Exercise Your Faith
Ecclesiastes 1:13 says “and I gave my heart to seek and search out by
wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven; this sore travail has
God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith”. And we read in
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 what the whole duty of man is; it says “let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter; fear God, and keep His commandments; for
this is the whole duty of man”.
It takes some practice and exercise to learn what God desires for us, and the
best way to learn is to jump into the word of God, and begin to do what it
says. Jesus says in (Matthew 7:24-27) “therefore, whosoever hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a
rock. And every one that hears these sayings of Mine; and does them not;
shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And
the rain descended; and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it”.
We have to exercise the authority that Jesus gave to us (Matthew 16:19) “and
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever you shall
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven”. Before Jesus said this, He said that He will
build His church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” verse 18.
We exercise our authority with words. Psalms 68:11 says “the Lord gave the
word; great was the company of those that published it”. Job 22:28 says “you
shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you, and the light shall
shine upon your ways”. II Corinthians 4:13 says “we having the same spirit of
faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken, we also
believe, and therefore speak”.
Jesus demonstrated this to us and He was tempted in the wilderness by the
devil (Matthew 4:3-11) “and when the temper came to Him, he said, if You be
the Son of God command that these stones be made bread. But He answered
and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil takes Him up into the holy
city, and sets Him on a pinnacle of the temple. And says to Him, if You be the
Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels
charge concerning You; and in their hands they shall bear You up, less at any
time, You dash Your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, it is written
again; you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil takes Him up
into an exceeding high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them. And says to Him, all these things will I give You, if You
will fall down and worship me. Then says Jesus to him, get you from here
satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall
you serve. Then the devil leaves Him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered to Him”.
Jesus teaches us that we can have what we say if we doubt not, in Mark 11:22-
24 Jesus says “and Jesus answering said to them, Have faith in God. For
verily I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, be you removed,
and be you cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe
that those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever
he says. Therefore I say to you, what things so ever you desire, when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them”. But many
people are not exercising what they say.
The apostle Paul teaches Timothy how and we can learn from this in (I
Timothy 4:6-8, and 11-16) it says “if you put the brethren in remembrance of
these things, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the
words of faith and of good doctrine, whereto you have attained. But refuse
profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself rather to godliness. For
bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable to all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. These things
command and teach. Let no man despise your youth; but be you an example
of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not
the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of
the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly
to them; that your profiting may appear to all. Take heed to yourself, and to
the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this you shall both save yourself,
and them that hear you”.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have to exercise our senses (Hebrews 5:
9-14; 6:1) “and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation
to all them that obey Him. Called of God a high priest after the order of
Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered,
seeing you are dull of hearing. For when for the time you ought to be
teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles
of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk; and not of
strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of
righteousness; for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of
full age; even those who be reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God”.
Abraham didn’t become fully persuaded until he began to say what God said
about him. God had told him that he was the father of many nations, but
Abraham saw himself childless. But after God changed his name from Abram
to Abraham, he began to say what God said. You see Abraham means
“father of many nations” and every time he would say his name he was
affirming what God said about him.
Romans 4:17-22 says “as it is written, I have made you a father of many
nations, before Him whom he believed, even God, who makes alive the dead,
and calls those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope
believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according
to that which was spoken, so shall your seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred
years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.
And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to
perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness”.
We have to began to what God says about us. That is called mixing our faith.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: October 18, 2011
Ecclesiastes 1:13 says “and I gave my heart to seek and search out by
wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven; this sore travail has
God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith”. And we read in
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 what the whole duty of man is; it says “let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter; fear God, and keep His commandments; for
this is the whole duty of man”.
It takes some practice and exercise to learn what God desires for us, and the
best way to learn is to jump into the word of God, and begin to do what it
says. Jesus says in (Matthew 7:24-27) “therefore, whosoever hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a
rock. And every one that hears these sayings of Mine; and does them not;
shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And
the rain descended; and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it”.
We have to exercise the authority that Jesus gave to us (Matthew 16:19) “and
I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever you shall
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven”. Before Jesus said this, He said that He will
build His church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” verse 18.
We exercise our authority with words. Psalms 68:11 says “the Lord gave the
word; great was the company of those that published it”. Job 22:28 says “you
shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you, and the light shall
shine upon your ways”. II Corinthians 4:13 says “we having the same spirit of
faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken, we also
believe, and therefore speak”.
Jesus demonstrated this to us and He was tempted in the wilderness by the
devil (Matthew 4:3-11) “and when the temper came to Him, he said, if You be
the Son of God command that these stones be made bread. But He answered
and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil takes Him up into the holy
city, and sets Him on a pinnacle of the temple. And says to Him, if You be the
Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels
charge concerning You; and in their hands they shall bear You up, less at any
time, You dash Your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, it is written
again; you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil takes Him up
into an exceeding high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them. And says to Him, all these things will I give You, if You
will fall down and worship me. Then says Jesus to him, get you from here
satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall
you serve. Then the devil leaves Him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered to Him”.
Jesus teaches us that we can have what we say if we doubt not, in Mark 11:22-
24 Jesus says “and Jesus answering said to them, Have faith in God. For
verily I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, be you removed,
and be you cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe
that those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever
he says. Therefore I say to you, what things so ever you desire, when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them”. But many
people are not exercising what they say.
The apostle Paul teaches Timothy how and we can learn from this in (I
Timothy 4:6-8, and 11-16) it says “if you put the brethren in remembrance of
these things, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the
words of faith and of good doctrine, whereto you have attained. But refuse
profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself rather to godliness. For
bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable to all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. These things
command and teach. Let no man despise your youth; but be you an example
of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not
the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of
the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly
to them; that your profiting may appear to all. Take heed to yourself, and to
the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this you shall both save yourself,
and them that hear you”.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have to exercise our senses (Hebrews 5:
9-14; 6:1) “and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation
to all them that obey Him. Called of God a high priest after the order of
Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered,
seeing you are dull of hearing. For when for the time you ought to be
teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles
of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk; and not of
strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of
righteousness; for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of
full age; even those who be reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God”.
Abraham didn’t become fully persuaded until he began to say what God said
about him. God had told him that he was the father of many nations, but
Abraham saw himself childless. But after God changed his name from Abram
to Abraham, he began to say what God said. You see Abraham means
“father of many nations” and every time he would say his name he was
affirming what God said about him.
Romans 4:17-22 says “as it is written, I have made you a father of many
nations, before Him whom he believed, even God, who makes alive the dead,
and calls those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope
believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according
to that which was spoken, so shall your seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred
years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.
And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to
perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness”.
We have to began to what God says about us. That is called mixing our faith.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: October 18, 2011
