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HAVE FAITH IN GOD

By Betty Denney

 

“And Jesus, replying said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].  Truly I tell you, whosoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! And does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.  For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].” Mark 11:22-24

 

WHAT IS FAITH?

 

We would say Faith is belief in God and we would be right.  Let’s

go a little deeper and see what the Word of God says:

Jesus our Lord

“Now Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].  Hebrews 11:1 Amplified

If we read chapter 11 we would read about all the heroes of faith

that dared to believe God in the midst of life and death circumstances,

and many even died in their faith not seeing the result but being

convinced that God is Faithful to fulfill His promises.

 

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

 

We are all called to live a life of faith.  Romans 1:17.  The Word of

God says that we are given “the measure of faith”, however, it is

up to us to grow, develop, and become mature in Faith.  We do this

by “exercising” our Faith, just like we can exercise our physical

body and develop our muscles.  We exercise our Faith by “hearing”

the Word of God and then stepping out and acting upon it.

We exercise our Faith when we pray having the “expectation” we

will receive what we have asked of Him, and giving Him thanks

before we see the fulfillment of it.

 

THE ENEMIES OF FAITH

 

Three enemies of Faith are:  Fear, Doubt, and Unbelief.

When we make the decision we will live by Faith, we will be tested.

The enemy will try to bring circumstances about that will try our

Faith, patience, and endurance.  He will try to cause us to be afraid of

circumstances and situations and will try to steal our confidence in

God and His Word.  He will try to cause doubt whether God will

answer our prayers by looking at outward conditions,  and seeing

the problem instead of seeing beyond the problem to the answer and

fulfillment of His Word.  Sometimes we will have to fight to hang

on to God’s promises.  Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith,

Lay hold on eternal life.”  1 Timothy 6:12.

 

WHAT TO DO WHEN OUR FAITH IS TESTED

 

Armor of God

We take the Shield of Faith and stand!  “Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].  And, having done all [the crisis demands], stand (firmly in your place).  Eph. 6:13,16

 

We should praise the Lord!  “[You should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire, [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One is revealed.  1Peter 1:6.7 Amp.

 

OUR FAITH IS THE VICTORY

 

We must not go by what we See, what we Hear, or what we Feel.

Our emotions will try to rule us, BUT GOD AND HIS WORD IS

GREATER THAN OUR EMOTIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES.

We must lay hold of the Word of God and confess who we are, and

what God has said about us.  Everything else is just temporal and

fading away, but the Word of God will stand FOREVER!!

 

Finally, we have a “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on.

“And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of]

their Faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised, Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of Faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].  Heb.11:39,40 Amp. (this is comforting to those of us that have loved

ones that have gone on before us)

 

“For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith.” 1John 5:5