God Has Spoken: Now Walk by Faith

In this sermon delivered at Impact Centre Chretien (ICC), Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU draws on 1 Kings 18:41-46 to recall a truth too often forgotten: when God speaks, he expects a response. A prophecy without faith acting on it remains a nice word left hanging. Here is how to put Elijah's faith into motion in your life.

The Context: A Prophetic Word Already Received

Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU begins by recalling that his father in the faith announced a prophetic word to the assembly the previous week. He spoke about persistent prayer, drawing on Elijah, who prays seven times before the cloud appears. Today, he continues the message: the word has been released, it is time to walk.

The base text is 1 Kings 18, starting at verse 41. Elijah tells Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain." Ahab goes up. Elijah, for his part, bows down, sends his servant seven times to look toward the sea, until a small cloud appears. Then he sends word to the king to go down before the rain stops him. The wind rises, a heavy rain falls, and the hand of the Lord comes upon Elijah, who runs ahead of the king's chariot all the way to Jezreel.

The guiding idea comes down to one sentence the pastor hammers home: "God has spoken, now walk by faith." Your life and your future depend directly on your faith. When we talk about faith here, we are not talking about a simple religious procedure. We are talking about an attitude that receives what God has said and puts itself in motion.

Outline of the Article

1. True Faith Rests on What God Has Said

2. Faith Sees What God Has Announced

3. Faith Looks for Companions in Faith

4. Faith Speaks and Decrees the Word Received

5. Faith Requires Concrete Action

6. Faith Perseveres Until Fulfillment

1. True Faith Rests on What God Has Said

The first characteristic of Elijah's faith is that it rests on a word. Elijah did not invent the rain. He heard God, and his faith came to rest on what God had declared. "My faith rests on what God has said," insists Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU.

This is the very principle of Romans 10:17: faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes through the word of Christ. People of faith do not listen to just any word. They enter into the voice of God, they align themselves with his word, they catch what he has announced, and they never let it go.

The pastor gives a simple picture: in Africa, when the power comes back after an outage, it comes back all at once and everything lights up together. The word of God works the same way in a heart that receives it: it lights up everything at once, and from that point on, you can no longer live as before. If God has spoken, your way of thinking, speaking, and walking is renewed according to that word.

2. Faith Sees What God Has Announced

Elijah sends his servant to look at the sea. Six times, he comes back: nothing. On the seventh time, the servant says, "Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea." The servant's eyes see a small cloud. Elijah's faith already sees a great rain.

That is the second characteristic: faith must see big. Your eyes see the impossibility, your circumstances, a bank account nearly empty, fragile health, a struggling marriage. Your faith must see doors opening, the heavens opened, deliverance on the way, the great rain arriving.

"Your eyes saw a small cloud, but your faith must see the great rain," the pastor sums up. Faith sees what God has announced even before it becomes visible. It looks beyond the challenges. It refuses to stay aligned with what the physical eyes report.

3. Faith Looks for Companions in Faith

Elijah is not alone. He sends his servant, he speaks to Ahab, he runs ahead of the chariot. True faith, says Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU, looks for companions in faith. Men and women of faith do not stay isolated. They look for other men, other women who believe the same word, who rest on the same voice.

When a word has been released by a servant of God, it looks for hearts to welcome it and others to pass it on. The people around you must be aligned with what you believe. If you are surrounded by distracted people, who have not heard or who give no weight to the word, your faith will wear thin.

This is not a call to exclusion. It is a call to clear thinking: who are you standing next to when God has just spoken into your life?

4. Faith Speaks and Decrees the Word Received

The pastor draws on 2 Corinthians 4:13: "I believed, and so I spoke. Since we have the same spirit of faith, we also believe, and so we also speak." Faith is not silent. Faith speaks. Faith decrees. It repeats what God has announced.

Hebrews 11:2 puts it another way: it was through faith that the people of old received their commendation. Faith is not only a key to possessing things, it is a posture that produces a testimony. "People will speak of you as a man, a woman of faith. A testimony will be given about you," Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU announces.

Concretely: what God has said about your illness, you can declare it. What God has said about your family, you can proclaim it. What God has said about your future, you can announce it, even to those who doubt. The word of faith is the word God first spoke, and that you take up again in your mouth.

5. Faith Requires Concrete Action

"Faith requires action. When we talk about walking, we are talking about movement." Faith that stays in your head is dead faith. Elijah does not settle for hearing the sound of rain, he bows down, he sends his servant, he sends the king down, he runs in the rain.

After a prophetic word, something has to change in your day. A choice. A step forward. A conversation to have. A habit to leave behind. A step to take. "You can no longer live the way you used to live," the pastor reminds us. If God has spoken and nothing moves in your life, the word cannot be fulfilled through you.

Faith shapes actions because it first shapes the soul. And the soul shapes the actions. What you truly believe always ends up showing in what you do.

6. Faith Perseveres Until Fulfillment

Elijah sends his servant seven times. Six refusals. Seven, perseverance. Elijah's faith did not stay silent forever: on the seventh time, it said, "behold, a little cloud." His faith was persistent.

Many believers give up between the decree and the fulfillment. God has spoken, but the sixth "nothing" discourages them. They go home before the cloud rises. They stop praying, speaking, walking. And the rain, when it comes, catches them in the wrong place.

"I pray that rain does not miss you," says Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU. Your perseverance is the bridge between the word heard and the rain made visible.

Key Takeaways

• Biblical faith is never self generated: it always rests on a word God spoke first.
• Your faith must see what your eyes cannot yet see: a small cloud for your senses, a great rain for your faith.
• Choose who surrounds you: people of faith look for companions who believe the same word.
• Speak the word you received: faith that believes what God said ends up saying it in turn.
• Move to action: a prophetic word calls for a concrete change in the way you live.
• Persevere until the seventh time: the rain falls for those who hold on until fulfillment.

Personal Application

• What specific word has God already given you, through his Bible or through a servant of his, that you have not yet placed your faith on?
• Does your faith still see something above your circumstances, or has it aligned itself with what your eyes report?
• Who are your three current companions in faith? Do they believe with you the word you have received?
• What concrete declaration can you make today about your health, your family, your work, or your calling, by taking up again what God has said?
• What specific action will you take this week so that the word you received takes shape in your life?

Verses Cited

• 1 Kings 18:41-46 · Elijah announces the rain, sends his servant seven times, runs ahead of Ahab.
• Hebrews 11:1-2 · It was through faith that the people of old received their commendation.
• 2 Corinthians 4:13 · I believed, and so I spoke.
• Romans 10:17 · Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
• Isaiah 43:26 · Put me in remembrance.
• Psalm 20:2-6 · May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.

FAQ

What does "God has spoken, walk by faith" mean?

It means biblical faith is never self invented: it is the response of a heart that has first heard God speak, through his Word or through a servant he sent. Walking by faith means aligning your life, your words, and your actions with what God has declared, even when nothing is visible yet.

Why does Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU insist so much on the example of Elijah?

Because 1 Kings 18 illustrates every component of active faith: a word received, a vision that goes beyond the eyes, a persistent posture, concrete action (running ahead of the chariot), and fulfillment (the great rain). Elijah is a model for every believer who has received a promise and is waiting for it to be fulfilled.

How can I know if a prophetic word truly comes from God?

Genuine prophetic words always agree with the Bible, they confirm what God has already revealed, they build up, encourage, and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3), and they call people to holiness and faith. If a word pulls you away from Scripture, it does not come from God, even if it sounds good.

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Sermon by Pastor Tonny TSHIBANGU, Impact Centre Chretien (ICC). Find the full message on ICC's YouTube channel.