The Fundamentals of Faith
What is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (AMPC)
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].
Faith is… – if it’s not now, it is not faith.
Hope is always future tense or pointing to the future. Faith says I’ll receive it now or I have it now.
The principles of faith are the same in any area, whether it be finances, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing or whatever it is. If you can learn the principles of faith, then it is easy to receive whatever it is that you are seeking from God or need to receive.
The principles and laws of God work the same every time and if you can learn them, they will for you every single time.
We must move from the mental agreement realm to believing with the heart in order to receive from God.
How Does Faith Come?
Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
It does absolutely no good to pray for faith.
(Romans 12:3 NKJV) For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
KJV – “THE measure of faith…”
“Each one” is referring to each believer.
Mark 11:22-26 (NKJV)
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.
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
- Fundamental #1: You believe the Word in your heart
You believe with your heart – not your head!
(Mark 11:23 NKJV) 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.
(Romans 10:10 NKJV) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
In referring to the heart, the Jesus and the Bible are referring to the core of who you are (like the heart of a tree) or your spirit.
Faith is of the spirit.
- Fundamental #2 – Say God’s Word with your mouth.
You always say what you believe!
2 Corinthians 4:13 (NKJV)
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I BELIEVED AND THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe and therefore speak,
Proverbs 18:20-21 (NKJV)
20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
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.
This is a spiritual law. You cannot change the law of words that we live under, but you can change the words that determine how you live.
Once you understand a spiritual law, you can operate in it and get the results every time.
Faith-filled words always penetrate to the roots!
(Mark 11:20-21 NKJV) 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.”
You speak your faith whether you realize it or not.
(Matthew 12:33-35 AMP) Either make the tree sound (healthy and good), and its fruit sound (healthy and good), or make the tree rotten (diseased and bad), and its fruit rotten (diseased and bad); for the tree is known and recognized and judged by its fruit. 34 You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things.
(Hebrews 3:12 NKJV) Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
(Luke 6:45 NLT) A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.
What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Faith must be released by the words of your mouth.
Faith’s confessions create realities OR confession precedes possession.
How do I get the Word of God deep into my heart?
(Joshua 1:8 NKJV) 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.
(Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV) Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
(John 15:7 NKJV) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
This takes work! If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
- Fundamental #3 – Act on your faith in the Word. (Simply put, act like the Bible is true.)
(James 1:22-25 NKJV) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
(James 2:14 NKJV) What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
Phillips Translation: Now what use is it, my brothers, for a man to say he “has faith” if his actions do not correspond with it?
In the following incidents from the Bible we can see all of these points in action:
(Mark 5:25-34 NKJV) Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” 31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” 32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
- The woman heard the Word. (v27)
Tradition tells us that Jesus being a Rabbi wore a tallit or prayer shawl and on this shawl at the corners would have been tassels that were representative of the Commandments and/or the Word of God.
Faith comes by hearing and we know she had faith. Jesus said so.
What did she hear?
It could be that she heard of the miracles which Jesus had done.
It could also be that she knew what the Word says about Jesus in this Scripture:
(Malachi 4:2 NKJV) But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
The Hebrew word for “wings” actually means “the skirt or corner of the garment.”
- She released her faith with her words. (v28)
- She acted on what she believed. (v27)
- She received her healing and told about it. (v33)
(Mark 5:29 NKJV) Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.
Notice the feeling and the healing came after the believing, saying and acting. Many want the feeling and the healing before they do the believing, saying, and acting.
Joshua and Caleb
Numbers 13:26-33; 14:6-10; 14:24
Caleb had a different spirit. What was it?
(2 Corinthians 4:13 NKJV) 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I BELIEVED AND THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe and therefore speak,
Joshua 14:6-13
What did Caleb receive? Exactly what he believed in his heart and said with his mouth.
David and Goliath
1 Samuel 17:26; 17:31-37; 17:45-51
I want to point out a couple of hindrances to faith that should be mentioned.
- Unforgiveness is probably one of if not the GREATEST hindrance to faith working.
Mark 11:25-26 NKJV “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Galatians 5:6 KJV For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
- Jesus pointed out that it was the woman’s faith that healed her.
Mark 5:34 NKJV And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
- The woman that had the issue of blood must have walked in forgiveness because her faith in Jesus was not hindered in any way.
Mark 5:25-26 NKJV Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.
- We don’t think of this very much if at all, but Caleb and Joshua must have walked in love and forgiveness as well.
They could have been bitter because of their fellow Israelites caused them to have to wait forty years to possess what they believed they could possess at the beginning.
Hebrews 11:30 NKJV By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
- David could have been bitter because of the way his father and brothers treated him with contempt and did not see what God could do through him.
Hebrews 11:32 NKJV And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
- Another hindrance to our faith is worry.
Matthew 6:25 NIV “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
1 Peter 5:6-7 AMPC Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, (7) Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Psa 55:22]
Philippians 4:6-7 AMP Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. (7) And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.