3. Faith Smells Victory
1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”.
That sounds good, but what does it mean? Let me illustrate it with a story.
I once heard about a man who was taking a nap. As a joke, someone put a dab of smelly Limburger cheese on his mustache. When he woke up, he thought, “It really stinks in here.” He walked out into the living room, sniffed and thought, “It stinks in here, too.”
Knowing that his wife had just baked a pie, he went into the kitchen thinking it would smell better there, but it smelled just as bad! Trying to escape the odor, he went outdoors and inhaled deeply only to discover that it smelled just as bad outside as it did inside! To him, the whole world seemed to stink!
The spirit of faith is infinitely stronger than Limburger cheese. When you have the spirit of faith, the whole world smells like victory to you and you carry the scent of it everywhere you go. While one person looks at a problem and thinks there is no way out, you look at the same problem and say, “With God, I am well able to overcome it!”
4. Faith Speaks Victory
In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus was teaching His disciples, and He told them, “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith”.
According to Jesus, faith has two parts: believing and speaking. As He was describing faith, He didn’t just say, “This works for those who believe in their heart.” He said it works for “whosoever shall say…and shall not doubt in his heart.” Faith definitely requires believing, but it also involves speaking.
You see, it is not up to God whether the mountain stays or leaves. Jesus said it will move for “whosoever shall say…and shall not doubt in his heart.” In other words, it is up to you. Maybe you have been waiting for God to move in a situation, but the truth is, He is waiting for you to speak to the mountain and tell it to move.
The mountain you are facing today needs to hear your voice, and it is not going to budge until you speak to it. Someone might say, ‘Well, I just believe that my mountain (my problem) comes from God. He sent it and is using it to keep me humble. He is using it to teach me or test me.” But, think about this: if God wanted you to have the mountain, why would Jesus have taught you how to move it?
5. Spirit of expectation
In Proverbs 23:18, God has promised that your expectation shall not be cut off. Proverbs 10:24 “but the desire of the righteous shall be granted”.
The man at the gate called Beautiful; Blind Bartimeus and the Woman with the issue of blood all expressed positive expectation
One of the dynamic products of our faith in God is POSITIVE EXPECTATION. Faith always incubates positive expectation. Hope is defined by someone as “a positive expectation of something good happening to you”. Faith is never strong without hope. Hope for positive expectation is a powerful tonic for faith.
As strong as faith is, faith is lazy, latent and indolent without positive expectation. During the creation, God was expecting nothing but what He called into existence to happen. When we pray, we are required to exhibit the same – a positive expectation because Jesus said in Matthew 7: 7-8 “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth and he that seeketh, findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
In 1 Kings 18, as Elijah was praying for rain to fall, he sent his servant to go and check. He was expecting nothing but rain. And when the servant said there was something like a small hand in the cloud, Elijah announced that torrential rain was going to fall. Someone said that positive expectation is the breeding ground for miracles. What are you expecting today?
The man at the gate called Beautiful; Blind Bartimeus and the Woman with the issue of blood all expressed positive expectation. The Word declares that “the just shall live by faith”. Psalm 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation”. God’s mercies and provisions are new every morning. So on a daily basis, we should ask for and expect our daily provisions, miracles, blessings and breakthroughs with strong expectation.
When you expect nothing to happen, nothing happens. We prophesy that your expectation shall become manifestation. Psalm 9:18 “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.” Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the Power that worketh in us”. Psalm 27:13 “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. What do you expect today? Expect something good and it will happen to you!
The law of expectation has enough power to change our realities
Essentially the law of expectation means that you eventually get what you expect. This can be either negative or positive. If you expect to have a bad day, you’ll have a bad day. If you expect the favor of God, you’ll receive the favor of God. If you expect a breakthrough, you’ll eventually experience a breakthrough. And so on.
- In the midst of trouble, David made a declaration of expectation, and he later experienced what he anticipated (Psalms. 27:13).
- A woman who suffered from hemorrhaging expected instant healing from Jesus, and with some tenacity, she received it (Mark 5:28–34).
- During a journey to Rome, a storm nearly killed Paul and his crew. But Paul expected God to make good on a previous His Word, and his expectations were met (Acts 27:18–22)
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