Infinite Fellowship Ministries

The Faith-Filled & Purified Church: Sermon By Rev. Sarah Muendo

O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent? Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness, and speaks and holds truth in his heart.

He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in his eyes an evil person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].

He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit]; He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite], and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Psalms 15 (AMPC)

In the new move, God is expecting from us a new level of faith and a new level of holiness.

We need to arise in the spirit and see faith as a currency to trade with.

A new level of faith means a new level of lack and difficulty.

Faith and purity are interdependent.

Purity of heart, mind, motive and intentions is the kind of purity God is calling us to.

In the Bible, when someone did something without faith it affected their purity. Every time you do something without faith, it affects your purity.
           
Even though we do the right thing, if we do not have faith God will not be pleased with us.

The reason why your lack of faith affects your purity is because lack of faith defiles the spirit and makes us spiritually bankrupt.

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. 

Hebrews 11:1 AMP

When you have faith, you have access to infinite possibilities. Faith gives you access to even things that you are not trusting God for.

God wants us to come from the place of trusting Him for things to the place of having faith in Him.

It is possible to have intellectual assent in God but still lack faith. Faith is not intellectual. Faith comes alive through obedience.

But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him. 

Hebrews 11:6 AMP

How do our everyday decisions show our faith or lack of faith?

God wants us to come to the place where our everyday decisions reflect our faith in His existence.

The initial sin was not about the eating or not eating of fruits. It was about man declaring his autonomy from God.

Lack of faith in God is a declaration of your independence from God.

In the kingdom of God, faith is a verb. It has never been a noun.

It is not enough to hear. We must do what we hear. When God speaks, there is something required for us to do.

God wants us to come to the place where we follow through what He says to us.

Disobedience is a show of lack of faith in God.

Faith is demonstrated by our obedience with speed and accuracy.

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you [walking] in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even change your mind afterward and believe him [accepting what he proclaimed to you]. 

Matthew 21:28-32 AMP

God is calling us to the place where our faith has results from our obedience.

In the case of Rebekah, in her obedience she trusted the word of God but not His methods and timing. In the kingdom, the ends do not justify the means. Everything needs to be done in righteousness

The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram (Syria); 

1 Kings 19:15 AMP

So Ahab slept with his fathers [in death], and Ahaziah his son became king in his place. 

1 Kings 22:40 AMP

Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the [idolatrous] way of his father [Ahab] and of his mother [Jezebel], and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. He served Baal and worshiped him, and he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, in accordance with everything that his father [Ahab] had done. 

1 Kings 22:51-53 AMP

So Ahaziah [the son of King Ahab] died in accordance with the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram [his younger brother] became king [of Israel, the northern kingdom] in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah [the southern kingdom]. 

2 Kings 1:17 AMP

Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 

2 Kings 3:1-2 AMP

Elisha stared steadily at Hazael until he was embarrassed, and then the man of God wept. Hazael said, “Why are you weeping, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons (descendants) of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.” Then Hazael said, “Surely not! For what is your servant, who is nothing more than a dog, that he would do this monstrous thing?” And Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” 

2 Kings 8:11-13 AMP

But the next day Hazael took the bedspread and dipped it in water and covered the king’s face, so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

 2 Kings 8:15 AMP

Jehu and Hazael were not anointed by Elijah. The disobedience of Elijah caused Israel to be led by people who were not supposed to be kings and led them to sin. It caused a ripple effect to those who were not even involved.

Our obedience or disobedience as a church carries consequences for other people. The destiny of Kenya lies in the hands of the Body of Christ.

The faith that is required of us is on an individual level that will feed the corporate dimension of faith.

Choosing your own methods over God’s method is still disobedience

The challenge is to check our thoughts, meditations, intentions and heart posture.

But he who is uncertain [about eating a particular thing] is condemned if he eats, because he is not acting from faith. Whatever is not from faith is sin [whatever is done with doubt is sinful]. 

Romans 14:23 AMP