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Friday, October 25 2013
Introduction Last week we looked at how to write our ticket with God and emphasised the four steps that we need to follow in order to avail ourselves of the opportunity of writing our tickets with God, these four steps will also be emphasised today as we progress through the study. What is a ticket: piece of paper or card that gives the holder a certain right, especially to enter a place, travel by public transport, or participate in an event. A ticket may be valid or invalid. Synonyms: pass, warrant, authorization, licence, permit (online dictionary) 25 "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I May Touch But His Clothes, I Shall Be Whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. "
Four Steps To Receiving Your Answer From God 1. Say it. Matt 18:19, It is written. ..” (Matt. 4:4). Never Speak Defeat. A closed mouth is a closed destiny. 2. Do It : Arise and work the works that needs to be worked. In last week’s lesson, after David responded to Goliaths words, he ran towards him, 3. Receive It: Saying and Doing Comes Before Feeling and Healing, receive it even though you can't feel or see it.
4. Tell It: Testify to the workings of God, not to brag but to give glory.
Jesus has given everyone of us, a signed check, saying, “Fill it in.” He gave us a signed blank check on the resources of heaven. Any believer anywhere can write a ticket of victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil, for finances, children, spouses, jobs, promotions etc.
One minister wrote me after I had appeared on “The 700 Club” television program. He was always taught to believe that if God wants to do it, He does it. He has the authority—He has the power—just leave it up to God. There was sickness in this himself, sickness and disease in his family. He’d had no victory in his life for years. “I’m beginning to see,” he said, “that it is up to us to do something about some of these situations which exist— that he has authorized us to do it.” (K. Hagin)
The bar of expectations, even within the church, has been lowered in regards to healing, finances and other areas of live. Unless you’re willing to stand and fight the fight of faith, you will be overcome by this world. If you don’t stir yourself up, you will settle to the bottom. The world isn’t going to encourage you toward God’s best, and most Christians wont either. The Word teaches us that He has given us all things to enjoy [1Tm:6:17]
Examples of People who dared to write their tickets Jacob – Genesis 28.20 Hannah – 1 Samuel 1 Hezekiah – 2 Kings 20 Jabez – “Now Jabez was more onourable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ So God granted him what he requested” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).
You must be earnest, zealous, sincere, and determined. (James 5:16). You must be humble “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter5:6-7). God knows all your alternatives.
Jabez requested a personal blessing, asked God to enlarge his borders (material prosperity), protection and guidance, God’s preservation and deliverance. (Ps 91, 119:31, Mat 7:7-8) God is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).
Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us….....
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
To write valid tickets we must gain firsthand understanding of the power of his love, we are changed from the inside. God’s love heals, restores, soothes, refreshes, and repairs those cracks we all have inside, and we become whole individuals.
Conclusion “Let us lay aside every weight that holds us back, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…. forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,…. PRESSING toward the mark for the PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…Let as many as be MATURE, be thus minded. [Hebrews 12:1, Philippians 3:13-15 When you live by the word, the word will work for you. Don’t be content with a life that lacks power, elegance, beauty, and richness of life; to be content with less than God has ordained for you is short changing your destiny and the destiny of people God has purposed you to raise. Contributor: Esther Alajiki
Friday, October 25 2013
INTRODUCTION: Last week, we continued in our journey into effective faith walk with God by carefully looking at the key areas where we must confess before we possess our desires. Areas such as Salvation, Receiving the Holy Spirit and Healing were looked at in detail. In addition, the teacher also highlighted and discussed in detail, the steps that make our confessions effective. I trust that we have been practising these steps and enjoying the full benefits of positive and godly confession as we are enjoined in Hebrews 5:14. As we continue this week in this journey of faith, we will be looking at the account of an encounter of Pastor Kenneth Hagin with the Lord Jesus Christ, at his request for an exposition on the story of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5. Pastor Hagin reported that the Lord Jesus Christ emphasised that "if anyone, anywhere, will take these four-steps or put these principles (to receiving answers from God) into operation, that person will always receive whatever he wants from God, the Father". It is therefore imperative that we pay rapt attention to this study, as I believe that we all desire (always) to receive our petitions from God, the Father. Four Steps to Receiving Your Answer from God These four steps can be used to receive anything God promises ranging from salvation, to healing, to baptism of the Holy Ghost, or to receive victory, finances, or any other answer to any petition, from God. However, depending on some area of faith (e.g. finance), you may need to develop your faith in accordance to the level of your need. Thus, it may take some time for you to receive answer in this case. It is definitely certain that even in this area (or any area at all); these steps will produce results if these bible principles are put into practice. Therefore, whether these principles are put into operation immediately or practised over time, you can have whatever you say from God's word. These steps are simple as is customary of Jesus' way of illustrating and communicating truths in the scriptures. Step 1: Say It! [Mark 5:28] The first step that the woman with the issue of blood took in order to receive from Jesus was; "For she said, if I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole." She said what she desired and this was in line with God's will. There's a “God ward” side and a “Man ward” side to winning every battle, every victory, and receiving anything from God. You have a part to play and there's always something that you must do. If there's failure, it has to be on our part. This woman knew about healing power of Jesus and she decided to do something about it. Jesus said to Kenneth Hagin during this encounter that "Step number one is to say it!" Positive or negative confession is up to the individual. Proverbs 6:2. Never speak defeat. Never talk failure. Instead, talk about your lovely Heavenly Father and what He can do, and your faith will grow in leaps and bounds. Step 2: Do It! [Mark 5:28] Saying it alone and not acting on it would not have done this woman any good. Jesus Christ told Kenneth Hagin in the vision that "Your actions defeat you or they put you over. According to your action, you receive or you are kept from receiving what you want from God." This woman acted upon what she said - She touched Jesus' clothes! Step 3: Receive It! [Mark 5:29] "And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague". After the woman touched Jesus' clothes in faith, she felt that she was healed in her body; Jesus in turn asked "....Who touched my clothes?" because he knew that virtue had gone out of Him. First, the woman said it. The she showed faith in action by going forward and reaching out for Jesus' clothes in order to receive her healing. Finally, she received her healing and felt it in her body that she's been healed of the plague. Saying and doing comes before feeling and healing. Most people want the feeling and receiving first before the saying and doing. It doesn't work that way in God's kingdom. It was only after the woman with the issue of blood said and did, that Jesus said that the power had gone out of Him. There is a power at work in this earth which is far greater than the power of an atomic bomb. It is the power of God, the anointing which destroys every yoke. If all sick people knew of this power, they could be healed of every disease. Step 4: Tell It! [Mark 5:33] "But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth." Jesus said to tell it so that others might receive it. You have to say some things in faith before you ever receive them from God. Many times, people say the wrong things because they believe the wrong things. Wrong thinking produces wrong believing and wrong believing produces wrong speaking. When people start believing the right thing and saying the right thing, they'll have the right thing in life. The Lord also told Kenneth Hagin that people can receive the Holy Spirit by following these four principles. Any believer anywhere can write their own ticket of victory over the flesh, the world and the devil through following these four principles also. If believers don't do something about their situation themselves (write their own ticket), it would be a waste of their time praying for Jesus Christ to give them the victory. Old Testament Example of the Four Steps of Faith A very good and applicable example of the four principles of faith can be found in the very famous story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:30-54. The first thing David did was "And David Said...." (vs.32). He said that he would fight and prevail against the uncircumcised Philistine, Goliath. David knew he could have what he said. He also knew he could write his own ticket with God. The reason God hasn't done any more for you is because you haven't said any more. All you have today is the result of what you said yesterday! Next, David went out with his shepherd's sling and crook, or staff. Notice also that Goliath talked. David let him talk. You can't stop the devil from talking, but when he gets through, you must have something to say. You must nullify his negative talk with your own talk of faith! Jesus didn't stop the devil from talking when He was being tempted in the wilderness. But when the devil got through, He sure had something to say. "....It is written...." (Matt.4:4). Summary/ Conclusion: It's strange when it comes to natural things; people know exactly what to do. For example, if you're going to sell your car, you know exactly how much you are going to sell it for and where. You also know how to go about getting a job if you need one. But when it comes to spiritual things, people hardly know what to do. You need to know that you can write your own ticket with God. Whether you know it or not, that is what you have been doing. This is the reason why people are where they are now. God will do everything you trust and believe Him to do for you (Mark 11:24). You must begin to write your own ticket with God, starting right now! Contributor: Leye Olayiwola Friday, October 25 2013
Introduction: Last week, we saw the potency of our words as Christians, either to kill or give life (“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat its fruit.” – Proverbs 18:21) and that just believing God’s words isn’t enough to activate our faith, we must go on to confessing what we believe for it to work (Mark 11:23). I found the below statement by Price insightful: The Word for “confession” is “homologeo”, meaning “to agree with” or “say the same thing that God says. When you say what God says, you can change the circumstances of your life with His Word. You are no denying the circumstances; rather you are confessing what God says about the situation and since God cannot lie, His Word shall come to pass. In short, a Christian is breaking the influence of Satan over his/her life and forcing him to acknowledge the Believer’s authority and victory over him. A true confession of faith always agrees with the Word of God – learn to talk God talk. We also saw the place of confession for salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit. Today, by the help of the Holy Spirit, we will address the root cause of negative confessions among Christians.
Example of key areas where believers must confess before they possess
Steps that make a believer’s confession effective As we have already stated, confession is the expression of what one believes since human beings are constantly affirming something. Sometimes the affirmations are disastrous. In other words, the effects of such words have the power to defeat the person. For example, if someone continually says s/he can't do something because s/he doesn't have the strength, the person will begin to feel her/his strength actually diminishing. Therefore s/he is left weak and full of indecision and doubt. The person’s efficiency is gone!
Step 1: Thank God for the answer PHILIPPIANS 4:6, 7 “6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by PRAYER and SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The thanksgiving comes after the asking. Once you have asked God for something, believe and confess that you have it by faith. Therefore, thank the Father for the answer. You do not need to worry or fret any longer because you have the answer.
Step 2: Take actions that correspond with your faith/confession Faith acts! When a believer is in faith, there will always be some actions s/he can take to demonstrate her/his faith. That may be simply confessing with your mouth, "Thank You, Father. I believe I have received my petition now when I pray" (Mark 11:24). But faith always has corresponding actions. JAMES 2:14-22 (Note the word “brethren” in this passage) It is crucial to understand that “Confession Plus Wrong Actions Equals Faith Failures”. Believers’ actions must correspond with their believing if they are going to receive from God. James 1:22 says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." From MATTHEW 7:24-27, one observes that it is the doers of the Word of God that withstand life's storms. The same storm and wind came upon both of these houses - the one built on rock and the one built on sand. The reason the house built on sand was destroyed is that it wasn't built on the foundation of God's Word. One was destroyed and one wasn't because the wise builder was a doer of the Word and the foolish one wasn't. It isn't the storms of life that defeat us. If the storms of life defeated us, we would all be defeated because the storms of life come to all of us. Some people face the same storms that others face and yet they are not defeated, while others who face the storms are destroyed. Those who are not defeated, act on God's Word. The defeated ones may be thoroughly saved, yet they do not have corresponding actions to go along with their faith. And they have not taken time to build their faith on the solid foundation of God's Word. Corresponding actions could also mean to stop talking doubt and failure because doing so will eventually bring defeat.
Step 3: Don’t be anxious! As believers, we must learn to approach God on His terms - According to His Word. MATTHEW 6:25-34 Give up worrying habits as it hinders faith. God doesn't want us to worry. He wants us to be free from worry. He doesn't want us bound by any kind of a habit. To worry is to disobey the Word. Worry is a much worse habit than the tobacco habit. Tobacco will just half kill a person smoking it but worry can completely kill a person. Worrying is foolish; worrying never accomplishes anything productive. We are supposed to cast all our care upon Him; for He cares for us (1 PETER 5:7)
Conclusion Confession does not mean denying present circumstances but rather it looks beyond the “reality” being wrapped up in the promises of God based on His word. Also one’s actions must be in perfect fellowship with the confession of one’s faith in His Word. We must not allow the cares of life to choke the strength of God in our lives. Let us begin to make confessions in line with God's Word.
What I Confess I Possess I confess Jesus as my Lord. Rom. 10:9-10. I possess salvation. I confess, "By His stripes I am healed" Is. 53:5; I possess healing. I confess "the son has made me free" Jn. 8:36; I possess absolute freedom. I confess "The love of God is shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost" Rom. 5:5; I possess the ability to love everyone. I confess, "The righteous are bold as a lion" Pr.28:1; I possess lion-hearted boldness in spiritual warfare.” I confess, "He will never leave me nor forsake me" Heb. 13:5-6; I possess the presence of God each step I take. I confess, "I am the redeemed of the Lord" Ps. 107:2; I possess redemption benefits every day. I confess, "the anointing of the Holy One abideth in me" 1 Jn. 2: 27; I possess yoke destroying results by this anointing” (Is. 10:27). I confess, "I am a branch of the Living Vine" Jn. 15:5; I possess Vine-life wherever I go. I confess, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ" 2 Cor. 5: 21; I possess the ability to stand freely in God's holy presence, and in Satan's presence as a victor! I confess, "I am a temple of the living God" 2 Cor. 6:16; I possess God dwelling in me, and walking in me! I confess, "My God shall supply all my need" Phil. 4: 19; I possess the supply of every need.
Contributor: Akin Akande Friday, October 25 2013
Introduction The three studies on The God-Kind of faith established the fact that God gave every believer the measure of faith before we can be born again. We also discovered that Faith is fed by feeding on God's Word and your faith will grow by exercising it (acting on the word of God). Simply reading and meditating upon the Word will not build faith. Reading and meditating on the Word will feed your faith and build a capacity for faith, but faith must also be a part of our daily speech. In other words, the Word that you feed on has to be exercised daily. It has to become a part of your daily speech. That word has to become a part of your daily conduct and actions.
We shall be looking into the law of Confession in the next three lessons. It will teach you how the Word of God must be on your lips. The Word of God in your heart and on your lips gives you power over disease, demons, and evil circumstances and causes you to walk in victory in Christ in every area of your life.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” P.C. Nelson once said, "More people lose their healing over a counterattack than any other thing." I almost lost my own healing that way. After I was healed, people would ask me if my heart was better. I would answer that it wasn't because I didn't always feel good, and my heartbeat was still irregular and beating sporadically. As soon as I would say I didn't feel good, I would begin feeling even worse. One day as I lay on the bed, I began to analyze my situation and to ask myself where I was failing in faith. I realized what I was doing. I was confessing my sickness instead of my health!So I immediately started saying I was well when people asked me how I felt. And that is exactly what came to pass - I was healed! Our lips can make us millionaires or keep us paupers. Our lips can make us victors or keep us captives. The woman with the issue of blood in Mark chapter 5 spoke her faith and her faith made her a victor. Jesus told the woman with the issue of blood that it was her faith spoken out of her lips that had made her whole (Mark 5:34). Your lips can keep you sick. You can fill your words with faith or you can fill your words with love that will melt the coldest heart. You can fill your words with love that will help the discouraged and brokenhearted. You can fill your words with faith that will stir heaven. Or you can fill your words with hatred and poison. You can make your words breathe out the very atmosphere of heaven. But your faith will never register above the words of your lips.
“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.”
Just believing the word of God is not enough to activate our faith. We must go on to confessing what we believe for it to work. From the scripture above, the words SAY and SAITH came up three times while the word BELIEVE came up once. We must be ready to do more confessions of what we believe in our heart. Confession in our mouth actually strengthens faith in our hearts to bring about what we believe. Confession in our mouth will eventually kill doubts in our hearts. Many Christians are failing primarily in the saying part and not in the believing part. What I confess, I possess. And that is all I will ever possess.
That if thou shalt CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and WITH THE MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO salvation. If you want to wait and possess your petition first, and then confess it, you're wrong. You've got the cart before the horse. You'll never get what you desire from God that way. You have to believe the promises in God's Word are true for you, confess them for yourself; then you possess them. That is as true with salvation as it is with all the promises of God. Christianity is called "The Great Confession." The law of that great confession is that I confess I have obtained the promises of God's Word before I consciously possess them in the natural realm. Let us look at a classic example from the life of Kenneth Hagin; That is exactly the way I received healing for my paralyzed body and incurable blood disease. That is exactly the way I received healing for a deformed heart. I saw the truth in God's Word and I confessed that I received my healing before it ever manifested in my body. I confessed I had my healing before I consciously possessed it in the natural realm. When I confessed that my heart was well, I was still in bed and my heart didn't seem any better - it didn't feel healed. Also, the minute I confessed the promises in God's Word regarding healing, the devil challenged me. But, thank God, I had discovered the law of faith, which says, "... I BELIEVED, and therefore have I SPOKEN..." (2 Cor. 4:13). The devil told me that I wasn't healed because I didn't look healed or feel healed. I told him that I was healed because the Bible says I'm healed and because I believe the Bible. I told him that by faith I had my healing; if I was lying, then Jesus Christ also lied in His Word because He said that by His stripes I AM healed!Within ten minutes, I was out of that bed and standing on my feet!The devil had tried to call me a liar, but we know that the Word of God is true. He is the liar and the Father of it.
“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus… with the mouth confession is made to salvation” With your lips you confess salvation. The confession of the lips for your salvation comes before God acts upon your spirit and recreates it. When you were born again, you had the witness of the Spirit of God in your heart that you had become a child of God; but you didn't have the witness first and then confess it. You confessed your salvation first and then your confession created the reality of it in your heart. Then God acted upon your spirit and recreated it.
A woman came to Kenneth Hagin and said that she wanted him to lay his hands on her and pray for her to receive the Holy Ghost. But then she added that maybe she ought to get saved first because if she had ever been born again, she didn't know it!She also needed healing. She had come for the Holy Ghost but she needed all three - salvation, the Holy Ghost, and healing. I instructed her to pray a prayer after me from her heart: "Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus Christ. You said in Your Word, `... him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out' [John 6:371. You said, `... whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved' [Rom. 10:13]. I am calling upon Your Name. I want You to save me now. You said, `. . . if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved' [Rom. 10:9]. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that He died for my sins according to the Scriptures. I believe that He is raised from the dead for my justification. With my mouth, I confess Him as my Savior, and I confess now that I am saved." When she finished praying this prayer, she said that something had happened on the inside of her. I told her that by confessing Jesus Christ as her Savior, she had confessed eternal life and eternal life had been given to her. Her spirit had been recreated. You see, she confessed that she had it first; then she received her salvation. Then within a few minutes she also received the Holy Ghost and her healing. She received all three gifts within ten minutes' time.
Conclusion: The confession of the lips for salvation comes before God acts upon our spirits and recreates them. The same law prevails when it comes to receiving the Holy Ghost or anything God promises in His Word. I believe it and confess it first, and then I receive it. Contributor: Alex Alajiki Friday, October 25 2013
The God Kind of faith Part 2
Introduction It is very important for us to understand that our destination is highly dependent on how we exercise our faith. Over the past lessons we have dealt with the topic of faith in different aspects and looked at it from various angles. Let’s take a look further by identifying two kinds of faith. Human Faith – this is a sense-knowledge faith; the kind of faith that operates according to our five sense. A faith that relies on sense knowledge and operates based on the five senses. These are seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling and feeling. 19 Then on that same first day of the week, when it was evening, though the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you! 20 So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture). 21 Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you. 22 And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit! 23 [Now having received the Holy Spirit, and being [b]led and directed by Him] if you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained. 24 But Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it]. 26 Eight days later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though they were behind closed doors, and stood among them and said, Peace to you! 27 Then He said to Thomas, Reach out your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place [it] in My side. Do not be faithless and incredulous, but [stop your unbelief and] believe! 28 Thomas answered Him, My Lord and my God! 29 Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? Blessed and happy and [c]to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me. The outcome of any faith base on the above features will and can only produce the ability of man. The end product will always be a product of man’s natural abilities. Supernatural faith: This is the spiritual or God kind of faith which does not rely on the natural senses to decipher what God is saying. The end products are supernatural miracles. It is absolute and resolute in its process. Matthew 8:5-13 King James Version (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. From the above bible passage we confidently can say that the faith exercised by the centurion soldier was not based on his five senses rather on the super natural ability of God almighty.
Conclusion: Are you one of those who say I wish my faith could be just like that other fellow or I wish my faith could be just like my pastors, or that brother? The question is why do you need another person's kind of faith when you already have God's kind of faith? Which is more superior? It is important we know who we are otherwise we will disregard the power of the faith that God has given us. God has made His faith available onto us Ephesians 2:8-9 Amplified Bible (AMP) 8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] God gave us His faith so that we can be saved not by our power, not by our works but by His faith alone. God has given us the same precious faith as stated in 2 Peter 1:1-8 Amplified Bible (AMP) Simon Peter, a servant and apostle (special messenger) of Jesus Christ, to those who have received (obtained an equal privilege of) like precious faith with ourselves in and through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Also in Galatians 2:20 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Finally, we are created by God in Christ Jesus. God created the universe with words filled with His faith and you have that same faith. Just confess what you believe today and see God kind of faith in action! Contributor: Clem Roberts Thursday, August 29 2013
Introduction: In this lesson we will study the God-Kind of faith. This is the same faith that believes and speaks (2Cor. 4: 13). Jesus demonstrated this kind of faith as we will see in our text.
“And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he [Jesus] was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it....” “And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, HAVE FAITH IN GOD. 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. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” MARK 11:12-14, 20-24
As we read in these passages, the Lord said: “have faith in God”. Greek Scholars tell us this verse actually says, “Have the God-kind of faith”. What the Lord said as regards the cursing of the fig tree came to pass- it withered away. In verses 23 and 24, Jesus defines and describes for us the God-kind of faith He spoke about in verse 22. The God-kind of faith is the kind of faith whereby a man believes in his heart and says with his mouth what he believes in his heart, and it comes to pass. Jesus demonstrated that He had that kind of faith, for He believed that what He said would come to pass. He said to the tree, ". . . No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever" (Mark 11:14). That is the same kind of faith that spoke this world into existence.
HEBREWS 11:3 - “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” How did God make the world? God believed that what He said would come to pass. He said, ". . . Let there be light . . ." (Gen. 1:3), and light became. God spoke into existence the vegetable kingdom (Gen. 1:11, 12). He spoke into existence the animal kingdom (Gen. 1:20-25). God spoke into existence the heavens as well as the earth; He spoke into existence the moon, the sun, the stars, and the universe (Gen. 1:1, 8, 9, 14-18). God just said it, and it was so, because He believed it would be so. That's the God-kind of faith. God believed what He said would come to pass and it did. Jesus demonstrated He had that kind of faith, and then He said to the disciples that they had that same kind of faith too.
· DON'T PRAY FOR FAITH - EXERCISE THE FAITH YOU ALREADY HAVE. Someone said, "I want that kind of faith. I'm praying that God will give me that kind of faith." Well, you're wasting your time praying if you're praying for faith, because faith doesn't come by praying. In fact, if you are a believer, you already have that kind of faith. Every believer has a measure of the God-kind of faith (Rom. 12:3). The believer must now exercise the measure of faith he already possesses.
ROMANS 12:3 – “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to EVERY MAN THE MEASURE OF FAITH.”
That is not referring to every person in the world. Every person in the world doesn't have the God-kind of faith. We know this because in writing to the Church in Thessalonica, Paul says, ". . . all men have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:2). So every man in the world does not have this faith. But every believer does! Romans 12:3 says, "... to every man THAT IS AMONG YOU. . . ." That is not talking about every man in the world, but about believers. Paul did not write this letter to sinners in the world. He addressed this letter, the Book of Romans, "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be SAINTS..." (Rom. 1:7). Paul said, "... I say ... to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). Every believer - every child of God, every Christian does have a measure of the God-kind of faith. Let me prove this to you further.
· FAITH IS A GIFT OF GOD. EPHESIANS 2:8 - “For by grace are ye saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is THE GIFT OF GOD” The faith by which you are saved is not of yourself. Paul is not talking about grace because everyone knows that grace is not of yourself. Paul is saying that the faith by which you are saved is not of yourselves. In other words, it is not a natural human faith. It is a faith given to the sinners by God. Well, how did God give the sinner faith to be saved? Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Then notice these expressions, "So then faith cometh" and "according as God hath dealt" (Rom. 10:17; 12:3). And notice again Ephesians 2:8: ". . . ye [are] saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Paul says that this faith to be saved is given; it's dealt; it cometh. It cometh by hearing the Gospel preached.
ROMANS 10:8 – “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the WORD OF FAITH, which we PREACH.”
This Bible, this message of God, is called the word of faith. Why is it called the word of faith? Because the Bible contains words that are spirit and life (John 6:63) which cause faith to come into even the heart of the unsaved. The Word of God causes the same kind of faith to be dealt to our hearts that God used to speak the universe into existence. Faith is given or imparted to us through the Word. Hearing the Word brings faith. Read Romans 10:8 again, "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart...." Notice that this verse agrees exactly with what Jesus said in Mark 11:23: "... whosoever shall say ... and shall not doubt in his heart...." Do you see the idea of believing with the heart and saying with your mouth what you believe in your heart? Jesus believed it and He said it. God believed it and He said it. The earth came into existence. God gives faith to the sinner to be saved ROMANS 10:9, 10
“That if thou shalt CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and WITH THE MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO salvation.”
We can see that a measure of faith is dealt to the sinner through hearing the Word. Then the sinner uses that faith to be saved. The sinner uses that faith to bring the reality of salvation into his own life. When did God save you? You may say, "Oh, on such and such a day." Well, you're mistaken because God saved you when Jesus died for you and rose from the dead nearly two thousand years ago. It only became a reality to you - in your life - when you believed it and confessed it. Every man and woman in this world has a legal right to salvation because Jesus died for the whole world, not just for you and me. Titus 2: 11. Every person has a right to hear the Gospel because salvation was bought and paid for, for everyone in the world, not just for you and me. When the truth of the Word is preached to the sinner, it causes faith to come. When he believes and confesses the truth - that Jesus is his Lord - he creates the reality of it in his own life by his faith.
ROMANS 10:13, 14, 17 – “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?” Verse 17- “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
The same thing is true of anything that you receive from God. The God-kind of faith comes by hearing God's Word. You know, God doesn't have any other kind of faith except the God-kind. That is the only kind He has! This God-kind of faith comes by hearing, and the hearing by the Word of God. In other words, God gives the God-kind of faith, or causes it to come into the hearts of those who hear the Word of God. No wonder Jesus said, "Take heed what you hear" (Mark 4:24). You cannot let the Word go in one ear and out the other because it won't do you any good that way. Faith won't come. But when you accept the Word of God reverently and sincerely, and act upon it, faith comes into your heart.
CONCLUSION: It is important for us to remember always that the God-Kind of faith can be accessed through hearing of the word of God. We dwell majorly on this key word ‘hearing’ in perspective of what the Lord taught the disciples as regards belief and undoubted declaration. May you receive grace not to be dull of hearing in Jesus mighty name.
Important Note: This teaching is the explicit teaching of Kenneth E. Hagin culled from his book “Faith Bible Study Guide”.
Contributor: Martins Olubiyi Thursday, August 15 2013
Introduction “Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.” NLT Our greatest spiritual contest is for Faith, not against the devil; he is already defeated (Col. 2:15), not against sin; Jesus gave us victory by His blood ( Eph. 1:17), not against the world; He overcame the world for us (John 16:33). Faith is what we need to possess or enforce everything that Jesus did for us. Faith is the bridge between the natural and the supernatural life on earth. Heb.11:1-38. “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” 1 John 5:4 This is the reason why there are enemies or hinderances to faith. We shall summarise the four hindrances that we have studied and conclude with the last two of the six hindrances to faith. 1) Lack of Understanding Regarding the New Creation: 2Corin.2:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” 2) Lack of Understanding of Our Place in Christ: 1 John 5:1 “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” 3) Lack of understanding of righteousness: 2Cor.5:21” For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 4) Lack of Understanding Regarding Our Right to Use the Name of Jesus: John 16:23,24 “And in that day you shall ask me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24Till now have you asked nothing in my name: ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
Now, for today’s stusy, we will go into the last two of the six hindrances. The first we shall consider is: 5) Lack of Understanding About Acting on the Word: Mark 2:11,12 “I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.12And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. We should stop trying to make God's Word work and start acting on the Word. The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). All that is necessary for you to do in any situation is to ask, "What has God said?" or "What does God's Word have to say about this?" If we know that the Word is true and if we act as though it is true, it becomes a reality in our lives.
The Testimony of Dr. Simpson who just acted like the Word is true, and he received his healing. He was dying of a heart condition and was given only about six months to live. He took his Bible and went on a private retreat to study about healing. This is his final decision based on his conviction from studying the word of God; "After searching the Word of God for two weeks, I am convinced the Bible teaches that divine healing is for us today. And I, this day, accept Jesus Christ as my Healer and declare that I am now healed from heart trouble and that I am well. And I promise God to use this new-found strength and life and energy entirely for His purpose and to further the gospel. I promise God I will share this truth of healing with others and will help them."
He was invited to speak in a luncheon and after the luncheon, he was invited to go mountain climbing by the men to whom he had spoken. The thought immediately came to him that he wouldn't be able to because of his heart condition. But then he remembered he had declared his healing, so he accepted the invitation and went. Up to this point, he had not really seen or felt his healing, but had just accepted it and had declared it by faith. All the way up the mountain, every time he got his mind off the Word of God, he would begin to feel the symptoms of his heart condition. But he overcame these feelings because as he claimed the Word again for his healing, all the symptoms would go away. He fought this battle all the way up the mountain. But when he got up the mountain, he walked about victorious without any symptoms! When we act on the word of God, the enemy will want to counter attack as if the word is not true and will not come to pass. We must maintain our ground by focusing on the word . Remember Peter’s encounter with Jesus on the sea (Matt. 14:22-31).
6) Lack of Understanding About Holding Fast to Our Confession of Faith: Heb.10:23 “Let us hold fast the profession(confession) of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” Our faith keeps pace with our confession. The fiercest battle for faith is at the point of our confession. Rom. 10:10 “ For with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation.” MARK 11:23 “... 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.” Faith is measured by our confession. Our usefulness in the Lord is measured by our confession. Sooner or later, we become what we confess. There is a confession of our hearts and a confession of our lips and when these two harmonise, we become mighty in our prayer life. The reason so many are defeated is that they have a negative confession. They talk of their weaknesses and failures and invariably they go down to the level of their confession. There is a scriptural law from the lips of Jesus in Mark 11:23: ".. . he shall have whatsoever he saith." The scriptural law is this: Our confessions rule us. In other words, you are what you say. We see an example of a confession of faith which resulted in healing in Mark 5:28,34 28 For she SAID, If I may touch but his clothes, I SHALL BE WHOLE.... 34 And he [Jesus] said unto her, "Daughter, THY FAITH hath made thee WHOLE; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Contributor: Alex Alajiki Thursday, August 08 2013
Introduction A few weeks ago, we considered the first two of the six big hindrances to faith; namely; “Lack of Understanding Regarding the New Creation” and “Lack of Understanding of Our Place in Christ”. We ascertained that faith could be hindered that was why Paul admonished Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith”. We also took a practical step in confessing the word of God over our lives. In this study we shall be considering the next two of the six big hindrances. They are: Lack of Understanding Regarding Our Righteousness and Lack of Understanding Regarding Our Right to Use the Name of Jesus Following from our last study and the two hindrances we will consider today in this study, it is easy to determine that “Understanding” is vital! So we should not be short of it! 1. Lack of understanding of righteousness A lack of understanding of righteousness holds more people in bondage than anything else. When we read a passage of scripture like James 5:16 which says, ". . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." We wonder and say; “Oh, my, if I were only righteous - if I could ever get to be righteous - God would hear my prayers.” This is simply a trick of the enemy – keeping us away from the truth, from the awareness that we are no longer sinners but we have been made righteous! In James 5:17 God said Elijah was subject to like passions as we are, and yet God gave Elijah as an example of a righteous man! Elijah had his high moments and his low moments; he was so inconsistent yet God called a person like that righteous? So there is absolutely hope for you and I! Psalm 32:1-2, says: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity" We see here that God imputed righteousness to those in the Old Testament whose sins had been covered by the blood of bulls and goats. But when we read 2 Corinthians 5:21, the Bible says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and that by the new birth we become a righteous new creature. God did not make any unrighteous new creature. We are created by God in Christ Jesus. He made us righteous new creatures in Christ. We are sons and daughters of God and stand before God as though we had never sinned. And so, we can stand in His Presence without any sense of embarrassment, guilt, or condemnation. We don't have to be tongue-tied in the Presence of our Heavenly Father because of fear. We can come into His Presence because we belong there. When we were born again, our sins were remitted because our past life stopped existing. God said that He would not remember our transgressions (Isa. 43:25). Since God doesn't remember them, why should we? So what happens when after being born again we commit sins? 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." When, as believers we sin we feel guilty, and have a sense of unrighteousness. We naturally feel embarrassed and spiritually inferior to come into God's Presence. But God does two things for the believer who may have sinned. First, when the believer confesses his sins, the Lord forgives him. Second, the Bible says that God also cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 says the believer is cleansed from unrighteousness; therefore, he is made righteous again because the blood of Jesus actually cleanses us from all sin! It is only the guilty that can be justifiably accused and therefore condemned! When we continue to live in condemnation (believing that God is angry with us), it affects our relationship with God and ultimately we are unable to receive from Him. So as long as we steer clear of sin and when we do sin, promptly confess our sins, then He is faithful and just to forgive us and are thus above condemnation! But when we allow the enemy becloud our minds with condemnation, we allow him prevent us from having the understanding that we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). He wants to confine us to that vicious cycle. We need to come boldly to the throne of grace because that is where we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. But the Devil locks us in the state of guilt and timidity preventing us from accessing the throne. But with this understanding that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, we can now boldly approach the throne of grace! Read Heb. 4:16, 10:19 and Eph.3:12
2. Lack of Understanding Regarding Our Right to Use the Name of Jesus This lack of understanding can also hold us in bondage and will give us a sense of weakness. But following from the initial study this year about the name of Jesus, we know what that Name will do, so we can take our rightful position of authority over Satan and enjoy victory in every area of our lives! See John 16:23 and 24. “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” This is a major booster of our faith! So we should ask, believe, trust and walk away in thanksgiving knowing that God will answer us and our joy will be full! Remember when Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11:12-25? He walked away knowing that God will bring it to pass. There is something “knowing” does to our faith. It is the bit that conquers our doubts! Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb said to our Father: “I know You hear me always” John 11:42 So with this at the back of our minds, let us read MARK 16:15-18 “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” These signs are for believers. Believers can cast out devils in Jesus' Name. Every believer has authority over demons and evil spirits in the Name of Jesus. Lay hands on the sick and they will recover! It is our right! The Bible says another way to receive healing is to call for the elders of the church (James 5:14, 15). But what if we can't get in contact with the elders? We need to learn to appropriate healing for ourselves, for it legally belongs to us in our redemption. But if we can't appropriate healing for ourselves, then by all means, send for help! Conclusion The less we know of what God says about us, the easier it is for the enemy to manipulate us. It is the same old trick he has applied right from the beginning – with Eve, down through the ages with the people of old until Jesus Christ where he tempted Jesus and failed woefully because Jesus was knowledgeable. Every twisted attempt was thwarted by the word of God. Matt.4:1-10. It is the truth we know that helps our faith and ultimately sets us free.
Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction: Over the last weeks, we have been studying on how to turn our faith loose. We saw the important role thinking right, believing right, confessing right and ultimately acting right play in order to achieve this. The word “right” in the preceding sentence refers to the Word of God – the bible as God's Word is Faith Food. This week, we shall begin a series on major hindrances to our faith. By the grace of God, we will consider two of these hindrances today. Proverbs 27:12 says: “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences”. As the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to these hindrances, may we receive grace to avoid them in Jesus’ name (Amen).
Can Faith be hindered? 1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. To fight means to endeavor vigorously to win or to move forward with difficulty, especially by overcoming physical obstacles. Here, Paul was using the language of athletics contest and enjoining Timothy to give his best effort to this most worthwhile of struggles, the struggle to further the faith. Since there is a fight to faith then this suggests that there must be enemies or hindrances to faith. Quite generally, Lack of Faith Comes From Lack of Knowledge of God's Word as Romans10:17 says “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Hindrance Number One: Lack of Understanding Regarding the New Creation Who are we in Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. This means that we have received a new nature - God's nature (2 Peter 1:4). We are children of God, sons of God, and heirs of God - joint-heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17). "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have ETERNAL life." (1 John 5:13).
Hindrance Number Two: Lack of Understanding of Our Place in Christ What is our position in Christ? 1 John 4:4 "... greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." Colossians 1:13, which says, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." "Who" refers to God, the Father.
Conclusion It is a very good assignment to go through the New Testament and find places where “in Christ”, “in Him”, “in Whom” are written as suggested by Kenneth Hagin. Once found, we should confess, "This is who I am. This is what I have," Below are some lists compiled therefore let us rise up and confess who we are and what we have in Him
Acts 17:28a For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death I Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption 4:10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive 2 Corinthians 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ:nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love Ephesians: 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them 3:11-12 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him Phillipians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 2:6-7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving 2:9-10 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God 2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. I John 4:4 ... greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us
Contributor: Akin Akande Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction: For the past three weeks we have been digging deep into the practical aspect of ‘‘How to turn our Faith Loose’’. A quick recap of all we have learnt can be succinctly put in this equation: Right Thinking + Believing + Confessing = Activated Faith.
Wrong/ Right Thinking, Believing, and Confessing Today we will be studying on “Wrong / Right Thinking, Wrong / Right Believing, and Wrong / Right Confession.” Then by the grace of God we will conclude based on what God expects from us as believers.
Romans 10: 10 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteous-ness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
MARK 11:22-24 22 ... Have faith in God [or, Have the God-kind of faith]. 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.
From the above texts, our discussion have been on right and wrong thinking, right and wrong believing and right and wrong confession. Therefore, we can say as a corollary to the above equation that; If our confession is wrong, it is because our believing is wrong. If our believing is wrong, it is because our thinking is wrong. If our thinking is wrong, it is because our minds have not yet been renewed with the word of God. Now we can see that the role of our thoughts, believe and ultimately our confession on ‘How to Turn Our Faith Loose’ cannot be over emphasised.
Wrong / Right Thinking In Part 2 of our study we were able to established that our thoughts, based on what we feed our minds with are governed by the thing we read, watch, listen to and what we feel ( Senses? you may think- see Nehemiah 8:8 & Heb 5:14). So if we feed our mind with negative words in what we read, watch and listening to, we will be susceptible to wrong thinking. On the other hand if we feed our mind with right and edifying words from the scripture reading, Christian Publications, Audio messages, e.t.c. invariably our thought life will be right in accordance with the will of God. Phil 4:8 admonishes us on what we should think about. The responsibility of guiding our heart with all diligence lies with us. (Prov. 4: 23). You are what you think. (Prov. 23: 7). These injunctions are possible if we yield to His words. God's thoughts are different from man's thoughts. God says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9). Sometimes you can say some things that the Bible says are true, and in your natural mind, it doesn't sound reasonable. But that is because your mind hasn't been renewed with the Word of God. Rom 12: 2.
Wrong / Right Beliefs: It is good we read our text again for emphasis on what we believe and what to do with our belief MARK 11:22-24 (emphasis are mine). 22 ... Have faith in God [or, Have the God-kind of faith]. 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. The belief we are concerned about is on the Word of God. In other words, what God says about us, what He says about our situations- our past, present and our future. This is not about our feelings or what folks say about us. We should be careful not to drift into the realm of the flesh (senses; see, hear or feel) but rather we are to consciously ‘tame’ them meditatively via the words of God.
Wrong/ Positive Confession Wrong confession, of course, is a confession of defeat, of failure, and of the supremacy of Satan. Speaking about how the devil is affecting your progress, oppressing your family, holding your finances, academic, marital fruitfulness business, health and ministries in bondage is a confession of defeat. These kinds of confessions simply glorify the devil. These are wrong confessions. We have established it that Confession is proclaiming a truth that we've accepted wholeheartedly or it is declaring something we know to be true and stating something we believe. It is important to know that when we confess the words of God, we give voice to His written words. The Lord said ‘the words I speak unto you are Spirit, and they are life’. John 6: 63. So whenever we speak the words, it eventually turns to Spirit. Thus, angelic beings are discharged to execute those words. Psa 103: 20. In the same vein demonic beings are release on every negative word. Suffice to say that the worlds (heaven, earth and underneath the earth) are govern by words. However, the place of dominion is entrenched by our confession.
Useful antidotes:
1. Don't Confess Fear - Resist It! Someone define fear as False Experience Appearing Real. But the Bible says God has given you a spirit, not of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). If you walk in love, you ought not to be tormented by fear. Why? 1 John 4: 18 says; ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love cast out all fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love’. Fear is from the enemy. We need to confess the words of God based on 2 Tim 1:7. ‘I have the spirit of power’. What you confess will dominate you! James 4: 7 says Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Fear is of the devil. The antidote is to resist the devil. Declare with your mouth that you have the spirit of power, love and of a sound mind. This entails a conscious effort on our part to grow spiritually.
2. Don't Confess Doubt - Resist It! This antidote and the aforementioned one is not a suggestion to deny the fact that you cannot fear or you cannot doubt if you already have it as a beguiling issue. The panacea is- do not give credence to it by your words. When you say it out, you empower it. Do not confess your doubts. Confess the words instead. Doubt is evil. When you build yourself in the most holy faith, Jude 20, Doubt will dissipate. Envision God bigger than the circumstance, situation or problem. Remember Num 13: 32. Again we are commanded to resist the devil. ‘Whom resist steadfast in the faith…….’’ 1 Pet 5: 9. Always remember God said ‘Fear thou not. Store up in your mind ‘Fear not’ words in the scripture and confess it loud and clear. For instance, Kenneth E. Hagin suggested you say- ‘’ I'm a child of God, and God has not given me a spirit of fear. I'm not afraid. I refuse to be afraid. I resist you, Satan, in Jesus' Name’’. He observed “This will make you rise above satanic influence every single time. Every time you confess your doubts and fears, your weakness, and your disease, you are openly confessing that the Word of God is not true and that God has failed to make His Word good in your life. Think on that for awhile! I want you to see the place that confession holds in your life’’.
3. Don't Confess Your Sickness - Confess your Healing! Locating an appropriate word from the scriptures, believe it, confess it, action it! This will inevitably bring an end to all struggles. Kenneth E. Hagin said ‘’what does God's Word say? Ask yourself that question on any subject. Take healing or sickness, for example; what does God have to say about the subject of healing? The Word declares that with Jesus' stripes, you were healed (Isa. 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). The Bible also says, "Surely He has borne our sicknesses and carried our diseases" (Isa. 53:4). And Matthew 8:17 says, ". . . Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." But many times, instead of confessing that Jesus has borne their diseases and put them away, people confess they still have them. You see, the reason we miss it so much of the time is, we take the testimony of our physical senses instead of taking the testimony of the Word of God. But when they start confessing that Jesus has done something about their sickness and disease - that He has taken them away - then healing and health will become a reality in their lives’’.
Conclusion: How forcible are right words. “Thy words have upholden him that was falling and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.” Job 6: 25; 4:4. Informed believers are word –based; those who have saturated their minds with the infallible words of God. Therefore, in our sitting, walking and standing position of victory we have in Christ Jesus, it is adequate information we have about whom and who we are in Him, that will translate into revelation, which will engender our transformation, for by then we can say we have turned our faith loose. Acts 11: 26, 2 Corinth 3: 18.
Contributor: Martins Olubiyi Tuesday, July 16 2013
“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.”
To set your faith loose you must avoid activities that hinders faith
· Such activities only make you look more spiritual eyes of others and take you far away from God. · Unproductive activity will wear you out. · It will kill your sensitivity
As good as activity can be you can never impress Jesus with your anything else but real faith and believe.
To set your faith loose you must get rid of fear
Romans 8:15 says: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”.
· Fear is synonymous to unbelief. · Fear empowers the enemy to take foothold in your life. · Fear tells you that God's promises and His word will not come to pass in your life. · Fear connects you to the reality of what you are afraid of. · Fear paralyzes your faith
If you get rid of fear your faith will be as solid as a rock
Set your faith loose you must know your identity
When we lose the identity of who we are it is difficult to put your faith in action.
When Eve met with the evil one in the Garden of Eden she refused to identify herself as the superior, as one with dominion over everything and the serpent took advantage of it.
Modecai knew that as an Israelite he is not supposed to bow down to anything else except God. He let his faith loose at a decisive moment of life and death and God stood by him.
Jesus when tempted knew his identity. He did not fall into whims and caprices of the devil. At all times during His dialogue with the devil He set loose His faith by confronting Satan with the written word. Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
If noticed in this verse above, Paul talked about the faith of the Son God. Letting us know that the faith we have is a gift from God through His Son Jesus.
Romans 12:3 says: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
You don’t need bigger faith neither do you need a smaller faith, all you need is the faith of the Son of God. Luke 17: 5-6 “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
His word contains His Faith. They are promises and prophecies embedded with faith.
Set your faith loose through words
Power of words - Jesus said you have whosoever regardless of your gender, race or creed “if you 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”.
The only way you can release your faith is to believe and use words
Romans 4: 17 it says “As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were”.
Stop believing in the things that are negative and use words to create the positive. Set your faith on positive things. God spoke the world into existence by His words
Conclusion Everything that God created by words will definitely respond to words. You are created by words so are the troubles of this world. Take step faith today speak to that created circumstances and you see your troubles crumble. God is working in you so that his power will work in you on you and through you.
Contributor: Clem Roberts
Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction: Last week we considered the first part of “How to turn our Faith Loose” – we considered extensively the four types of confessions and the distinctions between them. We concluded by saying that “In order to effectively turn our faith on, we must appropriate the power of confession”. In today’s study we shall continue on this very important topic. Because what is the point of having faith if we are not able to “turn it loose” or in other words, “make use of it”? Someone once said that you do not stand in front of a cage of lions to defend them; simply step aside and open the cage and let the lions defend themselves!
What Does It Mean To Turn Our Faith Loose? Simply, it means to activate (trigger, initiate, kick-start, etc.) As a matter of fact, we can’t say we have faith unless, it’s been turned loose – faith is only seen when it is in action. James 2:14-18 “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” Now let us systematically consider how to turn our faith loose. We will consider four important aspects and how they relate with each other in turning our faith loose. They are: our thoughts, our beliefs, our confessions and our actions.
1. Our Thoughts In considering this sub-topic, we should ask ourselves these questions: (a) What do we feed our minds with? i. The things we read ii. The things we watch iii. The things we listen to iv. The things we feel (b) What do give permission to, to occupy our minds? i. What do we meditate on? ii. What information we process from (a) above
In Philippians 4:8 [MSG] Paul admonishes us on the things that we should think about. “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Proverbs 4:23 [NLT] says: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” What we think about affects what we believe and this will in turn affect our confession and ultimately how we act. So if our thinking is right, our believing will be right because what you meditate on will eventually get down into your heart. The Bible in Proverbs 27:1a says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”.
2. Our Beliefs The next bit to consider is one we have extensively considered since we started on the topic of Faith so we will not dwell to long on it. The belief we are concerned about is on the Word of God; what it says about us, what it says about our situations – our past, our present and our future. We should believe only on what the Word of God says about us – not what people say or what we see, hear or how we feel. Mark 11: 22-24 says: “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith (strong belief) in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
An important note of caution is this: We begin to believe the things we think; if we dwell on them long enough. 1 Timothy 4:2 [MSG] says: “These liars have lied so well and for so long that they’ve lost their capacity for truth.”
3. Our Confessions Last week we extensively considered confession in. So once again, we will not over-emphasize this topic but we will simply consider the other side of it. “Confession’ Defined - The dictionary says that "to confess" means to acknowledge or to own up to or to acknowledge faith in. It also means to make confession of one's faults.” It is very important to realize and recognize the place that confession holds in the scheme of things. It is more than only confessing sins, weaknesses, and failures. That is the negative side of confession, but there is a positive side that the Bible encourages. Joel 3:10 (NIV) says: “Let the weak say, “I am strong.”” Actually, Christianity is called "The Great Confession." - : Our confession is proclamations of what we know to be true, something we believe and what we have accepted wholeheartedly. Jesus said in Luke 6:45[NIV] “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
See a few examples of scriptures we can store in our hearts and confess with our mouths (there are approximately 133 or 134 of them; so we should take time to seek them out for ourselves): (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 1:7, 8, Galatians 3:13, Phil.4:13, Deut.28:3-14, etc.)
So if we re-visit our text in Romans 10:10, it says: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Notice the latter part of Romans 10:10: ". . . with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” This is true concerning salvation, as well as some other things we receive from God. In some other cases, a third step is required – Action
4. Our Actions Some of the times, the “Action” part may be a pronouncement as we see in Mark 11:23 “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 is, believe in his heart] that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Like Mary in Luke 1:38, when she said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” Other times, the “Action” part as a physical action as we see in the account of the woman with the issue of blood. After she said “If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole”Matt.9:21, she stepped out in faith and touched Jesus’ garment. See verse 20 or like the young men that brought a paralyzed man through the roof to see Jesus in Luke 5:18-20. They acted on their faith and Jesus saw their faith. We can see the same in James 2:14-18
Conclusion God has given us His Word to get our thinking straightened out. And when we think in line with God's Word, our believing will be right. When we believe right, then what we say with our mouths will be right and ultimately we will take the right actions (as needed). We have to keep these four, right – Our thoughts, Our beliefs, Our confessions and Our actions because if one of them goes wrong, then all four of them put together will not yield the desired result. So let us meditate on these scriptural truths that we have looked at today; and as we continue to confess them to be true in our lives, we will cause these truths to become a reality in our hearts and lives. And let’s remember that to set our faith loose we need to “Think Right”, “Believe Right”, “Confess Right” and “Act Right” Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai Tuesday, July 16 2013
INTRODUCTION: A great insight into the significance and importance of the Inner Man in receiving from God was properly dealt with at our last teaching. We also learnt how to believe with our hearts, which is a requirement for taking delivery of our breakthroughs and miracles even when our bodies and circumstances are saying contrary. We will go a little further in digging deep into how to turn our faith loose in today’s teaching. Having examined what it means to believe with the heart during the last lesson on Faith. We will be looking at the later part of Romans 10:10; "......with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation...." Four Kinds of Confession Due to the confused thought surrounding the subject of confession, we will be examining the four kinds of confession spoken of in the New Testament and how these impacts on turning our faith loose.
i) Jews' Confession of sin [Mark1:4-5, 14-15] This can be seen in the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ to the Jews about the confession of their sins.
ii) Confession of the Sinner Under the New Covenant [John 16;7-11] Jesus Christ made a very important statement in the New Testament in this passage concerning the sinner under the New Covenant. Notice the words of Jesus in verse 9: ".....Of sin, because they believe not in me". Jesus is simply saying here that the only "one" sin that the sinner will be convicted of is the sin of rejecting Jesus: ".......because they believe not on me [Jesus]". This simply tells us that contrary to what is obtained in Christian circles when a sinner is being led to the Lord and asked to confess all the sins he or she has ever committed, the main confession the sinner needs to make is the Lord-ship of Jesus Christ! “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
iii) The Believer's Confession of His Sins [1 John 1:9] This is the believer's confession of his sin when he is out of fellowship with God. That broken fellowship with God many times may cause sickness, because the bible says in James 5:16a; "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
iv) The Believer's Confession of Faith This is the confession of our faith in the Word, in Christ, and in God the father.
Distinctions - Confessions of Jews (Old Covenant) & Sinners Under The New Covenant 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.[Matt.3:5-6] This is the picture of God's covenant people (Jews under the Law) confessing their sins and being baptised by John in the name of the Father only. This was before Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. According to Acts 19:18; "And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds." These were Gentiles or non-Jewish Christians, evidently believers who were likely confessing their sins of practising magical arts. Some important notes worthy of consideration; · These Gentile Christians were already saved and were therefore not confessing these sins in order to be saved. · They didn't have to give up their sinful practices of practicing magic and other things in order to get saved. · Their sins and wrong practices were easier to confess after they were saved. This is also contrary to what is being preached in some Christian circles and denominations where sinners are being told of the need to quit their sins before they can be saved. This is putting the cart before the horse. It's like telling a sick person he or she needs to get well before they can be admitted into the hospital. All the sinner has to do is to accept the Lordship of Jesus, and those things will take care of themselves.
The Confession the Sinner Makes According to our anchor scripture in Romans 10:9 (....That if thou shalt CONFESS), we realise that we don't have to give up anything or quit anything in order to be saved. All that God requires of the sinner is the confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The only sin the sinner is guilty of is the rejection of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Once a person is born again, God will deal with him about the things he needs to change and will give him the power to change them. Also, there must be a vocal confession by a person of the Lordship of Jesus-his lips must frame the words. This is for the benefit of Satan, declaring you are no longer under his dominion (Eph.1:19-21). In receiving eternal life, there must be public confession. This signifies a change of lordship; it defines our position. The confession of the Lordship of Jesus puts us immediately under Jesus' supervision, care and protection.
The Believer Confessing His Sins [Psalm 137:1-4] This verse of scripture is a picture of broken fellowship. As Christians, we lose our testimony the moment we sin as sin always puts the light out. Let's read 1 John 1:3-10. · Notice that this scripture addresses believers and not sinners! It warns us against broken fellowship and secondly the way back to restoring broken fellowship with God our Father. · This scripture is about a born again Christian who is out fellowship with God and won’t admit it. It’s not for unbelievers. Christians have a “monitor”-that is the voice of conscience-on the inside of us, and it lets us know when we’ve done wrong. Acknowledge every wrong doing or sin promptly and repent by saying “Lord, I missed it. Please forgive me” and He’ll forgive you. Once you confess a sin, do not keep confessing the same sins over and over again because that only builds weakness, doubt, and sin consciousness into your spirit. Satan tries to take advantage of you by reminding you of your confessed sin. You must refuse to think upon that sin any longer [Psalm 103:1-3, 12].
*Read James 5:14, 15 – There is healing in Forgiveness. Jesus will not require us to do what He will not do. If He asked us to forgive an offender seventy times seven, then He will do same for anyone who has sin. God’s grace is beyond human comprehension. Finally, we read Hebrews 10:1-4; 9:14 and 1 John 1:9:
These passages tell us of the failure of the blood of bulls and goats under the old covenant to take away sins. Their blood could only cover sins with these sins still left in the heart of man- still in his consciousness. Thank God for the blood of the spotless Lamb of God. Our redemption in Christ has redeemed us from sin consciousness. Once forgiven, we don’t have to remember them again, Hallelujah!
Conclusion In order to effectively turn our faith on, we must appropriate the power of confession. A hindrance to confidently confess our belief and faith in the Son of the Living God, Jesus Christ is not trusting God enough to forgive us when we miss the mark and walking in sin consciousness after we have been forgiven. If you sin, repent and confess your sin to God and have no remembrance of it. God doesn’t, so why should you? Then you can see with what confidence we can come before God in prayer and know with a certainty that He hears us. We will close with these words of caution in 1 John 3:1-10 [AMP]. Contributor: Leye Olayiwola Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction: Last week we considered a crucial topic: “Sustaining our Faith”. We looked at the pitfalls that threaten our faith and how to avoid them as we considered Peter’s experience of walking on water. Peter walked on water; but it was his faith that kept him afloat. As long as he could sustain his faith, he was fine. But then, the pitfalls came threatening and he lost it. This week we shall consider a phrase that has fazed a number of people in the past; one we have also just read in our texts. “For with the heart man believeth”, “and shall not doubt in his heart”. From our texts we notice that it is with the heart that a man believes or doubts. So what does it mean to believe with the heart? Answering this question correctly requires that we have insight to a few Truths. It is in gaining these insights we will come to an understanding of what it means to believe with the heart
The heart of man is the spirit of man. First, we need to understand that the heart of man is the spirit of man. Man is a spirit; he has a soul; and he lives in a body. The word "heart" used in the scriptures we just mentioned is not referring to the physical organ that pumps the blood through our bodies and keeps us alive. That would mean we are to believe God with our bodies! The word "heart" is used to convey a thought. Notice how we use the word "heart" today. We talk about the heart of a tree. What do we mean? We mean the centre, the very core. We talk about the heart of a subject. What do we mean? We mean the most important part of that subject - the very centre of it - the main part of it around which the rest revolves. And when God speaks of the human heart, He is speaking about the main part of man; the very centre of man's being, which is his spirit. When God speaks of the heart, He means the human spirit. Many times the words "heart" and "spirit" in the Bible are interchangeable. See Romans 2:28, 29 In this passage, the "heart" of man and the "spirit" of man are used interchangeably. Romans 2:29 says, "... circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit...." That is referring to the human spirit. Your heart, according to this text, is your spirit.
We can ONLY contact God with our Spirits (Hearts) JOHN 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The words "in spirit" in the phrase, refers to the human spirit, not the Holy Spirit. You see, you cannot contact God with your body and you cannot contact God with your mind. You can only contact God with your spirit; therefore, you must worship him from your spirit or heart.
It is with his spirit, man contacts the spiritual realm. With his soul he contacts the intellectual and emotional realm. And with his body he contacts the physical realm. So to believe God with your heart means to believe God with your spirit (the real man or otherwise referred to as the inner man.)
Hidden Man of the Heart – The real man 1 PETER 3:4a “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, Notice the word "heart" again. Notice also that Peter says, ". . . the hidden man of the heart ...” Peter used the words "hidden man" because, really, the spirit or the heart is the real you. The body is not the real you; it is just the house you live in. Remember Paul said in First Corinthians 9:27, "... I keep under my body, and I [The real him] bring it [The body] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away." If your body were the real you, Paul would have said, "I keep myself under. I bring myself under subjection." But he said, "I keep my body under. I bring it under subjection." "I" is the man on the inside. It is the "hidden man of the heart" in First Peter 3:4. It is the spirit - the real man, or the inner man. The "hidden man of the heart" is called that because he is hidden to the natural man or to the natural mind.
The Inward Man ROMANS 7:22: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” Here, the spirit of man is called the "inward man." So this inward man and the hidden man give us God's definition of the human spirit. Remember the real man is a spirit; he has a soul; and he lives in a body (1 Thess. 5:23). We can only contact God with your spirit. And God contacts and communicates with us through our spirits. Certainly, you know that when you hear the Word of God preached, you hear it with your physical ears and it goes through your natural mind before it goes into your heart or your spirit. 1Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The Word of God is of the Spirit of God, and the Bible says the Word of God is foolish to the natural mind. The reason the Word of God is foolish to the natural mind is that you don't understand the Bible with your head or mind; it is spiritually understood. You understand the Bible with your heart or your spirit. That's the reason you can read certain verses over and over again and not understand the meaning. Then one day you can be reading along, and suddenly you see the truth of a particular verse of Scripture, and you say, "Why didn't I ever see that before?" Well, it is because you have only just then understood it with your heart!
The right sequence is to Believe, Receive, and Then Have! To have anything, we need to first receive it. And to receive, we have to believe. (But this belief is with the heart!) Mark 11:24 (KJV) says: “Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. In common, every-day language, Jesus said, "You've got to believe you've got your answer before you get it!" The Amplified version reads: “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].” The problem is that many of us want to get what we desire first, before we believe we've got it. But Jesus said that you've got to believe you've received what you desire from God, and then you'll have it! That is faith!
How do we continue to believe with our hearts? “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” Proverbs 24:10 The Word of God is the food that makes our spirits strong and that gives us quiet assurance and confidence. So how does our spirit get faith that our intellect cannot obtain? Through reading and meditating on the Word; Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, ". . . Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Jesus is speaking here of spiritual food. He is using the natural human idea (bread) to convey a spiritual thought. The Word of God is food for the spirit and faith. The Word of God is to the spirit of man what natural food is to the body of man. Our spirits become filled with assurance and confidence as we meditate in the Word.
Conclusion: To believe with all of our heart is to believe independently of our heads or of our bodies. Proverbs 3:5 says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine HEART; and lean not unto thine own understanding [or your mind]. We know that to believe with the heart is to believe with the spirit, not regarding what your physical body may tell you or what your physical senses may tell you. Contributor: Alex Alajiki Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction In the last study titled “How Faith Comes – Part1” we learned that faith comes by hearing the word of God. We considered extensively, the various ways we could receive this faith; listening to the word of God, reading the word of God, etc. As a continuation of How Faith comes, today, we will look at a sub-title: “Sustaining or Faith”. This is important because having faith alone without sustaining it and/or maintaining it will cause us to lose it! In this study, we will consider the pitfalls and how to avoid them. From our text, Peter heard the voice of the Master – the Word of God when Jesus said to all of them first in verse 27; “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” His faith was activated straightaway. The message version of verse 28 says; “Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.” And then Jesus said to him “Come!” Peter walked on water; but it was his faith that kept him afloat. As long as he could sustain his faith, he was fine. But then, the pitfalls came threatening and he lost it. So let us consider these pitfalls and how to avoid them. The pitfalls are (but not limited to) the following 1. Fear From our text in Matt: 14 and verse 30 “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink cried out; “Lord, save me!”” 2. Doubt In verse 31 of Matt. 14, Jesus indicates that doubt is one of the pitfalls of sustaining our faith Also in Mark 11:23 [AMP], He reiterated the same pitfall. “Truly I tell you, whoever 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.” And so if we will not doubt; if we will just believe, then whatever we say will happen! 3. Distractions These come in various forms but the purpose is to get our eyes of the Author and Finisher of our faith and focus on things contrary to what the Word says; the winds, the waves, etc. Romans 8:38-39 lists some of the possible distractions. 4. Our senses What we see around us, what we hear and the way we perceive the things we see and hear affect the way we feel and these in turn invokes doubt. 2 Cor. 4:18a; “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.” * Discuss any other pitfalls
Avoiding the Pitfalls We can avoid being victims of these pitfalls if we apply (but not limited to) the following: 1. Prove God's Word by Acting on It – Make use of your faith One of the definitions of faith as we learnt in our study is proving God's Word by acting on it. Because, one may say that they know God's Word is good, but will never really know God's Word is good until we have acted on it and have reaped the results of it. There is a very strong importance when someone has a first-hand experience; an eye-witness account of God’s word! Luke so very confidently expressed this in his epistle to Theophilus in Luke 1:1-4. His confidence was based on the first-hand experience of the disciples. Heb. 5:14, says: “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Emphasis mine This follows then that the more we walk by faith, the stronger it becomes and the less the possibility of losing it.
2. Believe What the Bible Says - Not What Your Senses Tell You We should believe what the Bible says, not what we see, hear or feel because our faith is not based on our feeling but based on what God says. When we develop our faith to the place where we believe what the Word says regardless of circumstances and physical symptoms, then we are rest assured that we won’t lose faith. Important to note is that we do not deny symptoms because they are real. Of course pain is real; sin is real; and the devil is real. But we should not focus on them. Romans 4:19-21 MSG “Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.” Notice what the Bible said: "Abraham did not focus on his own impotence but plunged into what God promised. 3. Speak what the Bible Says - Not What Your Senses Tell You Again from Romans 4:19a, Abraham did not say “It’s hopeless”. Joel 3:10 (NIV) says: “Let the weak say, “I am strong.”” Also, Hebrews 13:6 says: “So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” We should quit saying what we feel (it may be real but not the truth) and start saying what the Bible says about us (obviously the truth) “Often we are faced with two realities; the negative (based on occurrences around us and our feelings) and the positive (based on the Word of God and His precious promises) and ultimately, we have a choice to make; to confess the positive or the negative reality. The simple truth at the end of the day is that the reality that we continually confess will eventually supersede the other.”- Still Standing 4. Let the seed of God’s word grow within you Hosea 14:2 (NIV)”Take my words with you.” And Acts 19:20 (KJV) says; “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” We should allow the word of God grow within us because it is His word that will prevail when our faith is tested. Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan by the Word that He had within Him. “Matthew 4:1-11”. Proverbs 4:20-22 says: “My son, attend unto my words; incline thine ears unto my sayings. Let them not depart from before thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they [my words] are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. The source of our faith is the Word of God; so if we allow the Word to grow in us then we are indirectly growing the faith in us! 5. Deliberately shift your focus to the Author and the Finisher of your faith Focus on Jesus, who is your High Priest and the Author and the Finisher of your faith (Heb. 12:2). We should center our attention and our minds on what Jesus has done for us and what He is doing for us as our High Priest. He is seated at the right hand of God right now making intercession for us (Heb. 7:25). Also Hebrews 4:14 says: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our profession [our confession of faith]. So we should get our attention focused on the right things - on Jesus, our great High Priest, and on His Word - instead of on ourselves and our feelings. Psalm 119:15 ESV: “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Conclusion There are a number of things out there that will contend with our faith. That is why we are advised to be on our guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous and be strong! 1 Corinth 16:13. Truth also is that it is the ONLY currency of heaven. The ONLY way we can please God! Also Jude 1:3-4 MSG says: “Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. Sustaining our faith is worth dropping everything else for! Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction We have been studying the definitions of faith during our past Bible studies with so much insight into the meaning of Faith. Heb. 11:1 defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Martin L. King Jnr. defines Faith as taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase This week, we shall be examining how to acquire the faith needed to please God in our relationship with Him. If faith is needed to please Him, then God must have made provisions for everyone to be able to get the faith necessary to please Him. Heb.11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please him...."
1) Faith Comes by Hearing the Word: Rom. 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” If faith is a physical material or substance, then the material needed to produce this substance of faith is the word of God according to Rom. 10:17. Every time I need faith, I simply go to the word of God to receive the amount of faith needed. God is not responsible for my lack of faith.
2) Faith for salvation: Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Salvation is a free gift from God but faith is required to have access to this ultimate gift from God. We already know that faith comes by hearing the word of God, but how are we to get faith to get saved? Romans chapter 10 tells us. ROMANS 10:8-10,13,14 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, THE WORD OF FAITH, WHICH WE PREACH; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation ...13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and HOWSHALL THEY BELIEVE IN HIM OF WHOM THEY HAVE NOT HEARD? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Faith for salvation comes when we hear the word of God. The Holy Spirit will bring conviction to our hearts when the seed of the word of God is sown. The word of God is necessary for us to believe and have faith for salvation.
2a) The case of Cornelius and his household. Act 10:1-48 The angel instructed Cornelius to call for Peter: "And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do" (Acts 10:5,6). Acts11:14 reports that the angel said that Peter would preach the gospel to Cornelius: "Who shall tell thee WORDS, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." This verse also shows us that men are saved by hearing words - God's Word: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). You can't believe without hearing. So many are trying to believe without hearing. Jesus said, ". . .Go YE into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Angels can’t preach the gospel, but the angel could tell Cornelius where to go to get someone who could preach the gospel to him. His household was saved when they believed the gospel that Peter preached (Acts 11:13). We are to the preach the gospel for people to believe and be saved.
3) Faith For Healing: Luke. 5:17 “And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them”. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”(Rom.10:17) . Faith for salvation came by hearing the preaching of the gospel so also faith for healing comes by the same preaching of the gospel of healing. Jesus was teaching and the power of the Lord to heal anyone that will believe was present to heal. I believe he must have been preaching about the ability of God to heal
3a) The case of the impotent man at Lystra: ACTS 14:7-107 “And there they [Paul and Barnabas] PREACHED the GOSPEL.8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:9 The same HEARD Paul SPEAK: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked”.
This man was not healed because Paul was an apostle, but notice what had to take place before this man was healed: "And there they [Paul and Barnabas] PREACHED the GOSPEL" (Acts 14:7). So Paul did three things: 1. He preached the gospel to the man. 2. He perceived that the man had faith to be healed. 3. He told the man to rise up and walk.
The man also did three things: 1. He heard Paul preach the gospel. 2. He had faith to be healed. 3. He leaped up and walked. The man was not healed by some special power that Paul had. The man had faith to be healed. Where and how did he get faith to be healed? He got it from what he heard! Remember Acts 14:9 says, "The same [man] heard Paul SPEAK. . . ." What did Paul speak? Verse 7 says, "And there they PREACHED the GOSPEL." If Paul preached what we call the gospel of salvation, how did the man get faith to be healed? The man got faith to be healed because Paul preached what the Bible calls the gospel, which also includes healing. Countless people are waiting to be saved, healed, delivered from all forms of satanic oppressions but they need us to preach the gospel to them to be able to believe. It is our responsibility to preach while it is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to use the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God, to bring salvation, healing and deliverance to people all over the world. “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” Mark 16:20
Conclusion: The study of faith is a very wide subject that will require extensive search for deeper understanding and revelation. We thank God for His generals like Kenneth E. Hagin who did extensive studies on the subject of Faith in his life time. This study was extracted from his book; Faith Bible Study Guide. Contributor: Alex Alajiki Tuesday, July 16 2013
INTRODUCTION: Another interesting teaching awaits us as we continue on our expository into the mystery of Faith. We have, by the grace of God been able to establish the importance of Hope and Faith and how they work together last week. This week, we will build on this knowledge and see how we can activate our faith and make it work for us. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” [Hebrews 11:1] A modern translation of the above scripture reads, “Faith is giving substance to things hoped for.” The Expanded Bible Version of the same scripture reads, “Faith means being sure [the assurance; or reality; or the sure foundation] of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it [the conviction/ assurance/ evidence about things not seen].”
We need to first realise and settle the truth about Hope having its own place in the perfection of our Faith walk. We also need to realise that it is our Faith that gives substance to the things we hope for. I love the way the New Living Translation of the Bible expresses the word hope in 1 John 3:3,
“And all who have this eager expectation (hope) will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” [Emphasis Mine]
It is our faith that gives sub-stance to the things we eagerly or expectantly desire. If we are going to wait until we get something before we believe we have it, then it will be too late and it won’t work. Instances abound in both the old and new testaments of the Bible, about the many escapades done through people who refuse to wait until something happened before taking the appropriate steps towards realising and accomplishing their goals. For example, in Joshua 6:3-5, the Israelites were given certain instructions to act upon in order to posses Jericho. They were to march around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days, and seven times on the seventh day. In addition, they were to shout when the musical instruments were sounded on the seventh day. These were the instructions required to be carried out by the Israelites in order for them to actualise the victory that God has promised them. They first had to believe they received God’s word to them and then take a further step of acting upon this word. Their acting upon the Word was their faith in action. It is important to note that the Israelites shouted (acting on their faith) even while the wall was still standing. The lesson here is that faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind, the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by the eye of the body [Matthew Henry’s Commentary]. Put in another word, the things which are not seen are eternal in value compared to the things that can be seen (2 Cor.4:18). Faith transcends the physical realm. It is not controlled or deterred by the physical. The Israelites faith gave substance to God’s word to them and when they acted on their faith, God’s promise became a reality and those walls came down, Hallelujah!
Faith Is Active Faith is acting upon God’s word. To act means to do something. Many people are waiting for answers to prayers to come to them especially in the area of healing or the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Too often, people just wait for something to happen with a passive faith instead of an active faith. Although God will help you meet your financial obligations, you have a part to play. You can’t just stay idle and expect things to happen or expect something to come to you. You can pray and believe God, but then you must act on your faith by actively looking for a job (for example) and something will happen. Same applies in the spiritual.
New Testament Example of Active Faith “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Faith is looking at the finished work and not focusing on the present! This is giving substance to things hoped. The finished work is the substance. Whenever Jesus speaks to people, He speaks the end of the situation and not what they are going through. That is giving substance to things hoped for. A very good illustration of giving substance to things hoped for is in Luke 17:11-19. Notice Jesus didn’t say the man’s thanksgiving has made him whole, but his faith (Discuss). This man saw what the other nine could not see. A man of faith indeed! Another illustration can be found in Luke 5:18-25. A man sick the palsy was let down from the roof of a house where Jesus was teaching because the room was so packed full. Verse 20, 24 of the same chapter records; “And when he [Jesus] saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee…..Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house”. Note the phrase saw their faith. It was not only the faith of the four men who brought the man the palsy that got him healed, the faith of the sick man was included too. This man also demonstrated his faith because how many bedfast (bed ridden) people would endure the pain and discomfort and let someone take them up on top of a house and let them down through? We also know that this man had faith because when Jesus said to him, “Rise up”, he wasn’t any better, just as the leprous man in Luke 17, who as at the time he went back to give thanks, has not yet been made whole. The man with the palsy was just as help-less as he ever was. Nothing has changed physically before the command to rise up was given. Instead of trying to get up, he could have said, “Why Lord, didn’t you see them carrying me in here? I can’t possibly get up. You’ll have to heal me first.” Instead, he began to move (active) and when he did, healing was the result. If he refused to act on the Word of the Master, he would not have received healing. There is a real spiritual lesson for us here. Acting on God’s word is called faith. And when we are in faith, we will receive answers to prayers. The ability, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to see the finished work and the end of the matter, empowers us to be able to act on God’s Word in the face of difficult situations and circumstances. In the early days of Pentecost, a woman evangelist ministered to four people in wheelchairs. All she said, in a very quiet tone was, “Rise and walk in Jesus’ Name” and three of the four people walked. The one who was left sitting there in a wheel chair said, “I can’t walk.” Even though she was reminded that the others couldn’t walk either, but they did, this woman still answered, “I know they did; but I can’t. I haven’t walked in years. I can’t walk”. She was left sitting there. [Read out the story of the woman with Arthritis who never believed she could be healed because of doctor’s report – You Can’t Receive from God without Faith]
The Holy Spirit Prompts, But You Must Respond Too many people think that God’s healing power is just going to move on them and make them do something whether they want to do it or not, or whether they cooperate with His power or not. No, that would not be the Holy Spirit; that would be an evil spirit instead. The Holy Spirit never forces or drives you to do anything. He only urges and prompts you and it’s up to you to respond and do something. It’s up to you whether or not to obey. Kenneth Hagin laid his hands and prayed for a woman to receive the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost indeed came upon the woman but she would not respond by speaking. This he did again but the result was the same. He mentioned that he knew exactly what was wrong with the woman. She was asked to read the portion of scripture in Acts 2:4 and the emphasis was on "....and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." . You see, this woman believed she was filled with the Holy Ghost, the main hindrance to her speaking in other tongue as one of the signs of being filled with the Holy Ghost is that she had always believed that it was the Holy Ghost that did the speaking. She was asked to read another scripture in Acts 10:44-46, in order to encourage her faith and she was filled with the Holy Ghost.
Faith Is Cooperating With God [Read Testimony of a man who had been burned over the lower part of his body and had been unable to walk]. We can only cooperate with God through our belief in His ability. We can understand this better through the principle of buoyancy [explain]. Faith, you see, is acting on God's word; doing what-ever He says to do in the Word or whatever He may say to us to do by the Holy Spirit. God can't help folks who won't cooperate with Him. But we need to get this fact; faith is giving substance to things hoped for. Faith will eventually bring into reality what you hoped for - The Finished Work! If You Believe, You Will Act The best definition of faith is this: IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL ACT. This also relates to God's word. If we believe God's Word, we will act as though it's true. Act on Your Faith for Healing Kenneth Hagin said that people want healing for their bodies and that he can tell then just exactly how to get it. The answer is in Acts 14:8-10. Paul perceived that this impotent man had faith to be healed; yet the man was still sitting there crippled until he acted on his faith. The real truth is, every believer has faith to be healed. Someone said, "If sick folks have faith, they are going to be healed". Oh no, that's wrong, because there's nowhere in the bible where it says, "If you just have faith, you'll be healed". But the moment you begin to act on the faith that you do have, your faith will be work and you will be healed. Yes, the devil will contest you every inch of the way. But if you keep on acting in faith, you will manifest the healing.
Conclusion If you can't get people to receive and act on God's word, there is no way that you or even God can help them. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). you've heard the word. Faith is acting on the Word that you've heard. It is you who must act on the Word, so get ready and act now. Contributor: Leye Olayiwola Tuesday, July 16 2013
Introduction We thank God for leading us to focus on the study of faith which is one of the prerequisites for walking in signs and wonders this year. We started with the study of the name of Jesus and we have been blessed by great revelations from the word of God. The summary of our studies can be found in Col. 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” The understanding of the name of Jesus sets the foundation for our journey into the mystery of Faith. Faith is one of the fruit of the spirit (Gal.5:22-23). It is one of the very natures of God. Since we are partakers of God’s divine nature (2Pet.1:4) then, living by faith is a must for our relationship with God.
1) What is Faith? : Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” a) Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.- Martin L.King Jr.
b) Faith is making the Words of God the main determining factor for every action you take, and remaining at peace whether you know the outcome or not.. Web definition
The NIV stated that “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” Moffatt's translation of this verse reads: "Now faith means that we are confident of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see."
The definition of faith will not be well rounded without understanding the relationship between hope and faith. Faith is giving substance to the things hoped for. Hope is not faith and faith is not hope.
2) The Difference Between Faith and Hope: Hope is a great thing and it is also a key part of faith. But Hope alone has no certainty; but with faith comes certainty. It is this certainty (trust) that says to a mountain “move” and it will move! Without the certainty that God will do what he promises, the great acts of faith we see in the Bible would never have happened. Faith gives us the confidence to act on Gods promises… hope alone does not. Hope is future tense. Thank God we do have a Blessed Hope. The Blessed Hope of the Church is the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saved dead, the rapture of the living saints, the hope of heaven, and the hope of seeing our loved ones and friends. Thank God for that hope. We rejoice in that hope, but that's all future tense. Jesus is coming again, whether we believe it or not. Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” From this verse of scripture, we see that we must have HOPE to have FAITH. There is no faith without hope. But you don’t have to have faith to have hope. We know what we hope for, but that’s only the first part of having faith… we have to be “… certain of what [we] do not see.” Faith requires both parts! Substituting hope for faith is like trying to win a race without crossing the finish line… you have to start and finish. The power is not in starting the race… anyone can do that. The power is in finishing. This is why faith is so difficult.
3) Changing Hope to Faith To Receive Miracle: Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Faith is giving substance ... to things hoped for." The journey of faith starts at the door of hope. Mark 5:21 “For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” The hope of a miraculous healing made the woman to seek out for Jesus; believing that touching Jesus’s garmet would heal her was an “activator” of her faith and when she acted on her faith (by leaving her house and going ahead to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment) she received her miracle!
4) To receive, we need faith – not hope!
A look at the hall of faith Read Hebrews 11 verses 1-40
· It was through faith the people of old subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, and stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again and the walls of Jericho fell down.
Notice how faith always inspired fearless action! Hope doesn’t do that… only faith does. That’s why “…certainty in what you do not see” is so important. The certainty of faith removes all fear, and doubt… something that simple hope cannot.
Here are a few encounters:
We only receive when we pray in FAITH!
Conclusion The study of faith is a very wide subject that will require extensive search for deeper understanding and revelation. We thank God for His generals like Kenneth E. Hagin who did extensive studies on the subject of Faith in his life time. This study was extracted from his book; Faith Bible Study Guide.
Contributors: Alex Alajiki & Isekhua Evborokhai Thursday, March 14 2013
Introduction: ??But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.. and they shall walk and not faint''. Isa 40: 31. After few weeks of break in our teaching, I believe this scripture should be our experience as we continue in our journey into walking in the miraculous. A quick recap of what we have learnt will be of immense help to today's topic- Reigning by the Name.
In the Origin of The Name, we should remember this quote: ?'Men obtain great names in three ways. Some men are born to a great name, a King for instance. Others make their name great by their achievements. Still others have a great name conferred upon them''. The name Jesus is great because it came by all three means; By Inheritance- Heb 1: 1-6; By Bestowal- Phil 2: 9-11 and By Conquest- Eph 1: 20, 21, Col 2: 15. In Authority in His Name, reference was made to Kenneth E. Hagin's statement in "The Believer's Authority" that ??the value of our authority rests on the power that is behind our authority! The devil and his forces are obliged to recognize our authority! We, as believers can therefore exercise His authority and face the enemy fearlessly'' Today we shall be considering the topic- Reigning by the Name from our text. Roman 5: 17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Adam's offence: One man's offence in the passage refers to the first Man- Adam. His offence was the sin of disobedience. Consequently he died a spiritual death (which is the nature of Satan, this manifest in the likes of hatred, lying, poverty, and sickness. When Adam lost his dominion, all such of evil took toll on mankind. Man lost his throne. Satan began to reign.
Abundance of Grace and the Gift of Righteousness: The nature of God is love. He expresses this to mankind by the offering of Jesus for the atonement of our sin; restore man back to his original position as it was in Gen 1: 26. As many that receive this abundance of grace according to John 1: 12 receive the gift of righteousness and shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. Now looking at the Amplified translation and several others, translate that, ??reign as kings in life''. One may be quick to ask: "What are we to reign over?" Circumstances, diseases, sickness, sin, hatred and everything else that is of the devil; those things will not dominate us. We are to dominate them. Think of this; someone who lives in Buckingham Palace goes through life with nothing much to eat, is sick, and emaciated. Can they be regarded as one who reigns in life? No, they would not. Why? Because, although they live in the Palace of the Queen of Great Britain; they have not experienced the benefits of the palace. The more we give place to the entrance of His words, chew it, regurgitate it, ruminate on its truths that we actually begin to reign in life by Christ Jesus.
The Place of Thanksgiving and Our Inheritance In our second text; Colossians 1: 12, 13 "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Apostle Paul is talking about giving thanks unto God the Father for something that belongs to us right now. God Has made us able to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Saints (Blood washed, redeemed) inherited something. Our Inheritances are: Deliverance from the power and authority of darkness In other words He Has delivered us from Satan's authority; from demons, from sickness, from diseases, from poverty. In actual fact, God Has delivered us from everything that belongs to Satan. ??God Has rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His Beloved Son'' GWT. Another Translation says, ??He Has taken us out from under the control and the dominion of darkness.'' Instead of Satan's reigning over us, we are to reign over him. Many times Spirit-filled Christians are ruled and dominated by the devil, circumstances, and everything else of this world. They ought to be happy and joyous, filled with life and light.
Conclusion: Let's rise up and take advantage of what belongs to us. How is it we are going to reign? We are to reign by the Name Christ Jesus. Contributor: Martins Olubiyi Thursday, March 14 2013
Introduction When Jesus was teaching His disciples He made them to understand that the only way to get the best out of the Father is through His (Jesus') name. Considering the following bible verses we see exactly what he was trying to teach them which are good examples we can learn from.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
What does it means to act in another person's name? A name serves as a tag that helps to identify who we are; our reputation, authority personality and character. That is why the bible refers a good name to be better than great riches. When we act in another's person's name we are excising two things
1. The authority of the other person in whose name we are acting on 2. We come in the stead of him who sent us. Based on this we are treated as if we that person.
That's why when David came to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45 "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."
He came unto Goliath in the name of the Lord and not in his own power or authority but that of the Lord. And the rest as we know was victory.
Reason why the name will work for us Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
We have been adopted into the family of God as children. We have been accepted in the beloved. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We share in the same inheritance. The Father looks upon the redeemed as if He were looking on His Son Jesus Christ.
It is the greatest of all blessings that Christ has told us to approach the Father in His own name. We are totally undeserving to come to the Father but when we will come to the father in the name of His son it means that we come to the Father with the knowledge that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and it is the confidence that Jesus has sent us to the Father. He grants our request not for who we are but because we have come His sons name.
Romans 8:32 emphases this truth "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
If He did not withhold His own Son from me and also promised not to withhold any good thing from me then I can only ask for these things in the name of His Son.
The bible commands us to come boldly. So in our prayers nothing can stop us and if anything dares try to ask us on the way in, "What are you doing here?".We can boldly answer, "We have come in the name of Jesus." And by this command our heavenly Father is compelled to treat us as He would His own Son because we come in His stead. We represent the Son when we come to the Father.
Conclusion In conclusion "in Jesus' name can become a meaningless phrase if we don't apply the right heart attitude. We should realize that the benefits of His are far fetched until we rightly apply the name of Jesus. God Bless you!!!
Contributor: Clem Roberts Thursday, January 31 2013
Introduction: Last week we continued in our study by looking at the authority in the name of Jesus, the meaning of authority, the connection between the name of Jesus and authority and the fact that authority in His name commands the supernatural. We concluded that Jesus confers His authority to us because He knows we will have need of it for a victorious Christian living. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the use of our delegated authority as satan thrives on ignorance.
His name our Surname In Rev. 3:8 Jesus commends the church for keeping both his word and his name." It is apparent that God wants us to know him by name for his name represents to us who He is and in Rev. 2:13 He commended the Church in Pergamum: "I know your works and where you dwell, even where Satan's throne is: and you hold fast my name, and have not denied my faith, even in those days when Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells" A Christian must know his status, his authority and his rights IN CHRIST. Satan always yields to the commands of a child of God who knows his position and God always confirms His Word with signs and wonders following that believer "that the eyes of our hearts may be opened, that we may know the exceeding greatness of His ability on our behalf..." (Eph. 1:17-23). To pray in the name of Jesus, is to take ownership of that which he has given to us as His bride and representatives on earth and as such we are united with Him and His purpose.
Jesus gave His authority to those who believe in him. It gives us God's power to fight spiritual warfare and do God's work on earth Amen," (Mk. 16:17-20). Jesus is the only name in which salvation is found (Acts 4:12) and gave the Church the power of attorney to use His Name. The disciples are commissioned to go and bear fruit; and they are given a legal right to use the Name of Jesus and to have the same authority that Jesus exercised in His earthly walk: John 16:23-24,26.
In Acts 5:27-28 - The high priest, all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees knew they were combating a "force" that they had never met before. Jesus, they had crucified, but His Name was more powerful! His name was working wonders and none could arrest His name or wrest it from his disciples. When you know how to take full possession of His name you will be a wonder in your world, you will be strong and do exploits. Acts 4:18,19 "And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, judge you"
What does it mean when Jesus gives us power in His Name--the free use of it--with assurance that whatever we ask in His Name will be given to us? (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26). Jesus solemnly gives to all who are His, a general and unlimited power to use His Name at all times. He could trust us with His interests and that His honour would be safe in our hands. Do not take His name in vain.
The free use of someone else's name is always a token of great confidence and close union. Someone who gives his name to another stands aside to let that person act for him. Someone who takes the name of another gives up his own as of no value. When I go in the name of another, I deny myself. I take not only the name of another, but himself and what he is, instead of myself and what I am.
Peter at the beautiful gate despite having no silver or gold he knew he had the name of Jesus which is more valuable than silver and gold.
Do you know you have his name as your possession? Do you fully understand what Jesus has accomplished on the cross? Colossians 2:10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. As a believer you must understand the mystery of Christ, His name, person, office, and grace.
According to Kenneth Hagin "Charles Spurgeon (1834-92), noted English Baptist preacher, told this personal experience. He was called to the home of an elderly woman who was bedfast. Malnutrition was about to take her physical life. During his visit, Spurgeon noticed a framed document on the wall. He asked the woman, "Is this yours?" She said it was, and explained that she had worked as a maid in the household of some of the English nobility. "Before Lady So-and-so died," the woman said, "she gave that to me. I served her for nearly half a century. I've been so proud of it because she gave it to me. I had it framed. It's been hanging on the wall ever since she died 10 years ago." Mr. Spurgeon asked, "Would you allow me to take it and have it examined more closely?" "Oh, yes," said the woman, who never learned to read, "just be sure to see I get it back." Spurgeon took it to the authorities. They had been looking for it. It was a bequest. The English noblewoman had left her maid a home and money. She lived in a little one-room house built out of wooden boxes and was starving to death?yet she had hanging on the wall a document that authorized her to be well cared for and to live in a fine house. The money was gathering interest. It belonged to her. Spurgeon helped her get it, but it didn't do her as much good as it could have earlier. I think that is indicative of what has happened to much of the church world. We live in a little run-down shanty? spiritually speaking?while lying on a table somewhere is the New Covenant. We're proud of it. But we've never taken the time to find out what it says belongs to us"
The devil has deceived the majority of Christians and kept them ignorant of the power in the name and the right to use it. To effectively use His name you must know what it entails and how to use it by studying the word, obeying and living by the word. The name is not a magic wand.
CONCLUSION When the Lord Jesus went to heaven, He left His work--the management of His Kingdom on earth--in the hands of His servants. He also gave them His Name to draw all the supplies they need for advancing the kingdom. We have the spiritual power to use the Name of Jesus only as far as we yield ourselves to live only for the interests and the work of the Master. The use of the Name always supposes the surrender of our interests to Him Whom we represent. All the authority and all the power that is in Jesus is in His Name and He has given the name to the Church. He said "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matt. 16:18-19 The name of Jesus belongs to you when you marry Him, it will not work for people dating God. Christ is the bridegroom and you as His bride automatically possess His name, can represent Him and co-owns all that belongs to Him. His name has been freely given to you.
Contributor: Esther Alajiki Thursday, January 31 2013
INTRODUCTION: Last week, we continued in our journey into walking in the miraculous by gaining understanding of the origin of the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We concluded that He obtained the great Name, Jesus by Inheritance: Hebrews 1:1-6 "......hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name.....", by Bestowal: Philippians 2:9-11 "Wherefore God has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name....", and finally by Conquest: Ephesians 1:20-21 "which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly....". We concluded last week that knowledge of the origin of the Name will enhance our walk in the original dominion God intended for us.
This week, we will be looking at how we can walk effectively in this dominion, through Authority in the Name of Jesus Christ.
1. Meaning of Authority The words, Power and Authority are sometimes used interchangeably in the New Testament. The word Power is translated from the Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) from several different words. In O.T.: Koach - Strength; Force; Ability to do something (Exodus 15:6 & 32:11) In N.T.: Dunamis - in reference to God: Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62; of Christ:1 Corinthians 1:24; the Gospel: Romans 1:16 Exousia - freedom of action, right to act; Luke 12:5, Ephesians 3:10 Ischus - ability, force, strength; 2 Thessalonials 1:9 Kratos - power; 1 Timothy 6:16, Hebrews 2:14
The word Authority is translated from the Greek word exousia denoting ability or strength that one is endued or given. We see that this word is used somewhat interchangeably in the New Testament meaning power or authority depending on its context. Summarily, Power is the ability or force to accomplish something and Authority is the right to carry it out. Authority is delegated power! Example - Uniformed Personnel and a very strong person.
2. Connection Between the Name of Jesus & Authority "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." [Revelations 1:18]
In classical Greek, key (kleis (noun), kleio (verb)) described keys, as well as a bar, a catch, or a bolt. It also carried the idea of authority (the ability to "open and close" something. A general summary for the word key in the scripture is a "symbol of authority." We can therefore conclude from the above explanations that the one who has the key is the authorised one. Jesus is saying here, "I am the authorised one." He has authority - the right to carry out!
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," [Matthew 28:18-19]
"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." [Mark 16:17-18]
Jesus Christ delegated His authority in the earth to the Church (You and I) by commanding us to Go therefore. Not only this, He also gave us His name as the authority. He's commanded us to exercise authority in my Name. In his book, The Believers Authority, Kenneth. E. Hagin mentioned that the value of our authority rests on the power that is behind that authority. God Himself is the power behind our authority! The devil and his forces are obliged, therefore, to recognise our authority! We, as believers, can therefore exercise this authority and face the enemy fearlessly!
Policemen who direct traffic during the rush hour just raise their hands and the cars stop. These men dont have the physical power to stop the vehicles if the drivers choose not to stop. But guess what, they dont use their own strength to stop traffic; they are strong in the authority that is invested in them by the government they serve. People recognise that authority and stop their cars. blessed be God, there's authority that's vested in us by the Lord Jesus Christ!
When a uniformed personnel goes to make an arrest, he or she simply declares that the offendant is under arrest. If asked to show any arrest warrant, the arrester just simply shows document which authorises him to make the arrest! We have the warrant to carry out Jesus's authority here on earth, hallelujah! The authority is in His Name! He gave us the name that is above every name. He gave us the name that is recognised in three worlds - the Name that has authority in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Angels, men, and demons have to bow at that Name - and that Name belongs to us. We have the Authority to use that Name, Hallulujah!!!
"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." [Philippians 2:9-11]
"which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come." [Ephesians 1:20-21]
3. Authority In His Name commands The Supernatural According to Mark 16:17-18, Jesus Christ promised that the supernatural signs mentioned (new tongues, taking up serpents and you can add to the list) will accompany the believers. We became born again through His name. By believeing in His name. There is no other Name given under heaven whereby we must be saved (acts 4;12).
Blessed be God, the Name of Jesus does belong to us today! And thank God, that Name not only carry salvation, the Name enwraps all the power, all the majesty, and all the glory it ever did. Remember that the name of a person, stands for the person. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father on high (the seat of power), far above every known authority. His name has all authority, all the power, all the dignity, all the majesty and all the glory that Jesus the Person has. We will discuss how the name of Jesus healed Lazarus (Smith Wigglesworth) and the Girl with convulsion (16 Year Old Leader of the Full Gospel)
Conclusion In conclusion, the Lord Jesus Christ confers His authority to us because He knows we will have need of it for victorious christian living. Imagine if the uniformed men refuse or are ignorant to use their delegated authorities? They would have made a shipreck of their authorities and been seriously injured in the process. The bible says;
"lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." [2 Corinthians 2:11]
Satan thrives on ignorance. We must not only be knowledgeable of our authority in Jesus Christ, we must use and enforce our Authority in His Name!
Contributor: Leye Olayiwola Wednesday, January 23 2013
Introduction: Last week we started off our journey into walking in the miraculous by understanding the name Jesus - the name by which the miraculous happens. We looked at the meaning (Jehovah is salvation), the significance, the content and implication of the name Jesus. Today, we will consider the origin of the name - how He obtained this great name! There are examples of people who were self-acclaimed. The Roman emperor Domitian became power drunk and decreed himself to be god demanding to be addressed as dominus et deus (master and god) in AD 81. Idi Amin came into power in 1971 as the Ugandan president and decreed himself Field Marshall! But Kenyon writes: "Men obtain great names in three ways. Some men are born to a great name?a king, for instance. Others make their name great by their achievements. Still others have a great name conferred upon them." The name Jesus is great because it came by all three means. · He inherited a great Name. · His achievements were great. · His Father conferred it upon Him. Let us consider one after the other how, when and why Jesus obtained this great name. 1. By Inheritance Hebrews 1:1-6 "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. Jesus inherited a "more excellent name than they." He inherited a greater Name than any angelic being. As Son, He is heir of all things. He is "the express image" of God. He is "the brightness of the Father. He is God speaking to us. And He "by inheritance obtained a more excellent name." When did He inherit it? Not in heaven before He came to this earth, because He already had everything. Not when He came to the earth, because the Philippians 2:7 says that He stripped Himself of all honour and glory. Hebrews 1:4, 5 These verses tell us when He inherited this more excellent Name. It was when God said to Him, "Thou art my son, THIS DAY have I begotten thee" This day! That's when it happened?the day He was begotten. When was Jesus begotten? When He was raised up! On that Resurrection morning "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." Acts 13:33 Emphasis mine We will not be able to understand the authority in the Name of Jesus until we understand this fact that Jesus went down to hell and satisfied the claims of Justice on the behalf of each one of us, because He died as our substitute. 2. By Bestowal "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things [beings} in heaven, and things [beings] in earth, and things (beings] under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." ?Philippians 2:9-11
The second is by bestowal; God gave Him a Name, which is above every Name. Let us imagine for a moment that God had a Name (known in heaven, unknown elsewhere), and this Name was kept to be conferred upon someone who would merit it: and Jesus came down to earth and made himself of no reputation, became a servant, God became like men. He then humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He therefore merited and was given this Name, and at this Name every knee shall bow in the three worlds?Heaven, Earth, and Hell?and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord of the three worlds to the glory of God, the Father. Paul praying for the Church at Ephesus in Ephesians 1:18-20 prayed that the eyes of their spirit would be enlightened to truths they would never be able to figure out in their heads. God not only gave him a Name before which every being in the three worlds must bow and confess His lordship, but God seated Him in the highest place in the universe, at His own right hand, and made Him to be head over all things. Why did was the name given to us? 1. To use that Name against our enemy (the Devil and his cohorts). Mark 16:17 2. To use it in our petitions. John 14:13-14 3. To use it in our praises and worship. Luke 4:8
Finally, we will consider the third means by which Jesus obtained His Great Name. 3. By Conquest In Paul's prayer for the Church, he stated that God had raised Christ from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenlies, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named "(Eph. 1:20,21). By His conquest of these principalities, powers, might, and dominions, Jesus obtained that Name! Colossians 2:15 says: "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it" These are the same principalities and powers spoken of in Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual "wickedness in high places" The principalities and powers we wrestle against are the same ones that He overcame, No wonder He said, "In my Name they will cast out demons"! The conquest that Jesus made of the devil, of sin, of sickness and disease is wrapped up in the Name. The Name, when we use it, will bring into reality in our lives what Jesus has already accomplished. We need to be well aware of the authority invested in that Name Colossians 1:13 "Who hath delivered us from the power [authority] of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." After spoiling the principalities and powers, putting them to nought, overcoming them and defeating them, He delivered us from the "power of darkness." Satan has no authority to dominate the Christian or the Church. Conclusion When we know this truth, that the name is not a self-acclaimed name, and know that the Name has been given to us. When we recognize the power and authority embedded in this name and the completeness it offers; then we can indeed walk in the original dominion God intended for man in the Garden of Eden; dominion over all of creation including the Devil and his agents.
Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai Wednesday, January 23 2013
Introduction: The final days of anyone on earth are always days of handing over precious information to the next generation. When Jesus knew that He was coming close to His passion, He met with His disciples for the last supper, washed the disciples' feet and Judas Iscariot finally left the company of the disciples. Jesus begins His parting address to His disciples. It was the intimate fellowship around the table and Christ proclaimed the new commandment, that they should love one another (Chpt 13). He comforted their hearts by telling them that He was to go to prepare a place for them; He had shown Himself to be the revelation of God the Father. He had given them a vision of their coming task: the greater works that they should accomplish. Then, as if coming to the heart of His message, as indicative of how these greater works should be accomplished, he solemnly speaks these words, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14). We learn from John 16:24, that the disciples had asked nothing in the name of Jesus up to this time. It was a new command; a new challenge; a new revelation. The statement was clear. There was only one condition: "in my name." There is no greater revelation concerning prayer, nor a greater challenge to enter into and claim God's promise than in this verse. Here, then, is the key to prevailing prayer. But what did Christ mean by asking "in my name"? 1) The meaning of the name of Jesus: Isa. 9:6, Matt.1:21 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." "And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." "Jesus" is an English rendering of the Greek name Iēsous(Joshua), which is a translation of the ancient Hebrew Yehoshua[Yeshua (ישוע)]. This name is formed from Hebrew roots signifying "Jehovah is salvation" and is translated in our English Old Testament as "Joshua." The name of Jesus is infinitely glorious because of it significance and content.
a) The Hebrew meaning of Jesus is "Jehovah is salvation". Salvation is available to all only by His name. Act 4:12 b) The angel proclaimed His name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
a) His name shall be called Wonderful (Isa.29:14) b) His name shall be called Counselor (Jhn.14:26) c) His name shall be called the mighty God (Jhn.1:1) d) His name shall be called the everlasting Father (Heb.1:2) e) His name shall be called the Prince of Peace (Jhn.14:27)
2) The Implications of His name. Jhn.1413,14 "And whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." When an individual does something in the name of another, it indicates union which may be of different kinds. Andrew Murray pointed out that this union may take three different lines: legal union, family union and marriage or love union.
Contributor: Alex Alajiki |
