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How to Become a Hero of Faith in Your Generation
By Sade Tagbo | July 27, 2009
Do you ever wonder what it will take to become a hero of the faith? There are people that we look up to and admire. We admire their wholehearted surrender to God and the results for the kingdom.
As a young believer, I remember reading the stories of preachers who won thousands of people over to Christ. I remember watching the videos of services where the sick were healed. I loved those stories and videos, but it never occurred to me that God has called every believer to walk in the same level of intimacy and power that I saw in these people.
We’ve all heard the stories of Old Testament believers such as Daniel, David, and Joseph. They seemed to have God on their side in all situations. In the New Testament, we’ve read of Paul, Peter and other apostles who preached God’s Word with signs and wonders following. These signs and wonders followed whether they were in someone’s home, preaching to a crowd, or witnessing from prison.
They all served God in ways that caused their names to stand out for generations as men who knew God. They were filled with the fullness of God and He was able to show forth His power through them. God wants to fill EVERY believer the same way.
In Ephesians 3:19, Paul wrote to the Ephesian church and prayed
“…that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
Do you ever wonder about the possibility of knowing and walking with God as intimately as these men did? If you do, I have good news for you: God is not a respecter of persons. He has made it possible for ANYONE to be filled with the fullness of God. This truth is outlined in the scriptures:
Acts 10:34-35:
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That WHOSOEVER shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Do you know what “whosoever” means? It means anyone! THAT MEANS YOU! God is not a Father who plays favorites. No one has a “special” call. Even Stephen who waited on tables in the early church walked in miracles, signs and wonders. He has prepared a mantle and anointing for you!
Acts 6:8
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Well, you say, I really do believe that God wants to use me. So what do I do? How do I go from here to where I need to be?
The answer to that is simple. The key to becoming a mature Christian to the point of serving your generation like the heroes of the faith did is to DO WHAT THEY DID!!
That’s it? Yes! And the truth is that if you will take the things that they did and do them faithfully, you will receive the same promises that they received.
Hebrews 6:11-12
And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
It is on this principle of doing the Word that many believers fail to realize the fullness of what is available in Christ. They believe that receiving the fullness of God comes from:
Reading books
Listening to tapes/CDs
Going to church
Volunteering at church
Attending conferences
Working at being good
Giving money
Going for pastoral counseling
Hanging out with other believers
Doing nice and good things for people
Asking for prayer from everyone they can find
Attending Bible School
Adding longer titles to their church positions
Adding more church functions
Giving up on church and staying home
None of these things are bad in themselves. In fact, some of them are good things to do. However, I challenge you to read the stories of any Bible hero or hero of the faith and see if ANY of them will tell you that the above activities were the secret to the power of God in their lives. The truth is that NONE OF THESE THINGS CONSTITUTES DOING WHAT THE HEROES OF THE FAITH DID.
Our desire to experience Christianity through what we can see, hear, touch and feel keeps us going round in circles and coming up frustrated every time.
The Christian walk is a walk of the inner man, not the outer man. The growth comes from the inner man, not strengthening your soul and flesh through your senses.
We have to learn to let the inner man grow. The inner man is the part of us that walks with God. We need to let it take over the part of us that walks on the earth.
When the men and women of God that we admire rose up and determined that they wanted to walk with God, the most important things that they did were:
1. Receive the Holy Ghost: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)
2. Pray Much in Other Tongues: Paul said, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.” (1st Corinthians 14:18). But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20)
3. Devote Yourself to the Word and Prayer: Peter said, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)
4. Fast: Paul said, “In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:27)
5. Hold Fast Your Confession: Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised) (Hebrews 10:23)
6. Worship God at All Times: By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
7. Obey God: As you pray and fast and worship, He will speak to you and give you instructions for growth and maturity. Whatever He tells you, do it.
Can you see how the list of effective things to do is much shorter than the list of ineffective things that we do? That is the simplicity of the gospel. God is not trying to make things hard.
We are the ones who delay our destiny by continually looking for “a new revelation”, “a new book”, “a new church” and “a new way of doing things.”
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
It is time to revive the real dream that God has put into the heart of every believer: The dream to walk in His fullness as His sons.
Let us stop majoring on the minor items of our faith and begin to focus on bringing a personal revival to our own selves. Bring a revival to your own heart and mind and home. Revive your first love for the Lord by seeking Him deeply and with your whole heart.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
And because God is not a respecter of persons, He has made the process of growth so simple that anyone anywhere on the face of the earth can participate in His process of walking in the spirit and growing into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
We must get off the roller-coaster of modern Christianity and return to the simplicity of the gospel and walk God’s path into His love and power.
Do you remember what to do?
1. Receive the Holy Ghost
2. Pray Much in Other Tongues
3. Devote Yourself to the Word and Prayer
4. Fast
5. Hold Fast your Confession:
6. Worship God Privately
7. Obey God
Grace and Peace to you,
Sade Tagbo
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