Sunday Sermon Date: January 02, 2022

Speaker: Pastor Morgan Lekgetho Mogagabe

Today’s Message: How Faith Works.

Time: 9am – 11 am

Scripture references

·         Romans 10:17

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

·         Romans 1:17 (KJV)

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, thee just shall live by faith.”

·         Ephesians 2:8-9 (English Standard Version)

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

·         1 Timothy 6:12

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

·         James 4:7 (NIV)

“Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

·         Mark 16:17 (KJV)

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”

·         Luke 10:19 (KJV)

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

·         1 John 5:4

“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”

·         Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

Seasons greetings

Happy new year, In His Presence Ministry International!

I’m praying for you and believing with you, that this will be your best year yet!

As you start this new year going after your 2022 goals, remember this: You have the mind of Christ. All things are possible to him who believes.

You are a child of the most-high and when things look impossible, when dreams and goals seem so far out of reach, when times get tough, YOU have someone you can call on.

You have an unfair advantage and His name is Jesus.

I can’t wait to hear about what God does in your life this year. I’m cheering you on!

Analytical Recap

1. How Faith Works
2. Walking by Faith

Remember you have made it happen for the past 6 years. We as a church celebrate 7 years in ministry.

The year 2022 is the year of Jubilee

• Refer to the book of Leviticus 25-1-7

2022 is a year of rest and year of worship

We appreciate your loyalty to stay with us and enjoy the presence of God as we teach and enlighten our community, please visit our previous Broadcast @MLM Channel.

The 2021 Channel Analytics by Faith have reached 24 400 souls with watch top counties for channel views being South Africa, United States and Botswana.

Sermon Notes:

Ever Increasing Faith

Welcome to Ever Increasing Faith, Remember these words from the book of Romans chapter 10 verse 17 “So faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God well praise God for another day and for another opportunity to share with you the word of the Living God.” You must know how to see beyond your present circumstances, how to live by faith, and how to be the winner that God called you to be. Living a life of faith will be one of your greatest adventures, nothing is impossible with God!

The book of Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The Word of God is the substance, tangibility, materiality, of things hoped for the evidence or proof of things not perceived by the senses.”

Your confidence in God’s Word will cause you to step into God’s realm. God confirms His Word with signs following. When you speak His Word onto a situation, it is the evidence of things hoped for. Confessing the circumstances will never bring about the change you desire. But God has promised to honor His Word. When you put His Word forth you give Him something to confirm in your life. God will change your circumstances because He is faithful to honor His Word.

Turn in your Bibles now to the book of Romans chapter 1:17(King James Version)

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” We read a passage of scripture that will be a part of the ground work for the lesson that we’re going to be dealing with today, and in subsequent weeks because we’re going to be teaching a series called How Faith works this is the salient principle to the operation of the God Kind of Faith that moves the Hand of God there are principles involved in the operation of Faith and in order to be a successful participant or recipient in the things of God.

Don’t get or don’t allow anyone to deceive you, don’t get caught up in winds of doctrine.

• What is your doctrine?

According to the Dictionary. A doctrine is a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church.

In simple words Doctrine Is Faith. People would ask you what faith are you established in, be it the ZCC, Roman Catholic, Muslim, Methodist we’re not talking about it from that standpoint we’re talking about the kind of thing that pleases the Almighty God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (English Standard Version)

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Notice what it says, it says for by grace we are saved through faith. This then means that our whole salvation is predicated on faith. Our salvation is based on faith. It says for by grace that God unmerited favor and underserved favor. Grace means something that’s given to you gratis, you don’t deserve it you can’t earn it you can’t buy it but it’s given to you free of charge it says for by grace of God’s unmerited favor are we saved. We see that those who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior the Bible says they are saved by grace through faith, that makes it very important.

Let’s look at another passage from the book of 1 Timothy 6:12

12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made, the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Fight the good fight of faith.

Whether you’re aware of it or not that is the only fight that the Christian is called upon to fight is a Faith fight that’s the only one. In 2022 You’re not to fight preachers, you’re not supposed to fight denominations, churches, you’re not even supposed to fight Satan or his fallen demons. You are wasting time because that’s a useless endeavor. I mean you’re no match for any demon you couldn’t defeat a baby demon with both of his eyes blindfolded his right ear stopped up his left arm in a swing and both legs in cast you still couldn’t beat one baby demon, you know why because no physical being is any match for a spirit being you couldn’t defeat a spirit.

Satan and demons are the enemy in the sense that they are the entities or fallen beings that are challenging us, but they don’t come against us physically blow to blow but they come against our faith they’re trying to steal our faith. If Satan and demons can ever extract your faith from you, then they’ve got you on your back flat out. Apostle Paul clearly delineates the battle line. He says fight the good fight of faith- Don’t fight demons, don’t fight preachers, don’t fight people or denominations, don’t fight churches. Fight the good fight of faith and that’s the only fight that you have.

The Bible says in the book of James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The Bible didn’t say fight it says resist the devil and he will flee from you resist him.

Jesus said in Mark 16:17 (King James Version)

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”

Luke 10:19 (King James Version) says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Praise the Heavenly Father in name of Jesus. We don’t have to fight Satan because Jesus already fought him at Calvary and beaten him for us. The 21st century Christians have given up the Christian life and don’t even go to church buildings anymore why? Because they haven’t learned how to exercise their faith, they’ve tried to do something and then when they tried it, they did not succeed. We intend to win.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, says the book of Hebrews 11:1. This verse is very important to us. I like to think of Hebrews 11:1 as the classical, scriptural, technical definition of faith. It’s one thing to have a definition; it’s something else again to understand what that definition means to us personally. To be able to memorize and quote it is wonderful and certainly appropriate. But if we don’t know what we have memorized and how it affects us personally, then it’s of no real value.

So, let’s drop the word now and make faith the first word of Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now we have another situation. When we say, “Faith is,” it is different from saying, “Faith was” or “Faith will be.” We are still presented with a time reference, a point in time. You see, faith has to be at a certain time. So, we need to find out when faith is or when it was or when it shall be. Is faith yesterday, today, or tomorrow? That’s very important. The Time of Faith is important.

Physicists define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future.

If God is “going to” (which is future tense), that means He hasn’t done it yet. If He has already done it, then He wouldn’t have to. They say, “I know God is going to heal me.” Well, if He’s “going to” (future tense), then He hasn’t. If He hasn’t, then He lied to us because His Word says that with Jesus’ stripes, we were healed. (1 Pet. 2:24.) Where it is said in past tense. That means we already are healed according to God. Yet we say, “He’s going to.” That’s a contradiction of terms and that’s why it never happens. That’s why multitudes of Christians who love God die premature deaths from all kinds of disease and illnesses. They think that it’s God’s will because He let it happen.

Christians be careful of the tenses you utilize when speaking words upon your life, because like the book of Proverbs 18:21 says, Death and Life is in the power of the tongue.

But there is a time when faith is faith and when Faith is not. I could say that, “Faith is the substance,” or “Faith was the substance,” or “Faith will be the substance.” If I say, “Faith will be the substance,” that’s future tense. “Faith was” has to be past tense. “Faith is” has to be present tense. I can’t say, “Faith was,” and it be present tense. I can’t say, “Faith will be,” and it be present tense because will be and shall be are future tenses. If we say, “Faith is,” we still have it in the present tense, and that’s when faith is faith. Faith has to be now. The time frame of Faith is always present tense. We could turn it around and say, “Now faith is.” Even though the word now doesn’t appear originally, we could put it there without adding to or taking from the original statement, “Faith is.”

That is the present tense. To say “Now faith is” simply compounds and reinforces it. So, we have the time of faith. Faith is now. If it’s not now, it’s not faith. Why? Because faith is. “Faith is now.” “Now faith is.” That is one of the most important things you will ever learn about Faith. Faith is always present tense. Faith is always now. No matter how sincere you are or how desperate you may be, if you are not operating in the present tense—now—you aren’t operating in faith. There is no guarantee that what you desire will come to pass because God is not obligated to operate on anything other than faith. God is a Faith God. He demands faith. Everything He does is by faith.

When you say, “I know God is going to do something,” you’re not in faith. You are sincere, but you are not operating in Faith because Faith has to be now. You can’t say, “God is going to heal me.” You have to say, “I believe I’m healed.” I may not feel healed or look healed. All the tests may say that I’m not healed, but I have a choice between what the tests say and what God says. Since God is the designer, constructor, and maintainer of the building I live in (my body), He ought to know more about it than anyone else.

Faith is now. It’s always present tense. If you say, “I’m expecting God to do something at such a time,” you’re not operating in faith. You have to say, “I believe I’m healed now. I believe all my needs are met now.” I said that, even when I had no money, when my bills were not paid. You may think I was lying, but I wasn’t. I never said my bills were paid. I said, “I believe my bills are paid. I believe I’m healed.” Why believe it? Because my heavenly Father told me I was healed with Jesus’ stripes. I believe what my Father says, my confession is: “I believe I’m healed.

“If I want God’s power to work in my behalf, I have to say what He says. I have to confess what He says about me because what He says must be the truth. If I’m not who He says I am, then He lied to me. If He says I’m healed, but I’m not, then He lied to me. If He says I’m the righteousness of God in Christ, but I’m not, He lied to me. If He says I’m a new creature in Christ Jesus, but I’m not, He lied. If He said He would supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, but He doesn’t, He lied to me. If He says, “Ask and you shall receive,” but I don’t receive because He didn’t come across with what I asked Him for, He lied.

You know, it’s a terrible thing to accuse God of lying, especially when His Word says that it’s impossible for Him to lie. God can’t lie, so what He says is the truth! Faith Is the Substance of Things Hoped for According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance or things hoped for. If faith is the substance of things hoped for, then it is obvious that hope without faith has no substance.

What does substance mean?

Substance is that which can be perceived or contacted by your senses, your basic five bodily senses. You can smell it, see it, touch it, taste it, or hear it. In other words, substance is something which makes an impression upon your sensory mechanisms. In place of substance, we could use the words tangibility or materiality. Faith is the substance— the materiality, the tangibility of things hoped for. This tells us that hope doesn’t have tangibility or materiality. Hope doesn’t have anything that our senses can perceive unless we add faith to it. That’s why hope won’t do anything for us. Hope is a goal setter.

I might say, “Praise God, I hope that one of these days I’ll be able to pay off all my bills and have money left over. I hope to pay off the mortgage on my house. I hope to be able to put my kids through school. I hope one day to be financially independent of the circumstances.” That’s a good hope. But you can have hope like that and be poor the rest of your life, never able to pay all your bills. Hope doesn’t have any substance. Hope is like a dream. Dreams can be so real. Do you know why your dream went poof? Because dreams have no substance, no tangibility. When you awaken, the dream is like a bubble that bursts. Suddenly, it’s gone! Hope is like a dream unless you put faith to it. Learn to put Faith in your dream, because by putting faith with your hope, you give it substance. So, faith is important. Hope sets the goal.

Faith is the substance (tangibility, materiality) of things hoped for. Faith Is the Evidence of Things Not Seen What is evidence? I think the best word you can use to describe evidence is proof. But what is proof? Proof is that which substantiates or validates the existence of something you don’t presently have. Simply: Proof says that something exists that you don’t presently have. Proof takes the place of something tangibly believable until that thing arrives on the scene. Once that thing arrives, you no longer need proof of it. You don’t need evidence if you already have it. That lets you know that faith is a temporary thing in any given spiritual transaction in your life.

Faith is only temporary for that transaction until the transaction comes to pass. When it does, faith moves on to another challenge, then another, and another. You no longer need faith for this because it has come to pass. Therefore, I submit to you that the word seen in Hebrews 11:1 does not mean visual perception, but rather sensory perception. Things seen are in the physical realm; things unseen are in the realm of God, the spirit realm, or we could say in the realm of faith. With this in mind, let’s say it this way. Faith is the evidence or proof of things not perceived by the senses. This immediately alerts us to the fact that if we intend to walk by faith and be successful in that walk, we have to leave the realm of the senses. We can no longer look to the physical body to find out where we are with God.

According to God’s Word, by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned (Matt. 12:37). Your words, basically, are inspired by what you hear. Again, Jesus said to take heed or be careful about what you hear or how you hear. Why? Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So, faith and the Word go hand in hand. If the Word is going forth, faith will go forth. If the Word isn’t going forth, there won’t be any faith. Faith and the Word of God are synonymous terms. We could use them interchangeably. Faith and the Word are like the wet with the water. If you get the water, you get the wet. You may ask a waiter for “a hamburger, hold the onions,” but you can’t say, “Bring me a glass of water, hold the wet.” Wet is a characteristic of water. It’s automatic: if you get into the water, you get the wet.

In the book of Corinthians 5:7 we find a further revelation which says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” What is sight? It is the same as see. What is see? The sense realm. What did we say that faith was? The Word of God. What did we say that sight means? The senses. So, we could say, “For we walk by the Word of God, not by the senses.” God has made it so simple. We don’t deny the senses; we just don’t let them dictate us. We let God’s Word dictate us, and that’s what changes the senses relative to our personal and individual existence. There is a time when we use the senses, when we operate in the sense world or the sense realm and deal with sensory things.

People say, “I am not healed; I can still see the tumor,” or “I am not healed; I still have the pain.” Though they are very sincere, they are sincerely wrong and are not operating in faith. You see, God can only confirm His Word. He is up in heaven, saying to His children, “Take My Word. Give Me something to confirm. I can only confirm My Word. I’ve designed the system to work that way.” Instead of believing what the Word says, His Children are down here saying, “Oh, God, please heal me.” They should be saying, “Praise the Lord! I believe that I’m healed according to God’s Word!” That gives God something to work with in their lives.

Remember This: God doesn’t confirm our begging or crying or pain. He only confirms His Word with signs following. I’m not saying that Christians don’t have pain. I’ve been there. I know it hurts. But confessing the circumstances is not going to change anything. You have to confess the Word. You have to start putting the Word out. When you do that, you put your faith to work and give our Father something to confirm in your life. Yes, your faith will change the circumstances when you operate on the Word.

Many Thanks, I love you and I’m praying for you!

CREDITS

Sermon Script Writer: Pastor Morgan Lekgetho Mogagabe                                                  

Church Editor: Ms Bawinile Mahlangu

Address :Chiawelo Ext3, Soweto, South Africa

Ministry: IHPMI,

© 2021 Pastor Morgan Lekgetho Mogagabe