Today, we want to yet
consider another aspect of “WHAT IS FAITH?” In Hebrews 11:1, God describes what Bible faith really does or how it
works.
Faith is the
EVIDENCE of the things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith
is…, the evidence of things not seen.” Now faith is......., the
evidence of things you cannot pick up with your physical senses.
In other words, what God is saying in Hebrews 11:1 is
that faith is taking hold of the unseen
realm, and bringing it into the realm of reality.
Faith is the evidence that the things in the spirit
realm which we cannot see with our physical eyes do really exist – for
instance, Heaven.
Faith means that though we may not see the outcome now
but we are sure of the end result.
Since the Word of God equals faith, Hebrews 11:1 can
read, “Now the Word of God (the promise God made in His Word concerning
your situation) is…, the evidence of things not seen.”
Here is the truth: you can’t have faith without showing (expressing) it because
it is the EVIDENCE. Faith itself proves that what is unseen is real. That
implies that the Word of God (the promise of God concerning your situation)
proves that what is unseen is real.
For instance, the evidence that God loves us is that
He gave the unspeakable gift to us. Here God demonstrated (expressed) that He
loves the world by giving His only begotten Son to become our substitute.
In John 3:16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.”
What is
evidence? Evidence is something that gives a sign or proof of
the existence of something. It is that which helps you to come to a particular
conclusion.
In 2 Corinthians 4:18 the Bible says, “While
we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not
seen are eternal.”
The evidence of
your faith is called corresponding action. Acting on
what God has said in His Word is the evidence of your faith.
For instance, if you are experiencing some symptoms
like barrenness, if God said in His Word that none shall be known to be barren
in the land, then that settles it because that promise is the evidence that you
shall not continue to be barren.
In Exodus 23:25-26 God said, “And ye shall serve the Lord your
God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I 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 I will fulfil.”
The evidence that you believe God is that you go and
start buying baby things even when you have not even had any carnal
relationship with your spouse.
Are you plagued
by sickness and disease? If God’s Word says that by His stripes you’ve been
made whole (1 Pet. 2:24), then the evidence of your faith is that you forget
about the drugs that the doctor has prescribed for you and thank God for a
perfect healing.
Are you in a
wheel chair, and you have been prayed for, the evidence
of your faith is that you stand up from that wheel chair immediately and walk
whether you feel like it or not.
Examples of
people that had an evidence for their faith abound:
1. The man
that was paralyzed for 38 years. In John 5:8 Jesus said to the man that had
been paralysed for 38 years, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” The evidence of the man’s
faith was that he immediately took up his bed, and walked (Jn. 5:9).
2.
The man with the withered hand. In
Mark 3:5 Jesus said to the man that had withered hand, “Stretch forth
thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the
other.”
3. Peter walked on water. Matthew 14:27-29
says, “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.”
The
evidence of his faith was that he immediately acted on the instruction given to
him by Jesus.
4. Elijah and the Zarephath widow (1 Ki. 17:13-16). The evidence of the widow’s
faith was that he immediately acted on the instructions of God spoken
through His prophet, Elisha (1 Ki. 17:15-16).
5. In John 5:8 Jesus said to the man that has been
paralysed for 38 years, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”
The evidence of the man’s faith was that immediately he took up his bed, and
walked (Jn. 5:9).
6. A good example of faith as an evidence
of things not seen is the case of the birth of our second son, KK. We believed
God for two sons long before we went to the altar. So, way back in Germany, we
bought the things that a male child would need. We did not buy any unisex
material because unisex speaks of doubt [second thought]. When we came back to
Nigeria, within the next one year, God gave us a male child – KK.
7. Another good example is the case of our
beloved brother, Pastor Henry Akporeha. When the wife was heavy with the second
child, they went for a scan so as to know the gender of the baby. In spite of
the fact that they have believed God for a male child, the scan said that the
baby was a female. The wife looked down cast when that result was pronounced.
But the husband said in his mind, “Though the scan result read a female child,
I believe God for a male child. To prove that I mean what I believe, I will go
and buy the materials for a male child because God does not fail.” So he went
and bought things for a male child, not unisex. When the child was born, he was
a male. If you take a close look at the place where the sex organs are usually
located, you will discover for yourself that heaven carried out a surgical
operation on that child to agree with the faith of Pastor Henry who, in spite
of the scan result, believed God for a male child. If you take the step of
faith to act on God’s Word, God will reach out to you and do what you cannot
do. When you do the natural, God will do the supernatural. When you do the
ordinary, God will do the extraordinary.
Therefore, if you want that reproach
in your life to be permanently rolled away right now, you must choose to put action
behind what you believe by acting on God’s Word. Act on His
promises and then rest in His power and faithfulness. Until you act on God’s
Word, it will never become a reality and there will be no change in your
situation. It is not praying or crying, but it is acting on what God has spoken
that brings results. 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)
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