Sassy Faith
'Sassy Faith'
You have to admit it, David was pretty sassy to Goliath! He mouthed off at Goliath and let him know exactly where the two of them stood and what the outcome of their clash would be. You could say that David had sassy faith.
"This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head … all those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's..." 1 Samuel 17: 46-47
When we are under pressure is when we need to open our mouths and boldly speak God's Word. This is exactly what Jesus did.
'And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" (Mark 4:37 - 40 ESV)
Have you ever wondered why Jesus 'rebuked' the wind and spoke to the waves? It seems odd behaviour. It amazed the disciples. It's not normal behaviour for your average Christian, to go around talking to inanimate entities. Why didn't Jesus pray? Why didn't he get all the disciples to hold hands, on their knees in the middle of the boat and start crying out, "Lord, we're just asking you for this one thing …"
One fundamental question that every Christian needs to ask is "How would I act if what I believe was true?" Acting on what we believe is the essence of our faith walk. (Luke 11:28, Matt 7:24, James 2:17) The action Jesus chose to take was to speak to the storm.
What if God wanted us to do likewise? What if our first and primary response to difficult situations, once we had become convinced of God's will, was to speak to the situation?
Jesus said, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he SAYS is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask (command), believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.’ (Mark 11:22-24 NASB)
Jesus put just as much emphasis on speaking, as he did on having faith itself. Notice also that Jesus did not say if you pray about the mountain. He said, "if you say to the mountain". He emphasised speaking your faith again in Matthew 17:20. "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can SAY to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Already we have three scriptures that emphasise speaking to the opposition. But there are many more.
In Romans 4 the scripture speaks of walking in faith, citing how God used faith as an example 'who CALLS those things that appear not as though they are.' Joel 3 says, 'Let the weak SAY they are strong!' 2 Corinthians 4:13 says, 'We having the same spirit of faith, according to as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I SPOKEN; we also believe, and therefore SPEAK'.
When we speak words of faith, we put our faith into action. We apply in our physical world, spiritual truths.
It's time to get sassy with our faith!
