Faith is believing what God has said!

Transcription

1 exploring the workings of Biblical faith by Jeff Doles Walking Barefoot Ministries ISBN (132 pages, paperback) What is faith? Where does it come from? How does it work? Faith is not the ability to believe anything and everything. It is not about positive thinking, will-power, or what you see or feel. Biblical faith is much more powerful and precise: Faith is believing what God has said! In this book you will discover the dynamics of faith, including: What is the essence of faith How God uses faith How faith can work for anyone The importance of love to the working of faith The importance of God s Word in your mouth How faith perseveres and develops expectation How to forgive by faith How to conquer worry and fear The gateway between heaven and earth Why God created us to speak How to get more revelation of Jesus The authority we have in the name of Jesus How to tap into the limitless thoughts of God These are jumpstarts for your faith defibrillations to set your heart beating with the rhythms of God. Buy now at Walking Barefoot Ministries. Also available at Amazon.com in paperback (FREE shipping with $25 order) and at Lulu.com in ebook (PDF) 1

2 The Faith Log: exploring the workings of Biblical faith 2005 by Jeff Doles All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the author. ISBN: Published by Walking Barefoot Ministries P.O. Box 1062, Seffner, FL All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV). Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, Used by permission. Scriptures quotations from The Amplified Bible 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Book Preview 2

3 To Michael and Sara, my son and my daughter. God has called you to live life full of faith, to believe with Him all the things He has promised in His Word. 3

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5 Contents Introduction 7 The Dynamics of Faith Faith From Beginning to End 11 The Essence of Faith 13 Faithful Means Full of Faith 15 Faith Comes From God 19 God is Full of Faith 22 Faith Will Work For Anyone 25 Faith Comes By Hearing 27 Faith is Substance 30 Faith is Evidence 32 Faith Pleases God 35 Faith is a Seed 38 Faith is Released by Words 41 Faith is Calling Things That Are Not 44 Faith Opposes Fear 47 Faith Works Through Love 51 Faith Requires Forgiveness 53 Faith Partners With Patience 56 Faith Brings Expectation 59 How to Forgive By Faith 61 How to Conquer Worry By Faith 64 5

6 The Gateway Between Heaven and Earth The Gateway Between Heaven and Earth 71 The Authority of Heaven and Earth 75 The Authority of Jesus Presence 79 Fully Authorized Agents of Heaven 81 Don t Try Harder, Love God More 84 The Solution: More Revelation of Jesus 86 Getting More Revelation of Jesus 88 The Connection Between Spiritual and Natural 91 Spiritual Substance 93 Seeing in the Spirit 96 Seeing the Kingdom 98 Exalting the Name of Jesus 100 Jesus Modus Operandi 103 Anointed With Power 105 Tap Into the Limitless Thinking of God 107 Tap Into the Dreams of God 111 Created to Know and Speak the Mind of God 113 The Holy Breath 116 A Vocabulary of Faith A Vocabulary of Faith 121 6

7 Introduction About ten years ago I asked the Lord to teach me about faith. Now, don t get me wrong. I grew up in a Christian home, received the Lord Jesus Christ at a very early age, and even went to Bible college, where I studied all the major doctrines of the faith (along with many minor ones). Even learned about apologetics and how to defend the faith. But something was missing. I would see people who had nowhere near the Christian background or Biblical training that I had, but they knew how to grab hold of faith, step out on faith and accomplish great things with their faith. I envied them. Though I knew Jesus, and I understood and appreciated faith as a doctrinal matter, I did not know how to use my faith in the very practical way these folks did. That s when I asked the Lord, and He began to take me through the School of Practical Faith. He introduced me to what faith actually is, where it comes from, how it grows and develops and gets strong, and how it operates. He revealed the power of words His words in my mouth. He showed me that faith requires love and love requires faith. He also taught me how faith partners with patience and develops expectation. He instructed me in the absolute 7

8 necessity of forgiving others and how that sets my faith free. In short, He taught me the dynamics of faith. That s what this book is about. As God has been teaching me, I have been taking notes and sharing with others what I have learned. These notes have taken the form of newsletters, articles, books, and, most recently, a blog we call The Faith Log.* This is a work in progress, one that will take me the rest of my life. That s because, now that I ve learned how to use my faith as a precision tool, the Bible has become even more vibrant and exciting. I m trading my thoughts for God s, believing His Word for all its worth (and rejoicing at its infinite value). And I m discovering a host of life-changing, world-changing truths things I had never noticed before I learned how to apply my faith. The section on The Gateway Between Heaven and Earth is about some of these very powerful truths. At the end of this book is a section I call The Vocabulary of Faith. It is a list of faith terms and definitions that have become very significant to me in walking out what I have learned. Neither the list nor the definitions are exhaustive. This, too, is a work in progress. More terms will be added, and much more can be said about each of them. May these faith explorations be a jumpstart for you defibrillations that set your heart beating with the rhythms of God. * A blog is an internet-based journal a weblog (hence blog). You can get to The Faith Log though our ministry home page at 8

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11 Faith From Beginning to End For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:16-17) God s way is always a way of faith, from beginning to end, and faith always comes by revelation. More specifically, it comes by a revelation of God s righteousness His way of doing and being right. Since this is about faith all the way through, let s examine it a little bit closer. As we discover in this passage, the revelation of God s rightness is embodied in the Gospel of Christ. The word gospel means good news, and Christ means Messiah, or to put it in English, Anointed One. This revelation, then, is the good news about Jesus the Anointed One. Now, in the Bible, the anointing is very significant. Listen to how it is described in Isaiah, concerning those who are delivered from tyranny and oppression: It shall come to pass in that day that his [the oppressor s] burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your 11

12 neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. (Isaiah 10:27, the KJV simply says the anointing ). The anointing is the powerful manifestation of God s goodness and might that completely removes the burden and shatters the yoke of oppression. No wonder Paul calls the Good News of the Anointed One the power of God to salvation. Salvation is not merely the forgiveness of sins. It is a total restoration of relationship with God that includes healing, deliverance, freedom and prosperity. Whatever you need to be made whole is found in the Gospel, and it is available for everyone who believes. Faithpoint: The good news about Jesus the Anointed One is the revelation of God s righteousness His way of doing and being right brought to bear in your life. It comes, not to condemn you, but to save you and empower you for living. And it is all about faith. That is why Paul declares, The just shall live by faith. It is a new way of life, a way of faith and rightness from beginning to end. Faith Log Entry Date

13 The Essence of Faith What is faith? Where does it come from? How does it work? In the Bible, faith is not the general ability to believe anything and everything. Biblical faith is much more precise than that. It has a particular basis: Faith is believing what God has said. Faith is not about positive thinking. Positive thinking is about what we can do. Faith is about what God can do. More precisely, it is about what God has promised in His Word to do. Faith is not theoretical, it is concrete. That is, it is not just believing what God can do, but believing what God actually will do because He has made a promise to do so. For example, the Bible says that God will provide for us (Psalm 23:1; Philippians 4:19). But it is not enough just to believe that God can provide. Biblical faith is believing that He will provide and that He will do it for me, because that is His promise. Faith makes it personal between God and us. 13

14 Faith is also dynamic, not static. It is not merely something we possess but something we use. It is lively and energetic, especially when we learn how to activate it. Faithpoint: Faith is believing what God has said. Faith Log Entry Date

15 Faithful Means Full of Faith He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. (Luke 16:10) In the Greek, the word for faithful is pistos, which is the same word for faith. In the adjective form, we simply say faithful. Yet somehow we fail to see that the real meaning here has everything to do with having faith. The essence of faithfulness is faith. In English, we say that fruitful means full of fruit, and joyful means full of joy. In the same way, when we turn the word faithful around we discover that it is about being full of faith. Now, we usually think of faithfulness as being loyal, dependable, consistent, and thus, trustworthy. Trustworthiness, the ability to be trusted, is a good and important thing, even a necessary thing. But it is a secondary result of pistos, and a by-product of faithfulness, not its essence. Faithfulness is, first of all, about faith. Faith is believing the Word of God, expecting to see it come to pass. 15

16 Faithfulness is the ability to walk in faith, exercise faith, be full of faith. Let me put it this way. God is looking for faithful men and women, not those whom He can trust, but those who can trust Him. If they are able to depend on Him, then as a result, they will themselves be dependable. To understand the truth of this, study the lives of Abraham, Moses, David and Peter. They all messed up plenty of times and in some pretty major ways. But they also have this in common they learned how to believe God, and that made all the difference. You see, faith pistos, the ability to, or act of believing God is what pleases God. 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 (Hebrews 11:6). Without faith, it is not just hard to please God, it is absolutely impossible! That is because, if something is not of faith, it is not of God. It does not come from God, therefore it cannot please Him. Paul went so far as to say, Whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). On the other hand, when we have faith and put it into action, which is what it is means to believe, God is greatly pleased. In fact, it excites Him, stirs His heart toward us, so much so that He rewards us greatly for seeking after Him. Faith is believing God, and that honors Him. Now, consider again the passage above. The contrast is between the man who is faithful (full of faith) and the man who is unjust. The Greek word for unjust is adikos. It is made up of two parts, 1. a, the alpha privative, and 2. diké, which has to do with righteousness, or rightness. Taken together, this word signifies the absence of righteousness, or justness. The Bible says that righteousness comes 16

17 the dynamics of Faith by faith, not by good deeds (Genesis 15:6). If a person is not righteous, it is because they lack faith. Why is the unjust man deemed unjust? Because he has no faith. Therefore, it is impossible for him to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Whatever is not of faith is sin, so all his deeds, lacking faith, are unjust. The rightness of God is not in them. But there is also another comparison being made in Jesus statement. It is the comparison between the man who is faithful in that which is least and the man who is faithful in that which is much. As it turns out, they are both one and the same. It cannot be otherwise. For if a man is not full of faith in the little matters, then how in the world can he be full of faith in more important matters. He lacks the most essential ingredient for dealing with all matters great and small faith. A person may be very nice, of very good character and full of good intentions. He may be thoroughly punctual and diligent in everything he does. But if he does not exercise faith in God, then in the biblical sense, he is not faithful. In fact, in biblical terms, he is unrighteous. You see, doing right is not just a behavior, it is a matter of the heart, one that is full of faith. When we are full of faith, trusting God and His Word, our words and deeds will correspond with that faith. They will line up and be in agreement with it. Then we will find a consistency in our manner of life, because God never changes and His Word never fails. So, when we are full of faith in God, we ourselves will be seen as dependable, loyal, and trustworthy because we have learned how to believe and exercise faith. We see an excellent example of this in Third John, where the apostle extols Gaius, his friend and a pastor of a church under John s care: 17

18 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. (3 John 5) The Bible says that faith expresses itself through love. Gaius was faithful, that is, he believed God and was full of faith. His faith was full of love and his love was full of action. As a result, the church gave witness to his love, and John commended him for his faith-fullness. Faithpoint: Everything in life is all about God. Absolutely everything! Every good thing comes from Him, works because of Him and finds its fulfillment in Him. It follows that faithfulness, too, is all about God trusting Him and exercising faith in His promises. For He is, and He is the rewarder of all who diligently seek Him by faith. Faith Log Entry Date

19 is an ongoing project. You can interact with us online at faithlog.blogspot.com or access it through our website: 19

20 Preaching, teaching, worship, healing and revival ministry to help you take the next step of faith in your walk with the Lord, and experience the presence and power of God in your life. Walking Barefoot Ministries was founded in 1999 by Jeff and Suzanne Doles to minister to churches, conferences, retreats, revivals and other Christian events. With a fresh and gentle breeze of the Holy Spirit, they come to: Minister the Word of God through preaching and teaching on prayer, faith and the healing power of God. Establish an atmosphere of praise and worship that leads to greater intimacy with God and deeper expressions of love, faith and joy in His presence. Bring encouraging words from the Lord to inspire, build up, and bring comfort and healing to God s people. Share the joy and enthusiasm of their faith journey with the Lord Jesus Christ. Stir up the embers of revival fire and renewal in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jeff is a seasoned Bible teacher with great enthusiasm for bringing out the life-changing, world-changing truths of God s Word. His desire is to see people activated in faith and joy as he preaches on the awesome presence and power of God. As a worshipper, he delights to lead in extended times of worship to press into the inner courts. Suzanne received a powerful work of the Lord in the Summer of 2000, a deliverance which released her from deep-seated fear. With strong faith and insight, she now gives testimony to the healing power of God, on the theme of moving from fear to faith. We are pressing in for more of the Lord,to know Him more intimately, love Him more lavishly, praise Him more extravagantly. To grow more in prayer and faith, to experience more of His presence, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. To do the works of Jesus. 20 Visit us online at