Whether we Christians know it or not, our profession on this earth is living by faith.
Living by faith is not a religious cliché but the very lifestyle of Christians and living by faith is also a Christian’s profession. Christians need to become more and more professional at living by faith.
Scriptures prove living by faith is our profession as well as our lifestyle.
2 Cor 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) KJV
Heb 4:14 Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. TEV
1 Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith,…and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. KJV
Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; KJV
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. KJV
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) KJV
Are you getting a glimpse of what your profession in the Kingdom of God is and then what the family business in the earth is supposed to look like? It’s all about faith, faith in the truth of God’s Word, faith in the finished work of Christ, faith in who we are in Christ, and all the other truths of our New Covenant in Christ. Your new birth opened up for you the Father’s family business, faith in Him, His covenant and the laws and principles of that Kingdom, supernatural living above the facts and elements of this world and then demonstration that comes as a result of faith.
See, professionally living by faith means we speak our faith in the Word of God constantly. Why? Because we are constantly bombarded with facts opposing what the Word tells us is the truth about us. When we hold fast to our profession of faith without wavering then Jesus, the High Priest of our profession sees to it that it is manifested in the earth. We must remain faithful to our profession for Jesus is faithful.
When we get to the place where we are willing to stand in faith no matter what things look like that are contrary to our faith, then we won’t have to stand in faith very long. Being anchored to the Word, “holding firmly to the faith we profess”; that makes all the difference in our outcome.
I am believing my brothers and sisters in Christ will become professionals of faith after they read this article.
There’s a bible story in the Old Testament showing us how “holding fast to the profession of our faith without waver” worked for a certain woman. I call this woman “a professional woman of faith”.
2 Kings 4:16-37 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. KJV
The son of this professional woman of faith had died but yet she told her husband and Elisha’s servant, “All shall be well.” “All is well.” She never mentioned that her son was dead even though she knew he was dead. Why? Because she was intoxicated with faith the man of God would raise him from the dead.
Natural minded, people who live by reasoning would probably have said to her, “All is well? And your son is dead? Have you lost your mind?”
That’s what living by faith looks like to carnal, natural minded people, “You have lost your mind!” When in fact, that is exactly what has taken place with us. We have lost our carnal, natural reasoning and have gained a faith mindset which the New Testament calls “the mind of Christ”.
1 Cor 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. KJV
The husband of this professional woman of faith tried to talk her out of going to see the man of God. But she responded to that nonsense with faith words, “It shall be well.” This woman said it two times to two different people. She was living by the profession of her faith that day her son died. She held firm to her faith without wavering even when others came to her with doubt in their voice and she still said, “All is well.” Now this woman was a professional woman of faith or she would have backed down twice.
How many in the Church today would dare speak their faith like this woman, “All is well,” when their son just died in their lap and they knew he was dead? This is professional living by faith.
This woman had gotten this same son by faith after the prophet of God had prophesied she would have a son when she and her husband could never have children and now her reasoning was that faith would restore life to her dead son.
Isn’t it funny that God has told us to live by faith and not by sight and yet people think we are plain crazy when we aren’t considering the facts but instead what God says about us? But let God be true and every man a liar.
2 Cor 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV
2 Cor 10:3-5 We are human, but we don't wage war with human plans and methods. 4 We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil's strongholds. 5 With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ. NLT
2 Cor 10:3-5 It is true that we live in the world, but we do not fight from worldly motives. 4 The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; 5 we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. TEV
I pray the wisdom of the natural, carnal man is disregarded in the Church so that the wisdom of God rises and we then see supernatural events in the Church and through the Church once again.
Here’s a scripture that echoes what I am sharing with you that mere men/women cannot understand the wisdom of God:
1 Cor 2:4-16 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. KJV
So we do not go to the world with enticing words of men’s wisdom but rather we are going to the world with demonstration of the supernatural. Our profession of faith will lead us into a supernatural lifestyle.
We, the Church, haven’t lived by faith to the degree we live a supernatural lifestyle but it has begun and I am praying this article sets many Christians free to pursue the profession of faith they have been called to and be the professional of faith God intends for them to be.
Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, … our profession, KJV
The story of the professional woman of faith in the Old Testament I shared with you is proof to us we can become so intoxicated with the Word of truth we come under the influence of faith. We have become drunk with the new wine of the Word of truth.
We have the same scenario in the New Testament when Jesus was so intoxicated with the truth of God’s Word, people laughed at Him for not recognizing Jarius’ daughter was dead. Jesus told the people who gathered that she was asleep and they laughed at Him. Then Jesus put the unbelievers and scorners out of the room and raised her from the dead.
Those stories in both the Old Testament and the New Testament show us the state of the one who is a professional living by faith and they become intoxicated with the Word of God and are under the influence of faith. You can’t talk these people out of their faith just like you can’t reason with a person who has become intoxicated with alcohol. This is our profession and our lifestyle, we are intoxicated with the new wine of the Word of God and have come under the influence of faith and it doesn’t wear off like in the natural because we continue to drink more and more of the new wine of the Word and become more intoxicated with it and come under the influence of faith.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; KJV
The Word has to dwell in our thinking, our reasoning, our imagination richly so that our minds, our mindset is intoxicated with the Word.
Jesus was so intoxicated with the truth of the Word of God and a supernatural lifestyle of faith that the religious people and His own family thought He had lost His mind. And there will come times people will think we have lost our mind but the truth is we have only lost our natural carnal mindset that kept us bound to this earth’s limitations. People might think we have joined some occult but no, we are living by faith out of heaven’s realm in the truth of God’s Word that is the reasoning of Heaven.
You are going to stand out from the crowd. But get over it. Jesus, our Lord, stood out in the crowd and did miracles that drew the multitudes and He said you will do even greater works. So let the “greater works” begin through you who uses heaven’s reasoning and are intoxicated with faith.