I had a church member who seemed unassuming, yet his actions spoke volumes. He diligently applied every prophetic word, and soon, testimonies flowed. His life transformed dramatically. Meanwhile, some ‘serious’ believers struggled to advance. The Lord highlighted a truth: “Some faithful ones lack faith, while others, seemingly unfaithful, are full of faith.”
Friend, what type of a Christian are you (Romans 9:30-32)? If you are faithful but faithless, you would have stability, but you would lack progress. If you are unfaithful but full of faith, you would make some progress but may crash due to instability. God wants you to be faithful as well as full of faith (2 Chronicles 20:20).
Faithfulness is the currency you need for heaven. Faith is the currency you need on the earth (Habakkuk 2:4). Be heaven-bound and earthly relevant. The life of Lazarus and the rich man mirrored this truth. Lazarus is a typology of a faithless Christian (Luke 16:20-21).
As you work on your faithfulness, also work on your faith (Galatians 3:7:9). Lazarus was righteous, but he struggled in life. His problem was not his sin. His problem was his lack of faith. Righteousness and faith are distinct; one does not automatically replace the other (Hebrews 11:33).
The two kinds of people in church: faithful but faithless and unfaithful but faith-full (Matthew 8:8-13). Those closest to the man of God and those who have stayed for a long time in church are ready victims of the former. They are familiar with the word of God and the man of God. Nothing moves them (2 Kings 7:1-2). They casualize instructions.
Work on your faith. Receive God’s word with meekness and obey it with earnestness (James 1:21-25). If you don’t work on your faith, it would seem that God is not faithful to you. It would also seem that you are not faithful to God (John 9:1-3). This is why people often think that struggling people are living in sin. But that’s not always true.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria