Recently, the Lord impressed upon my spirit
that the Body of Christ is entering into a new spiritual phase that we need to have
faith like never before, just as in 1 John
5:4-5 (NKJV), “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the
victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes
the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Faith teachings have been taught by
faithful men and women of God for decades. Unfortunately, there have been misunderstandings
of the real meaning of Christian’s faith. Many believers have been imposed to
practice faith religiously and judge each other according to their own faith 'yardstick’. But the Lord said, "You are entering into a crucial time
where you will see victory and triumph only if you learn to practice not your
‘self-generated’ faith, but God’s faith!"
Hebrews
11:1-3 (NKJV) – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Christian’s faith is not just a religious
word or philosophy. In Hebrews 11, all the elders were counted
faithful (full of faith) because they stood firm not on their own faith (will)
but on the faith (will) of God. They were never presumptuous. From the lives of
these elders (see Hebrews chapter 11), one will discover that when God gave certain instructions
(Word) to His people, He gave them according to His desire (will), and He also has the ability
(faith) to accomplish them through these people. Thus, it is biblically sound
to conclude that: God’s Word = God’s will
= God’s faith.
Now, imagine a captain of an army troop comes
up with a strategy to ambush the enemy’s camp. All members in the troop risk
their lives to carry out their captain’s plan because they have faith on him. You
see, God who is the ‘Captain’ of your life is the ‘Source’ of faith. In fact, He
is an Almighty and Omnipotent God. So, you risk nothing following His Word/will
because His faith will never fail you.
Receive God’s faith by hearing
His Word
The Word of God is the Word of faith! When you hear God’s Word,
you hear His faith. Therefore, you receive God’s faith by hearing His Word
(His faith):
Romans 10:17(NKJV) – So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God.
(a) Receive God’s faith
through the preaching of God’s Word
One good example
is your salvation. When you accepted Jesus Christ after hearing the preaching of the
gospel, you received salvation by having faith on God’s will for you to be
saved (by His grace, see Ephesians 2:8). As Christians, your hearing of the teachings
by ministers of God helps you understand God’s faith for you. Many times, you
know God spoke to you through the preaching on Sundays or during Christian meetings/conferences. Those were times He was imparting His faith to you through the preachers/teachers!
(b) Receive God’s faith
through the meditation of God’s Word
God’s Word that covers
the 6 aspects of the anointing of Jesus Christ are for you because these are the main
reasons He came to this earth (see Luke 4:18). Scriptures that covers salvation (and redemption), restoration of heart and soul, renewal of mind, deliverance from
oppression and obsession, healing of the body, and providence of finance are
for you to meditate and proclaim for yourself. When you meditate on God’s Word,
it involves your eyes (seeing the written words of God), your mind
(contemplating and understanding the written words of God), your mouth
(uttering repetitively the written words of God), and your ears (hearing and
receiving the words of God through your own utterance). God’s faith for you is
that you are saved, restored, renewed, delivered, healed and to prosper. You
see, the devil is not afraid of you memorizing all the scriptures in the Bible
because he knows them well too (see Luke 4:9-11). But it freaks him out when God’s Word
becomes your value and God’s faith becomes your faith! Once you have
God’s faith, the devil loses all his influences and tactics of fear that he tries
to impose on you. So, receive God’s faith today by diligently meditating on the
Word of God!
(c) Receive God’s faith
through prophetic means
When God’s word
is revealed prophetically to deal with your real-life situation, you receive
the instant ‘boost’ and impartation of that ‘unshakable’ faith of God (see 1
Corinthians 14:24-25). You hear and receive God’s faith prophetically through
words of prophecy released by ministers of God, specific scriptures the Holy Spirit
leads you to read and apply, hearing God directly in the spirit or audibly, and
also through dreams and visions. You may seek God to speak and impart faith to
you through any of these prophetic means.
The gift of faith
1 Corinthians
12:9a, 11 (NKJV) – To another faith by the same Spirit…But one and the
same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He
wills.
The gift of faith is one of the nine spiritual gifts. The
Holy Spirit will distribute this spiritual gift (i.e. the gift of faith) to
individuals who are given the mandate by God to do certain things for the
expansion of His Kingdom. When God gives you a calling/mandate, He will give
you the grace (and enabling) and the gift of faith to function with it
(e.g. in breaking new spiritual grounds with evangelism/teachings to plant new
churches, in financing God’s ministries, etc). Therefore, when you follow God’s
guidance/blueprint for your ministry/business/life, you are doing things
according to His faith.
1 Corinthians 12:3-7 (NKJV) – Therefore I make known
to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no
one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities
of gifts but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but
the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the
same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given
to each one for the profit of all.
In the Body of
Christ, God allows personal uniqueness
according to one’s calling and gifting. No two ministries are exactly the same,
just as no two persons are exactly the same. So, among ministries and churches,
let’s not judge which ministries are doing better or which minister of God has
more faith than others by judging their outward performances. As long as they
are doing ministry according to God’s word/faith/will, God can use them for His
glory. Also, among brethren in Christ, let’s also not judge one another on
whether who has more faith or less faith in their Christian walk. God is the
only One who is all-knowing.
You see, Christian faith is not
‘self-made’, and cannot be generated by ‘self-discipline’ or ‘self-sacrifice’, otherwise
Jesus’ sacrifice for you on the cross would be in vain. Christian faith is
supernatural. It comes from heaven. As a Christian, you can have God’s faith
by receiving His faith (His word/will). And this faith of God can never
fail you because Jesus is your shield of faith (see Ephesians 6:16) and
He is also the Author and Finisher of your faith (see Hebrews 12:2). Amen.