Seven Hindrances to Your Faith:
- Unforgiveness is probably one of if not the GREATEST hindrance to faith working.
This is the only hindrance Jesus mentioned specifically so it must be important:
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.
Galatians 5:6 AMPC For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.
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- Jesus pointed out that it was the faith woman who had the issue of blood that healed her.
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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.”
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- The woman that had the issue of blood must have walked in forgiveness because her faith in Jesus was not hindered in any way.
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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.
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- We don’t think of this very much if at all, but Caleb and Joshua must have walked in love and forgiveness as well.
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Hebrews 11:30 NKJV By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Worry – the rehearsing of your problem in your mind trying to search for an answer.
- If you face a new problem, then the answer is going to have to come from the Lord.
- When you are searching for the answer in your mind by going over and over the problem to look for the solution, you only cause yourself more anxiety and frustration.
- There is always a way! There is always a solution!
- God has a thousand answers or solutions to every problem we face. All you and I need is one.
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- Practicing Sin will hinder your faith.
1 John 3:3-6 AMPC And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless). (4) Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect–being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will). (5) You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [essentially and forever]. (6) No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains in communion with and in obedience to Him–deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].
1 John 3:20-22 NKJV For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. (21) Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. (22) And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
1 John 1:9 NKJV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- A sin-consciousness will hinder your faith.
We need to confess our sins and forget them.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Hebrews 10:1-4 AMPC FOR SINCE the Law has merely a rude outline (foreshadowing) of the good things to come–instead of fully expressing those things–it can never by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year make perfect those who approach [its altars]. (2) For if it were otherwise, would [these sacrifices] not have stopped being offered? Since the worshipers had once for all been cleansed, they would no longer have any guilt or consciousness of sin. (3) But [as it is] these sacrifices annually bring a fresh remembrance of sins [to be atoned for], (4) Because the blood of bulls and goats is powerless to take sins away.
Isaiah 43:25 NKJV “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Psalms 103:12 NKJV As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
- A lack of understanding who we are in Christ will hinder your faith.
We all must have a clear understanding of our rights and privileges that we have in Christ Jesus.
Most often, when we don’t know these things, we will live our lives below what Jesus bought and paid for and what God has planned for our lives.
- Lack of understanding the power of the Name of Jesus and our privilege to use it.
John 14:13-14 NKJV And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (14) If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
John 16:23-24 NKJV “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. (24) Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
- We stop speaking the Word and acting on the Word when we don’t immediately see results.
Make up your mind that you are in it to win it. Stay with it for the long haul if necessary.
Galatians 6:9 NKJV And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Galatians 6:9 TLB And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.
Hebrews 10:35-36 NKJV Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. (36) For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
Hebrews 6:11-12 TPT But we long to see you passionately advance until the end and you find your hope fulfilled. (12) So don’t allow your hearts to grow dull or lose your enthusiasm, but follow the example of those who fully received what God has promised because of their strong faith and patient endurance.
Liberating Your Faith by Pastor Bob Yandian
Does the Amount of Your Faith Make a Difference?
How much faith do you need to meet your needs? The biggest miracle you ever received and will ever receive is the new birth. The little amount of faith you used to believe in Jesus as your Lord, moved you from Satan’s kingdom into God’s, from spiritual death into eternal life, and from satanic darkness into the kingdom of light. Any other need you may have in your life is eclipsed by your deliverance at salvation. Every other miracle in your life is temporary – healing, deliverance from demons, or even being raised from the dead. It lasts from the time you receive it until you die. But salvation is eternal. This is why angels rejoice over your salvation and not over your healing or physical miracle.
Nothing will ever compare with the power demonstrated by God when He removed you from Satan’s family and made you His own child. So why do you need more faith to receive a lesser miracle? Why do you need a mountain of faith to be healed, or be delivered from oppression? We are all guilty of telling others who did not receive healing, “you needed more faith.” We have also been told by others or condemned ourselves with the same answer when we failed to receive an answer to prayer, “I guess I didn’t have enough faith.” We spend time trying to build up our faith when this isn’t the answer at all. We are not in need of more faith, but liberating and setting free the faith we have. In foreign countries, we see people receiving Jesus as Lord and immediately being healed of incurable diseases, receiving their eyesight, or hearing, or having missing limbs restored. What is even more mysterious, many are healed of incurable diseases and then become saved. These people have not had time to build up a great amount of faith. What little faith they have is simply unhindered.
The Day the Disciples Failed
In Matthew 17:14-21 Jesus was called on to cast out a demon from a young boy. His disciples failed, and the father now looked to Jesus for the answer. And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him. The child was cured at that time. When the disciples came to Jesus later, they asked Him, “Why couldn’t we cast him out?” (vs. 18-19)
The disciples were confused about why they failed and were confused when Jesus was successful, and they were not. What was the problem? They had been successful before. When Jesus first gave them power over unclean spirits and every type of sickness (Matthew 10:1), they went out to try their newfound authority over Satan. They came back rejoicing that demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17). This instance in Matthew 17 was not the first time but one of many times they came up against demons. Why were they not successful this time?
The story is told again in Mark 9:14-27. Mark fills us in on details Matthew did not give. Mark tells us the disciples were surrounded by a large multitude of people who were watching. There were also a group of Pharisees who were antagonizing and questioning the disciples. The young boy who needed deliverance also fell to the ground wallowing and foaming from his mouth. The disciples were put on the spot for the first time. Each time before, the disciples had probably cast out devils in the privacy of a home or somewhere away from crowds. Now all eyes were on them, and the people were skeptical. They felt the pressure of the worried father, the onlooking crowd, and the critical attitude of the religious leaders. Under this great pressure, they failed for the first time.
What Was Jesus’ Answer?
When the Disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the devil, He did not tell them they did not have enough faith. “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” (Matthew 17:20).
Apparently, before speaking with Jesus, the disciples tried to analyze their failure among themselves. They probably concluded they didn’t have enough faith. This is why Jesus mentioned the small amount of faith needed to remove problems in the Christian life. Between the last successful case of casting out a devil and this occasion of failure, something unnoticed had crept into the faith life of the disciples. The problem with the disciples was not a need for more faith, but less unbelief. In fact, a very small amount of faith, the size of a mustard seed, would move a mountain and guarantee no impossibilities from that time on. But the mustard seed must be unhindered. A little bit of unbelief will nullify the power of faith.
Faith was never designed to be a tug of war. When unbelief is absent, a mustard seed amount of faith will carry a mountain into the sea. Unbelief acts as an opponent to faith and pulls the mountain from the other direction. Faith is nullified and the mountain remains. This was Jesus’ answer to the disciples for their inability to cast out the devil. Jesus walked into the same situation as the disciples and was not moved by the attention of the crowd or the critical attitude of the Pharisees. He also did not become frightened by the young boy who fell on the ground wallowing and foaming but cast out the devil and set the young boy free. Jesus was a man of faith, but he also had no unbelief. His faith was free and unhindered.
The Power of a Mustard Seed
Do you remember the song many years ago about the ant who wanted to move a rubber tree plant? With high hopes (we would say faith), he did. Have you ever been on a picnic and watched a piece of popcorn or cake crumb go walking off? When you looked closer at the cake or popcorn, you found an ant underneath. The ant can move objects much larger and heavier than itself. But faith is even more powerful. Imagine a mountain moving without any visible means. If you could lift the mountain, you would find a measure of faith the size of a mustard seed carrying the mountain toward the sea. Jesus said the mustard seed, indeed is the least of all seeds (Matthew 13:31-32). After the mountain is gone, the mustard seed can keep on working and guarantee absolute success in every case from then on. This tiny speck of faith would ask only one thing, “keep me unhindered and free from unbelief.”
When Jesus met resistance to his healing and miracle power, he did not blame it on a lack of faith, but on a presence of unbelief. The scriptures tell us much more about ridding ourselves of unbelief than increasing our faith. Let’s look at a few scriptures. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).
“He marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:6).
“Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief…” (Mark 16:14).
What is the instruction to us as New Testament Church age believers? “So, we see they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19, 4:6).
“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11).
How Do We Get Rid of Unbelief?
“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21).
Jesus was not referring to the demon. There is no demon which is not subject to the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17-19, Ephesians 1:21-22). The object to which Jesus referred to that needed to be removed, was unbelief. There are two types of unbelief, rebellious unbelief, and passive unbelief. Rebellious unbelief comes from sin. It openly defies the word and power of God. The exodus generation was guilty of this type of unbelief. When Moses gave the promises of God, they hardened their heart and spoke out against God and Moses. This was not the unbelief Jesus’ disciples faced. They faced passive unbelief when trying to cast out the devil from the young boy. The disciples honestly believed God, but their faith was nullified. They asked Jesus in all honesty why they could not cast out the devil this time.
Passive unbelief comes from over occupation with the legitimate things of life. It is described in Mark 4:18-19 as thorns which choke the word and make it unfruitful. The thorns of unbelief are described as the necessities of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the lusts of other things that enter in and choke the Word. Necessities, wealth, and things are all legitimate areas of life. This parable warns us about too much time spent with them and the result. God wants our time to be taken up with prayer and the word of God. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 we have a good definition of this type of unbelief. “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God….” Unbelief comes with reasonings which come against the Word of God. This type of unbelief must be starved to death and can no longer exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.