Rom. 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (the = definite article ...not just any faith, but a particular faith from God.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
*Faith (belief) is the tool that brings about what we are expecting...it is the proof that we have received what we hoped for although we don’t see it yet.
Mark 11:22-24
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
*When you know that you have something, you don’t say, “I believe” you say, “I have”
example: you apply for a job –they call you to work....you don’t say, “I believe I have the job” – you say, “I have the job”
Matthew 21:21-22
21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt (hesitate)not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
*Sometimes, we feel like we have faith, but if we have the slightest uncertainty, apprehension, fear, misgivings or worry, we don’t have complete faith that produces results. All these feelings I just mentioned are the definition of ‘doubt.’
Matthew 17:19-20
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
*Mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, but when planted & nourished, it becomes a tree. Just a small amount of true, unwavering faith can bring about great things. >
Mark 4:31 (The kingdom of God is like...a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth
32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Luke 17:5-6
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
*He doesn’t increase their faith, instead he tells them how their faith works >
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
*Faith is in us –we are given ‘the measure of faith’ / faith is the fruit of the spirit (Ga.5:22)
^Example of little faith:
*Peter walking on the water >
Matt 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (Peter started with faith then his faith wavered)
*Jesus with them on the boat asleep >
Matt 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
*Jesus talking about the leaven of the Pharisees >
Matt 16:8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Rom. 10:17 Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
*Storms come to all of us -- (sickness, financial problems, family problems, depression, emotional stress or other trials). It's not the storms that defeat us -- But OUR REACTION to the storms. As the winds blow and the floods come, HE WHO BELIEVES AND TAKES ACTION will hold fast to his confession of faith, because we know God cannot fail. When storms come, we need to stand our ground and act on God's word.
*According to your faith:
Matthew 9:27-29
27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
*Man with palsy:
Luke 5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.*Jesus saw the faith of these men, through their actions (Lowering the man through the roof to get him to Jesus).
*The son with a dumb spirit:
Mark 9:21-29
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
(kind = type / the essence of something) He didn’t say “All things are possible if you fast & pray,” but if you “believe.”
*Giving time to prayer & fasting humbles our spirit by denying the flesh. The more dominant the spirit is in us, the more trust we have in God. When we trust God, we trust his word to do what it says.
*Woman with an issue of blood:
Luke 8:43-48
43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
[Mt 9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.]
*She put her faith into action. She didn’t know how she would be received, or what the outcome would be, but she ‘saw’ herself being healed! She was determined to reach the healer & nothing or no one was going to hinder her!
45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
^Unbelief hinders: Matt 13:54-58
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
^Call for the elders: James 5:14-16
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.) >
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
2 Cor. 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
^Part 2 - Healing:
Acts 14:9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, (to notice something, especially something that escapes the notice of others)
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
*Man at the gate called Beautiful: Acts 3:1-15
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. *This was a miracle – the man was hoping to receive money...he wasn’t expecting to be healed
*The disciples were given power against unclean spirits & power to heal all manner of sickness (Mt. 10:1)
Acts 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
16 And his name through faith in his name (preposition indicates that something happens or is situated somewhere) hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by (thru) him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
*By faith in the name of Jesus, this man was made whole. It is Jesus name and the faith that comes through him that has given this man complete healing.
Acts 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. ( ...that had touched him)
^Facts:
*We are given the measure of faith
We walk by faith...not by what we can already see. We must believe without hesitation that we will receive what we ask for.
Our faith must be operated in order to grow (mustard seed example)
Faith comes by hearing the Word (receiving what it says)
God heals according to our faith, by the ‘gift’ of faith, by compassion & for His glory
He was beaten for our healing
Some infirmities are caused by Satan...some we bring on ourselves
Comments