August 17, 2011
Faith
Hebrews 11:1 AMP
1NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]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].
This is the Strong’s Greek Concordance Number 4102
Transliteration: pistis
Phonetic Spelling: (pis’-tis)
Definition: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.
I love the way this verse reads in the Amplified version. Faith is the assurance, the title deed of the things we hope for.
As a Realtor I know that once you hold the title deed, it is yours! No one can take it away unless you give it to them and sign it over to them.
So if we hope for our children to come to the Lord, or if we hope for the finances to get out of debt, or if we hope for healing for our bodies, do we also have the faith to fill the hope? Do we have divine assurance that this will happen?
You cannot generate hope by yourself. It must come from God. It is a God given gift; a divine gift. Romans 12:3
There is a difference between belief and faith. You may say you believe something, but the devil himself believes. Belief is something you choose on your own usually based on previous experience. Faith is a gift. Human belief is merely confidence. Faith is a God given assurance in something. Something that hasn’t happened yet. Belief is based in the past. Faith is based in the future. Ephesians 2:8-9
When the world says they have faith that their car won’t break down, that is simply belief that their car won’t break down. From repeated past experiences they believe it will function properly on that day and that it won’t break down.
Faith is a gift of the Spirit and is divine assurance. So when a Christian says they have faith that their car won’t break down, it could very well be that they have divine assurance that their car will not break down based on their knowledge of God’s divine care and protection over His children. They have received the faith for the promise ahead.
Evaluate your faith today. Do you use the word faith when you really mean you believe? Is your belief based on repeat experience and knowledge, or do you really have faith based on divine assurance?
Receive faith from the Holy Spirit today. The faith that can move mountains.
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Great article on faith vs. belief Nancy! I like your example of the title deed to a house. I’ve been remarried for 3 years now, but your article made me think of the 9 yrs. before that when I was single, after a divorce which left me financially depleted. Living in an apt., paycheck to paycheck was truly where the rubber met the road in trusting God, and excercising faith in His provision for me. And you know, the funny thing is, I rarely worried about money, or paying my bills, or having food to eat! The only time I worried was when my car broke down. But not only did God provide for me with my car, He also took care of my needs when twice during those 9 yrs. I lost my job. But with God’s help, I managed my finances until I got another job. There were 2 things that encouraged me in my faith during that time. The mantra we say at Victory is true when you tithe! Even when I was in between jobs, I would put at least a dollar in the plate, and thank God for a job, when I didn’t see one yet. And God gave me a job. Another was helping feed the homeless along with other singles from Victory at a church once a month. Every time I came home from feeding people who lived on the street or wherever, I would walk in my apt. and thank God out loud for my apt, car, food, etc. No matter how humble our dwelling or meager our food pantry, there are always others who have so much less than we do. Thankfulness, and tithing went a long way in building my faith in God to provide for my needs. It’s so true, it’s one thing to believe in God, who He is, but so much more real when you put your faith in Him, trusting Him in every area of your life.
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I want to make a comment that may address a few questions I’ve had directly regarding this post.
Since this is a comment I want to keep it simple.
It says in Romans 12:3 that God has given every man a measure of faith. In Luke 17:6 Jesus compares faith to a grain of mustard seed.
I believe that we are all given a ‘seed’ of faith. God is no respecter of persons so it stands to reason if He gives to one faith he will also give that same seed of faith to another. But from there it is up to us to nurture that seed and see that it grows.
Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (God) and then to grow that faith we need to hear the word (Romans 10:17).
So if you are struggling with having faith for healing, you should nurture the healing branches of your faith tree (seed) by reading, and listening to teaching and the word that builds up your faith in healing.
If you are in need of faith to believe for finances, you should nurture the prosperity branch of your faith tree (seed) by reading, and listening to teaching and the word thet builds up your faith in prosperity.
And so on! We each have a seed of faith. You much read the word and place yourself under Godly teachers and preachers who teach and preach faith!
Some say that they believe God will help then because He did in the past. But that is still ‘belief’ not faith. If it is based on past experiences then it is still not faith.
Have you ever been faced with a situation that you kept chiding yourself about because you were feeling some worry and you knew, because God had been faithful in the past, that He would help you again? But you kept trying to shake the worry?
That is because even though you had a past experience where God helped you and you knew it in your mind and it made sense that He would do it again, your faith didn’t match what your belief was.
Faith ONLY comes from the Holy Spirit through the Word and hearing the teaching, preaching and reading of the Word. NOT from past experiences. BUT when you recite your faith successes such as David did to himself when God helped him slay the bear, then God helped him slay the lion it was building his faith to ‘hear’ the stories that would build his faith to slay the Philistine!
Nurture the seed of faith that God has planted within you by using the fertilizer of the Word and your faith WILL grow. Neglect the Word and your faith will wither.
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So true Nancy. Rom. 12:1,2 remind us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds which is a daily process. God gives us each day just what we need for that day – the right amount of love, grace, forgiveness, etc. for each situation that we face when we seek Him daily. To build muscle requires daily excercise. So as we excercise our faith daily, it grows. And seeing answers to our prayers by excercising faith in the small matters encourages us to trust God and have faith in Him for the big things!
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Good Barbara, very good! Thank you!!
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