For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in the heard it" (Hebrews 4:2).
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The word of G0d can be negated by the response of the hearer. In
Word going forth was not lacking, but faith was lacking on the part of certain h Those who heard with faith received the promise, whereas those who heard not mix faith with the message received nothing. This concept is summed up phrase, "You get out what you put in." If you do not mix faith with the Word of God that you hear, then you will] not receive the promises of the Word. God has given you the authority to receive or negate His promises dependent upon your response.
PRACTICAL KEYS
Experience is what all relationships are made of. If you desire a closer relation. ship with God, then your desire includes greater experience with Him. Since we understand that faith leads us to greater experience, we should desire greater faith, Our heart should be the same as the disciples' who said to the Lord, "Increase faith!"(Luke 17:5). Here are four practical keys in the Word that build greater faith
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1. Fasting and Prayer
"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into there or into the water. I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him." "O unbelieving and perverse generation,» Jesus replied, "how long shall stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?Bring the boy here to Me."
Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"He replied, "Because you have so little faith I tell you the truth, if you have faith as smallast a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting
(Matthew 17: 15-21).
Jesus says it is because of their little faith, and then He gives them the remedy prayer with fasting. This will get them the faith for the healing of deliverance of the child. Fasting is off our specific things that we can build
MORE ABOUT FASTING
often when one fast, people ask me, Did God tell you to fast? why people ask that, especially since 1 commonly "No, He didn't tell me to fast; I just decided to fast." There is nothing that commands us as New Testament believers when to fast, how long to fast, and so on. There were specific times to fast in the Old Testament, but the New Testament does not command us in these things.
The same is true ofpraying in the Holy Spirit or listening for a "rhema" word from the Lord. The Word tells us that these things will build our faith, but the Lord doesn't command us to activate them; He just makes them available. I believe that each one of these wdl build our faith, thereby bringing us greater ability to enter experience.
God bas given us the tools to build enoughfaith to access any door
God has given us the tools to build enough faith to access any door, yet He leaves us our free will to decide when to fast, when to pray, and when to listen. When we decide to build our faith, it is something we initiate, and then in response He increases our faith so that we can experience more of His Kingdom. This is a fundamental element in our relationship with God; He gives us the choice of the relationship we want: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you"(James 4:8 NKJV). Another way to say it would be, "The ball is in our court."
2. Praying in the Spirit
"Butyou, beloved, buildingyourselves up on your most holyfaith, praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 1:20 NKJV).
Praying in the Spirit is different from fasting because ifyou come across a situation where you need to access faith immediately, you can begin praying in the Spirit at a moment's notice. However, fasting is done ahead of time, to store up faith. We can fill ourselves up daily by praying in the Spirit, but it is always on call as well.