“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Introduction
Faith is to the kingdom of God what currency is to a nation. In recent years, the strongest currencies in the world have been losing their value, purchasing power has fluctuated, and many people have felt financially insecure. Only the kingdom of God is unshakable. Its currency is always strong, and it allows us to acquire everything we need from the eternal realm.
Without faith it is impossible to please God (see Hebrews 11:6), and if we fail to please Him, we won’t obtain anything from His kingdom. Of course, faith is not the only thing that pleases God—obedience, holiness, reverence, worship, fasting, and prayer also please Him, but none of these things has worth if it is practiced without faith. If we are to receive from what is in eternity, we must understand what faith is, how it functions, and how to walk according to it.
Study Questions
Part I: Where Faith Originates
- How is faith described in the Scriptures? (Hebrews 11:1)
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KEY DEFINITION: The word “faith” in Hebrews 11:1 is translated from the Greek word pistis, among whose meanings are “credence,” “moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation,” “assurance,” “belief,” “faith,” and “fidelity” (STRONG, G4102). Pistis comes from the root word peitho, which means “to persuade” and “to have confidence” (NASC, G3982). When we move in the spiritual realm, there is no natural, tangible evidence; we operate by internal spiritual discernment rather than physical proof or intellectual understanding.
- How does faith come to us? (Romans 10:17)
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God gave us faith as the avenue from the unseen world to the seen world.
- God’s Word feeds our spirits and fills our lives with an atmosphere of faith through which we may experience Christ’s resurrection life and the power to build His kingdom. What truth did Jesus affirm in this regard? (Matthew 4:4)
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- What has God “dealt,” or given to each believer for his or her particular service to Him? (Romans 12:3b)
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REFLECTIONS ON OUR MEASURE OF FAITH
This faith of which we are given a measure is a portion of God’s own faith, which is supernatural. In Mark 11:22, Jesus told His disciples, “Have faith in God.” A more literal translation of this statement is “Have God’s faith.” Jesus was telling us that God grants us a portion of the faith that belongs to Him. Therefore, we all start our Christian lives with a measure of potent faith already given to us.
We must learn this indispensable spiritual truth: Faith originates in heaven, and it operates from there—above and beyond the natural world. This is why; to have faith, we must be born of God’s Spirit, which gives us access to the heavenly realm. (See John 3:1–8.) It is impossible to be born again and not be activated in the supernatural.
- When Jesus declared a person healed, or commanded a demon to leave someone, there was essentially no delay between the word of healing or deliverance and its manifestation. On what basis did Jesus perform His miracles, which should be a model for our faith? Complete the following:
John 5:19: “Jesus…said to them,…‘The Son can do nothing of Himself, but __________ ______ __________ _______ ______________ _______; for whatever He does, _______ ________ _________ _________ _____ _______ ______________.’”
- (a) Through our words, we “spend” our faith, or “put it into circulation,” on earth. Every time we speak, we activate a spiritual exchange. What did the writer of Proverbs say are in the “power of the tongue”? (Proverbs 18:21a)
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(b) What kinds of words should we be “putting into circulation,” and why? (Ephesians 4:29b)
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(c) List some types of “words”—whether prompted or given directly by the Holy Spirit—through which believers can edify one another. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
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- What biblical truth must we embrace so that we may “spend” the currency of faith in an effective manner? (Luke 1:37)
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Faith is anchored in the invisible realm, which is superior to all that is visible. When we declare something by faith, from eternity, we bring it into existence.
REFLECTIONS ON CONFESSING GOD’S WORD
We make transactions using the spiritual currency of God’s kingdom by declaring His Word in faith. We must make this a practice in our lives. However, let me caution you not to confuse faith with the act of confessing God’s promises. In today’s church, faith is often turned into a formula, so that some Christians tend to believe they will find a solution to their problems by simply repeating Bible verses. Faith is thereby reduced to “positive confession” rather than something activated by the “living and powerful” Word of God. (See Hebrews 4:12.) Remember that confessing what God has said feeds our faith, but it is not faith itself.
We cannot think like God unless we possess internal “knowing.” Faith “sees” the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.
Conclusion
If we conform to what the natural world says, we will accept it as being the last word, and it will rule over us. When such thinking becomes established in our hearts, we are not able to receive the supernatural, and we become magnets for sickness, poverty, lack, depression, and pain. We must establish in our hearts the truths that go beyond all temporal reality so that we may receive in the now everything that Jesus provided for us on the cross!
God designed you to be saved, righteous, holy, at peace, joyful, blessed, healthy, free, prosperous, and more. You don’t have to wait for someday in the future to be saved, healed, and prosperous. Faith is “now” to provide practical solutions to the problems we face every day. But we also have to intentionally exercise our faith daily. Religion might have deactivated you from genuine faith, but today, as an apostle of God, I reactivate you in God’s faith to receive revelation and miracles right now. Reject empty tradition and religion as you continue to be transformed by the renewing of your mind and as you seize true faith!
Prayer of Activation
Perhaps you have been exercising your faith and have witnessed the power of God to some extent, but you want to enter the dimension of faith in the here and now in order to revolutionize your environment. I invite you to pray the following prayer out loud:
Heavenly Father, we confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. We believe that He is seated at Your right hand, that we are seated with Him in the heavenly places, and that we have received a measure of Your faith. From this day forward, we will live and walk in the divine supernatural. We have legal access to the invisible realm, and the supernatural is normal to us because we have Your perspective, in which anything is possible. Signs, miracles, and wonders are our lifestyle. By faith, we bring Your kingdom to earth. We call the eternal realm to the physical realm! We heal the sick, cast out demons, release prophetic words, deliver the captives, and preach the gospel of the kingdom with power. Father, we know that You give us the grace to do all these things, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Action Steps
- Establish a daily practice of reading the Bible and/ or listening to recorded Scriptures.
- Commit to using, exercising, and investing your faith. Start by believing for small things. Give your faith a specific assignment. For example, believe for a small amount of money, healing for a headache, or something else you need. If your faith is mature, go beyond these small requests and pray for salvation of souls, transformed hearts, creative miracles, deliverance, profitable business contracts, the multiplication of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, supernatural favor with people in authority, and more. The most important thing is to live by your faith and to exercise it continuously so that you will maintain its rhythm and keep moving to greater levels of faith.
- Decide right now to rise above the places, people, and things that keep you from walking and growing in faith. Begin to edify a new atmosphere of faith in your life and home. Do not conform to the temporal; seek God and enter the spirit realm, where faith can change your reality. Sickness, problems, adversity, and trials were never ordained to be permanent. Yet we have learned to tolerate them, and we have turned them into something permanent by saying, “My sickness; my pain; my lack; my depression…” We speak as if these things belonged to us, when they don’t. Take authority over them in faith, right now, in the name of Jesus!
