Thursday, August 23, 2007

According To Your Faith

According To Your Faith

You will receive from God according to your faith.

EPHESIANS 3:20 NKJ
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

This verse says two things. God can do more than it is possible for us to even imagine. Second, what He will do in our lives, is dependent on the power at work within us.

What is that power? It is the power of His Word, activated by the Holy Spirit.

ROMANS 1:16-17 NKJ
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

The Gospel is the power of God. It will bring faith. It will bring freedom.

MARK 9:23 NKJ
23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

Anything is possible -- if you have faith. Faith comes from receiving the Word of God. God's Word is faith food; if you eat it, it will produce faith in your life.

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

In English New Testaments, the words translated faith and believe are the same word in the Greek. Faith is the noun form and believe is the verb form of the same Greek word.

If You Have Faith

MATTHEW 17:20 NKJ
20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Nothing is impossible -- if you have faith.

MARK 11:22-25 NKJ
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, `Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.
24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

MATTHEW 21:21 NKJ
21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, `Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.

LUKE 17:6 NKJ
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.

According To Your Faith

MATTHEW 9:29 NKJ
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."

Jesus is no respecter of persons. He would not tell these people they would receive according to their faith -- then let you receive according to something else.

MATTHEW 8:13 NKJ
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

What the centurion believed determined what he received from God. It is still the same today -- for God never changes.

GALATIANS 3:9 NKJ
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

Only those who are of faith are blessed. God can do a lot -- but only does what we believe.

GALATIANS 6:9 NKJ
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

We reap only if we do not give up and quit.

ROMANS 5:2 NKJ
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

All that we receive from God is by His grace. We do not deserve God's blessing. However, we receive it by faith. We have access to God's grace only by faith. Without faith we will not receive any blessing from God.

(You may say that some people receive who seemingly have no faith. They are receiving based on someone else's faith.)

EPHESIANS 2:8 NKJ
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

We are saved, or delivered, only through faith. Everything we receive is a gift from God -- we do not earn it, or deserve it. Without faith we will not receive it.

ROMANS 4:16 NKJ
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

By blessing people on the basis of faith, God can freely give to all people, by His grace. No matter what anyone has done, God can bless them if they will believe Him.

ROMANS 10:11 NKJ
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

If we do not believe -- we will be put to shame.

These scriptures should make the importance of faith in receiving from God clear to you. Because faith comes from the Word of God, you should realize the great importance of feeding on God's Word, the Bible.

If your faith is weak -- feed it God's Word. You do that by reading, by hearing, and especially by speaking the Word.

No comments: