Turn Your Lazy Faith into Fruitful Faith.

(This post includes recaps and inspiration from the messages “Lazy Faith” and “Walk For God” by Chief Apostle HC Gunn.)

What does your faith do? Yes, just like love, Faith is an action word.

When you say you have faith, is it just a belief in your heart or something you are willing to do and follow through with?

2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

This is a scripture so many in the world quote as their "favorite verse." But it’s not just about not fearing what you may encounter...t’s about using the power and sound mind God has provided to us to not allow fear, self, other people, circumstances, etc. to stop us from putting our faith into action. In other words, being doers of the word and not just hearers of the word.

Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." This scripture asks us what are we going to do with the word we have heard? Will we believe it, receive and then act on it? Side note: As Chief Apostle Gunn teaches us: Oftentimes, our faith is tied to what we are willing to give and give up for God and others

2 Timothy 1:7 also reminds us that we must make it a life practice to stop paying too much attention to what we see in the world and before us and instead look to Jesus and draw on what we know about him, so that we are not hindered from doing his work and his will. This is something Chief Apostle has been driving home in his messages. No matter if things are financially tight, the world is in chaos or things seem to be falling apart, faith compels us to continue.

Sometimes, we only want to go so far. We decide that what we see around us is too hard to overcome, so we make an excuse to stop trying, to stop growing, to stop giving, to stop caring, to stop believing. That’s what lazy faith is.

We put limits on God and ourselves because we don’t want to go further, even when he’s calling us further. Faith is not permanent. It just doesn't stay put once you believe for the first time. You have to exercise it, it has to grow up. You have to believe and act on the word every day to make faith work. It is not automatic and neither is love. Chief Apostle Gunn has taught us that it's a decision

Some of us are happy with just believing one time. Just saying we believe in God is enough for us, and it shouldn't be. And that’s the problem. We confuse faith and belief. Faith goes beyond just believing, it’s doing.

And that leads us to the next segment. On FORREAL Radio Broadcast this weekend, Chief Apostle HC Gunn gave some powerful and life-changing insight. He asked us what happens after you come to the altar, confess Christ, shake the pastor’s hand, and tell him you want to be saved? It is not once saved, always saved. That is a lie! There is supposed to be fruit of your faith, repentance, and your salvation. As you begin to walk with God, your faith should begin to increase and, as you continue, the fruit of the spirit in you should grow and be viable. The word is supposed to take root in you and grow. God should be able to pick fruit from your tree of life (your walk).

When you are truly walking with God, people can see your fruit. You don’t have to show them you are saved, they will know by your fruit.

Matthew 7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

While writing this blog, what came to mind is Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

God says everything on purpose. I believe it is no accident that when God talked about faith in Matthew 17, he used a seed of a plant for an example. It tells us in a matter-of-fact way that our faith is meant to grow and be productive.

By definition, mustard plants are "easy to grow and produce seed in as few as 60 days," according to KitchenGardener Magazine. "The greens are edible, the flowers attractive, and if the seeds are allowed to mature on the plant, they will self-sow and still provide plenty for mustard making."

The fruit of our faithfulness should have many uses to God and the Body of Christ, and should mature to the point that others can benefit from it, providing more fruit for more seeds.

During the broadcast, Chief Apostle shared a vision he had from the Lord that showed cedar and other trees walking toward Jesus with beautiful fruit, all kinds. Trees represent people. And Jesus is calling us to walk for him, with him and toward him bearing real fruit. He is looking for our fruit every day, not just during special seasons.

We must not find ourselves like the fig tree that Jesus encountered while traveling with the disciples. He was expecting to find fruit to eat but the tree was fruitless. It was of no use to him or anyone else. It had not grown. It was not productive. It did not live out its purpose and God's will, which was to bear fruit. We can be just like that fig tree.

We can just be sitting on the pews at church or just existing in our homes with no life of God in us .... No spiritual breath in our bodies. No faith or love pumping through our veins. In fact, instead, it’s often bitterness, unforgiveness, greed, pride, unwillingness, unbelief that drives us.

The Bible tells us we can have faith that moves mountains, but as Chief Apostle Gunn said, instead of growing in faith and working out our faith so we can move the mountains of life, we are building mountains of sin with the ditches we are digging and the dirt piles that result in how we live toward God and treat one another. We have become so unloving and unfaithful that we are creating mountains of obstacles and hardships that don't have to exist not only for ourselves and others. All because we have chosen to be a faithless or lazy faith generation.

The best way to close out this post is with the scripture about the fig tree that Chief Apostle went over on the broadcast. It is powerful and if you let it, it will transform you. Let’s be FRUITFUL in our faith and multiply it. Let’s put spiritual laziness and barrenness to death in our lives forevermore.

Mark 12:

12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:

13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.

14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

...

20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.

22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

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.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Listen to the broadcast "Walk for God" here: https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/listen-in?wix-music-track-id=5320476715909120&wix-music-comp-id=comp-jyc7a8to