Hebrews 4:2
… the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
According to this scripture you have to have faith for God’s word to work for you. In the world we still see the results of the curse all around us with sinful opportunities lurking behind every corner, danger and many other problems. God sent His son into the world that the world through Jesus might be saved by His grace through faith. It takes faith for salvation, healing, deliverance or anything else God has promised. We can feed on the things of the fallen world (which weaken our faith) or we can feed on God’s Word (which strengthens our faith). For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17.) For by grace are we saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9.) Even knowing all this, and trying to operate in faith, sometimes it seems like God is holding back His promises. This is not the case according to the scripture above; it takes faith for God’s Word to profit us in our lives.
God is Not Holding Back
Sometimes we think we get what we deserve and forget that Jesus was crucified and didn’t deserve that. This happened to Jesus so that we who did deserve punishment got the blessings Jesus deserved instead. Without our merits we obtained the righteousness that God gave us. But being human we still have the mentality that we deserve or don’t deserve by our actions, and in the kingdom of God this type thinking will get us nowhere. For example, if I quit doing some bad habit because I think it is hindering my relationship with God, I am quitting the bad habit for the wrong motive thinking my works will obtain God’s favor. On the other hand if I realize that my faith is required for God’s word to be actively working in my life and bad habits hinder my faith, then I am quitting the bad habit for the correct motive. Once we are born again we have an inheritance that is incorruptible and reserved in heaven for us, our bad habits or wrong actions won’t forfeit our inheritance we receive after we leave earth. But by understanding faith can be weakened or strengthened by the choices we make, and making the correct choice to strengthen our faith, we can receive our inheritance before we get to heaven living in the blessings of God right here on the earth.
How to have Strong Faith
We are a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body; in that order. But sometimes we get the order mixed up forgetting the body is just a shell that houses our spirit. We let our flesh dictate to us what it wants and we feed our soul on Babylon type nourishment. If I fill my soul full of these Babylonian fleshly desires (which are: fables, stories (true or not), drunkenness, porn, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, etc…) I am wreaking my soul power and hindering my faith… (By the way, all this is contained in most movies nowadays.) Christians have been made the righteousness of God in Christ and are going to heaven… nothing is held against a Christian or going to change that… even feeding on Babylon junk food isn’t held against Christians. In heaven God will welcome us with open arms, even running to us like the father ran to the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15, but once we get to heaven we will realize that we left a lot on the table and missed out on many blessings in this life on earth by not filling our spiritual tank with proper fuel.
Building Strong Will Power
When we decide that we want the best God has for us and realize we can’t earn it and God wants to give it to us, we can live the most amazing life here on earth. All we have to do to get this blessed life on earth is to quit contaminating the fuel tank. I remember years ago there were a chain of gas stations I would not buy gas at, for it seemed I always got water in my gas when I bought gas there. If a person was to add contaminated fuel to a vehicle, then the vehicle won’t run right. It is the same with our soul, which is our mind, which operates the faith of our spirit and our will power. When I fill it with God’s Word, the truths of God’s Word build strength in my will power (soul), which builds strength in my faith and sets me free from bondage. I won’t be able to find the will power to quit being a soul food junky without God’s Power strengthening my will power. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the One who holds all things together, and He has the answers because He Himself is the answer. It’s all about Jesus!
Beloved, when we are building up our minds with God’s Word we are strengthening our will power and we become over-comers gaining the strong Godly will power to tell the devil to take a hike; and take all his Babylon trash with him. Rest in the Lord and be strong in the power of His might and He will strengthen your faith which proceeds from the heart of your spirit! (Psalm 31:24)
Additional Links:
http://biblehub.com/ephesians/2-8.htm
http://biblehub.com/romans/10-17.htm
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+31%3A24&version=KJV
