FAITH BUILDING - STEP 13 - COMMIT YOURSELF

COMMIT YOURSELF

We have saved until the last the greatest faith builder of all, which is to commit yourself to God and to Jesus Christ.

What do we mean by commit yourself? It is to give yourself to the Lord. Another way of saying it is to surrender your life to His control, to follow His guidance in all that you do and are.

I would like to tell you about a man who learned the greatest spiritual truth of all. He was under much stress from pressure and trouble. Then he surrendered his life to Christ. He simply said, “Lord, I give myself to You.” His faith prior to that time was weak and inadequate and he lacked joy and creative power.

But after he fully gave himself to Christ, he found his faith growing stronger. New joy came to him and he was able to work more effectively than ever before.

Another man who achieved great faith from small and weak beginnings had on his desk a framed statement: “What would Jesus do?” This constant challenge so changed his life from weakness to power that he had the statement made up for others. He gave more than 3000 of them to people everywhere, many of whom found strong faith and new life.

What is written here is not theoretical but the result of practical personal spiritual experiences. They have worked for others. They can work for you. Give yourself to God in faith and He will give Himself to you. The result will be a powerful faith strong enough to move huge mountains which heretofore have seemed impossible barriers. Make your own sincere commitment now.

Faith Passages

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9, 10)

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5)

For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. (Hebrews 3:14)

FAITH BUILDING - STEP 12 - KNOW THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

KNOW THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

The person who believes that seemingly impossible things can happen will develop an incredibly strong faith. In fact, you can measure your faith by your concept of the impossible.

People who grow a great faith are those who believe that nothing is too good to be true. Little minds see only little things and as a result only little things ever happen. But big minds see big things happening, for big faith brings big results.

An upstate New York farmer once said: “Think big, pray big, believe big, see God as big, and life will be big.”

Never build a case against yourself. Never settle for that which is small. Only be willing to accept from life the big things that life has to give to those who have a large faith in a God of greatness.

Practice letting your mind stretch itself. Deliberately think bigger and bigger thoughts of faith. Conceive of greater things occurring through your faith. Take a deep breath and venture out beyond your depth. Do not hug the shore; do not fear high places. You can go as far as you think you can. Think high and wide and deep and far.

You will never go any higher than your thoughts or your prayers or your faith. So practice stretching your faith. You can never stretch it higher than God. But you can stretch it to Him.

Faith Passages

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. (I John 5:14)

And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. (Luke 18:27)

But Jesus... said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. (Hebrews 10:35)

FAITH BUILDING - STEP 11 - LEARN TO TRUST

LEARN TO TRUST

Learning to trust is important in building faith.  Actually, we live on a trust basis every day. We trust the motorman of a train, the driver of a bus, the pilot of an airplane. We put our lives completely into the hands of those men. And we are quite willing to do so, for we have faith in them.

Here we are on this earth, a whirling island in the sky. Our lives are in the hands of Someone who directs its orbits and laws. Whether we like it or not, we are wholly dependent upon God, so we must trust Him. And we must trust Him without giving it a thought.

But how may we trust God in life’s daily affairs? One way is to know and love God. We trust human beings whom we know and love. And when you know God, His goodness, kindness and faithfulness, you will trust Him, for you will love Him. He will fulfill your trust. He will never let you down.

Do the best you can about everything and trust the outcome to God. Confidently trust Him to handle things beyond your efforts. He knows the facts. Every day, especially when you feel uncertain, try saying the following to yourself:

1. I put my life in God’s hands.

2. I will trust God’s guidance.

3. I leave the outcome to God.

Live close to God. Believe that He has the answers to your perplexities. The closer you live to Him the more sensitively will you pick up His thoughts for you. This will create in you a profound confidence. This will build up your faith.

Faith Passages

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, he also is become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. (II Samuel 22:3)

For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. (Psalm 71:5)

FAITH BUILDING - STEP 10 - PRACTICE YOUR FAITH

PRACTICE YOUR FAITH

In the development of any skill, continual practice is required. To become proficient in music or on the golf course or in anything, practice makes one, if not perfect, at least more competent.

So, in developing faith, practice faith in every possible situation. To do this is to use positive expressions such as: “This project is going to turn out well; this problem will come out satisfactorily.” Never say: “This project is doomed to failure; this problem is too difficult:’ Be affirmative in your attitudes.

What we say about a situation determines how we think about it and finally what we do about it. Attitude largely determines activity; so watch your attitude and make it one of faith. By practicing positive attitudes, your faith will grow stronger in faith and results will be creative.

In practicing faith, read inspirational material– books and articles by people who believe and about individuals who have achieved through faith. Of course, the greatest book is the Bible, but inspirational books will also help. Saturate your mind with them.

Associate with inspirational people, with persons who have themselves developed faith. Such associations will definitely strengthen your own faith. Someone else who has struggled through to acquire a creative faith will inspire you.

For this reason, become active in the church. Unhappily, there are negative people in the church; but the proportion of faith-minded people is higher there.

Faith Passages

The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. (Psalm 126:3)

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. (Proverbs 2:7)

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (II Corinthians 6:2)

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. (Ezekiel 36:26)

FAITH BUILDING - STEP 9 - PILEUP YOUR SECURITIES

PILEUP YOUR SECURITIES

One reason people have weak or little faith is due to a continual emphasis on their insecurities.

As a result, they develop a haunting feeling that something bad is going to happen. Over them constantly rests a cloud of sinister uncertainty.

One cannot mentally dwell upon insecurity without feeling insecure. And faith has great difficulty in taking root in a soil of insecurity.

To counteract this unhappy situation and negative influence in your life begin at once to dwell upon and emphasize the security factors in your life. Add up your “securities.”

If you felt poor, but had a number of securities in the safety deposit box in the bank you could go there, add them up and leave feeling pretty secure financially.

Similarly, make a list of the dependable and secure factors with which you are surrounded. Such things as the good earth, whose seed time and harvest can be depended upon. The sun never fails to come back and shine through the clouds. You have the love of your wife or husband, the love of children. Your heart still beats. You can eat and walk and think.

Go on and add to the list and over it all write the words “God” and “Jesus Christ.” As you habitually add up your securities, feelings of insecurity will diminish. Your faith will grow stronger.

Faith Passages

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. (Psalm 18:2)

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. (Psalm 46:2)

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)