CHAPTER ONE
How to Receive God's Promises by Faith
All that God promises the believer in His Word can be received only by an act of faith. This is true concerning salvation (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10); physical healing (Matthew 9:22; James 5:15); the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:38-39; Galatians 3:2,14); the provision of our material requirements (Matthew 6:24-34, note vs. 30); or whatever our particular needs and problems might be (Mark 11:24; Matthew 17:20). By faith we are justified (Romans 3:28); sanctified (Acts 26;18) and preserved (I Peter 1:5). By faith we overcome Satan (Ephesians 6:16) and the world (I John 5:4). By faith we have access to God (Romans 5:2); inherit the promises (Hebrew 6:12); stand (II Corinthians 1:24); walk (II Corinthians 5:7); live (Galatians 2:20) and die (Hebrews 11:13). The central importance of faith in the life of the Christian is clearly indicated in God's Word, for we are told that "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6), and "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Nothing which the Christian has, is, hopes to accomplish, obtain, or become, is realized apart from a living faith.
Christians are rich spiritually, materially, and physically, but too few are aware of the fact, believing instead that we are not to receive any of our inheritance now, nor benefit from it in the present life, but only in the world to come. The Scriptures, on the contrary, declare that our inheritance belongs to us now , for God promises that "all things are yours...whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours" (I Corinthians 3:21-22). This is an amazingly comprehensive promise which almost staggers the imagination and challenges our faith. God has given us all things in Christ Jesus now as joint-heirs with Him (Romans 8:16-17; Galatians 4:5-7). He says that all things are yours now -- in the world, in life, in the present, as well as in death and the life to come. If all things are yours in the present as well as in the future, then this means that you can enter into your inheritance rights now if you will exercise the faith to appropriate them. How do you do this? The same way in which you withdraw your assets from the bank which are on deposit in your name -- you make application. You must write a check. Jesus purchased all rights, privileges, wealth, dominion, power and authority in the universe by His redemption at Calvary. They belong to Him now. You as a joint-heir with Him are seated with Him in the heavens (Ephesians 2:5-6) and are authorized to draw on your account now by faith, for "all things are yours," now -- in the present, as well as in the world to come. Your inheritance does not have to be begged and pleaded for; God does not have to be persuaded, "for all the promises if God in him (Christ) are yea, and in him Amen" (II Corinthians 1:20). God not only promises that "all things are yours," but here He assures you that He has already said "yes" to all that He promises to you even before you ask. The answer is always "yes" to any promise God makes to you if you meet the condition of faith. This means then, you have not because you ask not (James 4:2). You do not ask because either you lack the faith to take God at His Word, or you do not know how to ask.
The Scriptures are filled with divine assurances, privileges, rights, commissions, authorizations, rewards, prerogatives, powers, gifts, blessings and promises to the believer whereby God has made provision for our every spiritual , physical, and material need, as well as for the accomplishment of the work He has commissioned His Church to do. All these provisions and blessings are available to the extent that we are willing to press through by faith and appropriate them. How is this accomplished? There are five essential conditions of faith set forth in Scripture which must be recognized and observed in order to receive what God had promised.
THE FIVE CONDITIONS OF FAITH
GROUND YOUR FAITH IN THE WORD OF GOD.
The Apostle Paul declares, "...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Or rendered more specifically: Faith comes by hearing and BELIEVING the word of God. This is the whole secret of faith. This is how faith comes to appropriate what God has promised to us and promised to do through us. Our faith cannot rise above what God has promised us in His Word, either specifically or in principle. For example, specific promises are made to us in such passages as Matthew 6:33; James 5:15; Psalm 91, and Mark 16:17-20. The principle of faith embracing any problem, requirement, or need is set forth in Mark 11:22-24 and Matthew 17:20.
Faith is believing God will do for, in, or through YOU what He
promises in His Word. Faith is believing God. God and His Word are in one
accord. Believing His Word is believing God. God will not fail to fulfill every
promise which He makes to us for "God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do
it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19). The
general lack of faith among Christians today is primarily due to the fact that
they do not KNOW what God's Word promises to the believer which can be claimed
and received by faith. The saints of the Old and New Testaments, including the
prophets and apostles, were not supernaturally endowed with special faith more
than any other believer (James 5:15-18). They received their answers to prayer,
and the empowering to work miracles and perform mighty acts and deed of God, by
fulfilling the condition necessary to acquire strong faith -- hearing and
believing the Word of God.
CLAIM AS YOUR WHAT YOUR FAITH HAS EMBRACED FROM GOD'S WORD.
The second condition is to ASK. "Ask, and it shall be given you...For EVERYONE that asketh receiveth." Read Matthew 7:7-11. The promises of God are not fulfilled to us merely because we believe them -- we receive only what we specifically claim as ours by faith. It is not ours unless we appropriate it by faith. This is cleat in the case of salvation; it is just as true regarding bodily healing or any other blessing God promises the believer. James says: "...ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2).
However, when you ask, ask in simple, childlike faith. Faith does not plead and beg for what God has promised; this indicates a lack of faith. We are not asking in faith if we think we have to persuade God to do what He has already offered to do for those who ask. God is ready and willing to bestow what He promises upon those who in quiet assurance take Him at His Word and ask, believing. He does not have to be persuaded for He has already said "yes" to all His promises in Christ Jesus "for all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen" (II Corinthians 1:20) Since God has already said "yes" to everything He has promised you ever before you ask, then the answer you seek can never be "no" if you ask in faith! "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:22). How to pray the prayer of faith is set forth in Chapter Five.
BOLDLY CONFESS WHAT YOU HAVE BELIEVED AND CLAIMED BY FAITH.
Confession brings possession, for what you confess is your faith speaking. Confession is faith's way of expressing itself. "For with the heart man believeth unto... and with the mouth confession is made unto" (Romans 10:10). If we genuinely believe that God will keep His promise to us, it will be expressed by what we say or confess.
Jesus in Mark 11:23 also emphasizes the significant relationship between what we say or confess and receiving what we ask:
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.
We always receive what we say or confess. This is why the Scripture places such a strong emphasis upon a positive confession (cf. Matthew 10:32-33; I Timothy 6:12-13; James 1:6-7; Mark 11:22-24). If we make a negative confession of doubt, then we receive nothing. If we confess what God's Word says, then He will bring it to pass. If, for example, you claim bodily healing, and later begin to express doubt and anxiety because it is not manifested immediately, your condition will never rise above the lever of your confession. Confession of doubt imprisons your faith so that it cannot be released, for "thou art snared with the words of thy mouth" (Proverbs 6:2).
If your confession does not agree with God's Word, then it is not faith speaking. Faith always agrees with God's Word. Why? Because this is the literal meaning of the verb "to confess" in the New Testament Greek: homologeo means "to agree with," "to speak the same language," "to confess." If, for instance, you say, "I prayed for the healing of my eyes, but I wonder why they do not seem to get any better; however, I am hoping that I will be healed sometime," you can never expect to receive healing by faith, for your confession does not agree with God's Word. His Word declares "by His stripes ye were healed" (Isaiah 53:5). The reason for failure is clear, for Jesus said when you pray believe that you have received your petition (Mark 11:24). He said you are not to doubt in your heart but believe that those things which you say shall come to pass. We must, therefore, make sure our initial confession, as well as our subsequent confession, is in harmony with God's Word. If we fail to ask for and confess what we believe His Word promises us, then we receive nothing; but neither do we receive if our confession does not remain in agreement with what God's Word teaches.
ACT ON YOUR FAITH.
There is a difference between heart faith and mere intellectual belief. Often people think they have genuine faith, but they do not act their faith. The Scriptures show that when true faith is present it will produce works of faith, that is, corresponding actions. When Jesus anointed the blind man's eyes with clay and commanded him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, this gave the man an opportunity to put his faith into action. James declares, "faith, if it hath not works, is dead" (2:17).In Mark 2:15 we read that Jesus "saw" the faith of the men who lowered the man sick of palsy down through the roof. Obviously you cannot see faith -- but you can see faith at work! It is to their faith in action that Jesus refers.
For example, to claim healing for the body and then continue to take medicine is not following our faith with corresponding actions. One should settle the matter before hand; if we have faith that God will keep His Word and heal us, then we will not need to keep our medicines and remedies around "just in case." If we feel the need of anything in addition to faith, then we do not have faith to be healed. One should not "try" divine healing as one means of "cure" which we think sometimes works for some people and just might work for us. This is a popular misconception of the scriptural doctrine of healing through faith and always results in failure. When genuine faith is present it alone will be sufficient, for it will take the place of medicines and other aids. When faith alone is sufficient to walk by, then we are acting in harmony with our faith. Others sometimes claim deliverance from an evil habit or some besetting sin by faith, but continue to remain bound to the habit or sin, waiting on God to deliver them. We must act our faith. Genuine faith will always produce corresponding action that are in agreement with our confession of faith.
All the heroes of faith recorded in Hebrews, chapter 11, are said to have done something which gave evidence of their faith. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain...by faith Noah...prepared an ark...by faith Abraham offered up Isaac...by faith Moses...forsook Egypt," etc. When true faith is present we will always act on it. If you claim a promise of God, you may not know the exact moment the manifestation will occur, but it always comes as you are acting in agreement with your confession of faith in God's Word! It will never come in the midst of doubt or failure to act on your faith.
HOLD FAST TO YOUR CONFESSION OF FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING.
Sometimes there are those who seek to appropriate a promise of God by faith, as for example, His promise to heal their disease. They claim his promise and confess it, but if it is not manifested immediately, or soon thereafter, they find they cannot maintain a positive confession of faith in God's promise, and thus they do nor receive the manifestation of their healing. The problem here is that they did not met the first condition of receiving by faith, that is, they did not ground their faith solely in the Word of God. Their faith was shallow, being based partly on God's promise and partly on visible circumstances, feelings, or their symptoms. Genuine faith never confesses what it sees or feels in the natural realm, for this may not appear to change immediately; but faith confesses what God's Word promises in the face of all apparent circumstances to the contrary. Therefore, we are admonished: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)" (Hebrews 10:23).
Jesus teaches us in Mark 11:24 that when we pray we are to believe that we have received when we ask, and that we shall see it manifested. The significant thing is that it is always after we believe and confess that we have received that the answer is manifested. Sometimes it is a moment after; at other times it is a week, month, or longer before the answer is seen in the visible realm. But true faith continues to confess that God has heard and granted our request and that we shall have it. We must always receive in the faith realm, before we shall ever see it in the natural or visible realm. Faith is not concerned with the calendar -- it is based on what God has promised, not what physical circumstances appear to indicate at present.
In John 9 the blind man's healing was not manifested immediately. It was not until after he had walked to the pool of Siloam, and after he had washed, that he came seeing. The ten lepers did not receive the manifestation of their healing when they asked, nor immediately after Jesus granted their petition. They were healed "as they went" (Luke 17:12-14). Abraham waited many years for the manifestation of God's promise to him of a son, holding fast to his faith without doubting (Romans 4:17-21).
Sickness and disease have been repeatedly defeated by maintaining a positive confession of faith in the face of all apparent evidence to the contrary. Satan often will not withdraw his symptoms until he has made trial of your faith, for he well knows many begin to waver and doubt in time of trial and testing. Hold fast to your confession and Satan will be forced to withdraw his work in your body. Satan's power over you to afflict or oppress increases or decreases in direct proportion to your confession of faith or doubt. Therefore, "let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)." Whatever you claim by faith, refuse to look at the problems or circumstances involved; keep your eyes on the promises of God, boldly maintaining your confession of what His Word says, and He will surely bring it to pass when the trial of your faith is completed.
In summary, we find that there is one important principle undergirding all these five conditions of faith. It is imperative that we keep constantly in mind the following principle of faith, then the form and content of our prayers, confession, actions, and conversation must change.
Prayer. Once you have claimed by faith healing for yourself, then to continue to pray for healing, instead of giving thanks that God has already heard and granted your request, even though the manifestation is not seen as yet, is evidence of a lack of faith. If we pray ten times asking God for the same thing before we receive, we have pray ed nine times in unbelief! Jesus said "when ye pray, believe that ye have received." After you have asked in faith, praise and thank God daily for the answer, for you must see it in the faith realm first, before you can ever see it in the visible realm. Read Mark 11:24 and Matthew 21:22.
Confession. After the prayer of faith, our confession must then also change from "I believe that God can heal me and will if I ask," to "I know that God has heard and granted my petition according to His Word." The confession of faith always refers to the past tense, never the future. We must never say "God is going to heal me," for this does not agree with what God's Word says (Mark 11:24; I Peter 2:24), and indicates you do not really believe that you have already received your request when you prayed. Our confession must not be based on what we see, feel, or what outward circumstances seem to indicate, but solely on what God says had been done for us when we prayed.
Actions. Not only must the form of our prayers and confession change after we have claimed a promise of God by faith, but our actions must change to correspond with our faith. We must act out our faith, for "faith, if it hath not works, is dead." Naaman, the leper, was healed according to the Word of the Prophet Elisha only after he had acted on faith and washed seven times in the River Jordan. Noah was saved because he acted on his faith, for we read "by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seem as yet...prepared an ark to the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7). The writer was once stricken with a deep, serious bronchial infection and head cold a few days before an important speaking engagement. Knowing from past experience that such a condition lasted for two or three weeks, often accompanied by coughing and laryngitis, he claimed by faith complete healing, specifically confessing in prayer that every trace of the infection with its symptoms would be gone by the time he arose to speak three days later. Although the symptoms did not leave immediately, nevertheless, acting on his faith, he kept his speaking appointment and when he arose to speak there was not a single vestige of the illness remaining! We cannot be healed by faith if we continue taking remedies, or remain in bed; we must act on our faith. Our actions must change to conform to our confession of faith.
Conversation. Faith never thinks, talks, nor listens to doubt, regardless of symptoms, pains, feelings, or apparent circumstances to the contrary. We are to "hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering" (Hebrews 10:23). Faith speaks positively of what God's Word says has been done. It does not say "I have claimed healing for my eyes and it will come, but at present they are still weak and I have difficulty doing my work, etc." Our conversation must change; it must not be centered on our illness, symptoms, of feelings, for this is an admission that Satan still has the victory over us and the power to keep us in bondage. Confess, on the contrary, that he has no rights to afflict you, and that his work in your body has been overcome by faith in God's promise. Hold fast to your confession and Satan will turn loose! Refuse to talk about your illness, your symptoms, your pains, your problems; this is admitting that they belong to you. Talk faith and God will manifest it to your sight. The image will become the actuality, but disease confessed is disease possessed! Since you receive what you confess, then center your conversation on your faith in God's promise to you, not on outward circumstances.