Building Our Faith

BUILDING OUR FAITH

Gordon H. Richards Building Our Faith

2 BUILDING OUR FAITH

Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:8 "Freely you have received, freely give.” Although this material is copyrighted, I freely give you permission to make photocopies, electronic or all other types of copies of this material for distribution, providing credit is given to Love Without Borders.

In the event that the material is translated into another language the author would appreciate it if a copy of the translation is sent to him at the following address: Love Without Borders 315 Green Oak Drive Kerrville, TX. 78028 United States of America E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.jesus4you.com

BUILDING OUR FAITH

1 Building Our Faith 5 2 Various Kinds Of Faith 15 3 Faith In Your Own Faith And Prayers 22 4 Hindrances To Faith 29 5 Releasing Your Faith 38 6 Spiritual Warfare 45 7 Coming Out Of Trouble 56 8 Returning Your Stolen Goods 66 9 Deliverance From Fear 76 10 Christ Your Deliverer 84 11 Christ Your Provider 90 12 Financing The End-time Harvest 97 13 Christ Your Substitute 106 14 Living By Faith 115 Building Our Faith

3 BUILDING OUR FAITH FOREWORD

God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), because He honors divine faith. Every one of you who have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior have been given a measure of divine faith, see Romans 12:3 and Ephesians 2:8.

Mark 4:28 The earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

To begin with there are several levels of faith. Faith is progressive. God increases faith in the same manner as is seen in the above verse. First the blade is visible, but before it became visible the root system had to start. As your faith is grounded more in the promises of God you will see a greater amount of faith available. Then believe that God is able to accomplish greater things in your life.

You can become discouraged when you do not receive something you are praying for, if it is beyond your level of faith. You could be tempted to tell your friends that these faith teachings do not work. The problem could be that you are praying for something, and your level of faith for that item is insufficient. One time the disciples came to Jesus to ask Him to increase their faith. They wanted to get to a higher level of faith, see Luke 17:5.

God understands where you are and is willing to help you get to where He wants you to be. He does not expect you to reach your goal all at once. He allows problems to come your way, to give you a reason to look for the promises in the Bible to overcome the problems. He has given you the tools to raise your level of divine faith, as seen in the following verse:

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

You can increase your faith by:

1. Studying your Bible.

2. Believing what you read.

3. Understanding what you believe, see Isaiah 6:9, Matthew 13:14, 19, Mark 4:12.

4. Acting upon what you believe. Building Our Faith

You need to get your focus off the problems that are affecting you, and put your focus on the promises of God. Remember, faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that He will meet the need. Your motto should become: "GOD IS ABLE." Building Our Faith

BUILDING OUR FAITH

UNANSWERED PRAYER stands between the person and the faith life. The greatest difficulty in our Christian walk is: "I HAVEN’T ENOUGH FAITH."

WHAT IS FAITH?

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (N.L.T.)

MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN

The dollar is the only medium of exchange in the United States. Good works, church attendance, paying tithes, or praying, etc., are not the mediums of exchange between God and man, only faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Faith is grasping the unrealities of human hope and bringing them into reality. This is claiming and using the promises that are in the Bible and making them good for now. God expects you to believe and act on the promises He has given you.

INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE BUILDS FAITH

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.

The Scripture must become a part of you. You must live and practice it so that the Word of God becomes second nature to you. God expects you to study His Word on a daily basis so that His promises are transferred from your mind to your spirit. Building Our Faith

The three main kinds of faith are:

1. Human faith.

2. Faith of the senses.

3. Divine faith, or the faith of God.

In Matthew 14:31 Jesus talks about having little faith. Strong’s Con- cordance, (see reference number 3640), shows you that "of little faith" means "lacking confidence in Christ." The more you study your Bible, the more you will see your confidence in Jesus increase.

HUMAN FAITH

Human faith is very important in this world. The businesses of the world, the money systems, or credit cards are all based on human faith. The guarantees of the products you use are based on human faith. This kind of faith will not get your prayers answered.

When you fly in an airplane, you seldom are acquainted with the pilot, but have confidence that he or she will take you to your destination. You don’t check the pilot’s credentials or try to find out his flying record. Why? You have confidence that the airline has done a good job for you. You have placed your confidence in the crew, because you are using human faith.

On a road during one of our trips in East Africa in 1945, I had to check every bridge we came to, to see if it was safe. Three of the bridges proved to be very unsafe, because of the white ants in the region. Why don’t people check bridges before they drive over them today? They are not afraid to use them because the bridges have been constructed with material that is not affected by white ants. Once again you are using human faith, which places confidence in the work of the people who construct the roads and bridges.

FAITH OF THE SENSES

John 6:30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?"

The second kind of faith is based on what you see or feel, etc. This kind of faith will get your prayers answered only after you see someone else get the answer to their prayers. All Christians began with divine faith. Most of Building Our Faith

7 them are now using faith of the senses because they are not filling their spirits with the promises of God on a daily basis. This is the kind of faith that Thomas used after the resurrection.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 29. Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

FAITH OF GOD

The third kind of faith is the FAITH OF GOD. It is not "faith in God" but the faith that God gives you, which is DIVINE FAITH. In reality divine faith is having confidence in God and His Word. Each one of you is given a portion of God’s faith when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. It then becomes necessary to use His faith, or else you will lose it and go back to using faith of the senses.

One way to understand the use of divine faith better is to compare it to the way you use money. At a shop you pay for things with money. The money you use will depend on the country you are in. God does not want your money in exchange for answering your prayers. If God did want your money in order to have your prayers answered, you would be "earning" the answer to your prayers, because you are buying them with your money. You receive answers to your prayers, because you use divine faith, which is the only acceptable thing to God for answers to prayer. You become displeasing to the Lord when you do not use His faith. Making "a deal" with the Lord, is a vow when it is used to get prayers answered. It can be called a type of barter system, because it is used in place of faith, see Hebrews 11:6.

God gives all of you a measure of divine faith when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. The faith of God is stored in your spirit. Human faith is stored in your mind. Your spirit becomes filled with the faith of God in direct proportion to how much time you spend studying your Bible.

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

After salvation, the following things are necessary for you to do in order for God to give you more of His faith:

Building Our Faith

8 1. Studying your Bible.

2. Believing what you read. 3. Understanding what you believe, see Isaiah 6:9, Matthew 13:14, 19, Mark 4:12.

4. Acting upon what you believe. Reading the Bible without believing will not increase your faith.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

The world will try to destroy the Faith of God in you. Satan, who is a liar, will try to make your faith ineffective by putting doubts in your mind. This is the way he caused Eve to fall into temptation in the beginning, see Genesis 3:1- 7. The original sin was doubt or unbelief. Adam and Eve doubted God’s word. They did not believe that He meant what He said, and then took the forbidden fruit. Today Satan comes to you and tries to steal your faith by telling you that the promises of God are not for you. He wants you to believe that they may only apply to someone else. Remember, God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34). Each one of you can, and must, depend on His promises.

Jesus comes as a revelation of truth, and you come to know Him better through studying and believing the Bible. You must act on His words. After a while you begin to find that acting on what Jesus said, and the Father said, becomes as natural as acting on the word of the person for whom you are working.

When your actions correspond with the teachings of the Bible, faith will become an unconscious reality. You will see God’s ability to meet your needs, instead of only focusing on your needs. By changing the words in the following verses and putting them in the "first person" you begin to see that Jesus expects you to do the believing if you want to receive.

Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to me, seek and I will find; knock and it will be opened to me.

Building Our Faith

9 Matthew 17:20 Jesus says to me, "If I have faith as a mustard seed, I will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for me."

Mark 9:23 Jesus says to me, "If I can believe, all things are possible to me who believes."

Mark 11:22 Jesus answers and says to me, "Have the faith of God." 23. For assuredly He says to me, when I say to this mountain, "Go throw yourself into the sea," and if I don’t doubt in my heart, but believe that those things which I say will come to pass, I will have whatever I say. 24. Therefore Jesus says to me, whatever things I ask when I pray, believe that I receive them, and I will have them.

John 14:12 Most assuredly Jesus says to me, if I believe in Him, the works that He does, I will do also; and greater works than these will I do, because He goes to His Father. 13. And whatever I ask in His name, that will He do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. If I ask anything in Jesus’ name, He will do it.

John 16:23 And in that day I will ask Him nothing. Most assuredly He says to me, whatever I ask the Father, in His name, He will give me. 24. Until now I have asked nothing in His name. Ask and I will receive, that my joy may be full.

YOUR CONFESSIONS RULE YOU NEGATIVE CONFESSION

Frequently negative confessions are contrary to God’s promises in His Word for you. Examples are: Sickness: Isaiah 53:5; Lacking ability: Philippians 4:13; Lacking money, Philippians 4:19; or Lacking health, etc., Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:5.

Your words can stop faith from working in you. God cannot work in the life of a person who is using a negative confession. Examples are: "I’m afraid it won’t work," "My back is killing me," "You children are driving me crazy," and "My feet are killing me." You unconsciously plant seeds of fear and doubt in your spirit when you constantly use negative confessions. Your words MUST be changed if you want faith to work. Satan listens to your words and uses them against you, because you have opened the door for his attacks. Building Our Faith

10 Proverbs 6:2 You are snared by the words of your own mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.

Two boys were playing on a hillside when they noticed the sun was about to set. "See how far the sun has gone!" exclaimed one of the boys. "A little while ago it was right over that tree; now it is low down in the sky." The other boy replied, "Only it is not the sun that moves, of course, it is the earth. Do you remember, Father told us that?" The first little boy shook his head. "The sun did move for I saw it," he argued, "and the earth did not move for I have been standing on it all the time. I believe what I see!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

His brother replied, "But I believe Father." In a similar way, faith must make a choice. You cannot look at appearances and examine your feelings, and have the faith of God at the same time. Believe what your Heavenly Father says.

CONFESS THAT HE IS LORD

When you confess that He is Lord of your life, and live what you have confessed, you will find that this will be the end of worry, fear and doubt, and the beginning of a walk of faith. You will not mature overnight, but will find that the faith of God will continually increase as you study His Word and apply the promises of the Bible in your life. You must also expect God to honor His Word. The words of your mouth must be backed up with what you believe in your spirit. You will not see results if you are only using positive words, which are not backed up by the faith of God.

A good idea would be for you to get a note book. Every time you find a promise in the Bible, you should write it in the first person. You need to read the promises over and over again. Remember: you need to hear something at least fifteen times to transfer it from your mind to your spirit. Some people need to hear the same thing thirty times. Unfortunately there are those who have to hear something at least two hundred times, because they have been believing against it. The more you read God’s promises for you in your notebook, the more they will enter your spirit.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Building Our Faith

11 CONFESS THAT HIS WORD IS TRUE

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Many Christians have claimed Philippians 4:19, but have no claim or right to it. Verse nineteen is conditional. You have to plant BEFORE you can expect a harvest. Since the Philippian Church had planted into Paul’s ministry, he could now promise them that God would meet their own needs. This would represent part of the harvest for the seeds that they had planted in his ministry. The above verse is primarily a promise for those who have planted in the ministry of people working in God’s harvest field. God teaches you the process of sowing so that you can have an abundant harvest when you need it. You will then be in a position to meet your own need, as well as meet the needs of others, from the harvest you receive.

God is not moved by need. If this were the case, He would bless only where the need is the greatest. The people in various countries who are starving to death, because of severe drought, would be greatly blessed. God would move only in the poor areas of our cities, and not in the wealthy areas. God does not respond to need, because He responds to faith, which is working in complete obedience to the Word.

In the parable of the sower, Matthew 13:1-23, seventy five percent of the places where the seed fell, produced no crop. Many people have planted into different ministries, and have not received any harvest. God has no intention of blessing many places where seed is planted, because the leaders are not in the centre of the will of the Lord. Before you plant, you must find out what the will of the Lord is for you, otherwise you may not see a harvest.

Divine faith from God comes only by studying the Bible, believing God’s promises, and acting upon them. This type of faith is the result of the Bible becoming a part of you. This does not mean that you must put it to memory - although that will help - but lived and practiced until it becomes a part of your nature.

Ephesians 3:20 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. The book of Psalms gives you a good view of how David made God’s promises a big part of his life. Later in life God called him a man after His own heart. David’s brothers measured themselves to the giant, and realized Building Our Faith

12 that they were very small when compared to him. David measured God to the giant, and now the giant was extremely small.

When your problem seems to be extremely large, start looking to the Lord, Who is far greater than your problems. Look for promises in the Scriptures to bring to the Lord to overcome the problems. Instead of focusing on how big your problem is - focus on the Bigness of your God.

PRAYING IN GOD’S WILL

It is imperative that you pray in the will of God, otherwise you could be asking for things that could be harmful. You may also be coveting something that is not God’s will. Picture in your mind that a ship is entering a harbor late at night. On the shore are four green lights that the ship uses to line up with. If the pilot steers his ship in a straight line toward the four lights he will not hit the rocks. We have four things that we can look at to determine the will of God:

1. The Word of God.

2. The guidance of the Holy Spirit.

3. Circumstances.

4. Timing.

Suppose two 13-year-old young people fall in love. They come to their parents and say they want to get married. What does the Bible teach about marriage? The Bible states that marriage is a good thing. The Holy Spirit may say that they will get married someday. What do the parents say? They say that in the future they will make a good couple. We now have three green lights. But what does timing say? Timing says they are too young to get married. They must wait. God will line up all four lights for us when it is His will and timing.

WILL THERE BE TIMES WHEN IT’S NOT GOD’S WILL TO REMOVE THE PROBLEM?

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and Building Our Faith

13 complete, lacking nothing.

The word "perfect" refers to being mature. God expects you to develop maturity. This comes when you go through the problems with patience, instead of using your faith and DEMANDING that God remove the problem. When you are praying out of His will you will find that you will have to go through the problem another time. Trouble, or problems will not produce faith, because it produces patience, which in turn produces maturity. As you become spiritually mature the latter part of James 1:4 is fulfilled - you become complete and God provides your needs. CONDITIONS

FAITH IS STOPPED WHEN FELLOWSHIP IS BROKEN

By changing the words in the following verses and putting them in the "first person" you begin to see that Jesus expects you to do the believing if you want to receive.

John 15:7 If I abide in Jesus and His words abide in me, I can ask whatever I desire, and it will be done for me. 16. I did not choose Jesus but he chose me and appointed me that I should go and bear fruit, and that my fruit should remain, that whatever I ask the Father in Jesus’ name, He will give me.

You are to bring forth fruit, and as this fruit continues, you can bring your needs to God. Ask the Father in the name of Jesus, and He will give the answers to you. The four types of fruit are:

1. Righteousness: Philippians 1:11

2. Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23

3. Salvation: Romans 1:13

4. Your lips - praise: Hebrews 13:15

James 4:3 I ask and do not receive, because I ask amiss, that I may spend it on my pleasures.

1 John 3:21 Beloved, if my heart does not condemn me, I have confidence toward God. 22. And whatever I ask I receive from Him, because I keep His commandments and do those things which are pleasing in His sight. Building Our Faith

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

In 1 Peter 3:7-12 you see that when you are out of unity with your spouse, answers to your prayers are stopped. Lack of unity stops faith from working in your lives. Sin is another thing that will also stop answers. Verse 12 brings out that the ears of the Lord are open to the righteous.

Psalm 66:18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. (New Living Translation) Divine Faith counts EVERY PROMISE of God valid. Every one of us who have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior HAVE BEEN GIVEN A MEASURE OF FAITH. Start using the faith God has given you. Expect Him to honor His Word as you quote His promises, using His divine faith in your spirit. Building Our Faith

VARIOUS KINDS OF FAITH

CHRIST, YOUR SUBSTITUTE SALVATION

Salvation is dependent upon your faith in Jesus as your substitute. You must believe that He died for your sins, and arose again for your justification.

1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 14. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us. 15. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

HOW DO YOU GET SALVATION?

Three things are very necessary to receive salvation. The first is using faith or believing that Jesus paid for your sins. The second is expressing that confidence with your mouth and asking for forgiveness for your sins. The third is asking Jesus to take control of your life.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. Building Our Faith

16 A BELIEVER IS A POSSESSOR

Possession comes through believing. You must believe that God laid your sins on Jesus, that He was your substitute, because He took your place, paid for your sins and then rose from the dead. The moment you believe and ask Jesus to take control of your life, you receive eternal life, and become God’s child. BELIEVING IS HAVING

After God gives you salvation, He gives you righteousness. He not only becomes your righteousness but by giving you His nature, you receive His righteousness, and become His son or daughter.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jeremiah 31:34 I will forgive their iniquities, and their sin I will remember no more.

Hebrews 10:17 Then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

Colossians 1:22 In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight.

Ephesians 1:4 Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

When God forgives you of your sins, He remembers them against you no more. Once you have asked for forgiveness for your sins, you do not have to carry the guilt any more, because He has completely removed your past sins from the record. Christ is not just "The Lord," but now He is "your Lord." This is a guarantee that your past is completely taken care of. You are no longer a slave to sin, see Romans 6:6,7. It is not a guarantee that you will not sin again. What happens when you do sin again? You must come back to ask for forgiveness, expecting God to honor His Word.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

One does not need to have any feelings to prove that he is born again. You Building Our Faith

17 must believe first, and then the feeling will come. After you are saved others will know you are, because of the change they see in you. You are to believe that God will honor His Word. His Word tells you that He has forgiven you if you have asked Him. Your confidence should not be in any PHYSICAL FEELING, or PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. It must always be in the simple word of God. You will have confidence when you know what you are in Christ. Jesus has exchanged His righteousness for your unrighteousness. God sees you as holy, blameless and unreprovable as long as you continue to place your dependency on Jesus. See 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:4, Colossians 1:22, and Titus 3:6-7. You should be thrilled when you see what God has done for you through Jesus. Faith will start to become an unconscious fact. You will then be able to say: "Thank You, Father," and begin to enjoy your rights in Christ.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAITH

HUMAN FAITH

This is the kind of faith that man has in himself, his ideas and the things around him. Great businesses are built on this type of faith. We buy many things because of the guarantees the products have. We know that they will back up their product. Companies sell on credit, because they have faith that the people will pay their bills.

Human faith works very well for mankind, but will not work to have your prayers answered. Human faith does not believe spiritual things, nor will it believe messages that come from God, see Psalm 92:5-6, Daniel 12:1, 1 Corinthians 2:14; and 2 Corinthians 4:4.

The people in Noah’s day had a lot of human faith. There were many people who had a lot of wisdom and knowledge, and evidence in many parts of the world points this out. Peru has a lot of evidence of this.

Genesis 6:4 ...Those were the mighty who were of old, men of renown.

These people did not believe the message of Noah because they were using human faith. Many people of today do not believe the message of salvation or the second coming of Christ, because they are using human faith. Building Our Faith

18 FAITH OF THE SENSES

John 6:30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will you do?" The Queen of Sheba went to see Solomon, but was very surprised at what she saw. Although she had heard about the splendor of Solomon, she did not really believe until she arrived in Jerusalem.

1 Kings 10:7 "However I did not believe the words until I came and saw it with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard."

Many of the Christians today have this kind of faith. Thomas would not believe unless he could see the print of the nails in Jesus’ hands. He was willing to believe only after he had the evidence.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 27. Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 28. And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

After Thomas began to believe we see a promise for ourselves.

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Here we see two kinds of faith that will not work together, because they are completely opposite:

1. Seeing or hearing, and then believing.

2. Where we do not see, feel, or hear, yet you believe.

DIVINE FAITH

This is the kind of faith that God has. He expects you to have YOUR FAITH changed for His faith. God is the only one who can give you His faith, and there are two ways to receive it. The first is through salvation. When you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, God gives you a measure of His faith, see Romans 12:3. After that, if you don’t use it you will lose it. The next Building Our Faith

19 step is to increase the faith He has given you.

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

As God’s Word becomes a part of you, His presence fills your life and your faith starts to be exchanged for His faith. Divine faith holds the Words of God in first place. It is not dependent upon physical evidence. Divine faith believes that no word from God is void of power, and IS CONFIDENT in what God has stated. It accepts God’s word as final without any other evidence. If the Bible says it, that is enough. The sick person reads: "Surely He bore my sickness and carried my diseases," Isaiah 53:5 and then he says, "Thank you Father, I am healed." This is Divine Faith in action. One can be healed, even though pain remains. An example is that after surgery a person can still have pain for awhile.

DIVINE FAITH will give you supernatural victories. Your faith is based on the Bible, which is inspired by God. He will back up every one of His promises. God has faith in YOU, that you will respond to this faith that He has given you.

Genesis 1 shows that Faith Filled Words brought the universe into being. It is Faith Filled Words that are ruling this same universe today. Jesus sets an example for you. Matthew 15: 30-31 shows that the maimed were made whole. "Maimed" when use in the Bible, usually referred to people who had lost a leg, or another portion of their body. When diseases were cured, the word "healed" was used. Here the word was changed to "were made whole." Jesus completely restored the missing part of the person’s body. Creative faith is just as real today as it was when Jesus was here on earth, see John 16:24. Mark 11:22-24 points out that if you believe, and you say it, you shall have it when you are working in the will of God.

DIVINE FAITH gives you power over circumstances. In Matthew 8:26 you read: "Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." Jesus ruled the wind and sea, and His authority amazed those who saw it. He had control over disease, death, and nature. As your faith is increased, you can overcome all obstacles. Jesus told you this in the following verses. Do you want to do greater works than Jesus? He wants you to start believing and you will see God honor His word.

John 14:12 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to My Father. 13. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. Building Our Faith

FALSE KINDS OF FAITH

INTELLECTUAL FAITH

This type of faith only gives mental assent. It looks so much like real faith that many people can’t tell the difference. It recognizes the Word of God but does not act upon it. It agrees with everything in the Bible, but it will not work in a time of need.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

There are three major divisions of HOPE. The first is “NATURAL HOPE” which is the hope the people of the world use, which falls into the following ways:

1. Wishing a thing would take place.

2. A feeling of what one desires will take place.

3. The item or product one is placing their hope in.

4. A person one places his confidence in.

The second is “God’s Hope,” or divine hope. The third type of hope is the "Blessed Hope," or the Rapture. Many people are hoping God will answer when they pray. God will not, because they are using human hope which would only "like to see the answer," instead of believing and expecting the answer. FAITH IN RELIGIONS

This is a faith in man’s concept of Jesus. It does not produce a new creation, or save the lost. Men have faith in creeds, in organizations, in their churches or church traditions, in good works, giving money, in repentance and penance.

This type of faith has produced mighty changes, but it has NEVER given you righteousness, or given you real fellowship with God the Father. Faith in a religion will let you down when you have a problem. Your faith must be Building Our Faith

21 the faith of God. You must believe in Jesus as your substitute because He said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6. FAITH IN EXPERIENCES

People are born "copycats." If something works one time they expect it to work the next time. God expect you to use divine faith, and not to react or rely on how you feel. He may have met your need last time because of someone else’s faith. This time He may be expecting you to use your own divine faith, instead of repeating the previous experiences. People tell you what they have felt, seen or heard. They could say, "I am not healed because I have not been able to demonstrate my faith." This type of faith requires the physical evidence before they believe.

1. BELIEVING

You must make a full commitment to the Lord. Jesus must not be just the Lord, but He must be your Lord. He increases your faith in direct proportion to the time you spend studying your Bible each day.

Once a man stretched a cable over a river, and pushed a wheelbarrow over on it. He then filled the wheelbarrow with rocks, and pushed it across the river on the cable. He then asked the crowd if they thought that he could take a person in the wheelbarrow, across the river. Everyone agreed, however no one wanted to get into the wheelbarrow, except one girl. The man took her across the river and then returned with her. Later someone asked her if she was not afraid while she was crossing the river. She said "No, because he’s my father." We must have equal confidence in the promises of our "Heavenly Father."

2. POSSESSION

Divine faith is unqualified committal to the words of God. These are words of faith and not words of something you would like to see happen. Belief is in the realm of thought and is in your mind. Faith is in the sphere of action, and is lodged in your spirit. Your words must match what your spirit says, because "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," Matthew 12:34. Your action will correspond to what is in your heart. You cannot speak words of faith and words of doubt at the same time.

Faith will NOT be released if the conditions have not been met. Start using what faith you have, expecting God to meet your needs. As you continue to study your Bible, applying His promises, you will see divine faith Building Our Faith

22 grow in you.

3 FAITH IN YOUR FAITH AND PRAYERS

Many Christians have stated that their prayers are not answered because they do not have enough faith. All their lives they depended on the prayers and faith of others. As you grow in your Christian experience you are going to see the Lord expect you to start using YOUR OWN FAITH. Each one of you were given a measure of the faith of God when you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. After that, if you don’t use it, you will lose it.

DIVINE FAITH

In order to increase your faith it is necessary to do the following:

1. Study your Bible on a consistent basis.

2. It is imperative that you believe what you read, and that the promises of God will apply to you and not just to a few selected individuals.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to understand what you believe. See Isaiah 6:9, Matthew 13:14, 19, and Mark 4:12.

4. Act upon what you believe, expecting God to honor His Word by answering your prayers. God will increase His faith in you as you practice these four points.

Faith in your own faith is the law of success in the realm of the spirit. As you read and believe the Bible, the promises in it will become a part of you. When you let God’s faith loose in you, you are letting God use you. When you dare to act on the promises in the Bible, and speak His words, the power of God will be in the words that you speak. When your life is controlled by the teachings of the Bible, there will be an unconscious faith, which comes from God, in your ability to trust the Lord. You will trust Him Building Our Faith

23 completely, and you will go to the limit of His Word.

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Get to know your place, your rights, your privileges, and your authority. Then there will be no problems with faith. Faith is only a problem when you do not know the Lord, or do not know His Word.

Ephesians 3:20 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.

You are here in Christ’s behalf. Since you are taking His place here on earth, He has given you the power and the ability to work for Him here. He has given you the tools, as well as anything else that is needed to do the job in His place. He has gone one step further. He has given you the "power of attorney" to operate in His behalf. This applies in all areas. What Scripture support do you have?

By changing the words of the following verses and putting them "in the first person," you begin to see that Jesus expects you to do the believing if you expect to receive. God’s power is released by your faith in action.

John 14:12 Most assuredly Jesus says to me, “If I believe in Him, the works that He does, I will do also; and greater works than these will I do, because He goes to His Father. 13. And whatever I ask in His name, that will He do, that the Father may be glorified it the Son. 14. If I ask anything in Jesus’ name, He will do it.”

Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to me, seek and I will find; knock and it will be opened to me.

Matthew 17:20 Jesus says to me, “If I have faith as a mustard seed, I will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for me.”

If you have divine faith - even as small as the mustard seed, and you are speaking in the will of God, then you can speak to the problem, expecting it to be taken care of.

Mark 9:23 Jesus says to me, "If I can believe, all things are possible to me who believes."

Mark11:22 Jesus answers and says to me, "Have the faith OF God." 23. For assuredly He says to me, when I say to this mountain, "Go throw yourself Building Our Faith

24 into the sea," and if I don’t doubt in my heart, but believe that those things which I say will come to pass, I will have whatever I say. 24. Therefore Jesus says to me, whatever things I ask when I pray, believe that I receive them, and I will have them.

John 16:23 And in that day I will ask Him nothing. Most assuredly He says to me, “Whatever I ask the Father, in His name, He will give me. 24. Until now I have asked nothing in His name. Ask and I will receive, that my joy may be full.”

In John 14:12-14 you see that Jesus expects you to follow His example, by meeting the needs of people around you. What did Jesus do? You will see the example He set in the four Gospels. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you so that you are speaking in the will of God. One of the things you saw Jesus do was to take control of the weather. On one occasion I was showing a film to a Mexican Indian tribe. We were having our service under a tree, and all of a sudden it began to rain. I placed a piece of plywood over the projector to keep it from getting wet, and then I then asked myself why I had to do this. So I spoke to the rain in the name of Jesus, and commanded it to stop. The rain immediately stopped, and we continued with our service.

Another time a doctor acquaintance of mine was working in the intensive care unit. The nurse who was working with the patient in the next bed, told him that her patient’s heart had stopped beating. He was busy with his patient, so he spoke to the other patient and said, "In the Name of Jesus, heart start beating." He next told the nurse to recheck the patient’s heartbeat. The heart immediately obeyed because of the power of God being released through the doctor’s words. The nurse was amazed at what had happened.

The last heart beat you had was an unconscious act on your part. The faith of God must operate in you the same way. Divine faith working through you must become as natural as eating and sleeping. It must NOT be based on how you feel, but on what God’s Word says. Divine faith is depending on God’s promises to meet the need. Fear and unbelief are depending on Satan’s ability to stop God’s promises from meeting the need. There must be no room for doubt or unbelief, because this will cause your divine faith to become dormant.

FAITH IN OTHER PEOPLE’S FAITH

A big percentage of the people who are healed in large meetings seldom keep their healing. The reason is that they have no personal faith. They are depending on OTHER PEOPLE’S FAITH. Their faith is still in the realm of Building Our Faith

25 the senses. Their faith is depending on seeing the needs of others met before their own faith is released.

The people who have been healed by someone else’s faith for years, will finally reach the place where God DEMANDS that they have their own faith. God will expect them to pray for the sick themselves, whereas up to now these people have been relying on someone else’s faith. If they are unwilling to study the Bible, and unwilling to develop their own faith life, they will not see their prayers answered.

God has delivered you from the power of evil forces. He has recreated your spirit. Now He is ready to renew your mind, so that you may understand your privileges and rights in Christ. It belongs to you, you have a right to it. You should enjoy your own faith instead of being dependent on someone else’s faith.

Whenever you read the Bible for a few minutes, you know that the Holy Spirit inside of you will open His Word and make God’s words a living thing in you. The Holy Spirit will take the Father’s plans for your life, and show them to you. You then can have an unconscious confidence in the promises of God, as well as the Name of Jesus when it is spoken by you.

John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.

JESUS WANTS TO MEET YOUR NEEDS

This promise has been available all your life. The problem with most Christians is that they knew that God could do it, but were not convinced that God would do it for them. When you use divine faith with the authority of the Name of Jesus Christ for finances to meet obligations, are praying in the will of God, and expect God to honor His word, the money will come in.

You must get to the place where you know that your own faith does things, and you must believe in your own ability to reach the ear of God with your prayers. Your confidence that God will honor His word is backed up by the Bible. You must come to the realization where you know that your own faith - which is a God-given faith - is effective, and that God will answer your own prayers.

Building Our Faith

26 Once you know that your prayers will be answered and God hears you, you are no longer dependent upon someone else’s faith. You have your own faith. You can now say, "By God’s grace I have my own faith." Repeat the following several times: "At last I have my own faith. I can reach God with my prayers as well as anyone else."

God gives you His power as your need requires it. You are expecting Him to guide you into all truth, or reality. If a loved one is ill you can fearlessly take your rights and see them delivered from the enemy of disease, because God hears your prayers. You can use the name of Jesus as well as anyone else. You can command a disease to stop being, and it will stop being. You can know that when you say, "In the Name of Jesus, demon come out of that person," that it will come out. The demon will then have to obey you if you are living for the Lord. According to your faith it will be done. Jesus has given you the authority to use His name. However many believers act as if this authority were only given to a few special Christians. This privilege is for every believer. God expects you to come against the satanic forces that are working against your countries, families, and work- places, through the name of Jesus. Start using your authority today.

Each of us has the same Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit that was in each one of the apostles as well as the saints all over the world. God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), and He has no favorites. All of these things are available to every one of us, so that we need not be barren or unfruitful. You must take advantage of your legal standing before the Lord, of your rights in Christ, and begin to pray for the sick and needy. Start expecting Jesus to work through you.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. 9. As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness remains forever." 10. Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

PRAYING IN HIS WILL

God has a plan for each of our lives, and wants us to live in the centre of His will. As you live for Him you will find that the Holy Spirit will put the desires of God in your mind. Paul tells you to test the idea, or the spirit, because it is possible that the idea did not come from the Holy Spirit. You can have ideas that could be from Satan or from your own carnal nature. When Jesus was speaking to Peter, He addressed Satan, because it was a satanic idea Building Our Faith

27 that was being presented by Peter.

Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me; for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Before you bring your desires to the Lord you need to find out what His will is concerning that idea. After you find out what His will is, you will be able to pray in the centre of His will, and thus get your prayer answered.

An example could be the need for a car, because you need it to go back and forth to work. You know it is the Lord’s will for you to get a car so you find a car that you like. You then believe the Lord for the money, and buy the car. After a few months you have many problems with the car. The Lord had another car for you, but you did not wait to find out God’s will concerning which car to buy. The faith God has given you must be used in conjunction with His will.

YOU PRODUCE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND FRUIT WILL FOLLOW

The fruits of the Spirit as seen in Galatians 5:22-23 must be visible to others before a person can see divine faith used very effectively in his own life. You have the righteousness that is given to you in the nature of the Father, at the New Birth. That righteousness must be bearing fruit in your daily life. The person who is not bearing fruit and wants to continue displaying a carnal nature will soon find himself in some very serious trouble spiritually.

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; FOR WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.

The Christian whose life is not reflecting the nature of Jesus is bound by a carnal nature. This person is giving lip service to the Lord, but is not receiving his spiritual strength from the Vine, Who is the Lord. He will eventually be cut off as a branch and thrown away. Your daily actions, thoughts and conversation will show others where your strength is coming from. If you want to increase your spiritual strength and power from the Lord, you will have to spend more time studying your Bible, as well as talking to the Lord through prayer.

Putting the following two verses in the "first person" you see that Jesus expects action to start in you. Jesus also tells you that He wants you to bring forth fruit. He wants the fruit to remain so He tells you to ask the Father for whatever you need. Building Our Faith

John 15:6 If anyone DOES NOT ABIDE IN ME, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7. If you abide in Me, and MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 16. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

PRIVILEGES COME WITH RESPONSIBILITY

God will not allow His power to be used through a carnal Christian. Many Christians have two sides to their nature. The one side is seen at church and among the people from their church, whereas the other side is seen at the work. This type of Christian will not bear any fruit. There must be personal self-discipline.

Your life must line up with what the Bible teaches. If you are living for the Lord, Jesus has given you Power of Attorney. However, in acting on His behalf, you have to conduct yourself as He would conduct Himself. You may want to "tell a person off," but would Jesus do it? You may want to "pay a person back," but would Jesus do it? You may have some mean thoughts about a person, but would Jesus have those thoughts? Isaiah 53 shows how Jesus was mistreated, but did not retaliate. This is hard to do; however, as you trust Jesus, He will give you power to live up to these standards. Building Our Faith

29 4 HINDRANCES TO FAITH

Many Christians have been studying their Bibles, and feel that they are operating in the realm of faith. However, they still do not seem to get their prayers answered. There may be something in the way that is stopping the answers to their prayers.

COMPLAINING

Every person who has accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior has been given a measure of divine faith. This faith will become unproductive if the person is frequently complaining.

Each one of us is faced with problems. Many people react to these problems like a THERMOMETER. They can tell you all about the problem, but can’t control it. Others react like a THERMOSTAT; which has no power of its own. It allows outside power to flow through it and change the situation. This Christian allows the power of God to flow through him to bring the answer for the problem. The power of God is allowed to flow through that person because he is in an attitude of praise.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The prayers of a thankful heart are answered. The faith of God is able to flow through a person who has a thankful heart. A person who is complaining stops faith from working and allows doubt to come into his life. Most of the children of Israel who left Egypt did not enter the land of Canaan. Their constant complaining stopped faith from working and left them with unbelief. This unbelief caused them to forget all of the miracles that God had performed in getting them out of Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. Many Christians today are controlled by the same spirit of complaining. You will not see victory in your life as long as you allow this spirit to remain. Building Our Faith

30 1 Corinthians 10:5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 10. Nor murmur, (complain) as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. COMPLAINING AFFECTS OTHERS

In Numbers 12:1-16 Aaron and Miriam became jealous and started complaining about Moses. The Lord became very upset with their complaining. Miriam became a leper, but God healed her after Moses prayed for her. The whole nation was not allowed to move from there for seven days while Miriam was being punished. We can be very grateful that the Lord does not cause leprosy to come down on some churches when some of the members are continually complaining. It is very possible that many churches are having financial problems because of complaining spirits.

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmuring (complaining) and disputing, 15. that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16. holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16. Rejoice always. 17. Pray without ceasing. 18. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

A person with a thankful heart can give praise and thanksgiving in everything, because he knows the Lord is in control, and is going to meet the need or change the situation. Even in the worst circumstances a person can have a thankful heart because of the answer God has for him.

UNBELIEF

There are two kinds of unbelief. The first is a lack of knowledge. A person does not believe the promises because he does not know them. Many unbelievers in the world today would become Christians if they were told what to believe.

Part of the trouble with the Christians in this group is that they do not study, or allow the Holy Spirit to help them understand the Bible. When you study your Bible you will find a great number of promises that you did not Building Our Faith

31 realize were there. It is necessary for you to be convinced that God also means you when He made the promises.

Matthew 8:2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

The man knew that Jesus could heal him but he was not sure that Jesus would heal him. As you study the Bible you will see that Jesus shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), and that He will meet your need as well as the need of any one else. This type of unbelief will go away when you know what the Bible teaches, and are convinced that you are included.

Many years ago people did not believe that man could walk on the moon. It is now possible to talk to people who have been on the moon. Knowledge and evidence will remove this type of unbelief.

The second type of unbelief is an unpersuadable spirit. This means that the person is unwilling to allow the Word to change him. It is refusal to act on the knowledge of the Word. He knows what the Word teaches but he refuses to act upon it. Since believing is an act of the will, an unpersuadable attitude IS DISOBEDIENCE toward the Word. Many Christians do not realize that they have fallen into this category. The traditions of their church teach them that the miracles of God are not for today, that these miracles stopped at the end of the days of the apostles. There is no Scripture to back this up. They do not see miracles because they do not believe for them. When these Christians are shown miracles they will state that it was possible because the person who prayed, was working full time for the Lord.

A number of years ago a man took his wife to the zoo. While he was there he saw a giraffe for the first time. He looked above his glasses, through his glasses, and then below his glasses. He then told his wife: "Let’s go, this animal does not exist." This is an example of an unpersuadable attitude to accept the facts, even if they are in front of him.

Psalms 78:32 In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works. 33. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, and their years in fear.

God does not listen to your prayers when you have sin in your life. Faith works only when you have a clean heart. When people have sin in their lives, they stop faith from working for them. God is no longer obligated to answer their prayers. Building Our Faith

32 Psalm 66:18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. - New Living Translation.

1 John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God; 22. and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

There are people who have asked God for forgiveness, and still don’t get their prayers answered, because God did NOT FORGIVE them. The problem could be that they are not forgiving someone else, or they told the person that they would forgive, but they still hold it against the person. Their attitude is "I’ll forgive the person, but I will not forget it." This will ALWAYS STOP your prayers from being answered.

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive our trespasses.

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; 24. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

The first sin that occurred in the Garden of Eden was doubt. The enemy came to Eve and planted a seed of doubt in her mind and she began to wonder if God really meant what He said. Since then this has been a part of the lives of almost everyone in the world. Doubt leads to unbelief. In the following verse you see that those who have fear and unbelief are the first two groups of people that are going to be placed in the lake of fire:

Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, (fearful), unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Many Christians are faced with the problem of doubt or unbelief. They doubt that promises are for today, or even if they believe they are for today, they doubt that God means them. When you read a promise in the Bible you must be convinced that God included you when He gave that promise.

Christians from every country have been caught up in traps of temptation, Building Our Faith

33 and as a result many lives have been wrecked. The underlying factor is doubt. They doubt they are going to get the penalty. They seem to feel they have a special exclusion from the penalty of sin. When the spirit of doubt gets a grip on people’s lives they will drift along in their Christian experience as if they are just marking time. Their Christian life becomes ineffective because they feel that many of the promises of God do not apply to them.

Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Matthew 21:21 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. 22. "And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

How does one get out of this situation? The first thing that is necessary is to recognize the problem and then ask God for forgiveness. The next thing is to overcome the problem. This is accomplished by reading the Bible and studying it on a consistent basis. If you have a Bible that you are afraid to mark up, go buy a glass case to put it in and don’t touch it. Next, go buy another Bible and start studying it, making notations, marking it, just like you would be marking up a book that you would be using in preparing for a college examination. As you study the Bible, God’s Word is going to be made real to you, and then He will be able to use His Word through you. This will get rid of any spirit of doubt or unbelief, or any of the other hindrances to the faith of God in your life.

FAITH RULED BY YOUR SENSES Building Our Faith

This kind of faith requires the evidence received by your senses. It is the kind of faith that Thomas had. He was not going to believe that Christ rose from the dead until he had seen Jesus and had touched Him.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

Thomas had no intention of believing anything that the other disciples had to tell him. He had no intention of believing, even if Jesus showed up in person, because tradition had taught him that a person could not raise himself from the dead. Dead people always needed someone else to raise them. The only evidence he would be willing to accept was if he could put his finger in the hand of Jesus, etc.

People today carry the Bible with them, but do not depend on it. They trust in their feelings or emotions, as well as in what they see, hear, taste, touch and smell. This type of faith will receive an answer to prayer only after they see God meet someone else’s need. These people then can say: "Since God did it for them, He can do it for me."

YOUR WORDS CAN STOP YOUR FAITH

Proverbs 6:2 You are snared by the words of your own mouth; you are taken by mouth.

Putting a bridle on your tongue is more than watching your language, it is paying close attention to the words you use. Negative words will stop you from seeing the fulfillment to the plan that God has for you. It will stop your faith from accomplishing anything through the power of God. Many people have gone forward for prayer, and believed God when their friends prayed for them. After they left the Church they stated that they did not know how their needs were going to be met. These words immediately stopped their faith, as well as the faith of their friends from allowing the answers to arrive. You become trapped by the words you use.

When people use wrong words after believing God for the answer, they are saying that God shows partiality. God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), because He honors divine faith. Their wrong use of words stopped the answers from coming to them. The words you use are controlled by your spirit. People may say that they believe that the Lord is going to meet their needs, but nothing will happen unless they are speaking from their spirit. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus tells you that out of the abundance of the heart Building Our Faith

35 the mouth speaks. James tells you that no one can tame the tongue, because you cannot tame the tongue like you tame an animal.

James 3:7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Most of the time people can have control over their tongues, but when an emergency arises they will revert back to the old nature, and speak what is in their spirit. James tells you that the human nature cannot always control the tongue. It takes the spirit of man to control the tongue, and this is possible when the person is directed by the Holy Spirit.

The tongue reacts to the thoughts that come into the mind. When these thoughts are not controlled by the sanctified spirit of the person, the tongue can get the person into a lot of trouble. You must take the responsibility to control your thought life.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6. and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

You are told in Hebrews 4:16 to come boldly to the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy and find favor for help in time of need. Thoughts coming into your mind can be the opposite of what you are believing God for. When you express these thoughts, you immediately stop your prayers from being answered. All of your boldness in going to God in prayer now becomes useless when you are using words that will stop your prayers from being answered. David gave the following prayer that should become a part of your life.

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Psalm 78:7 That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.

Titus 2:13 Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

In the above verses, the word "hope" is used as a confidence or a trust in God. This is the hope of God and not the hope of the world. The hope of the world is wishing for a thing to take place. The hope of God is an EX- Building Our Faith

36 PECTATION of what God is going to do.

Most of the time when people use the human type of hope they are using the word in a sense of wishing to see something take place. Many people pray to God and hope that He will answer their prayer. This type of prayer will receive no results, because when the word "hope" is used this way, it becomes an enemy of faith. Human hope would like to see the prayer answered, but is not completely expecting the Lord to answer. This type of hope becomes an enemy of divine hope or divine faith because it is always putting off receiving the things you need, into the future. Human hope only WISHES to get it. Divine hope EXPECTS to receive the answers from God.

Fear of failure has caused many people not to become Christians. They are afraid they will make a mistake so they will not start. Once you accept Christ as your Savior, God will help you as much as you want Him to.

Fear of problems has caused many Christians not to work for God. The ten spies were afraid of the enemy. If these people had used faith they would have gone into Canaan 38 years sooner. They were able to go then, but fear stopped them.

Numbers 13:27 Then they told him, and said, "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28. "Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29. "The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." 30. Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." 31. But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."

Numbers 14:7 And they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8. "If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ "

Faith is based on the Lord meeting the need, whereas fear is expecting the enemy to stop God from providing the protection or meeting the need.

Building Our Faith

37 Nehemiah 6:13 shows you that acting in fear is sin. You need to understand that being tempted to do something is not a sin. The problem comes when you act on the temptation. Becoming fearful is acting on the temptation to fear. Ask the Lord to forgive you, and then fill your spirit with Scriptures that will build up your faith, so that you will not fear. Fill your mind with the promises of God, and tell yourself that God meant you when He made those promises.

Psalm 37:28 For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. 29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever.

John 10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:12 ....for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

You don’t have to be afraid of your past sins because God has forgiven you. Your part is to believe that God honors His Word. He will do what He said He would.

MENTAL ASSENT

Mental assent claims that the whole Bible is true but does not act upon it. Some people who have been Christians for many years are still living in the realm of mental assent instead of using faith. This big enemy of faith has caused many people not to receive answers to their prayers. As a result of this, many people have become discouraged and many have back-slidden. Had they gone a step further by USING their faith they would have received the answers to their needs.

God wants you to have His faith. He expects you to use the faith He has already given you. Increase your faith by studying his Word, see Romans 10:17. He wants you to leave all of your doubts and fears with Him, and expect Him to meet the need. Building Our Faith

38 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved, (shaken).

5 Building Our Faith

39 RELEASING YOUR FAITH

The answer to many of your problems comes from what you say. What you say is controlled by what you have put into your mind and spirit. Jesus stated:

Matthew 12:34 ....For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

When you fill your mind with trivial things, you do not have anything to draw from in a time of need. As you fill your mind with things that are going to help you, you are not only able to help yourself, but you can also become a blessing to others. Paul has this to say:

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things.

When you meditate on things that are good, etc., you are then able to draw from a "storage" of good thoughts and speak words which will not hinder but release your faith. CONFESSION IS THE KEY TO FAITH

Salvation is the result of confession. To receive salvation one must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31. So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household."

Believing must start with your heart. You accept the idea with your mind, but you receive salvation after you use your mouth to ask the Lord to come into your life, forgive you of your sins and change your nature and then verbally confess it allowed.

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. Building Our Faith

40 There must be an expression with the mouth. You have to tell the Lord that you want Him. You use your mouth for this. You have to tell others that you have received Him. You use your mouth again. The more you use your mouth for His glory, the more you will see faith growing in you.

Once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, if you meant what you said, you will see a change take place in your life. There are many people who have "said the sinner’s prayer" but did not intend to serve the lord. You will not see a change in their lives. A real change will be evident in the life of a person if that person really wants to live for the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

STANDING ON THE BIBLE IS GOD’S FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

God has given you His Word to be used against the various problems that come your way. The more you read the Bible the more God increases His faith in you, and the more you will know His promises and be able to use them. A weak Christian is one who does not know or use Scripture. This type of person will spend much time in the things around him, and will then claim that he does not have enough time to read the Bible.

The secret to success is based on:

1. Reading and studying God’s Word.

2. Believing what you read.

3. Understanding what you believe.

4. Acting upon what you believe.

REASON FOR TEMPTATION

Frequently problems come in the form of temptations, and God allows them, to test your will power and desire to use Scripture to come against the problems or temptations. The only people who have no problems are people in cemeteries. Problems only prove that you are alive. Tea never releases its flavor and strength until it is placed in hot water. God wants to demonstrate His strength through you and so allows problems to come your Building Our Faith

41 way. A battery needs a positive and a negative post to make it work, and if there is no negative post the battery would be useless. You will find times when you are knocked down as much as seven times, however God will still lift you up, Proverbs 24:16. You have the promises of the Lord to depend upon, whereas the unconverted person has only his own strength to rely on.

Luke 4:1-14 covers some of the temptations of Jesus. Verses 1, 4 and 14 stand out in this passage.

Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2. being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

Jesus was filled with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer who accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and desires to live for Him. This is not the power of the Holy Spirit, which you can ask for and receive anytime after salvation. Many don’t receive the power of the Holy Spirit, because they don’t ask for it, or don’t expect to receive it. You need this power because you will be entering into spiritual warfare with the enemy. You are given weapons to win the battle, which are seen in Ephesians 6:11- 18. When Jesus was tempted He quoted Scripture, James tells you to do the same thing. You also see this in 1 Peter 5:8, 9.

Luke 4:3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4. But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ "

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Jesus was successful during the time of temptation because He used Scripture to stop the enemy. You need to realize that quoting Scripture inflicts pain on the satanic forces, because Scripture is the word of God. After He was successful, He was given the power of the Holy Spirit. God expect you to be filled with the same power.

Luke 4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Each of you is faced with a different set of temptations. Some will be faced with a spirit of fear. The Bible tells you "do not be afraid" over 80 times. The Holy Spirit tells you that many times, because He wants you to get the message. This may be a real problem with some of us. Remember, James tells you to resist the enemy and he will run from you. Tell him to take his package of fear with him and not return. In other words return to sender Building Our Faith

42 unopened!!

The next person may say, "I’m not afraid but I’m so weak or weary." Listen to what you are saying. Is that what the Bible says? Quote what the Bible says and expect God to honor his Word.

Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. (His understanding no one can fathom.) 29. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. 31. But those who wait (or place their confidence) on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Do you feel helpless? Listen to what you tell others. Are you talking about your problems, or are you telling others what God has promised in His Word, and will do for you? Whenever you are complaining about your problems you stop faith from working in your life. You should be praising the Lord by telling others that God is going to honor His Word and cause a change to take place to meet the need. In the United States people may phone "9-1-1" for emergency help in time of need. God wants you to rely on His promises. Quote Psalm 91:1.

The following paragraph is putting Psalm 91 in the first person:

Psalm 91:1 As I dwell in the secret place of the Most High I will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Surely He will deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He will cover me with His feathers, and under His wings I will take refuge; His truth will be my shield and buckler. I will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it will not come near me. Only with my eyes will I look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because I have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, my habitation, no evil will befall me, nor will any plague come near my dwelling; for He will give His angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways. They will bear me up in their hands, lest I dash my foot against a stone. I will tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent I will trample underfoot. Because I have set my love upon Him, therefore He will deliver me; He will set me on high, because I have known His name. I will call upon Him, and He will answer me; He will be with me in trouble; He will deliver me and honor me. With long life will He satisfy me, and show me His salvation. Building Our Faith

43 Faith grows with your confession. The more you quote the Bible the more you will see faith working in you. If a person does not believe the promises they are quoting, they should bind the spirit of doubt and unbelief that is blinding their spiritual eyes.

Matthew 18:18 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

Since early childhood the world has taught you to emphasize the negative rather than the positive. Most newspapers sell because they are pointing out the bad things that have happened. The weather report may be 20% chance of rain. Why not state 80% chance of sunshine? If a person has used half of the fuel in the gasoline tank, the usual statement is that the tank is half empty. Why not say the tank is half full?

Many people have a negative confession. They are always telling you about their weaknesses, or their failings, their lack of money, lack of ability, and their lack of health. Continually confessing weakness, failure and sickness will destroy faith. Sometimes lack of knowledge will hinder you from making a bold confession. You will not act upon the Bible beyond your knowledge. Faith grows with understanding the Bible.

The Christian who does not understand his legal right to use the Name of Jesus is held in bondage, and is given a sense of weakness. However, when you know what His name will do, you can defeat the enemy and enjoy victory. This is possible, providing you have removed the hindrance to divine faith, and are operating in the will of God.

A spiritual law that few of us recognize is that our confessions rule us. When you confess His Lordship, and are fully convinced, you then can turn your life over to His care. That will be the end of worry, the end of fear, and the beginning of a life of faith.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

YOUR FAITH KEEPS PACE WITH YOUR CONFESSION Building Our Faith

You are held in bondage because you lack understanding about acting upon the Bible. You try to believe when all that is necessary is for you to act on what God says. If you know that the Word is true, you will act as though it were true, and then it will become a reality. Divine faith works in your life when you know the Bible and allow it to act through you.

You eventually become what you confess. When what you say with your mouth agrees with what is in your spirit, and these two agree with God’s Word, then you become mighty in your prayer life.

It is necessary to operate in God’s will. The power of God will be able to flow through you, as you are praying and speaking in His will. You may not realize this at first, but as you study the Word, act upon it, and let it live in you, it becomes slowly but surely a living reality. You will see this reality develop through your confession.

Many Christians act as if Psalm 23:1 reads this way: "The Lord is sometimes my Shepherd, 50% of the time He will meet my needs." What does it really say? The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. (Any and all the time.)

Confess His Lordship, and declare that He is your Shepherd. You can then be convinced that He will meet your needs. You will see faith rise up in you, and the needs will be met.

Jesus has given you the authority to use His name. You are to come against the satanic forces in the name of Jesus. The spirit of lack, of disease, fear or any other attack from Satan will have to bow to the name of Jesus. Why does this not take place in the lives of some people? Success will amplify the natural tendencies a person has. The person who is stingy when he has little, will possibly be thirty times worse when he has success. The person who is bound by an unforgiving spirit to start with, will be far worse off, if God would allow him to receive the desires of his heart. If this type of person can’t overcome the small temptations before success, he will be in no position to overcome the greater temptations that will come after success. Your inner nature must be dealt with, if God is going to allow His power and authority to work in you.

In Psalm 91 you see His promise for protection. You must be convinced that He will protect you. Expect that God will honor His Word and provide the protection He has promised. He WILL honor His Word!

Ephesians 3:20 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. His power is already in you to meet the need. How is His power released in you? It is released through the words you say. You can use negative Building Our Faith

45 words, or you can allow God and His promises to work through you.

Late one night I was driving from Ensenada to Tijuana, Mexico, and saw a man standing in the middle of the road. He was waving his arms for me to stop, and his pickup was parked at the side of the road. I thought he needed help, so I stopped behind the pickup. The Lord then showed me that this was a holdup. Instantly I said, "In the name of Jesus you will not touch me." A spirit of fear came over the man, and he jumped into his pickup and rolled up his window, possibly he was afraid that I might come after him. I then pulled up beside him and asked him what he wanted. I could see fear on his face when he told me he wanted nothing, because he wanted me to leave him alone. He must have seen the angels protecting me as promised in Psalm 91:11.

Psalm 91:11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

YOUR WORDS PUT FAITH OR DOUBT IN OTHERS

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

These Christians conquered the devil with words. Your lips become a means of transportation for God’s deliverance, to meet other people’s needs. You are what Jesus says you are. You do not have to be what you say you are. Few of us realize that our confession imprisons us. The right kind of confession will set us free. It is not only your thinking, it is your words, and conversations that build power or weakness into you. Your words can trap you and hold you in captivity, or they will set you free, and allow the power of God to work through you to meet the needs of other people. It is what you confess with your lips that really controls your inner being. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," Luke 6:45.

You unconsciously confess what you believe. If you frequently talk of sickness, it will be because you believe in receiving sickness. You are opening the door to allow Satan to keep you sick. You need to realize that you are not the sick person that is trying to get well, but the well person that the satanic forces are trying to make sick. If you talk of weakness and failure, it is because you believe that you are weak and will fail. It is surprising how much faith people have in the wrong things. You get the habit of confessing your weaknesses. When you confess your fears, you then become more fearful. When you realize that you will never rise above your confessions and really want deliverance from the Lord, Building Our Faith

46 you are getting to the place where God can really begin to work in you and through you. Make a real effort to spend more time studying His Word every day. Ask the Lord to increase His faith in you as you do this.

47 SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Many Christians become very concerned when problems come their way, and sometimes act as if God has let them down. Peter tells you that you will have problems, however God’s Word tells you that you can do something about them.

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13. But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing.

All batteries must have a positive and negative post to work properly. The negative in the life of a Believer will allow his faith to be released, which demonstrates the power of God to the world. Many times a Christian has a problem because his faith is being tested. The above verses show that trouble produces patience, which produces maturity. You then become complete and lack nothing, because you are depending on the promises of God. IDENTIFYING THE ENEMY

On many occasions when you have problems, your prayers do not seem to be answered. At times you are going to find that you are fighting a spiritual battle, and the enemy is trying to stop you from receiving answers.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

An example of this is seen when Daniel had been fasting and praying for 21 days. God had heard his prayer the first day, and an angel was immediately sent to Daniel’s aid. On the way to him, the angel was hindered by a number of demonic spirits, see verse 13, one of whom was "the prince of the kingdom of Persia." The battle became so great that God sent Michael, a very powerful angel, to help him win the battle.

Daniel 10:12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13. Building Our Faith

48 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia."

The enemy forces were there all the time and were stopping the plan of God from being fulfilled. A battle now started between angelic and evil forces. This new battle began AFTER Daniel started to pray. Notice the latter part of verse thirteen. This angel was fighting with a number of fallen angels, who were called kings. Daniel’s prayer started the new action, and God sent angelic forces to his aid because of his prayer.

We are faced with the same type of spiritual battles today. In many countries the enemy of our souls seems to be winning the battle. Many times this is because we do not realize that we are fighting a spiritual battle. We must recognize who our enemy is, and learn to recognize when he is trying to attack us. Learn what his limitations are, as well as our limitations. Learn how to do battle with him. Satan will not flee from us if we have not been submissive or obedient to God.

James 4:7 SUBMIT therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

At the time of creation God gave Adam complete authority over everything in this world. When Adam disobeyed God, he gave his authority to Satan. That is why Satan could truthfully offer the kingdoms of the world to Jesus if He would fall down and worship him. Jesus refused to yield to this strong temptation, because He knew He would receive them at the time of the cross.

Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

Colossians 2:14 Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15. Having disarmed principalities and powers. He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Satan was defeated when Jesus was on the cross. God took away Satan’s authority, and gave it to Jesus, however Satan can still cause problems for you. You now have the authority to resist him in the wonderful and Building Our Faith

49 powerful NAME OF JESUS. The power of the name of Jesus terrifies Satan and all his demons.

THE WEAPONS OF THE ENEMY

Satan can attack you with a spirit of complaining. When you allow this to work in your life, you stop faith from working. The next thing he attacks you with is a spirit of deception. He wants people to think that it is all right to do something wrong. He tells them that it is not a sin, it is only a mistake. He has deceived many people into joining false religions, and he tells them that is just another way to get to Heaven. It does not make any difference which road you take, so long as you get there. All these are deceptive ideas to keep you from serving the Lord.

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7. Therefore do not be partakers with them.

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

The third major weapon is fear. "The gods are angry with you." "You need to make more sacrifices to the spirits." These and many others are what he tells the non-Christian person in many countries. He has a different line for the Christian. "God does not love you any more because you did this or that in the past." "God has not forgiven you for some sin." "You will not succeed if you do this for the Lord." "What will others think if you witness to them?" He tries to make you think that you will fail in your Christian walk.

Another major weapon Satan uses is discouragement. This problem has caused many people to turn back when they are at the gates of victory. The ten spies gave a discouraging report to the nation of Israel when they were about to enter the Promised Land, see Numbers 13:27-33. Only two of the adults were permitted to enter the Promised Land because the rest ACCEPTED a spirit of discouragement. Discouragement becomes con- Building Our Faith

50 tagious, and it can infect those around you, causing others to become discouraged.

When Satan can’t defeat you with the above tools he then sends other temptations your way. He knows that most of us will not yield to the very obvious sins, so he sends the "little foxes to spoil the vines." These can be a spirit of complaining, a quick temper, or any other thing that is an example of the carnal nature, see Galatians 5:16-26.

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmuring and disputing, 15. that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

YOUR WEAPONS FOR WARFARE

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15. and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16. above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18. praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Picture two men in your mind, with the man on one side as a very cruel looking person. He is dressed in some kind of skin, and has nothing on his head or feet. At his feet is a pot with some burning oil in it. Behind him is a quiver with a number of arrows, and in his hands are a bow and an arrow.

The second person is dressed like a Roman soldier, and has a helmet on his head. He has his chest and waist protected with metal. He has special shoes to protect his feet. On his one arm is a large shield. In the other hand he Building Our Faith

51 has a large sharp sword, see Ephesians 6:10-18. If that is not enough he has a strong angel on each side of him, see Psalm 91:11-12, Psalm 34:7. However, this man has one more piece of protection - the glory of the Lord as his rear guard, see Isaiah 52:12; 58:8.

The first person represents Satan. Most people picture Satan as a roaring lion. He is not, he does not even have teeth. He comes at us like a roaring lion, see 1 Peter 5:8. In the wild, when a lion becomes old, he can lose his teeth. It is now almost impossible for him to catch good game, but he is not stupid, and does not want to eat only rabbits. He now goes with the young lions to the water hole. The old lion hides at one side and the young lions hide down wind. When the deer comes to the water hole, the old lion comes out of hiding and begins to roar. The deer becomes afraid and runs in the opposite direction. The young lions then come out and grab their prey. Had the big deer known that the old lion had no teeth, it could have chased the old lion and poked its horns into it, instead of running away. God does not want you to run away from Satan. God tells you to run from temptation. You are to stop the fiery darts with your shield of faith. You are to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God against Satan. The more you quote Scripture when you are tempted, the sooner you will see the temptation leave. Using the Name of Jesus along with the Word of God causes Satan GREAT PAIN. He then turns from you instead of running to you.

God’s armor protects you in spiritual warfare. This is possible as long as we are doing the following:

1. Using truth instead of exaggeration.

2. Using righteousness.

3. Using the Gospel of Peace.

4. Using the Shield of Faith.

5. Keeping your Salvation.

6. Using your Sword - the Word of God.

7. Frequently Praying.

8. Glory of the Lord is your rear guard. DECLARING WAR ON THE ENEMY Building Our Faith

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5. casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Using carnal methods in spiritual warfare is totally useless. The satanic forces are working very hard in every country of the world. God has given you the authority to stop their progress, because they were defeated at Calvary. Jesus expects you to use His name to stop their work.

Many Christians have the mistaken idea that spiritual warfare starts with binding the enemy. Spiritual warfare must start with praise and worship. It is extremely important that you start the battle with the protection that God has for you. The enemy wants you to have a spirit of heaviness, so that you will feel defeated before you start to attack him. He wants you to have the attitude that you can’t afford to antagonize the satanic forces. God has a different plan for you. He wants you to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

The spirits of covetousness, deception, discouragement, drugs, fear, greed, hatred, liquor, lust, lying, murder, as well as many others are infiltrating every area of society. You have to decide that this must stop. What can you do about it?

Matthew 18:18 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

You are given the authority to bind and cast out these satanic forces, as seen in Mark 16:17. When people accept Jesus as their personal Savior, the Holy Spirit enters their lives. They become new persons in Christ Jesus. It is impossible for the Holy Spirit and an evil spirit to be in the spirit of a person at the same time. A Christian can not be possessed by the devil in his spirit, but can be bound or oppressed in his spirit, such as by a spirit of anger, fear, etc. It is possible for demon possession to take place in a believer’s MIND or BODY buy not his SPIRIT. He still loves the Lord Building Our Faith

53 with all of his being, but can have mental or physical problems because of satanic control. Incurable diseases sometimes fall into this category.

Is it possible for a person who has accepted Jesus as their personal Savior to backslide? A person who is possessed with an evil spirit, (in his spirit), is no longer a Christian. God has made us with a will, to choose to serve the Lord, or go another way. What did Jesus mean in the following verse:

John 10:28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Jesus is telling us that NO ONE can take us away from Him, but we can walk away from the Lord, because of our own free will. We must make the choice to stay true to the Lord. See Ezekiel 3:20, 18:26, John 15:2, 6, Romans 11:17-22; 14:16; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 9:27; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 5:16-17; 6:7-9; Colossians 1:20-23; 3:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:19; Hebrews 3:6, 12-14; 4:11; 10:26-27; 12:14-15; James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 1:7; 2:4; 3:1-3, and Revelation 3:5.

2 Peter 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

John 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 5. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6. If anyone does not abide, (remain) in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

When you enter spiritual warfare you must proceed with caution. Should you command an evil spirit, through the power of the name of Jesus, to leave someone who is possessed? What will the person do after the evil spirit is cast out? Will he serve the Lord? You do not know! He must be fully serving the Lord if he wants God’s protection against further demonic possession. He may tell you that he wants to serve the Lord, but in some cases, what he really wants, is to be set free from the demonic force that is driving him, and MAY HAVE NO INTENTION of serving the Lord. Remember, while he is still bound, he could have a lying spirit. Ask the Lord to guide you before you start to cast out any evil spirit. The Holy Spirit may then direct you to cast out the evil spirit because He knows what the person will do afterwards. Some times the Lord will direct you to refer the person to someone with more experience, and with a higher level of Building Our Faith

54 faith. We see this take place when the disciples could not get victory over the demonic spirit in the child, and Jesus had to take over, see Matthew 17:14 - 20.

Luke 11:24 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, "I will return to my house from which I came." 25. And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

What happens to a person who is delivered from an evil spirit, but does not serve or live for the Lord? Within a few hours after the person is delivered, he could become many times worse than he was before you prayed for him. The first evil spirit looks for seven other spirits more wicked than himself, see above verse. All of them enter into the person. The last state of the person you prayed for, is far worse than before you prayed for him. It takes the power of God to keep you from the attacks of the enemy. It takes the full armor of God to stop his fiery darts. When the person you prayed for does not want to serve the Lord, and make it his lifestyle, he has NOTHING to stop the satanic attacks. It is extremely important for you to be guided by the Holy Spirit in casting out evil spirits.

You are given the authority to bind or cast out these satanic forces. You are not given the authority to rebuke or dare them. The word "rebuke" can be used in two ways. The first is what is received by the person being reprimanded. The second meaning is the judgment passed on by the person giving the rebuke, and can carry a conviction.

Jude 1:8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "the Lord rebuke you!" 10. But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

A rebuke, when directed at satanic forces, refers to passing a sentence on them. The Lord has reserved the passing of judgment on them to Himself. When dealing with satanic forces, you will run into many problems when you go beyond the authority you have been given by the Lord, but you can bind them. As you bind these forces who are coming against your family, your children, your neighborhood, your city and the nations, you will start to see the power of God come against these evil forces. Building Our Faith

55 AUTHORITY OF THE NAME OF JESUS

Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

What does it mean: "the gates of hell shall not prevail?" Many Christians get the feeling that it means that Satan can’t touch them. If that is really the case, why do we as Christians have a lot of problems? It has a different meaning. Gates are defensive weapons, and not offensive weapons. Gates try to keep people out of places. They do not try to attack. The gates of hell had their hinges blown off at Calvary, and the locks got destroyed at the same time. They are now propped up to make you think that they are in excellent condition, and will keep you out of his territory. Once again, Satan is using deception to stop you from resisting him and claiming back the territory and property he has stolen from you. It is time that you stop being deceived. It is time that you realize that he is only a deceiver, a conquered foe. Many Christians are expecting God to do the work for them. You must bind or forbid the attacks of the drug lords, the murderers, the spirits of hatred, corruption in government, dishonesty in churches and industry. You will then see the power of God released to take care of those problems as well as other forms of iniquity in our countries. Start expecting victory.

On one occasion, while in Mexico, I was to speak in a church that was located in a very narrow valley. The area became flooded after a rain. At first the water was running down the street within twenty-five feet of my vehicle. Within a few minutes it was within five feet. As I went into the church I said, "In the name of Jesus you are not going to get any closer." When I returned after the service, the water was back to twenty-five feet. The next day I saw a man who attended a church farther down the valley and told him of my experience. He told me that I should have been at his church as they were trapped in their parking lot for two hours after the service. I told him that he could have done the same thing that I had done. His response was that their pastor does not teach that information.

A witch doctor owns a bar in Botswana, and on weekends he would turn his public address system up as loud as possible, until two or three o’clock in the morning. People in the neighborhood could not sleep because of the noise. The police refused to do anything because the witch doctor could put a curse on them. The purpose of the noise was to provide more sales. I told the Christians what to do. We said: "In the Name of Jesus, you will lose Building Our Faith

56 one thousand pula, (the Botswana currency), every night you turn the volume up." We had a good sleep the next Saturday night Ethlyn and I were in the area, because the noise was completely missing. The witch doctor had left word that he wanted to talk to me.

Does every believer qualify to come against the forces of evil and be victorious? Only those who totally submit to God will see the enemy flee from them, as seen in James 4:7. Once about midnight, two cars parked outside some apartments, had their radios on as loud as possible. A man came out of one of the apartments and told them to turn them down. They refused to do it, so words were exchanged. One of the people in the car came toward the man from the apartment, and told him to leave or he was going to hit him, and he came towards him with the intention of hitting him as hard as he could. The man from the apartment immediately invoked the name of Jesus to stop the problem. The angry man from the car immediately hit him on the nose and broke it. Why didn’t the Lord protect him when he came against the problem in the name of Jesus? This man was not really submitting to God in every area of his life, so the demonic forces had no intention of leaving. He had a spirit of unforgiveness towards some people which would not let him forgive. The satanic forces do not have to obey you when you will not submit to God in every area of your life.

Many countries have bad economic problems. Stores have to charge higher prices to overcome losses from thefts and payments to gang leaders. Others are controlled by a spirit of greed. These companies raise their prices and hurt people when it is not necessary, which hurts the economy of the country. What can we as Christians do about this? We are given the authority to bind these satanic forces. When Christians pray together, in a spirit of unity, we will break the control of these evil forces that are causing the problems. Start taking authority over these evil forces in the name of Jesus. Make a list of the areas that are adversely affecting the community or the nation. Are there spirits of fear or unforgiveness because of some wrong that may have been done to some group many years ago? These spirits need to be bound in the Name of Jesus. We must forgive others if we are going to expect the power of God to work in our midst.

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

People of various ethnic backgrounds are held back from seeing the full power of God working in their lives because they refuse to forgive other groups for things that have happened in the past. When this spirit continues, it allows the spirit of hatred to come in. This will keep people from reaching their full potential that God has for them. Building Our Faith

A group of people may not be an ethnic minority. They want to see the power of God work in their midst, but they cannot, because they too are bound by an evil spirit. They may have a spirit of pride, and feel that they are better than others, see Luke 18:11. Their ancestors may have mistreated other groups in the past, but have never asked those groups for forgiveness. This type of spirit needs to be bound in the Name of Jesus.

Victory over Satanic forces is only possible when you are serving the Lord. If you serve the Lord only part of the time you will find that you are no match for Satan. The seven sons of Sceva learned this the hard way, see Acts 19:13-17. You must go forward in the name of Jesus. You will then see the power of God at work, which will bring victory to a troubled world.

The following verses show God’s power is available for you. You are to remember that you are able to use this authority He has given you by constantly remaining in the centre of His will.

John 14:12 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens (Greek: empowers) me.

Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

Building Our Faith

58 COMING OUT OF TROUBLE

Many Christians are surprised when trouble comes their way, and some seem to think that God has deserted them. Our acceptance of Christ as our Savior, has not exempted us from temptations, nor should we be surprised when trouble comes our way. Our positive stand for the Christian standard has made us a special target of Satan and his demonic forces. Temptations can be overcome and made to minister to our spiritual strength.

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13. but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

To be a Christian is not the submission of indifference, or merely the determination of an obstinate will. It is an intelligent, manly and loving holding onto God, and a quiet waiting on His divine will. Patience is not something that is sent from Heaven in certain quantities, but a quality that must be developed in each of us. When you pray for patience, you should not be surprised if the Lord sends you tribulation! It is patience that causes the believer to take full advantage of his troubles, and receive the promises God has for him.

Romans 5:3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4. and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Many Christians are concerned about the possibility of being robbed or having their homes broken into. They see people who are serving the Lord getting hurt and feel that the same thing can happen to them.

GOD IS YOUR PROTECTOR

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place (shelter) of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91 is talking about God’s protection during your present lifetime. It is not talking about heaven, because no plagues, etc., will be there. The first Building Our Faith

59 verse shows you that this protection is for the person who lives in the secret place of the Most High. To do this you are to place God foremost in your life, and your desire must be to please and serve the Lord. Your thoughts, words and actions must meet the approval of the Lord. As you strive to accomplish this you are going to continue to be under the protection of God. This protection becomes possible because you are trusting the Lord and you believe that God will honor His Word.

On many occasions, when an emergency comes, you will not have time to look for some Scripture, or try to remember one. You have to depend on God directing you, or protecting you in the problem. He will never desert you. PROTECTION FROM TROUBLE

There will be times in your life when the enemy will want to hurt or destroy you. You must understand that you are fighting a spiritual battle, see Ephesians 6:10-18. God is going to protect you, but He expect you to do your part. You are to use the weapons He has given you, against the powers of darkness.

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5. casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6. and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

Psalm 91:5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; 6. Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 14. Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

There will be times when the enemy surrounds you on every side. You can be protected by God’s armor as seen in Ephesians 6:10-18, but the enemy tries to attack you from behind. It is now time to depend on the promises found in Isaiah.

Isaiah 59:19 .....When the enemy comes in, LIKE A FLOOD the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. Building Our Faith

Isaiah 58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Isaiah 52:12 For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Your complete protection is available because God has placed His righteousness over you. You are able to come boldly to Him to ask for help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, (favor, love-gifts) that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. PROTECTION IN TIME OF TROUBLE

Some Christians have felt that God had deserted them when they were having trouble. Others have been accused of living in sin when trouble came their way. Most of the time this is not true, just that the enemy is trying to defeat you. God’s promises still stand when you have trouble, because He has promised to never leave you or forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

You are to expect trouble, because this is a way to test your faith, see John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 10:32; 1 Peter 4:12. During times of trouble, go to God in prayer. You must read the Bible more, which will increase your faith, see Romans 10:17. It then becomes necessary to believe what you have read and act on what you believe. The Word is strength.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) Building Our Faith

61 and complete, lacking nothing.

Many times a Christian has a problem because his faith is being tested. The above verse shows you that trouble produces patience, which produces maturity. (In several translations of James 1:3 word "mature" is used instead of "perfect.") You then become complete and lack nothing, since you are depending on the promises of the Lord.

Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. IN THE FIERY FURNACE

God promised protection from water and fire. Isaiah gave this promise about 116 years before Daniel’s three friends were put into the furnace.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

When the three friends were put into the furnace, they expected God to help them. God not only helped them, but Jesus came and stood with them, see Daniel 3:25. The three friends were promoted, following the trial, see verse 30. Many Christians have asked the Lord to deliver them from the problem, instead of asking the Lord to have His will done. As a result they have missed some great blessings, and in some cases a big promotion.

DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ DEN

Daniel was not protected from going to the lions’ den. He received his protection when he entered the den. This was possible because of:

1. His faith in God.

2. His faithfulness to God. God honored Daniel’s faith as well as his faithfulness and closed the mouths of the lions.

Daniel 6:22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.

God is the same today as He was then. He is here to protect you as you place your confidence in Him. He expects you to depend on His Word. The power of God is released when you quote His Word in faith. The angels obey the word of the Lord. This is true when God speaks it, or when you Building Our Faith

62 quote the Word of God.

Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. 8. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3. Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Psalm 91:11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

When you study the Bible you increase your resources. Your mind and spirit are given more information to be used when needed. When you recall more promises of God, you will see a greater amount of protection from Him, because God honors His Word that you apply to your situations. The Holy Spirit will remind you of the promises you have studied which will then enable you to use the promises in the time of need. COMING OUT OF TROUBLE

Many times your mouth becomes a big enemy, because you use it to complain about the problem. Complaining is using your divine faith to cause the problem to continue. The more you complain, the more you prevent your faith from bringing the answers. When divine faith is used in the wrong way, you will see doubt and fear build up in your mind. Faith will never work when doubt or fear is present. If you do not stop the spirit of doubt you will start to worry. When you continue to worry you will start to have health problems, which can lead to a spirit of depression.

Faith and fear are developed exactly alike. Both are developed from hearing something. Faith comes from hearing God’s Word, or the Holy Spirit speaking to you. Fear comes from hearing Satan’s voice. Faith is released by words and actions. Fear is also released by words and actions. The one kind will always stop the other from working. You can not have great faith and great fear at the same time. Faith leaves when fear enters. Fear will also leave when faith enters. Satan can’t force you to do anything, and his main tool is deception. Satan is always helpless without deception, which produces fear.

Psalm 22:3 teaches that God inhabits our praises. Wherever the Spirit of the Building Our Faith

63 Lord is the spirit of doubt, fear and unbelief will have to leave. The more you praise the Lord, the more you release the faith of God which will change the situation.

Many Christians have done a lot of praying and crying over their problems. They have been hoping that God will answer prayers. God is not moved by sympathy. He is moved by faith. He answers your prayers when you use His faith. When you don’t use His faith you will not see answers to your prayers. SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

In order to come out of trouble you have to get rid of doubt and fear. The two things that will drive these out of your life are: Praising the Lord and quoting Scripture. Sometimes you may not feel like praising the Lord. It will then be necessary to give a sacrifice of praise.

Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

During the days of Jehoshaphat three armies invaded Judah. The people became afraid and then began to seek the Lord. A prophet gave a message and told the people to trust the Lord. The king then put the temple choir ahead of the army when they marched toward the enemy. Those who did not feel like singing offered a sacrifice of praise. The enemy was defeated as a result of praising the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 22. Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

The second way to come out of trouble is to find Scriptures to cover the problem. You should find the Scriptures before the problems arise. Then you can quote them to solve the problems.

Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; you will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand will save me. 8. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.

My Grandmother, spent over sixty years as a Missionary in Africa. During this time God worked through her in a mighty way. Before my grandparents went to Africa in 1912, they were visiting his brother’s home, which was on Building Our Faith

64 a farm in Oklahoma. One day my Grandmother was alone in the house, cooking the noon meal. Suddenly the party line phone rang. The person on the line, with a very excited voice, told her that the house was on fire. My Grandmother dropped the phone and rushed outside. Sure enough, the roof- top was all ablaze. Her immediate thought was, “Where is a Scripture to cover this problem?” The Holy Spirit immediately reminded her of the following verses:

Hebrews 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

The next thing she did was point to the fire and say, “In the name of Jesus it shall not be.” The fire was immediately stopped, and the roof was not damaged at all. Only the rafters under the roof were scorched.

The whole neighborhood had seen the fire. Now they came with buckets and ladders to help put out the fire. They found my grandmother still with upraised hands praising the Lord, - but found no fire. Men set up ladders and climbed onto the roof looking for the fire they themselves had seen. All they discovered there were the results of great heat and charred timbers. The evidence of a fire, and then no fire, was irrefutable. God’s angels had doused the fire so there was no water damage to the house, all in answer to the faith of a lone woman and the power of her God.

That evening when the family was in the living room talking about this great miracle, my grandmother said to her brother-in-law, Ed, “It was God’s mercy that spared your home.” Ed was under such deep conviction about his formal Christianity, he replied, “I’m such a miserable sinner.” He broke down and wept wondering how God had been so merciful.

In the 1950's when my parents were back in the United States, my father went looking for the house. It had been moved six miles away from the previous location. The new owner gave them permission to go into the attic and look at the rafters, and found they were still in the same scorched condition. This was mute testimony of my grandmother’s faith.

IS YOUR PROBLEM FEAR? Building Our Faith

One of the biggest temptations you may have is fear. You need not fear, because you have God’s protection.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Deuteronomy 3:22 You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

One translator puts the following verse this way:

Psalm 11:1 In the Lord I take refuge. How dare you say to me "Flee like a bird to your mountain."

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2. When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. 3. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. 13. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not, I will help you.

Isaiah 54:14 "In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 17. "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me," says the Lord.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER and of LOVE and of A SOUND MIND.

ILLNESS?

Exodus 15:26 If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do Building Our Faith

66 what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.

Exodus 23:25 So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. Psalm 103:3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. 5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.

Mark 16:18 They will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

FINANCES?

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Malachi 3:11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of hosts.

Matthew 6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" 33. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU.

The above verse is conditional. Many Christians quote this, but have not had Building Our Faith

67 their needs met. They may have prayed in faith but still have not received an answer. They fail to look at the previous verses and meet the conditions shown in them.

Philippians 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens (Greek: empowers) me. 15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. 18. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.

The people gave first and amply supplied the apostle’s need. Since they first planted into his ministry, God was going to give them a harvest to meet their needs. The key is GIVING FIRST or planting first, and then you can expect a harvest, which you can use for your own needs, as well as helping others.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace (favor) abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. 9. As it is written: He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.

Many more wonderful promises are in the Bible. You must find them and meet the conditions attached to them. Start planting good seed of time, talents and resources so you can reap a wonderful harvest.

68 RETURNING YOUR STOLEN GOODS

All of you have lost or had something stolen from you during your life-time. Each time this happened you may have become upset. The enemy of your soul wants to keep you irritated and steal your joy as well.

THE DECEPTIONS OF THE ENEMY

Satan wants to steal everything he possibly can, and will use any method possible. His most important method is deception. This is how he stole the state of innocence from Adam and Eve. They thought that they were going to gain wisdom. Instead they lost divine wisdom and gained human wisdom, as well as a mountain of problems that were included.

Satan wants to steal your relationship with the Lord. He will use any and every form of temptation to get it away from you. Frequently he suggests things that keep you very busy, so that you don’t have time for prayer or Bible study. Many Christian workers have fallen into this trap. They become so busy working FOR THE LORD, that they don’t have any time to spend WITH THE LORD. You now start to miss the direction of the Holy Spirit, which causes foolish mistakes to be made. People come with offers to get you involved with plans that are not the will of the Lord. Over the years many good Christians have lost a lot of money by investing in ideas that caused them to lose their investment.

The devil has worked in people’s minds for years. He uses his followers to deprive Christians of what is rightfully theirs. Many Christians have not been able to get promotions at work because the enemy was working through someone to keep the promotion from them. On other occasions Christians have needed government permits, and have been unable to get them because someone was allowing Satan to use him.

Many Christians have had things stolen from them. Others have had their homes, businesses or possessions destroyed by flood or fire. The devil was using bad weather conditions - see Isaiah 14:17; or working through one of his followers. Some Christians feel that the Lord deserted them. They fail to realize that we were promised problems in this world, however, we are also given many promises that will help us to overcome the enemy. See Acts 14:22; Hebrews 10:32; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12. Building Our Faith

69 John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yes and those who decide to please Jesus Christ by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate Him. - Living Bible.

Some of us may not have lost money through theft, but we may have lost it because we loaned it to one of our relatives or friends. Time has gone by and they have not paid it back. Now they do not want to speak to us. Satan has now robbed us of a friendship, which can cause us to become bitter.

Satan wants you to believe the problem is because of those around you, your consultants, lawyers, or deceptive salesmen. Sometimes he gives you the idea that the Lord wanted you to learn a lesson, or that you were to lose everything so that you could start walking by faith. All of these ideas can be lies from Satan.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13. Therefore TAKE UP THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

People have stated that God sends problems to increase your faith. Your faith is increased as you study, believe and act upon the Bible, Romans 10:17. Problems will increase your patience but never your faith. The Holy Spirit is the best teacher - not experience, or problems.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (MATURE) and complete, lacking nothing.

The word "perfect" refers to being mature. God expects you to develop maturity. This comes when you go through the problems with patience, instead of using your faith and DEMANDING that God remove the Building Our Faith

70 problem from you. When you are praying out of His will you will find that you will have to go through the problem another time. Trouble, or problems will not produce faith, because it produces patience, which in turn produces maturity. As you become spiritually mature the latter part of James 1:4 is fulfilled - you become complete and God provides your needs.

SATAN WANTS TO STEAL YOUR JOY

The next thing that Satan tries to take is your joy. Jesus wants your joy to remain, but Satan wants to take everything you have. After a problem comes in your life you may get upset and then lose your joy. If you lose your joy, you lose your spiritual strength. Next you start to complain and stop using your faith. When you stop using your faith you stop resisting the devil. When you stop resisting the devil you find that he will not flee from you.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10. But may the God of all grace, (favor, love-gifts) who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Paul tells you in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in everything. In Luke 6:38 you have the promise that tells you to give and it will be given back to you. As you give praise and thanksgiving to God, you will find that He will give you something to be thankful and joyful about. Every believer must be full of joy, and it takes a "full tank of joy" to defeat the enemy. Some people seem to have a hole in their tank of joy, and the joy leaks out as fast as they put it in. They need to go to the Scripture to find some "stop leak" to fill up the hole. The more you have the joy of the Lord in your heart, the more you will see victory in your life.

Nehemiah 8:10 ....Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Faith is like dynamite and is explosive. It will blow away the impossible situations, such as disease, or lack of necessities. The fuse to set off the dynamite is the joy of the Lord. However you have to protect it, because the small things will steal your joy. Someone may step ahead of you as you Building Our Faith

71 are waiting in a line and get you upset. Others may delay you and cause you to become unhappy. Satan can send anything your way to try to steal your joy from you, because he knows that if he succeeds you will not have victory in your life.

Once a plane was delayed for four hours. The reactions at the airport varied greatly, depending on how much joy the people had in their hearts. Four of the passengers immediately sat down and began working on their lap-top computers. Several others began reading books or magazines. A few were very vocal with a lot of bad language. Happiness is governed by outward circumstances, whereas joy is NOT controlled by the things around you, because it comes from within.

There will be times in your life when you do not feel like rejoicing. It then becomes necessary to give a sacrifice of praise. When you start to thank Him for the things He has done for you in the past, you start to release a spirit of faith in your life. This is the faith of God that will start to get things moving again. You will get nothing accomplished if you do not have His faith working in you. In Psalm 22:3 you see that He inhabits your praises.

Jeremiah 33:11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: "Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever;" and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord....

Psalm 68:19 Praise the Lord, who carries our burdens day after day; He is the God who saves us. - G.N.B.

TAKING BACK WHAT SATAN HAS STOLEN

What are the first thoughts that enter many people’s minds when they are robbed? Frequently they become upset or angry at the person who caused the problem. This is exactly what Satan wants, because he wants to steal your joy as well. He does not want you to know that you can take back or have restored what you have lost. He does not want you to know how to go about getting it back.

All of the possessions that Satan has taken away from you can be restored. On many occasions he has caused a division in family relationships, or problems between friends. You must understand how he works, and what you have to do to reclaim your property. Building Our Faith

72 SATAN’S PLAN OF ATTACK

Joel 1:4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; and what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

The plan of Satan is total destruction of the Christian family, home and community. He has four stages to accomplish this, as seen in the above verse. The chewing locust eats the top of the wheat, or the head of the grain. The enemy attacks you just when you think you will get a harvest for all of your work. He leaves the stalk and the rest of the plant.

The enemy now sends the swarming locust your way. His job is to eat the stalk of the plant. Many families have healthy children, only to find that they have turned to alcohol, drugs, witchcraft, etc. Some have seen their health fall apart. The plan of Satan is to see you get discouraged and turn away from the Lord.

The enemy now sends his third tactic. This is the crawling locust. His job is to eat the stubble that is above ground. Satan now seemingly wants to take away everything you have. He attacks you with debts, poverty, lack of work or anything else that you have left. Jesus pointed out that he wants to steal, kill and destroy.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The enemy then attacks you with his fourth problem, the consuming locust. He comes in underneath the ground, where he can’t be seen. His purpose is to destroy the roots, to kill the plant completely. The moral fiber and health of the person is attacked. There are many Christians who are copying the world with their practices. They like to exaggerate, or stretch the truth. Their moral fiber is decaying because it is rotting away at the root system. The plant dies once the root system is gone. The plan of Satan is to cause you to totally lose your effectiveness for the Lord.

Satan’s most common plan is to make you feel that God places the same value on words that you do. Many people say: "I always do this or that." What they mean is that usually they do the thing. Another example is: "I am never late." They really mean they are seldom late. "There are a million flies in the room." Is that the truth? Is it possible that there are only 29 flies in the room? We then start to think that God places the same value on His words. When God says "always" He means always - with no variation. If Satan can get you to believe that with God "always" means "most of the time," he has won a great victory. You then live in defeat part of the time Building Our Faith

73 because you start to discredit many of the other words that God has in His promises for you. YOU CAN GET YOUR GOODS BACK

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you; the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you. 26. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.

Psalm 12:6 The Lord’s promise is sure. He speaks no careless word; all He says is purest truth, like silver seven times refined. - Living Bible.

The plan of God for you to get your goods back has been in the Bible for many centuries. The Church has been like a sleeping giant and has overlooked many of the promises God has in the Bible for them.

YOU CAN GET DOUBLE BACK

Exodus 22:4 If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall restore double. 7. If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double.

Zechariah 9:12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.

God wants you to raise your sights. Don’t expect to just break even, expect to get paid for your trouble. You can depend on God’s promises to double what you have lost. It is God’s job to take care of where it comes from. Your job is to believe His Word, and act upon it.

You see this take place in Job’s life. Satan attacked him and caused a big destruction in his family and possessions. After he began to pray for his friends who had spoken evil of him, you see that the Lord returned double what he had lost, see Job 42:10. Building Our Faith

74 FOUR OR FIVE TIMES

Exodus 22:1 If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

God places a high priority on the things you need for your work. Oxen were used to plough fields, and the thief had to replace five times as many items as he took when it pertained to the person’s work. If it pertained to his food the thief was to return four times what he took.

Many Christians never see the fulfillment of this law, because they frequently want to get even with the thief. Others are depending on their insurance company, and have to accept the deductions the insurance company has required. Joel is showing that God will return what you have lost. The Lord expects you to believe His Word. There are various limits listed in the Bible, but He expects you to match the limit you select to your faith. If you only expect God to work through an insurance company, you will be limited to what they are willing to offer you. If you are expecting God to work through the insurance company, as well as whatever other means the Lord wants to use, you will see that your limits will increase according to your faith.

YOU CAN GET SEVEN FOLD BACK

Proverbs 6:30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. 31. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; he may have to give up all the substance of his house.

You must now understand who the thief is, and how you will be able to reclaim the lost possessions, promotions, etc. Who would be responsible for your expenses if you were in a store and got hurt because of the carelessness of the employee? Would it be the employee or the employer? It would be the employer, because he is responsible for the actions of the employee. What court would you take the employer to if it became necessary to take him to court? Can you take him to court in another province or state? No, because you have to take him to court in the province that has jurisdiction over him. This is also true in regard to someone who steals your goods. Who is the thief working for? Who is the person working for who discriminates against you? In both cases it is Satan. Can you take Satan to a human court? No, because he is not a human being. You are fighting a spiritual battle and must take him to a spiritual or divine court. You will see that you accomplish nothing when you become angry with the Building Our Faith

75 person who has stolen from you, rather than the one who directed him to steal. On one occasion I was taking 7 tons of food to Ensenada, Mexico. Two pistons on my truck went out just before I entered the city. We had to unload the truck where we were, and I then hired a wrecker to pull it to a garage. While being repaired, the bolts on one of the pistons were not tightened down enough. My next trip was 120 miles east of my home. On the return trip the cap for the piston came off and tore a hole in the bottom of the motor. When I saw what had happened I said, "Satan, in the name of Jesus you are to return seven times what it will cost to replace this - including the cost of the wrecker." Within a short time the money came in to cover the cost of the motor and the wrecker. Three weeks later someone gave my wife a check for $10,000 which covered the other six times.

The starter was stolen during the time that the motor was being replaced. The expenses came to about $50. Three days after I had paid for it, a man gave me $350. This gave me the seven-times return.

On one occasion a man broke into our car by smashing a window. He stole the radio, as well as the computer, and cut a lot of wires. We had to pay $100.00 which was the insurance deductible, and the insurance company paid for the rest of the damage. A man told me that I could not expect anything more, because the insurance company had paid for the repairs. I told him that was only part of it, because the Bible promised me seven times. A short time later the other six times came in, which enabled us to buy two round-trip plane tickets to Africa. When you are operating in the will of the Lord using divine faith, you will get what you expect, instead of what others think.

When you talk with the average Christian who has claimed the promise in Proverbs 6:30-31, they tell you that if their faith was at that level, they received seven times. After asking them why, they would tell you because they were claiming it. However what does the promise state? It is telling you that you can claim that "He must restore SEVENFOLD." What is the difference between the two? Seven times means that you can get back seven times the value of what you lost. Sevenfold means that you can claim back one hundred twenty eight times the value of the original item. It now comes down to, "What are you believing for" and "Does your level of faith match what your are wanting? The next thing to find out is: What is the Lord’s will for you” because if you ask for and receive more than His will is for your life, you will live to regret it. Since the Lord knows what His will is, as well as your level of faith, ask Him to direct you, then you will not be disappointed.

USING GOD’S PROMISES Building Our Faith

76 IN HIS WILL

When you demand things from the Lord which are out of His will, the enemy will be allowed to fill your mind with thoughts that will become poor decisions, as seen in the following verses of Psalm 106. If this is the case, ask the Lord to forgive you, then fill your spirit with the promises of God.

Psalm 106:13 They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for his counsel, 14. But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. 15. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. (A diminished capacity of awareness.)

You may have faith to go to any limit set in the Bible, but is it God’s will at this time for you? He does not want you to have temptations that you can’t overcome, so he sometimes wants you to pray for a lower limit. The higher limit may draw you away from the Lord, as seen in the follow story:

A number of years ago a friend of mine worked in a machine shop. This was during the time when wages were a lot lower, and computer tape driven machines were just coming out. He became well qualified in programming the milling machine he operated. The machine would then perform all the required operations. The company he worked for paid him $5.00 per hour. When another company found out what he could do, they offered him $7.50 per hour, which was a substantial raise. He went to his boss and told him about the offer, so the company said they would match it. In addition, they would give him a lot of overtime. He started getting large pay-checks because he was working 60 hours a week at a higher rate of pay. Shortly after this he and his wife bought a boat, but had to dock it forty miles away. After examining it more carefully, they found they had to spend several hundred hours sanding and painting the boat. The only spare time left was every Sunday, which caused them to completely drop out of Church. I expect because he came home tired every day, he stopped reading his Bible, as well as spending much time in prayer. The results of the seeming blessing - which was the additional money, became a curse by keeping them away from Church.

What is the secret to obtain the seven-fold promise?

1. Use the promises you have in the Bible. Building Our Faith

77 2. Expect God to honor His word.

3. Command the satanic forces - in the name of Jesus - to return seven fold what you have lost.

4. Praise God for the answer to His promises. If necessary give a sacrifice of praise and thank Him that the answer is on the way.

5. Continue believing until you get the answer.

9 DELIVERANCE FROM FEAR Building Our Faith

78 Fear and deception are the two major weapons Satan uses against you. Fear will always bring you bondage which enlarges his kingdom. He does not want you to know how to get rid of the spirit of fear, because that will defeat his control over you. When you drive out the spirit of fear from people, you take back the territory of which Satan had control. After a person has been delivered, he will still receive temptations to fear, but will have the power to resist the temptation because he is no longer bound by fear.

THE SPIRIT OF FEAR

Fear started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were afraid of God after they had sinned. Prior to this they were not afraid of anything, because they had complete dominion over everything in the world. Fear entered them because sin had caused a separation between God and themselves. This same spirit will affect everyone who is not living for the Lord, and has not filled his spirit with the promises of God.

Genesis 3:10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

Paul, in the following verse shows you that fear is a spirit, and you can allow this spirit to come into your life and take control. You can become fearful of darkness, heights, shadows, water, or any other thing you are willing to be afraid of. The longer you keep from getting deliverance the stronger the spirit of fear grips you. This habit of fear will continue to bind you until you are willing to get the victory over it. A spirit of fear is no respecter of age or national background, and will take control of anyone who allows it to.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

The spirit of fear has been passed down from generation to generation since the time of Adam. Children do not inherit a spirit of fear. They copy their parents or others, which allows a spirit of fear to bind them, and continues the chain of bondage. Fear shows itself when a person thinks he cannot control the situation, or complete the task.

FEAR IS CAUSED BY EXAGGERATION

Numbers 13:33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. Building Our Faith

79 An average man would have been about 140 times taller than a grass- hopper. Are these spies trying to tell us that the giants were 140 times taller than they were? This was gross exaggeration which caused a spirit of fear to take over. Frequently fearful people will exaggerate, which causes them to become more fearful. Was it God’s will for the spies to check out the land in the first place? The answer is no! He wanted to lead them, but they wanted to follow someone who had been there.

Deuteronomy 1:21 Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged. 22. And everyone of you came near to me and said, "Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come."

In Numbers 13:1-3 we see the Lord telling Moses to send spies to check out the land, however this was not God’s best choice for them. He knew that it would cost them another thirty eight years in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Many times believers today are living God’s second best for their lives, because they are afraid to walk by faith. They want to see the evidence first, BEFORE they are willing to believe.

FEAR CAN BE CONTAGIOUS

Caleb and Joshua brought back a wonderful report from the Land of Canaan, whereas the ten spies told everything they didn’t like about the land. This caused the people to believe that it was impossible to conquer the land. Since the people chose to believe the ten other spies, their fears allowed the whole nation to be filled with fear because of their bad report, and this continued for the next thirty-eight years. Ten men affected more than two million people, because they refused to believe the report of the two spies. When they finally entered the Promised Land, they found that the fear was groundless.

Numbers 13:30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." 31. But the men who had gone up with him said. "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." 32. And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature." FEAR LEADS TO BONDAGE AND DEATH Building Our Faith

80 Many people do not lead a joyful and peaceful life because they are bound by a spirit of fear. These people may say that it is part of their nature, and may also claim that they got it from their parents. They appear to be bound by a curse of fear. The main reason why many people are not delivered from this bondage of fear is because they are not filled with the love of God. They may claim that they love God, but they are not filled with His love. Fear opens the door for the carnal nature to take control. They do not understand God’s love.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love; casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Jesus has come to set you free from the bondage of fear. He is here to give you an abundant life which allows no room for any spirit of fear. The end result for the person with the spirit of fear is that after they pass away they will have the same punishment as the people who committed all the bad crimes.

Picture an empty glass in your mind. Is the glass full of milk after you pour some milk into it? A lot more needs to be added to it, for the glass to be filled. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you receive some of God’s love, but you have not been filled with His love. His love allows fear to be removed from your life. The more you fill your spirit with the Word of God, the greater the amount of His love will permeate your spirit, which will drive out any spirit of fear.

Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, (fearful), unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The person with the spirit of fear is considered worse than all of the other sinners, because he is put at the front of the list. You now see why it is so important to be delivered from the spirit of fear.

FEAR WAS DESTROYED AT CALVARY

Your old nature was a fearful nature. When you continued to feed it, you became more fearful, because the spirit of fear comes from the powers of darkness. Jesus has set you free from the satanic forces as seen in the following verses. Now it is your responsibility to accept this deliverance. Bind the spirit of fear in the name of Jesus and command it to leave. Building Our Faith

81 Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14. in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, you don’t need to be afraid any more because you now have power to resist the devil and all of his evil spirits, in the Name of Jesus. You can ask the Lord to take the evil spirits away all you want to, but He expects you to resist the devil in the Name of Jesus. Once you start realizing this you can begin to have the abundant life that Jesus has promised you.

DELIVERANCE FROM FEAR

We have been commanded over eighty times in the Bible not to fear. When you continue to be afraid you are disobedient to the Word of God.

1. Ask the Lord to forgive you for being afraid.

2. Go back to the promises of God and expect them to work in your life.

God will honor His Word as you depend upon it. He gives you the command to “resist the devil” who has to flee from you with his temptation. This is only possible as you obey the first part of the following verse:

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Continued victory over the spirit of fear is only possible as you keep your eyes on Jesus. This is necessary so that you will not fall back into the temptation. Many Christians return to the same things that they had gotten victory over, because they took their eyes off of Jesus. You must get as close to Him as possible, and don’t see how close you can get to temptation. Then temptation will not be a problem.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Building Our Faith

FILLING YOUR SPIRIT WITH GOD’S PROMISES

Healing must take place after a person breaks a bone. After that, the person has to spend a lot of time doing exercises to build up the strength he once had. This is also true when a person has been filled with a spirit of fear for a long time. The person who has been delivered from fear, must do a lot of "exercises." This means that he needs to start studying the promises of the Bible, and looking for Scriptures that will enable him to stay away from fear. There are more than eighty Scriptures in the Bible that tell you not to fear. On one occasion I gave a man, who had a spirit of fear, the assignment of writing out all the verses in the Bible, that told people not to fear. He worked at it during his spare time, and in three days he had completed the task. He was filling his spirit with the Word of God as he wrote. This was also increasing his faith, as seen in the following verse:

Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

In the above verse, as well as Psalm 124:1-2 you see that the Lord is on your side. Believe that He is stronger than any force that may come against you. Your responsibility is to believe and act on the promises that He has given you. This is possible when the promises of God have been planted in your spirit, and you depend on them instead of the circumstances that are causing the fear.

In Jeremiah 20:11 one translation puts it this way:

"The Lord is with me as a powerful giant, therefore my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten."

The following verses show you that God wants to help you. You must depend on Him, so that He will be able to deliver you. He expects you to read them over and over again until they become imbedded in your spirit. You can then draw from them in a time of need, just as you go to your bank and draw from your account as you need to.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Building Our Faith

Leviticus 26:6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 9. For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.

Job 5:20 In famine He shall redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. 22. You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23. For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. 24. You shall know that your tent is in peace; you shall visit your habitation and find nothing amiss.

Psalm 56:3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. 4. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? 11. In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Isaiah 41:13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you." 17. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongues fail for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18. I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

USING YOUR MOUTH TO RELEASE THE PROMISES

Fear operates on the same principle as faith. Both are released by the words you say. Both come from your spirit, and grow by seeing something. Faith comes by seeing the Word, and acting upon it, whereas fear comes by seeing the problem and reacting to it. When you are living in the realm of faith, if fear knocks at the door, faith will answer and find no one there. The spirit of fear will not stay around when it is faced with divine faith.

You are to build up your faith, live your faith, and not react to fear. Always expect God to take care of the needs because you are depending upon Him. He is always ready to make His promises work for you when you depend on them.

I have stopped many times to help people in distress. Sometimes they would be out of gas, or need some tools to change a tire. On one occasion, late at night while driving in Mexico, I saw a man vigorously waving his arms for me Building Our Faith

84 to stop. I thought that he possibly needed an ambulance or a wrecker so I stopped behind him. At that moment the Lord showed me that this was a hold-up. I immediately said: "In the Name of Jesus you are not going to touch me." A spirit of fear quickly gripped him. He ran to his pickup, got in, and rolled up the window. Possibly he saw two angels who were eighteen feet tall behind me who scared him. I asked him what he wanted, but he said, "Nothing," and wanted me to leave him alone. I was not afraid of him, but he was very much afraid of the protection that I had.

Psalm 91:11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

Turn to Psalm 91 and start to memorize the whole Psalm. It would be a good idea to write down the entire Psalm in the first person, and frequently quote it. These promises must become part of your spirit, so that you can recall them whenever there is a time of need, and not just wonder what the verses say.

On March 27, 1977 two airlines collided at the airport in the Canary Islands, and 583 people were killed. One plane ran into another in the fog and ruptured the fuel tanks. This caused the fuel to pour into the hole of the other plane’s roof. The fuel caused an enormous fire which made many people burn to death. Most of the people began to scream, "We’re going to burn to death." They received what they believed. There was one man who kept quoting Psalm 91, and claimed that he was abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. He walked between the burning seats with the flames all around him. A hole had burned through the roof, but the Lord enabled him to climb through it without burning his hands. God protected the man because of his trust in the Scriptures. Although the man who had been sitting next to him was a believer, he had not filled his spirit with the promises of God before the accident. As a result he had nothing to rely upon, and burned to death. God promises you protection from fire in Isaiah, Daniel 3:19-25 and Hebrews 11:34, but it is your responsibility to plant them in your spirit, so that you can use them in a time of need.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

The things that are in your spirit will come out in the time of emergency. If you have continually filled your mind with things that are not important, you will find that you have no reservoir of divine wisdom to draw from when you are facing a great problem. Fear will then grip you and make you react unwisely. Your spirit must be filled with the promises of God before the problem faces you. You can expect God to honor His Word and Building Our Faith

85 protect you in the time of need.

Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

What is the difference between a conqueror, and one who is more than a conqueror? A conqueror will obtain victory with conditions. The person who is more than a conqueror sets all of the conditions, and the defeated foe has no say at all, except possibly, "Yes Sir." The believer who is being controlled by the Holy Spirit, because he is living for the Lord in every area of his life, has been placed in the latter category. You can live victoriously, or you can "set up residence" in the midst of your troubles, because you have the feeling that the situation is hopeless. God does not want you to "set up residence" in the trouble, but wants you to maintain the idea that you are just passing through. David had this idea when he wrote Psalm 23, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." He did not talk about making it a long lasting situation.

Refusing to fear is a matter of choice. In Psalm 118:6 David made a positive decision by stating “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” - He chose not to fear. You can do the same, you can choose to fear when problems come, or you can say, "Because of God’s help I am more than a conqueror, so I will not fear." Fill your thoughts with God’s promises - then you will be able to use them against temptations to fear.

10 CHRIST YOUR DELIVERER

Faith is the key that unlocks the power of God in your life. It will give you Building Our Faith

86 victory, or when your faith is not activated, you will remain in defeat. Many Christians of this world are not living in victory because there are things in their lives that stop faith from working. UNANSWERED PRAYER

God’s promises are available for you today, as well as any time in the past. God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34), because he honors divine faith. He can do the same for you today as was done in Bible times. Two of the conditions are: believe and expect the answer. When you limit the power of God, by stating that various types of miracles terminated at the time of the apostles, you stop His power from working in your life. The power is still available, but you have turned the switch off by not claiming the promises.

The above verse was not limited to the days of the apostles. This power is available in this century in which you live. God wants to do exceedingly abundantly in the Christian world today, more than He has done before, to show the world that He is very much alive and well. He wants to show the world that He is far stronger than the forces of darkness.

God does not answer a prayer that is not prayed, so you must bring your request to Him. You must operate in the realm of faith, expecting to receive an answer to your prayer. There may be times when you are using faith, but you do not receive an answer to your prayer. Some people, on these occasions will tell you that it was not the will of God. They then pretend to be humbly submitting to His will. In some cases this is true, however there may be timing or other circumstances that are postponing the power of God from supplying your need. SIN IN YOUR LIFE

God is not obligated to answer your prayers when you have sin in your life. You can have confidence that God will answer your prayers only when your heart is right before the Lord. Psalm 66:18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. (New Living Translation)

1 John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God; 22. and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Building Our Faith

87 It is impossible for God to forgive you, if you are holding a grudge at the same time. It is also impossible if you have not forgiven someone. As long as you refuse to forgive those who have hurt members of your family, ethnic group, your tribe, etc., you stop God from forgiving you for what you have done wrong. This means that you have old sins in your life which will stop God from answering your prayers, see Mark 11:25-26.

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

UNBELIEF

There are two kinds of unbelief. The first is a lack of knowledge. A person does not believe the promises of God, because he does not know them. Many unbelievers in the world today would become Christians if they were told what to believe.

The second type of unbelief is an unpersuadable spirit. This means that the person is unwilling to allow the Word to change him. It is refusal to act on the knowledge of the Word. He knows what the word teaches but he refuses to act on it.

When you take a look at the parable of the sower, you see why so many people end up in unbelief. As soon as the seed is planted, Satan comes along to steal it. It is your responsibility to protect the seed that was planted if you want to get a harvest. Once the seed of faith is gone, unbelief like weeds, returns and takes control of your life, and it may be possible for you to be in worse condition than you were before.

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 15. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. 18. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. You are told to pay attention to how you hear. You can hear in unbelief, or you can hear in faith and expect God to cause the seed that is planted to bear fruit. The following verse shows you why Satan is able to take the seed away from you.

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was Building Our Faith

88 sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

DELIVERANCE FROM THE CURSE

The Lord has blessings and curses for the nations. The blessings are available to people who receive and follow His teachings. Those who will not follow the teachings of His word have the curses placed upon them, and this can follow from generation to generation. The curses will be broken when people turn to the Lord and start living for Him, see 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Deuteronomy 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: 18. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 19. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. 20. The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 28. The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart. 47. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things.

Among the curses you find confusion, fear, poverty, sickness and hard work. People from many countries are bound by fear and poverty today. It is time that you realize that Jesus has come to set you free from the bondage of the curses.

Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14. in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:14 Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior you are immediately set free from the curse of the law. You are no longer a slave to sin, see Romans 6:6, 7, 11; and 2 Peter 1:4. God has planted the seed of faith in you which is the faith of God.

You accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior by faith. You do not Building Our Faith

89 receive salvation by feelings. You have to understand that it is not what you see and feel, but what you believe and place in your spirit. After you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and forgive your sins, you must go on to the next step. Thank Him for doing what you asked Him to do. He did what you asked Him to, by giving you salvation, because you were praying in faith. Once you believe, the feelings will follow.

Go on to believe that the other things that were paid for when Jesus died on the cross, are available for you. Six of the things that are available to us through the atonement are listed in Isaiah 53.

1. The Messiah paid for your SALVATION through His death on the cross, see Isaiah 53:5 - 6.

2. You are given a NEW NATURE. The sinful or adamic nature was paid for as well, see verses 5, 6.

3. Your HEALING is paid for through the atonement, see verse 4.

4. Your PAINS were paid for through the atonement, see verse 4.

5. Your PEACE is paid for through the atonement, see verse 5.

6. You are redeemed from THE CURSE OF THE LAW. See Galatians 3:13 and Colossians 1:13-14; 2:14-15.

You must start claiming and using all of the benefits that come from the atonement, and not just salvation. If one of these blessings fails, or stops existing, they all stop existing. This means that if you can no longer receive healing, because it has been done away with, then you must conclude that salvation has been done away with as well. All of the curses of the law will still be upon you as well. Since salvation is still available for you today, then all of the other blessings of the atonement are available for you as well. Start claiming the promises that you have been missing in your life.

THE CURSE OF CONFUSION

There are many people who seem to be controlled by a spirit of confusion. They appear to be lost in some mental fog. Many times they make poor Building Our Faith

90 decisions, or say a lot of foolish things. One of Satan’s plans is to keep you from serving the Lord to your fullest capacity. There are times when this is because of your own actions. You demanded things from the Lord which were out of His will. The enemy was then allowed to fill your mind with poor decisions, as seen the following verses of Psalm 106. If this is the case, ask the Lord to forgive you. Then fill your spirit with the promises of God.

Psalm 106:13 They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, 14. But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. 15. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. (A diminished capacity of awareness.)

Psalm 97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 138:3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."

Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord; for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be like a well- watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all. 25. For I have satiated (satisfied) the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

The Bible has many more wonderful promises concerning your soul, which is your mind, your intellect and your will. Why do we not see more of these promises fulfilled in the lives of many Christians? The next verses show that our minds are to be renewed.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

The words "renew" and "restore" mean the same thing. Paul tells us that we are not to imitate the world, but to be changed by the renewing of our minds. When you look at Psalm 23 you see that the Lord is the One who is going to renew your mind. You may wonder when will the Lord get started, if He is the One who is to do it. The answer is found in the following verses. Building Our Faith

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Psalm 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.

Ephesians 4:22 That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23. and be renewed IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND, 24. and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world.

There is a part that you have to play. You have to present yourself as a living sacrifice, if you expect God to do His part. You have to spend time studying His Word every day, and have a time of prayer and praising the Lord every day. This will be a time to talk with God, and to receive instructions for the day’s activities. There will be occasions when you do not feel like praising the Lord, but you must then give a sacrifice of praise to Him anyway. As you continue with daily prayer and Bible study, you will find that God starts to give you divine wisdom which becomes very valuable for the day’s activities. The spirit or curse of confusion has to leave because the power of God is flowing through you and is the dominating force.

Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 11 CHRIST YOUR PROVIDER

Many Christians are firmly convinced that they are born again. They are Building Our Faith

92 positive that when they pass away, they will go immediately to be with the Lord. However, they do not seem to be totally sure that it is God’s will for all of their needs to be met right now.

GOD HAS PROMISED TO MEET OUR NEEDS

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Since the Lord has given the above promises to us, why do so many people not see answers they so desperately need? We are facing very strong opposition from the satanic forces.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Each one of us must understand that we are fighting a spiritual battle. God wants to bless you and meet all of your needs, however the satanic forces are standing in the middle to stop you from getting the answers to your prayers. On many occasions the Lord has already granted the request, but the satanic forces are stopping the answer from coming to you.

Daniel 10:12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13. "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia."

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The promises of God are waiting to be used. Many Christians have read them many times, but fail to make use of them. We seem to act as if they only are available to us when we all get to Heaven. God expects you to start depending upon His promises now. Mark 4:1-20 will give you a clue as to why you have a problem.

Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word. 15. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. And when they hear, Satan comes Building Our Faith

93 immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

The enemy of your soul comes and tries to steal the Word away from you as soon as you see or hear the promises of God. Satan will tell you that the promises do not apply to you, or that they will only be available for you later on. You keep on trying to get answers to your prayers, however, you are only hoping that the Lord will hear you, instead of believing and expecting that He is going to meet the need. Why are the satanic forces able to talk many of us out of BELIEVING and APPLYING the promises of God? Matthew gives the answer:

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

When you have the promises of God firmly planted in your life, and you start acting upon them, you become dangerous to the devil. He is very much aware that God’s Word is far more powerful than his forces. The satanic forces are unable to be victorious when they come against a believer who is using divine faith, and is under God’s authority. They have to flee when he quotes Scripture, because it is backed by the power of God. There are three basic things that need to be understood:

1. The Word of God IS THE KEY to the laws of the spirit.

2. The laws of the spirit SUPERSEDE the natural.

3. Satan also WORKS in the natural world, see Isaiah 14:16-17.

God wants to meet your needs, but staying in want, or staying in debt is part of the curse. Jesus came to set you free from the curse as seen in the following verses. He has given you the authority to resist the enemy, which includes the spirit of doubt, fear, unbelief, sickness and lack of necessities. These satanic spirits will continue to affect you as long as you do not resist them through the authority of the name of Jesus.

Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14. in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:14 Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was Building Our Faith

94 against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

PLACING GOD IN FIRST PLACE

James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The enemy will have to flee from you when you resist him - AFTER you submit to God. Many times when people pray, they really want God to place His stamp of approval on their plans, instead of submitting to His will. This prevents them from seeing answers to their prayers. God has a pattern in the Bible for you to follow - if you want to see answers.

Matthew 6:31 Therefore do not worry. saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" 33. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The secret of answered prayer is to put Jesus in first place in your life, and come to a place of greater dependency upon His promises. You must reach a greater understanding that God means you, and not just a selected few for His promises. When you seek His will concerning the answers to your needs, and use the divine faith that He has given you, you will see the needs met according to his resources instead of your own strength and resources.

GOD WANTS TO MEET YOUR NEEDS

Each of you may be able to quote a number of Scriptures which show you that God really wants to supply your needs. You can agree that they are very good promises. You then look at your circumstances and start to wonder why your needs are not being met. Building Our Faith

95 1. You must stay in strong agreement with the Word of God. This is the only way you will be able to combat the symptoms that are causing the problems.

2. You must realize that your heart or spirit must be firmly convinced that God means you when you refer to His promises.

3. Your mouth must say the same thing that your heart is claiming that the Word is teaching. Your mouth must not allow the circumstances to separate what your heart believes and the Word teaches.

CONTROLLING YOUR WORDS

Mark 11:22 So Jesus answered, and said to them, "Have faith in God. (Greek: The faith of God.) 23. "For assuredly I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, ‘Be removed and 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."

Three times in verse 23 you see that you will receive what you say. What do many people say when they have problems? They confess the problem. They tell their friends that they don’t know what they will do with the problem. They say that the problem will not go away. This person receives what he says, because God’s Word promises that he will receive what he says. He is believing that the problem will not go away.

Job 22:28 You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.

Do you see how important it is to say what God’s Word teaches you, instead of saying anything you want to say? What you say is what you get. His Word teaches you to resist the enemy and he will flee from you through the power of the name of Jesus. Command the spirit of infirmity, disease or lack to leave you in the name of Jesus. Why say: "This pain is killing me?" Do you want your words to be fulfilled? Start saying: "Isaiah 53 tells me that by His stripes I am healed. I claim the healing in the name of Jesus." When you believe, using divine faith, you will see the power of God pour through your body and heal you. Start using your mouth to speak the promises of God, believing what you say, memorizing and applying the promises to the situations in which you find yourself. The answers will be possible when you are saying what the Word teaches, because the power of God is flowing Building Our Faith

96 through His words which you are quoting.

The natural man is constantly looking for sympathy, and wants to tell everyone what a terrible time he has had. He becomes unhappy when you don’t agree with him. He tells you that His problem is far greater than anyone else ever had, but God wants you to operate in a higher realm.

Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 9. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 11. "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

When you pray for the answer you must believe that God is going to supply the need. DO NOT DOUBT. There is an old expression which states: "When you want the dog, don’t call the cat." If you want the answer, DON’T PRAY THE PROBLEM. Listen to your words. If they are working against you - to shut out the good, then change your words to work FOR you. "My feet are killing me." "I’m dying to see that place." Do you really mean that? If that is the case - we will bury you as soon as your feet kill you. Remember "What you say" as found in Mark 11:23, is still in the Book. Another example could be of a lady praying for her unsaved husband. "Lord my husband came home drunk again last night." That is a complaint, not a prayer. Change your words to agree with what you want. "Lord I thank you that you are going to cause a change to take place in my husband’s life. In the name of Jesus I bind the spirit that’s blinding his eyes. I ask you to send forth laborers into that harvest field, (Luke 10:2), and help him accept you as his personal Savior."

You release faith or fear with your words. You build a fortress with your words. The words of some people keep out the good things of God in their lives, because they are constantly talking doubt and fear.

Matthew 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36. But I say to you that for every idle word (careless word - Waymouth), men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment 37. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

FAITH IS PROGRESSIVE

Meditation on the Word of God is the key to success in increasing your faith. It gives you ammunition to apply against the enemy forces of your soul. Building Our Faith

97 Your faith is increased as you study the Word of God, believe what you study, and act upon what you believe. Each time you study the Bible you are able to receive more divine faith. You do not receive it all at once. Your faith must be increased on a daily basis in order to withstand the increasing attacks of the enemy forces that will come against you in the future. A small child can only carry a small load. As he gets older the child has the capability to carry a greater load. When the child is mature he is now able to carry adult size loads. Your faith grows in the same manner. If it does not grow on a daily basis you become immature spiritually and will not be able to withstand the problems that Satan will continue to send your way.

Mark 4:28 The earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

God increases your faith in the same manner. First the blade is visible. Before it became visible the root system had to start. As your faith is grounded more in the promises of God, you see a greater amount of faith available. You are able to believe that God is able to accomplish greater things in your life.

Mark 11:13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it. 20. Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! the fig tree which You cursed has withered away."

Mark 11:14 states: "In response Jesus said to it." It is impossible to respond to or answer something, unless it first talks to you. The fig tree spoke to Jesus, by saying "I will not give you any figs." The problem, or the mountain will talk to you and say: "I will not leave you. I am going to keep on giving you trouble." Speak to the mountain - or the problem, and tell it to leave “In the name of Jesus.” Jesus spoke to the fig tree. He did not pray about it, because He knew that He was operating in the Father’s will. The death of the tree started at the roots and not at the leaves. Many people are looking for the end results, and see nothing taking place at the moment. They start to doubt, which stops faith from working. God starts to work at the root of the problem. Continue to believe God and thank Him for the answer that is on its way. God expects you to become mature in your praying and believing. The carnal Christian wants immediate answers because of an impatient spirit. Sometimes when a carnal Christian does not get his own way, he wants to leave the church, which is like a baby who wants its bottle, now. Maturity increases as a result of trials, see James 1:2-4. The mature person allows time to pass to complete the action which brings the results. Building Our Faith

James 1:2-4 tells you that you are to be grateful when you have a lot of problems, because they produce patience. Patience produces maturity. James uses the word "perfect" for mature in verse 4. He tells you that when you become spiritually mature, you become complete. Next, you depend on God in a greater way so that you are lacking nothing. Patience is a quality that does not surrender to circumstances or break down under trial. Patience is the opposite of despondency, discouragement or depression. You have to give your faith enough time to cause the answer to come.

God allows problems to come, to produce patience, which will produce maturity. There is another type of problem, which comes from the foolish things that you do. You can over-extend yourself financially, claiming that God will meet your needs. Since God did not direct you to become over- extended, you are hoping that He will meet the needs. Health is another problem. Sometimes people will work hard to meet their needs, which affects their health. Some have worked two or three jobs, which later affected their spiritual life, their health and family relationships. They may not have had the problem if they had depended upon the Lord.

To overcome the situation, you must first ask the Lord to forgive you for presuming that it was His will to get into the situation. Then ask Him for guidance to get out of the problem. Increase your Bible reading which will increase your faith. Then you will be in a position to have all of your needs met. Start thanking Jesus because He is going to provide for all of your needs according to His riches in glory, instead of your resources.

12 FINANCING THE END-TIME HARVEST Building Our Faith

99 God is starting to pour out His Holy Spirit in a tremendous way in every country. It is almost time for the return of Jesus Christ for those who are looking for His coming. People in large numbers are accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, but there are not enough Christian workers to meet the needs. In many countries there is an enormous shortage of places for the believers to gather. Many countries who have the biggest harvest, have the least amount of money to pay for new buildings, furnishings, Bibles, and hymn books, etc.

GOD’S PROMISES ARE STILL WORKING

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Man is primarily a spirit, he has a soul which consists of a mind, a will, emotions, and he lives in a body. God wants us to prosper in all areas, however He places the primary importance on the spirit part of us. We can’t expect our mind or our body to prosper if our spirit does not prosper. It is possible for us to prosper financially, through a lot of hard work, without prospering spiritually. God is not opposed to our having money, but He is opposed to money having us. We then run into the situation of not having divine wisdom, and Satan next comes along with a lot of problems.

1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

There are three types of prosperity which are:

1. Spiritual prosperity.

2. Mental prosperity.

3. Physical prosperity.

SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY

Spiritual prosperity starts as a result of the new birth. You prosper in this area in direct proportion to how much time you spend with the Lord and Building Our Faith

100 with His Word. This will put you into a position to receive all the promises that God has in His Word for you. This is possible because you are now operating in divine faith which you receive from studying and believing the Bible, see Romans 10:17. PROSPERITY OF THE SOUL (MIND)

Prosperity of the soul comes through the control of the mind, the will and the emotions. People who have a large amount of knowledge are not always prosperous mentally. They may not have the divine wisdom to use the knowledge effectively. God expects you to have total control of your thought life if your soul is to prosper. The Word of God must be alive and operating in you on a continual basis if you want to be able to be victorious in this area. God’s Word teaches you that you are to control your mind instead of your mind controlling you. The mind can see something and then lust after it. The body then acts on what the mind is suggesting, which can end up in sin.

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

YOUR WILL must next be brought under control. You are a free moral agent who has the choice to partially or totally serve the Lord. He wants you to make up your mind what you want to do, see Deuteronomy 30:14- 20.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

Some people have a double standard, they treat people one way, but want everyone else to treat them differently. They act one way at Church and have a different standard at work. You must make up your mind that you are going to serve the Lord all of the time, and not just on a part time basis. The unconverted don’t read the Bible, they "read" the believer, however if you have a double standard you will be sending the wrong message. Many have not turned to the Lord, because they have seen this in some who claim to be Christians. The other part of you that must be brought under control is your emotions. Many Christians display a carnal nature, which needs to be changed. This is possible as you have your mind renewed, see Romans 12:1-2. There are Christians who do not seem to have the power to bring their emotions under control. The first thing that is necessary is that you must have the DESIRE Building Our Faith

101 OR WILL to change. God then gives you the ability to cause the changes to take place as you study His Word. This takes place because He RENEWS your mind in proportion to your studying the Bible, and your willingness to yield to Him. PHYSICAL PROSPERITY

Physical prosperity is possible when you completely rely on the promises of God. Many people seem to be constantly having problems in their bodies. They need to realize that diseases were part of the curses that were listed in Deuteronomy 28:15 - 68. Also remember that Jesus has redeemed you from the curses of the law, see Galatians 3:13, 14, 29. He provided for divine health as seen in Isaiah 53. It is true that some people don’t really want physical prosperity, because they enjoy the attention others are giving them. There are many promises in the Bible that show healing is for you. You need to change your words to match what the Scripture says, instead of what others are telling you. YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS ARE TO BE MET

Many Christians have wanted to be great givers in the kingdom of God. They have been hampered by the lack of funds to give. You cannot be a great giver UNTIL YOU ARE A GREAT RECEIVER. You will never be a great receiver until you start planting in a bigger way. It is impossible for many Christians to plant in a big way because they don’t have a lot of seed to plant. Something has to change to break the cycle of insufficiency.

Many Christians have placed the wrong emphasis on some Scriptures. They look at the promises that show that God will meet their needs, but they overlook the Scriptures concerning planting before one can receive a harvest which will supply their needs. So, just as you can’t expect to reap vegetables from your garden, until you first planted vegetable seeds, so you can’t expect to receive a financial harvest until you plant seed.

Many times your current financial condition is determined by your past obedience in giving. Your future financial condition will be determined by your obedience today. Often Christians have claimed Philippians 4:19, but have no claim or right to it. When they refer to that verse only, they may be taking it out of context. The Philippian Church regularly supported the ministry of Paul, see verse 15. At one time they were having financial difficulties and were unable to do so, see verse 10. They then gave a sacrificial offering and sent it by one of the members of the Church to Paul who was in jail in Rome, see verse 18. This Church was the only Church to Building Our Faith

102 send funds to meet his needs. Frequently, in Paul’s day, a prisoner in jail had to provide his own necessities if he wanted something more than soup to eat. The church at Philippi continued to supply Paul’s needs when he became a prisoner at Rome.

Philippians 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens (Greek: empowers) me. 14. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. 15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. 18. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. 19. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Verse nineteen is CONDITIONAL. You have to plant before you can expect a harvest. Since the Philippian Church had planted into Paul’s ministry, he could now promise them that God would meet their own needs. This would represent part of the harvest for the seeds that they had planted. The above verse is primarily a promise for those who have planted in the ministry of people working in God’s harvest field. God is teaching us the process of sowing so that you can have an abundant harvest when you need it. You will then be in a position to meet your own need from the harvest you receive.

Many times we hear people who claim that all the churches ever want is money, money, money. They fail to realize that God does not want to obligate you, He wants to obligate Himself. He wants you to plant so that you can reap a harvest. The more you plant, according to the will of God, the greater will be the harvest, read Philippians 4:17-18. Once again Paul is telling you that he wants to see fruit that abounds to your account.

God is not moved by need. If this were the case, He would bless only where the need is the greatest. People in various countries who are starving to death, because of severe drought, would be greatly blessed. God would move only in the poor areas of our cities, and not in the wealthy areas. God does not respond to need, He RESPONDS TO FAITH, which is working in complete obedience to the Word.

Some Christians fail to realize that we are working for the Lord, and not for ourselves. God is going to meet our needs, since the laborer is worthy of his Building Our Faith

103 hire. This is seen in the following verses:

1 Timothy 5:18 For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages."

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, im- movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. FINANCING THE END TIME HARVEST

The world has no desire to finance the programs of the Church. It will occasionally lend money with interest on construction loans, but it has no desire to help in the operation of Church programs. God’s plan is for the financing to come from the churches. He wants the people of the Churches to be in a position to FINANCE THEIR OWN PROGRAMS, and not have to rely on the systems of the world.

Deuteronomy 8:18 And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

The Abrahamic covenant was given to establish God’s covenant all around the world. His purpose for blessing us is to put us into a position to be A BLESSING to others. Our purpose must be the same as God’s purpose for us. We must have the desire to be a blessing to others, which will open the door for a continual flow of blessings in our lives.

Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, Who TEACHES YOU TO PROFIT, Who leads you by the way you should go. 18. Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

The Lord is looking for people who are willing and wanting to be in a true partnership with Him. He will not only TEACH the person how to prosper, but will SEND business his way as well. This is because the person has made up his mind that he not only wants to have his own needs met, but he Building Our Faith

104 wants his business to be in a position to help finance the end-time harvest.

God’s way of giving is to give, expecting to receive from the gift. This is because He is planting seed and expecting to receive a harvest from what He has planted. God gave us His Son because He loves us, and was expecting us to accept His gift, and then in return, give our love to Him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

A farmer plants seed and EXPECTS to get a harvest. He puts time and effort into preparing the field, planting, cultivating and watering before the harvest comes, because his eye is on the goal. Part of this will be used to meet his own needs, but the rest is used in making improvements on his farm and set aside seed for the next crop. God expects you to do the same. He wants you to plant seed into His field, and then He wants you to get a harvest to help in evangelizing the world, as well as meet your own needs.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening DO NOT withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

You are now told to plant your seed and then you are to expect a harvest. You limit yourself when you have the idea that you can’t afford to give, because you will reap what you sow. If you receive no harvest, it was because you did not plant. When you sow sparingly, you will reap a TINY HARVEST. You need to get rid of the ideas in your mind that are against the principles of the Bible.

God wants to entrust His wealth to those who wisely give more away for His purposes. He is telling you that if you will give to His work, then He will give you everything you need. Each time you give an offering, and are planting in the will of God, He will use it for His purpose. The returns will be multiplied to you so that you can give again and again in greater abundance. It is impossible to out-give God!

In the parable of the sower you find that there were several types of ground. Planting in some types of soil produced NO harvest. Giving to everything that comes along will not help you either. You must be led by the Lord to find out where and when He wants you to plant, so you can get an abundant harvest. SOWING IN LEAN TIMES Building Our Faith

105 Every day you make choices, you can exercise faith and operate in the of God’s will, or you can operate in fear, and live in defeat. At one time Isaac was faced with a bad famine. He thought that he had two choices for the answer to his problem. The first was to move to Egypt for awhile. The second was not to plant anything until the drought was over. God not only told him to stay in the land, but he was to plant seed as well. Isaac chose to stay in the land and plant the seed even if there was a big drought. His harvest, during the time of the drought was a hundredfold. This was because he was directed by the Lord AND obeyed Him.

Genesis 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.

Psalm 126:5 states that those who sow in tears will reap in joy. The idea behind the tears is that the seed is precious, or hard to get, during difficult times. Many people around us will be talking about lack of work, or business being down, but you will be rejoicing and expecting God to meet your needs. You must ask the Lord to direct you during these times so that you will be in a position to have a wonderful harvest even when everyone else is getting nothing.

Sowing generously during the time of famine is God’s key to success. God wants to bless you in order to show the world that He is a good God.

1. Find God’s will: WHAT to plant and WHERE to plant the seed.

2. Stay faithful to God’s commands.

3. Do not follow the world’s philosophies.

4. Sow generously during the famine. SOWING SPARINGLY

2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Many Christians are like the little girl who wanted to sit with her parents during the adult service. Her father gave her a dollar to put into the offering. He reminded her that God loves a cheerful giver. She began to whisper to the usher when the offering plate came around, so her father wanted to know what was the problem. The usher told him that his daughter wanted change for the dollar. Her father told her to put the money in, because God loves a cheerful giver. The girl’s immediate response was, "But I’d be a Building Our Faith

106 whole lot more cheerful if I had change for a candy bar."

Before a farmer starts to plant he decides how big a harvest he wants. He knows what soil he is going to plant it in, and what type of harvest he can expect from that soil. He has to determine how much seed he needs to plant to get the type of harvest he wants. If he starts to use less seed or poor seed, he ends up with a small harvest. Many Christians have been using poor seed. They have been giving only things that they can’t use, instead of asking the Lord to direct them in their giving. Many pastors and missionaries have been given worn out clothing or other items, with the idea that they gave to the Lord, so it shouldn’t make any difference. After all they did give, so God blesses what they gave, but will give back the same type of harvest. If they have given only their junk, or just their loose change, then they are not giving the Lord much seed to work with for the harvest they want to receive.

The farmer needs to consider the following when planting seed:

1. Determine what size of harvest wants.

2. Quality of soil.

3. How much seed is needed.

When a person has gasoline in his gas tank and wants to siphon it out, he starts the flow of the gasoline by sucking on the tube that has been placed into the tank. Your giving creates a vacuum or a siphon which starts things to move. This vacuum has the multiplication factor which increases what you have given.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS shall be added to you.

SEED MINDED INSTEAD OF NEED MINDED

The prayers of many Christians are only focused on their needs. They are overly concerned because their needs seem to be piling up, and they don’t seem to get answers to their prayers. Matthew 6:33 shows that when you put God in first place, you will see Him meeting all of your needs. Building Our Faith

107 You need to change your focus from looking TO your need, TO PLANTING SEED, so that you can get a harvest to meet the need. You are to ask God what to plant. There will be times when you do not have any cash to plant, but you have other resources. A widow or an invalid may need yard work done or a room painted. You have the paint and can go and help, which becomes another way to plant seed. God then gives you more seed so that you can continue to help others, and plant again.

On one occasion, while speaking in a Church in Botswana, Southern Africa, two men did not have any cash to put into the offering. The first one put his wrist watch in, and the second one put his pen into the offering. On another occasion another man had nothing to give, so he took a button off of his shirt to put in the offering. What were they doing? They were showing God that they wanted to be sowers, so that He would honor His Word by supplying seed to sowers.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace (favor, love gifts), abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance FOR EVERY GOOD WORK. 9. As it is written: He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.

God’s plan for you is that you have more than you need, because of the seed you have planted. You then will be in a position to help finance the end-time harvest as well as be able to help others in their time of need. When you follow His plan for your life, you find that He stops the "waster" from causing problems to your possessions.

Malachi 3:11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of Hosts.

As you look over the situations in your life during the past year, can you say that God has rebuked the devourer for you? Ask Him to show you what is hindering Him from honoring His promises in your life. As you meet the requirements you will find many more wonderful promises in the Bible. Use them and meet the conditions attached to them. One of the conditions concerning finances is seen in 2 Corinthians 9:6,7. You can’t expect to reap a harvest before you plant. Start planting good seed, in good soil, with your time, talents and resources so that you can reap a wonderful harvest. Building Our Faith

13 CHRIST YOUR SUBSTITUTE

When mankind fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, he was out of fellowship Building Our Faith

109 with God. Animal sacrifice could cover sin, but was unable to pardon or remove it. Jesus had to become our sacrifice, which provided complete pardon by God. The atonement that was provided by Jesus for mankind is based on a substitution of one thing for something else. JESUS PROVIDED FOR REDEMPTION

DIVINE LIFE

Divine life was part of the exchange that Jesus provided for you. Jesus came to this world and gave His life at Calvary. He took away - as the other part of the exchange - your sinful nature. You received a new nature at the time of salvation, and are no longer slaves to sin. It is still possible to be tempted, but you now have a choice to yield to that temptation, OR ASK THE LORD FOR HELP. He will give you power to resist the enemy in His name. Satan will have to flee from you because of the power in the name of Jesus.

Many believers fail to realize that you are not to depend on your own righteousness, or expect to receive something from God because of your good works. All of your righteousness is compared to filthy rags.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

You are to depend on the righteousness of God covering you, as well as use the divine faith He gives you. He has given you His righteousness, because He wants to see a great contrast. His righteousness in you, will allow the power of God to flow through you for guidance or help in time of need.

Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23. for (because) all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25. whom God set forth to be a propitiation (atonement and reconciliation) by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26. to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Building Our Faith

110 Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace (favor, love gifts) and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Isaiah 54:14 "In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. 17. "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me," says the Lord. DIVINE HEALTH

Jesus paid for your pain and health on the same day He paid for your sins. The soldiers, under orders from Pilate flogged Jesus. The whips that they used had bones placed in them. These tore the flesh and caused immense bleeding, pain and suffering. This became the substitution, or EXCHANGE for your pain and diseases. It is possible to live your whole life in pain and suffering, because you do not use the benefits that are provided for you by Jesus at Calvary. It is also possible to claim the benefits, or promises, and start receiving deliverance for the pain and diseases that you have been bothered or tormented with for a long time. Make a list of the promises in the Bible and start using them.

Some people have claimed that their suffering was to bring God glory. If that were really the case, why don’t they ask God to give them a bad case of cancer so that He would get more glory. Our disease, pain and suffering was paid for by Jesus, but we only receive victory if we accept the exchange. It is possible to be a great blessing to others during a time of suffering, because we are allowing the presence of God to flow through us, see 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes WE ARE HEALED.

1 Peter 2:24 Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes Building Our Faith

111 YOU WERE HEALED. JESUS PAID FOR YOUR NEEDS

Jesus came from Heaven, and left all of His wealth and splendor there. Some of the most valuable things here on earth are the least valuable in Heaven. The world uses gravel, which is very inexpensive, to make our streets. The streets of Heaven are paved with gold, because there is so much of it, and it is not the most expensive item.

Jesus exchanged His wealth for our poverty. The idea is that He has made provision to meet our needs. Picture in your mind that you are going to build a large lovely home, and a very wealthy man comes to you and says that he will pay for the materials. You are to construct the home, and order ALL the materials that are needed from a place that he designates. He makes arrangements with that company, that no matter when you come, during the time they are open, they are to give you the materials you need and charge it to his account. This is the idea Jesus has for your life. He placed a "line of credit” at the bank of Heaven for you.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."

The next substitution, or exchange, now takes place. Jesus paid the penalty for your poverty. Poverty was one of the curses of the law, see Deuteronomy 28:15-68. He wants to exchange your poverty for His riches. Jesus is putting His riches at your disposal with the understanding that you are not only going to use it to meet your own needs, but you are going to use the majority to finance the end-time harvest. He expects you to come BOLDLY to Him in a time of need. Where people run into trouble is when they ONLY want to use what He gives them for personal gain. They now step out of the will of the Lord.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace (favor, love gifts), to help in time of need. TEACHINGS Building Our Faith

112 OF TRADITION

Many church traditions do not teach that Jesus paid the penalty for your poverty. They look at the middle of 2 Corinthians 8:9 only, which states: "yet for your sakes He became poor." Their attitude is: "Wealth is related to prosperity. Since Jesus was poor, and we are to follow in His steps, we are to remain poor, and therefore we are not to prosper." These traditions fail to pay attention to the last part of the same verse, which says: "that you through His poverty might become rich." Another example of some church traditions, is seen in the following verse:

Luke 9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

In order to see the full picture of the above verse, you need to look at the preceding verses. Luke 9:51 - 56 shows you that Jesus and His disciples were in Samaria, where they wanted to spend the night in one of the villages. Since the people would not give them permission to stay, Jesus and His disciples had to go on to the next village. A man from that area met them on the road, and told Jesus that he wanted to follow Him. Jesus had no place to stay for the night, so He told the man that He had no place to lay His head. Jesus had his own home in Capernaum, which was in Galilee. THE RICH YOUNG MAN

Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22. But he was sad at this word, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.

Some people use the above verses to show that Jesus was against people attaining riches. The people who feel that Jesus is against Christians prospering do not understand the situation. Jesus was talking to a man who was placing his riches before the Lord. He had pride of possessions, which is the problem with many Christians. Many believers who have very little of this world’s goods, have a spirit of pride over what they do have. James points out that sometimes our prayers are not answered because we ask amiss, our motives are wrong. We are interested in increasing our belongings for possessions sake, rather than increasing them so that we can help finance the end-time harvest. The phrase: "take up your cross and follow Me" basically means - put Jesus in first place in your life - above everything else. When we don’t put Jesus in first place in our lives, we are guilty of idolatry. Building Our Faith

Ephesians 5:5 Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols. You can be sure that people who behave in this way will never be part of the kingdom that belongs to Christ and to God. - C.E.V.

If the man really wanted to put Jesus in first place, he should have told Jesus that he needed wisdom to sell his possessions, so that he could get the best prices for them. Next, he would need to know who to give to, because many poor people would immediately lose what they had received. He could have told Jesus that he was thanking Him for the order, because he would now rely on the promise in Proverbs and would be expecting to see the fulfillment in his life.

Proverbs 19:17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and he will pay back what he has given.

We expect that Jesus’ response would have been to commend his faith. The rich young man would not only be putting Jesus in first place, but he would be following Jesus’ instructions as to how to use his wealth as well. It is also possible that this man would have been selected to take Judas’s place as an apostle, after the resurrection. He would have had a great amount of experience as an administrator and treasurer. YOU LIMIT YOURSELF

Many of the parables point out that God has placed us here as stewards of His vineyard. In some of the parables the people were reprimanded, and called wicked and lazy servants, (Matthew 25:26), or unjust stewards. In Luke 19:11-27 Jesus told the parable about the man who gave a "mina" - about three months’ wages, to each of his ten servants.

This would represent the seed to be used to produce a big harvest. He was expecting them to use it, as well as live off the harvest, which was to be a test. Their performance would determine what positions and promotions they would receive when the master returned.

Seven of the servants immediately took off, but were later captured, punished and killed, verse 27. The idea brought out here is that these people used their master’s money for personal gain, and had no intention of working for him. In other words they received the money in advance, but had no intention of using it for its intended purpose. The eighth man put his money in a handkerchief and buried it. The last two used their money to the best of their ability. One multiplied his money ten times, and the other five times. The man who kept his money in a handkerchief, verse 20, had it taken away from him, and given to the man who multiplied his ten times, verse 24. In verse 22 this man is now called a wicked servant. He is not Building Our Faith

114 accused of murder or some terrible crime. He just refused to use the investment the master gave him to use.

The majority of Christians today do not fall into the category of the last two servants. These are Christians who usually want to use God’s blessings for their personal use, and are not trying to promote the kingdom of heaven. What they have will be eventually TAKEN AWAY. God is looking for people who are willing to use their assets as wise stewards and stay in the of His will.

You can see from this parable that God is not expecting us to all be alike. Some of us will be able to use what God has given us to a greater advantage. He did not condemn the person who got less in comparison to the person who got more. They were both told: "Well done you good and faithful servant." Notice that the condemnation came only to the ones who did nothing with what they received. You also see that both of the other people stated: "Master, YOUR mina has earned ..." They were recognizing that what they had received came from the master, or in our situation, comes from God. The man who gained ten minas was now made ruler over ten cities in the new kingdom. The person who gained five, was made ruler over five cities. There will be degrees of glory when Jesus returns. This is also brought out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, which shows that your works are going to be tested. Many will be saved but will suffer considerable loss, because they did not have quality works. The absence of their rewards will be obvious to everyone throughout eternity. RENTING A FIELD

Suppose you rent a field of five hundred acres. The owner of the field expects to receive the payment for the rent of the field. You must plant enough seed, so that the proceeds from the harvest will feed your family, meet all of your expenses, buy new seed, as well as pay the rent for the field. This is the idea that God has for us. We are "renting" the field, which is the earth.

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.

This "rent" is given in the form of "tithes." It is not only given for the use of the world you live in, but also for reaping all of the benefits, which also includes health and protection that God has for you. The tithes or "rent" is not to be used to meet your expenses. God expects you to start planting seed - over and above the "rent" if you want to receive a harvest.

There are some Christians who are acting like "squatters." The meaning for this word in the dictionary is: "A person who settles on another’s land Building Our Faith

115 without right." This is how many people are treating the Lord. They are not paying the "rent" for all of His blessings, and then they wonder why they have problems in life. God starts to remove His protection from them, because they are acting like the servants in the parable, who were called wicked servants.

The next type of servant is the good Christian who is faithful to pay his tithes. He only pays the "rent" for the use of the Earth, and wonders why he is unable to make ends meet, even when he has paid his tithes. The question that comes is: "What did he plant AFTER he paid his tithes?" Since he planted nothing, he should expect to receive a harvest of nothing. The tithes were only for paying the "rent" and are not seed from which to receive a harvest.

FINANCING THE END-TIME HARVEST

Deuteronomy 8:18 And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

God wants to give you the ability to prosper, so that you will have large amounts of seed to plant in order to finance the end-time harvest. You must first show Him that you are willing to plant in a large way, by planting what you have. He will then give you more seed which will enable you to have a greater harvest. You must ask the Lord to direct you so that you will be in the position of the 20 percent of the servants who received the commendation of "well done" from their master.

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace (favor, love gifts) abound, toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. 9. As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever."

The last part of verse eight seems to be a contradiction in the lives of many Christians, since it states: "Always having all sufficiency in all things, having an abundance for every good work." Many missionaries and other worthy causes have come to us, but we have not been in a position to help or meet the needs. This is because we are not having our own needs met, nor do we have any extra funds to take care of the needs of the others. We can NEVER be a financial blessing to others, until we receive blessings ourselves. The enemy of our souls has gripped many Christians with a spirit of poverty or debt. We must understand how God wants us to overcome the problem. Building Our Faith

116 Matthew 18:18 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

Today we must bind the spirit of poverty and debt that has gripped many Christians for a long time. What we bind or forbid on earth is bound in heaven. The first thing to do is to get someone to agree with you in prayer. Ask the Lord to show you any hindrances to answers to your prayer, such as unforgiveness, see Matthew 6:14-15, that would stop your prayers from being answered. After that start binding these satanic spirits in the name of Jesus, and start expecting God in heaven to bind the spirits. These spirits have been stopping you from receiving the promotions, permits, etc., and the other things that God has in store for you to enable you to help finance the end-time harvest. Last, do not leave a vacuum, it is necessary to loose a spirit of all sufficiency to enable you to start financing the end-time harvest.

GOD IS NOT AGAINST WEALTH

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.

God expects you to be a mirror-image of Jesus. He wants the world to know that Jesus is a giver and a helper. He wants you to imitate His attributes in giving to the poor and helping the needy. As you give to others, you will be setting an example which will show them what to do. Paul tells you in Ephesians 4:28 that you are to work with your hands, so that you may have something to give to him who is in need.

God has wanted to bless you for a long time. You may have felt that the job you have pays very little, and this is the thing that is keeping you from prospering. Are you working for your boss, or are you working as unto the Lord? When you change your attitude, and start working as unto the Lord, you will find that the Lord will start to bless you. Treat your job as a thing of value, so that it will produce a lot of seed for planting in the kingdom of God. Ask the Lord to make you a blessing to the boss, because you reap what you sow. When you start to sow good seed at work, you will Building Our Faith

117 find that the boss will be blessed. God will then cause the boss or someone else to start blessing you.

Ephesians 6:6 Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8. knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

You will have to make a choice when you receive the added blessings. Do you want to "eat the extra seed" you have received, or do you want to plant it in some ministry in order to receive a greater harvest? The temptation will come to some people to "eat the new seed" instead of planting it. Some may decide to get a new car, new clothing, or go on a very expensive vacation, etc. Pray that God will direct you so that you don’t get bound by the old problems again.

A lady came to her pastor and asked him why if she was always helping people as well as helping around the church, but was continually having financial needs. The pastor asked her: "Do people help you?" She immediately replied "Yes." He asked her if people smiled at her when she smiled at them. She immediately replied "Yes." The pastor’s reply was: "You are reaping what you are sowing." You do good things for others, and you are reaping the same kind of harvest. When you smile at someone, they smile back. He told her to start planting in a financial way, and she would see a different type of harvest.

A number of years ago when the price of gasoline was very reasonable, I pulled into a self-service gasoline station, and an older man was at the next pump. I asked the attendant how much the man had paid in advance. She told me that he had paid two dollars. I then gave her three more dollars and told her to add it to his gasoline. He was concerned when his pump did not stop at the two dollars he had paid. I immediately told him not to worry about it as it was taken care of. Sometime later someone else paid for filling my tank. This time it came to thirty dollars. I received a lot more than the seed that I had planted.

All the seed that is planted must be treated as something of value and MUST BE WATERED. The seed that you plant into any ministry must be watered by your prayers. When you spend time praying for the ministry that you have planted in, you will see a greater harvest from the seed that you have planted. Ask the Lord to direct you WHERE to plant as well as HOW MUCH seed to plant each time. Then expect God to cause you to receive a great harvest. Building Our Faith

14 LIVING BY FAITH

Many Christians act as if living by faith was a one time situation only. They Building Our Faith

119 use their faith like a fire extinguisher, which is only used in an emergency. Any person can act on the Word, and all believers can have divine faith. We must do it God’s way, which is living by faith and daily depending on the promises of God. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and does not change. We are the ones who have to change. He did not fail when our prayers were not answered. We must determine why we did not receive the answer.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. DIVINE FAITH IS VALUABLE

Mankind constantly wants to try something new to see if it works. We talk about a trial period, and many have the same concept concerning the faith walk. They do not want to completely depend on the promises of God because they are not sure that they will work for them every time. God wants to plant His Word in us, because HE IS POSITIVE that His word will work. He would not have sent Jesus to this world if He did not expect His faith to work for and through us. We are to plant His Word in our spirits. We are to depend on God’s economy and not the economy of the world that surrounds us.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Jesus is the developer of your faith. He is the head of the body of the Church, and meets your needs according to His riches in glory. You are to continue in the Word, and as you get to know Him better, you will be able to better understand the principles of divine faith. SATAN WANTS TO DESTROY YOUR FAITH

You are fighting a spiritual war, see Ephesians 6:10-18 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. In the near future the enemy is going to send out an enormous number of LYING and DECEIVING spirits into the world. Satan wants to TRY to get all of the Christians to turn away from the truth, and in the end, lose their faith. It is essential for your faith to be in operation BEFORE a disaster gets to you. There must be a constant planting, watering and harvesting of your faith, otherwise in a time of need your faith will not operate. Building Our Faith

120 Many things happen to you when you do not realize that you are in a conflict in the spiritual realm, which causes problems in your daily living. You must be aware that Satan is able to work through anyone who is willing to be used by him. People will come to your door who are directed by him. You must be on guard at all times if you want to live a victorious life. The Scribes and the Priests, in the days of Jesus, were frequently used by Satan. On one occasion Jesus had a problem with Peter. Satan was putting words into Peter’s mind, who then spoke them.

Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" 23. But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Once a reporter was interviewing a pastor in his home, over the radio. The pastor’s wife was in another room listening to the radio, when the Lord showed her that an evil spirit was controlling the lady giving the interview. The evil spirit wanted to discredit the pastor so the pastor’s wife instantly bound the evil spirit in the name of Jesus. The lady giving the interview immediately said, "I don’t know what happened to me, but my mind has gone blank." She had to stop the interview because she did not know what to say next, and the radio station continued with recorded music. YOU MUST PROTECT YOUR FAITH

Faith is A SPIRITUAL FORCE provided by the power of God. The Lord does not want you to be tossed around by every wind of doctrine. It becomes very necessary that you protect your faith to keep it from being destroyed. The majority of the people who talk to you are basing their information from the standpoint of human knowledge and wisdom. God’s wisdom is far superior to the wisdom of man.

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive. Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 9. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

The enemy of your soul will use different people to try to get you to drop your guard over your faith, and start to allow it to be watered down. He Building Our Faith

121 will use people to come to you with good sounding ideas. This is why you have to be on guard at all times. You must constantly be in tune with the Holy Spirit, so that He can direct you away from the traps of the enemy. You are to accept and only allow the things and thoughts that conform with the teachings of the Bible to enter your spirit.

Things can enter the subconscious part of your mind very easily. My wife and I used to have a large group foster home, with up to fifteen teenage girls at a time. One of the rules that I had in the home was that there was to be no radio turned on in their rooms when they were sleeping. They could control thoughts that would come over the radio when they were awake, but it was impossible when they were asleep. An example could be that the announcer would say: "You have a headache. Don’t you hear the pounding in your head? You need such and such aspirin." They did not have a headache at the time, but had they heard the statement, they would have awakened with a headache the next morning, because they accepted the idea that was given to them.

Suggestions can be made that can lead your thoughts off into wrong areas, which can bring wrong conclusions. Remember, the closer you get to the coming of the Lord, the more the enemy of your soul wants to trap you and get you off course.

Luke 18:8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?

Jesus is not telling you that there will be no faith on the earth when He returns. The idea He is giving is that many people will have lost their DIVINE FAITH. The ones who are still living by divine faith will be hard to find compared to the rest of the people in the world, who use faith of the senses, which is believing after they see the thing they are hoping for.

DIVINE FAITH OR POSITIVE THINKING

There are some leaders today who are teaching positive thinking. They tell you that you need to watch your words and thoughts, and express only positive ideas. This is true because negative thoughts and words are planting negative seeds, which will produce a negative harvest. This is possible because the words come from doubt and unbelief.

Positive words and thoughts that are NOT based on divine faith and the promises of God, will produce temporary or NO RESULTS. A positive attitude, coupled with positive thinking and speaking, will go a long way. Building Our Faith

122 They are tapping into a spiritual force that will produce some results. This is limited, because it is not combined with the power of God that will be released by divine faith.

People who are trapped on an upper floor of a burning building, will need more than just positive thoughts to get out. When the stairs and the elevator are on fire they will have some serious problems. They can say all kinds of positive words, which will be useless if they run out of oxygen. Supposing they step out onto the fire escape, but it breaks away from the burning building while they are still on it. As it falls to the ground, they could say, "I’m not falling" all they want to, but that will not change the situation. It now takes divine faith and not just positive words to cause the power of God to perform a miracle to get them down safely. It will also be necessary to depend on the promises of God that apply to the situation. It they were using divine faith, they could say, "In the name of Jesus I’ll not get hurt when this thing hits the ground."

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, YOU WILL NOT BE BURNED, nor shall the flame scorch you.

There are many people who are living good lives and doing all kinds of wonderful deeds. All of the positive statements they say will not get them into heaven if they do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. It takes more than just positive ideas. It takes a commitment on our part, as well as the action of asking Jesus to become our Lord and Savior. There must be an additional action of living for Him, with a changed life, instead of just words.

Divine faith is released by the words you say, providing they are coupled with what your spirit is believing. The faith of God spoken through you will produce results because it is God’s faith working through your words. What you say must always be backed up by what you believe. You can’t say one thing and BELIEVE SOMETHING ELSE, and then expect the power of God to be released to cause the action to take place. The Word of God, or the promises of God must replace the ideas of doubt in you. You are not to try to believe. You ARE TO BELIEVE what the promises of God teach, repeating His promises until the reality is fulfilled in your life. FOCUSING ON THE ANSWER

There are many people who pray the problem, instead of praying the answer. If all the person says is: "Lord I am so sick," he is not giving God anything to work with. You are to first find out what the will of the Lord is. Building Our Faith

123 Next, ask God for the answer and then start thanking Him for that answer. Praying and waiting to see the answer is not faith. Praying and expecting to see the answer is a demonstration of faith. The key to releasing your faith is found in the following verses:

Mark 11:22 So Jesus answered, and said to them, "Have faith in God. (The Greek says: The faith of 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 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."

The starting point is the faith of God, and the next step is to listen to what you say. Notice the word SAY is used three times in Mark 11:23.

1. Whoever SAYS and is speaking from his spirit

2. Believes that those things he SAYS will happen

3. He will have whatever he SAYS.

This is not talking about a positive confession or positive words. It is talking about divine faith that is used with the words that you say. The same idea is brought out in the following verses:

Job 22:27 You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and you will pay your vows. 28. You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways. 29. When they cast you down, and you say, "Exaltation will come!" then He will save the humble person.

You are to declare the thing, and it will be established for you. This is true whether it is positive or negative. When you declare that you are going to get sick today, you will find that you are releasing a spiritual force that causes the thing to happen. If a person were to say: "I believe I am catching a cold," they are releasing this same force to receive the cold. Tell them to help themselves because it’s available for them. You unconsciously say what you believe. God wants to load you with His wonderful benefits, but many times you try very hard to keep Him from giving them to you by the words you say. People will frequently say: "Hang on, we are going to have an accident" when they see another car approaching them in the lane they are in. They immediately release the faith of God, which permits the action to take place. Do you have a choice? The answer is yes, providing you change your words to match what you want, and use divine faith. Building Our Faith

124 On one occasion a girl was passing a car on a two-lane road. She panicked when she saw that she was approaching us in the same lane. I immediately pointed my finger at her and said, "In the name of Jesus get out of my way." I spoke what I wanted to see take place - using divine faith. She immediately swerved her car and got out of the way.

Job 22:30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent; yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.

The above verse takes you one step further. God is even willing to bless the people who do not deserve a blessing, because of your righteousness. Possibly you have a mean neighbor or some relative who is not living for the Lord. Your prayers can cause the protection of God to be upon them. Many ungodly children have been prevented from having serious accidents because of the faithful prayers of their parents. Instead of talking about the mean neighbor, start praying for him, expecting God to work in his life. My wife and I used to live on a "U" shaped street, and I asked the Lord to protect each house on the street. On three occasions people tried to steal the van from a neighbor. Thieves would push the van away from the house, but could not get it started, so would leave the van in the street. Start believing that God will work through your prayers for the people in your area. DEVELOPING YOUR FAITH

Nothing can happen by the power of God until His word goes forth. Divine faith was released when Jesus spoke the words which caused the world to come into existence. In Genesis 1:1-3 the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, but nothing happened until Jesus SPOKE, compare John 1:3. Then His words caused things to happen. When you use His Word, using divine faith in His will, things will happen as well.

Your faith is like a muscle and must be exercised to keep its strength. Many Christians have weak faith because they are constantly relying on the faith OF SOMEONE ELSE. Your faith must be built up on a daily basis. When a person tears a cartilage in his knee, he is going to have to exercise it during the time of healing. One of the best types of exercise is to ride a bicycle every day, but at first it will be very painful. The more the person exercises, the more he will be able to use the knee. This same idea is true in overcoming your spiritual, mental, physical and financial problems. Start making a list of all of the promises in the Bible that cover the area of the problem. Look for Scriptures that show how others got out of the same type of trouble. Spend at least fifteen minutes, two or three times a day, reading the Scriptures and writing them down. This will help to put them in Building Our Faith

125 your spirit in a greater way, see Romans 10:17. You will now see your faith start to be strengthened. Remember faith is progressive, see Mark 4:28. It will increase a little at a time - on a continual basis. THE WIDOW PLANTED SEED

During the drought that came while Ahab was king in Israel, Elijah was told to go to live with a widow and her son near Sidon, see 1 Kings 17:8-24. Elijah arrived as the widow was ready to prepare her last meal, because she expected to die of starvation after they had eaten. Elijah made a strange request by telling her to prepare the food and let him eat first. She objected because she had just enough for herself and her son, for one more meal. Elijah was trying to teach her to first plant, so that she could reap a harvest.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

The lady had to plant first, before she could expect to receive a harvest. She could have literally eaten what she had to plant, but would have had nothing left. This is the situation many of us find ourselves in, because we are only looking at our resources. We use them and then have less. The lady obeyed the prophet and continually had something left over, because God was multiplying what she had in her storehouse.

When you have a need, you should ask the Lord to direct you what to give to someone who has a need. You also need to ask the Lord to direct you to the right person. When you are directed by the Lord, as you supply the need of that person, God will meet your need - in direct proportion as to how you met their need.

The Word or thoughts of God produce faith but the thoughts of man can produce doubt. The natural man frequently thinks in terms of doubt and fear. Fill your mind with godly thoughts which will not allow the seeds of doubt and fear to grow. People who have doubt, or fear, are discouraged, or may be bothered by a spirit of depression, must pay close attention to the following words of Paul and Peter.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Building Our Faith

126 The steps to overcome depression are:

1. Go to the Lord in prayer.

2. Give a sacrifice of praise to God. The Spirit of the Lord dwells in the praises of His people, Psalm 22:3. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, the spirit of depression, discouragement or anything else that is not from the Lord will have to leave.

3. Start praying for someone else. Remember, you are planting seeds of prayer. God will impress someone to pray for you. Expect God to meet their needs, because you are not affected by the doubts they have. After that God will impress others to pray for you. You’ll see answers to their prayers because they are not affected by your circumstances, which may allow doubts to come in.

4. Expect God to answer your prayers, as well as the people who are praying for you. Thank Him for the answers you are expecting to receive.

Before a person goes on a journey he must first decide where he is going so as to have a goal. Otherwise he will not know when he has arrived at his goal. Your prayers must be equally important. What are you expecting God to do? You need to ask the Lord to direct you when you make a list of your needs. Sometimes some of the things are not needed and would be a hindrance if you got them. Your goal must be to continually remain in the of the Lord’s will, then His desires will become your desires.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgments and thanks are given to the many ladies and gentlemen of faith who have gone before me. We have many examples in the Bible as well as a large number of people who have lived, or are still alive during this century. We can all learn from their wonderful examples. Building Our Faith

127 To my beloved wife, Ethlyn for her encouragement and help in the preparation of the material.

To Kathleen Richards for help in proofreading the manuscript.

To Lola Moore help in typing and proofreading the manuscript.

To all the wonderful ladies and gentlemen who stand behind me in prayer and financial support.

Scripture quotations marked N.L.T. are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation Copyright © 1996, Used by permission of Tyndale House, Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 60189. All rights reserved.

OTHER MATERIAL BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Living By Faith - 14 chapters The Holy Spirit - 12 chapters Building Our Faith

128 Our Christian Privileges - 14 chapters Effective Prayer - 14 chapters Studies in Daniel - 12 chapters Daniel’s Vision Of Things To Come - 13 chapters Spiritual Warfare 10 chapters God Wants To Meet Your Needs - 11 chapters Divine Hope - 8 chapters Philippians - 4 chapters Faith For Answered Prayer Can We Lose Our Salvation? Overcoming Depression A Successful Marriage The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit Power of the Tongue End Time Victories Daily Devotional: Increasing Your Divine Hope - January thru March Daily Devotional: Prayer - Talking With God - April thru June. Daily Devotional: Restoration - God’s Plan For You - July thru September Daily Devotional: Holiness, a Lifestyle - October thru December.

For information concerning other materials written by the same author contact our Website:

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