| Chapter
16
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WALKING BY FAITH
There is something mysterious about faith.
Paul
refers to this mystery:
1
Timothy 3:9
"Holding
the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."
The Greek word for "holding" is "echontas".
It
means to be told a secret .
Holding
a mystery means receiving, believing and using exclusive
information. We therefore can receive special information
about faith and apply it in our life. All over the world,
Believers have an intense desire to find out more about
faith. Many thousand of books and articles have been
written on this subject.
What
money is to our natural world faith is to our spiritual
world.
Faith
is the spiritual currency that obtains things in the
spiritual realm. When believers hear about faith for
the first time, they wonder if they have faith. Paul
assures us that every believer has faith.
Romans
12:3
"According
as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
Even
if that measure of faith is the size of a little mustard
seed, it has the power to remove mountains and do impossibilities.
Matthew
17:20
"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."
Faith
is our God given currency to do anything!
Paul
advises us to use faith for our personal benefit.
Romans
14:22
"Hast
thou faith? have it to thyself before God."
It
pleases God when we have faith in Him.
Hebrews
11:6
"But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he
that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Our
Christian life is a life of faith.
Romans
1:17
"The
just shall live by faith."
A Biblical definition of Faith:
Romans
4:21
"And
being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he
was able also to perform."
We
therefore believe, that what God has promised us in
the Bible, he can and will do.
Faith
is therefore taking God at His word.
If
we are sick, we believe God promise to heal us and claim
our healing.
Exodus
15:26
"For
I am the LORD that healeth thee."
If
we have a financial need, we believe God promise and
claim financial supply.
Philippians
4:19
"But
my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus."
Faith
is the substance of all needs:
Hebrews
11:1
"Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen."
The
need could be healing.
The
need could be money .
The
need could be help.
The
need could be deliverance.
Faith is the underlying substance of healing, supply, help and deliverance.
The
Greek word "substance" is "hypostasis."
It
means "the essence or basic composition that things
are made of."
Faith
is therefore the unseen material our needs are made
of.
The
moment our faith is released, the invisible substance
of our need actually manifests itself in a visible form
of:
Faith
is that healing.
Faith
is that miracle.
Faith
is that financial supply.
Faith
is that help.
Faith
is that deliverance.
The
intangible becomes the tangible.
Jesus
said -
Mark
5:36
"Be
not afraid, only believe."
He
really was saying - "Don't be afraid, I will keep my
promise, so trust me."
There
are three things about faith that are important:
These
different levels of faith start with a measure of a
little faith.
1.
Little faith:
Matthew
6:30
"Shall
he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"
Faith
can increase to a greater measure.
2.
Great faith:
Matthew
8:10
"Verily
I say unto you, I have not found so great faith,
no, not in Israel."
3.
God kind of faith:
Mark
11:22
"And
Jesus answering saith unto them, have faith in God.
(The God kind of faith)
It
was with God kind of faith, that God created the Universe.
He called the things that did not exist into existence.
Romans
4:17
"God
calleth those things which be not as though they were."
Our
walk of faith.
2
Corinthians 5:7
"For
we walk by faith, not by sight:"
Those
who walk by sight walk according to the five physical
senses of their body.
When
we are born again into Gods Kingdom we walk in a new
dimension.
It
is the dimension of faith and we obtain and achieve
all things by faith.
Romans
1:17
"For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from
faith to faith:"
The
two Greek words for faith used here are "Pisteo"
and "Pistin".
Pisteo
means "the first experience of faith".
Pistin
means "the highest experience of faith".
Our
walk of faith is a journey from the first experience
of faith to the highest experience of faith.
This
walk of faith in each situation is made up of seven
steps:
1.
Clearly identify your need.
Mark
10:36
"And
he said unto them, what would ye that I should do for
you?"
Faith
is the substance of what you need and therefore you
must identify your need.
2.
Receive Gods' promise for that specific need.
We
are children of promise and were created by God to experience
His promises.
Romans
9:8
"But
the children of the promise are counted for the seed."
2
Peter 1:4
"Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:
that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature."
These
promises are priceless and are greater than any need
we ever may experience.
How
do we receive these promises for our needs?
The
Bible is the Word of promise and it reveals a promise
for every specific need.
Romans
9:9
"For
this is the word of promise."
As
we read or hear the Bible, we discover these amazing
promises of God for our needs.
If
we have a financial need, there is a promise for that
need.
Philippians
4:19
"But
my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus."
3.
Visualize receiving Gods' promise for that need.
God
helped Abraham by letting him visualize His promise.
Genesis
15:5
"And
He brought him forth abroad, and said, look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number
them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be ."
God
promised to give Abraham a son and multiply his descendants
as the stars of the heaven. Every night Abraham looked
at the sky, he saw the millions of stars and could visualize
Gods promise to him.
Whatever
your need is, visualize your need being supplied. If
you need healing, see yourself being healed and enjoying
health. If you need financial supply, see your billfold
full of money and money being deposited into your bank
account. See your self getting a raise in salary, a
new job or signing a business contract. See your situation
change!
4.
Believe Gods' promise.
By
faith we believe Gods promise and wait for it.
Hebrews
6:12
"Who
through faith and patience inherit the promises."
We
know that God cannot lie.
Numbers
23:19
"God
is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall
he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good?"
We
also know that He is able to perform His promise.
Romans
4:21
"And
being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he
was able also to perform."
5.
We then act upon Gods' promise.
Our faith is a verb and not a noun. A verb is a doing word.
Our
faith should be an action, acting upon Gods promise.
Hebrews
11:7
"By
faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as
yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark."
Noah
believed God would save him and his family from the
flood and went to action building an ark.
Peter
believed Jesus, climbed over the side of the boat and
started walking on the water.
Matthew
14:29
"And
he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the
ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus."
6.
Speak Gods promise.
Confess
it with your mouth.
Romans
10:10
"For
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
We
receive Gods promises through His Word into our heart.
Within our mind we meditate the promise. Then we act
upon it by confessing and speaking it.
Every
time we speak Gods promise, our tongue becomes a pen
that writes the promise in our hearts.
The
more we speak Gods promises, the more they are processed
in our heart.
Psalm
45:1
"My
heart is processing a good matter: my tongue is the
pen of a ready writer."
2
Corinthians 4:13
"We
having the same spirit of faith, according as it is
written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we
also believe, and therefore speak;"
Psalm
35:27
"Let
them say continually; Let the LORD be magnified, which
hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
An
example of this is seen in the life of Abraham, when
God changed his name.
Genesis
17:4-5
"As
for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt
be a father of many nations.
Neither
shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name
shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have
I made thee."
Abram was given a new name Abraham, which means "father of a multitude."
Although
he had no children at that time, every time Abraham
spoke his name, he was confessing to be a father of
a multitude. This was a confession of faith. It wasn't
long after he began doing this, that God fulfilled this
promise and gave him a son, Isaac.
Why
is it so important to speak Gods promises?
It
is important because Jesus as our High Priest works
with these confessions, to help us to receive from God
what we need. He is the High priest of our profession
(confession.)
Hebrews
3:1
"Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider
the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus;"
In
the Old Testament the High Priest worked with the sacrifices
the Israelites brought to God.
In
the New Testament Jesus our High Priest works with the
confessions of the Saints of God.
Our
walk of faith is a spiritual walk of confessions:
We
confess sin and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior.
We
confess healing and we are healed.
We
confess financial supply and our need is met.
With
our mouth we confess what we believe and Jesus Christ
our High Priest works with the confessions on our behalf.
7.
Obtain Gods promise.
The
great men of faith are mentioned in Hebrews chapter
eleven.
All
of them by faith obtained Gods promises.
Heb
11:33
"Who
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises."
They
not only believed Gods promises, they obtained them.
2
Corinthians 1:20
"For
all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen."
Therefore the promises of God in Jesus are yea which means Yes.
When
we confess these promises, God says yes and we obtain
them.
Then
by faith we say "Amen."
The
word amen is the closing word of our prayers. Like a
computer, it is our log-off or completion key.
The
word amen concludes the promise of God as completed
and done.
It
is important to understand that faith is a powerful
force in action:
Romans
3:27
"By
the law of faith."
The Greek word for law is "Nomon".
It
means a powerful force in action.
It
is a powerful force of the spoken word completing its
full course.
2
Thessalonians 3:1
"Finally,
brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord
may have free course, and be glorified, even as
it is with you:"
This
course could be better described in six parts:
1.
A promise of Gods Word received in a Christian's heart.
2.
The promise meditated upon and understood.
3.
A Christian believing God will perform the promise.
4.
Acting in faith and confessing the promise.
5.
The faith then becomes tangible. It becomes substance.
It becomes the
thing we believed for.
6.
The active force of faith brings about the completion
and fulfillment of
the promises of God.
The
test of faith.
1
Peter 1:7
"That
the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ:"
There
are many situations that arise in our lives to test
our faith.
These
are situations of sickness, hurt, loss, lack, need,
crises, fear and danger.
They
are never easy because they burn like fire, but there
results are more precious than gold.
Any
manufactured product, coming off the production line
must undergo a quality test. Pipes that are welded at
the seams must be air pressure tested, to ensure that
they do not leak. A leaking pipe is a worthless pipe
if it cannot process water, oil or gas pumped through
it. New trucks and cars must be driven and tested before
they are sold.
Your
faith will be tested.
How
can we develop our faith?
There
are three ways to develop faith and ensure its growth:
1.
We develop our faith by hearing Gods word and His promises.
Romans
10:17
"So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God."
As
we hear Gods word and embrace these promises in our
heart our faith is stimulated.
It
is important to search the Bible for Gods promises and
read them over and over again.
If
we retain them within our hearts they will be available
to use in the time of need.
2.
Our faith grows as we see that confessing these promises
really works.
We
will see results in our own personal life and that of
others. We will see healings, deliverance and the supply
of needs and our faith will grow.
3.
Our faith will become a natural part of everyday living.
Speaking
these promises will become a part of our conversation.
We will continually experience miracles, healing, supply,
answers to prayer and the supernatural.
We
will walk by faith, never speak or react negatively
and only speak positively.
Our
faith will experience completion:
Hebrews
12:2
"Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;"
Jesus
will complete our faith!
Our
Lord Jesus Christ wants our faith to rise up within
us and be demonstrated. He wants our faith to grow from
a small measure to a great measure, finally becoming
the God kind of faith.
By
faith Christians do great exploits:
Hebrews
11:33-39
"Who
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched
the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight,
turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women
received their dead raised to life again: and others
were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they
might obtain a better resurrection:
And
others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
They
were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins
and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Of
whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts,
and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith."
We
are challenged to fight for and keep the faith delivered
to the saints:
Jude
3
"That
ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints."
Faith
is valuable!
It
is worth contending for!
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