This Sunday was another mind blowing service at Harvest Bible Chapel in Oakville Ontario. We had the privilege of hearing Pastor Karl Whittingstall who is our Pastor for Youth Ministries.

His message was about faith in Jesus and what it means. So what does Faith in Jesus mean?

He raised three key points during his message which really stuck with me:

1. Faith in Jesus means I die to self.
2. Faith in Jesus means I live what I believe
3. Faith in Jesus means I let God’s love fuel me

Ill give you a quick break down of these points as I believe they are too important to keep to myself.

1. Faith in Jesus means I die to myself:

• When we are born we are born into a fallen sinful world and when we make the decision to follow Christ the bible says we are reborn into a new creation. This death and rebirth isn’t physical but spiritual. The issue we have is though our spirits have been given life we carry our soul and physical body which have the desires of the world and flesh, so in order to be like Christ we must crucify the desires of the flesh and conform into the new creation and nature God has given to us.

How do we do this?

• This is impossible to do on our own. We need the help of the precious Holy Spirit who takes residence within us after we are reborn, cooperating with him and renewing the mind and mind-sets (Romans 12:2). In this we go through a process of sanctification (Hebrews 10:14). God instructs us to put off our old selves which is corrupted by evil desires and to put on the new self (Christ) (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Two points Pastor Karl presented that can help us accomplish this

• Repent: We need to acknowledge whats going on and turn from it making the decision to not go back.
• Have a ‘kill sin’ plan: We need to actively attack our sin. We can use fight verses from the bible and pray and meditate on them.

2. Faith in Jesus means I live what I believe

Are we intentional and continuous about how we live? The problem we have is that we live for ourselves, our pleasures, our will, our wants. We must live sacrificial lives as this will change our relationship with others and God. Its starts in the heart then goes to the head then flows into your life – its about transformation and change.

Pastor Karl posed this question and I would like to pose it to you; what are you doing to change the way your heart informs your head?

If we are going to believe Gods word is true we must live like it.

3. Faith in Jesus means I let God’s love fuel me

The kindness on the cross should cause us to respond in immediacy and to the glory of God.

One quote he read that blew my mind is  by John Stott “No Christian who has grasped the truth could ever seriously contemplate reverting to the old life”.

The truth in this quote is so real. If we understand the magnitude of the price Jesus paid on the cross and the weight of our sins we would never consider turning back to our old ways. The work Christ Jesus did on the cross can never be repaid it is greater than anything and everyone.

How do we do this better?

• We must see the love of God and understand the immensity of our sins then we will begin to understand the work on the cross.
• Let Gods loves which was an expression of what he did fuel your life.

What a message this is. Pastor Karl opened my eyes and understanding to another level. Gods love is the greatest gift to humanity  (John 3:16), to send His only beloved son to die for a world who rejected Him is beyond understanding but I am eternally grateful and give my life as an act of thanksgiving and worship.

I’m so happy I got to share this with you all and hope it blesses someone out there.

Stay blessed x