

FAITH TOWARD GOD

Michael E.B. Maher

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this teaching are from the New King James Version of the bible.

Revised Edition 2016

Books by Michael E.B. Maher

Repentance from Dead Works

Doctrine of Baptisms

Laying on of Hands

Resurrection of the Dead

Eternal Judgement

The Will of Man

The Spirit of Man

The Conscience of Man

The Mind of Man

The Body of Man

Spiritual Gifts

The Revelation Gifts

The Power Gifts

The Five Ministry Gifts

There is Sin to Death

Prayer

All Children are from God

Being Unforgiving

Being led by the Spirit

Born Free from Sin

The Two Gospels Explained
Contents

Chapter 1

What is faith?

Chapter 2

How do we get faith?

Chapter 3

Applying faith in prayer

Chapter 4

Applying faith in life

Chapter 5

Hindrances to faith

Chapter 1

What is faith?

Introduction

Hebrews 5:12-14 "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (13) For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. (14) But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

Hebrews 6:1-2 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."

Acts 20:18-21 "And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, (19) serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; (20) how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, (21) testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

There are six foundational doctrines to the Christian faith. Because they are foundational, every believer should have a clear understanding of each one of these doctrines, and live by them. Those who have a clear understanding of these doctrines and who also live by them, will have a sure foundation. And they will not be deceived by any false teachings, that they may come across in their Christian walk. Scripture reveals to us that these doctrines are the milk of God's word, which all new born believers should feed on. However, even mature adults drink milk as part of their natural diet. In the spirit, that principle remains the same. And so, it is good for mature believers to also revisit the foundational principles of Christ from time to time, to ensure that their foundations remain solid. In this teaching, we will examine the doctrine of faith towards God, which is the second of the six foundational doctrines taught to the body of Christ. Of the six foundational doctrines, the two that were most commonly taught to the church by the apostle Paul, were repentance from dead works and faith towards God. We see that evidenced in the passage of scripture from Acts chapter twenty, quoted above. In this passage, Paul in speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus, reminded them that he had taught them these two doctrines, extensively. Although Paul mentions these doctrines by name, slightly differently to the ones mentioned in the book of Hebrews, they are still the same doctrines. The doctrine of repentance from dead works, Paul refers to, as repentance towards God. And the doctrine of faith towards God, Paul refers to, as faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.

Everyone has faith

Mark 9:42 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."

Luke 8:25 "But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

The foundation doctrine in the book of Hebrews, is called the doctrine of "faith toward God". It is not called the doctrine of "faith". The reason for that is simple. Everyone has faith, but not everyone has faith toward God. God created man in His image. God, is a God of faith. Scripture tells us that God gives life to the dead, and calls those things that do not exist as though they did. In other words, God who is the creator of all things, creates all things by using His faith. When God created man, one of the attributes He gave him, was faith. Man, has the God given ability to believe. More importantly, God gave man the ability to believe in Him, and His creative power. In Mark's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus revealed to us that all children naturally believe in Him. In Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus asked His disciples the question, "where is your faith"? The reason Jesus asked them that question, was because He knew that they had faith, for that is how He created them. Multitudes were healed under the ministry of Jesus when He walked the earth, and they were healed by exercising their faith. Time and again, our Lord would say to those who were healed under His ministry, "your faith has made you well". However, many of those who were healed under the ministry of Jesus, are what the scripture classifies as unbelievers. So how is it possible that unbelievers, had faith to be healed through the ministry of Jesus? The reason is, because they believed that He was a prophet anointed by God to heal the sick, but they did not believe in Him as being the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. And so, we see that when scripture refers to unbelievers, it is not referring to people who have no faith, it is referring to people who do not have faith in Jesus, as their Saviour. This world is designed to destroy faith in God. As children grow up, very few are taught to develop and grow their faith in God. From the time, they are babies, many children are taught to believe in fables, while they are also taught to believe in God. As children grow up and eventually realise that fables are untrue, what little faith they may have in God, becomes eroded as well. And so, consequently when people become mature adults, the majority do not exercise any faith at all. Our Lord Jesus called this generation, a faithless and perverse generation. There are a few who do exercise their faith, but they do not exercise their faith in God. On the contrary they are taught to believe in themselves, and in their own abilities. They are taught to believe in many different things, such as science, the medical profession, political and religious leaders. The list is almost endless. God created faith, and therefore faith works. Because faith works, when people exercise their faith in themselves, their faith will bring out the best in themselves. For example, no sportsman can excel in their chosen sport, unless they believe in their ability to do so. Because faith is from God, it works on the principles that God put in place. We all know the popular scripture that says, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God". That same principle applies to faith exercised in the natural as well. Let's look at the example of our sportsman again. If that sportsman keeps hearing words of encouragement from his coach and others around him, that he can do it. That he can become the best in his sport. That he has the talent. His belief in himself and his natural talent, will become stronger. And he will respond to that, by performing that much better. The problem with faith in the natural, is that it is limited to what can be done in the natural. It is only through faith in God, that mankind has access to the supernatural power of God.

Not everyone has faith in God

John 8:43-44 "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. (44) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

John 12:39-40 "Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: (40) "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HARDENED THEIR HEARTS, LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, LEST THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, SO THAT I SHOULD HEAL THEM."

Even though unbelievers have faith, they do not have faith in God. The reason for that, is because the scripture teaches us in the book of Romans, that faith in God comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. If faith comes by hearing only, why is it that when many unbelievers hear the gospel preached, they still don't believe? Our Lord Jesus gave us the answer to that question when He taught the parable of the sower. In that parable, the Lord taught us that when those who hear the word and do not understand it, that Satan comes immediately to take away the word that has been sown in their hearts. Jesus said that Satan did that, lest they believe and are saved. When many unbelievers hear the word of God, they do not understand it. Because they do not understand the gospel, they cannot apply their faith to that word, in order to be saved. And so, we see that faith in God does not come only from hearing the word of God, but one must also understand that word, in order to respond to the word of God, in faith. The reason unbelievers do not understand God's word, is because the god of this world has blinded their minds so that they cannot understand it. In John's gospel, chapter eight quoted above, our Lord Jesus in speaking to the unbelievers around Him, said that they could not understand what He was saying because they were of their father the devil, and as such, they were not able to listen to His word. Everyone on the earth today, who is not born of God, is under the control of the devil, to a greater or lesser degree. Not everyone is appointed to salvation, for God has predestined those who are to be saved. But as we have already seen, everyone does have faith. In order to prevent those who are not predestined to salvation, from exercising their faith to be saved when they hear the gospel, God allows their minds to be blinded so that they cannot understand the gospel. The Holy Spirit reveals this truth to us in the passage of scripture quoted above, from John's gospel, chapter twelve. For He tells us that He has hardened their hearts, lest they should understand the gospel and turn to Him to be saved. Those who are appointed to salvation, have the veil removed from their hearts, when they hear the gospel, and are able to understand it. When they do, they are then able to apply their faith by believing the gospel message, and are saved. And so, we see that even though everyone has faith, not everyone has faith toward God. Only those who are chosen have faith toward God, because they have been allowed to understand the message of the gospel, and can thus use their faith in believing the gospel.

Faith is being fully convinced

Romans 4:20-21 "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."

Romans 14:1-23 "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. (2) For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. ... (5) One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ... (14) I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ... (22) Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. (23) But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin."

John 8:31-32 "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. (32) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

We have seen that everyone has faith, but it is only believers that have faith toward God. We have also seen that the reason that believers have faith toward God, is because the eyes of their understanding have been opened, so that they can see the truth of the gospel. And so, we see that the difference between believers and unbelievers, is in the realm of knowledge, or understanding, if you will. For even unbelievers, believe. They just believe the wrong thing. However, even though all believers have faith toward God, not all are walking at the same level of faith. There are those who are strong in faith and there are those who are weak in faith. In Romans chapter fourteen, quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us that one who is weak in faith, eats only vegetables. He contrasts this believer, with the one who believes he can eat all things. Obviously, the Holy Spirit is telling us in this example, that the one who is strong in faith, is the one who believes he can eat all things. So, what causes one believer to be weak in faith while another believer can be strong in faith? The answer to that question is, knowledge and understanding of God's word. In the passage of scripture quoted from Romans chapter fourteen, Paul states that he knows and is convinced by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself. Scripture teaches us that Jesus is the word of God. So, Paul could just as easily have said, that he knows and is convinced by the word of God, that there is nothing unclean of itself. In this example, the one who is strong in faith is the one who has seen the truth in God's word, that there is nothing unclean of itself, for God is the creator of all things. The one who is weak in faith in this example, is the one who has not yet seen that truth in God's word, and thus still holds some things to be unclean. But I want you to see that both believers are still walking in faith. They are just walking in different levels of faith. The reason that both believers are walking in faith, is because both are fully convinced in their own minds, based on their knowledge and understanding of God's word, that they are pleasing God. And we know that without faith, it is impossible to please God. God honours the faith of both. God meets each one of us at our level of faith. In this example, the one who has weak faith has placed constraints on himself, in that he has limited himself to what he can eat, while the other is able to walk in greater liberty, for he can eat all things. This principle is applicable in every area of the believers walk. For example, one believes that God has provided divine health to them through the redemptive work of the cross of Jesus. While another Christian has not yet seen this truth in God's word, but rather believes that God can heal through the intervention of doctors and medical science. Again, God meets both believers at their level of faith, and keeps the one in divine health, while He heals the other through the intervention that doctors provide. In this example, the one who is strong in faith, has seen the truth in God's word that God heals all our diseases. The one who is weak in faith has not yet seen that truth, and so relies on doctors to heal their diseases. They may have heard the scripture quoted, and even read the scripture that says, "by Whose stripes you were healed". But they are still not fully convinced in their own minds, that that scripture literally means what it says. As long as there is doubt in their minds regarding their understanding of that word, they will not exercise any faith in that word, because they are not fully convinced in their minds that that word is true in the literal sense.

1 John 3:9 "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God."

Romans 2:15 "who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them."

1 John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

Where believers get into trouble, is when they step outside of their level of faith and try to operate at a higher level based on what they see others doing, and not on what they see in the word of God. The key is to be fully convinced in your own mind. We have seen in the above passage of scripture from Romans chapter four, that Abraham was fully convinced that what the Lord had promised, He was also able to perform, and so consequently Abraham acted on that. Once you are fully convinced in your mind regarding God's word, you will then act on that word in faith. Before that time, if you try to walk in that word, you will not see results because God honours faith. And in fact, scripture tells us that you will be walking in sin, for everything that is not of faith is sin. So how do we get to that place where we are fully convinced in our own minds, regarding God's word? In John's gospel chapter eight quoted above, our Lord Jesus taught us that if we abide in His word, that we will know the truth, and that it is then that the truth will make us free. When we come into the kingdom of God, we come in with carnal thinking. Up until the time that we are born-again, our minds have been programmed our whole lives to think as this world thinks, and thus to act as this world acts. When this world gets sick, they go to the doctor, they don't go to the word of God. It takes time for believers to reprogram their minds to think in line with God's word. This is why Jesus tells us that the one who will be set free, is the one who abides in His word. You are going to have to teach your mind through meditation on His word, to think in line with the word of God. That takes discipline, and it takes time. But if you are disciplined to abide in His word through meditating on His word, and confessing His word over your life, you will find that you will become fully convinced in your mind regarding the truths in God's word. And you will then be able to act on His word in faith, without any doubt. Our inner man is made up primarily, of two parts. Our minds and our spirits. We have seen in this section, that in order for our faith to work, that we must be fully convinced in our minds, regarding the truths in God's word. The reason for that, is because it is only in the mind of the born-again believer, that doubt can exist. And doubt is the opposite to faith. The part of the born-again believer that cannot doubt, is their spirit. We saw earlier in scripture, that anything not done from faith is sin. The spirit of the born-again believer cannot sin. That truth is confirmed to us in the passage of scripture quoted above from first John chapter three. The reason that it is possible under the new covenant, for the Holy Spirit to dwell in the spirit of the born-again believer, is because their spirits are completely free from sin. For the Holy Spirit, cannot dwell in the presence of sin, because there is no sin in Him. As revealed to us in Romans chapter two quoted above, the spirit and conscience of the born-again believer, will always convict the believer of any sin that they commit, for together they will accuse the believer of the wrong that they are doing. Being weak in faith however, is not sin. And so, when a believer is walking in weak faith they are not walking in sin, and they will therefore not be convicted for their weak faith, by either their spirits or their conscience. Doubt, on the other hand, is sin. And so, if we are walking in doubt, our spirit and our conscience will convict us of that sin. This is another mechanism to help us recognise when we are fully convinced in our minds, regarding God's word. For when we are fully convinced in our minds regarding our actions, then we will be walking in faith and not in the sin of doubt. And our spirits and conscience will not convict us of any sin. In fact, as revealed to us in first John chapter three quoted above, because our spirits are not condemning our actions, we will have confidence toward God. The key is not to act, until you are fully convinced in your mind regarding the truths revealed in God's word. And so, we see that ultimately, faith toward God, is being fully convinced in our minds regarding the truths in God's word, and acting on those truths.

Faith is tangible

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".

James 2:18 "But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works".

Luke 5:18-20 "Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. (19) And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. (20) When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Although faith resides in our hearts, and our heart is the invisible part of man, our faith can still be seen in the natural. The Holy Spirit in writing the book of Hebrews quoted above, teaches us that faith is the evidence of "things not seen". The "things not seen" that He is referring to, are those things that we are believing for. That same scripture teaches us that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Hope always refers to the unseen, for we hope for that which we do not see. The things which we are hoping and believing for, have not yet materialised in this life, and so cannot be seen in the natural. Although the things we are exercising our faith for, cannot be seen yet, the Holy Spirit tells us that there is something in its place, that can be seen. For He tells us that our faith is the evidence, of the things not yet seen. Evidence, by its very definition, can always be seen, in some form. When someone presents evidence before a judge in a court of law, that evidence must be tangible. For example, it must be something that the judge can either see or hear. In the same manner, our faith, as evidence of that which is not yet seen, is also tangible in this life. Others looking at you and listening to you, can see and hear, your faith. For what you say and how you act, reveals what you believe. The Holy Spirit through the apostle James, made it very plain for us to understand this concept. For in James chapter two quoted above, He said that we show others our faith, by our works. In explaining what it means to show our faith by our works, James went on to give the examples of how Abraham and Rahab acted on what they believed. In other words, their acts of faith were their works. In the same manner, what we believe will be evidenced by what we say with our mouths, and how we act, in this life. There is no getting around it. What you believe will always be evidenced by what you say and how you act. If we look at the example given us in scripture quoted from Luke's gospel above, we can very clearly see faith in action. The man who was paralyzed and the four men who carried him, were determined to get to Jesus. Very few would have done what they did, to get to Jesus. When they could not get in by conventional means because of the crowds, they carried their friend onto the roof and broke through the roof, in order to lower the paralyzed man in front of Jesus. Scripture plainly tells us that Jesus saw their faith. In other words, their action which was extreme, showed our Lord that they were fully convinced that He would heal their paralyzed friend. We all know the outcome to this account, in that our Lord did heal that paralyzed man, and he got up, took up his bed and walked out in front of everyone. That is what being fully convinced in your mind means. It would be very difficult for anyone to persuade you not to speak and act on what you believe. You will recall the account of blind Bartimaeus being healed by the Lord. And how the people tried to get him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more. He was fully convinced in his mind that Jesus would heal him, and that is exactly what he got. In the same manner, by our words and our actions, our faith is tangible in this life.
Chapter 2

How do we get faith?

We have received the gift of faith

Matthew 9:28-30 "And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." (29) Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." (30) And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."

Mark 6:5-6 "Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. (6) And He marvelled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching."

We have already seen in the first chapter, that everyone has faith. When Jesus walked on the earth, the vast majority of people who were healed under His ministry, were not His disciples. They were not born-again Christians. They were ordinary people who lived very ordinary lives. And yet they were healed of their diseases, and many received miracles from the Lord. On many occasions, Jesus said that those who received their healing under His ministry, did so because of their own faith. He would very often ask them if they believed that He was able to heal them. If they said "yes" that they did believe, then Jesus would pray for them and lay His hands on them. As a result, God's tangible healing power would flow from Him into the bodies of those He prayed for, and they would be healed. We see clear evidence of this in Matthew chapter nine, quoted above. The two blind men came to house where Jesus was, seeking to be healed by Him. The very first question that our Lord asked them, was whether they believed that He was able to heal them. When they said "yes Lord", our Lord laid His hands on them and spoke the words, "according to your faith let it be to you". They were instantly healed. But I want you to notice that Jesus placed the full responsibility of their healing, on them. In other words, if they didn't believe, then they weren't going to get anything from the Lord. Jesus could do that, because He knew that everyone had the capacity to believe in Him for their healing. In fact, in His earthly ministry, Jesus would not have been able to minister God's healing power unless those who came to Him, came in faith, believing that He was anointed by God to heal them. In Mark's gospel chapter six quoted above, we see this truth revealed to us. In His home town of Nazareth where He grew up, the scripture teaches us that Jesus could not perform any mighty miracles there, because of their unbelief. Those that He did lay hands on and heal, had only minor ailments. In other words, they were not seriously ill. The scripture tells us that the Lord marvelled at their unbelief. The reason that Jesus marvelled at their unbelief, is because He knew that they had the capacity for faith, because He put that capacity in them when He created them. The point is made very clear to us in scripture, that everyone has faith. But as we have already seen earlier in this teaching, not everyone has faith toward God. Only the born-again believer has faith toward God. But our faith is not the same faith that all unbelievers have access to.

Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith."

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (18) Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation."

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ."

The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, quoted the same scripture from the prophet Habakkuk, in his letters to the churches in Rome (Romans 1:17), Galatia (Galatians 3:11) and Judea (Hebrews 10:38). All believers know these scriptures very well, for we all know that we are to live by faith. The "just" that the Holy Spirit is referring to in this passage of scripture, are those who have been justified in Christ, or those who have been born-again. God our Father has decreed that we, His children, are to live by faith. He does not give us a choice in the matter. He does not say that we are to live by faith, if we feel like it. He does not say that we are to try our very best to live by faith. He simply says, "the just shall live by faith". Think about that for a moment. For God to instruct us to live by faith and then not give us the ability to do that, would be unjust. And yet many Christians think that is exactly what God has done. They know that God requires us to live by faith, but they then think that they still have to acquire this faith from somewhere. How many times have you heard Christians say, "I just don't have any faith". The reason that many Christians view faith in this way, is because they have not understood the New Covenant that they are under. In second Corinthians chapter five quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, tells us that we have become God's new creations. In scripture, we learn that when we are born-again, that our old man dies. The new creation of God that replaces our old man, has the very nature of God. Everything that we are as new creations, comes directly from God. And that includes our faith. There is absolutely nothing that we bring into the kingdom of God. When we are born-again we receive everything, in Christ Jesus. That is why God our Father is not unjust when He instructs us to live by faith, because He is the one who has given us the faith that we need to live by. The scripture quoted from Ephesians chapter two above, tells us that the faith that we have received is not our own, it is the gift of God. In second Peter chapter one quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter, confirms the fact that all believers have received the gift of faith. For He tells us that we all have obtained like precious faith, from Jesus Christ our Lord. Every believer has received the gift of faith from the Lord. For believers to say that they don't have faith, is to declare their ignorance of what the word of God says.

Ephesians 6:13-17 "Therefore take up the whole armour 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."

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

Not only have we, as sons and daughters of God, received the gift of faith from God, but the faith that we have received, is His faith. In Ephesians chapter six quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us to put on the armour of God. The scripture plainly tells us that it is God's armour, and not our own. It is not our "breastplate of righteousness", for we are made righteous with His righteousness. It is not our "helmet of salvation", for Jesus Christ is our salvation. It is not our "sword of the Spirit", for the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. And it is also not our "shield of faith", for He is our shield. It is with God's faith that we are instructed to withstand in the evil day, for we are to take up His shield of faith, not our own. The Lord would not tell us to take up His armour, if we did not have access to His armour. As God's sons, each of us have direct access to the armour of God, including His faith. As the just, we do not live by our own faith, we live by the faith of God. In Galatians chapter two quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, again confirms this truth to us. I have quoted this particular verse of scripture from the King James Version of the bible. The reason for that, is because this translation reflects this portion of scripture as it was originally written. Notice that Paul tells us that it is no longer he that is living, but rather it is Christ who is living in him. Paul then goes on to say that the life that he now lives in the flesh, he lives "by the faith of the Son of God". Paul was not living the Christian life by his own faith, he was living it by the faith of Jesus. This truth is applicable to all the saints of God. For with regards to all of us, it is no longer we who are living, but it is Christ who is living in and through us. And if it is Christ who is living in us, then He does so by His faith, and not our own. The life that we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God, for we have been given His faith. This is why scripture teaches us that those who abide in Christ, ought to walk even as He walked. We can walk like Jesus walked, because we have been given the same faith that Jesus has. The first step to walking by faith as believers, is to recognise that you have been given the faith of God. Confess that truth over your life, believe it, and you will find yourself beginning to walk as God intended you to walk, by His faith.

Our faith can be increased

2 Corinthians 10:15 "not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men's labours, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere."

2 Thessalonians 1:3 "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other."

Romans 14:1-2 "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. (2) For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables."

Romans 15:1 "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves."

We have seen in the previous section that as born-again believers, we have received the gift of faith from God our Father. We have also seen that the faith that we have received, is in fact the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. Someone will say, but if we have received the faith of Jesus, why don't we all walk like Jesus did? The answer to that question, is that each of us has the potential to walk even as Jesus walked, for each of us have been born-again of the incorruptible seed of the word of God. But just as every seed in the natural, has the potential in that seed to become the great tree that God intended it to become, that seed must still be watered and nurtured. When that happens, then God is the one who gives the increase to that seed, and over time, it eventually becomes the great tree that God intended. In the same manner, the faith that we have received from God, needs to be watered and nurtured so that God can give it the increase that He intended. The result being, that we will then walk even as our Lord Jesus walked. And so, in this section we will look at how to increase the faith that we have received. For the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, in writing to the churches in Corinth and Thessalonica quoted above, teaches us that our faith can be increased, and that our faith can grow. So just how do we go about increasing our faith? We have seen in a previous chapter that faith is of the heart, or a better way of saying it, is that faith is of our spirits. If our spirits are weak, then our faith will automatically be just as weak. One cannot be weak in spirit and at the same time, be strong in faith. In Romans chapter fourteen and fifteen quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, helps us to understand this truth. For when He refers to a believer as being weak, He is referring to their spirits as being weak. And He equates the weakness of their spirits, to the weakness of their faith. For He plainly calls the one who is weak in faith, as being weak. Notice that in the same passages of scripture, that the Holy Spirit contrasts the weak Christian, to the one who "believes he may eat all things". Obviously, the Holy Spirit refers to the one who believes he may eat all things, as one who is strong. When the Holy Spirit calls this believer strong, He is referring to their spirits as being strong. But at the same time, He is implying that they are strong in faith. And so, we see that just as the Holy Spirit equates weak faith with one who is weak in their spirit, so He also equates strong faith with one who is strong in their spirit. One who is strong in spirit will be strong in faith, and one who is weak in spirit will be weak in faith. And so, the key to growing strong in faith, is to grow strong in spirit.

We are spirit beings

Luke 2:40 "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."

Acts 9:22 "But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ."

1 Peter 2:2 "as new-born babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby."

In Luke's gospel quoted above, the scripture plainly reveals to us that when He walked on the earth, our Lord Jesus became strong in spirit. In other words, when Jesus was born into the earth as a baby, not only was He born physically weak, but He was also born spiritually weak. We all accept that our Lord's physical body had to grow and develop, from being a baby to becoming a mature adult. But we forget that our Lord's spirit, had to grow and develop as well. The bible teaches us that in all things, our Lord Jesus was made just like us. That included His spirit. If our Lord Jesus had to grow strong in His spirit, then we are no different. If we are going to walk as God our Father intended that we should walk, we too will have to grow strong in our spirits. Scripture reveals to us that after he was born again, that Saul also grew strong in his spirit. In Acts chapter nine quoted above, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that Saul increased all the more in strength. The strength referred to in this passage of scripture, is the strength of his spirit. In other words, his spirit became stronger. At the time, when it was recorded that Saul increased all the more in strength, he had recently come back from Arabia. You will recall that it was in Arabia, that Paul received much of his revelation of the gospel from the Lord Jesus. And so, compared to when he was born again on the road to Damascus, Paul by this time, had grown much stronger in his spirit. Every born-again believer is born into the kingdom of God, as a babe in Christ, and that included Saul. No-one is born-again spiritually mature, including every apostle listed in the new testament. The apostle Paul also had to grow strong in spirit, just as our Lord Jesus did. If Paul and the other apostles had to grow strong in spirit, then we are no different. In first Peter chapter two quoted above, when the Holy Spirit tells us to desire His word as new-born babes, it is because that is exactly what we are when we come into the kingdom. We are new-born babes. It is our spirits that are born again when we come into the kingdom of God, and it is our spirits that become new creations of God. But our spirits are reborn as infants, and they need to grow up just as any baby in the natural needs to grow up. For notice that the Holy Spirit tells us that the result of our partaking of His word, is that we will grow thereby. The growth that He is referring to, is the growth of our spirits. In fact, our spiritual growth is far more important than even our physical and mental development. How many believers do you know of, that make a conscious effort to grow strong in spirit? The answer to that question is, very few. Why is that? The answer is that very little is taught in the church, about spiritual growth. And so, not many believers understand its importance, and if they do have some idea regarding its importance, they do not understand how to grow strong in their spirits.

1 Corinthians 2:6-15 "However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. (7) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, ... (13) These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (14) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged by no one."

Acts 28:3-6 "But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. (4) So, when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live." (5) But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. (6) However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god."

This world knows little or nothing, about the spirit of man. In the world, much emphasis is placed on physical and mental development, because that is what the world knows and understands. In the passage of scripture quoted from first Corinthians chapter two above, the Holy Spirit contrasts the natural man with the spiritual man. In context, the natural man that Paul is speaking of, is the unbeliever. The Holy Spirit tells us that the natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit, and they are in fact foolishness to him. The reason that the things of the spirit are foolishness to the natural man, is because the things of the spirit are hidden from them. The spiritual man has great advantage in this life. The reason for that is because he understands all things, and he knows what to say and how to act, in every situation. The natural man on the other hand doesn't understand half of what's going on in their lives, or the reasons why. Have you ever heard someone say, "I just don't understand why this is happening to me"? The spiritual man observes and listens to the natural man, and fully understands what is going on in their lives, and why. On the other hand, when the natural man listens to the spiritual man and observes their lives, they fail to comprehend what they are saying or why they act the way they do. Bearing in mind that the subject of this teaching is faith toward God, and we have already seen that scripture equates the spiritual man with one who is strong in faith. Let me illustrate the contrast between the natural man and the spiritual man, by means of an example. The scripture from Acts quoted above, tells us of the incident when the apostle Paul was collecting sticks for a fire. A viper came out of the sticks and bit Paul on his hand. Paul walked over to the fire and shook the snake off his hand into the fire, and then continued as if nothing had happened. The natural man, in that situation would most likely have panicked, being fearful of dying from the snake bite (for the snake was deadly). And they would have urgently sought the nearest medical assistance. And so, we have two contrasting reactions to the same incident. I will not go into any detail regarding Paul's reaction to the incident, except to say that Paul was walking in faith. Notice also, that the incident happened to Paul. Some erroneously think that when believers become spiritual, and consequently strong in faith, that nothing happens to them anymore, i.e. they now live perfect lives free from all tests and trials. That is not the case at all. Tests and trials still happen to the spiritual man. It's just that he knows how to act in every test and trial, and as a result he walks victorious in all of them.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; (3) for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?"

2 Corinthians 3:14 "But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ."

Mark 4:24-25 "Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. (25) For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

We have looked at the contrast between the unbeliever and the spiritual man, but notice in verse six of first Corinthians chapter two, that Paul refers to the spiritual man, as one who is mature. Baby Christians do not fall into this category. In first Corinthians chapter three quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, also contrasts baby believers to those who are spiritual. In that same passage of scripture, He refers to baby Christians as those who are carnal. A carnal believer behaves in a similar manner to the natural man, because he is still spiritually immature. As the natural man views spiritual things to be foolishness, so does the carnal Christian. There is a difference however, because whereas all spiritual things are hidden from the natural man, not all spiritual things are hidden from the baby believer. In second Corinthians chapter three quoted above, the Holy Spirit tells us that the veil is taken away in Christ. In other words, when we are born-again, God opens our understanding to the scriptures, so that we can now see the truth's therein and walk in them. God does not however, open our understanding to every truth in His word, all at once. As baby Christians, we would not be able to comprehend it. For notice that Paul tells the church in Corinth that he could only feed them with milk, because they could not yet receive solid food. The first spiritual truth that every believer sees is that we are saved through faith in Christ. We act on that truth in faith, and are thus saved. And so, our spiritual growth begins. You can readily see that all new born believers will not only be spiritually weak at this stage, but also weak in faith. Because of the weakness of their faith, the carnal Christian will always behave in a manner similar to unbelievers. As with natural growth, the transition from being a carnal believer to becoming one who is spiritual, takes time. However, unlike natural growth which takes years, spiritual growth can take place very rapidly. The pace of our spiritual growth, depends on the individual. In Mark's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus plainly tells us that with regards to spiritual things, it will be measured to us with the measure that we use. There are two key ingredients to natural growth, i.e. food and exercise. In the spirit, it is no different. In order to grow spiritually, our spirits need the nourishment of God's word, and they need the exercise of acting on God's word. This does not mean that having strong faith is reliant on having extensive knowledge of God's word. For believers, can be strong in their faith by walking in the light that they have received. But in this chapter, we are examining how to increase our faith.

Feeding on the word

Luke 4:4 "But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.'"

1 Peter 1:23 "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever."

John 21:17 "He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep."

In order to grow, our spirits need to be nourished regularly by the word of God. In Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus teaches us that as we need physical food for our physical bodies, so we need spiritual food for our spirits. Our Lord taught us that the spiritual food that we partake of, is the word of God. The reason for this, is because our spirits are born of the word of God. This truth is revealed to us in first Peter chapter one, quoted above. It is our spirits that are born of the word of God when we are born again, and the word of God is the nature or DNA, of our spirits. In the natural, the longer you starve your body of physical nourishment, the weaker it will become. In the spirit, it is no different. The longer you starve your spirit of spiritual nourishment, the weaker it will become. In the natural, we feed our physical bodies daily, on average three times a day. A believer who does not feed their spirits at least daily, will never grow strong in spirit and will thus never be strong in faith. When our Lord Jesus taught us to ask our Father for our daily bread, He was talking about the spiritual bread of God's word. We saw earlier, that as we grow spiritually, that the Lord opens our understanding to more of His word. The natural analogy would be, that we begin eating solid foods and no longer only drink milk. But I want you to notice who does the feeding. In John's gospel quoted above, our Lord told Peter to feed His sheep. We read earlier where Paul stated that he was the one who fed the church in Corinth. The Lord Jesus has placed the ministry gifts in His church to edify His body. In other words, it is through the feeding of the ministry gifts, that the church grows spiritually. Also, it is through the ministry gifts, that the church is able to partake of the solid food of God's word. For Paul stated that once they were ready to receive it, he was the one who would feed the church at Corinth with solid food. Without the ministry gifts, the church is limited to partaking of the milk of God's word. It is not possible to grow strong spiritually, on the milk of God's word alone. Believers who do not avail themselves to receiving spiritual food regularly through the ministry gifts, will never grow strong spiritually. But I also want you to notice who placed the restraints on Paul, with regards to him being able to feed the church at Corinth with solid food. It was the believers in Corinth themselves. In order for them to grow strong in spirit, Paul was ready and able to feed them with the solid food of God's word. But they were doing something that prevented Paul from giving them the food necessary for their spirits to grow strong. They were not acting on the word that they had already received. Because of that, the Lord would not allow any further revelation to be given to them. As we read earlier in Mark chapter four, because they were not valuing what they had already received, even what they had received, they were in danger of losing.

Spiritual understanding

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

1 Corinthians 3:1-2 "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able."

Luke 24:32-45 "And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" ... (45) And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."

In this chapter, we are talking about how to increase our faith. We have seen that increasing our faith is directly linked with our spiritual growth. In this section, we will see that our spiritual growth is subject to the renewing of our minds. Man, is primarily a tri-part being. We are a spirit, we have a soul or mind, and we live in a physical body. When we are saved, our spirits are born-again as new creations in Christ. In the future, our mortal bodies will be changed into the immortal bodies that God has preordained. However, in this life it is our minds that have to be renewed to the word of God. In the book of Romans quoted above, the Holy Spirit tells us to be transformed from this world, through the renewing of our minds. Our spirits will never grow beyond the degree to which our minds have been renewed to God's word. We cannot have a strong spirit and at the same time, a mind that is not renewed to the word of God. The two always go hand in hand. Why is that? The reason is because the word of God enters our spirits through our minds, and not through our physical ears. Even when the Holy Spirit who dwells in our spirits, leads us and guides us into the truth of His word, He does that through our minds. In other words, the word of God does not bypass your mind to reach your spirit. When the scripture speaks of renewing our minds to God's word, it is referring to our understanding of God's word, rightly dividing His word of truth. We can say it this way, our spirit is fed with what our mind understands. In first Corinthians chapter three quoted above, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that because the church at Corinth were negligent in the renewing of their minds, that there were certain truths in God's word that the apostle Paul could not teach them, because they would not be able to understand him. In other words, their spirits were fed with what their minds could understand, and nothing more. The scripture quoted from Luke chapter twenty-four above, clearly illustrates the point that our spirits are only fed with what our minds understand. The context of this portion of scripture is that our Lord Jesus appeared to two of the disciples after He was raised from the dead, and while He walked with them, He had taught them the word of God. When the disciples said that He opened the scriptures to them, they were referring to our Lord opening their understanding to God's word. For later that evening when our Lord appeared to the disciples in the inner room, that's exactly what He did. The very important point that I want you to see, is that their spirits only began to burn when they began to understand God's word. In other words, it was the word of God which they understood with their minds, that went down into their spirits. Our spiritual growth is directly linked to the renewing of our minds.

Meditation on the word

Colossians 1:9 "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding."

Luke 9:44-45 "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." (45) But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying."

Proverbs 18:8 and Proverbs 26:22 "The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body."

In the book of Colossians quoted above, Paul prayed for the church to be filled with spiritual understanding. As we saw earlier, when our Lord Jesus opened the understanding of the scriptures to the disciples, it is only God who gives us spiritual understanding of His word. And so, when it comes to renewing our minds to the word of God, the very first thing that we are to do, is to pray as Paul prayed. But after we have prayed, we must still in faith, act on what we have asked for. So how do we do that? In the passage of scripture from Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus was trying to get the disciples to understand what was about to happen to Him in Jerusalem. In other words, they needed spiritual understanding. But as the scripture reveals to us, because it was hidden from them, they did not understand Him. So, what did our Lord mean when He said to the disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears". In the natural, the disciples could hear perfectly what Jesus was saying. Jesus was talking about the inner ears of their spirits. When our Lord walked on the earth, many times He would make the following statement, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear". When Jesus made this statement, He was not referring to their physical ears, because all could hear Him with their physical ears. Jesus was referring to their spiritual ears, i.e. the ears of their inner man. For we have an outward man and we have in inward man. So how do we hear with our spiritual ears? Our Lord Jesus said, we are to let His words sink down into our ears. As quoted above, twice in the book of proverbs, the Holy Spirit reveals to us just how words enter the spirits of unbelievers. The inmost body referred to in this passage of scripture, is the spirit of man. In this world, unbelievers dwell on the words of a talebearer. In other words, they meditate on those words. They like to think about what was said. As they continue to think about those words, those words sink down into their spiritual ears, and their spirits absorb those words. In the same manner, we who are born again, can allow the word of God to go down into our spirits. Although the words are different, the principle remains the same. In other words, it is through the meditation of God's word that we allow His words to go down into our inmost bodies. We have already seen that our minds are the gateway to our spirits, and that nothing enters our spirits from the outside, except through our minds. And so, we meditate on the word of God with our minds.

Psalms 119:97-99 "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. (98) You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. (99) I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation."

Romans 8:5-6 "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

You will recall that we stated earlier, that our Lord Jesus was made just like us, and that He grew strong in spirit. In the same manner, our Lord Jesus as a child, was taught the word of God along with the other children He grew up with. But you will also recall that even as a twelve-year-old, that our Lord's understanding of God's word astonished even the theological professors of His day. In the Psalms quoted above, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that the reason our Lord Jesus had more understanding than all His teachers, was because the word of God was His constant meditation. Our Lord Jesus, when He walked in the flesh, practiced this as His lifestyle. He constantly meditated on the word of God. Meditation on God's word produces understanding in our minds. That which we constantly meditate on, will eventually go down into our spirits and our spirits will absorb those words. The following is a crude analogy, but nevertheless it illustrates the point clearly. When we eat food in the natural, the food enters our mouths and we chew on that food. We chew that food until the point where we can swallow it. Only then does that food go down into our stomachs to be absorbed into our bodies. In the same manner our minds are like our mouths in the natural. God's word enters our minds and we chew on that word. Only when we understand God's word with our minds, does that word now go down into our spirits so that our spirits can absorb God's word and grow stronger. The analogy can even be taken further. The scripture speaks of the milk of God's word, and the solid food of God's word. Milk in the natural, is easy to swallow and does not need to be chewed. In the same manner, all believers are able to swallow the milk of God's word, because it does not need to be chewed. However solid food is different, for solid food cannot be swallowed unless it is chewed. This is why baby believers are unable to swallow the solid food of God's word. It is as we give ourselves to meditation in His word, that we chew on God's word with our minds. As a believer, you will never partake of the solid food of God's word, unless you are prepared to give yourself to spending time meditating on His word. To the degree that you do not partake of the solid food of God's word, you will never grow strong spiritually, for we cannot grow strong on milk alone. This why in the book of Romans quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. To set your mind on something, is to constantly meditate on that thing. If you are going to grow spiritually, you are going to have to set time aside to meditate on God's word. Spiritual believers constantly meditate on God's word, even as our Lord Jesus did. The point remains, that the more you meditate on God's word, the more of His word you will understand. And the more of God's word that you understand, the more of His word that will sink down into your spirit and your spirit will grow stronger.

Stages of spiritual growth

Hebrews 5:11-12 "of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. (12) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food."

1 Corinthians 3:1-2 "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able."

There is natural growth and there is spiritual growth. God has ordained both. Most understand the stages of natural growth. The first stage is babyhood, then comes childhood. After that there is the teenager stage. After that there are young adults, and then finally there are mature adults. Spiritual growth is very similar. However most do not understand the stages of spiritual growth, and this is where problems arise. The bible refers to four main stages of spiritual growth. It refers to babyhood, childhood, young men and mature believers. As our heavenly Father, God deals with us at the stage of spiritual growth that He expects us to be at. When we come into the kingdom of God, we are all born again as babes in Christ. As baby Christians, God is fully understanding of just where we are spiritually, and answers our prayers even when we do not pray completely in line with His word. Think about the natural, and how parents respond to their infant's cry, even before the infant knows how to talk. The parents know what the child wants and needs, and they supply those needs. Also in the natural, the parents and older siblings take care of a baby, and help it in every aspect of its life. In the same manner in the spirit, more mature Christians are able to carry baby Christians on their faith, by praying for them and God answers those prayers. There comes a time in the natural however, when the parents expect a young child to start to learn to walk on their own, and also to be able to begin to talk. It is no different in the spirit. The book of Hebrews quoted above, teaches us that because of the passing of time, God expected that church to be more mature. The scripture quoted from first Corinthians above, reveals exactly the same thing. The Holy Spirit also expected that church to be more mature. As a result, God was beginning to deal with them at the level that He expected them to be at. For believers who have been constantly growing stronger in their spirits since they came into the kingdom of God, the transition from being dependent on other believers to becoming more independent, is relatively easy. However, problems arise in the lives of believers who have not been constantly growing stronger in their spirits. In the natural, parents will not tolerate a teenager behaving as an infant, and neither will they tolerate a young adult behaving as a teenager. There is a natural degree of responsibility and behaviour that each stage of natural growth demands. In the spirit it is no different. There comes a time when the prayers and faith of other Christians no longer work for us, because God expects us to exercise our own faith. There comes a time when not praying completely in line with God's word no longer works for us, because God expects us to now pray effectively, because we should know better. Our heavenly Father treats us this way, because He expects us to grow and mature spiritually. The problems arise when those who should be mature, still want to be treated like babies. God won't do it.

Hebrews 4:15-16 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Hebrews 9:7 "But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance."

John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

There is another aspect to growing up and maturing spiritually that we need to take into account. In order to illustrate, let me once again refer to the natural. When a child is growing up in the natural, parents are more tolerant of bad behaviour, because the child is still learning. But as the child matures, then certain behaviour that was previously overlooked is no longer tolerated, and discipline begins to take place in order to correct that behaviour. In the spirit, it is no different. When we first come into the kingdom of God, there are numerous sins that we commit due to our ignorance about the Christian walk. God chooses to overlook these sins, because He knows that we don't know any better. As quoted in Hebrews chapter nine above, under the old covenant these were the sins that were committed in ignorance. These sins were cleansed once a year, whereas known sin had to be dealt with during the year, with the appropriate sacrifice. Under the new covenant, the blood of Jesus continuously cleanses us from all unintentional sins and sins committed in ignorance, so that we can stay in fellowship with Him. There comes a time however, when God expects us to have matured sufficiently as believers, to no longer behave in such a manner. And so, we find that we are now being held to account for sins that were previously overlooked. And those sins carry consequences in the lives of the believer. One of the consequences, are that the believer has now given place to the devil to come against them. You can readily see why it is that so many Christians are not living the victorious abundant life that Jesus came to bring us, as quoted from the gospel of John above. The reason that they are struggling in their Christian walk, is because they have neglected their spiritual growth. There is no way around it. If you want to experience the abundant life that Jesus came to bring us, then you are going to have to grow in your spirit. However, if you find yourself in the place, because of negligence on your part, where you are not as spiritually mature as you should be, then don't despair. Confess your negligence to the Lord, and ask His forgiveness. And then ask Him to help you to grow from the place where you are. Our Lord is faithful and just to forgive you your sin. And as our High Priest, He can sympathise with your weakness, and He will give you the mercy and grace you need in order to get back on track with your spiritual growth. As you grow stronger in your spirit, then you will automatically grow in your faith as well. And you will begin to experience the reality of your faith working for you, as God intended.

Acting on the word

James 1:22-25 "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."

Ephesians 4:16 "from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

Luke 6:46-49 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? (47) Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: (48) He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. (49) But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."

We have seen in an earlier section, that the church at Corinth were prevented from receiving further revelation from the Lord, because they were negligent in acting on the word that they had already received. In James chapter one quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle James, teaches us that the believer who fails to act on God's revealed word, deceives themselves. Notice that these believers are diligent hearers of God's word. They regularly attend church meetings, and most probably even read their bibles frequently, and yet we are told that they are still deceiving themselves. So, what does the Holy Spirit mean, when He says that they deceive themselves? Their deception is that they think they are growing spiritually. But in reality, they are not growing at all. If anything, they are actually becoming weaker spiritually. Notice also that the quality of the word that they hear doesn't impact their lives at all. They could even be sitting under the anointed teaching of the apostle Paul himself, and that would be of no benefit to them. Why is that? The reason is that this believer immediately forgets what he has heard. In other words, his mind has become blinded to receiving any further truths in God's word. There is no getting around it. If you want to grow strong in spirit and subsequently strong in faith, you are going to have to act on the word of God that has already been revealed to you. Until you do, you will not receive any further revelation from God's word, and you are in danger of losing that which you have already received. In Ephesians chapter four quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us that the body of Christ grows, when each individual member in the body does its share. In other words, the spiritual growth of the corporate body of Christ, only takes place when the church acts on the word of God. If the church cannot grow unless we act on God's word, then most certainly no individual member of the body is going to grow spiritually unless they too, act on God's word. In Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord plainly taught us to be doers of His word. In His teaching, our Lord told us that the flood came to both men. We saw earlier, that the spiritual man is not immune to the tests and trials in this life, but that rather when they come, he knows just what to do and he cannot be shaken. On the other hand, natural men and carnal believers, experience devastation when the flood arises in their lives. The believer who acts on the word of God, will be strong in spirit and strong in faith.

Ministry gift faith

Romans 12:3-7 "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. (4) For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, (5) so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; (7) or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching."

1 Peter 4:10-11 "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (11) If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Up to now we have been discussing faith that we use to live by. For God, has commanded that the just shall live by faith. We saw earlier that the faith that we live by, has been given to us as a gift from God, and that faith is in fact the faith of Jesus. We have also seen that this faith can be increased. In this section, we will be looking at a different kind of faith, that is also given to each believer. To more easily explain the difference between the two kinds of faiths, we will refer to each one, by using a different term. The faith that we have been studying up until now, we will refer to as, "daily living faith", for this is the faith that we require to walk the Christian walk. The other faith that we will look at in this section, we will refer to as, "ministry gift faith", for as we will see, this is the faith we require to operate in our ministry gifts. Our daily living faith, which each member in the body receives when we come into the kingdom, is exactly the same measure for each believer. No one receives any more faith than another, for God has no favourites. Every child of God has access to the same promises in Christ. And every child of God has been given the exact same measure of faith required, to appropriate all those promises. Remember that we have said that we can increase that faith, and it is up to the individual believer to do so if they desire it. In order to appropriate His promises which are available to all, it would be unjust for God to give one of His children more faith than another. And so, God gives to each of His children the same measure of daily living faith. When it comes to ministry gift faith however, the principle changes. For in this case, each of us receives a different measure of faith. In Romans quoted above, the apostle Paul tells us that each of us have received a measure of faith. The faith that he is referring to is our ministry gift faith, for he goes on to say that those who prophesy, should do so in proportion to the faith that they have received. In the same passage, Paul teaches us to think of ourselves in line with the measure of faith that God has given each one of us. Obviously, he is implying that some have received more faith than others. In scripture, grace and faith can be used as synonymous terms. For the grace that God gives us for our gift, is also the faith that we need to operate in that gift. In first Peter chapter four quoted above, Peter refers to the grace and faith that Paul speaks of, as the "ability" that God gives us. That ability that God gives us, is the grace and faith that we require in order to operate in our gifts.

Ephesians 4:7 "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift."

In Ephesians quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us that each member in the body of Christ, has received at least one ministry gift from the Lord. We will not discuss the ministry gifts in this teaching, as that falls outside the scope of this teaching. Suffice it to say that, all believers have received at least one ministry gift from the Lord, and will give an account for the use of their gift, on that day. As quoted in first Peter chapter four earlier, the Holy Spirit instructs us to minister our gifts to one another. In other words, we are to use our gifts for the edifying of the body of Christ. Our ministry gifts are given to us to bless the body of Christ, not ourselves. Our gifts will not work in our personal lives. In order for us to operate in our ministry gifts, God by His grace, gives us the faith required for our gifts. Unlike daily living faith, ministry gift faith cannot be increased, because God gives it to us by measure, depending on the measure of the gift that He has given to each one. Whatever God calls us to do, He equips us to do it. And this is the reason that God gives us the faith required for our ministry gifts. Just as our gifts cannot be used in our personal lives, so the faith that we receive for our specific ministry gifts, cannot be used for our daily Christian walk. This faith will only work for the ministry gift, that each of us have received from the Lord. This explains why some healing evangelists for example, who have had great healing ministries, through which the Lord has performed miraculous healings, have themselves died early deaths, relating to sickness. They have learnt to use their ministry gift faith in their ministries, which has enabled them to operate in great power in praying for healing in others. Yet they have never taken time to develop their own daily living faith, for their daily walk as believers. And so, when sickness and disease attacked their own bodies, they did not have the faith required to believe God for their own personal healing. This also explains why many ministers can have powerful ministries, and yet their personal lives are in a mess. Again, they have learnt to walk in their ministry gift faith, but have never learnt to develop their daily living faith. You say, how is it possible for ministers of the gospel to not develop their daily living faith? It's mainly due to ignorance, because they have not been taught to differentiate between the two faiths. And because they have been given strong ministry faith, they assumed that their ministry faith would work in their personal lives. But it doesn't. If you understand this truth, you will not become confused when you see "great men of God" fall in sin. Their ministries are correctly built on their strong ministry gift faith, and the Lord blesses that because He uses that gift to bless His church. However, it matters not how great one's ministry gift faith is, if they have not grown and developed their daily living faith. Because they will be weak in their personal lives, and are thus more susceptible to falling in sin. We need to develop strong daily living faith, to live our personal lives as Christians. Just as our ministry gift faith, will not work for our daily Christian walk, in the same manner, neither will our daily living faith work for the ministry gifts given to us. Learn to operate in both, and grow in your daily living faith. You will find that it will bring great blessing to your life, and also to the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:18-20 "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (19) And if they were all one member, where would the body be? (20) But now indeed there are many members, yet one body."

Luke 12:48 "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

As we saw earlier, when the apostle Paul teaches us regarding the concept of each of us receiving different measures of faith for our respective gifts, he lists a few gifts as examples. Before he lists these gifts, he tells us "not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith". What Paul is saying here, is that we cannot look at another brother in the Lord operating in their gift, and assume that we can do the same thing. We may be able to operate in a similar manner, or we may not. It all depends on what gift we have received from the Lord. The reason we may not be able to do the same thing, is because our brother has received his faith from God for his gift, and we haven't received that same faith. All of our gifts operate by faith. But they will only operate by the faith that God has given for that specific gift. The daily living faith that we have received from God in order to live our Christian lives, will not work in the operation of the various gifts given to the body of Christ. If it could, then everyone would be able to develop their faith to the point, where they could operate in every gift. But that is not how the Lord has designed His body. For each member in the body has been given a specific function, and one who has been called to function as an ear, cannot function as an eye. In first Corinthians quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us that the body of Christ is made of many different members. And each member has a different function in the body. If we could all operate in whatever gift we desired at any time, then the body would not be able to function as the unit that God intended. But that is not the case, because God places the members in the body as He sees fit. And He equips each member in the body to function as He has called them to function. He does that by giving them the faith or grace required to operate in their gift. Some in the body have been given more responsibility than others, and so have been given the appropriate measure of faith, or grace that goes with that level of responsibility. In Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus teaches us that to whom much is given, much will be required. Again, God would be unjust to expect much from an individual, and not provide that individual with the grace or faith, required to do that which is expected of them. You can also now readily see why the Lord does not allow our ministry gift faith to operate in our daily lives. Because those who have received great ministry gift faith, would have a distinct advantage in their Christian walk, over those who have received a lessor measure of ministry gift faith. For they would more easily be able to appropriate the Lord's promises, even as spiritually immature believers. However, just as not all believers grow strong in their daily living faith because they never grow mature spiritually, so also not all Christians use their ministry gift faith. The reason that not all believers use their ministry gift faith, is because they never seek the Lord's will for their lives, and thus go through life unaware of the gifting that the Lord has given them.

Chapter 3

Applying faith in prayer

We must ask

Hebrews 10:38 "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."

Matthew 5:45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

Matthew 6:7-8 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (8) "Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

As far as our walk as believers is concerned, God the Father has decreed, that we are to live by faith. Those of us who are born again, are "the just" that the Holy Spirit is referring to, in the portion of scripture quoted from the book of Hebrews above. And so, we clearly see that God requires us to live by faith, for He says that, "the just shall live by faith". The Lord doesn't suggest that we live by faith but rather He commands us to live by faith. Because God requires us to live by faith, if we are to please our heavenly Father, it is vital that we understand what faith is and how it works. In the previous chapter, we have seen what faith is. In this chapter, we will look at how faith works. Bearing in mind that the doctrine is called faith toward God. God is merciful. For He blesses us with much that we do not ask for, or need to exercise our faith for. In Matthew chapter five quoted above, our Lord taught us that it is the goodness of God, that causes His sun to shine on us and gives us rain. No one asks Him to do this, and no one exercises their faith for these things to happen. None of us exercises our faith to be able to breathe. Yet God's word teaches us, that our very breath He gives to us. So, does that mean that we can go through life just expecting God to take care of every aspect of our lives, without us having to exercise any faith for our lives? Not at all. In Matthew chapter six quoted above, our Lord Jesus taught us that even though our Father knows our needs before we ask Him, He still requires us to ask Him to meet those needs. In Luke's account of this same teaching, the needs that our Lord is referring to here, are our basic needs of food and clothing. If God requires us to ask Him to meet our basic needs, then we are most certainly required to ask Him regarding every other need as well. And so, we learn a very important principle here. If we are going to receive anything from God for our individual lives, we are going to have to ask Him. Jesus said, "ask and you shall receive". Conversely if we do not ask, then we will not receive. In James chapter four, verse two, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we do not have, because we do not ask. It is surprising just how many believers, don't even ask. Many believers go through life, hardly ever asking the Lord for anything. They do what all unbelievers do. They go through life in their own strength, trying to make ends meet and worrying about just how they are going to make it. This is not our Lord's will for our lives at all. It is the express will of the Father, that we ask Him to meet our every need. But in order for that to happen, the very first step that every believer will have to take, is to ask.

We must ask believing

Matthew 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Galatians 3:2 "This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

If all that was required for us to receive from the Lord is to ask, then we would all have it made. Unfortunately, that is not the case. For scripture plainly teaches us, that we must ask in faith. In Matthew's gospel chapter twenty-one quoted above, Jesus taught us that whatever we ask in prayer, "believing", we will receive. Again, conversely it can also be said, that whatever we ask in prayer, "not believing", we will not receive. How many times have you heard the following statement? Let's just hope and pray. Those who just hope and pray, never receive anything from the Lord. Hope does not get the job done, faith does. Our Lord Jesus taught us that those who believe and pray, receive. And so, the first step to receiving from the Lord, is we must ask Him. The second step to receiving from the Lord, is that we must ask Him, in faith. In all four gospels, there is not one incident recorded of anyone receiving anything from the Lord Jesus, other than by faith. I am not speaking about the incidents when our Lord initiated miracles on His own, through His own compassion. Such as the incident when He raised the young man in the city of Nain from the dead. No one asked the Lord to do that. He did that out of His own compassion for that woman. I am speaking about individuals asking the Lord to do something for them. They had to ask in faith in order to receive. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has never, and will never change. If no one received anything from Him when He was on the earth, except by faith, then no one will receive anything from Him now, except by faith. There is no other way that we can receive anything from God, except by faith. From the moment, we come into the kingdom of God, everything we will ever receive from God, we will only receive by faith. In fact, we cannot even come into His kingdom, except by faith. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ, that we are saved. The scripture that everyone knows in John chapter three quoted above, plainly tells us that the one who believes in Him, does not perish but has everlasting life. Once we have been born again, it is only by faith that we can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak with other tongues. As quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, reminds the churches in Galatia that they received the Spirit, through the hearing of faith. After we have been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, any further blessings that we receive from God, can also only be received by faith. There are many promises in God's word, and all of those promises can only be received from Him, by faith. We do not receive the promises of God by begging Him for them. We do not receive His promises by being as good as we possibly can be. We do not receive His promises by fasting. We do not receive the promises of God through hours of prayer. There is no work that we can do, that will move God to bestow His promises on us. The only thing that moves God to bestow His promises on us, is faith. Settle the fact in your minds, that we can only ever receive from God by faith, and it will help you immeasurably in your walk with God.

We ask according to His will

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!"

James 1:5-8 "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."

We all know the scripture that tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, but that is not all that scripture says. It goes on to say that there are two specific requirements that we need to fulfil when we come to God.

The first requirement is that we must believe that God exists. For the scripture says that we, "must believe that He is". Obviously, every born-again believer meets the first requirement, but then so does every demon out there, for as quoted above, the apostle James teaches us that they also believe that God exists, and tremble. It is the second requirement that we as believers, need to ensure that we fulfil. The second requirement in that passage of scripture states, that we must believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Whatever we want to receive from God our Father, the requirement is that we must believe that He will reward us, by answering our prayer. The only way that we can fulfil this requirement, is to be fully convinced in our minds that what we are asking from God, is according to His will. For the Holy Spirit through the apostle John, teaches us that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us, and we know that if He hears us, that we have the petitions that we have made known to Him. If we are unsure that what we are asking is His will for us, then we will always be in two minds about our request. In James chapter two quoted above, the Holy Spirit clearly tells us that if we are double-minded about our request, then we can be assured that we will not receive from God our Father. It cannot be said any clearer than that. For example, if you are believing God for your healing, then you must be fully assured in your own mind that it is His will to heal you. You have to be single-minded on that which you are believing for, in order to receive from God our Father. How many times have you heard the following prayer uttered, "Lord if it be Your will". It is impossible to ask in prayer, believing, and include the following statement in your prayer, "Lord if it be Your will". Someone will say, but the leper prayed like that and the Lord Jesus healed him. For the leper said to the Lord, "If You are willing, You can make me clean". Clearly this leper believed that Jesus could heal him. He just wasn't sure whether Jesus was willing to heal him. Most believers fall into this category. They believe that Jesus can grant them their request. They are just not sure whether Jesus is willing to grant them their request. So, is it correct for the church to pray like the leper did? It depends what you are praying for. The leper did not know what the Lord's will was, regarding his healing. The Lord answered his question, by telling him that He was willing to heal him, which He then also did. God has no favourites. If it was the will of the Lord heal the leper, then it is His will to heal all His children. In other words, our Lord has made His will known to us, regarding healing. He has said explicitly, that He is willing to heal us. For us to now ask Him to heal us, if He is willing, is to doubt what He has already said in His word. That prayer will go unanswered. This principle applies to every request that we make known to God. If God has already made His will known, regarding that which we are praying for, then we cannot pray, "Lord, if You are willing". For that is to doubt what He has already said in His word. Those prayers will go unanswered. We find out what His known will is, from the bible which is the word of God.

Acts 4:24-31 "So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, (25) who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'WHY DID THE NATIONS RAGE, AND THE PEOPLE PLOT VAIN THINGS? (26) THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.' (27) "For truly against Your Holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together (28) to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. (29) Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, (30) by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your Holy Servant Jesus." (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

Romans 1:9-10 "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, (10) making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you."

Throughout the book of Acts and the epistles, you will not find one example of the church praying, "Lord if it be Your will", where the will of God had already been revealed through His word. To illustrate this point, I have listed two examples of prayers recorded for us in scripture. The first prayer quoted from Acts chapter four, was prayed when the church had been threatened by the Jewish leaders to no longer preach in the name of Jesus. The church prayed by quoting God's word, regarding what He had already said on the subject. And then they asked Him to honour His word, by granting them boldness and power to proclaim the truth of the gospel. That prayer was completely in line with God's word, and no mention was made of, "Lord, if it be Your will". In other words, there was no element of doubt in their prayer. And God answered their prayer in a mighty way. The second prayer that I have quoted from the book of Romans, is when Paul was praying to God, asking Him if He would make it possible for Paul to minister to the church in Rome. In effect Paul was praying, "Lord if it be Your will, let me go to the church in Rome to minister there". In this instance, Paul prayed correctly by asking, "Lord if it be Your will". The reason that he was praying correctly, was because Paul did not know the Lord's will regarding his request. There is no verse of scripture in the bible that dealt with his request. Paul only preached the gospel where the Holy Spirit led him to go and preach. And so, to paraphrase Paul's prayer, he was praying, "Lord I would really like to go to Rome to minister there. And so Lord, if you can find a way of fitting Rome into your will for my life, I would really appreciate it." As it happened, Rome was on the list of cities that our Lord had planned for him to minister in, although Paul didn't know it at the time. And so Paul received his request from the Lord. But the point that I wanted to make here, is that if we are asking something from the Lord, where His will has not been revealed to us, then it is correct to pray, "Lord if it be Your will". For there is no element of doubt, where the will of God is unknown.

Prayer based on God's promises

Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

1 John 5:14-15 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

James 4:1-3 "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? (2) You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

We can only ever believe that God will perform, that which He has promised. To try believe that God will perform that which He has not promised, is foolishness. The faith of God that we have received, is reliant on the word of God. For the scripture in Romans chapter ten, says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Without the word of God, or more specifically the promises of God, we have no foundation for our faith. When our Lord Jesus taught us regarding the prayer of faith as quoted in Mark's gospel above, it seems as if the only condition required to be able to receive from God, is faith and nothing else. However, in John's gospel quoted above, when our Lord taught on the same subject of prayer, our Lord Jesus taught that for us to receive from God, there is another condition that must be met. That condition is, that we are to abide in Jesus, and His words are to abide in us. The reason that Jesus taught us to abide in His word and to have His words abide in us, is because when we ask what we desire, it will then be in accordance to His word. This agrees with what the Holy Spirit taught us through the apostle John, in first John chapter five quoted above. In this passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit clearly reveals to us that God hears the requests that are made to Him in accordance to His word. In the book of James chapter four quoted above, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we do not have what we need, because we do not ask God our Father to supply our needs. You will recall at the beginning of this chapter, that we saw that the very first thing that God requires of us, is to ask Him. But the Holy Spirit does not stop there, because He goes on to tell us the reason why some of our prayers go unanswered. For He says that we ask and do not receive, because our motivation is wrong. Prayer requests made to God for the gratifying of our fleshly desires, will not be answered. In the book of Romans chapter thirteen, the Holy Spirit teaches us to make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its desires. If God instructs us to make no provision for the flesh, then He is certainly not going to answer any prayer requests made to Him, for the gratifying of our fleshly desires. Any natural parent will not give their children something that they have asked for, if they know that what they have asked for, will harm them. Even if their children cry when they don't get what they want, the parents stand firm in their decision, because they know what is best for their children. God is a good Father, and as such, He will not give us anything that will harm our relationship with Him. Gratifying the flesh, has the effect of drawing believers away from having a close relationship with the Lord.

Numbers 11:4 "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so, the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat?"

Psalms 106:13-15 "They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, (14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. (15) And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul."

Daniel 9:2-3 "in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (3) Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes."

The old testament was written for us as examples. You will recall that when they were in the wilderness, the children of Israel complained about the manna that God fed them with daily, and they cried out for meat. In the book of Numbers quoted above, the bible tells us that they yielded to intense craving. That intense craving was the desires of their flesh. In the book of Psalms quoted above, we see that God gave them their request for meat, but the price they paid was that God sent leanness into their souls. In other words, they never entered into the relationship that God intended for them to have with Him. The book of Hebrews chapter three, tells us that God swore in His wrath that that generation would not be allowed to enter into His rest. We are to look at the example of that generation, and learn from their mistakes. Whatever you are wanting to believe God for in prayer, you need to first find out what God has said regarding that particular subject. In other words, you need to find scriptures that you can stand on, so that you can ask Him in confidence. Another example that we can look at in the old testament regarding this principle, is the prophet Daniel. In the book of Daniel chapter nine quoted above, we see that Daniel saw in scripture that God had stated that after seventy years in exile, that Israel were to petition Him to bring them back from captivity. Based on God's word, Daniel then began to petition the Lord in prayer, to fulfil His promise to Israel. Daniel had the sure foundation of God's word in his prayer request, and God answered his prayer. I'm sure that in the intervening seventy-year period, that many Jews had been praying daily to God, to restore Israel back to their homeland. But none of those prayer requests were heard by God. The reason their prayers went unheard by God, is simple. Because they would have been praying outside of God's will. Under the new covenant this principle remains the same. You will recall that we read earlier, that if we pray according to God's will, we know that He hears us. To pray in line with the written word of God, is to have the full assurance that our prayers will be heard. And if we know that our prayers are heard, we also know that our prayers will be answered by God our Father. To be even more sure that you are praying in line with God's word, is to find more than one scripture that covers your case. The reason I say more than one scripture, is because the bible also clearly teaches us that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word will be established.

Chapter 4

Applying faith in life

Having what you say

Mark 11:22-23 "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."

1 Corinthians 2:5 "that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

In this chapter, we want to look at just how to apply faith in our daily lives. And more specifically in this section, we want to see how our words play a role in the working of our faith. In Mark chapter eleven quoted above, Jesus taught us that it is possible for anyone to have whatever they say. For Jesus said "whoever". Whoever means exactly that, "whoever" or anyone. This teaching that Jesus gave on faith, is for every child of God. In this short statement that Jesus made, He taught us some very clear principles on just how faith works. Those individuals who are prepared to take these principles and apply them to their lives, will experience the outcome that Jesus said would happen, in that "they will have whatever they say". When our Lord Jesus said that these individuals would have whatever they say, He was not teaching principles of "positive confession". In context, when our Lord Jesus taught the disciples this particular principle on faith, He had just cursed a fig tree, and that fig tree had withered up and died. No amount of positive confession will have any impact on a fig tree. You can stand in front of a fig tree for the rest of your life and make positive confessions over it every day, and nothing will happen. As we read in His teaching, Jesus used the example of a mountain being picked up and being cast into the sea, as a result of a person's words spoken, in faith. No amount of "positive confession" will pick up a mountain and cast it into the sea. It takes supernatural power, to cause a fig tree to wither up and die overnight. It takes supernatural power, to pick up an entire mountain and have it cast into the sea. That supernatural power, is the power of the Almighty God. The first principle of faith that Jesus taught us in this verse of scripture, is in His opening statement. For He opens with the following words, "Have faith in God". Jesus was teaching us to have faith in God our Father, and in nothing else. In other words, we are to have faith in God's ability, or rather, we are to have faith in God's power. For it is only the power of Almighty God, that can pick up a mountain and cast it into the sea. It is only the power of Almighty God, that causes a fig tree to wither up and die overnight. As believers, we are instructed by the Holy Spirit in first Corinthians chapter two, that our faith should only be in the power of God, and nothing else. And so, if we want to be included in that group of individuals that will have whatever they say, then the first principle that we have to apply, is to recognize that our faith can only be in God our Father, and in His power alone.

Romans 10:8-10 "But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): (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."

Romans 14:5-23 "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ... (23) But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin."

James 1:6-8 "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."

The second principle revealed in Mark eleven, twenty-two and twenty-three, that we must apply if we are going to have what we say, is that we must not doubt in our hearts, but believe. When Jesus says we must believe, He is implying that we must believe in our hearts. For He tells us not to doubt in our hearts. When Jesus refers to our hearts in this verse of scripture, He is referring to our spirits. The words "heart" and "spirit" can very often, be used interchangeably in the scriptures. Under the Old Covenant, the saints (which included the disciples that Jesus was teaching at the time) could doubt in their hearts, because their spirits were not yet born-again. Under the New Covenant however, things change completely, because our spirits have become new creations in Christ Jesus. As born again believers, we have all received the gift of faith. The faith that we have received resides in our spirits, for that is where we believe. We do not have faith in our heads. The scripture in Romans chapter ten, teaches us that we have the word of faith in our hearts. That same scripture also teaches us that we believe with our hearts, and not with our heads. In first John chapter three, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that the born-again spirit cannot sin. The reason for that, is because our spirits are born of God, in Whom there is no sin. Just as the born-again spirit cannot sin, neither can the born-again spirit doubt, for as revealed to us in Romans chapter fourteen above, doubt is sin. And so, we see that as born-again believers, that we have received the gift of faith in our spirits, and our spirits can only operate in that faith and not in doubt, because they cannot sin. However, it is possible for the born-again believer to be able to doubt. For again, in Romans chapter fourteen quoted above, we read, "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats." So, if it is possible for the born-again believer to be able to doubt, but not with their spirits, where does doubt arise in the believer? Paul answers that question in the same passage of scripture. For notice that he says, that the believer must be "fully convinced in his own mind". One who is not fully convinced in their minds, is in doubt. Born-again believers cannot doubt in their spirits, but they can doubt in their minds. In James chapter one quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle James, taught us the same thing. Notice in this passage, that the Holy Spirit equates doubt with being double-minded. This is because under the New Covenant, born-again believers can only doubt in their minds, not in their spirits. It is very important for us to understand this point, as far as faith is concerned. Because if you recognize where doubt arises, i.e. in your mind, then you can deal with it more easily. We deal with doubt in our minds, by controlling our thoughts. The scripture in two Corinthians chapter ten, teaches us to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The obedience of Christ, is to think in line with the word of God. Doubt is not of God, so never entertain thoughts of doubt. You will find that as you do that, your faith will operate without hindrance.

Jeremiah 1:12 "Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word."

John 12:42-43 "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; (43) for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

The third principle that our Lord Jesus taught on faith, in Mark eleven, twenty-two and twenty-three, is that we have to speak to the mountain. It is significant that in this one verse of scripture when Jesus taught on faith, that He used the word "say" three times, whereas He used the word "believe" only once. Most of the time, we as believers, put the emphasis on our believing. Whereas Jesus, in this passage of scripture, put the emphasis on our speaking. Don't misunderstand me, we have to believe. But very often, our faith doesn't work for us because we do not watch what we say. Jesus did not only teach us that we will have what we believe, He also taught us that we will have what we say. You have to speak what you believe in your heart, if you want to see it come to pass. Why is that? In Jeremiah chapter one quoted above, the Lord tells us that He is ready to perform His word. Another translation says that He watches over His word to perform it. Remember that as believers, our faith is in God and in His power. It is God's power that produces the results. In other words, when we as believers, speak God's word over our lives, He watches over that word to perform it in our lives. God releases His power into those words, to bring to pass that which His word says. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, taught us in the book of Romans chapter ten, that there are two things we must do, in order to be saved. We must believe in our hearts, and we must confess with our mouths. When we do those two things, then God, who is watching over His word to perform it, performs the miracle of the new birth in our hearts, and we are saved. However, I want you to see that it is not enough to just believe in our hearts. Until we confess with our mouths, that which we believe in our hearts, we will never be saved. In John chapter twelve quoted above, The Holy Spirit reveals to us that there were many of Israel's rulers that believed in Jesus. But none of them were saved, even though they believed that He was the Messiah. The reason that they were not saved, is because they did not fulfil the second part of Romans chapter ten. They did not confess Jesus as their Lord, because they feared man more than they feared God. If we cannot be saved, unless we say with our mouths that which we believe in our hearts, then we are not going to get anything else from God unless we confess it with our mouths. It is very easy to see what people believe. Just listen to what they say. What consistently comes out of people's mouths, reveals exactly what they believe in their hearts. It is our normal day to day conversations, that exposes what we really believe in our hearts. In Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord Jesus taught us this principle, when He said that out of the abundance of the heart our mouths speak. Whatever is in our hearts in abundance, will automatically come out of our mouths. Because of this principle, we have very little control over what we say over the long term. We may be able to control our words in the short term, but over a period of time, what we believe in our hearts will eventually come out of our mouths. And so, the key to having God's promises being made manifest in your life, is to make sure that they are in your heart, in abundance. You will recall that our Lord Jesus told us to abide in His word, and to let His words abide in us. Those who have God's word in their hearts in abundance, will always speak His word over every circumstance, even in their daily conversations. And so out of the good treasure of God's word in their hearts, they will bring forth the manifestation of God's goodness in their lives.

Romans 4:17 "(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."

Matthew 9:24 "He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him."

In having what you say, as taught to us by our Lord Jesus in in Mark eleven, twenty-two and twenty-three, you are going to have to say it exists, before it is made manifest. God our Father, operates in this exact manner. For the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, reveals to us that God calls those things which do not exist, as though they did. When God does that, then those things that do not exist, materialise. At the time that God said to Abraham that He had (past tense) made him a father of many nations, Abraham had no children and both he and Sarah were past the ages of being able to have children. And yet today we see God's word fulfilled, because Abraham has indeed become the father of many nations. Notice that God does not call those things that exist, as though they did not exist. There is a difference. In Matthew chapter nine quoted above, it seems as if our Lord Jesus called those things that existed as though they did not exist. For He said that the little girl was not dead, when in fact she was dead. However, when our Lord said she was not dead but sleeping, He was referring to her not being spiritually dead. He was not speaking about her physical death at all. The new testament is full of statements of fact, regarding what the Lord Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross. Go through the new testament, and make note of all the scriptures that refer to the believer in Christ or in Him. It is these scriptures that reveal what God has already done for His children, through Jesus Christ our Lord. However, in order for any of those statements to become a reality in our lives, we must begin to confess them over our lives. In other words, we are going to have to call those things that do not exist, as though they did. The word of God says that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. The word of God says that by His stripes we were healed. The word of God says that we have the mind of Christ. The word of God says that through His poverty we have been made rich. The word of God says that He has given us His peace. The word of God says that His love has been poured out in our hearts. The word of God says that He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy. The word of God says that He has been made unto us wisdom. The list goes on and on. All of these statements, reveal to us what God has already done for us in Christ. But in order for them to be manifested in our lives, we are going to have to believe those words. We are going to have to abide in those words and have those words abide in us. And then we are going to have to consistently confess those words over our lives. When we do that, we will see the reality of those words coming to pass in our lives. For God watches over His word to perform it.

Looking at the unseen

Romans 4:19 "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."

2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

2 Corinthians 4:18 "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

In the book of Romans quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, reveals to us how Abraham believed God. Because God calls Abraham the father of all those who believe, it would benefit us to follow his example of faith. This passage of scripture refers to when Abraham had received the promise that God gave him, that he would become the father of many nations. In this passage, the Holy Spirit reveals a very important principle with regards to how faith works. For we see that Abraham did not consider his body which was already dead, and he also did not consider the deadness of Sarah's womb. In other words, Abraham did not look at the very real circumstances, as they existed in the natural. Abraham did not deny that his physical body was already dead, since he was about a hundred years old. He also did not deny the deadness of Sarah's womb, since she was about ninety years old at the time. Abraham did not pretend that these circumstances did not exist, because he knew that they did exist. What Abraham chose to do, was to not consider or look at, his circumstances. He chose rather, to look at the promise of God. This is scriptural, because as quoted in second Corinthians chapter five above, the Holy Spirit tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. In other words, we are not to be influenced by what we see, we are to be influenced by our faith in God's promises. In all instances, the promises of God that we are believing for, cannot be seen in the natural. For scripture in Hebrews chapter eleven, tells us that faith is the evidence of things that cannot be seen. In second Corinthians chapter four quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us not to look at the things that are seen, but rather to look at the things that are not seen. The things that are seen, are the circumstances that we want changed. It may be a sickness or it may be a financial need or may be any number of real circumstances, that do not line up with the promises of God. Whatever these circumstances may be, they are real and they exist. As believers, we are never taught to deny them, or to pretend that they do not exist. As believers, we are taught not to look at those circumstances, or you could say we are taught to ignore them. What we are taught to look at, is what the promise of God says about that circumstance, and we are to keep our eyes fixed on that. There are two main reasons why we do not look at our circumstance, but rather at the promise of God. Firstly, because the promise of God is eternal, while our circumstance is only temporary. God's word will never change, it is immovable. No matter how contrary to God's word your circumstance may be, God's word regarding that circumstance remains the same. And His power, through faith in His power, will always cause your circumstance to line up with His word, for His word is eternal. Secondly, we do not look at the circumstance because what we look at affects our thinking, which can create doubt in our minds.

Matthew 14:28-31 "And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." (29) So, He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. (30) But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" (31) And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

In the gospel of Matthew quoted above, the Holy Spirit gives us a very vivid example of walking by faith and not by sight. The context of this passage of scripture is that the disciples were on the lake of Galilee in the early hours of the morning. It was still dark, and they had been rowing with some difficulty to cross the lake, because there was a strong wind that was blowing against them. Our Lord Jesus was not with them in the boat, because He had stayed behind to dismiss the crowds. And He had then gone up the mountain to pray. After His time in prayer, Jesus then crossed the lake, by walking on the water. He caught up with the disciples still struggling to row to the other side, and He would have carried on past them. But they saw Him, and when they did they cried out in fear, because they thought they were seeing a ghost. Our Lord then calmed them down by telling them that it was Him they were seeing, and not a ghost. We then pick up the account as Peter is responding to what the Lord had just said. And now the Holy Spirit gives us the lesson on what happens when we walk by faith and not by sight. Peter had received the word of God, which was completely contrary to his circumstance. We all know that in the natural, it is impossible for anyone to walk on water. And yet Jesus had said to him that he could walk on the water, for our Lord said, "come". At this point, Peter begins to walk by faith and no longer by sight, for he climbs down out of the boat and walks on the water to go to Jesus. As long as Peter had his eyes on Jesus and His word, the power of God could flow, which enabled Peter's circumstance to line up with His word, and he walked on the water. Peter was ignoring his circumstances in the natural, and was fully focused on God's word. And then the Holy Spirit gives us the lesson on what happens when we begin to walk by sight and no longer by faith. The moment that Peter took his eyes off Jesus and His word, and began to look at his circumstances in the natural, doubt arose in Peter's mind. It is when Peter began to doubt, that the power of God stopped working, and Peter began to sink. And so, we see that it all started with what Peter was looking at. For the scripture says that when he saw the wind, he was afraid. What we look at, either produces faith or it produces doubt. If we look at God's word, it will produce faith. If we look at natural circumstances, it will produce doubt. Whichever promise of God that you are believing for, keep your eyes on His promise and refuse to consider your circumstance that you want changed. As you look at the promise of God, it will produce faith in you. And your faith will then release the power of God in your life, that will change your circumstance to line up with His promise. But as we have seen in this example, you need to keep your eyes focused on God's word until God's miracle has been fully manifested in your life. It was the Lord's will that Peter walk out to Him on the water, and then the two of them could have walked back together to the boat. But before that could happen, Peter took his eyes off God's word and therefore never experienced God's full blessing.

Mark 11:12-22 "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. (15) So they came to Jerusalem. ... (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."

In our previous example, we saw a partial miracle take place because of Peter not continuing to walk by faith. In Mark's gospel quoted above, the Holy Spirit has given us an example of a complete miracle taking place as a result of our Lord walking by faith and not by sight. In this account, we see our Lord Jesus curse a fig tree, and that fig tree then withered up and died. We will examine this incident from the point of view, that we are not to look at the things which are seen. The account starts off with Jesus coming out of Bethany in the morning, on His way to Jerusalem. When He passes the fig tree He stops to see if the tree has any fruit on it, because He was hungry. Finding no fruit on the tree He then speaks to the tree by saying, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again", and His disciples heard what He said. Jesus then turned around and went on His way into the city of Jerusalem, where He spent the day teaching in the temple. At the end of the day He and the disciples went back to Bethany, because that was where they were staying at the time. They all walked past the same fig tree, that Jesus had spoken to that morning. There was no visible change to the fig tree, and it looked just the same as it did when Jesus spoke to it that morning. Jesus paid absolutely no attention to the tree as they walked past. He had spoken to the tree that morning, and as far as He was concerned the matter was closed. The following morning when they once again passed the same fig tree on their way to Jerusalem, the disciples now noticed that the fig tree had withered up and died. Even at this stage Jesus paid no attention to the tree, because Peter had to direct His attention to it, for he said, "Rabbi, look!". It was at this point, that Jesus took this as an opportunity to teach the disciples, principles about how faith works. In this account, Jesus taught us the principle of not considering or ignoring, that which is seen. From the moment that Jesus spoke to the tree, He never again took any notice of the tree. He ignored it. The tree had to line up with His spoken word. For a full twenty-four hours in the natural, it looked like nothing had happened. And this is where many Christians miss it in their walk of faith. They believe God's word, and they go before Him in prayer, and in faith ask Him to meet whatever need they are praying about. In faith, they even thank Him for answering their prayer and then they go their way. Not long after however, they look at their circumstance and see no change in the natural, and thoughts of doubt begin to enter their minds. The moment that happens, they step out of faith into doubt, and stop the power of God from working in their lives. I want you to notice something that the Holy Spirit reveals to us in the incident when Jesus spoke to the fig tree, which is very significant. The scripture tells us that, "they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots". The disciples could not see the roots of the tree, because its roots were underground. The disciples in the natural, could only see the part of the fig tree that was above ground. The Holy Spirit, in this account reveals to us that the fig tree was dried up "from the roots". The reason the Holy Spirit reveals that to us, is to show us that from the very moment that Jesus spoke to the tree, its roots began to whither up and die. That which began from the moment Jesus spoke, was finally completed twenty-four hours later, when the whole tree eventually withered and died. In the same manner when we pray in faith, from that very moment God hears our prayers, and His power begins to work on our behalf to bring the full manifestation of our prayer into the natural (that which can be seen). From that moment, we must ignore that which can be seen, and look only at His word regarding the subject, and walk according to that. When we do that, then over whatever period of time it may take, we will eventually see manifested in the natural, that which we believe in the spirit.

I will close off this section with a personal example. I have a family member who was struggling to find accommodation, and my sister asked me if the Lord would provide this family member with accommodation. I explained to my sister about the prayer of agreement, and said that if two agree on earth as touching anything that they ask the Father, it will be done. I said to her that I'm going to ask the Lord and you can agree. I then said that after this prayer we must continually thank Him for answering our prayer, every time we think about this family member's situation. We prayed the prayer of agreement. Just over six hours later, an incident occurred in this family member's life that tried to get my sister to look in the natural and take her eyes off of the promise of Jesus. I told her that all we needed to do, was thank the Lord for answering our prayer. Three days later, another incident occurred that caused my sister to want to look in the natural. I assured her that our Lord had heard our prayer, and we were to continue thanking Him for the answer. On the twelfth day, the accommodation that we had asked our Lord for in prayer was manifested, and it met the exact requirements that we had asked for. From the moment we prayed, God began to put things in place (which my sister and I could not see) which would ensure that the answer to our prayer was manifested in the natural. Many times, in the lives of believers, there are instances when our prayers are heard, and we see the results manifested immediately. But there are times when our prayers are heard and even though God has answered our prayer, we cannot see what is taking place in the unseen (remember the roots of the fig tree). As long as we continue to look at the unseen and thank Him for the answer to our prayer, we will eventually see the full answer manifested in the natural.

Acting on God's word

James 1:22-25 "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."

2 Kings 5:9-14 "Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house. (10) And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean." (11) But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.' (12) Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. (13) And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" (14) So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."

Faith requires corresponding action. In other words, you are going to have to act on God's word, if you want to see His power made manifest in your life. In the passage of scripture quoted from James chapter one above, the Holy Spirit makes it very clear to us that we must act on God's word if we are to receive from Him. Notice that we are blessed in that which we do, and not in that which we hear. Hearing the word of God is good, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But it is only as we put into practice that which we hear in God's word, that our faith is released and we experience God's power manifested in our lives. We are blessed, when we act on God's word. All the promises of God are conditional, and if we will meet the conditions i.e. act on His word, then we will receive the manifestation of His promises in our lives. You may be believing God for a miracle in your life but are not seeing the results manifested. Find out from the Lord if there is anything that you have not perhaps left undone, that could be preventing you from receiving your miracle. You will recall that when our Lord Jesus taught us about faith, that He linked that teaching directly with forgiveness. It may be that unforgiveness is hindering your faith from working for you. However, not always by just doing what the word of God says, will it get the job done. What do I mean by saying that? As sons of God, we are to be led by the Spirit of God. The Spirit and the word always agree, but there are some things that the Spirit of God will instruct us to do, that cannot be found in the written word of God. And so, when the Spirit gives us His instruction, then unless we follow that instruction, we will not receive our miracle from the Lord. In two Kings chapter five quoted above, the Holy Spirit gives us just such an example. In this account, we see that Naaman certainly had faith that Elisha could heal him. He would not have travelled all the way from Syria to Israel to see Elisha, if he didn't believe that the prophet could heal him. And yet we see that when he came to Elisha for his healing he was not healed. The reason being that he did not act on the instruction given to him by the Spirit of God. God had given Elisha specific instructions for Naaman to follow, in order for him to receive his healing. Although Naaman had faith to receive his healing through the prophet, there was another issue that God wanted to first deal with, and that was his pride. His pride was hurt because firstly Elisha himself had not dealt with him, but rather sent his servant. And then his pride was further hurt because he was instructed to wash himself in a river that he viewed as unclean. Ultimately Naaman's servants were able to talk sense into the Syrian, and he humbled himself and obeyed the words of the prophet. And he was completely healed. It is very clear from this account, that if we are going to receive our miracles from God, then we are going to have to be obedient to do all that He tells us to do. Both in His written word and in that which the Spirit tells us to do.

I will close this section with an example in my own walk with God. As sons of God, we are entitled to walk free from sickness in this life because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. For many years after I came into the kingdom, this is exactly how I lived. There came a day however when my faith was tested, and my body became very ill from a virus that had affected a number of us in a particular location that I was in at that time. The doctors on site, had prescribed medication and a number of us were bedridden, including myself. As I lay there, the time came for me to take my medication that evening, and I remember the Holy Spirit distinctly saying to me, "Now you can either take your medication or you can take My word." I thought about it for a moment (you must understand that I was seriously ill at the time), and I decided to take God at His word. And so I got out of bed and dressed myself. In all this time nothing changed in my body, it was still just as sick as it had been (I felt terrible). I then walked to a bible study that was taking place on the other side of the camp. And now God's power took over, because the closer I got to my destination, the stronger my body became. And by the time I got to the bible study my body was completely healed. I received healing from God that night, because I chose to believe and act on the specific instruction given to me by the Holy Spirit. In other words, I was blessed in that which I did.

Faith needs hope

Romans 4:18 "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."

Romans 8:24-25 "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (25) But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

In Romans chapter four quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, teaches us that Abraham believed God in hope. The scripture actually says that contrary to hope, in hope, Abraham believed God. When the scripture says that Abraham believed God "contrary to hope", the hope that it refers to, is natural hope based on human experience. Natural human hope does not look to the supernatural, it always looks to what can take place in the natural. In the natural, Abraham's situation was hopeless. At the time that God made this promise to Abraham he was eighty-six years old. Sarah his wife, was seventy-six years old and her womb was now dead. In fact, she had been barren her whole life, for she had never been able to bear children. In the natural, there was no hope for Abraham and Sarah to have a child, and that is why the scripture says that "contrary to hope", Abraham believed God. But the scripture goes on to say that Abraham believed God "in hope". So, what hope does the scripture refer to when it says that Abraham, "in hope" believed God? The hope that Abraham had when he believed God, was a hope in the supernatural ability of the Almighty God. In the natural Abraham's situation was hopeless, but in the supernatural, Abraham's situation was full of hope, because God Himself had made the promise to him that he and Sarah would have a son. So why do we need hope? Remember we are talking about our hope in the supernatural ability of the Almighty God. Therefore, this hope can only be based on the promises of God which are given to us. When God promises us something, that means that at some point in the future, we can expect to have the manifestation of that promise. Abraham waited fourteen years for the manifestation of God's promise of his son Isaac being born. While we wait for the manifestation of God's promise, we look forward in hope to seeing that promise coming to pass in our lives. Hope always looks to the future, for the scripture in Romans chapter eight quoted above, tells us that hope cannot be seen. The title of this section states that faith needs hope. What does that mean? As we hope in the promises of God to be made manifest in our lives, we attach our faith to those promises which we are hoping for. For the scripture in Hebrews chapter eleven tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith cannot work without hope, and hope without faith won't get the job done. How many times had you heard this comment, "lets' just hope and pray". To pray in hope alone will not receive from God. Because the scripture teaches us whatever we ask for in prayer believing, we will receive, it does not say whatever we ask in prayer hoping, we will receive. Hope always looks to the future and faith is always in the present. Hope says I am eagerly waiting for the promise of God to be manifested in my life. Faith says I have already received that promise. When faith and hope work together as they should, hope says, I am looking forward to seeing the manifestation of God's promise in my life, while faith assures me that the promise is already mine.

Faith needs patience

Hebrews 6:12 "that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Acts 19:4-6 "Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." (5) When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (6) And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."

Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

On numerous occasions in the new testament patience is linked to faith. In Hebrews chapter six quoted above, the Holy Spirit tells us to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. To us who are in Christ Jesus, all the promises of God are yes and amen. In other words, every promise of God is available to all of His children. Each promise of God, when acted on in faith, will result in the manifestation of that particular promise. Some promises, when acted on, are manifested immediately. For example, the promise of salvation. The moment anyone acts on this particular promise, they are instantly saved and are born again. There is no delay to receiving the new birth. Another promise that is instantly manifested when acted on, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter nineteen quoted above, we read the account of when Paul laid hands on those believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Before Paul laid hands on these new believers, he taught them about the promise of the filling of the Holy Spirit. The moment that they believed that and acted on it by allowing Paul to lay hands on them to be filled, they were instantly baptized with the Holy Spirit. Another promise of God that is manifested the moment we believe and act upon it, is our healing. With regards to healing however, not always is the individual completely healed the moment that they are prayed for. In some cases, the healing is progressive, and the full manifestation of complete healing happens over a period of time. But the point remains that the healing process begins immediately when hands are laid on the individual to receive their healing. There are many other promises of God that are manifested almost immediately when they are prayed for, in faith i.e. wisdom, strength, comfort, peace and many others. In all instances, when the promise of God requires just the individual themselves to act, then the promise is almost always manifested immediately. This is because nothing else and no one else, is involved in bringing the promise to fruition in the individual believer's life. There are some of God's promises however, that when acted on, do not manifest immediately. These are the promises that require not only faith, but also patience, in order for us to be able to see the manifestation of those promises. Normally these promises involve the wills of other individuals. For example, believing that God will supply your financial need according to His promise. When a believer acts on this particular promise, then in order for God our Father to be able to make this promise manifest in our lives, He has to now deal with the wills of other individuals, and that takes time. As quoted from Philippians chapter four above, when Paul taught the church at Philippi about this particular promise, he had himself been believing God to supply his needs. As a result, God had moved upon that church to take up an offering and send it through to him. All of this took time, and during that time Paul exercised patience along with his faith, in waiting for God's promise to be manifested.

Luke 8:15 "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

Mark 4:26-29 "And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, (27) and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. (28) For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. (29) But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Then there is the patience that needs to be exercised along with our faith, in seeing God transforming our lives into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. In Luke's gospel quoted above, our Lord referred to it as producing the fruit of the kingdom with patience. Any farmer understands the concept of patience. For none of them sow a crop and expect that crop to be ready for harvest the next day. A wheat farmer for example, will sow a crop of wheat and fully expect to harvest that wheat in four months' time. Because experience has taught him that it takes roughly four months for a crop of wheat to mature. While his crop of wheat is growing, he will continue to water and nurture that seed. The point is, that he knows that there is a time delay from the time he plants until the time he reaps. So it is with the kingdom of God. There is a growth process, and if you will diligently put into practice that which God teaches you through His word, then you can expect to see the fruit of God's word being produced in your life. In Mark's gospel chapter four quoted above, our Lord Jesus taught us that the kingdom of God operates in the same manner as farming operates in the natural. The farmer in the natural, sows his seed and then lets that seed grow. He does not know how the seed grows, for it is God who gives the increase. But he waits patiently for his harvest to ripen, and when it does, he reaps that harvest. In the spirit, it is no different. It may be that in your stage of spiritual growth the seed is still growing beneath the soil, and you can't see any results yet. Some of you are starting to see the blade coming up, i.e. you are starting to notice some changes taking place in your life. Whichever stage of growth you are at, know that there will come a time when your grain will ripen, and you will be able to harvest your crop. This takes not only faith, but also patience working with your faith.

James 1:2-4 "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."

Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Without patience, the believer will never become perfect and complete. This truth is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit in James chapter one quoted above. That which is being tested when we go through trials in life, is our faith. So just how does faith respond to trials? By allowing patience to work alongside your faith. The old testament was written for us as examples. Joseph was an example of one who responded to severe trials in his life, by patiently maintaining his faith in God. As a young man, Joseph had been shown by God that he would be used by God, in such a way that even his family would bow down to him. Everyone in Joseph's family clearly understood the implications of his dreams, for scripture reveals to us that his brothers hated him for it. As an aside, not always will God's promises to you, go down well with others. In Joseph's case his brothers even tried to kill him because of it, and they eventually sold him as a slave in order to get rid of him. In this world, Satan is our adversary. And he will do everything in his power, to prevent God's promises from coming to pass in your life. But as you patiently maintain your faith in God and His promises, you will see those promises come to pass in your life. In Genesis chapter fifty quoted above, when Joseph made himself known to his brothers, he made the statement that it was in fact God who was working in his life, all the time. Since he was a young man of seventeen, he had been sold as a slave. He had faithfully served his master as a slave. He had then been falsely accused, and thrown into prison where he remained until the day that the Lord had prepared for him. And in one day, he was promoted from being a convicted criminal, to becoming president of the most powerful nation in the world. All of this took place over a thirteen-year period. For Joseph was thirty years old when he finally came out of prison. And in all that time, Joseph never once complained against God for that which he went through (even though he deserved none of it). He patiently maintained his faith in God through all that time, and recognized that God was working all things together for his good. That is why the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, as quoted in Romans chapter eight above, tells us that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. When we go through the trials of life, our faith needs to work alongside patience to see us through those trials.
Chapter 5

Hindrances to faith

Doubt and unbelief

Acts 10:38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

Mark 6:5-6 "Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. (6) And He marvelled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching."

Matthew 21:21-22 "So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. (22) And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

Just as faith will allow us to receive from God, so unbelief will prevent us from receiving from God. When our Lord Jesus walked in the flesh, everywhere He went, He healed the sick and cast out demons. For that was the will of God our Father, for His life, as revealed to us in Acts chapter ten quoted above. But there was one town that He visited where He could not perform any miraculous healings, and that was His home town of Nazareth. In Mark's gospel quoted above, The Holy Spirit reveals to us that our Lord "could" do no mighty work there. When Jesus left that town, the blind people in that town were still blind. There were lame and cripple people, who remained lame and crippled. Every other town where Jesus went, experienced great miracles. Some even had their dead raised back to life, but not the town of Nazareth. Why was that? It was certainly God's will to heal every disease in that town. We have already seen that Jesus was anointed by God to do that very thing. God didn't prevent them from receiving His healing power, and Jesus didn't prevent God's healing power from flowing through Him to heal every disease in that town. The same passage of scripture in Mark's gospel that we read earlier, reveals to us that it was their own unbelief, that prevented them from receiving from God, and nothing else. And so, we see that just as it is only by faith that we can receive from God, it is only unbelief that will prevent us from receiving from God our Father. Jesus also taught us the same truth. In Matthew chapter twenty-one quoted above, Jesus teaches us that the one who has faith and does not doubt, will receive. By implication He is also saying that the one who doubts and does not believe, will not receive. Notice also that Jesus uses the term faith and believing interchangeably. The reason He does that is because faith and believing are one and the same thing. We can only receive from God, by faith.

Matthew 17:14-21 "And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, (15) "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. (16) So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." (17) Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." (18) And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. (19) 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."

Just as faith and belief are synomenous terms is scripture, so doubt and unbelief are also synomenous terms. Unbelief not only has the effect of preventing us from receiving from God initially, but it is also possible to be operating in faith and then step out of faith into unbelief, thus cutting off the power of God from flowing through you. In the incident quoted from Matthew's gospel chapter seventeen above, Jesus taught the disciples that it was because of their unbelief, that they were not able to cast out this particular demon. Prior to this incident, the disciples had been healing the sick and casting out demons, because the Lord Jesus had already given them the power to do so. You will recall how they recounted to the Lord that even the demons were subject to them, in His name. They had become accustomed to casting out demons, but now they came across a particular demon who did not respond to their command to come out of this young man. The Lord revealed to them that there was a specific reason why this demon had not responded to their command to come out. The reason related to the degree of anointing upon their lives. For Jesus said, "this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting". Prayer and fasting always has the effect of increasing the anointing upon our lives. When the disciples walked with Jesus on the earth, they spent very little time in prayer, and no time in fasting. You will recall that John the Baptist's disciples had asked the Lord why His disciples didn't fast like they did. And our Lord replied that as long as the bridegroom was with them that they could not fast, but the time was coming when He would be taken away from them, and then they would fast in those days. Jesus on the other hand, while He was on the earth, spent much time in prayer and fasting. And so consequently, the anointing upon Him was more than sufficient to cast out this particular demon. At the time, however, the disciples did not think that there must be another reason that this demon was not responding to their commands, and so they automatically stepped out of faith, into unbelief. Unbelief looks at that which is seen. They had commanded the demon to come out and he did not respond, and so they began to doubt their authority to cast out demons. This is why Jesus could say to them that one of the reasons they could not cast out this demon, was because of their unbelief. We can learn an important principle here about our walk of faith. Initially the disciples were operating in faith, but when they were confronted with something that they did not understand, they moved from faith into unbelief. The disciples could not have known that this particular demon that they had encountered, required a greater degree of anointing in order to be dealt with; only the Lord knew that. We do not always know what goes on in the spirit realm, as our knowledge is only in part. If we ever encounter a situation where our prayer of faith does not produce the results that we are accustomed to seeing, then instead of moving from faith into unbelief, we should ask the Lord for wisdom. And He will reveal to us that which we need to do, in order to get the required results. It may be, that we too will need to fast and pray. They key is to stay in faith, and seek the Lord for further guidance.

James 1:6-8 "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."

2 Corinthians 10:5 "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

We have seen that doubt and unbelief stops faith from working. One of the keys then, to ensuring that our faith works, is to not allow doubt and unbelief to take hold in our lives. In order to do that, we need to recognize where faith comes from, and where doubt and unbelief comes from. Faith comes from our spirits. For it is with our spirits that we believe the gospel for our salvation. Doubt and unbelief comes from our carnal minds. In James chapter one quoted above, the Holy Spirit through the apostle James, teaches us that to doubt is an act of being double minded, showing clearly that doubt originates in the mind. In order to prevent doubt and unbelief from taking hold in your life, you have to take control of your thinking. In two Corinthians chapter ten quoted above, the apostle Paul teaches us to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Some would say that this is the same as positive thinking. No it's not, it's called spiritual thinking. Our faith resides in our spirits, and it is our spirits that believe God's word. Our spirits have no problem in living by faith, the carnal mind does. This is why the scripture teaches us that to be spiritually minded, is life and peace. The moment you find yourself beginning to doubt God's word, take authority over that thought in Jesus name, and bring it into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Quote God's word regarding the subject that you are standing in faith for. Remember that our Lord Jesus overcame the devil's temptations with the words, "It is written".

Not walking in love

Galatians 5:6 "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love."

1 John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

There is one other area that will prevent our faith from working, and that is when we are not walking in love. In Galatians chapter five quoted above, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that our faith works through love. In other words, if we are not walking in love, then our faith can no longer work. So why is that? Well you will recall that the doctrine is called, faith toward God. In other words, our faith is in the supernatural power of God. If we are not walking in love, then we are no longer walking in fellowship with God, for God is love. Those who are out of fellowship with God, cannot expect Him to hear their prayers. At the same time when we are walking out of love our hearts will condemn us, and we cannot have confidence toward God. Without confidence toward God, it is impossible to exercise faith in God's power. There is no getting around it. Not walking in love will prevent your faith from working. So, if you are out of love toward anyone, repent and get back into love as quickly as possible. As soon as you do, your faith will begin to work for you once again.

If you believe you can receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour by praying this prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to You in the Name of Jesus.

Your Word says, "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37), so I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in and I thank You for it. You said in Your Word, "Whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13). I am calling on Your Name, so I know that You save me right now. You also said, "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" (Romans 10:9-10). I believe in my heart Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that He was raised from the dead for my justification, and I confess Him now as my Lord. Because Your Word says, "with the heart one believes unto righteousness," and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21) . . .

And I am now saved!

Thank You, Lord!

Welcome to the family of God. Now that you are His child you need to read your bible (especially the New
Testament) daily, spend time in prayer daily and join a local church that will teach you to be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, so that you can grow spiritually. You also need to tell others how Jesus has saved you so that they too can be saved.

About the Author

From childhood, Michael E.B. Maher has always known that the Lord's call was upon his life for the ministry. When he was saved at the age of twenty-two, almost immediately the Lord Jesus began to deal with him about entering the ministry. He went to Oral Roberts University to enrol but circumstances prevented him from following that path. After a period, the call for the ministry once again became very strong, and finally in the early 1990's Michael entered the ministry. After a period, he left the ministry and went into the business world. Although he experienced success in the business world, he was outside of the Lord's will for his life. Over time, he began to drift from the close relationship with the Lord that he had always known. By 2010 the Lord's patience had run out, and Michael suffered his first series of heart attacks. By this time, Michael had become so worldly in his thinking that it never even occurred to him that the Lord had begun to judge him for his disobedience. After his medical treatment, Michael went back into his career thinking that all was back on track again. But now the Lord started to unravel his career as well. Whereas before he had always excelled in his work, he now found completely dissatisfied with what he was doing. And so, at the height of his career he decided to take early retirement. It was during this time that his relationship with the Lord grew again. Although the Lord had brought him to this point, he was still not in the Lord's will. And so, Michael then had his next series of heart attacks. It was only now that the Lord finally got his attention and he committed to the Lord that if He would spare his life, that he would finally answer the Lord's call to the ministry. And so, in 2014 Michael Maher Ministries was begun. From the beginning, the mandate given to Michael from the Lord Jesus was to preach the word. And so, this ministry preaches the word of God on every available platform around the world.

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