Faith always begins where the will of God is known.
How does faith come?
Romans 10:17 NKJV (17) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Before we are Born Again, we have no faith and so faith (to get saved) comes by hearing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What about after we are saved?
Romans 12:3 KJV (3) For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
In the context here, Paul is speaking to Born Again people and says God has dealt to every man (believer) the measure of faith.
So, all believers have the same faith potential.
1 Peter 2:2 NKJV (2) as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
1 Peter 2:2 TPT (2) In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this “milk” will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life—
2 Peter 3:18 AMPC (18) But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be] glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (so be it)!
Hebrews 5:12-14 AMPC (12)For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. (13) For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! (14) But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.
For the believer, hearing the Word takes on a slightly different purpose. When we hear the Word, our faith is fed, grows and is increased by hearing and understanding the Word of God. Hearing what? What God has said about your situation or about you.
Hearing the Word of God is what drives out those question marks in our thinking that can hinder our faith.
Let’s take a look at how faith is built:
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 it actually comes first.
God started with HOPE with Abram:
Genesis 12:1-4 NKJV Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. (2) I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (4) So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Genesis 15:1-6 NKJV After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” (2) But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” (3) Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” (4) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” (5) Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (6) And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 17:1-8 NKJV When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. (2) And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” (3) Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: (4) “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. (5) No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. (6) I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. (7) And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. (8) Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
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.
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV (1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
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].
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 1:7-9 NKJV (7) Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. (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. (9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
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!
Four Keys to building strong faith in God’s Word:
- Find what the Word says about your situation (and or pray until you have a Word from the Holy Ghost)
- Meditate in the scriptures from God’s Word.
- Speak God’s Word.
- Act on God’s Word.
How is faith released? By words and action.
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.
The key is not to quit when you do not see the immediate results.
Just know that as you are speaking the Word, it is working in you and on the situation just like 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
Look at Abraham and what he did until the manifestation came:
Romans 4:16-21 NKJV (16) Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (17) (as it is written, “I HAVE MADE YOU A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; (18) who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” (19) And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. (20) He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, (21) and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Notice Abraham was not in the necessary physical condition to bear children but He was fully persuaded of the promise of God and considered not his own body being dead.
Notice God calls those things which be not as though they were. He does not call those things which are as though they are not. To call those things which are as though they are not, is a lie.
We must remember that faith in God’s Word is not denying the circumstances of our lives and pretend that they do not exist.
God desires for us to get into agreement with Him and speak the same thing that He speaks.
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV (12) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Revelation 1:13-16 NKJV (13) and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. (14) His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; (15) His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; (16) He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
Notes from Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner:
The phrase “two-edged” is taken from the Greek word distomos and is unquestionably one of the oddest words in the entire New Testament. Why is it so odd? Because it is a compound of the word di, meaning two, and the word stomos, which is the Greek word for one’s mouth. Thus, when these two words are compounded into one (distomos), they describe something that is two-mouthed! Don’t you agree that this seems a little strange? So why would the Bible refer to the Word of God repeatedly as a “two-edged sword” or, literally, a “two-mouthed sword”?
Ephesians 6:10-17 NKJV (10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
The word for “word” in verse 17 is not the normal word “logos” but rather “rhema” of God. This is the spoken Word of God.
The Word of God does not become the sword of the Spirit for you until it is spoken from your mouth.