Faith should be put to work, not pampered. Not using your faith is like allowing your slave to sit on the couch and do nothing but watch television all day. Instead of growing stronger and more efficient through use, their muscles atrophy and their abilities become dull. Then you wonder why your faith isn"t producing anything. You haven"t put it to work! You"re not using it! Start putting your faith to work the way a master uses a slave. It"s not a matter of not having the servant; it"s a matter of not using what you"ve got!
The Gift of G.o.d Most believers are ignorant of the faith they already have. If I started giving you some testimonies of what faith has accomplished-the dead raised, blind eyes and deaf ears opened, miraculous provisions-you"d say, "Praise G.o.d! I believe those things happen."
If we were in a service where someone died and I asked, "How many believe the Lord can raise this person from the dead?" you"d agree with me that it can be done. If I asked, "How many of you believe that if I pray, this person will come back from the dead," you"d continue agreeing with me totally. In fact, you"d probably work your way up to the front so you could see this miracle happen. But where I"d lose the majority of people is when I"d say, "All right, if you believe this, you pray for them." All of a sudden, your antic.i.p.ation would turn to dread. Why? Because if you"re like most people, you don"t believe your faith is adequate. You don"t doubt that faith works; you just don"t believe you have the quant.i.ty or quality of faith you need.
I could talk most Christians into saying, "I just need more faith," and get them to pray, "O G.o.d, please give me more faith!" But that would violate everything we"ve seen in the Word thus far. You already have faith. You already have the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead living on the inside of you. You don"t have a faith problem; you have a knowledge problem. You don"t know what you"ve got, nor the laws that govern how it works!
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d: Not of works, lest any man should boast" faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, emphasis mine). (Eph. 2:8, 9, emphasis mine).
This verse can be interpreted in at least two different ways. "That" speaks of your salvation, which is a gift of G.o.d and not of yourself (your own works). However, "that" can also mean the faith you actually used to receive salvation. That faith That faith is also not of yourself, but "the gift of G.o.d." Can you see it? is also not of yourself, but "the gift of G.o.d." Can you see it?
G.o.d"s Words Words Carry Faith Carry Faith The faith it takes to receive salvation comes by hearing G.o.d"s Word.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of G.o.d. then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of G.o.d.Romans 10:14-17 You simply cannot believe unless you hear the Word of G.o.d. G.o.d"s words carry faith!
Every word that comes out of your mouth is a container. I can say things that build you up and encourage you. I could even bring you to tears of joy through complimenting and praising you. However, I can also say things to tear you down and dishearten you. I could bring you to tears of sorrow, hurt, grief, pain, and anger. Words are powerful!
Words contain either faith or unbelief. G.o.d"s words are full of faith. G.o.d Himself is faith-full, and the words He has spoken are faith-filled. They are little containers full of G.o.d"s own faith. You can"t believe G.o.d for salvation without first having G.o.d"s Word bring you His faith. It truly takes a supernatural faith in order to be born again!
Therefore, you do have G.o.d"s supernatural faith in you, and it doesn"t come and go. The gifts and callings of G.o.d are without repentance. (Rom. 11:29.) We just aren"t using what we have, primarily because we don"t know what we have.
CHAPTER 19.
Supernatural Faith
he church I grew up in used several examples to ill.u.s.trate[image]
how everyone had faith. They put a chair in front of me and said, "It"s faith to sit in this chair. How do you know it will hold you up?" They"d say, "It"s faith to go through an intersection when the stoplight is green. You"re using faith that the people on the other side will stop on red." They"d also say, "It"s faith to fly in an airplane. You don"t know what makes it work. You don"t know the pilot. These are things you regularly do that involve faith." All of this, to a degree, is faith-but it"s a human faith.
G.o.d is a faith Being, and human beings were created in His image. Therefore, every person-saved or not-has faith in them because it was a part of G.o.d and is now a part of us. However, this type of faith-to sit in a chair, drive through an intersection, and fly on an airplane-is human faith. It"s based completely on what you can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel. If you saw that the chair was missing a leg or two and tottered, you wouldn"t sit on it. If you heard a loud metallic squeal and smelled smoke coming from the direction of the wing, you wouldn"t fly on that plane. Neither would you go through the green light if you spotted someone from the other direction barreling down toward the intersection at a high speed. Sense knowledge-what you can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel-affects human faith.
However, in order to receive salvation, you had to believe in things your natural senses couldn"t perceive. You"ve never seen G.o.d or the devil. You"ve never seen heaven or h.e.l.l, and you"ve never seen a sin. You"ve seen people commit sin, but what does a "sin" actually look like? You can"t see sin, and you can"t see when it"s forgiven. Yet, you had to believe in all of these invisible, intangible things. The only way you can do this is with a supernatural, G.o.d-kind of faith.
G.o.d"s Faith G.o.d"s type of faith isn"t limited to some kind of physical proof. He speaks forth and acknowledges things before there"s any visible manifestation.
"(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even G.o.d, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17).
G.o.d makes alive the dead and calls things that be not (physically manifest) as though they were. In this instance, G.o.d called Abram (prince) "Abraham" (father of many nations) even before even before he had his first child. That"s G.o.d"s kind of faith! he had his first child. That"s G.o.d"s kind of faith!
G.o.d created the heavens and the earth. He said, "Let there be light," and there was (Gen. 1:3). Then, days later, He created the sun, moon, and stars. Now I"m not sure how all of this worked, but the Word clearly records that G.o.d created light before there was even a source for it to come from. G.o.d"s faith isn"t limited the way human faith is!
Receiving salvation is like sitting down in a chair you can"t see. Human faith can"t do that. You wouldn"t put yourself in a position to fall and get hurt if you couldn"t see or feel something. Yet, you believed G.o.d-whom you can"t physically see or feel-for forgiveness of sin-which you can"t physically see or feel. How did you do that? By using G.o.d"s supernatural faith!
Both salvation and the faith to receive it are gifts from G.o.d. (Eph. 2:8, 9.) G.o.d"s Word contains His faith. That"s why you must hear it in order to be born again.
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of G.o.d, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23).
G.o.d"s Word contains the faith it takes to believe that G.o.d became flesh, lived a perfect life, and suffered our punishment in His death. It takes G.o.d"s supernatural faith to believe that Jesus was resurrected and your sins are now forgiven. You can"t believe these things with mere human faith. It"s G.o.d"s Word that brought you this faith.
You used G.o.d"s supernatural faith-not just human faith-to receive salvation. It was a gift that came when you received His Word. You didn"t just put your faith in G.o.d-you were born again by the the faith faith of of G.o.d! As sinners, we were so dest.i.tute that we couldn"t save ourselves or even just believe that our sins had been forgiven. G.o.d"s good news (the Gospel) had to come to us so we could receive His supernatural faith contained in it and use it for salvation. G.o.d! As sinners, we were so dest.i.tute that we couldn"t save ourselves or even just believe that our sins had been forgiven. G.o.d"s good news (the Gospel) had to come to us so we could receive His supernatural faith contained in it and use it for salvation.
The Faith of Christ
You used the the faith faith of of Jesus Christ to be justified. Jesus Christ to be justified.Knowing that a man is not justified justified by the works of the law, but by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, by the faith of Jesus Christ, even even we have believed in Jesus Christ, we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, justified by the faith of Christ, and not and notby the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.Galatians 2:16, emphasis mine You put faith in what Jesus did, but you used the the faith faith of of Christ to be justified. Christ to be justified.
Once you"re born again, you also live by the the faith faith of of the Son of G.o.d. the Son of G.o.d.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of G.o.d, by the faith of the Son of G.o.d, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20, emphasis mine). who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20, emphasis mine).
I"m aware that other translations say, "I live by faith in the Son of G.o.d," but my conclusion after a lot of study is that the actual accurate rendering is, "I live by the faith of the Son of G.o.d."
So you were "justified [made righteous, born again] by the faith of Christ" and now "live by the faith of the Son of G.o.d" (Gal. 2:16, 20; brackets mine). This is very important!
You were both born again and now live by the supernatural faith of G.o.d Himself. That"s why Jesus said, "You don"t need more faith. You just need to learn how to put what you"ve already got to work! The faith you have is enough to see a sycamine tree plucked up and planted into the sea. Use what you"ve got!" (Luke 17:6-10, my paraphrase).
Doing What Jesus Did Since the faith we were born again by and now live by is the supernatural faith of G.o.d"s own Son, it has the potential to do anything Jesus did.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12).
How can we do the works that Jesus did? Let"s not even talk about doing greater works yet. How can we work miracles, receive words of wisdom and knowledge, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, cast out demons, and walk in unconditional love? It"s because you and I have the same faith Jesus used to accomplish these things. Since it"s His supernatural faith-not our human faith-it"s capable of doing anything He did!
However, most Christians say, "Well, I"m only human, you know. I"m just a man." That"s stinkin" thinking! I was only human, but then I became born again. There"s part of me now that"s wall-to-wall Holy Ghost. There"s a part of me now that has the faith of the Son of G.o.d. Yes, the flesh part is still capable of failure and everything else. But the born-again part of me is powerful!
If you stayed conscious of and focused on the fact that you have the faith of the Son of G.o.d, you"d see a difference in what you"re hoping, expecting, and believing for. When you truly believe that you have this potential inside, you won"t put up with defeat, discouragement, and a mundane life anymore. You have and now live by the faith of Jesus Christ Himself!
The Measure of Faith
G.o.d gave every born-again believer the the measure of faith. measure of faith.
"For I I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as Cod hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" Cod hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3, emphasis mine). (Rom. 12:3, emphasis mine).
It"s not a a measure, but measure, but the the measure of faith! measure of faith!
Most Christians think that G.o.d dishes out faith using many different measures. They believe He gives this person a ladle full and that person a tablespoon. This one gets a teaspoon and that one an eyedropper. That"s totally inaccurate! G.o.d gives every believer the same measure of faith-a ladle full-because it"s the the measure of faith. measure of faith.
Reinhard Bonnke-the powerful German, world-healing evangelist who has preached to crowds of well over a million at a time in Africa-was being interviewed once on television. Someone in the audience asked the question, "Why do you see so many more miracles happen overseas than here in the United States? Is it because they have more faith?" My ears Bonnke-the powerful German, world-healing evangelist who has preached to crowds of well over a million at a time in Africa-was being interviewed once on television. Someone in the audience asked the question, "Why do you see so many more miracles happen overseas than here in the United States? Is it because they have more faith?" My ears immediately immediately perked up to hear his answer. perked up to hear his answer.
"You Americans are the only people I"ve ever encountered who have this concept of "more faith." Either a person believes or they don"t. You don"t have to have "big faith."" Then he gave some examples of people who had just heard G.o.d"s Word for the first time and received. "This whole concept of "big faith" and "little faith" is erroneous. It"s wrong!"
Faith Is a Fruit You may be wondering, But what about the centurion in Matthew 8? When the Lord heard what he said, But what about the centurion in Matthew 8? When the Lord heard what he said, "he [Jesus] marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (Matt. 8:10, brackets mine). Some people point to that and say, "Right there is a scriptural precedent. Jesus said he had "great faith."" "he [Jesus] marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (Matt. 8:10, brackets mine). Some people point to that and say, "Right there is a scriptural precedent. Jesus said he had "great faith.""
A couple of things are involved here. This was prior to the New Covenant and the new birth (the New Covenant didn"t technically take effect until Christ"s work of atonement was complete). Under the Old Covenant (before the Cross), people put their human faith in the promises of G.o.d. I"m not saying they didn"t have faith, but it was different than the way a New Testament (post-Resurrection) believer has faith. It"s through the new birth that you receive a born-again spirit. That"s where your new nature and the faith of Christ reside. Old Testament people didn"t have access to this.
Also, faith is a fruit of the Spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith" (Gal. 5:22).
Old Testament saints didn"t have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. He came upon them at times, but He didn"t live in them the way He does now with New Testament believers. So it was a different way for them (the centurion and others like him) to believe G.o.d prior to Jesus dying for our sins, resurrecting from the dead, and people being born again.
Even after the new birth, some believers manifest great faith and others manifest very little, if any. But it"s inaccurate to say that some Christians have "big" faith and others have "little" faith. Many people only use a small portion of the faith G.o.d has given them. But the truth is, every born-again believer has the measure of faith-the faith of the Son of G.o.d! (Rom. 12:3; Gal. 2:20.)
Acknowledge What You Have!
You don"t have a faith problem; you have a knowledge problem! In order to see your faith work, you need to understand and acknowledge what you have.
Paul prayed, "That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus" (Philem. 1:6).
Don"t ask G.o.d for more, praying, "Lord, increase my faith!" Instead, believe G.o.d"s Word, and begin to acknowledge that when you were born again, you were given the supernatural faith of G.o.d.
CHAPTER 20.
The Law of Faith.
Peter had this measure of G.o.d"s supernatural faith. He healed a lame man at the entrance of the temple. (Acts 3:6-8.) People were healed as his shadow touched them. (Acts 5:15.) He even raised Dorcas from the dead. (Acts 9:39, 40.) These are the kinds of things Peter"s faith produced.
Notice to whom he addressed his second letter: "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of G.o.d and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1, emphasis mine). through the righteousness of G.o.d and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1, emphasis mine).
Peter didn"t earn this faith through good works but received it when he was born again "through the righteousness of G.o.d and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
With Peter, you obtained this "like precious faith" when you were born again. It"s the the measure of faith. (Rom. 12:3.) If you don"t believe this, you might as well rip 2 Peter out of your Bible and throw it away! Why? Because he wrote it to those of like precious faith! measure of faith. (Rom. 12:3.) If you don"t believe this, you might as well rip 2 Peter out of your Bible and throw it away! Why? Because he wrote it to those of like precious faith!
You don"t have a faith problem; you already have the faith of the Son of G.o.d. However, in order to see the supernatural results Peter did, you need to learn how to exercise it!
Discovering How How to Use It to Use It I was baptized in the Holy Spirit during a miraculous encounter with the Lord on March 23, 1968. Immediately, I experienced a quickening inside and just began to understand things. Pa.s.sion and a new motivation rose up from within, and I started seeing some people healed (cancer, sickness, deafness). Although I still saw only a small percentage of the large amount of folks I prayed for healed, that was a lot better than before! My faith had begun to work, and I started to realize that it was a powerful force. But I didn"t yet know that I had the measure of faith-the faith of the Son of G.o.d.
So I sought the Lord and asked Him for more faith and more faith and more faith. In the process, I became frustrated. Then G.o.d revealed to me this truth I"ve been sharing with you. It made a huge difference in my life! Instead of begging the Lord to give me more faith, I started praising and thanking Him for what He"d already given. I began diving into G.o.d"s Word-not to get faith- but to better understand what I already had and how it operated. Through studying "faith" in the Word, I started understanding the laws that govern faith and how to cooperate with them.
Faith for salvation comes by hearing the Word of G.o.d. (Rom. 10:17.) Then, after you"re born again, you have G.o.d"s supernatural faith in you. (Rom. 12:3; Gal. 2:16, 20.) Therefore, when you
study the Bible and hear G.o.d"s Word preached as a Christian, faith is already present. You"re just discovering what you"ve been given and how to use it!
That"s why you"re encouraged when you read 2 Peter 1:1. You can honestly say, "1 have the same precious faith that Peter had. He had the measure of faith; I have the measure of faith. Paul had the faith of the Son of G.o.d, and so do I. Anything Peter did, I can do. Anything Paul did, I can do. Anything Jesus did, I can do. Glory to G.o.d!"
Faith Follows G.o.d"s Rules
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of G.o.d, and of Jesus Christ our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things [faith is certainly one of these] that pertain unto life life and G.o.dliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature. and G.o.dliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.2 Peter 1:2-4, brackets mine Peter 1:2-4, brackets mine Before salvation, hearing G.o.d"s Word brings faith to you. If you"ll accept it, you can be born again using the faith that came to you through the Word. Then, once you"re born again, you already already have faith on the inside. It"s a fruit of the Spirit. But reading and understanding the Word gives you knowledge of what you already have. The Word teaches you how faith works so that you can cooperate and receive the manifestation of your salvation benefits more completely. have faith on the inside. It"s a fruit of the Spirit. But reading and understanding the Word gives you knowledge of what you already have. The Word teaches you how faith works so that you can cooperate and receive the manifestation of your salvation benefits more completely.
You do have the supernatural faith of the Son of G.o.d, but since it"s His faith, it has to follow His rules. You can"t use G.o.d"s faith just to do your own thing. It"s not yours; it"s His! In a sense, you"re borrowing it. The only way this supernatural faith will produce results is if you use it in the manner G.o.d wants you to.
Technically speaking, it"s not your faith. Some people say, "I"m of the Baptist faith," and others respond, "I"m of the Episcopal... Methodist," or "Presbyterian faith," as if there are different Christian "faiths." However, Ephesians 4:5 reveals that there"s just "one Lord" and "one faith"-G.o.d"s faith. You can"t just choose to believe any old way, because if you believe wrong, it won"t work. You must use that faith the way G.o.d wants you to because it"s His supernatural faith, not your human faith.
G.o.d"s Word speaks of "the law of faith."
"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith" (Rom. 3:27).