Back To The Basics

Back to the Basics Lesson 1 – Faith In this series we are going to reexamine the foundations of our faith – beginning with faith. Some of this may sound elementary, but I have recently discovered that foundations, unless sure, lead to faulty buildings. We must constantly go back and refresh our minds and spirits in the basics so that when we do enter the higher world of theological and philosophical debate, we are standing on firm ground. Let’s establish some building blocks to our study of faith. 1. God exists as a person apart from His creation. He is a knowable being and He is involved with the affairs of mankind. Thus, God made the rock therefore God is not the rock (this separates us from those who think God is in everything). 2. God is ultimately just and loving. Therefore, His precepts will be understandable, logical and knowable. He is not capricious or malicious – that is, He doesn’t change and He isn’t mean. 3. God has set in motion laws that He means to be obeyed. Those laws have been made known to mankind in the form of Scriptures. These laws apply to everyone and work every time they are applied correctly. Thus, God is no respecter of persons. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) But 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.

It is my belief that faith is the operating system in which all other programs work. For example, you may have an old laptop or desktop PC from the Windows 95 era. If you tried to load today’s programs on it – it would lock up – because the programs can only work in the right operating system. Likewise, prayer, healing, prosperity, evangelism, etc can only work when grounded and operating in faith. So what then is faith? It is substance, ground, evidence, proof of the things we hope for and what we do not see. It is not “wishin’ and hopin’”. It is a real substance, yet it can’t be seen. Secondly, we see that without faith, we cannot please God. This would make understanding faith of supreme importance.

Father Abraham The bible sets as the prime example of faith a man by the name of Abraham. Romans 4:1-3 (NKJV)

1What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Hebrews 11:8-10 (NKJV) 8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

The first thing we see in Abraham’s life is that “by faith he obeyed.” God spoke to him while he was still living in his father’s tents in Babylonia or modern day Iraq. Abraham didn’t know where he was going – only that God had told him to get up and go. If our faith is to be pleasing to God, we must walk in obedience to what God has already clearly revealed to us. Secondly, Abraham was told that through his seed, God would establish him as the “father of nations” – which is what Abraham means. At the time Abraham received this word – he was childless. Every time someone called Abraham’s name – they were speaking faith over him – calling him a father. His whole identity was changed so that he saw himself as a father of nations years before Isaac was ever born. See yourself as the finished product and call yourself that. Romans 4:16-22 (NKJV) 16Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Verse 17 has a very interesting statement that pretty much defines faith – “God…calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” God said “Light be and light was.” He didn’t wait for light to show up and then say “There light is.” If we are to walk in a faith pleasing to God – we too must call those things that be not as though they were. We have to talk as though the answer were already here. Verse 21 holds another key – Abraham was “fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” Are you fully convinced? I have noticed a little coincidence in my own life. When I am full of the word – to overflowing – it takes very little effort to believe for healing. When I have to blow the dust off the bible first, well,

it’s takes a bit longer. Let’s believe like God and Abraham – not wavering at the promises of God but being strong in faith!!!

Sacrificial Faith Hebrews 11:17-19 NKJV (17) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," (19) concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. Genesis 22:5 NKJV (5) And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."

What happened here? God had promised Abraham that nations would come from his own seed – specifically Isaac, not Ishmael. When God then told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac – his mind didn’t go “TILT” or “THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE”. Abraham simply and correctly reasoned that if God said sacrifice Isaac AND God said Abraham’s seed would be through Isaac then obviously God was going to supernaturally raise Isaac from the dead. Do you see the faith required to even think like that? You have to be convinced – beyond all doubt – that God does not lie. If He said it, it’s done. Beyond the five physical senses, beyond logic and reasoning, Abraham believed God and that what God said was truth. Is that you? Do you stand on the firm foundation of the truth of God’s word above all else? Would you rather see 2+2=7 than God’s word to be false? Would you stand with a knife to your own child’s throat and say “God if you said it – then it is truth.” Do you believe that God’s word is truth?

Calling into existence Romans 4:17 NKJV (17) (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations"[4]) in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 1 Corinthians 1:28 NKJV (28) and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, God calls and brings that into being which before was not: and the phrase seems to be an allusion to the creation of all things out of nothing; and it is a Rabbinical one, for so the Jews speaking of the creation say (s).

"Nya la arwq, "he calls to that which is not", and it is excluded; (i.e. all things are excluded out of it, as a chicken out of an egg;) and to that which is, and it is established, and to the world, and it is stretched out.'' (s) R. Solomon ben Gabirol in Cether Malcuth apud L. Capell. in loc. Gill

A rabbinical concept, from Paul?? Paul, who some accuse of being a Jew hater, in fact shows us his training in rabbinical thinking and how he uses that training to explain theology to the believers in Rome. Rather than throwing away what he had learned, Paul used it. God of course, is the perfect example of faith in action. Paul uses this section in writing about the life of Abraham to show us a principle – that faith speaks of what doesn’t exist as though it did. This is where I got hung up when I first learned about the faith walk. How can you say something without lying? If you are burning up with fever, how can you say “I am healed?” Remember one of our basic assumptions from lesson one – God doesn’t lie. If God speaks something – it has to happen. If God were standing in a dark room and said the word “Light” – then the room would instantly be filled with light. If God said up is down and down is up – the earth would start rotating to come into alignment with His word. That’s how powerful His word is. In Hebrews 11:6 it says that without faith you cannot please God. Why? Because God operates by faith. When you operate by faith, you are imitating God. God speaks and something that in the present we can’t see suddenly becomes visible. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. So how do we operate like God? We find in His word – the Scriptures – a promise concerning what we are asking from God. Everything has to be based in the word – even prophetic words have to be grounded in scriptures. We receive when we pray (Mark 11:24) and then we call that situation according to God’s word, not what we see. For example, in the natural realm, you come down with the flu – your head aches, your nose is stuffy, etc. You go to the word and find Prov 4:20-22 Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV (20) My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. (21) Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; (22) For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

You pray and believe you receive according to Mark 11:24 Mark 11:24 NKJV

(24) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Now comes the hard part – the time between amen and manifestation of your healing. How you act and what you say will reveal whether or not you really believe you received when you prayed. Do you speak those things that be not (your manifestation) as though they were? When someone asks how are you feeling? Do you reply – “Bless God, His word is health to all my flesh!!” or do you say “I’m still down with the flu?” Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. When you have the word in abundance in your heart – it will spill out of your mouth. When you see the reality of the truthfulness of God’s word more than the reality of your symptoms, you have stepped out of wishing into believing. This is where the rubber of faith meets the road of reality. Do you dare call those things that be not as though they were?

The Faith Recipe Hebrews 4:2 NKJV (2) For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

You’ve followed a recipe to cook or bake something before haven’t you? What happens when you leave out a key ingredient? Most likely you won’t get the intended result. That happens with things that we want or need and ask God for but don’t receive. Most of the time we forget the key ingredient – faith. Let’s examine a common use of faith to receive something from God – salvation. Romans 10:9-10 NKJV (9) 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. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Ephesians 2:8 NKJV (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

In order to get saved – you have to hear the word of salvation, i.e. the gospel. We’ll use me as an example: I heard a sermon on salvation (with a good emphasis on hell!). I was then equipped with the knowledge of how to get saved. When the invitation came at the end of the sermon, I walked down front and said the “sinner’s prayer” with the pastor. Did I feel different? Not really, except for relief that I wouldn’t have to do that again! How did I know I was saved if I didn’t feel different? Because salvation wasn’t based on feelings, but on faith. I heard the gospel, I believed the gospel and I did what the gospel

said to do. What proof did I have of being saved? The same proof you do – Rom 10:910. Am I lying if I say I’m saved? Of course not! How will we know for sure until we die whether or not we’re really saved? The only proof we have is God’s word. Now what if someone else had heard the same sermon I did – but they didn’t believe it. Would it have profited them any? Did they mix faith with it? So then just hearing the word doesn’t produce results – faith has to be mixed with the word. A lot of people read the bible and come across great promises of answered prayer – they have head knowledge of God’s promises but down inside their “believer” they don’t really think God will answer their prayer. Some even offer God a way out just in case their prayer isn’t answered – as in “This is what I want God but if not, thy will be done.” Then they can blame God for all unanswered prayer. How convenient. What does the word say about prayer? 1 John 5:14-15 NKJV (14) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to find out what God’s will is first – then pray? Why does the sinner’s prayer work every time it’s done in faith? Because we know that it is God’s will to save anyone who asks. What would happen if we became that sure of God’s will concerning healing? Or finances? Or relationships? What would happen if we didn’t know God’s will and tried praying? James 1:5-8 NKJV (5) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

There is your answer. Too many of us have bought the old song about “sometimes God says no – yada yada…” The painful truth is – we were too lazy to get into the word and get our faith built up so that we confidently and boldly ask God for what we needed. Do you remember Hebrews 11:6? Hebrews 11:6 NKJV (6) But 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.

I believe that God is a rewarder of those that seek Him. He isn’t just up there arbitrarily answering some people’s prayers and denying mine. He is not out to “get me.” I always go back to two simple truths about God:

1. He doesn’t change. 2. He is no respecter of persons. If God healed 2,000 yrs ago, then He will heal today because God doesn’t change. If He healed you – then He will heal me because He is no respecter of persons. God has given us the answers in His word – if we will diligently seek them out and believe them (mixing faith with the word) we can boldly pray and get answers to our prayers. Do you believe?

Rooted in Faith Colossians 2:5-7 ESV (5) For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. (6) Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, (7) rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

How do we operate in faith? In verse 5, Paul is commending their firmness of faith and in verse 7 he wants the readers to be established in the faith. The key is verse 6 – in the same way that you received Jesus – that’s the way you should walk. How did we receive Jesus? Let’s look at some of the ways you didn’t receive Jesus: 1. God saves some and doesn’t save others. If you truly believed this – you would never get saved because Satan would make sure you thought you were the one destined for hell. In order to receive salvation you have to believe that God wants you to be saved. Jesus paid the price so that anyone who believes on Him would not perish but have eternal life. 2. I’ll get saved as soon as God decides to change the way I live. Huh? You have the cart before the horse there don’t you? First you believe, and then God makes you a new creature. 3. If it’s God’s will then it will happen. Wrong again – if you don’t receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you won’t be saved. It’s a choice you have to make. When we look at salvation in this light – some of daily comments about other topics in the word of God begin to look silly as well. The same way we got saved – by faith – is the same way we receive healing or provision or deliverance. We need to go to God’s word first and hear the word (Rom 10:17), then we pray and believe we receive (Mark 11:24) when we pray, then we receive. The way to make your faith strong and steadfast is to exercise it daily – believe God for something every day and then water it with thanksgiving. If you really believed that you received when you prayed – you’d be thanking God for the answer as soon as you said amen wouldn’t you?

Faith Speaks Mark 11:22-24 ESV (22) And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. (23) Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. (24) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

There is a twofold action of faith – what you believe in your heart and what you say with your mouth. Step two actually flows out of step one in that: Matthew 12:34 ESV (34) You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

No matter how hard you try, you will speak what you believe. Many people have misunderstood this principle as “name it and claim it.” This is also where many people get off into error – thinking that if they just say it enough times it will happen. The biblical principle is this – when you get the word down into your spirit man to such an extent that it overflows into your daily conversations – you will have what you say. Romans 10:10 ESV (10) For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

It takes both principles to be effective in your faith walk. You can’t just mentally agree with something and expect that to take the place of believing with your heart. Neither can you just say stuff that you really don’t believe and expect it to magically appear. I know of many in the early days of the charismatic movement that went around saying “by His stripes I am healed” 40 or 50 times a day and never received healing. Why? They never took the time to get the bible message of healing down into their spirit man. When push came to shove, they still believed the old error of “God wants to teach you something by making you sick.” About a year ago I did a study series entitled “Why I Believe in Healing.” The series was birthed out of a question I had – why am I sick when I believe in healing? I decided to dig deep into God’s word and settle the question once and for all for myself (and then share it with you!) Something amazing happened as I studied – physical symptoms started leaving my body!! It became easier and easier to receive healing from God. Why? Because the overall principle and theory of healing was getting inside my thinking and believing. It wasn’t just a matter of quoting one or two verses a thousand times and expecting healing to magically appear. Studying healing in depth like that settled some matters for me – things that had hindered my receiving.

Now don’t misunderstand me – it’s still important to say what you believe but when you put the focus on changing your heart, the confession part becomes super easy. It’s no longer a ritualistic – “say this 100 times and poof!” thing. Now I believe therefore I speak. Hey! That sounds a lot like a scripture! 2 Corinthians 4:13 ESV (13) Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak,