FAITH COMES THROUGH INFORMATION

Rom 10:17       ..faith comes by hearing…

The principle of acting on what you believe presupposes that you have dealt with belief.  If you have dealt with belief, you have dealt with the process of accepting information.  In any area of life you make choices based upon the information available to you.  Leading up to making choices we follow the following pattern:

·         Hear information

·         Believe the information

·         Expect the information to be correct and work

·         Act on the information

·         Receive results from acting on the information

Hearing information presents the potential of believing it and believing presents the potential of acting on it.

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

 If I believe it, it’s just a matter of acting on that belief that brings results.  The acting on it is faith.  This is illustrated in the following passage:

Rom 10:13-14              ..whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

                                    How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?

                                    And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?

                                    And how shall they hear without a preacher?

·         The information is preached.

·         The information is heard.

·         The information is believed.

·         The information is acted on.

Bible faith is acting on what Gods word says.  The information from His word is what your belief system is established in.  This principle works for the saved and unsaved.  It is a law that has been set before us.  Whatever you listen to has the potential to become a part of your belief system and things you hear over an extended period of time eventually do become a part of your belief system. 

God gives us His word so that we will know what to believe.  But, just believing a thing does not bring results.  Believing is important.  Paul said, “ for with the heart man believeth”.  You need to deal with the issue of belief.

Mat 9:28-29   ..”Do you believe that I am able to do this?”  They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

                        Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”

This is where the challenge is.  You have to discipline yourself to study and seek out the correct information.  This is why you need to be careful who you listen to and how you hear information, especially when you are in the early stages of development.  Why?  Because your belief system is being formed by what you hear.

Mark 4:24      take heed what you hear.

Luke 8:18        take heed therefore how you hear.

John 10:3         ..the sheep hear His voice.

Jam 1:19           …be swift to hear,

When we hear.          1. Check out our filtering system (listening skills)

                                    2. Judge the fruit by the word

                                    3. Do not judge the person giving the information

So, bible faith comes by building up your belief system in Gods word.  In the negative realm, satanic faith comes by building a belief system that opposes the word of God.  The more you hear something the stronger your belief in it will become which enables you to act in faith easier.  Your faith and belief systems are very valuable to you.  The devil understands that.  So, the worlds system, which the devil rules, constantly pulls on your belief system. Indirectly it is an assault on your faith.  He is attempting to misdirect it, so he fills the system with worry, fear, and doubt.

Examples:

Paul perceived that this man was ready to act on what he believed. (he had faith to be healed)

Acts 14:8-10    ..in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his

mother’s womb, who had never walked.  This man heard Paul speaking.  Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!”  And he leaped and walked.

What did Paul see?  Was this done with the instrument of his physical eyes?  Or, was this a manifestation of the Word of Knowledge that Paul received by the Holy Spirit?  Unless we comprehend that faith and belief are inward events, matters of the heart, the spirit of man, we won’t even know that we should be open to operate in the Spirit. 

We are told that Paul observed the man intently.  Some may conclude that the man, by some behavior or gesture, indicated that he had faith to be healed.  However, we must be reminded that faith, being of the heart, can only be observed by a discerning instrument, so even if someone does something that gets your attention you still have to depend on the Spirit to know what is occurring on the inside. 

For example, recently a young lady began attending our meetings.  One day she was in the car with us and she said something that got my attention, so I made a note to pay attention to her during my prayer time.  Sure enough, later in the week as I was praying she came up and I sensed that she was ready for God to move in her heart.  The following Sunday I approached her and asked her if she would like to give her heart to the Lord, she said yes.  The point is that even though she got my attention by something she said, I still had to know by the Spirit whether or not I should approach her. 

What Paul perceived was that the man believed what he was hearing, he was taking hold of the word of God and Paul picked up on it by the Spirit.  Though we are not always aware of it, the Spirit always knows when people are internally taking hold of the word.

What was the faith part in this story?  The faith part, or the acting on what he believed, was his response to Paul’s command to stand up!  The man leaped and walked!  He acted on the word.  He didn’t simply sit there and think about how good this information is.  He leaped up! 

He could have responded to Paul a different way.  He could have said, “Are you insane man, can’t you see I’m crippled, been that way all my life, doctors told me this was incurable; I’ll probably die a cripple.”   

He could have responded in a passive way by saying, “Well I’m waiting on the Lord, if He wants me healed He will just do it, I want Him to get all the glory.” 

Here is something to note.  If the Spirit knew that this man’s response would be negative, then Paul would have most like drew a blank when he looked intently on the man.  It’s unnecessary for the Spirit to tell you about all the people in the room who are not internally laying hold of the word.  It is however, moments like this that He may see fit to point out someone who is ready and willing to respond in faith.

What about the woman with the issue of blood?

Mark 5:27-28, 34       When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and

                                    touched His garment.

                                    For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

                                    And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in

                                    peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Q.        What made her whole?

A.        Her faith?

Her faith was demonstrated by her acting on what she believed.  “ If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”  What she believed was the result of what she heard. (When she heard about Jesus)  Notice something, she was commended for the faith part not the belief part. 

We must get pass the thinking that says that God is somehow holding back on us.  God is always looking for avenues to bless you.  All of His promises are yes and amen.  Just think, He actually makes His plans with you in mind!  How many people do that?  Look at this scripture.

Rom 8:32        He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall

                        He not with Him also freely give us all things?

The Message Bible renders this verse like this:

If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition

And exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he

wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?

After reading that, you can’t help but love God.  Surely He is going to provide for someone He allowed His Son to die for.  Surely He will heal someone He allowed His Son to die for.  Anything else wouldn’t make sense seeing that He invested so much.  The older I get the bigger the word “grace” gets. 

Action = Faith

Heb 11:1           ..faith is the substance (confirmation, assurance) of things hoped (expected) for,

Q.        What confirms that I am expecting?

A.        Faith confirms that I am expecting?

>So as I act on the word, my actions confirm that I expect the word to work.

Heb 11:1           ..(faith is) the evidence (proof) of the things unseen.

Q.        What is proof or evidence that I have believed in the unseen? (not yet manifest)

A.        Faith proves that I believe what is unseen will manifest.

>So as I act on the word, my actions prove that I have embraced what is yet to manifest.

Let’s look at the scriptures again but with an AC paraphrase.

Heb 11:6 could read,    

“Without acting on what you believe it is impossible to please God.”

James 2:20 could read,

 “belief without faith is dead” or “belief without corresponding action is Dead.”   Action occurs as a result of inward surrender or conviction, but it is not automatic.

James 1:22 could read,

“Be people who act on the word, and not hearers only,…