32 AND what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
33 WHO THROUGH FAITH SUBDUED KINGDOMS, worked RIGHTEOUSNESS, OBTAINED PROMISES, STOPPED the mouths of LIONS."
Hebrews 11:32,33 (NKJV)
• Christianity is all about faith Walk (Romans 14:23).
- Faith is the ability to see things that are not seen physically, as realities.
- To walk in faith, you must believe in the existence of the spirit realms.
- If all you believe about, are the things which you could see with your physical eyes, it might be difficult for you to walk in Biblical faith.
- And without faith you cannot walk with God and please Him (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6).
• To be a friend of God, you had to be a man or woman of faith (Psalm 9:10; Isaiah 41:8; Hebrews 11:32,33).
- It takes faith to walk with God, and to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).
- Those who had success in their Walk with God, were those who had faith (James 2:23).
- You would have to relegate senses, although it does not mean one has to be stupid, but one must be ready and willing to agree with whatever God says—even when it seems not to be logical or reasonable: "BECAUSE THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN, AND The WEAKNESS of GOD IS STRONGER THAN MEN" (1 Corinthians 1:25 NKJV).
- If all you knew is about the sense realm, it might be difficult for you to outwit the devil and overcome him.
- The realm of senses is the realm of this world, and Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
- To walk and believe in the senses alone, means to be carnally minded or fleshly ruled (Romans 8:5-8).
- A believer who walks in the senses alone, is like any natural person, under the influence of the devil. That is, such a Believer can easily be manipulated or influenced by the devil or any demon; to be used against God's Counsel (Ephesians 2:2,3).
- You do not walk with God on senses, but in spirit. Those who worship Him, do in spirit:
23 BUT the hour is coming, AND now is, WHEN THE TRUE WORSHIPERS WILL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT and TRUTH; FOR the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH” (John 4:23,24 NKJV).
a. To walk IN the spirit means to walk with God, allow your inward Man, which is the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, rules over or takes control, over—your mind and the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
b. To walk in the spirit is to walk in the light of the Word of God (James 1:22,25). IT does mean to believe in the Word of God, act on it, and stick your life to it.
YOU want to risk your life, because of the Word—you want to obey the Word, even if does mean to risk your life (Acts 15:26).
WHATEVER you did, you did it because you knew the Word of God is real and it cannot fail. That is called Faith.
• Faith grows, if you develop it. However, if you fail to develop it, it becomes weak and dead.
- Faith can fail or vanish away. You need faith activators to activate your faith.
- Faith can be dormant and inactive, if it is not activated.
- Faith can fade away with Time, that a genuine born-again Christian turns and behaves like an infidel—an unbeliever.
- When you are discouraged, it is the time to move closer to God, to strengthen your faith.
- It is not the time to be angry with God, or speaks evil about others, but the time to encourage yourself in God (1 Samuel 30:3-6).
- Faith is a living force, and it can grow. Though faith is not visible, the effect of it can be seen.
• How to activate Faith.
(i) Faith comes through the Word of God—by the reading, studying, and pondering or meditating on the Word (Romans 10:17).
- No matter the strength or height of your faith, if you are starved of the Word of God for a couple of days, weeks, or months; your faith would automatically Begin to dwindle.
- The Word of God should not depart from you, you meditate or ponder on it, day and night, for your faith to be active (Joshua 1:8).
- Faith ebbs away when the soul is starved of the Word of God!
(ii) Fellowshipping with God.
- Conversational prayer which is also known as Fellowshipping with God activates the faith.
- This also is known as heartfelt Prayers. A situation whereby you come before God, dialogue with Him, and tell Him about all that is bothering your Heart, and wanted to receive an answer or direction on whatever to do about the matter.
- It could also be called a time to inquire from God—Prayer of inquiry.
- Whatever you heard from God in the time of such prayer, stimulates and boosts your faith. If you had truly heard God, doubt would disappear.
- Faith failed when doubts and discouragements set in.
- When you are discouraged, or felt unsecured, and would not know what could happen; look for a solitary place that you might have a time of fellowship with God. Explain your plight to God in a plain, clear, and simple language.
- Even Jesus Christ in His earthly Ministry, when about to get to the cross, He was sorrowful. He went to the garden of Gethsemane, to talk it out with God the Father.
THAT was the purpose why He came to the world, yet He was sorrowful when that was to happen (Matthew 26:36). - At the time of discouragements, distresses, or predicaments, get a solitary place to meet with God and pour out your heart to Him.
RECEIVE directions on whatever He wanted you to do at such a time. - An encounter is always had at such a time, the mind of God is made known, and the way out of the predicament is revealed or spelt out to you by God.
- Your faith is stimulated and activated with such an encounter.
(iii) Testimonies. The Testimonies of God's faithfulness in the past, in your own life, and the lives of other people, would stimulate your faith.
- When you remembered what God had done in the past, it would strengthen your Faith.
- The testimonies of God's faithfulness in the Bible, and the ones shared by other Believers, could be used to activate your Faith as well.
(iv) When you keep the company of the people of faith, who walked in the living faith, and their faith rubs off on you, because faith is contagious; your faith is energized and strengthened as a result of it.
- If you withdrew from the fellowship of the people of God, those who's faith sharpens yours, you started dwindling in your faith (Hebrews 10:23-25).
- If the devil succeeded to sever you from the fellowship of the Believers, the people of God, the people of like faith, he could easily get you down.
- At the time of despondency, stick and move closer to God and other Believers, it is not the time to forsake the assembly of the people of God.
- Do not discard, the Believers, because one person has hurt you or wounded your heart, and as a result gone ahead to the unbelieving friends you had parted with before you accepted Christ Jesus.
- Do not try to find solace in a concerned person, who is not a believer, who shows up at the time of the predicament. Whatever help or counsel such would offer, at such a time, might be contrary to the Word of God.
- Because you are vulnerable, physically or emotionally, at such a time, you can easily consent or agree with whatever anyone offered as a help—any ungodly counsel would be appealing at such a time.
- Avoid any ungodly counsel from the well-meant or concerned people who may show up at such a time:
"BLESSED IS THE MAN [woman] WHO WALKS NOT in the COUNSEL of the UNGODLY, Nor STANDS in the PATH of SINNERS, Nor SITS in the SEAT of the SCORNFUL" (Psalm 1:1 NKJV).
• Faith grows in the midst of the tribulations of life.
- Whatever problem that comes your way, such is permitted that your faith might be enlarged, strengthened, and built up.
- God wants your faith to be stretched, in order to receive the bigger Blessings—the lifting or promotion to the next level which He had purposed for you.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
- In you are hurting in your body as read this piece, I declare your healing now in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
- That hold of sickness or disease is completely broken in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Peace!