Faith Series #1: What is faith and what does it mean to walk by faith?
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.
Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the ‘Faith Chapter. It is filled with encouraging stories about men and women of faith. Of course, all the people mentioned were in the Old Testament, but there are still many men and women of faith in the world today…people who are willing to live for the Lord and to die for the Lord.
Faith – synonyms:
trust · belief · confidence · conviction · credence · reliance · dependence · optimism · hopefulness · hope · expectation
Faith can be defined as belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust, confidence, reliance, or devotion. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
There are four categories of people in the earth today in relation to FAITH
Those who walk by;
- natural knowledge / intellect – What you are convinced is the right thing to do.
- what you are told to do by someone – either family, friends, ministers and so on
- what you are hearing – different sources of media / news channel
- Faith / Spirit – What the Word of God says or what Holy Spirit is saying (Hebrews 11:6, John 16:7,13)
When should one walk by faith?
a) all the time or
b) only during calamity?
God expects for us to walk by faith 24/7. In order to walk by God kind of faith, we have to be doers of the Word. Just as you need to put on clothes before going out in public, you need to dress up with God’s Word and walk by faith each and every day
Faith Series #2: Requirements of walking by faith
Faith requires 5 main components in order for it to work
- God’s Word – Romans 10:17 – We grow our faith by hearing by the Word of God
- Obedience – Isaiah 1:19 – If you are willing and obedience, you shall eat the good of the land
- Action – James 2:14 – Faith without works is dead – works could be “saying”
- Love – Galatians 5:6 – Faith worketh by love as 1 Corinthians chapter 13
- Patience – Hebrews 11:12 – through faith and patience we inherit God’s promises
Faith Series #3: What you are saying can affect your faith positively or negatively
The Bible says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Proverbs 18:21). Of course, the “tongue” in this verse represents that which tongues produces: Jesus affirmed that “on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
The words we speak will either build us up or tear us down (Proverbs 10:14; 13:2-3). Our tongue will either bring blessings or curses upon us—from both God and man—in both the present time and for eternity.
Mark 11:23 says, “For verily I say unto you, That 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 what Jesus taught in this verse, you can bring to pass whatsoever you say and believe in your heart.
(PLEASE REFER TO THE MESSAGE ON MY PODCAST CALLED “SHAPING YOUR DESTINY WITH WORDS”
Did you notice that Jesus said if a person confesses something “and shall not doubt in his heart” — in other words, if he believes the words he is speaking with his mouth — he will have exactly what he says. In context, Jesus is saying that when a person’s heart doesn’t differ from what his mouth is saying, the combination of his heart and mouth in agreement will always make things happen!
Rick Reener (A missionary in Russia) calls it “the heart-mouth connection.” if you believe in your heart that Jesus purchased your healing, and you put your heartfelt faith together with the confession of your mouth, you can literally bring that healing into manifestation in your physical body.
God’s Creative power is released when the heart and mouth get into agreement! That is why you must be careful about what you believe in your heart and say with your mouth, because when your heart and mouth get “in sync” with each other, it literally makes things come to pass! I have multiple electronic devices in my office. When they are in sync, what I find in one is found in all others that are synced together. It is the same with heart to mouth and mind. The enemy has NO enroll once they are in sync.
Unfortunately, the heart-mouth combination works on both the positive and negative sides of life. It can bring about the manifestation of healing in your body, salvation to your family, prosperity to your business, and growth to your local church OR it can cause major damage if the devil is allowed to bring deception and sow negative thoughts to your mind.
Faith Series #4: What you are hearing can affect your faith positively or negatively
The enemy knows if he can fill your mind and heart with lies that you believe, then he can coax you into confessing those lies with your mouth. He will succeed in creating evil images in your mind and as you speak them, they end up coming to pass in your life! That is exactly why the devil wants to fill your mind with lies and accusations. That’s why he paints so vividly on the “movie screen” in your mind. That’s why he assaults your mind and emotions again and again. He knows he just has to get you to embrace these lies and to start believing them.
Once you do that, you’ll soon start speaking those lies out of your mouth. And if you start speaking them with your mouth, it will only be a matter of time until they become your reality. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34; “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”. So according to Jesus, whatever is in your heart is eventually going to come out of your mouth!
Because great power is released when your heart and mouth start working together, it’s extremely important that you put the right things into your heart. Mark 11:23 promises that whatever you believe in your heart and say with your mouth will come to pass. But as I said before, it doesn’t just apply to Bible verses; it applies to anything you believe in your heart and say with your mouth. So, if the devil can get you to believe and say wrong things, your own heart and mouth will cause those killer confessions to come to pass.
In Mark chapter 11:19-26, the Bible records that the disciples could not think why the fig-tree that Jesus cursed within a period of less than 24 hours withered away. Even though they had walked with Jesus and seen Him perform great miracles, this time they were looking from a natural standpoint. The tree represented the state of some believers today. They do not bear fruit in their lives. We should rest in no religion that does not make us fruitful in good works.
Christ taught them from hence to pray in faith. It may be applied to that mighty faith with which all true Christians are endued, and which does wonders in spiritual things. Faith will rise in us when we fill ourselves with God’s Word. The Bible says in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith justifies us, it removing the mountains of guilt, it purifies the heart, and thus removes the mountains of corruption, and makes them plain before the grace of God.
Faith Series #5: Walking by faith produces the fruit of the Spirit
The fruit of the Spirit is produced when one walks by faith – Meaning: in accordance to the Scriptures. Romans 8:14 says; “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”.
Inside the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-25
1) Love: Outgoing concern for others. True concern for all of mankind. Not being self-centered. Doing for others what is right, despite their character, appearance, social status, etc. (I Corinthians 13).
2) Joy: Related to happiness, only happiness requires right circumstances where joy does not. Jesus Christ felt joy though He faced heavy trials (Hebrews 12:2). We should all be joyful having been called by God.
3) Peace: Peace of mind and peace with God (Philippians 4:6-7).
4) Longsuffering / Patience: Bearing with others who are working out their salvation. Being slow to anger (Romans 15:1; Luke 21:19).
5) Kindness: Behaving toward others kindly, as God has behaved toward us (Ephesians 4:31-32).
6) Goodness: Generosity of spirit that springs from imitating Jesus Christ (Psalm 33:4-5).
7) Faithfulness: Being reliable. This describes a person who is trustworthy and will always stand up for God’s way. We can count on, and should work at imitating, the faithfulness of God (Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 13:5).
8) Gentleness: Considerate and tactful in conduct and correction. Never angry at the wrong time (Matthew 5:22-24; Ephesians 4:26).
9) Self-Control: Discipline which gives us victory over the wrong pulls of our mind and body (I John 2:15-17).
In order to walk by faith, you have to walk by the Spirit
To walk in the Spirit means that we yield to His control, we follow His lead, and we allow Him to exert His influence over us. To walk in the Spirit is the opposite of resisting Him or grieving Him (Ephesians 4:30).
Visit us on Facebook – Please “Like and Follow”
Click the links below to see our latest posts..
