WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE?

Many Christians today are not seeing the manifestations of God’s promises in their lives because they claim to believe while they actually don’t.

Trust is a critical element of faith. Without trust you cannot believe. For instance, a three-year-old boy stands hesitantly on the edge of the pool. His father, waist deep in the water, stretches out his hands saying, “Jump! I’ll catch you!  The child might believe his father can catch him, but without trust he will never jump.

It is possible that the father promised to buy him some sweet in the past but did not fulfill it. Now the child may think that his father is “Mr. Promise and Fail,” so he cannot really trust him to catch him as he said.

Here is the lesson: if you can’t trust someone you can’t believe him. If you observe integrity in someone’s life, you can trust him. And if you can trust him, you can believe what he is saying.

For instance, with all that Peter knew about Jesus, he was able to trust Him enough to believe Him. This confidence in Jesus (that He never fails) was what gave him the boldness to step out of the boat and walk on water, to go to Jesus.

The Bible says, “…when the disciples saw Jesus 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” (Matt. 14:26-29).

You cannot believe someone you don’t trust. The Bible says, “Confidence (trust) in an unfaithful person (one devoid of integrity) in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Prov. 25:19).

What does it mean to trust someone? “To trust” in somebody means to rely on the integrity, strength, and ability of that person.

We can trust God completely because He is completely reliable (dependable). He keeps all His promises (Ps. 145:13b; Ps. 146:16c).

The Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).

Nahum 1:7 says, “The LORD …knoweth them that trust in Him.”

Do you trust the LORD? If you really trust Him you will instantly believe whatever He says. And if you really believe, you will act on His Word without any delay.

Now here is the point: God has a craving to be believed. That is His passion. If you don’t trust Him enough to believe Him, you will never receive anything from Him.

2 Chronicles 20:20b says, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.”

In John 6:64 Jesus said, “But there are some of you who do not believe.”

In Isaiah 7:9 God said, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”

In Matthew 21:22 Jesus said, “And ALL THINGS, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

Luke 1:45 says, “And blessed is she/he that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her/him from the Lord.”

What is the evidence that you believe the promise of God? The evidence is that you act on that promise. “And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver” (Acts 19:18-19).

Now, let us consider some questions: Question 1. What does it mean to believe?

a) “To believe” in something means to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or reliability of that thing, without any absolute proof that you are right in doing so.

b) To believe means to accept as true or as conveying the truth.

c) It means to place one's trust in God's truth; it means to take God at His Word and trust in Him for salvation. Trusting in God is a conscious dependence on God, much like leaning on a tree for support.

c) To believe means to be fully persuaded of God's revealed truth; to rely on God's promises.

d) A belief that saves is one that rests in the finished work of Christ; it trusts Jesus alone for salvation (Jn. 3:16; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5-6).

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

Five signs follow believers: Jesus said, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name

         i.            They shall cast out devils;

        ii.            They shall speak with new tongues;

      iii.            They shall take up serpents; and

      iv.            If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;

        v.            They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mk 16:17-18).

Question 2: With what does one believe? One believes with his heart. “For with the heart man believeth…….” (Rom. 10:10).

The word “heart” does not refer to the human physical organ of the body. The word “heart” is also used to convey a thought.

When we talk about the heart of a tree, what do we really mean? We mean the centre, the very core of that tree. So when we talk about the heart of a subject we mean the most important part of that subject.

Now when God speaks of the human heart, He is not talking about the physical organ that pumps your 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:

a) The spirit of man. Man is a spirit; he possesses a soul; and he lives in a house called the body (1 Thess. 5:23).

b) The real you (1 Cor. 9:27; Rom. 12:1).

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

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

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

Question 3: What does it mean to believe with the heart? To believe with the heart means to believe with your spirit, 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 hand or leg.

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 body or the outward man, 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 must be based on the Word of God only. Those who are prayed for repeatedly but do not receive their healing do not have faith in the promise God has made concerning their healing. They do not believe. And you can only be established when you believe what He has promised concerning your situation (Isa. 7:9).

Because they do not see that they are healed or have some physical evidence of it, they don’t believe it. Heart faith believes the Word of God first; then the physical evidence will manifest.

In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “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. You can’t understand this with your head. The things of the Spirit of God are foolishness unto the natural mind and the Bible is of the Spirit of God. The Scriptures are spiritually discerned. You have to understand it with your spirit. How is it that your spirit obtains faith which your intellect cannot obtain? The answer is through the Word of God.

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Jesus is speaking here of spiritual food. Your spirit becomes filled with assurance and confidence as you meditate on the Word of God. You become strengthened in your inner man (Eph. 3:16).

The Word of God is the spiritual food that builds the spirit. The Word of God is the food that makes your spirit man strong and gives it quiet assurance.

If you want to walk by faith, the Word of God must be superior to anything and everything else. It must be superior to any knowledge. When you trust the Lord with all your heart [spirit man] and stop leaning to your own understanding [according to what you can see, feel, touch, smell etc.], a quietness and peace come into your spirit man, because the Word of God says in Isaiah 26:3, “God will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Him, because he trusts in Him.”

Hebrews 4:3 says, “For we who have believed do enter into rest…..”

Our hearts take courage as we read the Word of God. As you meditate on His Word, your assurance become deeper and your confidence in God becomes stronger. This assurance in your spirit man is independent of your human reasoning or human knowledge. It may contradict human reasoning. It may even contradict physical evidence. Believing God with the heart means to believe apart from what your body is saying. It means believing God independent of your sense knowledge. Listen friend, to look so as to see whether God is healing you or not is a sign of doubt and it is a sin.

You know that when you hear the Word of God   preached, you hear it with your physical ears. Then it goes through your natural mind before it goes into your heart or inward man. The Holy Spirit, through the Word you hear speaks to your inward man.

1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “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.”

Another translation puts it this way, “The natural man or the natural mind does not understand the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.”

The reason why the Word of God is foolish to the natural mind is because you don’t understand the Scriptures with your head [your mind]; it is spiritually understood. Since the Word of God is spirit (Jn. 6:63) it can only be understood by a spirit. The Word of God is of the Spirit of God. This is why it is only understood with the spirit part of man.

You understand the Bible with your heart or your spirit-man. This is why you can read certain verses over and over without understanding the meaning. Then one day, as you are reading along, you suddenly see the truth of a particular verse of the Scriptures, and you say, “Why didn’t I ever see that before?” Well, you just then understood it with your heart, or spirit-man.

2 Peter 1:19 says, “We have also a more sure Word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts [spirit-man].”

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The Word of God is revealed only in the heart [spirit-man] of man. This is why we must depend on the Spirit of God to unveil and unfold the Word to us.

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.

Examples of people that believed God’s Word abound in the Scriptures:

1. Hannah (1 Sam 1:9-19). “…18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her” (1 Sam. 1:9-19).

2. Virgin Mary (Lk. 1:26-38). “…38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy Word…” (Lk 1:26-38).

Question: Do you therefore, believe the promises of God?  “Do you believe God can make you see? Do you believe God can increase your greatness this year?

Do you believe that this year, God has set an open door before you which no man can close (Rev. 3:8).

Do you believe God can make a way for you where men say there is no way?

Do you believe that you will live and not die to declare the works of the LORD?”

Therefore, I decree and declare that from today, all the things you have been looking for will start looking for you.

“God shall turn your mourning into joyful dancing” (Ps. 30:5b).

“Your enemies will be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for you” (Ps 140:9).

“God will give you a river of peace and prosperity. The wealth of the nations will flow to you” (Isa 66:12).

“And because you obey the instructions of the LORD, He will be an enemy to your enemies, and He will oppose those who oppose you” (Ex. 23:22).

“And because you serve the LORD your God, He shall bless your bread [food], and thy water; and He will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days God will fulfill” (Ex. 23:25-26).

Verse 26 says, “There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.”

“And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath” (Deut. 28:13).

“The Lord will perfect all that concerns you” (Ps. 138:8).

Therefore, if you want to overcome the world and increase in every aspect of your life, you must choose to believe God’s Word. Act on His promises and then rest in His power and faithfulness. Rise up and receive your miracle by faith today!

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

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                            July 2^nd, 2017!

Promise for the week: “God will increase your greatness, and comfort you on every side” (Ps. 71:21).