Fundamentals of Faith in God – Part Two

The foundational platform for faith is to believe the Word in your heart then say it with your mouth (Romans 10:10; Mark 11:23) (See previous blog for Part One). Next, faith requires corresponding action (James 1:22-25; 2:14-17). How do we put our faith to work so we can believe the Word in order to act on it?

We build our faith by meditating on the Word of God and what He said. Meditating on the Word will help you to see Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He shows us the Father, the Father’s will and is His express image (John 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). To meditate means to focus on, deeply think about or mull over. If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. It is the same process, but the difference is what or who you are focusing on or thinking about!

When we meditate on the Word of God, we are depositing His Word into our heart and it begins to change us because it is truth and gives life (John 17:17; John 8:31, 32; John 6:63). Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).” When we spend time meditating on the Word and spending time with Jesus, we come to believe what He says because we are getting to know Him not just knowing about Him. His Word is true; it never changes and He doesn’t lie (See previous blogs: We Receive Abundant Life Through the Word of God-Parts 1, 2; https://alexiscarucci.com). Faith in Jesus and in His Name is effective (Acts 3:6-8, 16; Mark 5:25-34). It is important to fully expect to hear and receive from Him when you meditate on the Word.

Mediation on the Word brings revelation or revealed knowledge from the Holy Spirit to our spirit man not “sense” knowledge through our 5 senses. Human faith allows us to function upon certain things that we see and believe. “Seeing is believing” may be good in the natural realm but it won’t work in the spiritual realm because God calls things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17).

Our faith grows by meditating on the Word (Romans 10:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). We can see the difference in the two verses where Jesus compared our faith to a mustard seed which is the smallest of all herbs yet can grow into a large tree (Luke 17:5, 6; Matthew 13:31, 32)! Plant your faith and it will grow.

There are different levels of faith because faith needs to be developed and can grow. We can see this in the Gospels where Jesus refers to people who have no faith (Matthew 13:58; 17:20; Mark 6:6), little faith (Matthew 8:26) and great faith (Matthew 8:5-13; 15:21-28)! Every time we act on the Word of God or follow the Holy Spirit’s instructions our faith grows and makes us ready for the next step of faith we need to take.

We could say it is like having muscles. We all have muscles but some have developed their muscles more than others. The same can be said about faith. We were all given the same measure of faith at our new birth in Christ (Romans 12:3) but some have developed their faith more than others.

Memorizing or quoting the Word is wonderful but it won’t feed our faith. Our faith grows as we feed on the Word of God each day, every time we hear the Word (Romans 10:17), take the Word of God into our hearts, believe it, confess it (Romans 10:9, 10) and act on it. We don’t go by what we have heard or read if it is contrary to the Word; we go by the Word – it is supernatural! It is just as much a manifestation in the earth as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We don’t have to strive for our faith to grow. We don’t need to achieve, we need to receive! Faith comes as we hear the Word and grows when we believe it; confess it and act on it. Focusing on Jesus, His goodness and grace keeps our focus in the right place; on Jesus and not on how much faith we have or don’t have. Hebrews 4:11 says; Let us labor therefore to enter that rest. When you are at rest, God’s grace can flow unhindered through us and it allows us to receive from Him. Stay in a place of receiving which is the God side of everything. We even need to have faith that our faith is growing and developing!

When we walk by faith in each step of obedience, we will make progress. God may lead us through a process to show us something about Him as we learn to trust Him more. The problem may still be there and still needs a solution, but we are changing and getting stronger and wiser as we lean on God more fully. Our faith is developing as the Word is growing and developing in us. We may think we’re ready to see the results of our faith or ready to take the next step but leave that to God.

There are times when our faith may begin to waiver and we will need to have the power of patience at work because it girds up our faith. Essentially, it holds the door open while faith does its work (James 1:2-4; Hebrews 6:12). Bible patience isn’t just putting up with something like how the world sees it. It means being consistently constant, the same and strong endurance. Patience will keep your faith steady until your victory has come to pass. Without faith, you can’t have victory (1 John 5:4).

It is important to remember to give Him praise and thanksgiving while we are waiting for the manifestation of the desired result (Psalms 34:1; Philippians 4:4 – 7). The day and time will come when we will see the fruit or results of our faith. Don’t forget to testify about what He has done when it comes to pass!

We must also walk in love because faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). Faith doesn’t work when unforgiveness, an air of unforgiveness or judgement is in our heart (Mark 11:25). We can’t hold offense in our hearts and expect our faith to work. Ask the Lord to forgive you, forgive them and forgive Him if you are also angry at Him.

What about doubt and unbelief? You may be asking, “If I have any doubt, will it cancel out my faith and prevent my receiving from God?” Some would say, when we have doubt, we do not believe so we can’t receive. Doubt and unbelief can short-circuit our faith and cause us to come up short before receiving the results. Doubt begins in our mind but faith comes from our heart. Therefore, when we have any doubt in our mind we need to kick it out and replace it with the Word of God so that our faith is not affected.

Remember the story in Matthew 14:22-33 when Peter got out of the boat to walk on the water towards Jesus? Peter got out of the boat and began walking towards Jesus. He had faith but when he saw that the wind was boisterous he was afraid and while beginning to sink he cried out for Jesus to save Him. The wind and waves hadn’t changed but he took his eyes off Jesus. He cried out and Jesus saved him because of His mercy! He caught him by the hand and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Our mind is where the battlefield is because it competes with our faith. Faith is not mentally produced but it is spiritually birthed. We need to renew our minds with the Word of God. Our eyes and other senses are opposed to our faith. Don’t allow a seed of doubt and fear to be planted. Use the truth in God’s Word to replace it. Look to Jesus!

We must not let fear contaminate our faith or rule in the mind because it will get into our heart! Fear is Satan’s source of power just like faith is God’s source of power. They don’t mix! Satan can’t do anything to us apart from fear; any more than God will do anything for us apart from faith. There are over 100 times in the Bible where we are told to “fear not.” Jesus has defeated Satan and has released us from fear (2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 2:14, 15; Luke 12:32).

Jesus worked with people’s faith. Ask the Holy Spirit where to start and start out where you are at. Find scriptures that relate to your situation and meditate on them to get them into your heart. Don’t try to believe and act beyond the place your faith is at or you will be defeated and think faith in God or His Word doesn’t work. As you start at the level you can believe for and act on that, you will believe God for more and more as your faith grows and you will see it work!

So, stay in faith and in the rest of God (resting in the finished work of Christ). Walking with God by faith is an adventure. We may not always know how something is going to work out, but we know who it is we trust. Trust is the ability to release control to another. Each step we take to trust God, allows us to have a positive experience of His presence. God is good at being God and He is big enough to handle any situation we find ourselves in (Mark 10:27). Each step of faith and obedience we take allows us to see that we can trust God to do what He says He will do and move on to the next level of faith. We can trust Him completely as we get to know Him and see that He is faithful to His Word!

So, don’t be afraid to come to Jesus. Coming to Him means believing in Him. Don’t let fear or unbelief keep you from coming, just come! It is an act of your faith. When you look at the Scriptures and you realize that some people had great faith (i.e. the story of the Centurion in Matthew 8:5 – 13), it is because they had a revelation of who Jesus was. Every time you meditate on the Word of God, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a deeper revelation of Jesus! The more we read or hear about His goodness and grace, faith will grow. God remains faithful to His Word even when we don’t believe it (Romans 3:3, 4; 4:20, 21; 2 Timothy 2:13).

If you want to see God’s blessings in your life, you need to obey Him and His blessings will overtake you. You can’t live the abundant life by reasoning. You must follow His leading. Jesus is the Good Shepard and we are His sheep. He says that we hear His voice and follow Him (see John 10). He is always speaking to you. Do you expect to hear from Him? He speaks in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). He may speak to us through His Word and we must believe and act on the written Word of God. However, there may be times that we need guidance to make decisions about things that aren’t specifically addressed in it, i.e. which job should I take; should I marry this person, etc.? That is when we must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit or the inward witness.

God’s written Word and the inward witness are two different things; however, they never contradict each other. Romans 8:16 says; the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit. This means that God’s directions come from inside of us not from the outside of us. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit and our spirit translates it into a thought. A thought might come to our mind and we may even wonder: was that me, Lord, or was that you? The inward witness is that quiet knowing, urging, or prompting and leading arising within us as our spirit is being influenced by the Spirit of God (which occurs after you are born again).

Time spent in God’s Word and in fellowship with Him helps us to learn to hear His voice and to recognize that He is speaking. We need to learn to listen to His voice. When we are born of God’s Spirit, our spirit is a safe guide to follow. Faith is the key to unlocking the storehouses of God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God only leads you to things that give you a more abundant life!

Remember to follow these fundamentals of faith 1) Believe the Word in your heart and confess it with your mouth; 2) Act on it; 3) Walk in love and forgiveness and 4) testify to what God has done. Fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). Pray the Word of God in faith (Mark 11:22-24). Prayer doesn’t make faith work; faith makes prayer work. Speak to the mountain instead of trying to climb it!

Faith comes from God and is NOW (Hebrews 11:1)! The answer to any question is having faith in God and using it every day in all situations no matter what! We have been given faith to live in the supernatural and walk in the miraculous!

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27.

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23.