you must be a man of the Spirit; you must be a woman of the Spirit. Be in the Spirit!
When things are flying around, don't be carried away. I will give us an example, in Revelation chapter one, I want to show us an example of John the Beloved. Revelation chapter 1:9, “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos; now, when you hear he was on the island called Patmos; don’t think it was a resort, it is not like he went on vacation, it is not like he went on holiday. That island called Patmos was a prison. And he said, I was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, a man was in the prison and he was in the Spirit; are we in the prison? Are we in any physical prison? Then we must be in the Spirit.
The Book of Revelation was delivered to us in the Spirit of a man that was in a prison. Most of the Gospels that Apostle Paul wrote, he wrote them in chains. What are we doing with our liberty? What are we doing with our freedom? Our faith gets consummated in the Spirit. You cannot say you believe in God, and you're walking with God in the flesh. The Bible says the flesh cannot please God. The opposite of being spiritual is being carnal. The Bible says being carnally minded is death; to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The faith that you have in Christ Jesus, will deliver to you; life and peace if you are spiritually minded. If we refuse to be spiritually minded, nothing can come from God to us in the flesh. Things that come to us, must come to us spiritually; that is the medium. So, we must be in the Spirit.
See what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John chapter 16:14, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you”. Another translation said He will take of what is Mine and show it to you. Who does that? The Holy Spirit. If you are not connected to the Holy Spirit, you cannot share of what belongs to Jesus.
Everything that Jesus died for on the cross, the Bible says that worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory, power, honor, blessing, might, wisdom, all of those things that He received for us; you cannot benefit of it, if you are not in the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that takes of what is Jesus and disclose it to us.
So, your faith gets consummated in the Spirit. God said you will be the head and not the tail, not in the flesh; it is not for you to go and climb one high building and say that is where I will be living, I am the head and not the tail; it is not like that, it is spiritually delivered. He said, He has given us all things that pertain to life and to godliness; it is delivered in the Spirit. So, if you are not in the Spirit, you cannot receive. Be in the Spirit.
Number Three: Love. 11 Corinthians chapter 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” Now, when we looked at the last point, we looked at being in the Spirit. Being in the Spirit is allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. When the Holy Spirit dwells in you, then you are able to enjoy and understand and comprehend the love of the Father.
So, number three point is love. Our faith gets consummated in love. He said the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God; without the love of God, nothing comes to us. John chapter 3:16, the Bible says, for God so loved the world, that He gave; without the love of God, nothing is given. So, same thing spiritually, nothing is given; if it is not given in love. Nothing is received, if it is not received in love. So, the love of God is the basis on which our faith is consummated. If you don't understand the love of God, you will not be able to enjoy your faith, because you will ask, on what basis do you think that God will give you the nations? God said, ask of Me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession and you are looking at yourself from your local government and the state you are from, and you know the family you came from in your local government and you know the area that your village is; that if they are going to draw Nigeria map, it is difficult to locate your village and you are looking at yourself; how can God give me the nations? You cannot understand it if you do not understand the love of God.
The love of God is the basis of which we consummate our love. When God said; He said, I will make you a leader of leaders and you're looking at yourself; a leader of leaders, how? You see, the reason you are struggling with that thought is because you don't understand the love of God. Apostle Paul was speaking and he got to a point; it looked as if we are doomed as a people. He said but, thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; how He has loved us. O’ what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. Who are you that you’ll be a sibling to Jesus? Where's your father's house? To start with, you're not even a Jew. You're not even under the covenant of Abraham, but by the love of God, you have been adopted.
So, whatever belongs to Jesus, you can enjoy because of the love of God. So, when God is speaking to you; He's not speaking to you over your head, God is speaking to you in the abundance of His love for you. So, you don't feel as if you are unworthy. You don't feel small. You don't feel unqualified.
What qualifies you for what God has for you; is His love. How much do you think we're going to pay for us to be able to receive the blood of Jesus? Imagine if the blood of Jesus is being sold in stores; can you afford it? Can I afford it? We can't. That means, Jesus would have been for the rich. Jesus would have been for the kings and the princes. Maybe Jesus would have been for the Arab Princes, where there's so much oil but He is for all because of love. Love delivers us priceless gifts. And that's why for you to understand faith, you must understand love.
I want to show us a Scripture, 1 Corinthians chapter 1:9, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is faithful! God is love! The faithfulness of God; is the love of God. The love of God does not change. That's why many times the devil lies to us and keeps us in condemnation. The way you're behaving now, God will not like you again. And that's why Jesus told the parable of the lost son. When that boy came, he said, father, give me all that falls to me; I'm going and he left. As human, if it was you that your son did that to, will you ever welcome him into that house again?
The Bible says that when the boy was coming back, the father did not stay inside the house, and he didn’t sit in the sitting room; he stayed outside. He was watching him afar off; that means the father had been expecting him. Expectation does not keep you in your seat. It is expectation that makes you have that posture of the father; that you are standing and waiting eagerly. And immediately the boy came; he instructed his servants, give him a new rope, and all. Was the boy qualified for it? Was he deserving of it? That's the same way, you and I, are not deserving; but the love of God made us deserving of all.
The Bible says His love is beyond our understanding. The way the love of God is, we can’t fashion it out. David got to a point and he heard, what is man that You are mindful of him? He was hearing conversations in the Spirit. What is man that You are mindful of him? These people are dirty and filthy. What is man that You are mindful of him? Nor the son of man that You visit him; that statement was out of irritation. If you read it well, you will see the tone of the speaker; the speaker was irritated. What is man? God, we know You: the 24 elders, they look at You minute by minute and they bow. They see another dimension of You and they bow. What is man?
The love of God is beyond our understanding and that's why for your faith to be consummated, you must understand that love. You must understand that God loves you; He said I know the thought that I have towards you says the Lord; they are thought of good and not of evil, to give you a future and hope: but He will still chastise you. It is the son that the Father loves that He chastises, but He loves us. How great the love of God is.
Galatians chapter 5:6. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” Faith must work through love, that's how we get consummated. That is how your faith gets complete; faith walking through love. Not that: God, that which You told me yesterday, how will these things be? God, I don’t understand it, let’s leave it and talk about present matters. How am I going to eat tomorrow? How am I going to take my children to school? Those things you are telling me; God, I know you are powerful, but let's start from my level. God will never descend to our level; He will rather bring you up to His level, and what brings us to the level of God is love.
Jonah could not understand how God will send him to Nineveh and still love the people that He was complaining about. Just now You said go to Nineveh, go and cry against that city, their iniquities have got to Me and I'm going to destroy them. Jonah said, God we've been on this route before. You see this Your passion, before I get there; You would have forgiven them. I'm not going, I'm going to Tarshish; he could not comprehend the love of God, and God showed him. The story of Jonah was intentionally added to the Bible so that we would understand that God is the Almighty. He does as He pleases.
When Jonah was going, he thought he has escaped and God said okay I'll show you; there is nowhere you will go, My eyes is roaming to and fro the earth. So, I don't know where you are now, you're thinking; you have hidden from God.
God located Jonah in the boat and created a scene and made sure they caught him; and then he told them to throw him out and they did. And God said you're not going to die and He sent the fish to swallow him up and he was there three days. And when he got there, what he feared still happened and he became angry. The Bible made us understand that Jonah really wanted to see what God will do. The Bible says it was supposed to be a journey of three days and Jonah made sure he got there the same day. And God in His mercy forgave them but Jonah could not understand it.
God said to him, Jonah, see how these people have repented. See how their king has turn His garment, put on sack cloth and even their animals are fasting. Will I look at these people with their repentance and now still do what I have proposed to do? Many of us as believers don't understand the love of God. We look at hired-killers, assassins, and Boko Haram and we say God just destroyed them. That's why you pray for your enemies to die and they don't die, instead they live long and they still call you and then you are angry. Why? You don't understand the love of God. There's un-forgiveness, there's bitterness in your heart; that your auntie, your uncle, your brother, and that your sister that did something to you; you cannot forgive because you don't understand the love of God.
If we understand the love of God, we will know that there is no human being we cannot forgive; if God can forgive us. And that's why when Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray; He said forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. As we; that means they are linked. Your faith is not consummated if you are not working in love. Your faith is not consummated if you don't understand the love of God.
Number Four: Unity. We consummate our faith in unity. Philippians chapter 2:1-2, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Unity talks about one mind, and same mind. Unity consummate faith; the Bible says, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, one mind. Who did not count it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. One mind! The unity of faith.
Ephesians chapter 4:13 says; “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. We must come to unity. Now, this is where unity starts; unity with yourselves. Your faith cannot be consummated when your body is betraying your soul, and your soul is betraying your spirit.
In Genesis, when they were building the Tower of Babel, God said, for the people are one, and there is nothing that they had proposed to do, that will be impossible for them. God said it. The people are one; so, it starts with us. Number one, for your faith to work, for your faith to be completed; you yourself must be united: meaning, your spirit, your soul, and your body must be one. What do I mean? When God gives you an instruction to fast, don't wake up in the morning and say, my stomach is just turning me somehow; I don't think I'll be able to fast today. In this case, your body and your spirit; they are not one. There must be agreement within your members.
I am creating time out to pray, and you are praying without pressing your phone. You are praying without looking and counting the ceiling. There must be agreement. If there is no unity, there can’t be faith; your faith can’t be complete. The Bible made us to understand that when Hannah was praying; to tell you the kind of unity she had within her members, Eli came in and said this woman must be drunk, because the way she was praying, there was an agreement between her body, her soul and her spirit.
As a people; as the body of Christ, for our faith to be finalized and be completed, we must agree. The Bible says where two or more agree concerning a matter…… Agreement is unity. In your family, you can't be praying for something and your wife does not support it: that prayer will not work. There must be unity. You can’t say God, forget about the faith of my wife and focus on me; you are deceiving yourself. We must be one. And that's why Jesus, when He was praying for His disciples He prayed for unity. Father, make them one, as We are one. But that unity starts with us; your body, your soul and your spirit.
You want to know God, you must agree; because knowing God will require you to fast, knowing God will require time, and you must give that time. You can't give the time for knowing God and be watching TV. You can't give that for social media; we must create time, that’s where it talks about unity. There must be one mind, see what Apostle Paul said, one mind, one accord. Oneness of faith is important. The example I am going to give about the unity of faith is the early church; and the people became one that nobody lacked among them. Why? This is as a result of unity among them; no wonder there was increase in the church.
Number Five: Our knowledge of the Son of God. Ephesians 4:13 says, “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” You cannot say you have faith and you don't know. What's your faith built on? The Bible says faith without works is dead. I have faith for healing, on what basis? Because there is a Balm in Gilead; Jesus is the great physician, by His stripes, I am healed: that's the basis. You can’t just say I have faith, Jesus will heal him; on what basis? What is the knowledge of Jesus that you know, that makes you know that He will heal you?
When blind Bartimaeus was crying out to Jesus, what did he say? Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. There's an understanding he had, and there was a knowledge he had. That statement showed knowledge, and Jesus turned and had mercy on him. But many of us, we pray without knowledge, we say; we have faith, but no knowledge. Why should God make you wise? Why should God make you rich? Why should God connect you or make you influential? Do you have the knowledge? It is on that; your faith must be built.
Philippians 3:7-10, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” My faith is consummated when I know Him. My faith is complete when I know Him, and my faith is finalized when I know Him.
Number Six: Prayers. Romans chapter 8:26, “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”. The Spirit Himself! How? Intercession talks about prayers; our faith gets consummated in prayers. The Bible says, be anxious for nothing, but in all things, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known unto God. Jesus said ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you; for whosoever asks receives. So, if you don't ask, you don't receive. Whosoever seeks finds, and whosoever knocks, the door shall be opened. That's how we consummate our faith. Pray! Don’t say, I am not so much about the prayer person; I am about the word person, your faith can’t get consummated.
Number Seven: Worship. John chapter 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Worship is a must. Worship is not optional. You pray without worshiping, you have not still consummated your faith. Those that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Worship!
Jesus gave us an example of a woman; the Bible says and the woman came into a room where Jesus was, people have been there sitting and listening to Jesus before the woman came, and the woman came in with an alabaster box of oil and broke it at the feet of Jesus and was wiping it with her hair. And Jesus said something; He said wherever this gospel will be preached, this act of worship will always be spoken about. Meaning, it is important.
Worship is something we don't pay attention to when it comes to faith. Worship consummates our faith. The woman did not say anything, but her act of worship demonstrated her faith in Jesus. The woman did not say anything but everything she said, Jesus understood. Worship is the place where you come to when you don't have so much words but your act of worship, your spirit, and the purity of your thought is heard loudly by God. Faith is consummated in worship. That woman's faith was consummated; her faith was finalized in her worship. That act of worship cannot be forgotten.
