Tag Archives: Old Testament

Faith

7 Reasons Why Your Faith Must Be Based On God’s Word For It To Work

How potent is your faith? Many Christians are struggling to have their faith produce the results they desire. Some Christians are even wondering whether “this faith thing” is real. It is real; however, their problem may be that their faith is not on the right foundation, which is the word of God. This article gives the reasons why your faith must be based on God’s word for your faith to work.

 

My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips – Psalms 89:34 (NKJV).

 

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God – Romans 10:17 (NKJV).

 

Christianity is called the “Faith”. Faith describes our Christian walk with God. We are saved by faith and we live by faith. Therefore, for you to make it as a Christian your faith must work; otherwise, you will be constantly defeated by the enemy when you’re only to reach out for victory (Already given to you by Jesus) by faith.

 

What is faith?

 

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is acting on God’s word. It is putting the word of God above situations and issues of life. It is believing the word of the Lord as being the absolute truth and holding on to it till it overcomes.

 

Therefore, it means that where there is no word of God, there will be no potent faith. God’s word is the foundation on which your faith can work. So, you must have faith in the word of the Lord.

 

Why Your faith must be based on God’s Word

 

1. Faith comes by hearing the word of God

 

Your faith is built up as you hear the word: while studying the word, listening to anointed messages or reading anointed books. It doesn’t come by being current with the happenings around you, rather what comes on you most of the time is fear (Faith in the devil). As you hear the Lord speak to you through the above channels, your faith grows to believe Him to do what He had said He would do.

 

2. God does nothing outside His word

 

The Lord has no plans of breaking His covenant or altering what has gone out of His mouth. He will not change His words for any reason or anybody whatsoever. Whatever you want Him to do for you must be in line with what He had said in His word. Therefore, for you to get the Lord’s attention, your faith must be based on His word.

 

3. God watches over His word to perform it

 

The Lord is not moved by our circumstances or tears per se, but He is always moved by faith in His word. He watches to see you exercise faith in His word for Him to perform it in your life. This is why two people may be crying out to Him for help, one will be answered and the other will not be answered. One is exercising faith on what God had said and the other is not.

 

4. God hears us only when we pray according to His word

 

The scriptures state that when the Lord hears you, your answer is sure. However, He will only hear you when you pray according to His will, which is His word. The language God understands is His word. Anything outside His word, He will not understand. If He doesn’t understand you, you have not communicated at all, and so you will not get an answer from Him.

 

5. Having faith in God’s word is having faith in God

 

The Lord cannot be separated from His word. He is His word. So you can’t claim to have faith in God when you don’t believe in His word. The word reveals the Lord to you. The more of God’s word you know and believe, the more you’ll have faith in Him.

 

6. The word of God will never fail

 

Whatever the Father says must come to pass, it must accomplish what He pleases and must prosper in the thing for which He sent it. His word is not permitted to return to Him void. Even, if it remains one more second, faith in His word must produce His desire.

 

7. God’s word endures forever

 

Every other thing may pass away, including heaven and earth, but the word of the Lord will not pass away. Whatever, God said will surely come to pass whether you like it or not, believe it or not. Most of the things He said in the Old Testament have come to pass already; whatever remains will also happen as He had said. This should boost your faith in His word because what He said concerning your issue, if you hold on to it till the end, it will surely come to pass.

 

Abraham (Romans 4:16-21)

 

Abraham had a word from the Lord that He would give him a son from Sarah. He held on to this word for 25 years before Isaac was born. People must have mocked him and tried to deflate his faith, but he refused to allow them to shake his faith in that word he heard from God. He was fully persuaded that God who had promised was able to do as He had said. He chose to give the Lord all the glory, praising Him, instead of entertaining doubt. Surely, God visited Sarah as He had said and at the time He had spoken.

 

In conclusion, a Christian can never do without the word of God. It is the base on which your faith can work. Therefore, choose to study the word as much as you can daily and act on them to have your desired answers. The word of the Lord is the food for your redeemed spirit and for the growth of your faith. Apply yourself to it and your testimonies will never end.

 

Ngozi Nwoke is a teacher, speaker, counselor and author of “Peace Money Can’t Buy” and “The Man Jesus: What You Need to Know About Christ”. She has a passion to teach people how to enjoy peace, God’s love and christian living for more fulfilling life. Want more fulfilling life? Subscribe for free email updates today. http://stepswithgod.com

 

 

 

 

Faith

Keys to Effective Faith

Faith reaches into the realm of the spirit, grasps the promise of God and brings forth a tangible, physical fulfillment of that promise. ~ Gloria Copeland

Let’s talk about faith – the God kind of faith. He defines it as effective faith – faith that moves mountains.

The Apostle Paul knew a lot about faith. He wrote most of the New Testament letters and talks about faith in those Epistles more than 200 times. I’m guessing he has a lot for us to learn about the keys to effective faith.

You might remember that Paul (Saul) persecuted Christians, sanctioning their scourging and execution or imprisonment, prior to his spiritual transformation on the road to Damascus. When he discovered the truth of Jesus Christ, he also discovered the power of effective faith – absolute trust in the integrity and surety of God’s power, grace and mercy. He is the one who declared that God meets ALL your need; that God’s promises are sure, and faith is your connection to the manifestation of every promise.

In Philemon, Paul prayed that the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus (v. 6). Let’s take a deeper look into the wisdom of that scripture.

… the communication: Communication is a means of exchange or expression. Faith communicates. It is not stagnant or ineffective. It connects with, reveals, or causes a transfer of something.

We talk about communicating disease from one person to another. We are aware that our emotions communicate themselves to others. And we communicate verbally by sharing stories, ideas and concepts, warnings and information. You get the idea.

Faith communicates. On a physical level, you place your faith in people and circumstances. “I believe my mom is picking me up after school.” Or… “I trust my boss to pay me on Friday.”

On a spiritual level, faith communicates your trust in God and His Word. In Hebrews, Paul says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not [yet] seen (v. 11:1). Be assured, God wants to meet your needs, provide everything you require, and give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 34:7). Faith is the key that connects you to God’s heavenly supply.

… of your faith: Paul said in Romans that God gave every man the measure of faith (v. 12:3). That means if you’re here on this earth, faith is in you and available, ready to be put to work. Later, in Ephesians, he noted that we should all come into the unity of the faith and… the measure of the fullness of Christ (v. 4:13). If you’re going to ‘come’ to something, you must not be there yet. In other words, you’re going to have to grow and develop your faith until it is strong and unshakeable – just like Jesus’.

Jesus never met a disease or situation that He couldn’t heal or change. He fed thousands, healed lepers, calmed storms and raised the dead. After He defeated Satan, He affirmed His resurrection to His disciples and sent the Holy Spirit to live in every born-again believer.

Why? So that we would have access to the same kind of faith-power that He did. He explained it this way: Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believes in Me, the works that I do he [you] shall do also; and greater works than these shall he [you] do, because I go unto My Father (John 14:12). He expects us – you and me – to develop our faith to the point where we expect miracles to happen as a result of our prayers.

… may become effectual: Effectual – effective, producing the desired result. If you’re not seeing the results you want, something’s not working right. Face the fact that God is not the problem. He’s already provided everything, every promise and every instruction that you need. Somewhere along the line, your faith is being hindered. It’s not making a clear, strong connection.

If you’ve ever tried to make a cell phone call in the mountains or some rural area, you know the chances are pretty good that the trees and hills are going to block your reception. You need to find out what’s blocking your faith-connection – and fix it.

Often, faith is weakened by a lack of faith-food. You may not be spending enough time studying and meditating in The Word of God. It’s easy to let the cares and responsibilities of daily life crowd out time with God. Jesus taught as much in the parable of the sower. He said they choke the Word, and [faith] becomes unfruitful (Matt. 13:22). Faith needs nurtured and fed, watered by The Word, to become strong and effective.

Sadly, most people won’t do that. They’d rather hope that God will just ‘fix it’ – wave a magic wand, so to speak, and make it all better. Miracles do happen, but they are usually triggered by someone’s faith. Everything God does on this earth is a result of faith and grace. Paul explained in Romans that it [whatever ‘it’ you are believing or hoping for] is of faith, that it might be given by grace [why?] so that the promise might be sure to all the seed (v. 4:16). The promise is ‘sure’, confirmed, absolute from God’s side. Are you willing to do what it takes to develop your faith to make a strong connection?

… by the acknowledging of every good thing: One way to develop your faith is to recognize and acknowledge the good that is already present in your life. You need to know and admit that whatever good comes your way, it’s from God. He’s the Master behind it all! His good plan incorporates every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) – from the smallest to the greatest.

The question is: how grateful are you? Do you take time throughout the day to say ‘thank you’ to your Heavenly Father, to acknowledge His hand in your life? Are you grateful for running water… or the fact that you can get out of bed in the morning. If you don’t have those particular blessings, what else can you be grateful for?

It’s easy to get your thoughts tangled up in the negatives. Your whole body might feel just fine, but if you have a hangnail, the only thing you notice is the pain in your fingertip. For your faith to be effective, however, you need to focus on the positives and be ‘eternally’ grateful. In every thing give thanks… (I Thess. 5:18). No matter what you’re going through, find the ‘good thing’ you can be thankful for. Keeping your mind on things which are above (Col. 3:2)is key to developing effective faith.

… which is in you in Christ Jesus: Here’s the bottom line. Whatever you need or desire, as long as it’s in line with God’s Word (I assume you’re not praying for an infinite supply of drugs, or for God to hurt someone), the promise is accessible in you! The Bible says that Christ is in you. You carry the seed of faith, love, peace, abundance and every good thing. Now, you need to grow that seed!

Just before He died on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 10:30)What was? Everything He came to earth to do: to bring healing, deliverance, abundance, grace and mercy to every person. All He did during His earthly ministry would now carry forward into eternity. Old Testament verses that say ‘shall’ or ‘will’ became past tense with the death and resurrection of Christ! It is already done, as far as God is concerned.

You can have it all – every promise. Actually, you already have it- it is already in you! Jesus made the connection from heaven to earth. Now you need to use your faith to finish the connection.

Think of it this way. Electricity (power) is readily available at any outlet. But if you don’t plug in the toaster or laptop, you won’t have any power for your situation. No toast. No email.

Your faith ‘communicates’ with God, plugging in to the power of heaven. Study and meditate, then communicate your faith through prayer, praise, thanksgiving and affirmation. Stay with it until your faith overpowers every faith blocker, every doubt and fear. Then you will experience the results of effective faith and the fulfillment of every prayer.

For more information on developing life skills, better relationships, and becoming the best YOU possible, visit [http://seebecksolutions.com] and sign up to receive your FREE subscription to “Solutions For Success”, a weekly ezine of inspiration, motivation and humor from a Christian perspective.

Ruth Seebeck has built a reputation over the last three decades as a life-skills coach, mentor, Christian counselor and friend. She is a business owner, author, community volunteer and event coordinator whose passion is helping others overcome life’s challenges. Seebeck Solutions: Helping you make the most of What Matters Most!