You cannot conduct business with Heaven without faith.
Faith is the currency of Heaven. Just like you cannot purchase something without there being an exchange, the same is true when receiving something from Heaven.
It is not enough just to say, “I want that…”
Faith laying hold of something Jesus has purchased will affect this natural realm.
You can receive something in this realm when you have Heaven’s currency. There are many testimonies of people receiving something here in the earth when they did not have money to pay for it, but they had faith to receive it. (Heaven’s Currency)
Don’t let natural money cause you to be excluded when God has said you can have it. Heaven’s Currency includes you.
The God-kind of faith (Mark 11:22) always gets results.
If there is a failure, it is because of some kind of failure in the foundation. Jesus said it would be an unbelief issue.
If you are not getting results, then go back and do an inspection on the foundation. Is there something there that is compromising the foundation.
We have to not be OK with not receiving.
Slipping back into the natural is so easy because it is the natural thing to do – worry, etc.
Do not confuse that with not being able to get your faith to work for someone else.
We are speaking about using your faith for yourself. For our own lives, we can always receive the answer.
Jude 1:3 NKJV Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Earnestly – in an earnest and serious manner : not lightly, casually, or flippantly
DOUBT IN YOUR HEART CAN LEAD TO UNBELIEF
Mark 9:14-29 NKJV And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. (15) Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. (16) And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” (17) Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. (18) And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” (19) He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” (20) Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. (21) So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. (22) And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” (23) Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (24) Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (25) When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” (26) Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” (27) But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. (28) And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” (29) So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
The disciples could not cast out the devil because of their unbelief.
Notice Jesus did not say because they did not have enough faith. That seems to be the answer that we give or get sometimes these days. We think that the answer to everything is that we need more faith. We need to grow our faith and grow in our faith, but I believe that nowadays, perhaps the issue is not that we don’t have enough faith but rather dealing with the issue of unbelief.
Matthew 10:5-8 NKJV These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. (6) But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (7) And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ (8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Jesus gave the Disciples the authority and power to cast out demons here when they were called and sent out.
They had been successful up until this time.
Luke 10:17 NKJV Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
Again, Jesus did not say that they could not cast out the demon was because of their lack of faith. It was because of their unbelief.
Jesus pointed out that if you have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, that it was sufficient to get the job done.
The mountain represents problems or challenges in your life that just seem to be huge like a mountain. What Jesus is saying is that it does not take a mountain of faith to move a mountain of problems.
That is due to the power of God that is resident in speaking by faith to the mountain.
Think about it, something as “small” as a faith-filled word can wither a fig tree or move a mountain.
Faith filled words go out into the realm of the spirit where the root of your problem really IS and works on the situation at the root.
It is not a ton of faith but a small mustard seed size of faith that will get the job done.
But remember, Jesus did not say that it was because your faith was so small but because of your unbelief.
Somewhere since Jesus anointed, called, and sent them to go out and this incident in Matthew 17, their faith was being hindered.
We have thought the way to address unbelief is to gather more and more faith like a tug-of-war to see who can move the mountain.
The life of faith is not a tug-of-war. The life of faith is not a struggle between faith and unbelief.
So, the Disciples had been successful in casting out demons before, but Mark points some things out that contributed the unbelief of the Disciples and kept them from being able to cast this demon out.
- They were trying to cast the demon out in front of a large group of people.
- Their critics were standing right there disputing with them while they were trying to do this.
- When the child came to them, the spirit probably responded to them by throwing the boy down in front of them just like it did with Jesus.
The unbelief came when they had the report of their eyes, the report of their fears, and the report of their critics. They felt the pressure and it allowed the unbelief to surpass the power and anointing that was on their lives that Jesus had put on them to do the work.
Jesus shows up on the scene and Jesus did not care what the people thought, He did not care what the scribes thought, and He was not moved by the report of His own eyes looking at what was happening to the boy. He was only concerned about pleasing His Heavenly Father and doing the Word of God.
Jesus had schooled Himself in not being moved by the emotions of the people when ministering to someone. Smith Wigglesworth had done the same thing.
Just like faith is fed, unbelief is fed. The way unbelief comes and grows is by listening to the reports of people, the reports of circumstances, and the reports of what you can see with your own eyes.
The tug-of-war started in the Disciples and unbelief overcame their faith.
Scriptures pertaining to unbelief:
Matthew 13:58 NKJV Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (not lack of faith)
Mark 6:6 NKJV And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Mark 16:14 NKJV Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Hebrews 3:19 NKJV So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
This is where unbelief comes from:
2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
You cannot stop unbelief from coming at you but you can refuse to accept it.
The way you stop unbelief is to starve it to death and not feed it.
You can have food all around you yet starve to death if you refuse to eat any of it.
Jesus explained how he was able to overcome unbelief this way:
Matthew 17:19-21 NKJV Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” (20) So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (21) However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Prayer and fasting does not drive out demons. Prayer and fasting has to do only with your relationship with God NOT driving out unbelief. In other words, it causes your relationship with God to go deeper thus not permitting unbelief to be able to prevail over you because your confidence is totally in God.
Again, there seems to be the misunderstanding that we simply need more faith when things aren’t working. We need to address the challenge of unbelief. Jesus did not say in this story that the disciples needed more faith; He said that they needed to get rid of their unbelief.
It is not the size of the faith but rather the size of the unbelief that causes the faith not to work. Remember, He said that faith the size of a grain of mustard seed is enough to get the job done.
God is actually the one that does the work, but unbelief in your heart can tie the hands of God and keep Him from being able to work in your life like He desires.
Remember, if the faith you received from God at the new birth was powerful enough to cause you to be re-born, death unto life, and to move you out of Satan’s kingdom into the Kingdom of God’s Son, then it is powerful enough to move the mountains that may be in your life.
Jesus had schooled Himself in not being moved by the emotions of the people when ministering to someone. Smith Wigglesworth had done the same thing.
Just like faith is fed, unbelief is fed. The way unbelief comes and grows is by listening to the reports of people, the reports of circumstances, and the reports of what you can see with your own eyes.
The tug-of-war started in the Disciples and unbelief overcame their faith.
Why does the devil attack us?
James 1:2-13 NKJV My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (5) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (9) Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, (10) but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. (11) For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. (12) Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (13) Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
Peirasmos (pi-ras-mos’)
From G3985; a putting to proof (by experiment [of good], experience [of evil], solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication adversity: – temptation, X try.
Jude 1:3 NKJV Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
1 Timothy 6:12 NKJV Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.