How to Cultivate Genuine Faith in Your Life

TUNE IN, TUNE UP, AND RELAUNCH YOUR FAITH!

Introduction

We have seen that God has provided a marvelous salvation from all the consequences of man’s rebellion. This salvation is to be received through repentance and faith. God expects us to change our allegiance. We must now love Him and serve Him – not our old selfish and corrupt desires. He wants to set us free from every oppression. We need more than just a change of allegiance or repentance. We must believe God and His promises with a living faith. In this lesson we will consider what it means to have faith in God.

What is Faith? What Faith is not!

Faith is not religion. Many times people say “We have our faith”. What they mean is this: “We have our religious ideas and doctrines. We have our traditions. We have our ways of doing things passed down through the generations. Don’t you try to change them.” This is not the Biblical idea of faith.

Faith is not mental assent. It is not agreeing with your mind, “Yes, that is true.” Many professing Christians believe mentally that the Bible is the Word of God. But, this faith does not change the way they live. It is not a faith that can save (James chapter 2, verse 14).

Even demons have faith. They know and believe that God exists (James chapter 2, verse 19) – and tremble. They have no loving confidence in God.

Faith is not a way to manipulate God. It is not a power that makes God do what WE want. He would not do this if He were otherwise unwilling. It is not magic through which we make God into our servant!

Faith is not hope, nor positive wish. Hope is good, and relates to the future. Faith takes the promise as done NOW. Many people have hope. They are anxiously looking for results. They lack the settled confidence and assurance which faith has.

What Faith Is

In the general sense of the word, to have faith is to believe in something or someone. It is to fully trust and be so confident that you base your actions on what you believe. To have faith is to be fully convinced of the truthfulness and reliability of that in which you believe.

Faith in God involves trust and confidence in God. It requires belief in Christ that leads you to commit your whole soul to Him. He is your Savior (Justifier, Cleanser, Healer, Deliverer). He is also your Lord (Master, King).

The NIV translation says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, New International Version (NIV).

The NKJV of the Bible says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. It is the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, New King James Version (NKJV).

Faith is spiritual substance or material. When you have this spiritual substance in you, it gives you an inner knowing. You understand that the thing you are hoping for is certainly established. This happens even before you see any material evidence.

Faith is a spiritual force. Faith in God is a response to God’s Word which moves God to act. Mark, chapter 11, verse 23 says, “For assuredly, I say to you. Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea.’ They must not doubt in their heart. He believes that those things he says will be done. He will have whatever he says.” (New King James Version). Words mixed with the real, pure faith can and will move mountains or any other problem that we face.

Faith in God must be from the heart. It is not merely intellectual. It is spiritual. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

Faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5.7)

Some say, seeing is believing. Once you see the thing hoped for already existing in the natural order, you don’t need faith.

Hope is a condition for faith. Hope is “a positive unwavering expectation of good”. Hope is for the mind (1 Thessalonians 5:8; Hebrews 6:19), an anchor for the soul. It keeps us in the place where we can believe, but it is not in itself “faith”. Yet, without hope there are no “things hoped for”, and thus there can’t be faith.

Through faith, we know we have the answer to our prayer. This assurance comes before we see anything change in the natural order (1 John 5:14, 15). Jesus said, “So I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them. You will have them.” (Mk 11:24). God expects us to believe that our petitions are answered by God. He even commands us to do this at the moment we make them. We must believe that the response is instantly sent WHEN we pray. Faith is like the confirmation slip in our hearts that the goods are on the way. We have that confirmation slip instantly from God. We sense it in our hearts. The manifestation of those goods comes later. The answer is received as long as we are patient and do not throw away our confidence. (Hebrews 10:35 through verse 39; Hebrews 6:12)

Faith is like a check. First, hold on to the check. Then, go to the bank to show it. You can confidently expect the money to be transferred into your account after a certain time. If you throw the check away the money will not be put in your account. God is trustworthy and always has resources to back his promises.

Living faith always has corresponding actions. We talk what we really believe, and we act according to what we really believe. The heroes of faith like Abraham were considered men of faith because they acted on what God showed them. They acted on their faith. (Hebrews 11:17 through verse 38, James 2:21 through verse 23).

To live in faith means to do and say what you believe is right, without doubting.

Faith is a rest. It is compatible with inner peace. It is not “trying to believe”. To say that you are “trying to believe” God is to say that you don’t believe Him. The man who is “trying to believe” is sincere, but he does not have faith in that area yet.

Why We Must Believe God

Why must we believe God? Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please God. He who comes to God must believe that He is. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

“Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23) and God hates sin. When we don’t believe God, we treat Him like He is a liar. Remember that He is everywhere and sees all things. He is hurt when we act like He doesn’t exist. He is also hurt when we doubt that He will do what He promised to do. Only when we have confidence in God and His Word can we please Him.

Lack of faith leads to lack of obedience. God’s commands can only really be fulfilled through faith. Without confidence in God’s promises a man will never really do what God says. Lack of obedience in God’s eyes is rebellion. Such lack of obedience dishonors God and surely deserves to be punished.

“The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). We must live by faith to be considered by God “right” and “correct”. Otherwise we stand condemned.

Those who don’t believe God inevitably believe in something else. They follow religious tradition or their understanding of science. It is what the women’s magazine says or what their next door neighbor tells them. It is also the education system or the mass-media. Often, it is a combination of all these things. God is not impressed. “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22) In fact, those who don’t fully believing God end up believing the devil somewhere along the track. It is very possible to believe what the devil says without even believing that he exists! Satan is speaking through so many philosophies and religions without openly declaring himself. Not too many actually know they are trusting the words of Satan and his demons.

God is thus righteous in expecting us to believe in Him and what He says. Who is better qualified to tell us the truth and help us to find answers for life and eternity?

The Benefits of Faith

The Bible teaches us that genuine faith is “more precious than gold that perishes” (1 Peter 1:7). Indeed such faith is going to be “tested by fire”. You can expect difficulties and persecutions in your life of faith, as well as blessings. Thus to encourage you to hold onto and develop your faith, we will consider some of the benefits of faith.

1. Faith brings salvation. (Ephesians 2:8,9). Whosoever believes in Him has eternal life. (John 3:16), and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24). The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17)

2. Faith brings answers to prayer. “And whatever things you ask in prayer, really believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22). God tells us to pray for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). Therefore, faith is a key to our material provision.

3. Faith brings all the benefits of salvation into our lives (Ephesians 2:8,9). This includes healing, prosperity, peace, and love. It also includes joy (1 Peter 1:8), deliverance from demons, and relief from the curse. Additionally, there is sanctification of the mind and emotions (the salvation of the soul). Any other advantage which the word of God promises to us is included as well.

4. Faith is a spiritual force through which our ministry for Christ becomes effective. (Mark 11:23; Matthew 17:19,20). Faith is a major key to ministry success. It brings to you what you need for your ministry. By sharing it through your life, you help others. Through your ministry of God’s Word, others get the blessings of God’s grace mentioned above.

5. In particular, faith is the major key for an effective healing and deliverance ministry. Jesus Christ “the same yesterday, today and forever” lives in the Christian (Hebrews 13:8, Galatians 2:20). Through the Christian, He wants men to see and feel the power of salvation. This ensures our evangelism about the Kingdom of God will not be in talk. It will be in power (1 Corinthians 4:20).

How to Develop Faith

We see how important faith is. Yet some people despair here, thinking that they don’t have faith. Yet faith comes (Romans 10:17), it can grow and develop. If you are not full of faith today, that doesn’t mean you will be that way all your life. You can choose to be a person of faith!

Here are Some Keys to Developing Faith

1. Listen to the Word of God as much as possible. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Constant attention to the Word of God builds faith. This happens especially if we focus on it with an open heart and mind. The book of Proverbs encourages us to constantly keep the Word in our hearts. We should keep our attention on it (Proverbs 4:20 through verse 22). Health is one of the benefits promised.

What we listen to affects what we believe. If we listen to the TV more than to the Word, we’ll believe the lies of the world more. We will believe these lies more than what God says. Constant attention to lies produces deception. Eventually the mind will accept something if that thing is heard often enough and persuasively enough. That is why we should keep hearing the Word of God. We can do this through preaching, Christian tapes, and confession of the Word. Daily fellowship with godly Christians is also important. This will cause us eventually to believe the truth from our hearts.

2. Realize that every believer has been given a measure of faith by God. (Romans 12:3). We just have to use and develop what God has given. We must put it into action.

3. Pray in tongues and be full of the Spirit (Jude 20). We will look at this later. If you have received baptism in the Spirit like the disciples in the book of Acts, pray in tongues regularly. You should also praise in tongues often. Through this, you “edify yourself” (1 Corinthians 14:4). You also “build yourself up in your most holy faith”. Praying in tongues is a key to being full of the Spirit. Since faith is a fruit of the Spirit, all things are related together.

4. Obey God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is as you walk that you gain strength. God will not reveal greater things to you until you are faithful in the things He is showing you NOW. Thus, obeying the Spirit is important. It includes listening to what He is showing you through the Word or through your conscience. This obedience is crucial in the development of your faith. You can’t have living faith without taking some practical steps of obedience. Act on what God is saying!

5. Give thanks. Give thanks for the results before you see. Don’t complain – that shows you doubt God’s love and God’s answer to your situation. Give thanks in all situations (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

6. Develop a life of praise and worship. Praise drives the powers of darkness away and brings the throne of God into your circumstances. Praising God is an act of faith and helps your faith to grow. It is commanded (Hebrews 13:15). Worship is admiring God through the Spirit. If you can perceive who is God, His power, faithfulness and love your trust and faith in Him will grow.

7. Spend as much time as you can with people of faith. The spirit of faith on them will touch your life also (Proverbs 13:20).

8. Speak the WORD. By saying with your mouth you exercise your faith, you hear the Word and you build it into your life. God’s Word is anointed and has power when it is spoken to change the spiritual atmosphere (Joshua 1:8; Romans 10:10). When you confess God’s Word, you say the same thing as God’s word. This action brings you into the place where the Lord will move to fulfill it (Hebrews 3:1). The angels hearken to the voice of God’s Word (Psalms 103:20)

9. Seek holiness, purity of heart. “Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14). It is with the heart that man believes (Romans 10:10). If the heart has uncleanness, unforgiveness, or other bad conditions, the man will lose the spiritual perception of the Lord. This perception enables his heart to believe. Purity and faith feed each other.

10. Remember that faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). The centurion (Matthew 8:5 through verse 13) was motivated by his love for another. The woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:21 through verse 28) was also motivated by her love in coming to Jesus. And both were described as having great faith. Let us believe God for others to be blessed in a spirit of love. As we give of ourselves, God will also give blessings to us (Luke 6:37). This is related to the idea of “seed-faith”. Express your faith by planting a seed in terms of some form of giving. God will release a multiplied harvest in return if we endure and do not faint (Hebrews 10:36).

Confession and the Power of Words

“With the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Confessing Christ as your Living Lord and Savior with your mouth releases God’s salvation into your life. Salvation includes many benefits and blessings. Our right mouth confession is a major key to receiving what God has provided for us by his grace.

We should realize that “Death and life is in the power of the tongue. Those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21). The power of the tongue is in the power of the words we speak. All our words have an effect on the spiritual atmosphere around us, either for good or bad. It is through words that covenants and promises are established. It is through words that our faith or our fears are expressed. Bad words open the door for bad spirits to work. Good words open the door for God and His angels to work.

Angels heed the VOICE of God’s Word (Psalms 103:20). Words are spiritual seeds. Words of life produce life. Words of faith produce faith. Words of love produce love. Words of hope produce hope, and so on. Words of death attract spirits of death. Words of doubt attract doubt. Words of fear attract spirits of fear. And so on. So we must guard carefully what we SAY. The Bible has much to say on this topic, especially in the Book of Proverbs (e.g. Proverbs 10:19, 20, 31, 32; 12:18, 22; 14:23, 33; 15:1, 4, 28). Jesus said, “But I say to you that for every idle word, men speak. They will give account of it. They must give account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36,37). Paul said, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

Confession (Gk: homologeo) means literally “to say the same thing”. To confess the Word of God then means to say the same thing as God’s Word says. When you say it, faith tends to grow. Saying it also means you hear it from your own mouth. Hearing the Word causes faith to come (Romans 10:17). In saying the Word yourself, you link YOURSELF with the truth of God’s Word. It is one thing to hear someone else say something, another to say that thing yourself. The more you say God’s Word, the more you will believe it. As you believe it more, you will say it more.

“A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth. With the increase of his lips shall he be filled.” (Proverbs 18:20, see Proverbs 12:14). This means that we feed on the words we speak. What we say comes back to affect our own heart and our own spiritual condition. That is another reason why confessing the Word and not negative things will greatly help our faith.

At times it is difficult to speak consistently with what the Bible says because our minds are not sufficiently renewed. We still have doubt in our souls. We must reprogram our subconscious minds to accept God’s principles and God’s promises without doubt (Romans 12:2). Meditation, repeated pondering, listening to good preaching, confession of the Scripture, as well as informed study will help here. The Word must enter deeply into us. This will change the way we are, the way we speak, the way we respond to difficulties and challenges. If it does not we have been too superficial in our treatment of the Word. We have substituted the mental knowledge and recognition of the words for real meditation and confession.

God talks in faith. God “gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17). Through faith-filled words, God created the universe (Hebrews 11:3). As sons of God, we are called to imitate God. We should be filled with God’s Spirit (Ephesians 5:1 through verse 18). When we are in Christ, we have the promise of God. We have the right to speak about something God has promised. We can talk about it as if it existed even before our natural senses are conscious of it. It is our faith that gives substance to this confession of things not seen. For example, if we have believed God for a car, we can talk about our car before we see it. We should realize that God has already “given us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). He has also given us all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3). But the effective receiving depends on our faith. Faith is confident in God’s faithfulness to His promises. It speaks and acts according to His promises, even before the natural eye sees.

Acting in Faith

Real faith has corresponding actions. We see in Hebrews 11:4 through verse 37 that all those commended for their faith also took action. It is possible to have actions, even religious actions, without real faith – but these actions are dead works. Without faith you can’t please God. (Hebrews 11:6).

Sometimes confusion arises in this matter of faith and works. There is a radical difference between works that spring from real faith and those from SELF. The latter are an effort to earn God’s approval. The former can’t be separated from real faith. The latter are as filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). They are wrong because the man occupied with them can’t understand or accept God’s free grace. It is by GRACE, by CHRIST that we are saved, and not by our own works.

Faith hears the word of God, the voice of God and acts in obedience with a trusting heart. God often speaks to us through our consciences by His Spirit. He presses us towards a particular action based on God’s Word. Real faith yields to God’s suggestion and does it.

Jesus told the blind man to go to the pool to wash. The blind man obeyed Jesus’ words before he received healing. By doing so, he demonstrated the faith which God required of him in that situation. As a result, he was healed. (John 9:7). If he had not obeyed, he would not have been healed.

God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac up as a sacrifice. Abraham’s obedience in this matter demonstrated the reality of his faith. (James 2:20 through verse 24). Even justifying faith is not passive. It does not rest in sin. Justifying faith works with repentance to open the door for the receiving of God’s great salvation.

Overcoming the Enemies of Faith

In closing this lesson we will consider some of the main enemies of faith and how they can be overcome.

1. Ignorance. You can’t believe a promise until you hear it or find it. Much unbelief rises out of the fact that people just don’t know what the Bible says. The cure for this is study, meditation and consideration of the Word.

2. Unbelief. This is the sinful choice to not believe God. It is usually motivated by pride, rebellion and ignorance. The cure for this is thus to humble oneself, change one’s mind, choose to believe. Fasting puts down the flesh. It is often very effective in destroying the power of unbelief. It aids in humbling ourselves and removing fleshly distractions to the voice of God. If done correctly, it can help us to focus on God. It will make spiritual things more intense to us, thereby destroying unbelief.

3. Fear. Negative fear is a negative emotion based on the real expectation of bad things to come. It is rooted in anxiety and a lack of trust in God’s fatherly protection and love. Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18). God is perfect love. So by seeking God, His presence and the fullness of His Spirit we will be set free from fear. When we are conscious of God’s power it is very easy to be courageous and bold. We expect success when we are consciously full of God. We know that we are doing what He is telling us to do. To overcome fear, we must look to God. We should not rely on natural considerations. These cause our failure if God were not with us. Peter looked to the wind and the waves. He was overcome by a fear that paralyzed his faith. This caused him to sink. He needed to keep looking to Jesus. God says, “Fear not, FOR I AM WITH YOU.” (Is. 43:5). God gives us a reason not to fear, and a commandment. To fear anyone or anything except the Lord is a sin. We can overcome this sin by being full of God and looking to Him. Also we must forgive all men if we want to be delivered from this form of torment. (Mt 18:34, I Jn 4:18)

4. Doubt. Doubt is an enemy to faith. It speaks with a voice that challenges the truth. It questions the reliability of what we should believe. To overcome doubt we must fill ourselves with the Word of God, meditating deeply and repetitively on it. Doubt is the evidence of an unconsecrated heart and mind. It is the evidence of lack of devotion to God’s Word. Doubt, like fear, torments. We must forgive others and give our whole hearts to God. We must stop listening to the voice of demons. We must also stop listening to the voice of our own carnal mind. It was trained early in our life to resist God. This is a decision. It helps to hear the testimonies of others to overcome doubt. However, doubt will never be fully overcome until we treat the Bible as God’s voice TO US.

5. Discouragement. Sometimes we feel discouraged because of physical or emotional weakness or tiredness. We may be disappointed by the behavior of other Christians. We may be discouraged by the persecution of others, even of our families. Perhaps we have waited for what may or may not be God’s promise to us, and we grow impatient. Many Christians at some time in their life become disappointed with God. Satan uses discouragement to weaken and if possible destroy our faith. To overcome discouragement we must make a decision to be strong (Hebrews 12:12; Ephesians 6:10) in the Lord. We must want to be strong and stop making excuses for our weakness and failure. We must consider God’s faithfulness to us in the past, even through difficulties (Hebrews 10:32-34). We must rededicate ourselves to God’s Word, to thankfulness, to prayer and to the voice of the Spirit. We need to learn to obey the Spirit in small things. Sometimes even great men of God like Elijah were discouraged. At one time, even after a great victory, he ran away from Jezebel, the witch. God restored Elijah through the ministry of angels. He used his voice to guide Elijah. God also got Elijah occupied in new missions full of the promise of hope.

5. The Love of Praise. When you care more about what people think of you, even Christian people, you prioritize their opinions. This is more than what God thinks of you. As a result, you won’t be able to truly believe in Him, according to Jesus. Why? Because God’s priorities and man’s are different. Jesus said, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another? You do not seek the honor that comes from the only God.” (John 5:44)

To overcome this, you must cultivate a personal relationship with God through prayer and obedience. Allow your old nature to weaken. Say yes to God and no to desires for seeking praise and recognition.

Finally, you must not try to pray for faith. Faith does not come by prayer. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. If you pray for faith, God will answer your prayer with the Word preached or taught to build your faith.