Have the Faith of God
“Have the Faith of God.”
These are the words spoken by Jesus to an amazed Peter after he saw the fig tree Jesus had cursed withering from the root. Peter’s inquiry is not any different than the questions we have today –
How do I see miracles take place? How do I face impossible situations?
How do prayers get answered? How can bad habits, yokes and bondages be broken?
How do I overcome my past?
Jesus has an answer that will work everyday and in every situation – “Have the faith of God!” God wants us to take His faith and to begin to use it. Just waiting around for God to do something just doesn’t work. That leads to hopelessness and frustration. This is the condition of so many Christians in the world today. They are overcome instead of being overcomers. They are beneath their problems and life’s situations and not above them. They are frustrated and discouraged because they haven’t learned the secret that faith is the victory!
The battle is for faith. The battle is not trying to bring about the change you desire – whether it be healing for sickness, financial needs being met, salvation for the unsaved, believing God for your three persons, etc. The battle is for faith. Philippians 1:27 reads, “contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.” It is all about faith.
You win when you have become fully persuaded by faith regardless of what the conditions are telling you. Consider Abraham in Romans 4:18
1. Abraham was in position to hear from God. He had a relationship with Him - Abraham “built an altar”. He had an “ear to hear”.
Abraham first received the promise of God, a rhema word. Have you heard from God through His Word? The Holy Spirit has a word for you – spend time alone with Him and learn to hear His voice, receive His word for your situation, and stand on that word until it comes to pass!
2. Trying to ignore the facts of your situation is not faith, but fear. God is not worried after reviewing the facts of your situation. Abraham wasn’t fearful either after reviewing the facts of his case.
By faith he next “considered” (observed, paid attention to, noticed, contemplated) the age of his body and that it was no longer able to procreate. He also considered that his wife’s womb was dead. This is what his senses told him. This is what sight told his natural mind. According to the natural, it was hopeless and impossible for this couple to bear a child. Yet the facts did not overcome his faith. Abraham believed God!
3. Watch out for “sick faith”. Sick faith is caused by a lack of word, by being “circumstantially driven” instead of “faith driven”. Yet Abraham did not weaken in his faith. His faith did not fail or become ill. His faith did not become sick!
4. Faith must become steady. Don’t get caught between two opinions!
Abraham next “did not waver” (doubt, hesitate) “through unbelief regarding the promise”. How does one waver? – through unbelief. Abraham was not caught between two opinions – a natural one and a spiritual one. No, he had the faith of God! James 1:5 reads, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
5. Stand firm and hold your position of faith.
Abraham was “empowered by faith”. (“You shall receive power” Acts 1:8.) Abraham was able to stand firm in his position of faith and was not moved by what his eyes could see, by what his natural mind could understand, by what others said, and by what the facts were of his dilemma. This is the endurance or patience of faith. Hebrews 10:23 reads, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Even if things get worse, don’t let go of faith – eventually the circumstance will turn and become obedient to faith. Faith will strengthen you when your own strength runs out. Faith wins every time.
6. Faith releases praise and thanksgiving before anything changes in the physical realm.
Abraham “gave glory to God” even before the promise was manifested or fulfilled in the natural.
For the natural realm, it is “seeing is believing”. Natural faith says, “I will believe it when I see it.” Natural faith seeks to believe after the answer. Natural faith gives thanks afterwards.
God’s kind of faith, the faith of God operates oppositely. “Believing is seeing.” The faith of God believes before the answer or breakthrough comes. The faith of God gives glory in advance!
7. Mature faith is the victory! Abraham then was fully persuaded (assured, convinced) that God had power to do what He had promised. Precisely at this point did Abraham win the victory – when he became fully persuaded by faith! This is mature faith - faith that is fully convinced.
You win when you are fully convinced by faith and begin to operate according to that faith and not by responding by fear to the natural facts of your dilemma.
In I John 5:4 reads, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”