WALKING BY FAITH

Today, we want to focus on the fourth principle of breakthrough – “WALKING BY FAITH!”  

Many Christians are not able to receive their breakthroughs from God because they walk by sight. To receive the breakthrough you desire, you MUST walk by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we (children of God) walk by faith, not by sight.”

What does it mean to walk by sight? It means to do things according to what your five senses are telling you.

For instance, Jesus promised us that by His stripes we have been made whole (Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24). But you believe that you have been healed only when the fever has gone.

The things you see with your physical eyes, the things you touch, the things you taste, the things you smell and the things you hear are all temporal while the things you don’t see are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

What does it mean to walk by faith? To walk by faith means to believe and act on what God promised you in His Word concerning your situation in spite of contrary evidences.

For instance, Jesus promised us that by His stripes we have been made whole (Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24). And you receive that Word and believe that you have been healed even when you are still battling with the fever.

To walk by faith you must first of all believe what God has promised in His Word concerning your situation before you can see the expected manifestation! If you are going to wait until you confirm that every symptom of that sickness that has been plaguing your body is gone and everything is fine before you believe God, then you are not walking by faith at all, and you’ll never see the result you are expecting.

What does it mean to believe?

1. To believe means to accept as true.

2. To believe means to take God at His Word and trust in Him alone for salvation. Trusting in God is a conscious dependence on God, much like leaning on a tree for support.

3. To believe means to be fully convinced of God's revealed truth; to fully rely on God's promises.

For instance, if you consider salvation, the belief that saves is one that rests on the finished work of Christ; it trusts Jesus Christ alone for salvation (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5-6).

Who then is a believer? A believer is anyone who has trusted God with his will as well as his mind (Rom. 1:16; 3:22; 1 Thess. 1:7).

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Rom. 3:22).

With what does one believe? One believes with the heart. “For with the heart man believeth…….” (Rom. 10:10).

Now when God speaks of the human “heart,” He is not talking about the physical organ, that great pumping station that pumps and sends blood throughout your body to keep your physical body alive. He is actually speaking of the “human spirit” which is the very centre of a man’s being.

The heart of man is:

1. The spirit of man. The real you (1 Cor. 9:27; Rom 12:1). Man is a spirit; he possesses a soul; and he lives in a house called the body (1 Thess. 5:23).

2. The inward man (Rom. 7:22).

3. The inner man (Eph. 3:16).

4. The hidden man of the heart (1 Pet. 3:4).

What then does it mean to believe with the heart?

To believe with the heart means to believe with your spirit-man, which is the unseen core of a person. You couldn’t believe with your physical heart any more than you could believe with your physical hands or legs.

To believe with the heart means to believe apart from what your physical body or your physical senses may be telling you.

What does the outward man believe? The outward man or the physical body believes what he sees with the physical eyes, hears with the physical ear, or what his physical feelings tell him.

What does the inward man believe? The inward man however believes only what the Word of God says, regardless of what the senses are saying - seeing, hearing, touching, tasting or smelling.

Faith has to do with your spirit man only. It has nothing to do with your soul or physical body. Therefore, faith must be based only on what the Word of God says. Those who are prayed for repeatedly but do not receive their breakthrough do not have faith in the Word of God. They do not believe (Isa. 7:9).

Because they do not have some physical evidence of it, they don’t believe it. Heart faith believes the Word of God first; then the manifestation of the physical evidence will follow.

In Mark 11:24 the Bible says, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever (1) ye desire, when ye pray, (2) believe that ye receive them, and (3) ye shall have them.”

You must believe before you can receive! “What things so ever ye desire” means exactly what it says. “When ye pray” means right then – the moment you pray. “Believe [first] that ye receive them [your desires] and ye shall have them [your desires].” That is to say, “You’ve got to believe you’ve got it before you get it.”

You must believe while you are still sick or while that trouble is still on, then the manifestation will appear. Many people would say, “I believe God is going to heal me.” But that is not New Testament believing. I know, because I have stayed on a condition for long enough time believing that and never got anything, until I acted on God’s Word. Notice that it says, “(1) Believe that ye receive them, and (2) ye shall have them.” You’ll believe it first, and then you’ll have it.

The very moment you believe God’s Word with your whole heart (inward man), it is settled in the realm of the spirit. Then the manifestation in the physical follows. The period between when it is settled in the spirit realm and the manifestation in the physical realm requires patience to pull through.

Believe and receive! When Jesus said, “…What things so ever you desire…,” He meant just exactly what it said (Mk 11:24). And when Jesus said, “…and when you pray…”He meant the very moment you pray.

You are to believe you receive whatsoever things you desire the very moment you pray. Jesus said, “…BELIEVE that you RECEIVE them, and you shall HAVE them.”

Simply put, Jesus is saying that you’ve got to believe you’ve gotten your answer before you get it!  Many people want to have their petition first before they believe they’ve got it. But Jesus says that you’ve got to believe it first, then you’ll have it.

The examples of so many that walked by faith abound in the Scriptures:

1. God the Father Himself. In spite of the hopelessness of the earth – the earth was without form, and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, God ignored the darkness He was seeing, and called the things that be not as though they were – He called light into existence.

Genesis 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, LET THERE BE LIGHT: and there was light.”

2. Peter walked on the Sea in spite of what science said. He believed and acted on God’s Word.

“And when He (Jesus) had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of LITTLE FAITH, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matt. 14:23-31).

3. Peter caught fish at an unusual hour, because he simply believed and acted on God’s instruction (Word) (Lk. 5:1-7).

Luke 5:1-7 says, “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him (Jesus) to hear the Word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

3 And He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto Him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy Word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both ships, so that they began to sink.”

4. A certain man with withered hand stretched forth his withered hand at Jesus’ command and the hand was made whole (Matt. 12:9-13). Notice that the man with the withered hand did not say, “Jesus, can’t You see that my hand is withered and that it cannot be stretched?” He simply obeyed because he trusted Jesus and refused to lean on what he was seeing (his own understanding).

5. The paralytic healed (Mk. 2:1-12). Again this paralytic believed God and did not lean to his own understanding.

6. Moses picked up a dangerous serpent at the Lord’s command. Men like Moses trusted the Lord enough as to pick up a venomous serpent by the tail (Ex. 4:1-5).

7. Moses trusted the Lord enough to stretch forth the rod at His command to part the Red Sea (Ex. 14:5-31).

8. Moses trusted the Lord enough to speak to the rock for drinking water to come (Num. 20:2-13).

9. The widow woman of Zarephath. This widow believed the Word the Lord spoke through His servant, Elijah. That Word gave substance to what she was expecting. That very Word was the evidence that she will receive that which she hath not yet seen – divine supply.

1 Kings 17:10-16 says, “…14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the Word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”

Therefore, if you want to receive the breakthrough you need from God, you must choose to walk by faith. Believe and act on God’s promises concerning your situation. Then rest on His power and faithfulness. Rise up and receive your breakthrough by faith today!

Watch out for the next edition of Good news from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                            Feb. 5^th, 2017