Action Without Faith!

Following the previous blog: The Dictates of Prophecy, a reader asked,

‘What do you say: You have received a prophecy, do you wait for it to unfold actively or passively…

Most christians wait for them to unfold, and when they take long or even the time passes, they will say it wasn’t “true”. Advice?’

Well, here’s my advice:

Some pass passively, others actively. Some may require our involvement. Others may solely rely on God. But the common factor for both is TO BELIEVE. One may sit back, but yet didn’t believe the sent word!

The Bible says faith without actions (or deeds or works) is dead. (James 2:17) My thesis will rather deviate from James a bit, for here, he spoke of the generic faith. Faith in Jesus.

Faith works by love, Paul said. An example here could be, you claiming you love God with all your strength, but do not obey His commands. He said if you love Him, you should obey His commands. If you don’t, then, your faith is questionable.

In my deviated context, I focus on the believing aspect of faith; that if you take an action without believing, the faith behind will not cause effect. If you give, not believing that it will come back multiplied, it won’t produce that result. If you pray, and don’t believe but doubt, your prayer won’t avail much!

Zacharias almost didn’t believe. He could have limited God. So He was made dumb! This is where Mark 11:23 comes to play;

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Zacharias doubted already. But because of God’s mercy, his tresspass was overlooked.

However, that wasn’t the action required for the prophecy to come to pass. Obviously he had to sleep with Elizabeth. That means they had to actively be involved. But even if they did, remember, they had tried before, and the child hadn’t come. For the first time, they believed they were too old to have kids.

This time, they had to believe that the child would come after intercourse! This is the only new thing in the equation! Not being conformed to the standards of this world but transforming their situation by renewing their minds! They had not to consider their frail bodies, nor the deadness of Elizabeth’s womb!

They had to be convinced that God who promised would fulfill. And so, before sex was taken, BELIEF was the first work. Believing the sent word and He from whose mouth it proceeded. The unseen believing affects the seen realm. It covers 99% of the equation while the live action covers 1.

Soon, Elizabeth’s womb waxed into a bump.

This applied for Sarah as well. After laughing when the prophecy came, clearly, even if she laid with Abraham that night, she’d still be shaking her head in disbelief. There is no way she could have conceived.

Once she believed, not in her womb, but that He who promised was faithful and would fulfill — the 99% loaded. When they slept, this time around — after a change in her mindset, after believing — she conceived too!

Why I say believing is the common factor for all prophecy to pass, is because Mary didn’t take the action of sleeping with a man. We can term her prophecy as passive. But like I have mentioned before, the prophecy was that ‘a virgin would conceive…’ not ‘a virgin called Mary…’

So, if she too doubted, another virgin could have been found. Notice, when Gabriel talked to her, she didn’t say ‘this can’t be’ … rather, ‘how can this be?’

She believed, but only wondered by what method it would befall!

Jesus asked Peter to cast the nets again, that he would catch a draught even when he had toiled all night. Peter said ‘nevertheless, at YOUR WORD, I will let down the nets.’

He believed the prophecy sent FIRST, and then fished again. That’s when the miracle happened. So much fish got caught that the nets began breaking, the boats got so full and began sinking that Peter had to signal others with their boats to come help him.

So, whether you need to take some action like Peter, or Sarah or Elizabeth, or simply do nothing (physically) like Mary, you must believe the sent word and He that sent it, and that is when you will receive the reward as Hebrews 11:6 states.

Believing is the primary action. It is the primary foundation. Even Jesus when asked what work needed to be done answered, “This is the work of God, that you BELIEVE in Him whom He sent.” ‭‭(John‬ ‭6‬:‭29‬)

Prior to Mark 11:23, verse 22 says ‘Have faith in God.’ It was the prerequisite, for one before they could say to any mountain ‘to be moved …’

So, I pray for you, that you may have unshaken faith in God, and then you can go on to say to the mountain (or perform any action as led), and then you will have that which was promised or asked for!

For though faith without action is dead, action without faith as well, is dead. It is a paradox!

May God show you as well what you HAD NOT believed, so that He graces you with faith to it, that it may be empowered to inspire your action! For you’d be doing the business, but have you believed that you can lend to many nations? Have you believed that you have the power to get wealth?

O God, help our unbelief!