Introduction
God is no dictator. He never forces His way into our lives like the devil does. He never tries to deceive us. When God laid out His promises, He made them plain and simple. Then, He gave us a choice.
Certainly, you and I don’t have to believe what God says. But if we want to live healed, prosperous and blessed in every way, then we will have to believe what He says. That’s Faith! Psalm 35:27 says God “has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” But that doesn’t mean we have to walk in prosperity. If we want to, we can live in the natural realm and refuse supernatural increase. God won’t force it on us. If, however, we choose to take God at His WORD, we can walk in the fullness of His prosperity for our lives. All we have to do is give Him an opening. All we have to do is believe what He says, instead of believing what we see, hear or feel. This is so important to understand: Faith comes.
Like God, faith is no respecter of persons. Last week, we shared about how God has given you faith. Remember, Romans 12:3, which was spoken to born-again believers, tells us that God “has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Likewise, every believer can develop their faith. Faith will always come when God’s WORD is heard and received. It happened when you first heard the gospel and were saved: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
But read on, and you’ll see what causes faith to rise up in any situation:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of The LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher. And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, LORD, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by The WORD of God (verses 13-17).
First, Paul declares a promise from God – “Whosoever shall call upon the name of The LORD shall be saved” (Verse 13). Then, he goes on to show the supernatural process by which it draws faith out of our hearts – the faith that is necessary to lay hold of the promise and cause the reality of it to manifest in our lives.
Faith Comes by Hearing
This is just one of approximately 6,000 promises from God recorded in the bible and each one was carefully written down for us, if you and I were to take each of those promises and read them, speak out loud and keep them before our eyes, in our mouths and in our ears – eventually – faith comes by hearing the promises of God. Faith is simply believing what we hear in God’s WORD. It’s believing what we read and what we say from God’s WORD. If we believe what we hear, say and read, and let it get deep into our hearts, soon faith will rise up within us and see to it that those things come to pass. The faith that rises within us gives God an opening to bring His promises to pass.
This point is reinforced – though in a negative sense – by Paul’s account of what Isaiah had to say about the unbelieving children of Israel.
“LORD, who hath believed our report?” (Romans 10:16).
The Israelites of old really did not believe God’s promises. They didn’t take His covenant to heart. How do we know they didn’t? we just read in verse 16 that they didn’t obey the gospel. Because they did not take God’s Word to heart, faith didn’t rise within them. To illustrate this point, let’s say I were to tell you, you know, I noticed you were excited about that Harley motorcycle you saw for sale the other day, and I’ve been thinking and praying about it, and I just want to bless you with it. I want to buy that motorcycle for you.” If I were to make a promise like that to you and you like motorcycles, and you know I would keep my word, and know I had the money to buy it, I guarantee you, you would get excited. Why? Based on my word, resources and promise, you would have faith that I would do what I said. In fact, I’m confident you’d start acting as though you already had the keys to that motorcycle in your hand.
You’d start thinking about where you could go on your new motorcycle and what other pieces of chrome and pinstripes you could put on it. You would be in an absolute stir over my promise to buy you a new motorcycle. You would already see yourself riding it. Well, it’s no different with God. If God promises He will do something, He will do it. He is more dependable than anyone you know.
Remember those 6,000 promises recorded in the Bible?
They’ve already been established as reality for us. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that “all the promises of God in [Jesus] are yea, and in [Jesus] Amen.” So if you need healing, it’s done. If you need food, it’s done. If you need protection, it’s done. If you need a house or a job, it’s done. You and I don’t have to try and talk God into any of these things – they’re already done! God promises them to us. Then, He ratified His promise through the blood of Jesus, the sacrifice of His own Son. You and I must keep the promises of God – His precious words – before us at all times….. reading them, speaking them, listening to them. In short, we must do everything it takes to get His WORD into our hearts. Because when we do… faith will come! Memorize this: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by The WORD of God.” (Romans 10:17).
We’re going to look at this in even more depth at our next study because I want you to commit to God’s WORD. Commit to it, and I guarantee that faith won’t just come some of the time or, maybe, most of the time. No, faith will come all the time! It will come every time you believe it enough to receive it into your heart to abide. And, when it comes, so will the fulfilment of God’s promises in your life!
Questions
How do you know you have faith?
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What can even a mustard seed-sized amount of faith do? What does this mean for your situation?
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How can you begin to act on your faith? Be specific.
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What other lessons have you taken from this study?
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