How Do You Know If You Are In Faith?

[seeingeyes]

The gifts operate as the Holy Spirit wills, not man's will.

Yep.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Perhaps that acting on what you have decided to believe is through a prayer, being led in that prayer by either the preacher or someone else.

I have to ask though - do you think it's possible for someone to "decide to believe" and then just believe - and that constitutes faith?

It sounds then like faith is something we have to "work up" on our own?

Am I missing something?

 

[sunlover1]

That wasn't a requirement for Jesus. There was no one that asked him for healing that he turned away, and he even healed some folks who didn't ask.

Not once did Jesus say, "Oh, gee, I'd like to help you, since you asked so sincerely...but try asking me again with more confidence".

If your faith can move mountains, then move them.

Move those mountains Optimax!

I see what you mean Seeingeyes.
But (and I don't want to but in, but..I might be,
sorry Optimax, LMK if I'm out of line) faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So,
while we expect healing, there is a bit more to it
(imo) than just "believe" and receive.

For instance, if the person who's sick is sick due
to sowing and reaping, well then they're 'reaping'
what THEY've sown and Jesus warned us about that.
So while we have no "promises" to stand on with
that one (except the negative of reaping what we
sow) we can still fall on the mercy of the court
so to speak.
Example. I was drinking gas station cappacino long
time ago. A large one each day, then eventually a
couple large ones each day. Horrible container chuck
filled with sugar./HFCS w/e.
God was speaking to me throughout this entire time
to stop but I kept just ignoring that nagging in the
back of my mind.
Eventually I got deathly ill, and am still really not
entirely 'free' from some of the effects.
So Jesus warned us, God will not be mocked. So for
me to say, Hey God, you said that by faith I am healed,
in this case, He might say, Well I also warned you
and warned you and now you're reaping what you
sowed.
In that case, it's a matter of His pouring out His
great mercy on me ... (or not..)

That's ONE consideration.
There are a few more as well, concerning why
someone may or may not manifest healing right
away.

Oops, I started with "faith comes by hearing etc"
and never even went there. Sorry.
TTYL

 

[Optimax]

I have to ask though - do you think it's possible for someone to "decide to believe" and then just believe - and that constitutes faith?

It sounds then like faith is something we have to "work up" on our own?

Am I missing something?

Before we can believe we must have the basis of God's word.

If someone tries to just believe apart from God's word that would not be faith.

That would be foolishness and/or presumption.

Faith does not have to be "worked up".

One cannot just decide one day "I am going to believe I am healed" and scripturally expect to be healed.

Being healed by God is based on what God said about it.

The power of God to heal a person is in His Word.

This is what 99% or born again people do not understand.

The Bible is different from any other book on the planet.

Why?

Because ever verse that contains a promise of God has the power in that verse to bring itself to past.

The Bible also teaches us how to release that power into our lives to bring to pass what the verse promises.

The verse "by His stripes ye are healed" along with other verses such as He is the God that forgives our iniquities and heals our diseases, or surely he has borne our griefs(sickness and disease).

Those verses have the power to heal in them.

God's word is powerful.

We learn how to access that healing power so that healing is manifested in our bodies.


How do we access that power for healing or any other thing we need?

Think about that and we will continue from here next.

 

[Optimax]

Move those mountains Optimax!

I see what you mean Seeingeyes.
But (and I don't want to but in, but..I might be,
sorry Optimax, LMK if I'm out of line) faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So,
while we expect healing, there is a bit more to it
(imo) than just "believe" and receive.

For instance, if the person who's sick is sick due
to sowing and reaping, well then they're 'reaping'
what THEY've sown and Jesus warned us about that.
So while we have no "promises" to stand on with
that one (except the negative of reaping what we
sow) we can still fall on the mercy of the court
so to speak.
Example. I was drinking gas station cappacino long
time ago. A large one each day, then eventually a
couple large ones each day. Horrible container chuck
filled with sugar./HFCS w/e.
God was speaking to me throughout this entire time
to stop but I kept just ignoring that nagging in the
back of my mind.
Eventually I got deathly ill, and am still really not
entirely 'free' from some of the effects.
So Jesus warned us, God will not be mocked. So for
me to say, Hey God, you said that by faith I am healed,
in this case, He might say, Well I also warned you
and warned you and now you're reaping what you
sowed.
In that case, it's a matter of His pouring out His
great mercy on me ... (or not..)

That's ONE consideration.
There are a few more as well, concerning why
someone may or may not manifest healing right
away.

Oops, I started with "faith comes by hearing etc"
and never even went there. Sorry.
TTYL

You are right.

We can make choices that can open us up to sickness.

Once we realize our bad choice we can repent to God and be healed.

Is healing always instant?

No.

Even in Jesus ministry many "were healed as they went".

Knowing what faith is.

How faith works.

How to do faith on purpose.

Those three things make the difference is a successful or unsuccessful life lived by faith.

Anyone can live by faith successfully if they are willing to learn how.

Just like any "learning" venture, it takes effort and diligence.

 

[Partaker of Christ]

Before we can believe we must have the basis of God's word.

If someone tries to just believe apart from God's word that would not be faith.

That would be foolishness and/or presumption.

Hmmmmm

I became a Christian at the age of 11 year old. That was around 52 years ago.

I came from a family of six children. My father was an atheist, and my mother was at best described as a sympathiser. None of my family were Christians, none of my friends and to the best of my knowledge (at the time) none of my neighbours were Christian. I honestly didn’t personally know of anyone who was a Christian at that time.

No one had ever preached Christ Jesus to me. Having difficulty in reading any book, I never read any bible.
I think the only knowledge I had of Jesus, was Christmas celebrated His birth, and at Easter He was crucified (according to what I saw on the black and white TV mainly)

I had just started at a new school at the age of 11 years old.
As I walked to school and home again, I noticed this old Church on my journey. After several weeks, I began to be rather curious as to what it looked like on the inside, as I had never been inside a Church before.

Then one day on my way home from school, I decided to try and have a look inside. I went up the steps to the big doors, and found that they were open, so I went inside. There was no one in the building that I saw.
I came across this table with lots of books, and a sign saying that they were free books. I then saw this very small book, and it was ‘the Gospel of St John’

I didn’t know what was inside the little book, but it was as though I had found some treasure.
At that very moment, I can only describe as what happened as suddenly being immersed in this light and love. I don’t know how, but I just simply knew that it was Jesus Christ.

I then skipped all the way home full of great joy.
I then found a Church to attend called the City Temple, and by myself I went to most every meeting. I went to the Sunday school, the Sunday evening service, and I even went to mid-week meetings. My parents didn’t try and stop me, but they also did not encourage me to go.

The Lord has used me a few times to bring people to Him, but 23 years later and my mother came to Christ, then 18 months after that, my (atheist) father came to Christ, and what a changed man he was!!

 

[Optimax]

Got a need in your life?

Find in the Bible where God says/promises that it is yours.

Study, meditate on, think about, quote it out loud until it is in your heart(innermost being) in abundance.

How will you know when it is in your innermost being in abundance?

When you find yourself speaking it out loud without even thinking about it.

Then and only then is it time to pray.

Most pray before they are ready and do not receive.

We will talk about the prayer in the next post.

 

[Optimax]

Jesus tells us how to pray successfully in this verse.

Read it very slowly considering each word, so that perhaps what Jesus is saying will be understood.

It does not matter how many verses, chapters, or books of the Bible you read.

What matters is did you understand what you read?

It is better to read and understand one verse.

Than read the whole book and not have a clue to understanding any of it.

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. KJV

We will discuss this verse next post.

 

[Optimax]

Jesus said this.

Jesus knows what is truth.

He does not lie, deceive or mislead.

What He says is absolute truth.

What if some do not believe it because it does not sound reasonable to them?

What if some do not understand how that could be true?

What if some says it isn't true because it goes against what they have been taught?

They are wrong, Jesus is right.

Some will even attempt to straighten Jesus out and/or say what they think He really meant.

This is how Jesus said to pray.

He also said that if we pray like He said to.

That we would have what we ask for.

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. KJV

There are some Keys here we need to acknowledge and understand.

We will look at those keys next.

 

[Optimax]

The first key we want to recognize is that Jesus said "what things soever ye desire".

Mark 11:24a
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire,

Jesus said "desire".

He did not say What things soever ye need.

Does that mean ungodly desires?

I do no see that would line up with other scriptures.

We need two things in order to pray and receive effectively.

First we need from scripture where it is written that God said we could have what it is we desire.

Scriptures are written to born again people/saved(Christians).

So if you are going to have an effective prayer life, then as Jesus said "you must be born again" (rom 10:9)

We have been given scriptures like this one.

Phil 4:19
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. KJV

So if I have a need, God has promised to meet it (it is good to read a few scripture above, there are some qualifiers for the verse).

But we are talking about a desire, which might or might not be a need.

We have this scripture also.

Ps 37:4
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. KJV

So we have written scripture promising to give us the desires of our heart.

Next thing we need is the inner witness of the Holy Spirit to our Spirit.

If you are born again the Holy Spirit dwells in you and is your Helper.

He leads and guides you into all truth.

Romans tells us that He witnesses to our spirit that we are the children of God.

Rom 8:16
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: KJV

If He witnesses to us that we are the children of God then He can and does witness to us about other things.

That is how He leads and guides us is by that witness.

We will pick it up here next time.

 

[Optimax]

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. KJV

Now, this is the part of the verse where most born again/saved people (Christians/Rom 10:9) miss it.

Lets read what the scripture says after "what things soever ye desire".

The verse then says "when you pray".

We are being instructed to do something when we pray.

When we pray is when we pray for what ever thing(s) we desire.

When you pray for what ever thing(s) you desire you are instructed to do something then, when you are praying.

What is that "something"?

The scripture says that what we are suppose to do when we pray for things is "believe that ye receive them".

We are instructed by Jesus Himself to believe that we receive what we are asking for when we pray for those things.

Not after we pray.

Not when it starts looking like we might get them.

Not when we have them.

You are to believe you receive those things you pray for when you ask(pray) for them.

Jesus said that if we do that "and ye shall have them".

How many do not ,will not, refuse to, even making fun of doing that?

That is why they do not receive anything much from God.

They insist on doing it their way instead of how Jesus said to do it.

 

[Optimax]

bump

 

[Optimax]

Jesus continued His instructions to us.

He instructed us to believe we receive, not when we see/have it.

We are to believe we receive when we pray.

Before we see/have it we are to believe we receive it.

Jesus said in verse 22 that believing we receive when we pray before we have it is having faith in God.

He also instructed us to do something else when we pray.

He said we were to forgive.

If we have anything against anybody.

Jesus said let it go and forgive them.

He said to forgive them when we pray.

Mark 11:25
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. KJV


Wonder how many prayers have not been received because someone refused to forgive?