1172-Faith is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit#
1172-Faith is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit
(JP Text Group - Organized Life Like an Eagle)
Galatians 5:22-26:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you! Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit in our hearts. I believe the Holy Spirit guides us to seek you. When we listen to your words, the Holy Spirit will help me understand and renew my thoughts. You want us to live a victorious life on earth. Therefore, you give us your words to help us. Today, comfort me through your words, encourage me, and renew my strength. The weak among us will be made strong, and the sick will be healed by God. Those who seek will find. We look forward to the power of your words being manifested in me. Lead us in the time ahead. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
What should we do when we lack faith?
Many people teach that if you pray more, read the Bible more, and listen to sermons more, you will have faith, and that is true. The problem is, when we lack faith, can you still do these things? When a person is weak, they may not even have the strength to read the Bible or pray. How can we gain faith?
If such a situation has also come upon you, I invite you to come before Jesus Christ, listen to His words, and God will lead you into His rest through preaching. When our hearts are troubled, we need to let God's words calm our hearts. Salvation lies in returning to rest, and strength comes from peace and stability.
Today, the scripture we read, the fruit of the Spirit, is something everyone loves, and if you bear such fruit, you will never violate the law, regardless of which country you are in. The fruit of the Spirit is not prohibited by any law. These transcend all laws of the world.
Verse 24, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus,"
You belong to Jesus Christ. The moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you became forever a person belonging to Jesus Christ. You are a righteous person, a child of God, and this identity cannot be changed by anyone.
"Those who belong to Jesus Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
This matter is in the perfect tense. Many people still teach, "You must crucify the old self every day, you must kill the old self every day, constantly crucifying it."
Jesus was crucified for our sins two thousand years ago. He shed His precious blood, so all our sins are forgiven. Those who belong to Jesus Christ have already crucified the flesh along with its passions and desires.
The meaning of "already" is that it has been completed. The "old self" has already died. I used to hear a teaching that said, "Your old self has not yet completely died today." Who can show what it means to not be completely dead?
It is either dead or alive; how can there be someone who is "not completely dead"? Many times, people accept a wrong, legalistic message without carefully meditating on whether it aligns with the Bible. Too many people accept whatever others say, resulting in many human ideas replacing the work of the Holy Spirit, leading to the absence of the fruit of the Spirit.
But as long as you are willing to let the Holy Spirit guide you and let God's words guide your life and renew you, you can bear the fruit of the Spirit. Please remember one fact: your flesh along with its passions and desires has already been crucified.
What is the flesh? Simply put, it is being self-centered. Acting according to one's own preferences.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
Paul calls the Corinthians worldly because although they believed in the Lord, their behavior was exactly like that of the world. Jealousy and strife, with no discernment, completely lacking the likeness of Christ in their lives.
Romans 8:6-9
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
The original meaning here is that being in the flesh is death. This death does not refer to being unsaved but to a life where the life of Christ is not visible. In the Spirit, there is life and peace. Jesus Christ saves us not to continue living under failure, condemnation, and death, but to live out His likeness, filled with His life and peace every day.
When a person lives in the flesh, that is, when they live self-centered, they are in contradiction to God's words. Because Christ's words teach us to give to others, to help others, to love others, and to lay down our lives for others. But those who are self-centered will never do these things; they are hostile to God and will not obey God's words.
But we who have accepted Jesus Christ can live in the Spirit; we have a choice. We can choose to continue living like the people of the world, like the Corinthians. Or we can choose the pattern of new life, letting the Holy Spirit guide our lives. Live out a new life.
When a person obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they will bear the fruit of the Spirit. When a person is unwilling to obey God's words, what they produce in the flesh will be complaints, strife, worries, and such fruits.
Verse 25 says: If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
The original Hebrew is in the passive tense, meaning, if you know that you have life through the Spirit, you should also conduct yourself by the Spirit.
Under the guidance of the Spirit, a person will know that we can love others because God first loved us; we can forgive others because God first forgave us; we can bring joy to others because God first gave us joy. If a person's heart is filled with bitterness and complaints, what they give to others will be just that.
You can never give to others what you do not have! What is inside you, you will give out!
Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.
What is faithfulness? "Faithfulness" in the original text refers to "faith."
It does not depend on how hard you try to have faith, but when you obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will have faith. Faith itself is the fruit of the Spirit. Just like gentleness, just like peace, how can you strive to obtain peace? No matter how hard you try, you cannot attain it. When you rest in the Spirit, peace is upon you. Patience is the same. These are all fruits of the Spirit; fruits are not obtained through effort; they grow naturally. If you want to have faith, you must submit to the Spirit and let Him guide you, and you will have faith.
Share the first point, faith comes from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit strengthens us with God's words.
Faith is the fruit of the Spirit. When you are born again and saved, that is, when you accept Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart and will never leave.
Today, the Holy Spirit lives in you, and you already have God's life. When you know the Holy Spirit is in your heart, with you every day, helping you, guiding you, this will give you enough faith to overcome in life.
Some people, because they do not have this vision, spend their lives competing and arguing over wins and losses. Years later, they realize that much time has been wasted. Don't wait until then to say, "I really shouldn't have gotten angry with my child!" What kind of life was lived then, fighting over something that caused the family to be in chaos?
The Holy Spirit, through the words of the Bible, guides us to understand many things in life. It lets us know our value and the glory of the kingdom of heaven that awaits us. When a person focuses on the words of Christ, they have faith, and no matter what happens, peace and joy will be in their hearts.
I have been to some churches where they always sing songs like: "How powerful the devil is, we are all sheep, the devil keeps chasing us, and we can't escape." When I heard this, I felt very uncomfortable. I said, actually, we can change to some faith-filled songs that let us understand the power of Christ, and in praise, there will be the strength of victory.
In fact, the devil does not have that much power. What the devil can do is continuously deceive people, giving them a false mindset, leading them to live in a wrong way. In the Garden of Eden, the devil did not have the power to kill Adam; it could only tempt them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and through disobeying God's law, they fell under the law and were cut off from God.
If Adam and Eve had refused to listen to him at that time, the devil could not have done anything. Unless you believe his words and act according to them, bad things will happen. This is also why God wants us to obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and does not want us to live according to the flesh.
When a person obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they will surely bear the fruit of the Spirit. In the Spirit, a person has faith. Moreover, when a person obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they can also see through every lie of the devil.
The Bible says, the lame walk, the blind see, the dead are raised; do you believe these things?
Many people say, "How ridiculous this sounds! If that were true, what do we need hospitals for?"
But today, God's words are right here. In our church, there are people who have experienced resurrection from the dead; just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. When you obey the Holy Spirit, you will understand that God is omnipotent. These things can only be understood by spiritual people.
1 Corinthians 2:9-14
As it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him." 10 These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
When we are willing to believe God's words, the Holy Spirit will guide us to see and understand. And let us know that what God has prepared for us is blessings that our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard, and our hearts have not conceived. So many wonderful graces of God have already happened in our church. Many of them are surprising to us.
God has also given many of us wisdom, allowing you to have inspiration and come up with many ways to run your business, and many things have become clear. This is the power of the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches all things, and all things represent all people and matters. There is nothing the Holy Spirit does not know.
When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit is in our hearts. This is not the spirit of the world; this is the Spirit that comes from God. Because the Holy Spirit is with God, He can explain God's matters to us and guide us to understand more spiritual things. He also helps us understand worldly matters better. Because the world is created by God, the Holy Spirit knows better how to achieve victory in life.
Many times, people's faith replaces God's faith, leading to weakness and discouragement. If we know it is the Holy Spirit guiding us to do things, we will have faith to face all matters.
For example, when we pray for a patient, if that person is immediately healed after we lay hands on them, how is your faith? You will be very joyful and may want to testify for others, proclaiming God's power. Isn't faith particularly great?
However, if after you lay hands, nothing happens, what do you think? Many people may doubt, wondering where the problem is, why there is no effect? Is it because our prayer time was too short? Or was the way we prayed incorrect? Many doubts arise in people's hearts.
But if we know we are working with the Holy Spirit. We have already prayed for him, and the Holy Spirit has worked; even if we do not see results with our eyes right now, we believe he has been healed. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! Thank the Lord!
Many times, what do people expect? Immediate results from prayer, instant effects; this is called having faith. But in reality, whether it is manifested immediately or takes a few days to show, both are ways of demonstrating faith, and the Holy Spirit knows which is more suitable for that person.
When the situation seems to have changed not at all, if we do not understand the working of the Holy Spirit, faith can easily be shaken. How does God's faith operate?
You often hear people from various factions arguing that when you do a certain thing, you will have great faith. But faith is just one fruit of the Holy Spirit; when you let your heart obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, faith will manifest.
Romans 3:27: Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.
Works is the law of works; the law of faith is faith. If you read the original text, it will be clearer. The original text says, what do we have to boast about? Not at all. Is it due to the law of obeying the law? No, but due to the law of faith.
In this passage, two laws are mentioned: the law of works and the law of faith.
The law of works is the principle under the law. Under the Old Testament law, to be accepted by God, you must obey God's law and have good behavior; through good behavior, you gain God's acceptance. But the law of faith is the law of grace. Receiving God's grace by faith. The law of faith is unchanging and always effective, so do not see God's faith as fickle and elusive.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The faith of Jesus Christ has always been steadfast; the power of the Holy Spirit within you is the same as the power of Jesus. How great is the power of the Holy Spirit? The heavens, the earth, and all things in the universe are created by Him. Amen!
Genesis 1:1-4
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
This is the power of the Holy Spirit. When you meditate on the power of the Holy Spirit like this, you will have faith. Since the Holy Spirit can create the heavens and the earth, He is at work; my problem, He can certainly handle it. Correct belief will inevitably bring you correct results.
Do not see faith as a mirage, unclear and intangible, and cannot be explained. God's faith is the promises spoken in the Bible, and He will surely fulfill them.
Why can Jesus do all things? Because He never doubts the words that come out of His mouth.
When He said to the fig tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again," He spoke this word, and it was accomplished. When Jesus said to that person, "Get up, take your mat and go home!" He spoke this word, and it was accomplished.
Jesus never said, "Maybe you will be healed today." That person would have been of no use. Jesus does not speak ambiguous words; yes is yes, and no is no. Many of us often say ambiguous things, "It's about right! You say it's good, but it's not too good; you say it's bad, but it's just okay." We cannot speak based on feelings; we must speak by faith. Even if you are very weak today, when you pray for others, God's power is still there because the Holy Spirit is at work; we are just the vessels.
The law of works is the law of the law; the law of faith is the law of faith. The laws never change; the laws are always effective. When a person has an ambiguous thought, that thought will stifle faith. The operation of faith has its laws, just like the laws of nature.
Do you see this key? When I throw it to the ground, you will be sure it will fall down; this is called a law. What law? Gravity. Even if this person has not studied Newton's laws, they just know that if they throw something down, it will fall to the ground. This means that this law will not change because they know or do not know; the law exists. It is not subject to location and time. It has nothing to do with your personal feelings. When you are in a bad mood, does gravity disappear? It still exists.
Brothers and sisters, we must use faith like this. Even if the situation is terrible, we must know that God's power is still there. When you pray for others, even if you are in a terrible mood, when you lay hands and pray for them, God's power is still effective. This is the law of faith.
Under the Old Testament law, if a person wanted to be healed, they had to bring cattle, sheep, or doves to offer sacrifices, have their sins forgiven, and then the priest would pray for that person to be healed. But under the New Testament, because Jesus Christ has accomplished redemption for us, all our sins have been paid for, the price of sin has been paid, and God's power is upon you; you can draw from it anytime and anywhere.
In the law of faith, we have nothing to boast about; we receive God's grace not by the law of works but by the law of faith. Believing in Jesus Christ, willing to accomplish this, faith operates this way. Brothers and sisters, after you go back, meditate on the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
You pray for something, and although you do not see results now, you must believe that God has accomplished it. The results are about to be seen. No matter what difficulties you have, you can pray to God. Believe that God can do all things, and that is enough. Moreover, anytime you are willing to let God guide you, He will lead you.
Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Looking at the first half, it refers to Jesus Christ, He is the radiance of God's glory. When you see Jesus, you see God. He is the exact representation of God's being. You have never seen God, but when you see Jesus, He is the image of God. "Sustaining all things by His powerful word" means ensuring that these objects operate normally. What God values is not the sun, moon, flowers, trees, or animals on the earth; He values you the most—God's children, a group of supreme princesses and princes bought back by His blood. Amen!
God wants you to understand the law of faith, willing for you to understand that Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins, and you already possess the authority of Jesus. Jesus said, "The mountain can be moved, the hill can be relocated, but God's words never change!" If you believe that God has accomplished all this according to His words, but you still do not see effects, the problem must not be with God; it may be that our faith has issues.
What problems could arise?
Perhaps we are using the law of works, for example: thinking that after doing a certain thing, or saying, "After I have believed for a certain time," then God can accomplish it. This is wrong because God never lies; His promises are for all His children. Amen!
What is grace? Grace is what we do not deserve, but we receive it freely. Everything we have comes from God's grace. What you need to do is have faith in God. When problems arise, adjust your focus to His words. If results do not appear, we need to find out which part of our faith is wrong, leading to a blockage in faith.
In any situation, God's words never change. The Bible has already said, "By the stripes of Jesus, you have been healed." Since God's words have said this, He will surely accomplish it. Blessed are those who are willing to act according to God's words.
Using this key as an example, whether an adult or a child, whether rich or poor, if they throw this key, will it fly up to the sky and float away? No. This is called the law of faith. It is not subject to human limitations and does not discriminate.
In this way, we must believe that since God can heal him, He can certainly heal you. Since this blessing can come upon Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it can certainly be fulfilled in you; there are no ifs. Unless you believe the devil's lies.
You keep listening to the word, continuously knowing God, just like today people understand the principles of electricity. In the past, they only knew to say, "I believe in Jesus; I can enter the kingdom of heaven; when there is a problem, I pray to God, and He hears my prayers." But today, you come again and again, and I will let you know the laws of God's operation. Because when you understand these, your faith will be steadfast. Because you know that no matter how you are now, God's love for you has never diminished.
If you do not see effects, it is not that God lacks power; perhaps we are using the wrong law. First, you must understand that whether you know it or not, no matter what the current situation is, God is willing for His words to be accomplished in you! This is God's wish, which means the wish of Jesus Christ. God expects His children to be prosperous, to prosper in all things, and to be healthy. From the Bible, we have seen God's wishes, so you must use such faith to restore you to the way God originally created you.
Share the second point, obeying the Holy Spirit will bear the fruit of faith.
1 Corinthians 12:9: To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit.
Faith is given by the Holy Spirit, the gift of healing is given by the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues is given by God, and the ability to prophesy is given by the Holy Spirit. All these come from the Holy Spirit and are freely given by God.
In Acts 11:24, He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
When the power of the Holy Spirit operates in a person, once it fills their heart, they will be guided by the Holy Spirit and can speak in tongues. Many people may say, "Is this me?" But we can be sure that this is them. Because at that moment, the Holy Spirit is upon them. This is the fruit brought forth by the Holy Spirit, giving people faith.
1 Samuel 10:9-11
As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
When a person accepts God, the Holy Spirit will fill them and give them a new heart. They will be moved by the Holy Spirit. King Saul was like this, and so are we today.
Faith is the fruit given to us by the Holy Spirit. When you are willing to let the Holy Spirit guide you, you will have faith. When you lack faith, it is best to find some faithful people to pray with you, and you can also share the gospel of Jesus Christ together; at this time, faith will arise.
Many people have misunderstandings about God, thinking that God is high above, and every day in heaven, He gets angry with people when He is unhappy, causing accidents and taking everything away from people. Some people, whenever something happens, desperately plead with God, "Lord, please heal me! Lord, if you heal me of this disease, I will go to church; if you accomplish this for me, I will serve you in church." Some even pray to God, saying, "Every week I give you this much money; shouldn't you do something for me?" This is called the law of works.
I remember a few years ago, a person who had a misunderstanding came to our church. Their belief was that whoever cries the loudest has their prayers heard by God. Early morning prayers were filled with loud cries. The people crying were terrifying; they thought the louder and more miserable they sounded, the more God would have compassion, which is the law of works.
The law of works is exchanging behavior for God's blessings. We should not use the law of works; we should use the law of faith. You just need to believe that God is willing to heal you, willing to hear your prayers, and you have already received it. It is not based on our actions but on Christ's grace.
You believe that God has accepted you because of Jesus. Because Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins on the cross, God is willing to hear your prayers and is willing to help you, and no one can stop that.
Matthew 6:7-8 says:
"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
What is prayer? Many people think prayer is talking to the air. If you think this way, it is best to listen to the word first, get your beliefs right, and then pray. Prayer is our communication with God. Many people have misconceptions about prayer, thinking that the more detailed they make their requests, the better God will understand and the faster He will accomplish them. This makes God seem like someone who is completely unaware.
Some people pray, "I haven't been able to sleep for ten years, Lord, do you know? Now I can only sleep for twenty minutes a day! Lord, do you know how I go through each day? My mind feels empty, I can't accomplish anything, and I can't finish my food. Lord, can't you have some pity on me?"
Praying to false gods is like this; look how pitiful I am, just listen to my prayer. We should not pray like this. Because God is even more eager for you to be healed. As long as you are willing to believe in His power and receive His promises, you can obtain healing.
We can come before God and say,
Heavenly Father, I thank you; my body is created by you, and I believe you can heal me. By the stripes of Jesus, I have been healed. Now, I receive your healing. I believe I have received it; thank you for your provision. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray, Amen.
God has established the law of faith; as long as we follow God's way, we will surely see good results. The Israelites in the Old Testament did not offer sacrifices to God randomly; they did it completely according to God's way, and they received provision and blessings.
Some people say, "I really don't know how the Holy Spirit guides; I can't hear His voice." This is because we usually do not store enough of God's words. We lack spiritual sensitivity. When we develop the habit of reading the Bible, listening to sermons, and praying, the Holy Spirit speaks to us, and we can know immediately.
1 Kings 19:11-12
The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
Elijah was afraid of Jezebel and fled to God's mountain. God spoke to him. There was a great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, and after that, there was an earthquake, and after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in any of these. These great signs and noises are what many people expect as external manifestations. Many people judge God's existence through these senses! For example, some people say, "When you pray for me, I feel a warmth in my body; the Holy Spirit is working on me." In fact, even if there is no warmth, the Holy Spirit is still at work.
In those strong shocks, God was not there. After all this was over, there came a gentle whisper. If we do not understand how God works, we will seek God's voice in the previous great noises. But when our hearts are quiet, a voice will come from deep within; that is a gentle whisper, but we can hear it clearly, and we know it is God's guidance.
If you are willing to increase your spiritual sensitivity, I will tell the brothers and sisters a method. I suggest you pray more with your brothers and sisters, and I would prefer that everyone receives the gift of tongues. Those who have received it know its benefits. Many times, during your prayer in tongues, God directly tells you what to do. Therefore, I would prefer that everyone in our church prays in tongues because this builds us up. You can read 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 carefully; it is explained very clearly there.
Here, I will share an Old Testament testimony with the brothers and sisters:
Many of the Psalms were written by David, and many are prayers between him and God. In 2 Samuel chapter 5, it mentions an event:
Once, David went to battle with the Philistines, and he prayed to God, "Lord, should I go to battle with them? Will I win if I fight them?"
2 Samuel 5:23-25
David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
The Lord means the covenant-keeping God. David sought this covenant-keeping God for victory. God said, "First, take your army forward. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, that means I have gone ahead of you to strike your enemies." When the army was marching, there was a great noise; how could you still hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees? Moreover, that was not the sound of the balsam trees but the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees; this is a very small sound that requires you to perceive it with your spirit.
I encourage brothers and sisters to pray more, but not to think that if you pray more, God will love you a little more, and the speed of accomplishment will be faster. No, it only increases our spiritual sensitivity. Your insight into things will improve, and your discernment will increase. This is something others do not understand, but you will see it clearly. When various disasters increase, others think it is normal, but you know that the words of the Bible are being fulfilled... This is spiritual insight; believe that this is the ability given to us by the Holy Spirit, and this ability will give you faith.
The God whom Abraham believed is the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
At the beginning, God said to Abraham, "Abraham, this time next year, you will have a son." At that time, Abraham was nearly a hundred years old, and Sarah had lost hope; they were both old. Even Sarah laughed secretly when she heard it behind the tent.
God's promise to Abraham was, "I have made you a father of many nations." Although at that time Abraham had no son, in God's eyes, that day had already been seen.
According to human reasoning, we would say, "One day you will become a father of many nations." Isn't that normal? One day, Abraham will surely become a father of many nations. But God sees things through the principle of faith. In God's eyes, today you are already a father of many nations. This is a method we should understand and declare.
Many people do not understand this and say, "I still have sickness in my body; why should I lie and say I am healthy?" This is the application of the law of faith. At that time, Abraham did not say, "Lord, don't tease me; I am this age, and I do not even have a child, and you still say I am a father of many nations! You say I might become a father of many nations; I believe that."
Believing after things are accomplished is not called faith; the question is, can you believe now? In the face of sickness, do you believe that by the stripes of Jesus, you have already received health? When debts are still there, can you believe that God has already opened a way, and the riches of Jesus are upon you? He will give you wisdom to overcome these difficulties.
I once read about Kenneth Hagin's "Tongues." In his more than 50 years of life, he never got sick. Before, he had heart disease and an unknown illness in his blood and was almost dead as a teenager. After being healed by God, he later showed signs of heart disease again, feeling like his heart was "thumping" and he was about to die. How did Kenneth Hagin handle this situation?
He did not say, "It's over; my heart disease has recurred; maybe God did not heal me completely at that time!" Kenneth Hagin said, "Now, in the name of Jesus Christ, I refuse to accept these false symptoms on me; I refuse to accept them because I am healthy in Jesus Christ." He declared this every time.
When a headache comes, many people's first reaction is, "Oh no, I am getting a cold." But Kenneth Hagin would say, "Now, in the name of Jesus, I command this headache to leave me because I am healthy; I do not accept the temptation of the devil's wrong thoughts." Just like what God said to Abraham, "You are a father of many nations," this is called faith. If this thing has already been accomplished and we all see it, that is not called faith, brothers and sisters.
Even if you indeed see that the pain has not disappeared, you must declare that you have already received healing. This is not pretending; you have God's words as the basis. You must often meditate on, "By His stripes, I have been healed," the word is not to be fulfilled in the future; it has already been fulfilled.
When you lack peace, you should pray, "Because of the punishment He bore," He, referring to Jesus Christ on the cross, who has already risen from the dead; the matter has already been accomplished. So I believe that peace is in my heart. Then you say, "Holy Spirit, I believe you have borne the fruit called peace in my heart."
When you believe this way, the Holy Spirit will bear fruit, and faith will be effective.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you. When we lack faith, we can pray to you, and you will give us faith. I am willing to let the Holy Spirit guide my life, and I look forward to living in your victory.
Heavenly Father, please guide me to be willing to listen to your words, to listen continuously every day. I believe your words will produce faith. This faith will allow me to experience your great power and presence. No matter where I go, I believe the Holy Spirit is with me; He will guide me to understand the truth and know more of God's words. Lead my steps ahead.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for such abundant provision. Thank you and praise the Lord. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!