Develop Strong Faith
I’m sure that you’ll agree with me when I say that faith is an imperative…must have…can’t do without ingredient in the life of us believers. You have a desire, just like me, want to develop strong faith. It’s my pleasure to tell you then, that if you are a believer, you already have faith! “Really?” I hear you exclaim! Yes! Really!! So, I guess your next thought may be that you don’t quite feel very full of faith. OK, I hear you, so let’s take some time to explore that a little more in this blog. Are you ready to develop strong faith? Get comfy and keep on reading!
You Already Have Faith
One of the common misconceptions, which I hope you don’t subscribe to, but many have, is that although they believe in Jesus Christ, they just don’t have faith. This is an outright lie. Unfortunately, if you subscribe to a lie, you will live out that lie and that lie will become a construct of your life. My aim in writing this blog is to uncover and eradicate these underlying lies, so you can reject them, live in truth and experience true victory. The truth is that as soon as you became a believer, you were granted the measure of faith.
For 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 God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Roman 12:3 (KJV)
It took faith for you to receive Jesus as Lord and to become born again. You may not have been aware of this fact, but it was faith that was exercised and resulted in the new birth experience, in you becoming a new creation, becoming born again. This was achieved by you mixing the word you heard about the gospel with faith, which was effective in enabling you to become a new creation.
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
Hebrew 4:2 (NKJV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV)
Faith Comes By Hearing
Given that I’ve explained that you already have faith, why then does it feel like your faith is ineffective? The answer is simple really, your faith just needs to be exercised to grow, just like your muscles. As an example, all babies generally are born with the same number of muscles. As they grow into childhood and then into adulthood, they are not going to get any additional muscles. Instead, the muscles the baby was born with needs to be exercised to grow. Fundamentally, as the baby grows, he or she has the opportunity to either become an athlete or a couch potato! The decision is theirs, just as the decision is yours!
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
You can only have faith for that which you know of from the word of God. The particular scripture or portion of scripture that you gain knowledge of and that you come into alignment with, will bring faith with it. Faith for anything then must start with hearing and subsequently knowing the word of God for the particular circumstance or situation. From my previous blog, we already established that faith is our victory. Let’s put a little logical equation into play here, (just teeny one…don’t worry!). But if faith equals victory and starts with knowledge of the word of God, then it must transpire that a lack of the word of God then leads to the opposite of victory. This concept is also supported by the verse in Hosea which states:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)
I think that you would agree that if your faith is linked to your hearing, that you must be careful about what you hear:
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
Mark 4:24 (NKJV)
And how you hear:
Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.
Luke 8:18 (NKJV)
Faith Must Be Exercised To Grow
Simply put, faith comes to you by hearing but grows in you according to what to do with what you’ve heard.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:23–25 (NKJV)
Once you have gained the knowledge from the word of God, the “action” part of faith begins. Namely…
Believing
Speaking
Doing
The Act of Believing
Everything that you do, as it relates to God, must start on the premise that you believe in Him (God) and in what He has said. Equally, your faith is only put to action by believing in your heart, without any doubt, unbelief or wavering.
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Mark 11:22–24 (NKJV)
This scripture nicely demonstrates the relationship between believing and saying/speaking. What you really believe is what you say. And what you really believe is what is in your heart. Once you really believe it and speak it, you have already received it. Once you have received, you have. This is what Mark 11:22–24 promises you and me! The period between receiving and having is the time to please God by exercising your faith. This is the process of faith, and practicing this will grow your faith. Once your faith is effective in having what it received, it will be ready to be applied to the next larger issue to face you. You will be able to receive and have in that too, and then ready to face the impossible and watch it move!
The Act of Speaking
As just mentioned, the word of God is clear that speaking in faith is part and parcel of acting out your faith. You can see the same truth being repeated here:
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak…
2 Corinthians 4:13 (NKJV)
What demonstrates your faith is the declaration…the words spoken from your mouth…that line up with what you have in faith for. Your words should not, never, never-ever speak contrarily to your place of faith. Falling into that trap will just show to the spirit realm that your faith is ungrounded. And unfortunately, it will result in hindering the progress (for want of another word) of your faith that is being applied to a particular situation.
The Act of Doing
There may be something that you physically would need to do in line with your faith. But equally, the thing you may need to do is actually nothing at all. The knowledge of this will only come by asking the Holy Spirit to confirm the correct steps in your particular situation.
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:24–26 (NKJV)
Whether you know that you have to physically do something, or know that you must physically do nothing, it is clear that living faith has works. And conversely, as the scripture above reminds us, faith without works is dead. Remember, exercising or putting your faith into action does not give you more faith, but rather it causes the faith you already have to grow. Let’s get off that couch and go face those seemingly impossible oppositions with your faith!
True Faith Rests
After you believed, spoken and acted, true faith then rests. We are assured time and time again that our requests, if made in line and accordance to the will of God, will be heard and answered. That means that once you’ve done all, it’s time to take up your rest and watch God work out for you the thing you have believed Him for.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ “ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Hebrews 4:1–3 (NKJV)
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
Hebrews 4:9 (NKJV)
It is at this point that you stand confidently knowing that what you have asked God for, commanded or declared is done. Your words will be in line with your determined stance, and you will see that you will have what you say!
