“When God made his promise to Abraham since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith, even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Hebrews 11:8-12 NIV
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” Hebrews 11:17-19 NIV
God has never been driven by the needs of others. The world is full of the needy. If God was moved by pain and suffering then there would never be any on the earth. God isn’t moved by what we are going through; He’s moved by our reactions to what we are going through. Need doesn’t move God… faith moves God!
· Faith isn’t a feeling!
· Faith isn’t motivation.
· Faith isn’t how I shout.
· Faith is revealed in my actions. Words don’t prove faith! Actions prove my faith.
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” James 2:14 -18 NKJV
· Why faith?
· Why does God require faith?
· Why does God need us to use our faith?
· Why does He place such an important focus on faith?
I’m sure you have asked these questions at least once in your life. I have asked myself these questions many times. Faith is heaven’s currency. Faith is the proof you’ve placed your trust in something bigger than you.
How is God going to really know we are persuaded He is who He says He is? By our faith! We prove our trust when we walk by faith.
What is faith? Many have attempted to explain faith, so I am going to try to explain it the way I see it. Some have said that it’s confidence in God; others have said it’s a persuasion. Some have said faith believes.
All of these are true, but I believe it’s more! I believe that faith is more than confidence. Confidence is a good thing for sure, but confidence is a feeling. Confidence increases when something or someone builds our feelings and security. Confidence has to be motivated. I like thinking of faith as being more than just confidence.
Faith is a persuasion. Faith is not just believing that God can. The easiest thing to do is believe that God can. He’s God. He’s the Author and Finisher of everything. God is all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere. God can absolutely heal us, save us, bless us and deliver us from our enemies. God hung every star and created the universe, light, plants and every living thing just by the power of His words. He’s God, and He can do all things.
“For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalms 33:9 KJV
“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.” Hebrews 11:3 NIV
Real faith moves past the thought that God can and into the reality that GOD WILL!
Faith believes God will!
Let’s go deeper. Faith does not just believe God will but believes in His eternal power. Time doesn’t hinder His ability to move. God isn’t going to heal me or going to bless me. Faith says, “He’s already healed me. God’s already blessed me.”
Abraham Is Called The Father Of Faith
We are created with the power of choice so that makes us easy targets for the enemy to attack. Abraham didn’t just believe God in times when everything seemed to be okay or in times of great victories. Abraham believed God when everything else was failing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to produce a child.
Abraham was in his seventies when God promised him a son. God didn’t fulfill his promise to Abraham until he was almost one hundred years old. As a matter of fact, the word of God says that God waited. God waited until Abraham was as good as dead in his natural potential to produce seed and Sarah his wife had reached the season in her life that she was unable to bear children. Why did God take so long to fulfill His promise?
The only answer I can offer is that faith must be tested. Delayed promises force us to reveal if we trust God. God always seems to assign death to a seed promise. We must understand that when God gives us a promise time will be scheduled to it; time for that seed to die and reveal its full potential. Faith is required from all of us. We must believe not only when God is speaking but also while we are waiting, watching and praying. The seed must die so that it can live!
No matter what time God chooses to fulfill His promise, you must believe He will fulfill it! That’s the faith that creates great prosperity, great healings and great testimonies. Believe that God will be faithful to what He has promised. Abraham believed this. He didn’t allow his situation to dictate his belief system. He rested on the words of the Lord.
Faith isn’t faith until you can pass the test of time… You must pass the test of difficulties, the test of waiting on God to come through and the test of loss while in waiting! God took twenty-six years to fulfill a promise to Abraham. God waited until there was no human potential to be factored into the equation. If there was any human intervention to your miracle then how would you know God did it? God has to allow all human possibilities and variables to be dealt with before He will manifest His promises. There has to be no human part in the performance of any miracle from God. There has to be this overwhelming feeling that if God doesn’t do it, it isn’t going to get done. Let me put it this way. The only part you will play in your miracle is to not waiver in your belief and faith that God will come through. Maybe you’re thinking right now, will He? Yes, He WILL!
You must be willing to reach seasons of drought and emptiness for God to be the source of your miracle. Empty is opportunity and loss means more! It’s at the time you feel as good as dead that God will walk into your situation and give you the very word of encouragement that’s going to bring you out and take you into your next season of promotion.
By faith, when Abraham was tested and believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness. Get a good grasp of this. Good works or deeds do not obtain righteousness. That’s not to say that works and deeds aren’t a part of the Christian walk. The word says that he was credited with righteousness because he took God at His Word and nothing or no one was going to persuade Abraham otherwise.
One more thing to think about:
What about Sarah? She not only was required to have faith but she had to be the one to carry the seed of promise. Sarah had to enter a higher level of faith. Sarah not only had to believe it, she had to conceive it. The word says that we need to have faith in our heart. There is no such thing as head faith; there is only heart faith.
There is no way you can understand how God is going to heal your cancer, pay a bill that you have no natural funds to pay, or bring home your child who has been away from the Lord. Your mind doesn’t possess the ability to understand God, but your heart does. Your mind says how… your heart says I believe! No human is capable of understanding how miracles happen. That’s why they are called miracles. The spirit of man has the power to believe without understanding how.
SPIRITUAL CONCEPTION
Sarah had to have the heart to conceive. Here are some steps that we need to be able to walk through to reach our promised blessings…
4 STEPS FOR OUTLIVING MY DEAD SEASON
1. You must first believe it. That’s faith. Faith is now; faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews11:1 KJV
2. You must be able to conceive it. The word conception comes from the word conceive. When the visitors came to Abraham’s house one evening, they told him that Sarah would be pregnant. Sarah laughed when she heard this, and the Lord asked Abraham, “Why is your wife laughing?” Sarah couldn’t conceive in her mind that she was going to be pregnant. After all, it had been twenty-six years and there still was no promised child. The Lord was going to perform the miracle, but waited another year. He had to get Sarah ready to conceive. Conception is the ability to see your promised blessing and carry it internally.
3. You must receive it. When you can believe it and conceive it, you will be ready to receive it.
4. You will achieve it.
Abraham’s faith produced his son Isaac. Isaac’s name means laughter. No matter how long it takes for God to produce His promise, you will be filled with so much joy and excitement when it comes. You will be laughing, shouting and dancing. You won’t be able to hide the promise. The joy that you will exude will be so powerful it will actually cause others to follow your God.
Your praise and worship is different when you survive a dead season. I love to watch people who stay focused through their crises and then watch them praise when God’s promises come to pass. I’m telling you, Faith in God will produce the faithfulness of God.
