Faith part 1 | |
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Romans 4:3, “What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’”
When Steve and I were in Bible college, faith was the first topic we studied. I believe it set the tone for the rest of the studies. I had never learned so much about faith in all my life. It has made me so much more appreciative to understand and comprehend faith to a greater degree. I am going to try and share some of what I’ve learned here with you.
We see here in Romans that Abraham had great faith! God credited him righteous even though he was under the old covenant, without the shedding of Christ’s blood (Heb. 9:22). I want the faith of Abraham! What kind of faith did he have?
Let’s look at Romans 4:13 it says, “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Wow! Let’s think about that for a minute! Abraham was not credited righteous through the law, even though he was under the old covenant, but instead he received the promise that he would be heir of the world because of his righteousness that comes by FAITH.
His faith made him righteous! “Against all hope (look at that: Against ALL HOPE), Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.” He believed even though his circumstances were screaming at him every day! He could have so easily looked in the natural realm and said, “There is no way this is going to happen. Look at me! I’m an old man and my wife is old and barren! I just don’t see how God could do that. I probably didn’t hear Him correctly.” Does that sound familiar? Unfortunately this is the way many Christians believe and it is also how so many determine the will of God, through their circumstances instead of what God has already promised, or said to them, in His Word.
Abraham, however, didn’t look at the natural. He wasn’t looking at his flesh to determine what God’s will was or to determine if this would really happen. No, Abraham was thinking like God! In verse 19 it says, “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith…” Although Abraham knew it was a fact that he & Sarah were too old to have any more children, he refused to waver! He didn’t go back and forth like a ship being tossed.
James 1:6-8, “But when he asks, he must BELIEVE and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive ANYTHING from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in ALL he does.” That’s a powerful statement! God says that when a man doubts, he is double-minded and will not receive anything from God. He says he is unstable in ALL he does. Abraham was not unstable. He was not double-minded, he was single-minded! He had his mind SET on what God promised him.
You might be thinking the same thing I used to think, “Well, Julie, if God would speak to me in an audible voice, I’d believe whatever He told me. I’d believe it when He said it was a promise.” However, God’s Word is filled with promises! He has spoken to you personally through His Word and His promises are all true and all for you! If you’d been the only one on the earth, He would have still written the Word for you.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “YES” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
All God’s promises are YES in Christ! That means no matter what promise you find, it is for you and you can believe what it promises! We speak the “amen” to God’s glory! Amen means: “so be it”.
According to James 1:6, we must be single-minded in faith in order to receive from the Lord. The Word teaches us over and over that if we have faith we will receive.
In Matthew 8:10 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” And in verse 13, “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would. And his servant was healed at that very hour.”
It is written that Jesus repeatedly said, "Your faith has healed you."Matthew 9:22, “Jesus turned and saw her, ‘Take heart, daughter, he said, your faith has healed you and the woman was healed from that moment.”
In Matthew 9:28-30,”When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then He touched their eyes and said, According to your faith will it be done to you; and their sight was restored.”
Why does it say their sight was restored? Because they believed it would be.
Matthew 21:21-22, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea’, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.’ ” Again Jesus tells us that if we have faith and not doubt, then we will receive.
So when you go to God for prayer, believe that you receive WHEN you pray. In other words, you received what you asked for the moment that you asked Him. Don’t wait until you see the answer. That is not walking by faith, that is walking by sight (II Cor. 5:7)! Believe that you received the answer when you prayed and expect God to do the rest, to manifest the answer. It will be done. Faith in God’s Word always works. Faith in His Word will always bring results. His Word never fails when it is backed with faith!
We want to encourage you to increase your faith!
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
So begin to renew your mind with the Word of God and fill your heart with His promises. If you need faith for healing, focus & meditate on healing scriptures. If you need faith for finances, focus and meditate on prosperity scriptures. The answer you need is always in His Word because His Word is for YOU! It is His will and testament written for you.
When Steve and I were in Bible college, faith was the first topic we studied. I believe it set the tone for the rest of the studies. I had never learned so much about faith in all my life. It has made me so much more appreciative to understand and comprehend faith to a greater degree. I am going to try and share some of what I’ve learned here with you.
We see here in Romans that Abraham had great faith! God credited him righteous even though he was under the old covenant, without the shedding of Christ’s blood (Heb. 9:22). I want the faith of Abraham! What kind of faith did he have?
Let’s look at Romans 4:13 it says, “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Wow! Let’s think about that for a minute! Abraham was not credited righteous through the law, even though he was under the old covenant, but instead he received the promise that he would be heir of the world because of his righteousness that comes by FAITH.
His faith made him righteous! “Against all hope (look at that: Against ALL HOPE), Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.” He believed even though his circumstances were screaming at him every day! He could have so easily looked in the natural realm and said, “There is no way this is going to happen. Look at me! I’m an old man and my wife is old and barren! I just don’t see how God could do that. I probably didn’t hear Him correctly.” Does that sound familiar? Unfortunately this is the way many Christians believe and it is also how so many determine the will of God, through their circumstances instead of what God has already promised, or said to them, in His Word.
Abraham, however, didn’t look at the natural. He wasn’t looking at his flesh to determine what God’s will was or to determine if this would really happen. No, Abraham was thinking like God! In verse 19 it says, “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith…” Although Abraham knew it was a fact that he & Sarah were too old to have any more children, he refused to waver! He didn’t go back and forth like a ship being tossed.
James 1:6-8, “But when he asks, he must BELIEVE and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive ANYTHING from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in ALL he does.” That’s a powerful statement! God says that when a man doubts, he is double-minded and will not receive anything from God. He says he is unstable in ALL he does. Abraham was not unstable. He was not double-minded, he was single-minded! He had his mind SET on what God promised him.
You might be thinking the same thing I used to think, “Well, Julie, if God would speak to me in an audible voice, I’d believe whatever He told me. I’d believe it when He said it was a promise.” However, God’s Word is filled with promises! He has spoken to you personally through His Word and His promises are all true and all for you! If you’d been the only one on the earth, He would have still written the Word for you.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “YES” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
All God’s promises are YES in Christ! That means no matter what promise you find, it is for you and you can believe what it promises! We speak the “amen” to God’s glory! Amen means: “so be it”.
According to James 1:6, we must be single-minded in faith in order to receive from the Lord. The Word teaches us over and over that if we have faith we will receive.
In Matthew 8:10 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” And in verse 13, “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would. And his servant was healed at that very hour.”
It is written that Jesus repeatedly said, "Your faith has healed you."Matthew 9:22, “Jesus turned and saw her, ‘Take heart, daughter, he said, your faith has healed you and the woman was healed from that moment.”
In Matthew 9:28-30,”When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then He touched their eyes and said, According to your faith will it be done to you; and their sight was restored.”
Why does it say their sight was restored? Because they believed it would be.
Matthew 21:21-22, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea’, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.’ ” Again Jesus tells us that if we have faith and not doubt, then we will receive.
So when you go to God for prayer, believe that you receive WHEN you pray. In other words, you received what you asked for the moment that you asked Him. Don’t wait until you see the answer. That is not walking by faith, that is walking by sight (II Cor. 5:7)! Believe that you received the answer when you prayed and expect God to do the rest, to manifest the answer. It will be done. Faith in God’s Word always works. Faith in His Word will always bring results. His Word never fails when it is backed with faith!
We want to encourage you to increase your faith!
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
So begin to renew your mind with the Word of God and fill your heart with His promises. If you need faith for healing, focus & meditate on healing scriptures. If you need faith for finances, focus and meditate on prosperity scriptures. The answer you need is always in His Word because His Word is for YOU! It is His will and testament written for you.
Harvest International Ministry, Inc ©