Increase Your Faith

By Joseph Prince So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22–23 Jesus is also known by the name Immanuel, meaning the Almighty God is with us. How comforting it is to know that our awesome Almighty God, who is also our loving Father, is always with us! Now, what does it mean to say “God with us”? We must understand it the same way the Hebrew people would have understood it. The Jewish mind understands that when the Lord is with you, you become successful in every endeavor. The Bible records that whenever the Lord was with them in battle, the children of Israel were never defeated, and every military campaign ended in overwhelming success. In fact, in the battle for Jericho, the city was theirs with just a shout (Joshua 6:20)! The Lord was with them. Even in battles when they were outnumbered, they triumphed because the Lord was with them. It is no different for you today. Jesus is with you to help you, assist you, turn things around for you and make good things happen for you. He is not with you to condemn, judge or find fault! When Almighty God is with you, good things will happen in you, around you and through you. Expect this to happen to you today!

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By Jerry Savelle

In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thess. 5:18)

If you are struggling with knowing the will of God in your life, then start here. Start being thankful. You may not know what God wants you to do. You may not know where He wants you to be. But, you can know the will of God for your life is to be thankful. You may not have clarity about anything else, but if you will be thankful, then He will reveal the other things that you need to know.

If nothing else, you can say, “God, I thank You that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and I believe that You are going to direct me, show me where to go, and tell me what to do. Your Word declares that You are not the author of confusion but of peace. I believe that the confusion in my life is about to depart and the peace of God is coming. Thank You, Lord, that you are ordering my steps.”

The will of God is to give thanks. In everything. That is the starting point. Colossians 2:7 says, “. . . abounding therein with thanksgiving.” God expects you to get to the place where you are abounding with thanksgiving.

Paul said to, pattern yourselves after me. Follow my example as I follow Christ. If Paul could rejoice always, then we can too. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. That means He will manifest His presence in your life.

When you learn to abound in thanksgiving and it becomes your lifestyle, then you can count on it, God’s best will come into your life.

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 By Larry Ollison, Ph.D. 
 
Satan is relentless. He doesn’t give up. He knows that one Spirit-filled Christian, walking in faith, can deal a severe blow to his kingdom. Even though Satan has been defeated and his destiny has been sealed, he doesn’t believe it. 

Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” Jesus exposed Satan for what he really is. Satan is a liar. And he must believe his own lies because he still attempts to win. 

The Bible tells that we are to not be ignorant of the devices of the devil. He is a relentless enemy. But, even though he is relentless, he still uses the same old methods. His methods haven’t changed in 2000 years. We know from the Word of God that he doesn’t give up just because someone is seeking the truth, or just because we are a Christian. 

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He quoted the Word. Satan was defeated in this exchange of events, but the Bible tells us something very interesting here about the nature of Satan. The Bible says that after Jesus spoke the Word and Satan left, he didn’t leave without a plan. He just retreated for a little while and waited for another opportunity to attack. The Bible says he left and waited for a more opportune time. 

Now, here’s the good news. We have been given authority over Satan and his entire kingdom of darkness. We as Christians have been given, by Jesus, the authority to remove the forces of darkness from our path anytime, anywhere. Of course, there are limits to our authority and conditions to our authority, but nevertheless we have been given authority and as Christians, we are a major threat to Satan’s kingdom. 

Satan does not want you to know you have authority over him. Remember, he is a liar, and many times he uses religion to bind Christians. 

What I mean is this. The only thing that will repel the forces of evil is the name of Jesus. Jesus gave us, the church, authority to use His name. 

Jesus said in Mark 16:17, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.” Here Jesus said that those who believe would have authority over the evil forces of the spirit world. In fact, Jesus said that those who believed in Him would cast out demons. Are you a believer? If you are a Christian, then you have this authority and Jesus expects you to use it. 

Remember, Satan wants to destroy you. But, I have good news. Satan doesn’t always get what he wants. The only way he can get to you, the only way he can distract you, the only way he can neutralize you is if you let him. 

In this spiritual battle, as Christians, we have no excuses. Jesus has given us all the weapons we need. He has given us the authority. He has given us the Word. He has given us His blood. He has given us His name, and He has given us faith. With these tools, nothing can defeat us and we can walk in victory. 

Jesus said, “Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” 

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By Larry Ollison, Ph.D. 
 

I counseled with a lady who was depressed. She had a best friend that was a good Christian and they always spent time together. When one of them would get down and depressed, the other one would build her up. 

It seemed that they were always there for each other. But, then the friend moved away. The lady asked me this question. “How can I be built up now that my friend is gone? Who will lift my spirits now?” 

This lady is not alone. Most of us have a need to be built up. We need someone to put their arm on our shoulder and say, “I understand.” But the reality of the situation is this. There is not always someone there to help us. There are times when we will be alone. So, what about those times? What do we do then? 

In First Samuel 30, King David and his men came to Ziklag. When they got there, they discovered that the Amalekites had invaded the city and burned it to the ground. Not only was the city burned, but the Amalekites had taken everyone who lived in the city captive. They had taken them away as prisoners. 

When David and his men saw that the city was destroyed, they were, of course, upset. But that wasn’t the most discouraging news. All of their wives, their sons and daughters had been taken captive. 

Needless to say David and all his men were upset. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 30:4 that they cried until they had no power left to cry. 

But just when it looked like it couldn’t get any worse, it did. The people were upset with David. Even his trusted soldiers were so grieved that they planned to stone David to death. 

But then David did something that may have seemed out of place to everyone else, but it was exactly the right thing to do. 

Verse 6 says that King David, even though his wives and children had been kidnapped, even though all of his soldiers wanted to assassinate him, even though it looked like all was lost, he encouraged himself in the Lord. 

And that was the turning point. When David encouraged himself in the Lord, he gained supernatural wisdom and guidance. And in verse 18 it says, “He recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away.” 

Everything that had been taken was restored. All the hurt and despair, all the depression and grief, it was all gone. Remember, the recovery started when David encouraged himself in the Lord. 

You may say, “Well, that’s a good story but how can I encourage myself? When I’m down and alone, how do I encourage myself in the Lord?” 

Well the answer is in the Word of God. Jude 1:20 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.” 

Here we are not only told to build ourselves up, but we are told how to build ourselves up. We must pray in the spirit. 

In 1 Corinthians 14:15 Paul said that he prayed with the understanding and he prayed in the spirit. As Christians we need to take full advantage of praying in the spirit. When we are down and we need a friend, get alone with God. Pray in the understanding and pray in the spirit. And, according to God’s Word, you will be built up. God does not lie. 

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By Larry Ollison, Ph.D. 
 
A few weeks ago I received a letter from a minister in Illinois that was upset because I was teaching faith. He said that if we could just eliminate faith teaching, then the church wouldn’t be in such turmoil. 

Well, I’ve been thinking about what he said. And you know, I think he’s right. If we would just quit teaching about faith and anything related to it, the church would not be in turmoil. You know why? Well, it’s because without faith, there would be no church. 

What do I mean, there would be no church? Well, it’s this way. The church is not a building. The church is not a denomination. The church is not a ministry. The church is a group of people who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. The church is a body of believers. 

The church is the Christians who collectively make up the body of Christ. If you are a Christian, you are the church. The church building, which is commonly referred to by many as the church, is not the church, but it is the meeting place of the church. Christians are the church. 

Now, with that in mind, let’s look at how you become a Christian. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” 

Did you catch that? “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” Without faith there is no salvation. If no one gets saved, then there is no church. We need faith for salvation. 

Also, Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” 

Is faith important? Well, without it we cannot please God. It doesn’t say that it is difficult to please God, it says that it is impossible to please God. If we want to please God, we must have faith. 

Let’s pretend that there was a way to get saved without faith (which there isn’t), and let’s pretend that there was a way to please God without faith (which there isn’t), and somehow we became a Christian without faith (which we can’t). 

At this point it would still be impossible to function as a Christian because we wouldn’t be able to pray. In James the first chapter, it says that when we pray we must pray in faith because if we don’t pray in faith we cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord. 

In other words, we can pray all we want, but if we don’t pray in faith, we might as well be doing something else, because our prayers will be in vain. 

Here is another interesting thing about faith. In Hebrews 4:2 it says, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard (the Gospel) did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”

This verse says that the Gospel, the Good News, was preached to two groups of people. But even though one group heard the gospel, it didn’t profit them because they did not mix it with faith. According to the Bible, without faith the Gospel will not profit you. 

To sum it up, let me say this. As the church we need faith. Without faith the church cannot exist. 

What is faith? Faith is believing God and acting on what you believe. Where do we get faith? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 

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By Mark Brazee 
 
“And other [seed] fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred” (Mark 4:8). 

So what do you do to make sure you are good ground? Well, start out hearing God’s Word. When the thief comes to steal it away, keep on hearing the Word of God. When persecutions and afflictions come because of the Word, (and they will come to everyone), keep hearing what God says. 

First Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” What do you do when the fiery trials come? Do you feed on them? No, you keep on hearing the Word. 

The cares of the world will try to distract you, but keep on hearing the Word. The deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things will try to get in your way, but just keep hearing the Word and plowing through. One day the fruit of that Word will start popping up on the other side of all the trials and distractions of life. You’ll reap a harvest that is thirty-, sixty- or even a hundredfold! 

The Bible says, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings” (Prov. 4:20). As long as we want abundant life, including healing in our bodies, we must incline our ears unto His sayings. We must hear God’s Word coming from the pulpit, from tapes, from television and radio and, most importantly, from our own mouths. 

Someone may ask, “How long do I have to hear the Word?” All through eternity! It’s that good. It’s not a chore—it’s a pleasure! 

Confession: My ears are a gateway to my spirit. What I hear controls what fruit is produced in my life. I desire the fruit of divine health and abundant life, so I won’t let anything distract me from hearing God’s Word!

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By William J. McDuffie

“Gay marriage to be part of Democrat’s platform”. This was a headline in most U.S. newspapers and Internet news outlets recently. What is a political platform? It is the public statement of the principles, policies, and objectives of a specific political party. In other words, it’s what a political party says it stands for. In the U.S., the two major parties publish the platform on which ALL of its candidates, at every level, stand. By accepting their party’s nomination, politicians are saying they endorse and embrace the platform. Each presidential candidate MUST stand on a platform, and when citizens cast their votes for one candidate or the other, they are also embracing the same platform on which their candidate stands.

For the New Testament believer, and that is my target audience, there are not only political implications for casting a vote in support of a candidate; there are spiritual ones as well. When we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Word of God, cast our votes we enter into the spiritual principle of agreement. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” (2 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV) In other words, when at least two people agree on an issue, that issue is established. Consequently, each person is responsible for what is ultimately established, whether good or bad.

When a political party officially establishes its platform and selects its ticket, our vote is a form of agreement with both the platform and the people on the ticket. In natural politics, people can say that they voted for a particular party, even though they didn’t agree with everything in that party’s platform, but as far as the spirit realm is concerned no such parsing exists. It’s literally an all or nothing proposition.

In Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23, Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 says, “The Word became human and lived among us. We saw His glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with His only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth.” (John 1:14 GWT). Another way to look at Jesus is as the Word of God; therefore, when we read Matthew 12:30 or Luke 11:23, we can interpret these verses as so: “He who is not with THE WORD OF GOD is against THE WORD OF GOD…” In essence, our speech, political positions, and actions are either in accordance with the Word or stoutly against Him.

What does the Word of God say about homosexuality? The Bible addresses the subject in both the Old Testament and the New. Critics of the Biblical definition of marriage, found among other places in Matthew 19:5, often harp on the Old Testament prohibitions against homosexuality, as though there is not a single reference of this sinful behavior in the New Testament. They are wrong.

Here are a few scripture references as to God’s view on all aspects of homosexual behavior:

Never have sexual intercourse with a man as with a woman. It is disgusting. (Leviticus 18:22 GWT)

When a man has sexual intercourse with another man as with a woman, both men are doing something disgusting and must be put to death. They deserve to die. (Leviticus 20:13 GWT)

Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit the kingdom of God? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 GWT)

For example, a person must realize that laws are not intended for people who have God’s approval. Laws are intended for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for those who think nothing is holy or sacred, for those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or other people. Laws are intended for people involved in sexual sins, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for those who lie when they take an oath, and for whatever else is against accurate teachings. (1 Timothy 1:9, 10 GWT)

These people have exchanged God’s truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! For this reason God allowed their shameful passions to control them. Their women have exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion. And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things. (Romans 1:25-28 GWT)

Today, these Scriptures are considered by many as hate speech, but nothing could be further from the truth. Our loving Heavenly Father gives us prohibitions against sin for our own good. The reward for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 GWT) All prohibitions against sin is speech based in love, not hate. Is it hateful to publish what medical science knows about the cause of obesity? Or, is it hate speech to prohibit drunk driving? Are traffic laws put in place out of hatred? Clearly, the answer to each of these questions is a resounding no. Neither is it hate speech to tell our beloved brothers and sister struggling with homosexuality that it is as morally wrong as any other sin and will ultimately lead to spiritual death now and the Lake of Fire in the age to come.

As believers, we side with the Truth, not against Him. Homosexuality is not the only sin prevalent in our society, but just because it isn’t shouldn’t limit discussions and debates on the topic. If the headlines read, “Promiscuity or discouragement against marriage to be part of Democrat’s platform”, as believers, we would have taken a moral stance against these too.

Gay marriage is not now, nor will it ever be a civil rights or political issue in the Kingdom of God. It is just plain sin! And, as ambassadors of righteousness, we take a Biblical stand against not only this sinful practice, but all sin. Although the New Testament never calls for the physical death of sinners, sin is just as deadly today as it ever was. We have to tell a dying world that there is a loving alternative to eternal damnation.

When you go to the ballot box this November and any other time in the future, remember that your vote embraces or rejects specific political platforms. You either cast a vote consistent with the Word of God or against Him. It’s that simple!

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Don’t Tell It Like It Is by Kenneth Copeland

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:21

Words are serious business. And, as believers, we need to get serious about learning how to use them. We need to begin to put them to work for us like God Himself does. The Bible tells us that He uses words to “call those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17).

Most of us don’t have the faintest idea how to do that. We’ve spent our lives “telling it like it is.” We’ve constantly used our mouths to report on the sorry state of affairs around us. Thus, the very thought of calling “things which be not as though they were” seems a little crazy.

“You mean I’m supposed to say, ‘I’m healed’ when I’m feeling sick? I’m supposed to say, ‘I’m prosperous’ when I’m penniless?” we say. “That sounds like lying to me.”

No, no. There’s a vast difference between lying and speaking by faith. A lie is meant to deceive someone. It’s designed to make someone believe something that’s not true. But to speak by faith is simply to speak words that agree with the Word of God instead of the circumstances around you. It’s speaking from your spirit instead of from your mind.

As the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:13, “We have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak” (The Amplified Bible).

Now that’s important. Read that verse again. “I have believed, and therefore have I spoken.”

There are some folks who speak the words, but they don’t have the faith to back it up, and as a result, they fall flat on their spiritual faces. They didn’t actually “call things that be not as though they were.” They called things that be not the way they wished they were.

Those are two very different things. The words may be the same. But just wishing and hoping won’t get the job done. You’ve got to “believe.”

Begin today bringing both your tongue and your heart in line with the Word. Stop “telling it like it is” and start speaking and believing the promises of God. Put the power of words to work for you.

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Talk Like God! By Kenneth Copeland

“Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23).

Jesus didn’t say, “Whosoever shall speak to God about this mountain.” He said we should speak directly to the mountain the desired end result.

From a worldly point of view, that sounds foolish. But 1 Corinthians 1:27 explains that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. It’s always going to sound foolish to the world when a Christian talks as if what God has promised is reality, especially when those promises seem to contradict the natural evidence around us. But if you want to keep the enemy defeated, that’s the kind of talking you’d better be doing.

The Bible says God Himself talks that way! In Romans 4:17, it says, “(He) calleth those things which be not as though they were.” God doesn’t wait for circumstances to line up before He speaks. He causes them to line up because He speaks. You can do the same thing if you’ll make your words agree with His and speak them out of your mouth by faith.

“But what if nothing happens right away?” you may ask. “What if the circumstances don’t immediately change?” When Jesus spoke to the fig tree in Mark 11:14, He didn’t go back and check to see if anything had happened to it. No, once He had spoken it, He considered it done.

Follow His example. Let your faith speak. Agree with God’s Word!

Scripture Reading: Mark 11:12-23

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Are You On Fire? 
By Jerry Savelle 
 
Fire is a consuming force that when ignited, it will intensify and grow. As we allow God to ignite within us His vision, purpose, and dreams for our life, it will begin to intensify and grow until it completely consumes our very being. 

As with fire, your dream needs ignition and fuel to burn. God will ignite a dream in your heart, but you must continually add the fuel of the Word of God to your dream in order to keep it burning. 

There will be opportunities for other people, the enemy, and even yourself to try to throw water on your dreams, but you must continually protect and feed your dream until it comes to pass. Be determined now to let that fire motivate you, drive you and consume you to keep your dreams alive! 

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” People without a vision are nonproductive people! There is nothing more tragic than to let go of your vision and have no drive, no motivation, and no fire! 

You can get around certain people and know in five minutes that they have no vision! Why? They have no fire! They have no drive! No motivation! They are just…existing! Their favorite scripture is “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” They just want out! 

When you spend time in God’s Word and realize that God has called you for a purpose, there is a zeal or a fire that burns on the inside of you. Just knowing that God thinks so much of you that He called you to fulfill this calling should excite you! 

Some people have the attitude of “Well, I’ve tried this or that and nothing happened.” That’s not an excuse to give up! The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 

We need to constantly refresh ourselves in the scriptures (add fuel to the fire). Go out of your way to spend time with the Lord and read His Word. You have to stir yourself up in the Word. 

It is very easy to become relaxed and not go after anything, but you have to hunger for more of God’s Word and hunger for your dreams to be fulfilled. Don’t just settle for a life with no purpose! God wants to useyou! 

God responds to hunger. He wants you to hunger and thirst for this vision. Don’t just say, “If it happens, it happens.” Go after it! Jesus said, “When you are hungry and thirsty, you shall be filled.” 

Don’t wait any longer! God is waiting on you to get that fire back in your life and hunger to see this dream fulfilled! 

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