Through Faith (Part 2)

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Tuesday July 7, 2009

Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV)
1. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2. This is what the ancients were commended for. 3. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

As we saw yesterday, FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE of what we hope for!! Your faith in God IS that thing you asked for in prayer, that you are claiming in Jesus' Name!! Your FAITH IS the substance of it!!

So how do we exercise our faith?? How do we make the spiritual blessings that are already ours a physical reality??
The same way we did when we got saved!!

Romans 10:9,10 (NIV)
9. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Verse 10 tells us the principle of faith by which we received our initial salvation and were born again. It's with your heart that you believe, and its with your mouth that you confess AND ARE SAVED! The King James says "with the mouth confession is made UNTO SALVATION!"

In other words, your salvation isn't there until you SPEAK WITH YOUR MOUTH! In the case of receiving the new birth, it is by confessing with your mouth "Jesus is Lord!"

But the word "salvation" in verse 10 is "soteria", which means "rescue or safety (physically or morally): deliver, health, salvation, save, saving."

That means that it is also with your mouth that you confess unto SAFETY, DELIVERANCE, and HEALING as well!!!
You could state the principle as: With your heart you believe, and with your mouth you confess unto (whatever it is you're standing in faith for)!!

I've found over the last 25 years or so of my personal ministry-- especially when it comes to healing-- that the problem people have receiving the blessings of God are almost always in the SPEAKING part and not in the BELIEVING part!!
Therefore the SPEAKING part is what I emphasize whenever I talk about faith.

Once you are born again, you're already a "believer". Believing is what you DO! Unfortunately, the church as a whole has failed miserably at teaching Christians the importance of their WORDS!

I have actually heard people complain about how they "didn't receive something" when they stood in faith!! I always tell them as nicely as I can, that if they were standing on God's Word scripturally, they simply gave up too soon! There is simply no possibility of God's Word ever failing! If it did, God would have to be called out as a liar!

As I go on talking with the person it always becomes evident that the speaking part is where the problem was. A spirit of faith SPEAKS in faith:

2 Corinthians 4:13 (NIV)
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak

If you talk with someone long enough, you can always locate a person's faith by their words! Romans 10:10 told us that it's with the HEART that we believe and are justified. Then Matthew 12:34 tells us that out of the overflow of the HEART the mouth speaks!

Matthew 12:33-37 (NIV)
33. "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
36. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Many people believe that if you somehow "skim off the top" of what someone says, that must be what the person believes... but Jesus said that the mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart! In other words, the words that come out of your mouth come from your HEART! Out of the overflow of the heart is WHEN the mouth speaks!! Otherwise Jesus couldn't have said in verse 37 that we are acquitted or condemned by our words!

The easiest thing in the world for a Christian to do is believe God's Word. Often, the hardest thing for a Christian to do is to HOLD FAST his confession of faith without wavering:

Hebrews 4:14 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess (speak).

Why would the Bible tell us to hold fast our profession if there wasn't something invisible that we needed to believe in??
The Bible tells us to hold fast our profession of faith because FAITH REQUIRES IT!!

James 1:5-8 (NIV)
5. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8. he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

When we ask God for something in a prayer of faith, it doesn't just happen instantly, it takes time to manifest in the physical realm. Therefore we must BELIEVE we HAVE received what we asked for even though we can't see it!!

Mark 11:23,24 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
23. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you HAVE received it, and it WILL BE yours."

Notice how you are first supposed to believe you HAVE received (past tense), and then it WILL BE yours (future tense!)

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your life-giving Word. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to redeem me from the curse of the law. Thank You for making me a joint heir with Christ, even though I could never do anything to deserve such a thing. Help me to remember the blessings that are already mine, so I can take hold of them by faith.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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