My Friends,
Why is growing your faith so crucial, especially right now? Where you fit in to these prophetic times depends largely upon your level or measure of faith. The measure of your faith determines the direction of your life. It sees the invisible, believes the impossible, and does the incredible. Your faith level can literally change everything for you!
In Hebrews 11:1, 6, the Bible tells us:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen….Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
In Hebrews 11, “the faith chapter,” we are given numerous examples of those who impacted history through their faith: Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Imagine how Abraham’s faith grew and flourished against all odds according to Hebrews 11:8-10:
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
So it was with all the powerful men and women listed in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith. And today, God has given to every believer “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) which must grow. But how?
Impossible Circumstances Call for Unusual Actions!
As mentioned, the Bible is filled with examples of growing faith. Let’s look closer at one special account. Many times I’ve shared the account in 2 Kings 4:1-7, where Elisha was approached by a widow in great distress. Her late husband had been in ministry with Elijah and Elisha, and after Elijah was taken to heaven, then her husband passed away, she was caught in a terrible situation of debt and lack. She had been left penniless. The creditors were demanding payment and were determined to take her two sons as bondsmen if she did not pay. (Mosaic Law gave the right to claim children of the debtor who could not pay, and they were then forced to serve the creditors until the next year of Jubilee.) God heard the cry of the widow’s heart. Elisha never asked her for anything, nor did he receive anything from her. He was simply sent to give her a word that would change her life forever, for God saw beyond the woman’s circumstances, beyond the actual and factual.
Elisha did not focus on the widow’s bleak situation and what she did not have. Instead, he asked what she did have. God already knew what she had—a pot of oil! Impossible circumstances call for unusual actions! Elisha told the widow to do something that made absolutely no sense in the natural. She had only one vessel of oil, but he told her to go and borrow every container she and her sons could lay their hands on. She faced an impossible situation, yet look what God did. She poured oil into container after container until all the vessels were running over with oil! Think how her sons reacted, for those containers of oil meant that they no longer had to face a lifetime as bondsmen! Within moments, the widow went from being penniless and facing the loss of her sons to suddenly realizing that everything had changed. Elisha instructed her to sell the oil, pay off the debts, and live on the profits! Needless to say, she wasted no time and followed the prophet’s instructions. Just a pot of oil and a word from God, spoken through His prophet Elisha, changed everything. Her debt was canceled and she had plenty left over.
What’s in Your Hands?
You may face dire circumstances as our world plunges headlong into chaotic political and financial times, but what do you have that God can use to turn everything around for you? That pot of oil became the widow’s secret to success and financial breakthrough. That pot of oil represented her faith, and her act of sacrifice was the very act that shattered the grip of want and poverty forever. What she did with it changed her family, her fortune, and her future.
· What do you have in your house?
· What do you have in your hands?
If you will pour out your faith, God will use what you have. The pot is not a gift, a talent, or money—it is your faith.
· What are you doing with that faith?
· What is in your house, your heart, and your hands that God can use mightily?
When you start expressing your faith, God will begin to multiply it, because faith always fills the situation when you begin to give it away. And if you don’t use your faith, it will wither away.
Faith is the Fuel of God’s Kingdom!
Faith is the power that keeps us alive and living abundantly on earth, no matter what happens around us. Do you want to see God’s miraculous hand on your life? It is time to pour out what you have—your faith! In fact Hebrews 11:6 says:
“Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Faith pleases God! Now is your time! God’s outpouring and harvest are ready to be unleashed in your life. You may feel you have only a little, like the widow, but what God can do with something precious to you will transform your life forever. It’s time to start seeing yourself as God sees you. In Romans 12:1-3, we see:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
God sees you as powerful and filled with faith! Allow Him to renew your mind. Begin to see yourself in Christ as God sees you. That begins and ends with faith. The reformer Martin Luther once said:
“Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. Then, it accepts the impossible, does without the indispensable, and bears the intolerable.”
See yourself as God sees you—justified by faith, secure, a prayer warrior, healed, victorious, cleansed, and walking intimately with Him! It’s time for believers to rise out of the ashes of defeat and start living by a growing faith on the mountain tops!
Change your Circumstances, Beginning Today
If you want to change where you are right now, spiritually and financially, what are you willing to do in faith? Sowing financial seed will change everything. As you plant your most generous seed today, you will be acting in faith and moving into a new dimension that can unlock the door to great blessings in your life, for our Lord Jesus gave us this promise in Luke 6:38:
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Sow your seed-gift with mighty expectation for today and the future! Today, whatever seed God has placed in your hands, sow it, and believe for God to multiply that seed, because; in 2 Corinthians 9:6 we read:
“He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
Seed cannot multiply until it is sown! God will cause your faith to grow and flourish. Obey the Lord. Simply sow your financial seed toward the spread of the Gospel, then declare His promises, and see what God will do for you. All He is looking for is your obedience and faithfulness, and the right time is right now!
Sow today, declare His promises today, and the God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you ask and think will surely prosper you, bless you, and increase you without measure! The time is short. These prophetic days make everything we do more urgent and needed. Billions of souls hang in the balance, and what we do, we must do quickly. Now is the time, for your greatest days are ahead. Because you give faithfully toward the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you can be assured that your future is so much greater than your past and your tomorrows can be more prosperous than anything you have known before!
For the glorious and eternal cause of our precious Lord, Jesus Christ,
Walter Beatty
The measure of your faith determines the direction of your life. It sees the invisible, believes the impossible, and does the incredible. Your faith level can literally change everything for you! Grow your faith by planting your most sacrificial seed to help us reach the lost and needy around the world.
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