The nature of faith

Our lives are made up of our beliefs. If we _believe_ everything is hopeless and horrible, then our lives will be hopeless and horrible. There is no other possible outcome. But, if God turns on the light in our heart and reveals His great and precious promises to us, then our lives will be joyful and overflowing with hope. We will be excited for the future and content with the present no matter what our circumstances.

Jesus's blood was shed for us once and for all. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness. But we have to apply that promise in order to activate it in our lives. It doesn't do anything for us until we appropriate it through faith. But the moment we believe, what power results! Death unto life!

Rom 10:17: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God's word is true. How hard is it to believe the truth? If we don't believe it that doesn't make it any less true, but it does deprive us of any benefit from it. Jesus said "according to your faith let it be unto you." If someone gives you a checkbook filled with signed checks and tells you to go ahead and fill in the amounts and cash them as you need, those checks are nothing but paper if you don't cash them. And you won't cash them if you think they are fake or you think that person doesn't have any money in their account. You'll either put them in a drawer or throw them away. So they're worthless without faith.

But we have a checkbook from God. Every promise of God is a blank check signed for us in the precious blood of Jesus. 2 Cor 1:20: For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

Jesus told us God knows what we need before we even ask, and He already has the answer prepared. Luke 12:31: But seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.

How does faith work? By believing. How do we know if we believe? Our actions line up. We prove our faith by acting on it. James 1:22: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Many of God's promises in the Bible are quid pro quo: God says if you do this, I'll do that. For example, Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

We have many specific promises in the Bible that we can rely on. We can pray those promises right back to God and expect them to be fulfilled exactly as they are worded. But we also have general overarching promises from God, and if we find ourselves in a situation where there is not a clear Biblical precedent, we can still rely on the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us, that He will always provide for us, and that there is no limit to what we can ask for and what He can do. John 14:14: Jesus said "whatever you ask in My name, I will do it." Romans 8:32: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Sometimes God is silent. During those times, He is challenging us to remember the things we already know about Him, the promises He has already faithfully kept to us. This is an important time in our lives. Because faith that is not tested is faith that is feeble and weak. If we only believe what we can see and feel, then we are cutting ourselves off from the joy of leaving everything in God's hands, from our great hope, and from the supreme spiritual laws of the universe, which are more sure and more powerful than any of the things we can see and feel. If our faith does not fail when we don't see the evidence, then that faith is effectual.

Psalm 105:5 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth

When you feel dry, then pray, meditate, seek His face earnestly, and remember His faithfulness. Cry out to Him in your poverty and desperation, humble yourself and wait upon Him to shine His face upon you and speak to you and lift you up and fill you with His life-giving presence till you are overflowing with joy and filled with grace.

1 Pet 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Hebrews 11:6: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Without faith, God's word is just letters on paper which we cannot understand and which seem foolish to us. With faith, God's word is a priceless treasure which transforms our lives and empowers us to live in victory. 1 Cor 1:18: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Hebrews 4:2: For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

God wants to ween us off of the things of the flesh, of our own understanding, and the things of this world, and He wants us to become accustomed to operating in His kingdom principles instead of the elemental principles of the world.

Faith is that by which we _lay hold_ of the promises of God.

Two scriptures that use the phrase "lay hold"... Phil 3:12: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may _lay hold_ of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Heb 6:18: that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to _lay hold_ of the hope set before us.

We need to actively and assertively LAY HOLD of the things of God. God loves it when are assertive with Him. King David demanded of God in his prayers, and God said that David was a man after His own heart. Jesus taught us to pray with insistence, with pressing demand, even unreasonableness, in His parable about the persistent widow and the unrighteous judge. Let's read it... Luke 18:1-8 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Here are some things that faith is not: Faith is not wishful thinking. Faith is not fatalistic resignation. Faith is not hoping against hope. Faith is not ignoring or denying facts. Faith is not delusional. Faith is not pretending. Faith is not mysterious or mystical. Faith is not dogmatic or superstitious.

Faith is not even difficult. In fact, it is as easy as opening your eyes. It is as easy as breathing. If you believe something, it's not because you expended a ton of effort to gin up that belief. It's simply because you think that thing is true. It has become real to you. You probably did some research; maybe you were skeptical at first. But when something is true, you don't feel the need to prop it up or dress it up or play pretend or avoid looking at the facts. It is supported by facts and stands on its own merit.

Faith can be said to be like surrender. You only surrender when you trust. Surrender is a genuine expression of faith. We surrender our will to God, because we know that He is better equipped than we are with wisdom and love and power to ensure the ideal outcome, to our benefit, to the benefit of our loved ones, to God's glory, and to our eternal reward in heaven.

2 Cor 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Heb 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Both of these things are literally true. Faith is not the opposite of sight, but is really very much _like_ sight; it recognizes things the way they truly are.

How can we enrich ourselves with more and more of God's blessings and build up our faith? Read more and more of His word. Fill your heart with it. Colossians 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

When Jesus's disciples asked Him to increase their faith, what did Jesus instruct them to do? He instructed them to take the humble attitude of servants.

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

What does humble servanthood have to do with faith? Obedience is the ultimate expression of faith, isn't it?

Sometimes God wants to do something, but He wants us to ask for it first. "Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." Ezekiel 36:37

So faith is interactive with God. It participates with God. God wants us to be His partners in His creative and redemptive and prophetic activity on the earth. That's why Jesus instructed us to pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

We are God's agents to do heavenly transactions on the earth.

Jesus is our agent in heaven to perform transactions with the Father on our behalf. 1 Jn 2:1-2: My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

The Holy Spirit is our connection and literal presence of God within our hearts, Who teaches us all things and discloses the things of God and equips us with everything we need and empowers us to be victorious in all things.

Keep your hearts in the love of God, praying without ceasing, praying in the Holy Spirit, and humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord.

He has already won the war. The battle belongs to the Lord. Our mission on Earth is to bring His light and His truth and to carry His presence and help unshackle as many as are willing to be saved. We are called to manifest and demonstrate God's kingdom, starting first in our own hearts and then moving outward to everybody around us.