FCFI Newsletter – February 2019

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Below, please find an excerpt from the newsletter.

THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 4:13, “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.”

The spirit of faith is hearing, believing and speaking what God has already spoken. One man put it this way, “The principles of faith are taught but the spirit of faith is caught.” I can teach you the principles of faith, how faith works and how to release it but to walk in the spirit of faith, it is something you have to pick up in your spirit. You must catch it. In this article, I am going to share with you how to “catch” the spirit of faith.

In the Word, we see men doing mighty exploits by the Power of God. As I began to read and study the Word, I found that they all had something in common and that is the spirit of faith. This spirit of faith was passed from generation to generation. Remember, it is not taught. Before you catch something, you must spend time around what you are trying to catch. If we hang around those who are walking in the realm of faith, we can catch on to what is taking place and we too can operate with the same spirit of faith.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” When we hear what God has promised us, its causes faith to come into our spirits. The Word says in Mark 4:24, “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.” What Jesus was saying here was: the way you hear it is the way you are going to get it. If we are ever going to walk with the spirit of faith, we are going to have to pay close attention to what we are listening to. There are a lot of different sounds in the church world today and not all we are hearing is the sound of faith. When we hear things spoken other than what the Word says, it’s going to bring something other than faith. Most of the time it brings fear, doubt, confusion and many other negative results. We must realize that our hearing has a lot to do with our having. That’s why the Word says that faith comes by hearing.

Believing is the next ingredient to having the spirit of faith. We just can’t believe anything; we must believe what God’s Word says. Believing is of the heart. The Word says in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Notice the part of the verse that says, “with the heart man believeth.” Believing must be of the heart and not the head. Our head will rebel at times. It doesn’t like to believe something that it can’t understand in the natural realm. Our heads will tell us that nothing is making sense, but when we listen to our heart, it will lead us to victory.

Religion and traditions will also try to hinder us from receiving from God, but we must make a heart decision to believe the Word on purpose. It must be of the heart. What we hear in abundance will affect what we believe. True faith believes exactly what the Bible says and knows it is so and that if we believe, it will come to pass just as God has said.

Let’s look once again to 2 Corinthians 4:13. It 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.”

After we hear and believe, the next thing we must do is speak. We must give voice to what we believe. Some call it The Voice of Faith. Everything has a voice but not every voice speaks good things. Faith has a voice and it is the voice of Victory. Glory to God! If you are in need of victory today, you need to tap into the spirit of faith and allow that spirit to speak victory into your situation.

According to Luke 6:45, the Word tells us, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” This is a good guide to go by. If something other than the word of faith is continually coming out of your mouth, then you must stop what you are allowing in your heart. This is the time for God’s people to press in and keep walking by faith regardless of the situation that we may be facing. Remember, the Word instructs the Just to live by faith.

Let’s take a look at a man who had the spirit of faith. Numbers 14:24 says, “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”

The Bible said that Caleb had another spirit. What was that spirit? It was the spirit of faith. You see, Caleb heard God say that He had already given the promised land to the Children of Israel. All they had to do was go in and possess it. Moses sent out twelve spies to spy out the land and to bring back a report. Ten out of the twelve came back with an evil, or negative, report. Their report was, “We can’t. It’s impossible. We are too weak.” Caleb, on the other hand, looked at the same land, saw the same giants and came back with a victorious report. He said, “We are well able. Let’s go up at once.”

What made the difference? What they heard and believed. You see, the ten never truly heard the Word that God spoke to them that said, “I have given the land to you,” and because they never heard, they couldn’t believe with the heart. They had doubt and fear instead of faith and when they opened up their mouths, the abundance in their hearts spoke. But Caleb heard the Word, believed it in his heart and regardless of what he saw, he was convinced that he was able to possess the promised land. His faith gave voice and it was the voice of victory. Caleb had a spirit of faith.

Are you being faced with something right now and don’t know what to do or how to handle it? Get into the Word and find out what God has to say about the situation. Put that Word in your heart and meditate on it until it comes out of your mouth with a Voice of Victory!

Kenneth E. Harbaum, President