So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:22-26
Everything we have had from God HAS BEEN BY FAITH. Everything lasting that we have ever done as a Christian has been done by faith. And in order to be successful and prosperous in God we will have to continue to use our faith to receive things from God and to do great things for God. God has given to each person a measure of faith that allows him to be saved, healed, delivered, made perfect whole and complete and get from heaven everything that he needs to live a victorious prosperous life. His word is unchanging:
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:3-15
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-3
If we are honest with ourselves we cannot save ourselves, heal ourselves, deliver ourselves and for this we need Jesus who is to us all that we need. He is the one who started our faith and will complete it as we look to him. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Ephesians 2:8. Yes, God started our faith, and what He started, He will finish if we allow Him too for God is a perfect Gentleman who allows us to do whatever we want to including failing and He will not interfere with our will and choices unless we ask Him to. God’s word is true:
Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:12-14
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:17-19
The blessings of God will only follow us if we “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). We cannot be unholy and expect God to bless us -.. . ye shall be holy; for I am holy; . . .” (Leviticus 11:44). We must lay aside every sin, every hindrance, and run the race with patience (Hebrews 12:1). But if we are holy and blameless, then there is nothing that God cannot or will not do as we use and release our faith. We can partake of the things God has set before us and bring honor to His Name, or we can be like the brother of the prodigal son, who refused to come in to the feast his father had prepared for his brother to celebrate his “being found again.” Andrew Murray in His book “THE DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE” writes
The elder son was living with his father and serving him “these many years,” and he complains that his father never gave him a kid, while he gave his prodigal brother the fatted calf. Why was this? Simply because he did not ask it. He did not believe that he would get it, and therefore never asked it, and never enjoyed it. He continued thus to live in constant murmuring and dissatisfaction; and the key note of all this wretched life is furnished in what he said. His father gave him everything, yet he never enjoyed it; and he throws the whole blame on his loving and kind father.
The likeness to Christ consists chiefly in two things - the likeness of His death and resurrection, (Rom. 6:5). The death of Christ was the consummation of His humility and obedience, the entire giving up of His life to God. In Him we are dead to sin. As we sink down in humility and dependence and entire surrender to God, the power of His death works in us, and we are made conformable to His death. And so we know Him in the power of His resurrection, in the victory over sin, and all the joy and power of the risen life. Therefore every morning, “present yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead.” He will maintain the life He gave, and bestow the grace to live as risen ones.
All this can only be in the power of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you. Count upon Him to glorify Christ in you. Count upon Christ to increase in you the inflowing of His Spirit. As you wait before God to realize His presence, remember that the Spirit is in you to reveal the things of God. Seek in God’s presence to have the anointing of the Spirit of Christ so truly that your whole life may every moment be spiritual.
As you meditate on this wondrous salvation and seek full fellowship with the great and holy God, and wait on Him to reveal Christ in you, you will feel how needful the giving up of all is to receive Him. Seek grace to know what it means to live as wholly for God as Christ did. Only the Holy Spirit Himself can teach you what an entire yielding of the whole life to God can mean. Wait on God to show you in this what you do not know. Let every approach to God, and every request for fellowship with Him be accompanied by a new, very definite, and entire surrender to Him to work in you.
“By faith” must here, as through all Scripture, and all the spiritual life, be the keynote. As you tarry before God, let it be in a deep quiet faith in Him, the Invisible One, who is so near, so holy, so mighty, so loving. In a deep, restful faith too, that all the blessings and powers of the heavenly life are around you, and in you. Just yield yourself in the faith of a perfect trust to the Ever Blessed Holy Trinity to work out all God’s purpose in you. Begin each day thus in fellowship with God, and God will be all in all to you.
Yes, by faith we can sit down at our Father’s table with rejoicing, partake to the uttermost of the good things He has prepared for us including divine health, divine wisdom, divine prosperity, divine favor and divine wealth. And then we can go forth in the strength thereof to do mighty exploits for God! The world is full of religious people who are not putting their feet under the Father’s table. They are so-called “believers,” but they are not eating, because the Father has set only ONE table and they won’t have fellowship with those at the table. They are only hurting themselves and missing all that God has for them because of their foolishness, ignorance and pride. But God’s word is unchanging:
“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17.
And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:6-11
As Christians we need to have our faith increased and to have perfect love that casts out fear. As we listen to God’s voice and obey what He says to us our faith will increase and we will learn to cast away fear for God has not given us the Spirit of fear but power, love and sound mind. And as we walk in the Father’s love we can give it away. God’s word is true:
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 1 John 2:5
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 John 4:17-18.
“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: . . . these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 20:30-31
EXTRACT FROM Let God Arise
http://walthope.tripod.com/arise.htm
http://walthope.wordpress.com
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100302133262254344211/posts
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