What is faith? Many of you right now are reciting Hebrews 11:1 in your head right now, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Great! I am glad that you know the definition of faith, but do you live by faith? God said without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). After all, we were saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8). We have never seen Christ, yet we believe that He exists. Not only do we believe He exists, but we believe He lives inside of us (Romans 8:10). That belief is a byproduct of faith. The substance of things hoped for (believing Christ exits), the evidence of things not seen (We have never seen Christ).
Now that we know what faith is, let's talk about how we live by it. During one of my personal bible studies last week, the Holy Spirit gave me a fresh revelation on this scripture, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Like Hebrews 11:1, we all know this scripture, but I as meditated on it, the Holy Spirit gave me a new perspective on it. Growing up in a Baptist church, I was taught this scripture meant faith could only grow by listening the Word of God being preached or taught by someone in the five-fold ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher). Well, today I want to share what the Holy Spirit revealed to me about this scripture.
First and foremost, let's examine the scripture. Faith is an unshakeable belief in God's divinity, power, authority, Spirit, Word, and His son, Jesus Christ. To develop this faith or belief, the scripture says we must hear the Word of God. Next, let's define the Word of God. The Word of God is God's spoken revelations, promises and prophecies written down. 2 Peter 2:20-21 says, "Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God." The Word of God was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. These words, teachings, revelations, prophecies, and stories were written to give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled in our lives (Romans 15:4).
Now let's talk about how increase our faith by hearing the God. Everything God created on this earth, this world, He spoke it into existence. He called those things that were not as though they were (Romans 4:17). To live by faith we must speak God's Word. The more we speak His Word, the more we will see His Word manifested in our lives and that is how our faith will increase. I can speak the Word of God to you all day long, but when you speak it and you truly believe what you spoke will manifest and it does, your faith will grow.
Your faith will grow and develop when you speak God's written aloud. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The more you hear yourself speaking God's Word the more the Word of God will dwell in your heart and the bible says, "if anyone says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him" (Mark 11:23). Faith is developed in our hearts and it grows the more we hear God's word spoken.
In conclusion, yes you should hear the Word of God preached or taught by someone in the fivefold ministry. But if you really want your faith to grow, you need to speak God's written aloud yourself. The more you hear yourself speaking God's Word the more you will believe in His Word. And the more you believe in His Word the more you will see His Word manifested in your life. That's how faith works! It calls those things as not as they were!
