God has implanted within you a powerful, LIV­ING, supernatural faith that enables you to speak the Word and receive WHATSOEVER you desire!

Before you can RECEIVE and APPROPRIATE it in your life, you must have a clear understand­ing of what faith is and how it operates.

You have learned:

• Faith is not a function of the natural mind.
• Faith is not man’s natural ability to believe.
• The faith of God cannot be produced or manufactured.
• The faith of God does not waver or fluctu­ate…it never fails to produce results.

God has given you this faith, so that you can enter into a relationship with Him…so that the life of Christ can be manifested in you…so that you can come to Him and receive whatever you need.

No man can ever reach God or know Him through his natural senses. We cannot see God with our natural eyes. Yet, by faith we know that He exists. We cannot reach out and touch Him with our hands. We cannot hear Him with our natural ears. Yet, by faith we can reach out and touch Him and know that He has touched us. By faith, we can hear Him as He speaks to our spir­its. And by faith we can speak to Him and know that He hears us.

God is a supernatural God. And the only way to reach Him is through this supernatural sense called faith.

Faith is a sixth sense…a supernatural power to reach a supernatural God. It is not created by the natural, but is given by a supernatural process.

I have met many people who have tried to believe in God by themselves. No doubt you have met people like this, who want to believe in God. They want to know there is a God Who created the heavens and earth, Who cares about them. They are trying their very best to believe this supernatural God exists. There is a struggle deep within their being where they have tried to find God. But with all their trying, they cannot do it.

There is a simple explanation for this. The nat­ural mind cannot know God and is at enmity against Him.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are fool­ishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

I Corinthians 2:14

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Romans 8:7

Without this sixth sense of faith, it is impossible for man to communicate with God.

God has not made it difficult for man to reach Him. Faith is not as complex as most preachers make it sound. It is very simple. God gives those who come to Him this supernatural sense called faith. It is a gift!

Man does not have the faith to believe God for his salvation. When he surrenders his will and entire life to God, He imparts faith into his heart.

(More about this next week.)

FAITH IS SUBSTANCE!

The majority of the teaching on faith in recent years has placed the emphasis on exercising faith in getting our needs met…how to exercise faith to receive a new car, buy a new home, new furniture, and have all your needs met.

It is important that we know how to appropriate faith to receive what we have need of in our lives. God is a generous God, Who gives liberally to all those who come to him in faith. He is anxious to pour out His blessings upon us. However, this is not the major purpose of the faith God has given us.

God has not given us mountain-moving faith…faith that never wavers, faith that never fails to produce results…just so we can live in a nice house, drive an expensive car, wear expensive clothes and live our lives fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.

God has given us this faith…

• so that the life of Christ will be manifested in us
• so that His will can be accomplished through us
• so that we will be able to overcome every obstacle, every circumstance and every attack of the enemy
• so that we will be able to minister to the desperate needs of humanity…healing the sick and casting out demons in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit
• so that we will be able to endure trials and afflictions for the sake of the Gospel
• so that we will be able to draw our very life from Him
• so that we can receive all that He has and is! Say it again: “Faith is my life source!”

Faith is not an ethereal “pie in the sky” way of thinking. It is not a mystical something floating around in the air. It is a powerful, life-giving SUB­STANCE that brings into existence things which are non-existent.

Turn in your Bible to Hebrews, chapter 11. In this one chapter, Paul gives us a clear under­standing of what faith really is. Using examples of the Old Testament saints and prophets, he illustrates the powerful, victorious faith that exist­ed under the Old Covenant.

Take time right now to read this entire chapter. I want you to read the same chapter every day this week. As you do, ask God to give you a fresh revelation of the faith He wants you to have operating in your life.

Paul gives us a definition of faith in verse 1. He says:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Circle the word “substance” in this verse. Faith is SUBSTANCE…not wishful thinking, not hoping, not a mental belief; but something sub­stantial that sustains, strengthens and upholds you.

Now let’s look at this same verse in the Ampli­fied version, which takes us deeper into the origi­nal Greek translation.

Read it aloud:

Now faith is the assurance (the confirma­tion, the title-deed) of the things (we) hope for, being the proof of things (we) do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith per­ceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.

Hebrews 11:1, TAB

The word “substance” means the ground upon which one builds a hope. The Greek word for it is “hupostasis”; “stasis” means “to stand” and “hupo” means “under.” Paul was saying that faith is the substance…a foundation…the ground upon which we build our hope.

Put that word “hope” very deep into your heart, because hope has a lot do with our faith.

The supernatural faith of God is a strong foun­dation upon which we firmly stand rooted and grounded. It is by this faith we are able to stand firm, regardless of the circumstances, the heartaches, the pain or discouragements we face.

It was this strong foundation of faith that enabled Paul to say, “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38­39).

With this powerful foundation of God’s faith underneath us, we are able to endure or under­take anything!

FAITH IS YOUR TITLE DEED THAT GUARAN­TEES POSSESSION OF THE THINGS YOU NEED FROM GOD

Now, let’s look at the Amplified version of Hebrews 11:1 again. “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things (we) hope for.”

Faith is our TITLE DEED!

A title deed is the whole body of docu­ments bearing to the ownership of a person’s property, deposited in archives (safe place) storage to protect and reserve for all times, forming the evidence of ownership.

If you own a home or property, you have a title deed from the title company, with your name on it, proving you are the legal owner. On the title deed is a description and location of your home or property. This is a legally binding document that guarantees you full possession and full rights of ownership.

Do you remember the day you left the title com­pany with the deed in your hand? When you left that office, you didn’t leave wondering whether or not the house or property belonged to you. You knew it, because you had proof in your hand.

If someone were to knock on your door and tell you they were taking possession of your home, and they started moving your furniture out, all that would be necessary for you to do would be to take out your title deed with your name on it as evidence that it legally belonged to you.

In the spiritual realm, the Holy Spirit-energized act of faith which a believer exercises in the Lord Jesus is the Title Deed which God puts in his hand, guaranteeing to him the POSSESSION of the things for which he trusted Him.

The faith of God operating in your life is the TITLE DEED which declares your legal owner­ship and guarantees the possession of the things for which you have trusted him!

Paul said, “Faith is the substance of THINGS hoped for.” For a moment, stop and think about the THINGS (needs) you are facing right now in your life…healing in your body, a financial miracle, family problems. Think about the circumstances you are facing that seem impossible to you…where you must have a miracle from God. Think about the ministry opportunities God has given you, and the spiritual THINGS you desire from the Lord.

You have the TITLE DEED, guaranteeing POS­SESSION of these things, in your hands. God has placed His supernatural faith within you. You don’t need to struggle to have enough faith to believe God for these THINGS; the faith of God is already there! As you release the faith of God, there is no room for doubt…no wavering. There will be a deep inner knowing that they belong to you and that you are going to take possession of them.

If you have the title deed, you don’t need to fight. The enemy can come in. Somebody else can say, “It’s mine.” But it doesn’t matter. You have it and that entitles you to the possession.

The faith of God…your title deed…guarantees it!

FAITH WORKS WITH HOPE

Paul said, “Now faith is the substance of things HOPED for.” The purest definition of the word “hope” is “the desire accompanied by expectation for fulfillment.” As you release the supernatural faith of God for the THINGS you need, your heart should be filled with HOPE…an excitement and expectation that you are going to receive them.

Paul wrote, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, `So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:18-21, NIV).

In the natural, it was impossible for Abraham to become a father. He was one hundred years old and Sarah was far beyond the age of childbear­ing. However, against all the outward signs and circumstances that regarded it impossible, Abra­ham in HOPE believed. He did not waver through unbelief, regarding God’s promise to him. He had a desire stirring within him. He had a living expectation that he would have the son God had promised. Through the HOPE, he believed…was fully persuaded…that God had power to do what He had promised!

FAITH GRABS HOLD OF THINGS UNSEEN
AND CONSIDERS THEM AS A REAL FACT!

Paul said, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen.”

The word “evidence” translated from the origi­nal Greek means “proof; conviction.” Faith is the PROOF of the THINGS we desire from God that we do not yet see, and a strong, firm conviction of their reality.

Faith is…

…the proof of things (we) do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiv­ing as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.

Hebrews 11:1, TAB

Faith grabs hold of the things we do not see, that are not revealed to our senses, and counts them as a real fact…a living reality.

Faith grabs hold of that healing you need for your body, regardless of what you may be suffer­ing from…leukemia, cancer, heart disease, blind­ness, deafness…and considers that healing to be a reality.

Faith grabs hold of the finances you need…money to pay overdue bills, to make repairs on your car or house, to buy food and clothing…and considers those finances of $100, $500, $10,000 to be a real fact, even though you cannot see them and have no idea where they are coming from.

Once the faith of God is released within you and you take hold of the things…healing, finances, direction, spiritual needs…and consider them as a REAL FACT, as if you already had them in your possession…

Faith RESTS upon that fact! It is settled in your mind…there is no doubt, no striving. You rest in the fact, knowing it will come to pass.

Faith ACTS upon that fact! Faith is a fact, but faith is an act. Knowing that you have already received the things you have asked of God in prayer, you are to put faith into action. If you need healing in your body, do something you were unable to do, believing you have received your healing. Whatever your need may be, ACT as if you have received it.

Faith UPHOLDS that fact! Faith becomes a strong foundation underneath you that enables you to keep on believing, regardless of what your five senses reveal. It takes you out of the natural realm into a spirit realm…into a new dimension where you are able to see by the Spirit the things you need as a reality, regardless of all the things that would contradict it and say it is not possible.

You have the TITLE DEED with your name on it as proof that you are the legal owner of the things you have requested from God. Regard­less of what circumstances you may face…regardless of what your five senses tell you, there is nothing…ABSOLUTELY NOTHING Satan can do to take them from you!

Say aloud:

“Faith is the title deed God has placed in my hands, guaranteeing POSSESSION of the things I am trusting Him for!”

THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS BELIEVED IN GOD, BUT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE SUPER­NATURAL FAITH OF GOD IN THEM!

After explaining what faith is, Paul continued by giving some examples of the faith of the Old Tes­tament prophets and saints. As we briefly look at some of these examples, remember, there is a difference between the faith of the Old and New Testament saints.

“Faith” is only mentioned twice in the Old Testament and the word “believe” nineteen times. These words in the Hebrew language mean “to render faithful; to trust or believe.”

Their faith in God was a simple loyalty to God. It consisted of taking God at His Word and believ­ing His promises. They were so convinced that God could and would fulfill what He had promised, they acted as if what He had promised had already been accomplished. They had noth­ing but the promises of God to rest upon, without any visible evidence that these promises would ever be fulfilled. Yet they regulated the whole course of their lives by these promises.

The Old Testament prophets believed IN God and there were times when God imparted super­natural faith to them, enabling them to speak the Word and cause the Red Sea to part, the sun to stand still, and fire to fall from heaven. But they did not have the supernatural faith of God LIVING in them.

These great miracles were accomplished not through man’s own ability to believe, but through a powerful manifestation of the faith OF God which came upon men and women who were faithful to God and believed in Him. God did not depend upon the faith of the great prophets to ful­fill His purpose and plan upon earth. He gave each of them a special manifestation of faith to accomplish what He asked them to do.

Look at Noah’s faith:

(Prompted) by faith Noah, being fore­warned of God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family.

Hebrews 11:7, TAB

Noah took God at His Word. God had fore­warned him that He was going to send a great deluge upon the earth…that He was going to cause rain to fall out of the heavens for forty days and forty nights, and that every living thing on the earth would be destroyed.

Noah had a conviction of things not seen. Although there had never been a great rain or a flood upon the earth, and there was no visible sign of one, Noah acted in faith upon God’s promise and built an ark.

Look at Abraham’s faith:

(Urged on) by faith Abraham when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go.

Hebrews 11:8, TAB

While he was in Mesopotamia, God called Abraham and said, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee” (Acts 7:3). Abraham believed God. He went according to God’s Word, not knowing where he was going. He responded in implicit faith and obedience to God. (You will learn more in Week Four about how important obedience is in releasing your faith.)

Look at Sarah’s faith:

Because of faith also Sarah herself received physical power to conceive a child, even when she was long past the age for it, because she considered (God) Who had given her the promise, reliable and trustwor­thy and true to His Word.

Hebrews 11:11, TAB

Sarah “judged him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). Even though to the natural mind it was impossible for Sarah to conceive a child since she was beyond the age of childbear­ing, through her faith…her unwavering trust and confidence in God’s faithfulness to keep His promises…she laid hold of the impossible. She received strength to conceive seed.

Look at Joseph’s faith:

(Actuated) by faith Joseph, when nearing the end of his life, referred to (the promise of God for) the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, and gave instructions concerning the

burial of his own bones.

Hebrews 11:22, TAB

Joseph had faith in God’s promise to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. By faith, he took hold of things unseen. He saw it as a real fact. Knowing God would fulfill His promise, Joseph gave commandment concerning his bones, that they should preserve them unburied in Egypt, until the time God delivered them, and that they should carry his bones with them into Canaan and deposit them there.

Look at the faith of the Israelites:

Because of faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encompassed for seven days (by the Israelites).

Hebrews 11:30, TAB

God promised the Israelites that the walls of Jericho would crumble and fall if they would march around the walls once a day for seven days, and seven times the last day. The priests were told to carry the ark, and were to blow trum­pets made of rams’ horns. All the people were to shout, and when they shouted, the walls of Jeri­cho would fall down before them.

Joshua and the children of Israel believed God would do exactly what He said He would do. Faith is a fact, but faith is an act. To the natural mind, it was an impossibility that the walls of Jeri­cho would fall down because of the Israelites marching around the walls, blowing trumpets and shouting. It was ridiculous. Yet, because of their faith…their trust and reliance upon God’s faithful­ness to His promises…they obeyed and it was done.

AS THEY BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD’S PROMISES, THEY OVERCAME EVERY OBSTACLE!

The Old Testament prophets and saints won great victories through their faith. By faith they:

…subdued kingdoms, wrought righteous­ness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:33-34

By this faith they endured (read Hebrews 11:35-37).

They were stripped of the conveniences of life. They had no clothes to put on. They were desti­tute, afflicted and tormented. But their faith sus­tained them.

And although they did not receive the fulfill­ment of the promises of God concerning Christ, the Messiah, and the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 11:39), they died in faith. By faith, they were able to see these promises as a reality afar off, and were fully persuaded that He would do exactly what He had promised.

These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of (God’s) promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith.

Hebrews 11:13, TAB

The faith these Old Testament prophets and saints had, as great and powerful as it was, is not the same as the supernatural faith of God that He has placed within us. The faith God has given us far exceeds that of our forefathers. It is all they had and more!

Paul said at the conclusion of the great faith chapter, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made per­fect” (Hebrews 11:39-40).

YOU CANNOT SEPARATE FAITH FROM JESUS!

God has provided something BETTER for us! The Old Testament saints had faith in God…they believed His promises; they trusted in His faith­fulness; they were able to accomplish mighty deeds; they endured torture and affliction and they were sustained by their faith. But they did not have the supernatural faith of God that comes through Jesus Christ living IN THEM because Jesus had not yet come.

Paul wrote to the Galatians: “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto

the faith…” (Galatians 3:23).

Faith had not yet come! The Old Testament prophets and saints had a faith that existed according to the Law. There was a trust and belief in God and His promises, but FAITH HAD NOT COME! Jesus had not come to LIVE and DWELL in them.

Jesus is synonymous with faith. There is no manifestation of faith…no reality of faith…without Jesus! You cannot separate faith from Jesus. And, until He came, there was no faith on the earth.

They only had a glimpse of it. What was the glimpse? The glimpse of the Messiah. The glimpse of the redemption to come. The glimpse of a final restoration…a final deliverance from the yoke and the bondage that had come upon them, until they looked with hope for that Messiah, and they saw that He was coming.

Now look at verses 25 and 26. Paul said:

“But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Faith came when Jesus came to the earth. Today we have something BETTER than the Old Testament saints. We have a supernatural faith that is able to move mountains, that makes the impossible possible, that never wavers and never fails to produce the results, LIVING within us.

It is our LIFE SOURCE!

It is our TITLE DEED that guarantees posses­sion of the things for which we are trusting God.

You may be thinking, “How do I receive this supernatural faith?” or “How can I know that I possess this supernatural faith?”

Jesus is the only Source of the real faith! He is the Author and Finisher of it (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Faith came when Jesus came! When you received Jesus, you received His faith.

It’s in you now, but you must recognize it and learn how to release it in your life.

This week, take the TITLE DEED God has placed in your hands. Exercise the faith of God that is within you to take possession of all that you need!

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