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Have Faith In God

by Mark Stidham  
4/12/2007 / Christian Living

Mark 11:22-24
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 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. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.


To open your big mouth and speak to a mountain does not make sense to the natural mind. Many times walking by faith doesn't make any sense at all, but God commands that we live by faith. God himself speaks things into existence; he calls things that are not as though they were. Now does that make sense? No it doesn't; but it doesn't have to, it's God's way.


In Mark chapter 11 it probably didn't make much sense to the disciples when they heard Jesus speaking to a fig tree, but the result speaks for itself. However, when you think about it, we talk to things all the time. We talk to traffic lights, we talk to appliances, we talk to electronics, and sometimes with a very loud, frustrated voice we talk to our computers when they do not perform correctly. Now how does that make any sense? However when we do things like that it is accepted as natural.


God created this world with Words, and this world operates with Words. Authority is exercised by Words, and everything around us has a name, and names are Words. God places a high standard on his own Word; the Bible says he has exalted his Word above his name. When talking about having faith in God we cannot ignore his Word; his Word is his bond.


That brings me to the subject of comparing sense knowledge and revelation knowledge. Sense knowledge is based on what we can see and what seems to make sense to our natural mind. Revelation knowledge however, is placing our trust in what God has said and to rely revealed knowledge from God. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.


If your member Thomas, the disciple would not believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected until he saw him with his own eyes, and could touch him with his own hands. Thomas is a perfect example of someone who is relying on sense knowledge. I will not believe unless I can see it. Too many Christians today are trying to live their life that way; however, that is not God's way. In Hebrews 11:6 we see that without faith it is impossible to please God, and faith comes by hearing God's Word and trusting and relying on what God has said. It is not based on what we can see. Instead of saying I will believe it when I see it; we should believe it so we can see it.
On the other hand, we see faithful Abraham and his commitment to relying on what God said. Abraham left his country. He left his family and he left everything behind, simply on God's Word that told him there was a better place waiting for him. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son even though his wife was barren and past the age of bearing children. We are told in Romans chapter 4, that even though there was no hope that Abraham believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations and it also says that he was not weak in faith, that he considered not his own body and did not consider the deadness of Sarah's womb. It says he did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what God had promised he was able to perform. Hallelujah!

Abraham was the perfect example of someone who was moved by revelation knowledge and not by what he could see.
Faith in God is faith in his Word; God and his Word are one, you cannot separate God and his Word. The Bible says that God's Word is for ever settled in heaven. The Bible says that God is unchangeable, not even a shadow of turning. Jesus said that those who heard his sayings and did them were like someone who built their house on a solid rock foundation. When the storms of life came then that house stood, because it was built on the rock-solid foundation of revealed knowledge. Oh yes, the storms would come, but the house would stand.


So when we look at the circumstances in our lives we see in Second Corinthians chapter four that those things are temporary. We see that those circumstances or storms in our lives actually are working for our benefit a much greater weight of glory, but only as we look at the eternal things. We know that God and his Word are eternal. My body may have pain in it, but that is temporary. My bank account may look empty, but that is temporary. My children or family members may seem to be getting worse and drifting deeper into sin but that is temporary. However all these circumstances are temporary, which means that they are subject to change. When we look at the truth of God's Word and take our stand on it, those circumstances will begin to change. Actually it's the only way that they will ever change.
You must understand that God is good and only wants the best for us in our lives. But God requires that we act in faith to receive the blessings that he has for us. In talking about the house that is built on the rock-solid foundation of God's Word shows us that we can't just hear it; but that we must do it also. To receive God's best requires faith actions.


The amplified Bible says have faith in God constantly. We must exercise along with our faith, patience, which is the fruit of our re-created spirit. The Bible says doing all to stand. The problem is many of us do not have deep roots in the Word of God. And so when things come our way like adverse circumstances then we don't stand any longer. We are only able to do it for a little while, and then we fall away from our faith.
We must remember that our enemy is a deceiver and a liar and it is his job to snatch the Word that has been planted in our heart. That is why we must meditate on the Word; dig deep into the Word and have our roots grow strong. If we do not do this then we will begin to operate in the fear. That is how the deceiver gets to us, he works through fear. Fear is the reverse of faith.


When fear starts to come, get in the Bible and meditate on our big God. Let's always remember that God is bigger than any circumstance any problem and he is definitely bigger than our enemy. Satan is not the opposite of God; Satan is just a fallen angel. We need to look at what God is doing and give him much glory and give the devil none. Let's talk about what God is doing not the devil because God is good all the time.

Mark L. Stidham Th.D. is an Ordained minister,a life coach,a motivational speaker, a preacher,a pastor, an evangelist,a web site publisher,a writer,a songwriter, a singer, a photographer and a musician. Mark has been married to his wife and valuable life partner, Patty Stidham for 19 years.

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