Smith Wigglesworth once said, “If you would believe half as much as you ask, you would receive.” I set out to look at what the Bible has to say about believing.
Healing
I started with the gospels and it soon became apparent that Jesus looked for belief in those who came to Him for healing.
In Matthew 8:13 Jesus said to a centurion who was asking Him to heal his servant:
“‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour.”
In Matthew 9:28-30a Jesus said to two blind men:
“‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened.”
In Luke 8:50 Jesus spoke to Jairus who had just been told that his daughter had died saying: “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”
And v.55 tells us: “Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.”
Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said to the father of an epileptic boy; “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” The father replied, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” (His son was made well.)
Answered Prayer
As I looked further I saw that Jesus promises that the prayers of those who believe will be answered.
Mark 11:22-24 says: “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
It is clear that belief is an essential prerequisite for receiving the blessings of God. Believing is the way we receive everything in the Kingdom of God. We believe first and then we will see.
Some Examples
The virgin birth
Mary received the conception of Jesus by believing. As Elizabeth said to Mary in Luke 1:45: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfilment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
Salvation
Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”
In Acts 16:31 Paul and Silas said to the jailer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
Romans 1:16 says the gospel of Christ is: “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”
Romans 10:9-10 tells us: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
This scripture also reminds us that if we believe something we will speak it. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)
Justification
In Acts 13:39 Paul preached in Antioch: “By Him (Jesus) everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
Romans 4:3 “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Eternal life
John 3:16 “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.”
Adoption into God’s family
John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
The Holy Spirit
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Doing the supernatural works of Jesus
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
Conclusions
The blessings that God has promised us do not fall into our laps automatically. In order to receive them we must be proactive, asking and believing that we will see them. Belief is the currency of God’s Kingdom. We cannot buy the blessings of God; what brings these things into our lives is belief.
John 6:28-29 (NKJV) “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”
The Greek word used in the New Testament is ‘pisteuo’, which means “to trust”, “to have faith in”, “to be fully confident of”, “to acknowledge” and “to rely on”. This is more than an intellectual assent to the word of God. To “believe” means to trust God personally, relying on Him to do what He has said.
Believing requires us to put greater value on what God has promised than anything our natural reasoning and senses may be telling us. It means agreeing with Him that what He says will come to pass, even when it looks impossible. It also means submitting our natural desires to Him and choosing to be obedient to what He says. A good example of that is Mary, who received what the angel said to her and became impregnated with God’s Son when she said, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”Our belief rests on the character of God. He is utterly trustworthy and will always keep His word. As it says in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent (I.e. change His mind). Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
Jesus said that those “who do not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Mark 10:5). Children take things at face value. They are trusting and they expect good things. We need that simple, trusting approach if we want to see the blessings of God manifest in our lives.
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
Jill Partis
bearing-kingdom-fruit.com
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