Surviving the Test of Faith: Enjoying Your Salvation

“Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls –
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

“The God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills” (Habakkuk 3:17-19 NKJ).

It’s so easy to talk about faith, but in reality living by faith is different from what we hear and read from all quarters of faith teachers and even from the advocates of the so called hyper-faith teachings (if there’s really existing one). We can talk faith all day (24/7), but it won’t do us any good if we don’t have a “personal revelation and experience” of what faith is all about.

Faith is a personal or an individual experience. There is no such comparison for each of our faith’s experience. For example, the faith experience of a missionary to a remote poverty stricken third world country is obviously distinctive from the faith of a faith preacher who lives in Orange County of the sunny Southern California.

In the mission field, the demographics of faith are the manifestation of signs and wonders and miracles to win souls for Christ. It is the missionary’s heart to focus on conquering territories for Christ and the expansion of the Kingdom of God on earth with a voracious appetite of a pioneering spirit. The missionary mind set in the mission field is a non-stop aggressive assault against the stronghold of the devil, and to win every corners of the earth for Christ. A missionary have no time to think about what to wear on any given Sunday service. Who cares if he is not wearing an alligator leather shoes during his sermon? Didn’t you know that a Rolex watch loses its value in remote places that never yet heard the good news of Christ?

On the other hand, the faith of a sunny Southern California preacher focuses more on how to get out of debt, get a better job, promotions, nice house, cars, live like a millionaire or almost like becoming a Hollywood personality or whatever you call it. In short, it is a typical American Dream sermon series of preaching style. And people like to hear such sermons. As if Dr. Feel Good is giving another good self-help advised to a selfish spoiled brat. But who cares. Certain group of people wants to be left alone.

One of the ways to survive the test of faith is enjoying your salvation in Christ. The Scripture above is a powerful revelation of faith that is founded on the reality of the salvation of God. A person who has the revelation of his salvation in Christ cannot be moved. He has the fullness of joy in his heart and always rejoicing in the Lord. A believer who experiences the saving power of the Lord knows how to rejoice even in the midst of all impossibilities. He never gives up. He remains standing, praising and worshipping the Lord. He never quits. It does not matter to him if he has millions of dollars in his pocket or just a dollar bill. Who cares, God is his source!

Only a loser gives up and quits. A winner never gives up and never quits. He never doubts and never wavers. He is fearless. A winner is always motivated by a pioneering spirit. He never fears to start new endeavors and boldly launches out into the deeps of unknown territories. A winner knows that it does not matter if the fig tree may not blossom, for him that is not his concern. It is the Lord’s. A winner only thinks about his obedience to his Master. He knows that if he follow and obey the Word of God, God will take care of the rest.

You see, the Apostle James warns us to never doubt or waver in faith. When you waver, you lose. When you doubt, you lose. When you question the Word of God, you lose. Faith is action. Faith is obedience to His Word, nothing else. Some of the self-proclaimed faith teachers have confused a whole lot of the Body of Christ by teaching faith like teaching how to cook a meal. Some have attempted to explain faith as if faith is a trigonometric equation that needs memorization and continuous practice of solving problems.

The final word of the Lord prior to His ascension is to go all over the world and make disciples. Jesus teachings and preaching to His disciples is to prepare them for the great missionary work. The church is supposed to be the builder of missionaries to produce disciples for Christ, nothing else. The devil has been successfully kept the members of the body of Christ to remain inside the building and be there until they die physically without even attempting to witness for Christ. It is the leaders of the churches who are responsible to train and send them out into the mission field.

Many of us believers are jumping out from one faith teachers to another, or from one prophet to another prophet as if there are new gospels that are never been heard before, and we want to be there to hear it first. Give yourself a break. If you want fresh revelations, all you need to do is sign up for a missionary work for at least six months of work without the financial support of your local church. See how your faith works in the mission field without the support of your mother … yes, your mother church and live by faith. There is more revelation of God’s wisdom when you are working in His vineyard than sitting in a comfortable chair of a well air conditioned sanctuary listening to another routine Sunday sermon.

Many Christian churches and body of believers have been wasting valuable time and efforts in useless projects and activities. The Lord Jesus has commanded us to go out and make disciples.
It is to edify and prepare the church for the work of the ministry is our goal. And then send all those who are ready into the world and share the good news and be disciple makers.

As a believer, you are called to be a disciple maker. You don’t need to be an explosive preacher or a teacher with all kinds of degrees. All you have to do is share your time and faith to the world. You don’t have to quit your job and be “full time” (as they call it) to be a disciple maker.

If only the members of the Body of Christ will do what are they supposed to be doing, the problem regarding faith will not exist. The problem of faith exists because faith has become a self-centered issue. It has attempted to become a spiritual way to materialistic obsession. Who cares if you drive a Mercedes, or Cadillac? As a child of God, you have nothing to prove in this world because you are rich in Christ. The God in Heaven and all of His angels, even Satan and his demons, know that you are co-heirs of Christ and that you are rich in Christ.

A believer who worries about his looks and his status in this world, who worries about how people measure his riches, who compares himself with others for acceptance, is a babe in the faith. Again, you have nothing to prove in the face of the earth that you are financially and materially prosperous. You are more than anything in this world has to offer. You have been bought by the blood of the Lamb.

Enjoying your salvation is to simply knowing who you are and what you have in Christ. If you only knew your identity in Christ, serving the Lord is never a burden. As a matter of fact, you become aggressive in the faith; you rise up to the level of a conqueror, overcomer and a winner. You don’t fear any of the works of the devil. No one can stand before you. You cannot be intimidated by anyone. You laugh at the devil and keep on laughing at him, because you have nothing to with him. The devil belongs under your feet.