Whatever it is a person needs, they can turn to the Bible and find that there is a word that can be applied to their situation, and as such, the Bible is what people need to stand on if they want their faith to expand and grow, said Bahamas Harvest Church Senior Pastor Mario Moxey.
In his recent Sunday service, Moxey encouraged people to stand on the faith God has given them, and to expand and develop it. He said strengthening, growing and cultivating faith means that a person can achieve and accomplish the things God wants them to accomplish.
During his Sunday sermon, titled, “Impossible Faith” under his “Crazy Faith” message series, Moxey focused on three things he urged people to consider regarding their faith level – Jesus identifies my faith level; Jesus identifies the enemies of my faith; and in a faithless state, Jesus extends mercy.
“All of us have a measure of faith; all of us have faith at different levels. Your measure of faith is yours to do with as you will. How you develop it and how you cultivate it is all up to you,” said Moxey.
The BHC pastor said faith grows and develops in the same way the physical body does – by eating the right kind of food, and proper exercise. He said everyone needs the right kind of faith food, the word of God. And that they then need to exercise their faith muscles by always moving, because faith is not an idea, not a thought, but action and movement.
“The way a person feeds their faith is by the word of God,” said Moxey.
He said when a person receives the word of God, their faith begins to grow spiritually. And if their faith is not growing, chances are it’s an indication that they are not.
“You want your faith to grow, then you have to read the word of God. Read your Bible, and you pray every day and you will grow. Neglect your Bible and forget to pray and you will shrink. The good news is God has given to each of us, a measure of faith to grow it.”
Moxey said Jesus has identified every person’s faith level and knows exactly where it is.
MEASUREMENTS OF FAITH
The BHC pastor spoke to four measurements of faith – weak faith, little faith, growing faith, and strong faith.
Weak faith, he said, lacks the power for a person to perform their breakthrough. And he encouraged the congregation to not dismiss people who they perceive to have weak faith.
“The fact that they have any faith at all, we should celebrate that and give God thanks for the faith that they do have.”
And for those people that may perceive themselves as having weak faith, he encouraged them to not be discouraged and to thank God for the faith they do have as they have the opportunity to grow and develop their faith.
Little faith, he said, is a small amount of faith that isn’t able to sustain a person’s breakthrough.
“You’re able to get started, but you can’t complete. You initiate, but you can’t sustain.”
Moxey said faith is a journey and a movement – you have to do something. Those people that find their faith waning, he urged them to not be discouraged. He told them to remember that they initiated, to celebrate that, and understand that their faith can grow and be cultivated.
Growing faith, he said, is faith that may be challenged – that may be knocked down but gets back up. Growing faith continues to persevere in the face of adversity, said the pastor.
“You may not have it all together … you may trip somewhere, but you get up, dust yourself off, you may limp but you’re moving.”
Strong faith is being able to carry a person all the way through to their breakthrough. And that it is being fully persuaded that what God promised, he’s also able to perform.
JESUS IDENTIFIES THE ENEMIES OF MY FAITH
Three prominent enemies of faith Moxey said that people must learn are doubt, unbelief, and fear.
Doubt is questioning what you believe, and is the struggle that is faced by the believer because it’s only the believer who doubts, he said.
“You have to believe in order to doubt; if you don’t believe, you can’t doubt. So, it is the believer who doubts and no one is immune to doubt. It happens to all of us.”
Unbelief, Moxey said, is a determined refusal to believe God, and a condition of the unbeliever.
“Unbelief involves spiritual blindness.”
He said unbelievers are determined to resist God and that unbelief is powerful and can stop faith in its tracks. He said it is a dangerous thing for a person to have in his life and in their community.
“Unbelief is so powerful, it can even shut God down,” said Moxey.
He said a person’s movement shakes the doubt. And that the antidote to unbelief is teaching, and that Jesus went around teaching because people need information which brings revelation and transformation.
The BHC pastor said fear keeps a person from moving forward – immobilizing, causing them to get stuck.
“As long as you’re stuck and terrified and afraid to move, you can’t have faith,” said Moxey. “Fear keeps your focus on something else other than what God says, other than God’s truth. It is not God’s will for you to be afraid. That is why throughout the Bible you read the words ‘fear not’. And every time you see it, you must understand it is not a suggestion, it is not a recommendation, it is a command of God. He commands you not to fear. He admonishes you not to fear. So, you have to stir yourself up and you have to start moving. Don’t let fear paralyze you. Fear and faith work on the same platform – they’re all built on information, this is why information is so important, where you put yourself is so important, what you allow to get into your ‘ear gate’ is so important, because the wrong information can cripple you, but the right information can set you free.”
He told them that the size of their faith can overcome any obstacle. And that in a faithless state, Jesus extends mercy.
“There comes a time when your faith may no longer cooperate with you. You have to remember that when everything is going safe, you need to cry out for help, because when you begin to cry out for help, the Lord gives you mercy.”
Moxey reminded them that God is kind to the unthankful and kind to the evil, and that he would be kind and merciful to all of his people. And that he will always be there for them.
“Whatever it is that you need, you need to get into the B-I-B-L-E and see that there is a word that can be applied to your situation – and whatever word can be applied to your situation, that’s what you need to stand on.”
Moxey urged them to stand on the faith that God has given them. He said God has given them a measure of faith and they have to expand it and develop it.
The BHC pastor reminded his congregation that Jesus always prayed by himself, and told them that while praying in groups is important and critical, and having a prayer partner is wonderful, he said they must also find time to pray by themselves, alone in God’s presence – and to do it daily.
“Find that secluded place – that place of solitude where you can just connect with God. That doesn’t mean you have to pray for hours like Jesus did, but you do have to connect with God – whether that’s five hours or five minutes,” said Moxey.
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