So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
Last week I shared a powerful truth with you: that faith doesn’t come by asking, it comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Click HERE if you want to read it again) Romans 10:17 explicitly says, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Think about it this way: if you are a Christian, how did you receive Jesus?
Did you ASK for the faith to believe on Jesus, then WAIT until you really knew that you had the faith for salvation, THEN you received Christ? Or did you hear the Good News of Jesus, believe in your heart, confess Him and receive Jesus as your Lord?
The Bible explains the role faith plays in the born-again experience (that is, the experience of receiving Jesus’ payment for our natural, sinful nature so that we can be literally ‘born-again’ into the family of God once and for all):
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 ESV
The Greek phrase for the underlined text above actually states, “by the faith OF the Son of God…” That means that the faith required to believe on Jesus as Son of God and the Savior of the world is the highest form of faith known to man: God’s own personal faith.
God’s Own Faith
Yes, God operates in faith, and it is His example of operating in faith that we must imitate.
Notice how this God-kind of faith physically–mechanically–works:
“…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. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
If you received Jesus and you are now a born-again child of God, you never had to ask for the faith to receive Jesus, you just confessed Jesus as Lord and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you were saved.
I want you to notice today that the only barrier between you and operating in a greater degree of faith is not related to your asking, but it is related to your speaking and believing. This is the kind of faith that God Himself operates in!
God operated in this kind of faith when He created the planet: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Why didn’t He form light into existence with His hands or silently with His mind? Instead, God chose to use His words. He spoke things into existence. The most powerful manifestation of faith in the universe is faith that is established on God’s heart (believing) and is spoken out of our mouths (confessing).
Remember that “with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” If someone were to ask me how to get saved and receive Jesus, I would refer them to this simple truth in Romans 10. Believe in your heart and use your words as a vehicle for your faith to manifest in the physical world. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
How Do I Operate in God’s Faith?
We must make certain that what we are believing God for is covered by the wonderful Blood of Jesus, then, once we have established God’s Word on the fact, we participate in the manifestation of His promise by confessing with our mouth His Word over our situation. But the bottom line today is that we don’t need to ask for more faith, we simply need to learn how to flow and operate in the faith we have by following God’s way of faith. (If this is a lot to take in, don’t worry; we will cover these topics more fully on future blogs and podcasts!)
The best part about this is that He deeply desires to be part of our journey! He is the Source, after all. He is the example and the Author and Finisher of our faith, after all. He said He would never leave us nor forsake us, after all. Enjoy the journey. Don’t over-engineer ‘walking in faith.’ Just rest in Him, get to know Him, and let Him show you how His faith works.
Questions to consider this week:
What am I facing in my life right now that requires a supernatural level of faith–the “God-kind” of faith? (If you can’t think of anything right now, come back to this question during your quiet time with the Lord. If I’ve learned anything about God, it’s that He always has something impossible that He wants me to believe Him for–something that requires a level of faith that I am not currently operating in! I know that as you seek Him and spend time with Him, He will certainly reveal His plans for you!)
What does God say about this situation or thing I am facing? What does His Word say?
For instance, if you are facing a seemingly-insurmountable mountain in your business, you need to take the time to find out what God says in His Word about prosperity, success, business, diligence, and faithfulness, etc.
I pray with all my heart that you are encouraged with this teaching on the difference between asking for faith and imitating and walking in the faith of God–the faith that is based wholly upon His Word, His Promises, and is breathed upon and empowered by His Holy Spirit.