Faith is one of the most misunderstood principles that we find in the Word of God. On one hand we read about tremendous victories that were won through faith and on the other, countless defeats in life because of a lack of faith.
There are a couple of things that we must understand when it comes to faith.
First and foremost faith is a spiritual law! Law's of the spirit are absolute! If there is enough faith generated, the law of faith will go into effect and do whatever it is that was the object of faith.
Matthew 8:5-13 KJV
(5) And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
(6) And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
(7) And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
(8) The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
(9) For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
(10) When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
(11) And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
(12) But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(13) And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour
- We see a couple of principles here. The centurion was not of the nation of Israel, but he was a roman soldier in charge of one hundred men. Despite has nationality he was able to use his faith to aid his servant. The law of faith works when there is enough faith generated!
- The second principle is:It is possible to use our faith on behalf of someone else. The centurion used his faith to get his servant healed. This is a subject for another discussion.
Matthew 15:21-28 KJV
(21) Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
(22) And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
(23) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
(24) But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
(25) Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
(26) But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
(27) And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
(28) Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
- Here is another example of a person who was not of the nation of Israel but received deliverance for her daughter because of the law of faith. We also see the same law of believing for someone else. Jesus also said "be it unto thee even as thou wilt". It was the woman's faith that got her daughter delivered not Jesus's faith!
Mark 11:12-14 KJV
(12) And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
(13) And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
(14) And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
- Notice the scripture says "Jesus answered and said unto it". The fig tree said to Jesus "I have figs on me". Jesus observed the leaves on the fig tree and assumed there were figs ready to be eaten. So Jesus answered the fig tree and said to it "No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever."
- Faith is activated through words.
Mark 11:20-26 KJV
(20) And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
(21) And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
(22) And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
(23) For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
(24) Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
(25) And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
(26) But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Jesus connects FAITH, FORGIVENESS, and RESULTS. Always walk in love and be sure and forgive anybody no matter what the transgression is against you.
Jesus set forth many examples concerning the law of faith but I think this explanation is the best one that clearly illustrates this law.
Believing and saying, believing and saying. You shall have whatsoever you say.
1. Have faith in God
2. Say inwardly (confession in the soul and spirit) and outwardly (confession with the mouth) the things that you want to come to pass.
3. Do not doubt in the heart. THIS AREA IS PROBABLY THE MOST PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE DON'T REALIZE THAT WE HAVE DOUBT IN OUR HEARTS.
4. Always walk in love and forgiveness because faith works by love. IT IS A FRUIT OF OUR RE-CREATED SPIRITS. ALL FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS A SUBSET OF THE MAIN FRUIT WHICH IS LOVE.
Romans 3:27 KJV
(27) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
We must also consider that there is a such thing as "no faith", "little faith", and "great faith".
- No faith means just that. There isn't any faith being exercised at all toward the object or thing that we desire. Every person has the capacity to believe.(Romans 12:3)
- Little faith means that we are believing but it is not enough to get the job done.
- Great faith means there is enough faith in operation to get the job done.
- OFTENTIMES WE ARE OPERATING IN "LITTLE FAITH" AND THE JOB IS NOT GETTING DONE. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT "ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IF WE BELIEVE. THAT IS BELIEVE, HAVING ENOUGH FAITH TO GET THE JOB DONE.
- When we don't get the results we expect, we start saying "It must not be the will of God" or "God didn't hear my prayer because of some sin we have committed or currently committing.
- There are hindrances to faith.
Faith and Fear Cannot Abide In The Same Place
Mark 4:35-41 KJV
(35) And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
(36) And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
(37) And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
(38) And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
(39) And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(40) And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
(41) And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
- It's interesting that Jesus asked the disciples. "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? The disciples could have gotten themselves out of this jam using the law of faith. The problem was, they had no idea they had the authority. Because of this lack of knowledge it was impossible for them to act on anything, therefore they were "faithless" and "fearful"
- Not knowing our rights in Christ is another game changer. We can never use what we don't know we have.
- We must arm ourselves with the knowledge and understanding of the Word of God.
- Faith and fear cannot abide in the same place. When we are fearful, faith is not being generated. This is why it is so important to conquer our fears by putting our full trust in God.
Matthew 14:22-33 KJV
(22) And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
(23) And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
(24) But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
(25) And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
(26) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
(27) But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
(28) And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
(29) And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
(30) But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
(31) And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
(32) And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
(33) Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
- Here we see several principles in action.
1. Faith can over ride natural law. Jesus walked on water and so did Peter.
2. Faith can be negated through our senses.
a. In verse 30 Peter saw the wind boisterous, which caused him to fear, which in turn caused him to start sinking.
3. Jesus told Peter that he had little faith. Peter had faith enough to get out of the boat and actually walk on water.
a. Peter couldn't sustain his faith because he started looking at his surroundings and circumstances. The information that was fed to him through his senses became the dominant factor in him and he began to sink.
4. Jesus said that Peter had "little faith" because he wasn't able to sustain his faith in this situation.
Galatians 5:22-26 KJV
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
(23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
(24) And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
(25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
(26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Faith is a spiritual law and will work for any person that can believe, but mountain moving faith only comes out of the recreated spirit of the born again believer. It is not a mental force but rather a spiritual force. Faith must be activated through the power of our spirits and not the power of our minds.
Mark 9:23 KJV
(23) Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
- Jesus said "If thou canst believe".