HAVING FAITH IN GOD

(All scriptures found in King James Version)

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:1)
  
FAITH  comes from the Greek word pis’-tis meaning persuasion, truthfulness of God, reliance upon Christ for salvation, constancy in such profession, assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
FAITH in the dictionary is "confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability;  belief that is not based on proof".  

 In Scripture, faith is God's warranty certifying that the revelation He inbirthed will come to pass (His way).  We must have confidence that what God has said will manifest (Isaiah 55:11) "So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

We must know that God is a faithful God, and whatever God has promised to bring in your life, it will be manifested in your life so we must hold on to that promise.

Let's take a look at Abraham and Sarah.  They were well into their old age when God promised them that they would have a son.  Genesis 17:19:  "God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him."  

Now Abraham was already ninety-nine and Sarah was ninety, and we know that naturally it would be completely impossible for Sarah to have a baby because her womb was barren and Abraham was well past his age.  But by FAITH Abraham had to first know, trust, and believe God.   Abraham’s faith was based on revelation; in other words God had to reveal himself to Abraham.  God provided and produced evidence that Abraham could put his trust in him.   Just like us, God had to reveal himself to let us know that no matter what, we can trust him.  No matter how long it takes, he can bring it to pass.  No matter how dead the situation is, he can resurrect it back to life.

For those who have faith, Romans 10:17 contains the evidence that we might believe and be obedient to God’s word: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  Then there are times when we see no evidence, and that’s because God is going in a direction that doesn’t make sense to us.  WHY?  Because  God does not operate in REASON!

Now let's look at Matthew 14:18-21:18: “He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. 

Now if  God wanted to operate in reason, he would have fed them five thousand fish and five thousand loaves plus more with the women and children included.  That’s more reasonable because your natural eyes can see it and comprehend it.  But to use two fish and five loaves to feed the multitude which really turned out to be about ten to fifteen thousand people, possibly more?  Now with that, your natural eyes can’t see it, and the natural mind can’t comprehend it.   But the spiritual eye can see it and comprehend it, which will produce the evidence for you to have faith.

Now to get that kind of faith on that level, it has to be cultivated; you must spend time and develop a relationship with God because he dwells within you.  If you don’t have a relationship with God, you will not be able to trust him.  That’s why it is important to spend some alone time with God so we can hear from him, and that’s when our faith will begin to grow.  Then our faith will have the potential to produce the same results that Jesus produced in His earthly ministry. John 14:12 states:  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
   
You’re beginning to have that FAITH that moves mountains,  FAITH as with the woman with the issue of blood: “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48).
 
How about FAITH as blind Bartimaeus?  Mark 10:51-52: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."
 
 Or how about the FAITH that walked on water as Peter did?  Matthew 14:28-29:  "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  And he said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus."
 
Now these are just a few accounts that I have mentioned because there are many more in the Bible with situations where they had to put their Faith into action, which is simply believing the word of God.  But how about the accounts not in the Bible but in everyday living?  Not knowing how that mortgage or rent is going to be paid, loss of a job, children gone astray, or marriage on the rocks, doctors giving  you a bad report and more.  In each storm, it requires FAITH in God in order to make it through.

How about I give my mom's testimony when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in January of  2011.  When they did the MRI, they saw that she had 2 different types of cancer - lung and colorectal cancer at the same time, which in my book is a double whammy.

Now this is what I call the FAITH that needed a Himalayan  mountain to be moved because my mom had an issue, and instead of blood, it was with cancer.  I’m sure she was like blind Bartimaeus - she was  blind and couldn’t see her way through, but yet she needed to be like Peter (whose name means FAITH).  Instead of walking on water, she had to walk on cancer.  

As a family, we got together, prayed in JESUS NAME, who is the GREAT PHYSICIAN, spoke the words of healing to her body, and God showed up.  He revealed himself to her and who he was - The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (men of faith) and to let her know that he was with her and was going to heal her if she only touched the hem of his garment.

AND YOU KNOW WHAT!!!!!

God did just what he said he would do.  So from November of 2011 to June of 2013, she has been cancer free.  HALLELUJAH!!

Because of her faith, she had no other choice but to trust God, and that’s what moves him - your faith.  So as we encounter different situation just keep this in mind about faith:

F     Freedom to allow God to direct our paths in life
A     Assurance that God is here for you now because he gave his only begotten son for us
I       Involvement with God requires you to have a personal relationship with him
T      Trusting God will allow you to Triumph over any situation you encounter
H     Heaven the higher realms of elevations that God wants to bring you to in Him, if you obey

            Him

So in closing, just remember Faith is what brings the things that God has provided for us from the spiritual realm into the physical realm.   IF YOU ONLY BELIEVE!!!  PRAISE GOD!!! 

~ Evangelist Shawnda Townsend