Faith – What is it? How do we get it?

There’s more than one kind of faith…

Natural faith

Natural human faith is an attitude of the mind, thinking or determining something is true. It may be based on experiential knowledge, something we have proven to ourselves — if I sit on that chair, it will hold me up. It may be based on facts we accept from others. Two times two equals four. I accepted it as fact, proved it in practice. Principles of electricity I myself have never proved, but since electric lights do work somebody did and so I accept them as fact.

Supernatural faith

Supernatural faith that saves, heals, protects and provides powerful miracles is an attitude of God’s mind, however. We can’t generate it inside ourselves, it originates in God. Saving faith, living by faith, faith that can grow like a seed, the Gift of Faith – that faith is not natural. Jesus offers it to us and we have to choose to receive it. Here are some definitions:

Faith – Greek noun Pistis – translated faith, assurance, believe (most), fidelity. (Strong’s Concordance 4102)

Conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. Relating to God: the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. Relating to Christ: conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.

Faith / Pistis (above) is derived from the Greek verb Peitho – translated persuade, trust, obey, have confidence in, believe, be confident. (Strong’s 3982)

To persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe; to make friends of, to win one’s favor, gain one’s good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one; to persuade unto, i.e. move or induce one to persuasion to do something; to be persuaded; to be persuaded, to suffer one’s self to be persuaded; to be induced to believe in a thing. Also, to be persuaded of a thing concerning a person; to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with; to trust, have confidence, be confident.

Believe – Greek word pisteuo – verb, translated believe, commit unto, trust. (Strong’s 4100) (This word is related to those above.)

To think to be true, to be persuaded of, to place confidence in the thing believed; used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of the soul.

Faith comes

Faith in God comes from God himself. Eph. 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

To have supernatural faith is to be persuaded by God that something is true – that He exists, first and foremost. Heb. 11:6 says, “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Heb. 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” And that Jesus is who he says he is, and can do what he says he can do. (Romans 10:9-10)

This faith must be accepted when offered. God won’t force you to take it. Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Jesus, the word of God, spoke to the disciples and offered them faith in himself, like handing them a piece of bread: “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22) They did. They accepted it, and so did many others who heard Jesus preach.

Faith grows

Jesus described faith as like a tiny mustard seed – it could grow and accomplish great things. (Matt. 17:20, 21:21) Jesus said about their faith to several desperately sick people who were healed: “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Mark 5:34, woman with issue of blood, Mark 10:52, the blind man.)

Faith grows also as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22) Paul commended the Thessalonians “because your faith growth exceedingly. (II Thess. 1:3) As we allow God the Holy Spirit more and more access and freedom in our hearts and minds, God’s faith grows in our thinking and believing.

Faith continues to come, growing as we hear God’s word in various forms (sermons, other believers), study the Bible ourselves, listen to the Holy Spirit, learn and exercise faith in obeying Him.

It’s important that our faith grows because we have an enemy (John 10:10, Eph. 6:16) who tries to kill us, make us doubt, sick, broke, or alienated from family and friends. (Not to mention the ordinary challenges of human life.)

The Gift of Faith

In certain circumstances the Holy Spirit will use a person to solve a problem that needs an extraordinary solution, by way of a supernatural Gift of Faith. (Gifts of the Holy Spirit, I Cor. 12. See Gifts of the Holy Spirit below.) God enables that person at a given moment to believe something – be persuaded about something – without human reasoning or logic. The result is that he then prays, commands or does something in the name of Jesus and what he asks or says will come to pass.

This kind of faith is not natural, reasonable or logical: it is supernatural. While God may use some people in this Gift of the Holy Spirit more than others, it’s not usually a permanent enablement like a talent or skill.

A recent example is two teenage girls who lifted a farm tractor off of their father, saving his life. They could not do that in the natural. They wouldn’t even imagine they could do that. But at that moment of extraordinary need, they were enabled to believe they could do it – and they did it.

Summary

Faith – being persuaded, believing, having confidence and trust – originates in God, who loves us and gave Jesus to die for us. He offers faith but won’t force anyone to accept it. Once we accept God’s grace of saving faith, we then live (walk) by faith, nurturing and seeing faith grow. When an extraordinary need arises, God may use us with a Gift of Faith to meet it.

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Gifts of the Holy Spirit

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Cor. 12:7-11 NIV)

The first group of these is Word Gifts, where God enables a believer to say certain things:

• The gift of prophecy — a message from God for the group or for an individual.

• The gift of tongues — God’s message in a language unknown to the person speaking.

• The gift of interpreting tongues — after God’s message in tongues is given, the person or someone else gives the meaning of it – usually not a word-for-word translation, but an interpretation.

The second group of gifts is Sign Gifts, where God enables a believer to do certain things:

• The gift of faith — God enables a person at a given moment to believe something without human reasoning or logic. The result is that he then prays or speaks (commands) something in the name of Jesus and what he asks or says will come to pass. This kind of faith is not natural, reasonable or logical: it is supernatural.

• The gifts of healing — enables a believer to be God’s instrument to bring healing to someone who is sick, whether spiritual, psychological or physical. Notice – this is the only gift that is plural.

• The gift of miracles — a manifestation of God’s power whereby some obstacle is removed or opportunity seized in a way that could only come from God’s intervention into human affairs. This gift is a sign of God’s presence and power and, therefore, often a source of belief to many.

The third group is Intellectual Gifts, where God enables a believer to know certain things:

• The word of knowledge — God gives a believer certain information he could / would not get from natural sources.

• The word of wisdom — God gives a believer insight into His mind or plan in a given situation and enables him to put this insight into words of advice, understanding, or direction. For instance, how to use the information he gave in a word of knowledge.

• The gift of discerning of spirits — God reveals to a believer the source of certain behavior or action, whether it comes from the Holy Spirit, a human spirit, or an evil spirit.

These gifts are not something we possess permanently like a talent or skill, but ways in which the Holy Spirit reveals Himself through an individual. Usually they are temporary (passing), given as the need arises.

They are meant for the good of others, not simply for and sometimes not even including the person through which God provides a gift. (I like to think of this as being a conduit for the Holy Spirit’s power, like an electrical power cord…)

Our motivation in allowing the Holy Spirit to use us in these gifts is simple — love. God’s love for people who need His ministry, and our love for Him.

Warfare and weapons

We are in a war today whether we know it or not. We have an enemy. He’s not flesh and blood but he stirs up people who are, to oppose God and His followers more viciously today than ever before. I was thinking and praying about that today. Here’s a bit of my train of thought…

Eph. 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].” The word for wrestle occurs in only this one place in the New Testament. It depicts a wrestling match where the winner pins his opponent, keeping him down and unable to continue fighting. Not dead, but defeated.

How can we defend against and defeat this enemy? Not with physical, human weapons. We have to use the weapons God designed and gave us, train with them and become proficient with their use.

II Cor. 10:3-6: The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (merely human) but spiritual, powerful enough to defeat anything that opposes God.

Eph. 6:10-17: Our spiritual armor includes a sword, the Word (rhema) of God. (Rhema is like an “instant message” from God, a message from Him to us that is appropriate to the occasion.) This Word is an offensive weapon against the enemy. Spoken. Verbalized.

I Cor. 12:4-11: The Gifts of the Holy Spirit include words (logos) from God, knowledge (information) and wisdom (how to use the information). (Logos = doctrine, instructional speech, sermon or scripture.) These words, like all the Gifts, are also appropriate to the occasion.

Matt. 10:19-20 and Mark 13:11: When being persecuted (arrested, harrassed, attacked) for your faith, don’t pre-plan what to say; the Holy Spirit will speak through you at that point in time. (Speak – say something, tell someone something.)

Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” The definition of word here is similar to that of logos in the New Testament. Heart means the center of your being, your soul, will, desires.

Matt. 12:34 and Luke 6:45: Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (The word for heart is kardia; similar to the Old Testament word, it means center of your being, your soul, will.) If it’s not in your heart, the Word of God — your spiritual weapon — won’t be readily available for you to use against the enemy.

Joshua 1:8: This book of the law (God’s Word) shall not depart out of your mouth… meditate on it day and night… observe to do it, and you will make your way prosperous and have good success. (Meditate means muse, imagine, mutter aloud.)

God’s Word, logos and rhema, are powerful weapons against the devil, the enemy whose goal in life in to steal, kill and destroy us. (John 10:10)

If God’s Word is in our heart, in our mouth and in our actions (obedience), we will succeed in whatever God has assigned us to do.

Advice in a dream…

My recent dreams have been like chapters from a novel I haven’t read, not scary, not fantastic, just bits of life going on as usual for somebody. Occasionally they contain someone I know, a relative or friend, but most of the time the “cast” are strangers to me.

While I generally recall these dreams when I first awake, I don’t remember much about them after a few minutes. They aren’t disturbing, not even annoying – they just are.

But this past Sunday night as I was preparing to sleep, I asked the Lord to give me something more spiritual, more useful in a dream. And He did.

I was standing in a room in a building, furniture scattered around as if an office was being furnished, the placement of chairs and tables and desks experimented with to get the best arrangement. I was talking to a young man who was preparing to begin work of some kind there in that place. No-one else was there.

He was standing beside me, listening with a concentrated air as if he had just stopped what he was doing to pay attention.

There are three essentials you need, I told him.

First, you need an advisor. Someone who knows the voice of the Lord and can tell you if you are making the right decisions, choosing the right things, going the right way. Someone you trust and have confidence in. Someone who will inspire your own self-confidence, knowing your path is the right one for you. Someone who will warn you if you start off in the wrong direction, who can explain things in a practical way, teach you and mentor you.

Second, you need a team. You must not try to do everything by yourself, you’ll wear out, burn out, fall and fail. You’ll make mistakes, some of which may be very costly. Choose your team mates carefully, pick people with the same vision but who have expertise in areas where you’re lacking. People you can trust with the details while you concentrate on the big picture.

Third, you need a refuge. A private place where you can spend time with God, worship, study, meditate, pray, listen to the Holy Spirit, rest and heal. It can be a chair in a quiet room, or a study, or a den, or a bedroom, but it needs to be dedicated to you and God as that refuge.

At that point I awoke, clearly recalling the dream and grateful for this answer to my prayer.

Kingdom; king; hmmm.

A friend asked me the other day what I have been studying… here’s what I told him.

I study whatever the Lord drops into my mind. Recently it has been the kingdom of God from the viewpoint of Jews living when Jesus began to preach.

Did you ever notice that the Bible doesn’t say exactly what Jesus said about it? Just that he preached “repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” (Matt. 4:17) I wondered why he didn’t explain what “kingdom of God” meant, until after reading up on some Jewish theology.

The Jews knew – or thought they knew – what that meant. Restoration of military and political power, prestige and premier position on the world stage. Ruling over other nations, instead of being ruled by other nations. Micah Chapter 4 contains one description of that kingdom but there are many others.

Then too, when Peter acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 16:16), what did he mean by that? Well, I think the word “Christ” (anointed one) to Peter meant the descendent of King David who would be the new king of Israel, who would recreate Israel as the most powerful nation in the world.

After all, a man who can raise the dead, walk on water, multiply food, disappear in the midst of his enemies — the Romans would be powerless before such a man! He would recruit, empower and equip an army of rebels to get it done, and the disciples were surely his first recruits.

That’s what the people were looking for, what many Jewish people are still longing and looking for, and what the disciples thought they had found in Jesus. Jesus had to spend some time correcting their thinking.

You see, the Jews never really thought God Almighty in person would come occupy the palace, sit on a physical throne and rule the people. They thought a human descendant of King David, one with supercharged abilities, would do all that.

But God Almighty? Who used to live in the Ark of the Covenant? No, that’s not what they expected at all. But that’s what they got — in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s a thought: you don’t need walkie-talkies (or cell phones) if the king inhabits the soldiers.

Here are some preliminary thoughts I had jotted down before answering my friend’s question:

Kingdoms are governed by kings. The Kingdom of God requires a king. A human one?

What did “Kingdom of God” mean to the Jews when Jesus went around preaching about it, in the days when he recruited his first followers (disciples, apostles) from local businessmen such as farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, even tax collectors.

And who would be its King? A descendent of King David? A human representative of Almighty God, as David had been?

Micah 4 describes the last days and its promised kingdom of God, where Israel has regained her prominence in the world, a strong, powerful nation where people enjoy their own property free and clear of taxes or fees or tribute to a foreign ruler, where foreigners will come to worship at the temple.

When Jesus began to preach, the opposite was the case. Israel was under the thumb of Rome, paying multiple taxes, fees and tributes to Caesar, even having to fork over percentages of crops and animals and fish and created goods just for the privilege of being ruled by Rome. Making ends meet was a struggle for most people.

Then too, Roman troops were stationed here and there across the country, able to command just about anything they wanted from the people. And what the Romans didn’t take, unrighteous religious leaders took.

A restoration of David’s kingdom would have been welcome indeed. Raise up a righteous army, powerful, not just a weak, defensive rag-tag bunch of rebels, but well armed, well trained. Throw off Roman rule. Collect tribute, not pay it.

What would be the first steps? For the disciples, if they’d had that mindset, it might have been to go underground, recruit other believers, begin to amass material goods, make plans. Recruit military-minded, intelligence-minded, political-minded rebels. Many of them. After all, Rome was pretty powerful! Begin the teaching and training necessary to succeed. I think Peter would have had that mindset. He would have stopped the arrest, trial and execution of Jesus, if he could.

But an earthly kingdom made up of mortals — human soldiers and politicians — is not what Jesus preached. Earthly kings and kingdoms come and go, rise and fall, live and die. God’s doesn’t. And God-inhabited humans are immortal.

No wonder Jesus stayed around 40 days after his resurrection, teaching the reality of the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

What does Jesus do all day? Some suggestions

God in human form appeared to people on earth even before Jesus was born as a tiny baby in Bethlehem. Is he still doing that today? I think so…

Here are a couple of reports from Operation Mobilization’s December 2012 Global Prayer Update.

Syrian Refugee God Encounter

A man from a Christian relief team recently delivered food to a Syrian widow living in a rural Muslim village near the border. When the anxious widow opened her door to him, the Christian explained he had come out of love for God. She told him about an encounter the previous day.

While sleeping during the night, she heard a knock on the door. She responded but no one was there. After a while she heard the same knocking and went to sit next to the door, where she eventually fell asleep.

While she was sleeping someone put His hand on her shoulder. He said, “You have passed through a great pain. I experienced a great pain, also. But I will not leave you alone. Tomorrow, I will send you someone who will tell you about Me. Listen to him.”

The widow then began to weep and begged her Christian visitor to “tell me about this Person that I saw in my dream.” And so he did. He told her about Jesus.

God is Also at Work in North Africa

A believer in a North African country reports: A man I know went to Saudi Arabia to work and to seek God. One day during his time there, he got on a bus and the bus driver turned to him and said, “There is nothing for you here.” He eventually returned to our own country.

One day he was invited to visit the home of a Christian worker. In their home was a painting on the wall. He was amazed and asked, “Who is the man in the painting?” They told him it was Jesus. He replied, “No, that man is a bus driver in Saudi!”

• Pray for the ongoing work of many Churches and organizations reaching out to thousands of refugees.

• Pray in the midst of their dreadful hardship they would experience an encounter with the God who loves them.

• Pray with faith for God’s creative and unique ways of encountering people with the truth and reality of who He is.

• Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus as the Son of God this Christmas season to many across the globe.

Dynamic prayer

Wednesday 21 November 2012

“… take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the  Spirit…” Ephesians 6:17-18

Last night just as I was getting comfortable in bed, I began to see something in my mind’s eye. It was as if I was looking at the inside of my eyelids, really.

Against a dark screen I saw letters of the alphabet, some big, some little, some looking upside down and backwards. All were moving outward in a continuous stream away from me.

I thought to myself, it almost looks like tongues – not a known language, just jumbles of letters going out.

And the Lord began to speak without my asking Him anything.

It is tongues, prayers of many types and for many people, many situations. And commands also. Solutions for those people and situations, coming from My spirit through your spirit into the world.

What is light? He asked, then answered his own question immediately. Power.

Packets of energy. Work. Creation. Dynamics. Dynamos. Dynamite power. Dunamis.

Power moving outward in a continuous stream from my presence into the universe.

Started by My words.

What are words? Again He asked and answered. Containers. Containers of light, containers of creative ability, the workhorses of creation. Workhorses of My spirit and your spirit. Whether you understand the language or not, a prayer in tongues contains and transmits creative power.

With that the Lord ended the short lesson. But what a lesson! What a privilege He has given us!

Father, help me to cooperate with You more, allow you to generate your creative solutions as I pray in tongues.

What Paul did while weak

When you’re weak, then are you strong like Paul was?

To authenticate his ministry, Paul laid out his credentials in a letter to the Corinthians. In doing so, he reported an event that had happened 14 years earlier, when he was being harassed by a messenger (angel) of Satan. He had asked the Lord three times to get rid of it for him.

In II Cor. 12 (Kenneth S. Wuest Expanded New Testament) Paul writes:

“He said, My grace is enough for you, for power is moment by moment coming to its full energy and complete operation in the sphere of weakness. Therefore, most gladly will I the rather boast in my weaknesses in order that the power of the Christ [like the Shekinah Glory in the Holy of Holies of the Tent of Meeting] may take up its residence in me [working within me and giving me help].“

“Wherefore I am well content in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, and in circumstances under which I am subject to extreme pressure on behalf of Christ, for when I am weak, than I am filled with ability and power.”

He had been asking God to do something God had enabled him to do for himself.

Was Paul weak? He said that he was, in his own strength. Yet in this weak condition, he was able to do “miracles of a startling, imposing, amazement-wakening character, and miracles that demonstrate God’s power.” (II Cor. 12:12, Wuest)

Phil. 4:13 (Amplified): “I (Paul) have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me – I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me [that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].”

Rom. 15:19: “… by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of His Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” (NIV)

Paul said he had preached the word fully, and the Lord confirmed the word preached by miracles, just as He had done for the disciples.

Mark 16:20: “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (NIV)

Here is some of what Paul and Christ’s sufficient grace accomplished, in his weak condition:

Acts 13:11 – caused the sorcerer to go blind
Acts 14:3 – miraculous signs and wonders – the Lord confirmed message by miracles
Acts 14:9-10 – healed the man lame from birth
Acts 14:19-20 – he himself was raised from the dead (presumably) after being stoned
Acts 15:12 – miracles, signs and wonders
Acts 16:19 – cast demon out of slave girl
Acts 19:11-12 – extraordinary miracles, healing by handkerchiefs and aprons, evil spirits cast out
Acts 20:9-12 – raised young man from the dead
Acts 28:8-9 – on Malta, father of Publius healed, then all the rest of the sick on the island healed
Romans 15:19 – signs and miracles through the power of the Spirit
Saw many, many people come to faith in Christ.

All this, while being opposed by many kinds of trouble:

II Cor. 11:23-29:
Worked much harder than anyone else
In prison more frequently
Flogged more severely
40 lashes minus 1, five times received from the Jews
Beaten with rods three times
Stoned once
Shipwrecked three times, a night and a day in the open sea
Danger from rivers
Danger from bandits
Danger from his own countrymen
Danger from Gentiles
Danger in the city, country and sea
Danger from false brethren
Labored and toiled without sleep
Hungry and thirsty, often without food
Cold and naked
Concern for the churches daily
Temptation to sin

Paul believed – and obeyed – what Jesus had said:

John 14:11-12: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Remember Mark 16:20? “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (NIV)

The Lord can’t confirm what isn’t being preached.