Before my Christian life I was a Powerlifter.

One time I had won the Oceania and Asian Championship. I was interviewed by the papers and TV while there was a short break between interviews a guy in the gym came over to try and pick up my medals but this drew a stern look from me. However, he didn’t pick them up and said, “You’re lucky”.

I responded by saying, “I train one to five hours a day for five to six days of the week and you call that luck, where you come into the gym and talk to people for ten minutes and lift some weights for 15 Minutes and then go home. If you had won these, I would say that was luck. Hard work is not luck”

The Christian Walk is not about luck but is about spending time with God to learn to be like him. This is surety found in Him by faith.

Investing time in God is a sure thing. The deeper you dig into His Word the higher you can take yourself and others.

2 Timothy 2:15  Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. 

2Ti 2:16  But shun profane, vain babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 

Before salvation we can have a certain amount of faith with a belief in something or someone, but this is different to the Christian faith which comes after repentance followed closely by a belief in the works of Jesus.

Sinners are commanded to “repent” and “believe” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 3:19; 1 John 3:23) in the New Testament.

We are saved by the faith OF Jesus and not by our faith or we could brag about our salvation. Faith of Christ underscores the faithfulness of Jesus in the act of our salvation where the faith in Christ emphasizes the believer progressive efforts in progressive salvation as we are being sanctified.

Galatians 3:22  But the Scripture shut up all under sin, so that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (MKJV) 

Salvation is a work of God’s grace, but without the humbling of our sinful nature in an act of repentance, grace is not activated. It takes a synergy between God and man in God’s plan for salvation.

Does faith grow or does our understanding of the gift grow?

Some say both faith and our understanding of it can grow. These two aspects can strengthen our walk with Jesus.

Let us see where the gift comes from and to whom it is given

Faith as a gift.

Romans 12:3  For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.  (MKJV)

The gift of faith comes from God given to man after salvation to avoid man taking credit for his own salvation Ephesians 2:8-9 and Galatians 3:22 

Ephesians 2:8-9  For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, Eph 2:9  not of works, lest anyone should boast. (MKJV)

In Romans 12:3 does it say A measure of faith or does it say THE measure of faith.

A measure of faith refers to a set amount depending on the will of God to deal with everyone differently as He sees fit.

THE measure of faith deals only with the full amount for everyone.

Act 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Truly I see that God is no respecter of persons; (MKJV)

Act 10:34  Peter began to speak: “I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. (GNB) Good News Bible

Here is the point of conjecture.

Faith as a gift and as a portion or a full amount will have an influence on the boldness we think and walk with.

Do you think God would give an incomplete gift that you have to work on to make it grow?

How can faith grow?

1. Growth through learning, understanding coming from studying Scripture and teaching.
2. Growth through personal experiences based on the teaching mentioned in point one.
3. Communal dialogue as we share personal experiences with each other.

The full measure given at the beginning of our walk

1. The full measure of Faith given to all believers and noting the 3 points above which are valid learning methods and should be followed. Then you may ask the question about A measure of faith verses THE measure of Faith.

If we receive only A measure of faith then God is showing favouritism which conflicts with Scripture. Then you can study, have personal experiences as well as sharing with each other but then after all this you will not grow in your faith once you reach the limit set for you.

• In Romans 12:3 it says “… … … But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.”  This brings us to the conclusion that all believers are treated the same in regards to the Gift with a full measure.

Now you may disagree with me and say we are all different with different measures.

Let me say it this way, We are all given the full measure of faith because God treats us all the same. We should all follow the three valid points of learning as mentioned previously but with a noted difference and that being that instead of thinking that is our faith growing that we should adopt an attitude or thinking pattern that it is our understanding of faith that is growing as we walk in the full measure of faith.

Simply OUR understanding of faith, grows as we walk in it believing for great things.

When we follow Jesus, it is like us stepping into His footprints, even though His footsteps are great and powerful we can grow in our understanding as we follow and reach out with an unquenchable hunger to be more like Him.

The measure of faith is an unlimited reservoir given to us by God and His belief in us. Although at times we may limit how far we can grow in our understanding by allowing our fears and rationalisation to override the Spiritual truths found in our Bibles. Nevertheless, we should reach out for the stars in the cosmos to bring God’s promises into ours and others lives. We need to continuously try to not limit God’s working through us as we were created to walk in His wonderous unlimited cosmos.

God moves through faith and through the faithful steward. God welcomes the faithful servant into heaven with these words “enter in thou good and faithful servant”.

You may want to know the answer to this question

Jesus had a love meal with His disciples, then the meal was followed by a supper called the Lord’s supper.

Jesus commands His followers when He says, “do this in remembrance of Me”.

I have attended many churches over the years and have noticed a lack of reverence in having communion. Communion is sharing or exchanging intimate thoughts and feelings at a spiritual level with God.

Many churches hand out the elements of the bread and wine/grape juice in a sealed plastic cup to everyone who comes through the door. The sealed package is not a major problem but handing it out to everyone is a failure to protect the unaware and uneducated. In many cases this is compromising the directives found in the Word of God.

In Luke 22:14 -21 Jesus after the meal implemented the new covenant by commanding His followers, by saying, “ This is My body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of Me.” Then He followed by saying, “ This cup is the new covenant in My blood,”.

In 1 Corinthians 11:17- 31 Paul brings corrections and advice in two parts of the sharing of a love feast which was the meal like Jesus had with His disciples followed by the second part the announcing of the remembrance of the Lord’s supper via the broken bread and cup of wine.

The first part of the love feast was a meal followed by an intimate communion

Communion the second part

Firstly, we are looking at the second part of his message from 1 Corinthians 11:27- 31 the communion where we take bread and wine/juice.

1 Corinthians 11:27 So that whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, he will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 

1 Corinthians 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. 

1 Corinthians 11:29  For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 

1 Corinthians 11:30  For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and many sleep. (From G2749; to put to sleep, be dead.)

1 Corinthians 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

Let us look a bit deeper

Are all who attending a church service repentant believers remembering that Judas partook in the first communion with Jesus? The answer is a resounding No

Then who can partake in communion? It is reserved for repentant believers. It is important that the church teaches this point for the safety of the non-repentant person.

Can children take the elements? The answer is No

Then we can take this a little further where parents need to take responsibility in teaching their children that they cannot take communion until they respond to the call to become a Christian. If the parents teach their child to accept the ‘no’ then it is a good place to start teaching about salvation. God has no grandchildren.

The Lord’s supper is a time where the person who is sharing around communion could ask the question, “Would anyone like to become a repentant believer? Then after the prayer of repentance there is nothing standing in the way of the child taking communion.

Can an unbeliever take the elements? The answer is No

How do you overcome the situation where a non-believer wants to take communion? Just the same as the child who was taught by the parents, the church needs to teach that salvation comes before partaking of the elements. While in China this was a great time to see people come to the Lord.

Paul gives us warnings about taking the element in an unworthy manner as this has health issues as well as doing things in good order.

God does not want anyone to miss out on the wondrous physical and spiritual healing that can come from partaking the Lord’s supper.

Every time we have communion we need to examine ourselves to see if we have the right motives and actions or unforgiveness towards another. Or if we struggle with a sin and need His help because He is faithful to help and forgive us if we ask. We can say a quiet prayer to God saying if we fix or ask for forgiveness with another person or with Him or as soon as possible.

If an unbeliever is listening and wants to partake of Communion then they can repent and become a repentant believer and then there is no barrier that could stop them from partaking communion.

The problem Paul saw in 1 Corinthians 11: 17-22

We have already covered the second part of the meal being the taking of communion the Lord’s supper. It is now that we will look at the first part of the love feast which is a meal.  

In 1 Corinthians 11:17 Paul is hitting them right between the eyes with a strong rebuke pointing out that they are coming to this love meal for their own benefit based on selfish motives. He was pointing out that the gluttony and drunkenness made a mockery of the love meal by some was not acceptable while other went without. The eating habits of the church in Corinth did nothing to glorify the remembrance of Jesus and His last supper. Paul was not impressed.

The church in Corinth was not a single congregation but possibly around 60 homes thus division had developed. In 1 Corinthians 11:18 Paul points out that there are divisions in the church thus causing disunity which he felt was happening mostly based on their own desire for popularity, self-pride and favouritism.

Incorrect behaviour has far reaching consequences

I pray that the Lord does not come back too soon as I would like to see more people saved before that DAY.
Take note that you do not become overwhelmed by what is taking place in the world. The Lord told us that this would happen.
If we have a disposition that says it’s all too much, then we are defeated and of no good for the kingdom of God.
Our hope is in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
All of creation, YES all of creation is waiting for the manifest sons of God to rise up.

Here is my understanding of Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven is taken by a strong force (Jesus and us) and it is (we are) attacked by A negative force (Satan) that is crowding us into a passive position to seize or press us into a non-active role if we let it. We need Jesus and our self to become a forcer to be active, aggressive and energetic. To be a person that will go to any lengths to see the Kingdom of God come.  If we fail to apply force spiritually, we may miss the moment or time to seize, to pluck, catch; pull, to take by force that which (people) belongs to the Kingdom of God.

Christ has set a new standard, forcibly taking hold of this new position as decreed by God in Genesis 3:15, leading us on to personal triumph over Satan and his works. The victory we have is portrayed in the statement made by God in Genesis 3:15, that the head of Satan, which is sin, the law, death would be put under the foot of a man “the seed of the woman,” (Jesus) and crushed.  Christ was born to destroy the works of the Devil, giving mankind the potential victory over, every work of Satan. We have been loosened from the bonds of sin, law and death. Instead of a penalty we have been rewarded with a position of becoming a Royal Priest.

HOPE

Now when people have hope in someone or something, they cannot be controlled by force. There are governments and people groups who advocate that you cannot have religious belief and be a member of their organization. They ask the people to believe in their constitution or charter or their leader.

This is a religion in disguise.

Hope is a powerful part of our walk with Jesus. That is simply to say we believe that everything is going to be well. That does not mean that we will not have struggles or difficulties. It does not mean either that we give up trying to improve ourselves.

Matthew 11: 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence, and the violent take it by force. (MKJV)

When the Kingdom of God comes upon man it comes with force; it is transforming and compelling. It is a force that brings about repentance, because it is a force, it causes those that it touches to desire eagerly and pursue vigorously the things of God.

The nature of man is given assurance by the dynamic of the Holy Spirit, and man forces his way into the Kingdom of God. This is the same force that a baby experiences when it is being born by breaking the waters and forcing itself into this world. Hence we come to what Jesus said, “You must be born-again” (John 3:3- 7). He used the analogy of the birth of a baby in the natural sense to demonstrate the spiritual struggle on entering the Kingdom of God.

The struggle and violence involved in entering the Kingdom of God is that which comes from the devil. At a critical time in the life of man he is given a time or opportunity to experience this new birth. It is at this point many things can go wrong. The devil will work upon the mind of man to stop him.

If we look at the parable of the Sower, we can see that the seed can be choked by the worries of this life …’then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Matthew 13:19,). The devil tries to destroy people’s lives before they find Jesus.

Jesus is the only hope for mankind and we, as Christians are called to tell the world about this hope. As we do so we will see the greatest miracle, the miracle of a birth into the Kingdom of God.

A Christian hope is not a vague sort of wishful thinking, such as child saying, “I hope I get a computer for my birthday”. Christian hope is the absolute certainty that the thing the person hopes for will come to pass.

Hope is confident desire: a feeling that something desirable is likely to happen.

Hope is a source of success or relief: somebody or something that seems likely to bring success or relief.

Hope is trust or a feeling of trust.

We, as Christians have a belief based on knowledge of the Word of God and His Spirit. This could be expressed as a knowing in our spirit; it is a surety of His protection, deliverance, provision, and continuous presence in our life. We could say, “I know, I know He lives, because He lives in me”.

Because a Christian has this knowing, he or she cannot be controlled, because they believe in a supreme God who is in control, and they have given their life over to Jesus, our Hope.

We must have faith to please God. We need to receive His love, which is shown in grace, and to show Jesus’ love to mankind so that they too can have hope in Jesus.

Now we have faith in Jesus, plus love in Jesus, plus hope in Jesus. And all that adds up to a powerful Christian person who is not easily moved by the things of this world.