RECEIVE FAITH FOR EXTRAORDINARY EXPLOITS

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi

Mark9:24 "And straightway the father of  the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine  unbelief."
    Faith is our total reliance on God and without it, we cannot gain access to any of God's provisions.  The Christian life is impossible without faith.  Jesus attributed the miracles that took place during His earthly ministry to the faith of the recipients (Mt.9:2,22,29,Mk5:24,lk7:50) He often said to the healed that 'your faith has made you whole'. He did not say the powerful apostle, Rev,pastor,evangelists and  prophet has made you whole . He attributed it to faith only.
            God has given us all that we need in life for godliness and sustenance (2Pet.1:3 ). He is not planning to give but has given all that we need. And like the ATM requires a password before releasing its content likewise we need faith from the lord to access the desires of our hearts.
       Faith is used interchangeably with believe in the scriptures and it is the title deed or confirmation of that unseen expectation we hoped for ( Heb.11:1) . Every physical thing once existed in the spirit (Rom.1:20) therefore to receive anything it has to be first received spiritually. The spiritual world is real and controls the physical.
     Before a tailor makes a dress, he or she first visualizes the design in the spirit and then proceeds to bring into physical manifestation that which has been seen in the spirit.  Faith originates from Christ (Hebrews 12:2) and God has given to every man the measure of faith (Rom 12:3b). We have been given at rebirth the same measure of faith but not all have active faith just as unless an ATM Card is activated it will be of no use to the owner.Faith is a gift from God (1Cor.12:7,9) and has to be activated and developed through willingness and obedience to the lord (Isaiah 1:19)
         This gift isn't given to us because of any righteous thing we have done but by God’s grace. None of the recipients of healing from Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry were saved since salvation requires believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom.10:9) therefore, we cannot say that only Christian have faith. There are Christians who struggle with doubt like non- Christians do. Therefore, it is safe to say that a non -Christians can receive miracles too because faith is God's love gift to humanity (John 3:16) and  that's why faith needs love to function (Gal.5.6) .
        We have to have love for Jesus and ourselves for faith to become active.An example is the man whose son was afflicted with the palsy in Mk9:24 he prayed to be given faith for the healing of his son and his request was granted for that moment.  There isn't anything wrong in asking God to increase one's  faith (lk.17:5). Faith isn't achieved by physical exercise or by strong will or by saying "I claim it " or" I receive it ". The fellow in Mark 9:24 was like those who scream " I claim it or i receive it " but nothing happened. This man's  thinking was that faith comes through exclamation, but He did not believe ,  because the only proof that one has faith is the presence of an overwhelming peace and joyful expectation regardless of the prevailing situation (Rom.5:1-2). Faith has no room for anxiety ,depression and anger .
       Faith is like a muscle that needs building. Muscles needs food and regular exercises to grow . Learn to use your faith on a regular bases from praying for healing for a pimple or toothache to believing God for a financial gift, transport fare then graduate to higher things such as trusting God to heal an ulcer, cancer, the release of a family member from jail,  breaking drug addictions etc. As enormous  as they may seem,  we do not need a special anointing to deal with them,  the anointing is always the same, it does not exist in sizes (Jn3:34)it is our faith that exists in sizes.  The level of trust we have for persons varies,  likewise we trust God for somethings but not for others. But God wants us to trust Him for everything even for something as little as a toothpick.
           Muscle development is accelerated through a regular intake of balanced diet and dwelling in a healthy and loving environment. This is why being an active part of a bible- teaching community that entertains personal questions is essential for development of faith .  We have questions bothering on faith which if not answered leads to instability in our christian walk. Faith increases whenever faith-based questions are answered. The scriptures holds the answers to all of life's questions that's why it says in Romans.10:17 "So then faith   cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." scriptures aid our belief in God (Jn.20:30,31,Rom.15:4b)Faith grows like the cells in the human body,  they require constant nourishment to maintain optimum productivity,  the word of God carries the nutrients needed to nourish our faith(Acts.20:32, 1 Tim.4:6b) those who constantly dwell on God’s word defy the aging process (psalm 103: 5) "Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s." it is the key ingredient in reinvigorating a marriage relationship.  Nothing binds a husband and wife together like God's word. It is for this reason that we should attend to the reading of scriptures wholeheartedly (Lk8:15) relationships weaken when a spouse begins to doubt a section of God's word (Heb.4:2) the word of God should be received with a believing spirit. When married folks develop close ties with habitual liars , they soon find it hard to believe in testimonies of faith (Jn.4:28-30,39) and deprive themselves of the rewards of celebrating  miracles which glorify God and serve as faith boosters (Acts 8:5,6,14,Acts 9:36-42), that's why the scriptures says as a principle in other to enjoy God's blessings we shouldn't keep company with liars (psalm1:1-3) but delight in God's word.
          The development of our faith results in our protection against evil spirits (Eph.6:16)and by living a righteous life in purity we also develop a harmonious relationship with others (Act15:9,phil3:9,Rom.4:8,9)Faith helps us relate better with God through the Holy Spirit (Jn.7:38,39,Gal.3:14) and  it makes prayers very effective (Mk11:24). As you receive Jesus as Lord and saviour may your faith for extraordinary exploits be activated  in Jesus name.
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