1.

Hebrews 11:1-3

A. Faith is the vehicle which God has chosen to use.

1. You see that God could have used any vehicle to bring about His divine Will He chose to use faith

2. Since God has chosen to use this vehicle, and since we were made in His image, then we too must use this vehicle - it is the only instrument

B. Faith is the proof of the things we cannot prove by our senses or by our reason (hearing, sight, taste, touch, smell)

C. In verse 3 of Hebrews 11, we see that God created everything of things that are not seen

1. Look at it this way, all that we have is a result of the spoken Word of God utilizing all of the earth's vast resources.

2. We know its beginning, and we know its end - to be dirt, but the stuff that we see does not look at all like the stuff in the ground, clothing, cars, house's. Man was created in the image of God and man wants to create - to have believe, have faith that you can create something of virtually nothing

3. In the same way, all that we see was created from what we cannot see, by the faith of God. He wanted to create and He created. He spoke forth, and believed that what He said it would come to pass, acted upon that belief, and saw its completion.

D. Since faith is a vehicle, then it must be moving to work - it must be in action

E. You have to expect God to move for God to move

1. God did not sit in the heavens and say - "ab, I can't make light, there is no way."

2. God expects us to act as He acts, just like a father and a son, or teacher/student

F. If you have no expectations (goals) then there is nothing for your faith to give substance to:

1. When you have an earnest expectation in God and you release your faith., it pulls hope into reality. It draws you close to your destination, or hope

II. Hebrews 11:6

A. Faith believes that God exists and what He says is truth

1. It takes faith just to believe that God is.

2. We have trouble believing in a small healing sometimes yet we believe that one day our bodies will be resurrected from the grave.

B. Faith in God is faith in His Word.

1. If God has given His word concerning a certain issue, then we can trust Him to perform what He has spoken.

2. You must believe His Word

C. If we put our faith in God's Word, we can be assured it will come to pass.

III. Faith is a way of life - go back to Heb. 11 :3. It is the way God is.

A. Once you know the Word of God then you have the fuel for the vehicle; when you have Revelation knowledge then you get excited

B. Faith is believing the Word and moving on it.

C. Faith is expecting to receive what God promises in the Bible.

1. It is more than just knowing God's promises, it is experiencing them

2. Anyone can believe for someone else but God wants us to experience.

D. Faith runs better when you are convinced that you have truth

1. Good knowledge produces strong faith good fuel runs a strong engine.

2. Knowledge that you are right with God in Christ Jesus is good knowledge

3. When the two are in alignment then faith is increased.

E. Faith is not in your mind but in your heart, knowing within your spirit that God is speaking to you and then obeying

F. Faith includes hearing, believing, praying, receiving, confessing, meditating, praising, and doing.

EARS TO BEAR

I. Hearing the Word - Rom. 10:11-17

II. John 1:1,14

A. Jesus and the Word are the same.

B. Our faith comes through Jesus

1. Knowing Him is to know His Word

2. To know His Word is to know Him

C. Rom. 10: 17 - Faith comes by hearing

I. Its impossible to have faith in God apart from His Word.

2. Hearing the Word with an open heart enables us to pray with faith for it.

a. Jesus often said "let him who has ears let him hear."

b. There weren't a lot of earless people but not all were willing to receive what He was saying - Choosing to remain ignorant, or to ignore

c. So to hear is a choice and to heed is a choice

m. After a person hears the gospel of salvation they have the faith to accept

A. If they believe, they can pray the prayer offaith and be saved (Rom. 10:13-14)

B. In the same respect, a person can't receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing, prosperity, or any other promise in the Bible unless he hears the word concerning it.

C. Once we have heard, and we believe, then we can have confidence that we will receive the promise of the word.

IV. Matthew 13:3-23, The parable of the Sower

A. This is a parable of a farmer who went into his field and began to sow seed for a crop.

B. There are four different places the seed fell and the parable tells what happened to the seed in each of these four areas. We call these places the types of soil.

1. The first seed fell by the wayside and was devoured by the birds. This seed is like those who hear the word., but do not try to understand it causing it to be snatched away by the devil.

2. The second seed fell on stony ground. This seed is like those who hear the word and receive it at first, but later are offended when tribulation and persecution arise and let go of the word.

3. The third seed fell among thorns. This seed is like those who hear the word but put other things fust such as ajob, money, cares or worries. This allows the word to be choked out of their lives.

4. The fourth seed fell on good ground. This seed is like those who hear the word, understand it, act upon it and it bears fruit in their lives.

C. We all have a type of soil within us, sometimes several types.

1. Sometimes it is easy to believe God for one thing and we receive that seed, and it bears good fruit.

2. Sometimes we don't want to believe the word in other areas because of the hardness of our hearts, or because of fear of persecution, or because of lack of commitment to the things of God and idolizing of things.

3. We must always strive to hear the true, pure word of God. We must strive to break up our fallow ground, clear out the rocks and thorns, and guard our gardens, or hearts.

D. God's word will produce the power to heal, save, protect and provide in everyone's life who hears it.

1. One key to receiving this power is not to wait until there is a crises storm in your life to read the word. The preparation of our faith needs to be done ahead of time.

2. Keep your heart and attitude right before God

a. Be prepared to learn

b. Be teachable

c. Be willing to change

3. Matthew 7:24-27 says that all Christians encounter storms, but only those who hear and act on the word are able to stand during the storm.

5. Do not be discouraged if you don't have an overcoming faith attitude immediately.

E. Seed that is sown takes time to sprout grow and produce

1. The important thing is to continue to sow God's word in your heart.

2. Soon you will see the sprout, then growth, then the harvest (Mark 4:28)

3. Let us take temptation as an example; if you were being tempted in a certain area., perhaps anger, and you were sowing good seed in your heart, then eventually you will find that you are not getting angry like you once did - the seed is bringing in a harvest.

v. Proverbs 2:1-5 - this passage gives us wonderful instruction on how to hear God's word.

A. Receive the Word E. Cry after knowledge

B. Hide His commandments F. Lift up your voice

C. Incline your ear G. Seek as silver

D. Apply your heart H. Search as for treasure

VI. Acts 14:8-10, a biblical example of how hearing the word produced faith for healing.

A. Paul preached the gospel of salvation which clearly included physical healing.

B. The man "heard" Paul speak

C. Faith reached out from the man's heart and took hold of the words of life and healing.

D. The miracle was completed when he acted on what he heard.

F AlTO FOR THE IMPOSSmLE

I. Believing the Word

A. Mark 9:23

1. Our believing is greatly influenced by our thinking

2. Belief and thought (believing & thinking) are formed by what we hear, it is important we hear words offaith if we want to have faith.

a. Words of doubt and fear can hinder our ability to believe.

b. God made it very clear in Proverbs that we are not to fellowship with those of doubt and unbelief - those who scoff and mock the things of God.

B. Right thinking produces right believing.

1. Right thinking begins with knowing God's word.

2. Right believing can open us up for the impossible -Mark 9:23

3. God's word gives you destination points or goals. Right thinking gives us hope.

C. We must not only hear God's word, but we must also believe it.

D. Trusting in God is trusting in what He has spoken through the scriptures.

1. Trusting the scriptures as they apply to you

2. Trusting Him personally in what ever situation that you are in. Don't quit, don't give up, don't get discouraged - believe that you are special to Him.

II. The basis of believing God's word.

A. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 - God's word is inspired. That's why it is just as powerful today as it was when it was written.

1. It is His mind, His thoughts, His heart, His inspiration on paper

2. It will endure forever (1 Peter 1 :25)

3. Because the word comes through human beings, we can believe it as truth (2 Peter 1:20-21)

4. God's ministers are His vehicles, and instruments used to declare His Word

B. We can base our faith on God's word because he has promised that His word will not return to Him void, but that it will accomplish that which he pleases and it will prosper in the thing where it is sent. (Is. 55: 11)

III. Matthew 18:3

A. Little children believe everything an adult says. As long as an adult continues to keep his word to a child, that child will never doubt that adult's word.

B. Our heavenly Father has never failed to keep His word (Num. 23: 19)

C. We can be just like little children and take our father at His word, and align our lifestyle with it.

N. The sin of unbelief

A. Hebrews 3:12 compares the children of Israel with Christians today. Just as God promised Israel a land of rest flowing with milk & honey, he promises Christians today an abundant life in Christ.

B. Numbers 13:26-33 - when the Israelites reach the border of Canaan after being led from Egypt by Moses, God instructed Moses to send 12 spies into Canaan to survey the land. All 12 spies told of bounty found in the land. But 10 began to tell of strong people, walled cities, and giants in the land. Only Caleb and Joshua began to encourage the people to possess the land saying they were able to overcome the obstacles.

1. The sin on Israel was unbelief

a. God had promised to give them the land

b. They wouldn't go in and possess it

c. Instead of believing the faith report of Caleb and Joshua, they chose to believe the doubt report of the other 10 spies.

d. They once again began to murmur to Moses and said that they would rather have died in Egypt or the wilderness than face the obstacles - Num. 14:2

2. Because of hardness of heart, God gave them their request instead of His promise. They remained in the wilderness for 40 years until everyone 20 years or older (accept Caleb and Joshua who lived to enter the promise land) died - Number 14:29

C. Many good people have failed to enter the promised land because they focused their eyes on circumstances instead of God's word.

D. Decide you're going to believe God's word no matter what circumstances look like.

1. God calls unbelief sin and unbelief causes a person to draw back from God

2. To draw back from faith is to draw back from God - Heb. 11:6

3. Hebrews 4: 1-2 says that the word does not profit us unless it is mixed with faith.

v. The only way to know if you really believe God's word is to act on it.

A. To believe is not to rely on your own mind but to totally trust in what God has spoken.

B. God's word and man's word are contrary to one another until man begins to submit to God.

C. Nothing God does or says makes sense to the natural man - 1 Corinthians 2: 14

1. Set your affections on things above - Col 3:2

2. Live as God has planned for you to live by believing His word.

3. Every word that comes from God is life - Matthew 4:4

FAITH AND PRAYING IN POWER

1. Praying according to God's word

A. Just as it is important to Hear God's word, and Believe God's word, it is important to pray God's word.

B. Why prayer is powerful:

1. Prayer is releasing what we believe in conversation with God.

2. Prayer is to the spirit as exercise is to the body

a. Continual prayer that gets results will cause our faith to grow and mature

b. Prayer is requesting from God what many times He already desire to give to us.

C. Our faith is either increasing or decreasing; it rarely stands still.

I. To increase faith, it must be fed and exercised.

2. Hearing God's word, believing it, and praying it is what keeps our faith growing.

D. Hebrews 4:9-11

I. Our prayer life is two-sided

a. We fight the good fight offaith

b. We rest in God trusting Him to accomplish his word.

2. Faith is both a fight and a rest.

II. Praying in Righteousness - James 5:16

A. Our prayer life is powerful, it changes things

B. Righteousness is important in prayer - 1 Pet. 3:12

1. It is important to stay cleansed from all unrighteousness

2. Faith will deteriorate where there is continual sin without repentance

C. The work of righteousness is peace and the effect of it is quietness and assurance forever Isaiah 32:17

D. We should go boldly before the thrown of grace. That is a difficult thing to do when we are in condemnation of our conscience, or ashamed

m. Asking in prayer

A. Although God knows our needs before we ask, we're instructed to ask for these needs to be met Matthew 6:8

B. Matthew 7:7, Mark II :24, John 16:23, John 14:13, John 15:7 - all tell us everything we ask in prayer believing, we'll receive (God intends for us to receive all we ask for)

C. If God says we'll receive all things we ask for in prayer, then why don't we receive all things?

1. God has set up divine instructions in prayer

2. If our prayers fail, it could be because we aren't following God's Instructions

D. God's principles

1. Ask the Father in Jesus' name - John 16:23-24

a. The name of Jesus is key to opening up the prayer line

b. If we receive by faith the moment we pray, joy can be ours before what we pray for comes into actual existence.

2. Ask according to God's will - James 4:3

a. In Mark 11 :24 Jesus said we can receive whatever we desire

b. There is a difference between spiritual desires and flesh desires

1) Spiritual desires come from the heart of a recreated being in fellowship with God.

2) Flesh desires come from lust of the mind and flesh that are in fellowship with the devil or the world's system.

3. Abide in the vine - John 15:1-5

a. To cultivate spiritual desires we need to "abide in the vine" (John 15:1-5); when we abide in the vine, God's words abide in us and when we ask in prayer under these conditions, it will be done for us (John 15:7)

b. Hebrews 4: 12-13 tells us that the Word is like a two-edged sword that divides soul from spirit, and discerns thoughts and intents of the heart.

1) The word reveals what is pure and what is not

2) As we abide in the word, God will reveal his desires to us.

4. Before praying, settle God's will in your heart

a. God's word is His will

b. 2 Corinthians 13: 1, Deuteronomy 19: 15 say to establish God's word by two or three witnesses

c. This will keep us from misusing the word and taking it out of context in which it was written.

d. We want to take whole counsel of God to establish God's will

1) All of God's word is His will - Collectively

2) His will concerning a specific area may not be given entirely in one passage. We must compare scriptures throughout the Bible - Is. 28:10

e. A lot of Jesus' teachings came from various places in the Old Testament

1) The sermon on the Mount teaching found in Matthew 5,6,7 include portions from Psalms 1,2 Chronicles, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, 1 Kings, Isaiah, 2 Samuel as well as other books of the Bible

f. Because we can be assured God hears us when we ask according to His will, we know He will give us our request - 1 John 5:14-15

5. Fix your heart and mind on His will

a. Storms may come between time you pray and time you see the answer

b. James 1:5-8 says a double-minded man receives nothing

c. Heart fixed on God's word generates life from inside out - Psalms 111:7-8

6. Be tenacious - especially in the impossible

a. The book of Daniel is a perfect example of being tenacious

1) In chapter 10 Daniel prayed and is believing God for the answer

2) God heard Daniel immediately (Dan. 10: 12 "Thy words were heard, and I am come for your words")

3) It only took 21 days for God to answer Daniel in what seems to be a desperate situation. - Why?

a) Not because God was not listening - God was listening

b) But because Gabriel was resisted by the Prince of Persia

c) A heavenly war bad begun in the spirit because the evil Princes did not want man to have this divine knowledge (the vision which Daniel received from Gabriel)

4) We must remember that our prayers are powerful, and we must pray expecting to receive from God. God will send the mightiest angels to fulfill His plan in this world, and He will fight the mightiest fight if we will stand strong and believe that He will answer us.

FAITH FOR RECEIVING

I. Receiving the promises of God

A. Receiving means accepting or taking what is given

B. God wants us to trust Him to the point of actually receiving before we see or feel anything Mark 11:24

C. Faith is our evidence - Hebrews 11: 1

1. We are confident that we have already received and we hold faith as our evidence or receipt.

2. The world wonders at our confidence in the resurrection from the dead but we have our faith as evidence or receipt.

3. Faith says "I have it because I believe I have received according to God's word"

4. Doubt says "I will believe it when I see it."

D. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says that everything in the physical world is temporary and subject to change.

1. We have the ability to change temporary conditions by mixing faith with the word Heb.4:1-2

2. Mixing faith with the Word is similar to a chemical reaction caused by mixing two substances. Apart from each other they are inactive but when they come together a reaction takes place.

3. We can say the word out of our mouths but without mixing it with faith it will be inactive. When faith reaches out to believe and receive the word, a powerful force is created which is strong enough to change circumstances.

II. Bartimaeus - a biblical example of receiving from God - Mark 10:46-52

A. Bartimaeus was blind and sat by the road everyday begging

B. When he heard Jesus walking down the road, he began to cry to Him to have mercy on Him

C. Jesus asked him what he wanted and Bartimaeus answered to receive his sight

1. Bartimaeus had already determined what he wanted

2. His thoughts were centered more on receiving an answer than the problem

3. It is important that we center on the answer not the problem

D. Jesus told Bartimaeus that his faith had made him whole

ill. How to receive from God

A. Find out what God's will is:

1. To save the lost - John 3:16-17

2. To free men completely - John 8:36

3. To Heal- Luke 4:18

4. To have abundant life - John 10: 1 0

B. Believe, pray, and receive by faith (it is easier to believe by faith when assured of God's will)

C. Have an attitude of humility and confidence

1. Pride comes before a fall - Proverbs 18: 12

2. Are to be confident God will answer us because of Jesus - Heb. 4: 14-16

D. Believe you receive when you pray - Mark 11 :24

SPEAKING YOUR FAITH

I. Confessing the word

A. Confessing means what comes out of the mouth, spoken by the use of the tongue.

1. James says that the tongue is like a bit in a horse's mouth or like a rudder on a ship.

Although it's small, you can control or direct you lives - James 3:3-5

2. The Power of life and death, and abundance and lack are in the tongue

Proverbs 18:20-21

a. Need to choose to believe, speak and enjoy what God wants for us found in His word; this is choosing life.

b. James 3:6,8 - tells us if the tongue is not tamed we can destroy our life

B. The mouth speaks according to our heart, good or evil- Matthew 12:34-36

1. We will give account even for idle words because these are the words that often come directly from the heart by-passing the mind.

C. We receive what we believe and confess, both good and bad - Matthew 12:34-36

1. When we believe and speak God's word, we receive God's promises and enjoy abundant life which includes salvation, health, freedom, power, joy, love, peace, victory, light, prosperity, kindness, gentleness, hope, faith, and everything beautiful.

2. When we believe and speak what the world says we reject God's promises and produce death which includes doom, gloom, fear, doubt, worry, tension, strife, sickness, poverty, confusion, bondage and everything ugly.

3. The things that we hear and think about eventually find a way into confession, therefore we need to guard what goes into our ears and eyes and keep our mind on the things of God - Proverbs 22:17-21

D. Two steps of believing and speaking operate continually in our faith Romans 10:9-10

1. Hebrews 10:23 - says to hold fast to our profession (confession) of our faith without wavering.

2. Jeremiah 1:12 - says God hastens to perform His word

3. Continual believing and speaking of God's word releases power offaith.

n. Jesus, our example

A. Mark 11:12-14,20-21, Jesus spoke directly to the fig tree and His words became reality.

Power of faith released from His mouth changed natural circumstances.

B. Mark 9:25, Jesus spoke to the dumb spirit in the boy and it left him. It released the boy from bondage and torment in his life.

C. Mark 1 :41-42, Jesus spoke to the leper to be cleansed from the disease of leprosy and he was healed.

D. Mark 5:41, Jesus spoke to the girl who had died and she was released from death and lived.

Jesus told us to speak to the mountain

E. The word coming out of our mouth overcomes the powers of darkness - 1 John 5:4

1. God has given us His word so that we can stand against the attacks of the devil

2. Matthew 4: 1-11 tells us when Jesus was attacked by the devil, He spoke the word and the devil left Him defeated by the spoken word.

Ill. Other Biblical examples of confessing faith

A. Abraham spoke forth his faith, saying he was a father of a multitude

B. David spoke forth by faith the fate of Goliath

C. Ezekiel spoke to the dry bones to come to life

D. Joshua and Caleb spoke forth promise to take Canaan land

1. These are just a few examples, and all of these had to speak forth by faith what God said would happen. They may have had their doubts at times but their doubts are not recorded - and I'm sure that is because they knew the power of their words and they did not speak their doubts.

2. Many people in the Bible did speak their doubts but they were always proven to be in contradiction to what God was doing.

IV. The Power of confession

A. Proverbs 12:13-14, 13:2-3; 18:20-21; 29:20

B. If our words are this powerful then we ought to know how to control our tongue

C. We control our tongue by knowing what the word says

D. We control our tongue by realizing the power of our words (Mark 11 :23-24)

E. We control our tongue by holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering (Heb. 10:23)

F. We control our tongue by resisting the devil (Matthew 4: 1-11)

V. We are not confessing our words which have no power, but we are confessing His Words which are powerful

A. He is faithful who promised and it shall come to pass ...

B. His words do not return to Him void

VI. We not only confess to change circumstances but to change us

A. We confess who we are, we tell the story about ourselves and what we know to be true about all that we are. Therefore we confess the following truths:

1. What God in Christ did for us in His plan of Salvation

2. What God through the Word and the Holy Spirit have done in us in the New Birth and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

3. What we are to God the Father in Christ Jesus

4. What Jesus is doing for us now at the right hand of the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession for us.

5. What God can do through us, or what His Word can do through our lip's.

THE POWER OF MEDITATION

I. Meditating on the Word - 1 Timothy 4:15-16

A. Meditating in the word is giving yourself wholly to the Word of God.

1. Meditation of God's Word involves spirit, soul, and body.

2. When we continually think on the word, our mind is purified, faith comes into our heart (spirit) and our tongue is brought under control.

3. Meditating on the word cleanses our minds, Eph. 5:26

B. Joshua 1 :8 - God gave Joshua three keys to prosperity and success

1. Keep God's word in your mouth

2. Meditate on God's word day and night

3. Do according to all of God's word

C. Psalms 1: 1-3 says that man who meditates on the word day and night will be strong and healthy like a tree planted by water, will continue to bear fruit (love, joy, peace, etc.) and everything he does will prosper.

F. "Meditate" in the Hebrew language means to murmur, ponder, imagine, mutter, speak, study, or utter - as we meditate on the word we're talking it over with ourselves, it is purposeful concentration

G. Colossians 3:16 "Let the word dwell in you richly with all wisdom"

1. Understanding of the word and wisdom often come only after meditation on what we've heard and read

2. Its understanding and wisdom that show us how to apply God's knowledge in our lives

H. Philippians 4:8-9; whatsoever things are true ...

1. Think on the things of God keeping your focus on Jesus

2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Heb. 12:2

1. Our mind and thought realm is one of major battlegrounds in faith

1. As we meditate on the word we gain control of our thought life

2. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, Eph. 4:22-24

II. Blessings of meditating in God's word

A. Proverbs 4:20-23 - we receive strength and health

B. Is. 26:3 - we are kept in perfect peace.

Living By Faith

A. The only way to please God, serve God, and live in His kingdom, is to live by faith

B. We want to live by faith to please God and to be productive

1. Many Christians spend their whole life wandering in and out of obedience

2. The way to consistently walk in obedience is to walk by faith; Gal. 2:20, Heb. 11:6

3. When we are in the will of God, then we have His peace

a. Living outside His will, living outside His peace is terrible

b. Living outside His peace produces doubt instead offaith

4. When we are out of the will of God, up to us to make the necessary changes - Amos 3:3

a. When we aren't walking in agreement, the problem must be with us, not with God

b. God won't make the changes for us; we have to do it ourselves

c. Need to get back on course with God to get full blessings

d. Must do all we can to get back on course with God II. Learn to use the name of Jesus

A. This enables us to walk and live by faith because it is in His name that we trust

B. John 14:13 - we can do things Jesus did and even more - to do this we need to have faith in His name in our circumstances

C. Ephesians 1: 19-22 - His name is above every name - it's our power source

III. We need to see ourselves as God see's us

A. Remember that we're new in Christ and all old things have passed away

B. We need to understand who we are in Him. Repeat:

1. I am loved by God, I am in the family of God

2. I am God's child, I am special to God

3. I have the mind of Christ

4. I have the righteousness of Christ

5. I am sanctified by the blood of Christ

6. I have all of the fruit of the Spirit in me

7. I am totally accepted by God, my Father, and if I obey His commands, I can grow up and be just like my big brother

IV. Victorious Faith is the God-kind of Faith

A. We need to understand the schemes of the devil so we can overcome him

1. God has already given us the victory in Christ Jesus; we just need to walk in it

2. Ephesians 6: 1 0-18, put on the full armor and draw strength from Him

3. We have been called of God to take back all the ground Satan has stolen from us

4. Must proceed daily--living by faith, possessing the land, taking back what Satan has stolen.

B. Don't act like the problem doesn't exist, speak God's word into the situation

1. Understand that Satan's power is in deception and lies.

2. Just do the word; don't let your natural mind rebel against God

C. The price that was paid for us

1. We need to realize that Jesus bought us with a price, his blood - 1 Peter 1: 18-19

2. We must realize that the faith we have cost Jesus everything to give to us.

a. It is His faith that we have

3. We must operate in this faith for His sake and for loves sake, and for the Glory of God