Faith is not something that we must pray to receive. It is something that we already have. In four places, the Bible makes it clear that, “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). The faith about which the Scriptures speak is living faith. Faith is the seed that is divinely imparted to us when we are born into the human family. It is a spark of the divine that we all share. We have it because it is pro- duced in our hearts by the action of the Word of God; therefore, our faith is governed by divine law and is based in God’s faithfulness. Our everyday lives would be totally dysfunctional if it were not for this simple faith that God and his laws are entirely dependable. A baby feels perfectly secure, hav- ing faith in his mother’s arms. When we step out of bed, we have faith that the floor is intact. When we take an elevator to the top floor of a skyscraper, we have faith that we will be safe. When we fly on a transoceanic flight, we have faith we will arrive safe and sound. Faith is the link that connects us to a living; super- natural God. Faith keeps the Christian experience from being superficial and keeps us in contact with an ever- present God in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Faith makes it possible for us to communicate with God, to talk with him and him with us. The Beginning of Faith Faith begins its work in our lives when we choose to believe in God. The first article of faith in the ancient Apostles’ Creed declares, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The centrality of our relationship with God is faith. Paul tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God, for whosoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Faith says, “I believe,” “I trust,” “I obey.” Then faith begins to work for us personally when we hear from God. The Bible tells us that ”faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is the Christ, we shall be saved (Romans 10:9). When we confess or affirm with positive action that God is present with us even in our mouth, immediately faith will rise in our very being. When we confess God’s Word, we find ourselves among those whom Jesus de- scribed: “them also who believe on me through their word” (John 17:20). It is through faith that we hear and accept the word of the gospel and become chil- dren of God through the Messiah. Once we are part of God’s family, he invites us to seek and worship him and to receive his abundance of blessings. When we listen to God, seek his direction, know his will for our lives, and take the steps of obedi- ence to his revealed will, we take God as our partner and begin our faith walk with him. Then, our faith in God always acts promptly and boldly! It reaches out, takes hold, and moves forward. Faith acts even when we do not see with our eyes. Our faith says, “there is a God,” and “With God all things are possible.” God and we form a majority, for the Bi- ble says, “If God be for us who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Faith is our spiritual capital in the bank of heaven. It is held on reserve for us to use when we need it. The dividends that it returns to us depends on the invest- ment that we make. The Basis of Faith Faith is founded on the promises of God and on the faithfulness of God. We can always trust God to be faithful to keep his promises. This is why the Bible says, “Now faith is....” Faith is present tense, right now! It is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Said another way, faith gives substance to our hopes and makes us cer- tain of realities that we do not see. The Function of Faith Faith functions to make the promises of God, which are unseen, real and substantial to us. Faith is that highly specialized energy that gives our mental, emo- tional, and physical being expression to what we be- lieve. Abraham was given promises by God; therefore, he “staggered not at the promises of God.” strated his faith in God’s promises by being obedient and faithful to the divine will and plan of God. Without obedience and faithfulness to God’s Com- mandments and promises on our part, faith cannot work in our lives. The Planting Stage of Faith The first stage of faith is the planting stage. We plant the seed of faith by taking action. We set a goal, and we find a sense of direction. When we get started, the seed of faith is germinated. The lesson we learn about planting faith is this: Don’t wait on God; he is waiting on us! We start with faith, not fear. We start with our eyes and hearts on possibilities, not problems. We put one foot in front of the other and step out on God’s promises. Planting faith says, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). This is when we learn to focus totally on God. We bring God into our problems. We remember that every problem contains the seed of its own solu- tion, and we trust God to open our eyes to see the solution that is contained within the problem itself. We plant a seed of faith, fully expecting that God will cause it to grow. The Developing Stage of Faith The second stage of faith is development wherein our confidence in God stimulates belief so that our faith grows and is strengthened. Belief is not faith, but it is a partner to faith. We immediately learn that there is power in belief when we dare to believe in the prom- ises of God, dare to believe in ourselves and our poten- tial as God strengthens us. Believing is the activity that keeps faith on the job until it has made an unseen reality substantial. One thing is certain: we can only achieve what we dare to believe. Jesus made it clear to us: “All things are possi- ble to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Genuine faith always involves total commitment. The Persistence Stage of Faith As faith works in our hearts, we struggle. Things get tough, and we experience pain. We find our- selves surrounded by impossibilities, and we are tempted to quit; however, we persist. We never be- lieve in never. We refuse to accept defeat. We dig in and hang on. This is when we deepen our roots in faith. We work hard and we play by the rules of the game—God’s instructions. We endure pain; we keep on keeping on because we know that God is faithful and he expects us to be faithful too. While we persist in faith we avoid the trap of pre- sumption, which is a wrongly motivated, misguided perversion of faith. Part of the problem of presumption is the assumption that God will do something for us when the truth is that God will do something with us. It is only when we have done everything within our own power that God reaches beyond our human limi- tations and performs miracles. God is not just the good Santa Claus in heaven: we tell him what we want, and he just gives it to us. We name it and claim it. This, however, is not the way the law of the universe called faith works. The way to avoid presumption is to know the will of God. We can- not ask amiss if we ask inside God’s will. We must be sure that we are motivated by the spirit to serve others rather than by a spirit of materialism. We cannot serve God and mammon. Presumption is not faith in God; it is faith in faith. This is why there is no painless faith. We must endure hardness as a good soldier; we must bear the cross to gain the crown. There must be balance between test- ing and rewarding. The Productive Stage of Faith The productive stage of faith begins when we let go and let God. We affirm the promises of God by con- fessing his Word, not to remind God of his Word, but to affirm our faith in his Word. We receive what we confess in faith believing in Jesus name. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippi- ans 4:13). This is the sequence of confession: I can, I will, I did. Confession, however, must always agree with the Word and will of God. Faith produces energy when we speak God’s Word, not our words. The Word of God is powerful and creative. Just as God spoke his Word and all things came into existence, speaking his Word will bring nonexistence into reality. The Mountain-Moving Stage of Faith Scripture tells us that the trying of our faith pro- duces patience, and patience has its perfect work (Ro- mans 5:3-4). It is this patience-powered faith that has mountain-moving energy. Jesus said, “Speak to the mountain. Say to it, Be moved!” (Matthew 21:21). There are mountains everywhere. In our lives, they are insurmountable obstacles, but these mountains only exist so that they can be moved by faith. When we believe that the grace of God can move our mountain or provide us a way over, under, or through it, we begin to see the miraculous power of God that removes obstacles before us and makes a way where there seems to be no way. Mountain-moving is initiated in such a minute por- tion of faith that Jesus likened it to a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. If a mustard seed is planted in the right place, it can dislodge a boulder that can trigger an avalanche that can remove a mountain! Too often we look for too much when God is looking for a lit- tle—faith, that is! As God’s children today we don’t need more faith. We simply need to learn how to live by the faith that God has planted in our lives. We are chosen of God to be full of faith and faithful. It is our nature as children of God. So, think about it. Believe it. Act upon it. Be patient about it. It will happen to you, and you will experience the joy of knowing that the just shall live by faith. ——
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 12:02:13 +0000