We are going to study Faith and how to
operate it in your life, starting with what I consider the "Faith Chapter", Hebrews 11. It starts out with the definition of
Faith
Hebrews 11:1
NOW Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.
Now is a present tense word and so is Faith.
Faith deals with the present as God sees it
and how he wants us to see it. Discarding
the circumstances and how things may look
and feel. God always sees things as done. He
wants us to see things the same way. We
can’t be moved by what we see in the
physical, but be moved by what we see in the
Spirit realm. God always spoke what He
wanted into existence.
If you read in Genesis 1 it says "And God
said....and it was so." He was looking at an
earth that was without form and void. But He
spoke faith words, and this earth we know
came into existence. He had faith in His
words that they would accomplish what He
sent them to do.
Faith is such a vast subject that we
couldn’t do justice with it in one lesson.
But we are going to touch some important
points that will help us understand how to
get it to operate in our lives.
The Bible puts it this way.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith, it is
impossible to please him, for he that comes
to God, must believe that he is, and that he
is the rewarder of them that diligently seek
him.
So basically Faith is believing in God and
believing he will do what he says he will
do. Hebrews chapter 11 is a great faith
chapter. It talks about faith in God and
great people of faith that trusted God.
If you can see the end result like God does,
no matter what the circumstances around you
look like, then you have real faith.
How do you do that?
Look it up and see what the word of God
says.
Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing" How do
you hear the word of God? You read it out
loud. You speak it. You repeat what it says
until you have faith in your heart for
whatever you need.
God will honour faith, not unbelief.
Remember, God is a rewarder of those that
"Diligently seek him" Not just off handed
and leafing through, but studying. The word
is full of rich truths, but we need to dig
them out. God won’t do it for us.
So to get faith, we must know the word. If
you have no knowledge about something, how
can you understand it and how can you have
it operate in your life. God’s word is the
resource for faith. It will tell you
everything you need to know.
Hosea 4:6 says that "My people perish for a
lack of knowledge."
It is possible to have faith for some things
and not others. You can have faith in God
for healing, but have no faith in the area
of finances. Why is that? Because you need
to study the word in every area. I know God
heals, but will he heal me? I know God will
prosper, but will he prosper me?
Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord,
“Increase our faith!”
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as
a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry
tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’
and it will obey you.
So it's not the amount of Faith you
have...it is what you do with the Faith that
God gave you.
We each have been given that Mustard Seed
size Faith...it is up to us to use it
correctly and watch it grow!
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved
to God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
1 Peter 2:2-3
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of
the word, that you may grow thereby,
The disciples were with Jesus every day, and
saw the miracles and yet they still asked
the Lord to increase their faith. He
answered them with the story of the mustard
seed. Now the mustard seed is a very small
seed but when planted will grow to be a huge
tree. But the key is the planting. If you
looked at it all day long and expected it to
grow nothing would happen to it. But by
planting it and watering it everyday,
eventually you would have the tree. The same
applies to our faith. We must exercise it
and feed it every day for it to grow. If you
believed for a dollar today, believe for two
tomorrow. Stretch it! Jesus told the
disciples that just a grain of faith the
size of a mustard seed would be able to move
mountains. He believed it, we must too.
Matthew 17:19-20
New International Version
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in
private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it
out?”
He replied, “Because you have so little
faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith
as small as a mustard seed, you can say to
this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’
and it will move. Nothing will be impossible
for you.”
Faith will save you. When you gained
knowledge of salvation, you obtained faith
in it if you believed it. Then you acted on
it. The same faith will heal you and set you
free. Jesus was always impressed when he saw
faith in action. There was a centurion that
came to Jesus about his servant that was
sick. Jesus was going to come to his house
and heal the servant, but the man felt
unworthy of him entering his house
Luke 7:6-10 NIV
He was not far from the house when the
centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord,
don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve
to have you come under my roof. 7 That is
why I did not even consider myself worthy to
come to you. But say the word, and my
servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a
man under authority, with soldiers under me.
I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that
one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my
servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When
Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and
turning to the crowd following him, he said,
“I tell you, I have not found such great
faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who
had been sent returned to the house and
found the servant well.
Whatever you see in the Word of God,
regarding your situation, is God speaking to
you. Believe it and it will happen. This man
was not a Jew. He was a Roman soldier. He
was not under the promise of God. He
belonged to a race that did not believe in
God, but he recognized the authority in
Jesus and he believed what he said would
come to pass. Can we as believers do any
less?
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
And without faith it is impossible to please
God, because anyone who comes to him must
believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him.
Jesus had a concern in that day. He wondered
if when he returned to earth, would he find
faith?
Luke 18:8 However, when the Son of Man
comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
What a question! Will he find faith? So much
is happening in the earth today to break
down the truth of the Bible. People take the
word of God and change it anyway they want
and some have even taken God right out of
the picture, and Jesus is no more then a
figure who lived a long time ago. There is
no faith in God, some doubt if He even
exists. So is this to be what Jesus will
find when he gets back? I hope not! I pray
that He is not disappointed in me. I want
God to find faith in me. I believe in Him. I
believe in His word, and I believe in Jesus.
I know He will do what he says he will do! I
have proved Him over and over again.
James 2:20-23
New International Version
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence
that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was
not our father Abraham considered righteous
for what he did when he offered his son
Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his
faith and his actions were working together,
and his faith was made complete by what he
did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that
says, “Abraham believed God, and it was
credited to him as righteousness,” and he
was called God’s friend.
We prove that we have Faith...by acting on
the Word, no matter what things look like.
We must show our faith by our actions. What
actions? By acting like it is already
done...because in God's eyes...it is...it
was done at Calvary.
If you need healing...act like you are
healed by saying "I am healed" according to
1 Peter 2:24 that says...By His Stripes I am
HEALED!
If you need finances...Say...My God supplies
all my needs according to His riches in
Glory!
Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet all your
needs according to the riches of his glory
in Christ Jesus.
Matt. 7:7 Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you.
Instead of talking about what is...talk
about what you are believing for...believe
and say what you want to come to pass.
Jesus gave us an example of speaking Faith
in Mark 11
He was looking for something to
eat...because he was hungry...
13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in
leaf, he went to find out if it had any
fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing
but leaves, because it was not the season
for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May
no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And
his disciples heard him say it.
That's all he said...and walked on. He
didn't stand there and wait for the tree to
die...he just left...I am sure His disciples
were confused...because nothing
happened...perhaps they thought that Jesus
had missed it this time...But...
20 In the morning, as they went along, they
saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21
Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi,
look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23
“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this
mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’
and does not doubt in their heart but
believes that what they say will happen, it
will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell
you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe
that you have received it, and it will be
yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you
hold anything against anyone, forgive them,
so that your Father in heaven may forgive
you your sins.”
Some of the key words in this passage are in
verse 20
"The fig tree was withered from the roots".
If we speak words of Faith...we have to
believe that whatever we need...whatever we
want to change...has to be dealt with at the
"Roots".
Say it...believe it...be sure you have a
clean slate before God...and then don't let
anything come out of your mouth that is
contrary to what you are believing.
That is what Faith is and how you make Faith
work in your life!
