Heb 10:35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. This confidence, faith and believing is from our hearts in THE LORD HIMSELF. Our confidence is not in ourselves. In fact, the deeper you walk with God, the less confidence you will have in yourself.
PRESUMPTION is the sin of looking to yourself, and depending on yourself and not depending on the Lord Himself. Presumption is expecting God to bless your own ideas and your own ways, and He won’t, because it originates in yourself. True Bible faith originates in God Himself. It is God centred and God inspired.
Heb 11:1 (Amp ) Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
1 Pet 1:7 That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Our faith is to prove genuine, pure, not mixed. The tests purify our faith and reveal to us if we really are focused on the Lord Jesus Himself and on what He says.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. You cannot please God without faith. To God, our faith is of the utmost importance. It is an absolute necessity in pleasing Him, without this faith in our hearts we will never please God no matter what other good things we do.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes.... True Bible faith is of the heart.
SOME THINGS THAT JESUS SAID ABOUT REAL FAITH IN HIM.
Mk 11:23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Faith in Jesus Christ, if used correctly can move mountains. We must learn how to use our faith effectively, how to release our faith for His miracles and answers to prayer. God wants us to participate with Him in removing the mountains of difficulty from our lives and the lives of those around us. He has given us this amazing power called faith.
Jn 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God? Faith then is a choice. Even when it looks absolutely impossible, the Lord Jesus expects you to choose to believe in Him and believe His Word.
Mk 9:23-24 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “ Lord I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" Faith is not always easy. We may struggle and desperately need the Lord's help to truly believe from our hearts.
Mk 4:40 But Jesus said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"
Luke 8:25 But Jesus said to them, "Where is your faith?" Jesus expected faith, and when they had no faith ( in this situation ) and ( didn’t use their faith ) Jesus questioned them sternly.
The Lord Jesus expects us to be using our faith, and growing in our confidence in Him in each situation that He allows us to pass through. He will not accept our excuses, we will not please Him without exercising our faith. We must believe Him from our hearts and have confidence in what He says.
HOW DO WE GET THIS REAL FAITH, THAT IS SO PRECIOUS TO GOD?
a. Heb 12:2 ( Amp) Looking away from all that will distract, to Jesus, the LEADER and the SCOURCE OF OUR FAITH. You cannot have real faith apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit. As we spend time with Jesus, in His Presence, fellowshipping with Him, faith emanates from Him and is imparted to our hearts. That spirit of faith flows freely in His Presence. He is the SCOURCE of real faith, of true Bible faith, true confidence in His Word.
b. Rom 10:17 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
In the Greek NT, there are two words for Word of God.
One is the Logos, the general Word of God that we read from Genesis to Revelation, but that Logos Word alone will not impart faith into our hearts.
The second Word of God is, REHEMA. This is the spoken, living Word of God that the Holy Spirit causes to come alive to us. This is His living Word that is meaningful to us in a given situation. Once we receive this RHEMA WORD, from God, He expects us to believe this Word from God to our hearts and act on that Word. This produces results.
2 Cor 13:1 By the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses, every word shall be established. It is wise to ask the Lord to confirm to you, that you are hearing Him accurately. And as He confirms that it really is Him leading you, and inspiring you to take a certain direction, He expects us to believe and move on that RHEMA WORD.
Mt 14:22 – 32 Describes a very dangerous experience where Peter asked Jesus to confirm to him that it really was the Lord speaking to him. Peter believed it was Jesus speaking to him, calling him to get out of the boat and walk on water. Jesus said, “ come”. With that Peter, believing in his heart, even in impossible circumstances, stepped out of the boat and did the impossible. He walked on water. A man cannot walk on water, but Peter did the impossible, when he heard from the Lord, mixed his faith with that Word and obeyed.
So a RHEMA WORD from the Lord is what produces real faith. IT IS A SPECIFIC WORD, to a SPECIFIC PERSON, in a SPECIFIC SITUATION.
The logos Word, the general Word of God is the foundation for real Bible faith. We must then wait on the Lord, praying that the Holy Spirit will take the Logos Word of God and make it alive to our hearts. This Word must come alive to us and become a LIVING RHEMA WORD TO US, and then true faith flows in our hearts and the miracles occur.
Every true child of God can tell of times when a Scripture or a Scriptural thought came to them in an hour of need and they believed this living Word and God broke through in their distress and met their need. God so wants us to use our faith and grow in this wonderful area of our lives.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 ... because your faith grows exceedingly.
May this be our testimony as we walk with our God.
Pastor Barry Butters (Melton Christian Fellowship).