James 3:1-4 NKJV
(1) My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
(2) For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
(3) Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
(4) Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
We can change the course of our lives simply by changing what we are saying and begin to speak what God says about us.
Faith always begins where the will of God is known.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
(17) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Hearing the Word of God is what drives out those question marks in our thinking that can hinder our faith.
So our faith is increased by hearing and understanding the Word of God. Hearing what? What God has said about your situation or about you.
Let’s take a look at how faith is built:
Hebrews 11:1 AMP
(1) NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
We must start with the foundation of hope. When we say that faith comes by hearing the Word, it is implied that hope also comes and actually comes first.
The Word of God first produces hope in the heart of a person.
Hope = Expectation (Greek Dictionary)
So we start with an expectation that God is going to heal us.
In the Amplified, notice it says that faith is the confirmation or the title deed of the things that we hope for. Faith becomes the proof that what we are expecting is already ours, whether we see it or not.
So our faith takes those things that we are expecting to happen and creates ownership of those things now, not in the future.
Faith always takes ownership of that which is expected.
How do you build your capacity for great faith?
Joshua 1:8 NKJV
(8) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Four Keys to building strong faith in God’s Word:
- Find what the Word says about your situation.
- Meditate in the scriptures from God’s Word.
- Speak God’s Word.
- Act on God’s Word.
We need to understand there is a difference between speaking God’s Word out of faith like God does and speaking God’s Word unto faith where we are speaking and getting the Word into our hearts.
Sometimes we need to speak the Word of God as mentioned in Joshua 1:8 so that we get the Word into our hearts. This is a confession UNTO faith.
God created us to be able to hear our own words and build a capacity to believe them in our hearts.
Here is why this is so important:
If you do not understand the importance of speaking God’s Word, you will never be able to overcome the incredible power of doubt.
Anytime you begin to trust God, the enemy will come at your mind to manipulate your imagination to see your life going different from what God has said.
The best way to get a handle on your thoughts and imagination is through the power of speaking God’s word.
But then there are times when you speak forth your faith and you know that faith is in your heart and that which you have spoken is done in the Name of Jesus!
Hebrews 4:14 NKJV
(14) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV
(23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
How does this faith process work?
Mark 11:12-14 NKJV
(12) Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.
(13) And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
(14) In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.
Mark 11:19-24 NKJV
(19) When evening had come, He went out of the city.
(20) Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
(21) And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
(22) So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.
(23) 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.
(24) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Notice Jesus came to the fig tree and desired fruit from it. It had none so Jesus cursed the fig tree saying, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
There was nothing that visibly changed immediately with the fig tree or else the disciples, especially Peter would have pointed it out. He said the words and then simply went on about His business.
They conduct their business in Jerusalem and are on their way out of the city and passed by the fig tree. There was still no visible change or else again, the disciples would have said something about it. This did not phase Jesus at all.
They go back to Bethany and spend the night and then head back to Jerusalem again. This time they passed by the fig tree and there was change because they noticed it. They noticed it but Peter is the only one that said anything about it.
Notice the fig tree dried up from the roots. This is the same as will happen with anything that we are using our faith on.
The moment that you begin attending to the Word of God, the Word goes to work on the root of the problem, not the external things that you can see. If it were to address the leaves only, then the root would still be there and then it could grow back.
Example: Roundup weed killer will kill weeds by attacking the root of the weed then the leaves. You can spray it on and it may take 2 or 3 days before you begin to see any visible results from what you did – BUT THEY WILL COME.
The key is not to quit when you don’t see the immediate results.
Just know that as you are speaking the Word, it is working in you and on the situation just like that weed killer.
Some people believe that it is enough for you to have the Word of God in your heart.
Our relationship with Jesus is begun with not only what we believe in our hearts but also what we say with our mouths.
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
(9) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
(10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation