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THE LAWS OF BIBLICAL PROSPERITY
Part Eight - The Source Of Faith
Volume IX Number 8 June 9, 2006

In this issue

Links to FREE Articles

Understanding How We Acquire Faith

Understanding How We Develop Stronger Faith

Conclusions

Sinners’ Prayer

Questions and Suggestions

Donations


 

Links to FREE Articles


Links to Special Financial Services















"Owe no man anything..."
-Romans 13:8














"...the borrower becomes the lender's slave."
-Proverbs 22:7















"...the righteous man shall live by faith."
-Romans 1:17















"...without faith it is impossible to please Him."
-Hebrews 11:6















"No one can serve two masters..."
-Matthew 6:24















"The Lord will make you abound in prosperity..."
-Deuteronomy 25:11















"...God loves a cheerful giver."
-2 Corinthians 9:7















"...the Lord... is giving you power to make wealth..."
-Deuteronomy 8:18

















Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus!

This is the eighth article in our series on the Laws of Biblical Prosperity. We hope the previous issues have been a blessing but if you missed any please request free e-mail copies from the home office at: [email protected]. Thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter. May you be blessed and edified today by the Truth from God’s Word!

The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). It also says that whatever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23), that Believers must live by faith (Romans 1:17 and Habakkuk 2:4) and that we should walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). In sum it is apparent that the Lord doesn’t do anything outside an environment of faith which means that His principles of conduct, including the laws of biblical prosperity, have to also work through faith. Therefore, biblical prosperity is for Believers who live by faith; He will reward those who seek Him in faith.

We tend to limit our concept of faith to mere belief. In other words, we think of faith as just believing in something. But in our last issue we presented for your consideration several additional defining aspects of faith that show it to be much more profound than mere belief. Following is a brief description of those considerations; please refer to the previous newsletter for more details:

  • Faith is the act of trusting in God instead of what we see in the natural.
  • Faith is the confidence that God will bring to pass what we are hoping for.
  • Faith involves taking ownership over the things we are hoping for before we actually
  • Faith requires that we take action on what we believe before it actually manifests.
  • Faith is a force that is strong enough to overcome the world.

In the previous newsletter we reached the conclusion that faith is a requirement for experiencing the manifestation of biblical prosperity in our lives and we stated the related Law as follows: In order to experience the manifestation of biblical prosperity, you must walk in faith. If you suspect that weakness of faith could be holding you back from all that God has, the purpose of today’s article is to help you understand where your faith comes from so you can use that knowledge to make yourself eligible for His prosperity.


  • Understanding How We Acquire Faith
  • Faith doesn’t come from reasoning. Nor does it come from striving or by our own strength or from our flesh. It’s not something we can work up. In fact, if it weren’t for God we wouldn’t even have any faith. The Bible says that “God has dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). In other words, you are not the source of your own faith; “it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). God Himself is the author of your faith (Hebrews 12:2) and “the measure” is given to each of us at the moment of salvation so that we will be able to believe and be saved (Ephesians 2:8). We don’t do anything to earn it; we don’t do anything to deserve it. He gives it to us freely as a loving gift. And at that moment our spirit is reborn, we come back into fellowship with Him and we regain the ability to please Him by living a life of faith.

    From the moment Christians are born again, we all start at the same place with the same measure of faith and begin a process under the supervision of the Holy Spirit that will conform us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). But we each progress at different rates and in different ways. Some Believers build rapidly on their measure of faith and they soon come to live a life of victory as they steadily grow spiritually towards the image of Christ. Others don’t grow much beyond where they started, struggling in their own strength, defeated and dejected most of the time, striving by the flesh to obtain the victory that Christ has already won and is holding out to them for the taking in the spirit by faith. Why is there such a difference?

  • Understanding How We Develop Stronger Faith
  • The truth is we are ourselves responsible for developing the faith we are given at salvation so it will grow in strength and effectiveness. Faith is supposed to be the victory that overcomes the World for us (1 John 5:4) so that we can keep on the path of living by the spirit. But faith is like an undeveloped muscle in that it starts out small and relatively weak. It’s big enough for us to believe God for salvation but it needs to be “exercised” in order to strengthen and develop into the force that produces a victorious and overcoming life. Now your question should be: “how do I exercise and strengthen my faith?”

    The Bible says that faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) and there are several ways you can hear it. You can hear someone preach and/or teach it. You can hear it read aloud or expressed in music. You can listen to tapes. And you can also study the Word so intently and deeply that it becomes internalized to such a degree you hear it by the Spirit directing you through life. The Word has become “written on your heart.” When the written Word becomes God’s spoken Word to you personally (rhema), your faith will then grow and develop. And then your faith will become strong enough to overcome the World and produce victory in every area of life so that you have nothing missing and nothing broken.

    In sum, the key to developing strong faith is acquiring knowledge of the Word of God. A very good scripture for this thought can be found in Proverbs 4:20-22:

    “My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body.”

    The Word of God brings life and good health to the Believer that pursues it because it also brings strong faith. Strong faith does not come from trials and tribulations as tradition has tried to teach us. Rather, trials are designed to be the proof that you already have strong faith as evidenced by the fact that you praise and glorify God in the face of everything that happens (1 Peter 1:7). The truth is strong faith comes from hearing the Word of God.

  • Conclusions
  • Friend, the reality is none of us can come to know the power of God’s provision and prosperity without strong faith and we won’t have strong faith if we don’t have knowledge of the Word of God. When Jesus was confronted by Satan in the wilderness, He easily defeated him with the Word (Matthew 4:1-11). Any of us can begin to develop that same kind of power once we make the decision to pursue an understanding of the Scripture.

    But most of us are lazy because the flesh is lazy especially where the things of God are concerned. We think we’ll have more fun doing something else so we don’t invest the time in the Word that we know we should. If your conscience is telling you today that you could be studying the Word more, that’s most likely the Holy Spirit speaking quietly to you, encouraging you to study so your faith can grow and you will be able to enjoy all the things Jesus won for you.

    There’s just no other way to come to strong faith except by the Word. The truth is the lack of strong faith produced by ignorance of the Word is why so many of us are stuck at the Cross instead of participating in the Resurrection Victory that Christ won for us. If you are in that picture today, you can change it yourself by simply asking God to help you develop a hunger for the Word. Whenever you ask Him for something important, He will provide the answer and then you will start to develop strong faith that can overcome the World. God bless you and thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter today.

  • Sinners’ Prayer
  • If you have never invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life, you can do so today by saying the following simple prayer: Jesus I believe in you and I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for my sins and come into my life today.

    If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation. Congratulations! Now ask the Lord to lead you to a bible teaching church where you can be developed to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God. And please send us an e-mail advising your decision so we can rejoice with you in our prayers. If you’re unable to find a church, give us a call and we’ll try to help you find a good one.

  • Questions and Suggestions
  • It would bless us to have an opportunity to answer your questions concerning any of the financial areas covered by this ministry. We would also be happy to consider your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to e-mail them to us or give us a call anytime during normal business hours at our toll free number 1-800-357-4223.

  • Donations
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