Rhemalight

www.rhemalight.com
Author: Michael Sonko
Date: January 26, 2010

FAITH: The LEADING OF FAITH
The definition of faith that I prefer most is this; steadfast confidence and assurance in the word of God. I believe that this year, as believers, we will make progress in our affairs of life. We will have excellence in the midst of turmoil. However it is going to be a leading of faith and you don’t have to ask God for faith because every believer has been given the measure of faith. It only increases according to your exposure to the spoken word. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It is His will that our faith grows to great heights and depths.

The Leading of faith
The Leading of faith is based on the foundation of instructions and knowledge of God’s word. Any leading apart from the explicit instructions from the word of God or through the revealed word spoken directly from God will cause other results. You can’t separate leading of faith from the word of God. If the children of God understand and operate in this leading of faith, they shall operate on a higher plane of life. This faith is established in righteousness consciousness, not sin consciousness. This faith realizes that God has freely given and all it has to do is receive. It is not of works, it is a gift.

Paul and the leading of faith
They are many instances in the word of God where you see the leading of faith in operation. I like those involving Paul especially the one in Acts 27. Let us look at it and gain understanding from this so that we can attain what God has purposed for us in this 2010 and other years.

Understand the will of God.
It is important to understand the will of God for your life because it forms the basis for the leading of faith. The will of God is primarily made available to us through the written word of God. This is the best place to start. Grasp the truths in the bible and operate in them with the knowledge that it is the will of God revealed to you. Secondarily, the Lord can speak directly to you through the inward witness, prophecy etc. This is still instruction from God which should be operated in and to which you can clung. Moses understood the will of God at the burning bush encounter and could step into the path to the Pharaoh’s palace. The only and best thing he had was the word of God. His confidence was based on the foundation of the word because even the transformation of the rod into a snake was based on God’s word. Paul knew that he had to appear before Caesar therefore short term delays of adversity would not deter him or cause him to lose heart. Just like Abraham, he considered Him faithful that had spoken. These men held unto what the Lord had said. It is the word that we have to hold unto and not actions. Yes we should remember His deeds but the word takes precedent. Have you not read that His word is forever settled in heaven? (Psalms 119:89) God desires to make His will known to us. (I have included a prophesy that God gave me last year on this subject) Your response to what He tells you will determine your state on the path to your destiny. Compare Mary and Zechariah in their response to what the angel told them concerning the birth of Jesus and John respectively. (Luke 1)

I believe I should state something about timing here. It is important to know the timing of when to act especially in life changing decisions like a career change. When God tells you to leave your job etc, you have to understand the timing and when to leave. This is where being sensitive to the Spirit of God is key. You have to get the timing right in order to accomplish the will of God for your life. Take time to pray and avoid haste. However, you also have to be bold enough to act on what the Lord has told you.

Hold Unto the Word
You can’t separate faith from speaking on the side of both God and man. Paul said that he believed God that it shall be as He told him. Abram started calling himself Abraham while Daniel continued to pray even when refused. The three Hebrew boys wouldn’t bow. These men of faith believed and considered Him faithful who had promised. Faith invokes God to act on the behalf of they that operate in it. This is the spirit that we should operate in. It is the kind of spirit which caused Paul to say, “I believe God…” And it the same spirit that the psalmist admonished us to operate in.

2 Corinthians 4:13 (King James Version)

13We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

The three Hebrew boys in Daniel 3 illustrate this principle pretty well. Let us study them and obtain insight in how their experience can help us in the leading of faith. You know the story but let us consider what they told the king.

Daniel 3:14-18 (King James Version)

18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Let us consider this conversation carefully, I have explained it before but I think it is worth repeating here. The King repeats the order in verse 15 and stated explicitly that they will be cast into the furnace if they didn’t worship the idol. I am glad they replied first with verse 17.
They said, “if it be so…” What were they referring to? They were referring to the casting into the fire. And they didn’t say that if it was done, God may. NO! They stated and made a confession of faith-OUR GOD IS WELL ABLE TO DELIVER US. They knew that God would deliver them from the furnace and the hand of the king.

In verse 18, they started with the phrase “But if not”. What were they referring to? They were making a distinction to verse 17 and the distinction had nothing to do with the saving but the subject of the conversation which was the casting into the fiery furnace. In short they said, “Even if you don’t throw us into the fire, we shall not bow”. They weren’t referring to the salvation of God. Evidently if you translate that verse to refer to failure to save then you don’t have to talk about bowing because they would be dead already. Of course we must be willing to die for our beliefs but that is not what they were referring to. Concerning the salvation of their God, they had made an assertion of faith because they knew that the leading of faith ends in your destiny and salvation.

The leading of faith has one option and it is summarized in this statement-I BELIEVE GOD THAT IT SHALL BE AS HE TOLD ME. Let me add something. Asking God ‘the how’ is not unbelief. It is determined by your faith and motive behind it. Don’t ask for signs because the leading of faith holds unto the word of God which is its anchor.

Adversities come
We with the same spirit of faith as the patriarchs believe and therefore speak. Like I said earlier on, you can’t separate speaking in kingdom business. Those who have learnt to use their mouths properly will reap fruits. When it comes to confession of faith, you should be a big mouth. Of course folks will start saying that you are trying to act like God. I wonder what they act like when they voice unbelief.
In the midst of turmoil, hold unto what God has told you. It is the time to believe what the Lord told you and voice it as often as you can remember it. I believe that the moment you decide to take this path onto what God has called you, the evil one will arise. But bless God the Spirit is well able to cause us to excel. I believe that in the midst of all disaster, God shows himself strong on behalf of His own. In the entire bible, great deliverance came out of great impossibilities. He is a God who specializes in the impossibilities. Paul, Abraham, Joshua, Moses and others trusted in God and clung to the word that He had given them and they staggered not in faith through unbelief. They just bragged on the God who acts on the His word. Our God is well able to save by one or many. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He made His name known in all Egypt. He is our father and desires that as His children we trust him to save us. Our God is going to make His name known through us in all of families, communities and nations. So get onto the path.

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Here is the prophesy
“I desire to make my will known to my children. And as i they seek me, i will open a slot(window) into their futures and let it appear to them. They will walk in the know and will not be ignorant of what i intend to do for and with them. But it will occur as they spend time in my presence not just in prayer but as they study their books, spend time on their jobs, in the taxis.

As they become more aware of my presence, life will become clearer and brighter as the noon day sun. Life problems will pale in light of what I will be doing and will do in their lives. People shall behold and see that i am doing a new thing in their lives and will come to them so that they can understand it. And when they come to inquire how you do it, tell them it is my GOD. He supplies, He leads, He defends and helps but above all He guides. He guides me gently by his hand to greater heights and out of danger into safety.

This presence is my glory and as you abide in it, you will be transformed and it will rest on you. Just like Moses, you will be different. Joy and strength shall be your portion. It should not be a one day affair but a lifetime of abiding that you will exercise your senses to discern the real and the counterfeit. “