In 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;

Romans 10:9 and 10 says: That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.

Faith always speaks. It can't be quiet.

You say, "I wish you would be quiet. I'm tired of always hearing these big tales of what you are believing for and what God is going to give you.

I have heard that one before. You've been telling me for years that God is going to provide that for you. I'll believe it when I see it."

Well it is a good thing that it is not dependent on him isn't it? But faith keeps speaking it. Faith says, "God has given this to me. You'll see, I'm going to be driving in my new car one of these days. I will be working on my new computer and flying overseas one of these days.

I am going to go on that wonderful holiday cruise one of these days, because God has given it to me"

You say, "Haven't you given up hope on that one yet?"

"Yes I have given up hope a long time ago. But you see it's not based on hope. It is based on faith. God said it, I believe it and that settles it. My faith will not keep quiet. I will keep speaking."

You say, "You still want to carry on preaching all these principles of faith when there is no food in the house and you're starving?" "Yes." "Why?"

"Because my faith is not based on my condition, on my circumstances or on my results. My faith is based on the Word, on the Spirit of God, and on the rhema word that He has given me, and I will not stop talking."

The three Hebrew children had that kind of commitment as they stood there and the king said, "You will bow down when the music plays, otherwise we're going to throw you into the fire."

They said, "We're not going to bow down." "Well you are going to be thrown in the fire."

They said, "Listen, our God is able to deliver us even if you put us in the fire. But I want to tell you something, I don't care if He doesn't. We're still not going to bow."

"You'd better shut up and bow." "I won't. I don't care what you do to me. I will not let go of my faith, because I believe."

We all know what happened to them. All that was burned were the ropes that bound them, and the Angel of the Lord came to sit in the fire with them. Deliverance came to them.

The trouble is that the fire could come - and for them the fire did come. They were not delivered.

They were thrown into the fire and deliverance only came at the end. We will be looking at that shortly because there is a little bit more involved in standing in faith.

Use His Name

Faith involves using the name. Remember Peter and John as they stood by the Beautiful Gate?

As they came in there was the beggar sitting there, lame from birth. He sat there every day begging. As Peter and John came up there at the hour of prayer he looked at them and said, "Please, do you have any money for me?"

We all know what happened as Peter looked down at him and said, "I'm sorry but I don't have silver or gold. But I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk."

He grabbed the guy by the hand and picked him up. He started running and leaping and praising God, and everybody ran together and said, "There's been a miracle; it's wonderful. Wow you guys are so spiritual. You must walk so close to the Lord and live such holy lives. You are wonderful."

Peter said, "Don't look at us. We are not so special. But the name of Jesus, through faith in His name, this man has been made strong. The faith which is through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."

What is involved in faith and believing in the name of Jesus? The Scripture says that the name of Jesus is, … the name above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in Heaven and things in earth and things under the earth.

When you have faith in the name of Jesus, you have faith in the authority that there is in the name that was given to Jesus. And the name that was given to you because you are in Jesus.

You are standing in His name, walking in His name and functioning in His name.

You have power and authority in His name, and you have the right to use that power and authority and to use that name. You have the right to speak to circumstances and say, "In the name in which I stand - the name of Jesus - I command and I order you, and you must obey."

Confidence in His Name

If you don't have confidence in the name I would not do that. If I were you I would not go to a shop and tell them that you have been sent by so-and-so because he gets a discount.

You better not do that unless you have some way of proving that you are related to that guy. You must prove that he has given you authority to use his name otherwise you are going to be in trouble.

But you see you can do it when you know and have confidence in the Lord and in His authority. When you have confidence in the fact that He has placed His name and authority in you, and that you have the right to act in His place and be just like Him in this world.

You can act in His name and you can use the authority that is in His name.

You say, "Peter must have really been in the Spirit there. I guess as he stood there the gifts of miracles and healing came down on him. The anointing of the Spirit was in him and flowed through him, so God healed the man."

It sounds nice and spiritual doesn't it? But you know what Peter did as he came to the beggar. He didn't say, "My brother I don't have any money and I don't have any healing power. But God is going to heal you. I am going to pray for you and ask God to heal you. Father in Jesus' name, heal this man."

It doesn't say that. It says that as they arrived there Peter looked at the man and said, "Just look at us."

Shouldn't he have said, "Don't look at me. Look to Jesus; I'm too humble." No he said, "Look at me."

The man said, "Huh, you've got some money?"

"No I don't have any money. But what I do have I choose to give to you. By a deliberate act of my will I am going to give to you what I have in the name of Jesus."

Peter imparted it to him. And he was so confident that he grabbed the guy by the hand and pulled him up.

That is what it is to walk in faith in the name. It means that you have such confidence in the fact that Jesus is in you and that you are in Jesus that you dare to act just like Him.

You have the audacity to pretend you are Him. The early disciples were really crazy. They were all mixed up. They were so used to being with Jesus they thought they were Him. But look at the results they obtained.

Today unfortunately we are too humble and too ignorant to think that we can walk in anywhere and just do what Jesus or the early disciples did, even though Jesus said, Greater works than these shall you do.

It takes faith. If you are walking in faith you should have the confidence, the ability and the gall to say, "In the name of Jesus be healed. Stand up and walk."

You say, "What if he doesn't walk?"

You don't have any faith if for one moment you believed that he would not walk.

Act on It

I want to show you another one. In Acts 14 Paul was preaching and it says: And there sat a certain man at Lystra, lame in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:

He heard Paul speaking and Paul was constantly looking at him. The Scripture says that Paul recognized that he had faith to be healed. So as he continued preaching the Spirit of God began to move.

You can see the look in peoples' eyes. You can see when they are listening to you. Paul could see it. He could see the glow that showed that the guy was taking it all in.

Paul continued preaching, and suddenly in the middle of his sermon he gave everybody a fright. He stopped suddenly and said, "In the name of Jesus rise up and walk! Stand to your feet."

I think the guy got such a fright he jumped up and walked. The Scripture says that he leapt up and walked. You see faith has to be released through action. It has to be there.

You say, "So if I act will it happen?"

No, not if there is no faith. But if there is faith and you act it will always work.

Confidence in His Ability

Faith recognizes the Lord's ability and has full confidence in it. The Scripture tells us that in Capernaum a centurion came to Jesus and said, "My servant is lying sick."

Jesus said, "I'll come and heal him."

He said, "No Lord, you don't need to come. I understand how this thing works. I'm also a man in authority. I have a servant and I tell him, 'Do this,' and he does it. I tell him, 'Go there,' and he goes there.

I know he will obey my word. I know the power of authority that I have. I don't have a doubt that when I give a command it will be obeyed, and I know you have the same kind of authority.

Now Lord, you just speak the Word and I know that he will be healed."

This man was not a Jew. He was a Roman centurion, but you see he tapped into that faith branch again.

He had the fullest of confidence in the Lord and His ability. The trouble with us is a lot of the time we see the Lord as helping us and we think, "You know I really don't know if God can do this. This is a difficult one. There are just too many factors involved here. Is it really possible that God can provide for us in our current circumstances?"

Or do we have enough confidence in the Lord to say, "Okay Lord you speak it and I'll believe it. You don't have to move. You don't have to come and visit me, but I'd like a feeling please.

I'd like to have goose bumps on the back of my head here. I want that nice warm feeling that goes down my spine or gives a little chill there. Just give me some kind of confirmation to make me feel good and then I'll believe you."

That is what we do. We say, "But I didn't feel anything when I came to the Lord."

Do you have to feel something? Does the Lord have to come and touch you or manifest Himself to you?

Do you have to get a vision of Him standing with His arms outstretched or hear an audible voice speaking to you before you believe His Word?

Or do you have enough confidence in Him to say, "Lord, speak the Word. I know you will do it. Thank you Lord. Speak the Word and I know that it will happen."

You say, "But you know the Lord has to come down and do a few things. You have to get the angels involved and you have to do this and that. And you also have to sort that guy out over there."

We try and work out the whole plan and we try and tell the Lord how to do it. We say, "Okay Lord, you have to provide my needs. And the obvious way for you to do this is through my business. Or you're going to have to provide through my rich cousin or relative because he has a lot of money.

Lord, let him not sleep at night. Let him toss and turn. Let him wake up in the middle of the night and hear you saying, 'Give Les 10 000 dollars tomorrow.' "

Can't you just trust the Lord to speak the Word and do it? Don't you have enough confidence in His ability that you think you have to try and dictate to Him how He must do it?

Faith Produces Power

What does faith produce? What happens when it comes? Faith brings terrific, unlimited power.

In Acts 6 we read of a man named Stephen. He was just a deacon and was not even one of the apostles. But it says that Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles amongst the people.

How do you know when faith is there? There will be power. How do you know when faith is not there? There will be no power. That is quite a simple yardstick isn't it?

You say, "But I came against the devil. I stood against him and I rebuked him. I got angry with him and I spat, but nothing happened."

"I prayed, 'Lord, in Jesus' name heal him.' "

"So what did you feel? Are you okay? Did something happen?" "No the pain is still there." "Oh dear, maybe I didn't shake hard enough."

There is no power. You may have been very zealous and very emotional, but if there is no faith there will be no power. Faith always brings power.

You say, "But I'm not an apostle."

Stephen wasn't an apostle either. He was just a little deacon. He had faith and he had power.

In fact he had such power and wisdom that eventually they stoned him to death because they just couldn't take it anymore. That power was so strong that they could not resist it.

It Brings Results

Faith always brings results. In Acts 11 we read about Barnabus. There was a church that started up in Antioch all on its own.

The Scripture says in verse 22 and 23: Then news of these things came to the ears of the church that was in Jerusalem: and they sent out Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and encouraged them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord.

Here is what it says about Barnabas. It says: For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith:

Barnabus was a nice guy. They called him 'The Son of Consolation'. He was the kind of guy you liked to be with and to chat with.

But you see nice guys don't produce results unless they have faith. The Scripture says: And many people were added to the Lord.

It wasn't that he was the nice guy. It was the fact that he was full of faith. He went out and whatever he did and whatever he touched prospered. People just came to him.

Are you getting results in your ministry? If not then check your faith meter. You may find that it has run a bit low. That is why you are not getting any results.

It Produces Joy

Many people seem to think that faith is a very serious and strenuous thing, but faith is actually a joyful thing.

How can you rejoice if you are worried or you are down? How can you rejoice if you are concerned about the future and about what is going to happen?

Paul says to the Philippians: And having this confidence I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith.

We can have a party when we believe. If I know my needs are provided and there is nothing in the house we can have a celebration.

You say, "Well what are we going to eat?" "Nothing; there's nothing in the house."

"What are we going to drink?" "Water."

"We're going to have a party? On what?"

"I don't care, we're going to have a party. We're going to rejoice in the Lord."

You say, "How can you rejoice when you're down and out and don't know where your next meal is coming from? How can you be full of joy?"

You can do it because of faith. I know that my God has provided my needs. I don't care if there is nothing in the house.

Paul said, "I have learned to abound and to do without. I've learned to have a lot and I've learned to have a little. It doesn't make any difference. My joy is not based on that. It is based on my faith and my confidence in the Lord."

Faith and Warfare

Faith also gives you confidence for warfare. Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal [zoe] life, to which you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Faith overcomes Satan. The Scripture says, Above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Satan will try and come against you with his fiery darts, and he will attack you with his accusations, fear and torments.

When he does that you just pick up your shield of faith, hold it up and say, "Next! Is that all that you have - those stupid, puny little fiery darts? Surely you can do better than that?"

I love to laugh at the devil and mock him a bit. I say to him, "Okay devil, load them up. Are you ready? Come on, shoot them. Give me all you've got."

I can see him pulling out his big bazooka and letting me have it. Then I just take my shield of faith and say, "Okay, next."

I can see a look of total frustration on his face. He is saying, "But that was my biggest shot. I just don't get it; that one was meant to have blown a hole in you."

You had better have your shield of faith before you try that one, otherwise you will be in trouble.

When he shoots his bazooka at you, you had better get your faith in gear before you try it, but it is so simple when you have the faith. There is nothing that he can throw at you that can touch you.

Faith also overcomes the world.

You say, "I have the World System coming down on me. I have the pressure of responsibility and the pressure of finances. I have debts and commitments and responsibilities in the world that I have to fulfill."

John said: Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

Authority in Faith

Faith also brings authority. In Matthew 17 a father brought their child to Jesus and said, "Lord, my child is possessed by a demon and your disciples couldn't cast it out. Now please, if you can do something, will you help us?"

Jesus said, "Sure." Then He cast that demon out instantly and it was gone. Afterwards the disciples came to Him and said, "Lord, why couldn't we cast it out?"

Jesus said to them, "It was because of your unbelief."

Then He said, "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you will say to the mountain move and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you."

I want you to notice something here. The disciples had been sent out. Jesus had given them power before to go and heal the sick, to cast out demons and even to raise the dead if necessary.

They had done this before, and now they thought this was a simple case. The father had said, "Please can you help us?"

"Sure, bring your child. We'll cast the demon out. We know how to do this one. We've actually done it plenty of times. It's nothing new to us.

Just watch this. Devil come out!" "No."

"What? I said, Come out!" "No."

I can see a look of puzzled confusion on their faces.

"But hang on, this always used to work before. Come out, Devil!" "No."

I think the disciples were really confused. They thought, "This must be a tough one. I guess this is a demon that you can't cast out."

Then they watched Jesus come and just say, "Come out," and out it went instantly. They must have been puzzled and said, "Lord you had better explain this one to us. How come we couldn't cast this demon out? But you just spoke one word and it went straight out?"

Jesus said, "Because of your unbelief."

"Unbelief? Lord, what do you mean by unbelief?"

He said, "You don't have enough faith. That's why you couldn't cast it out."

You say, "I didn't know I needed to have faith to cast out demons or to exercise authority."

Yes you do, and the greater the level of your faith, the greater your authority. As your faith increases so does your authority.

Jesus said to them, "Nevertheless this kind does not go out except through prayer and fasting."

This is a puzzling Scripture. Does it mean that in order to cast out demons I need to spend time in prayer and fasting?

No, it means if you want to increase the level of your faith, you had better spend some time in prayer and fasting. Because it is the higher faith level that will give the higher authority to be able to cast out the demon.

You say, "But I thought faith only came by hearing and hearing by the Word of God? What does prayer and fasting have to do with it?"

This is a puzzling Scripture. It seems to go against everything that we have taught concerning faith coming from the Word.

And I want to tell you that this word 'fasting' is a very dangerous one for Satan. He hates it with a passion.

In fact this particular verse Matthew 27:21 was left out of some of the recent manuscripts that they discovered and on which the newer translations of the Bible are based. You will not find verse 21 in the revised versions.

There is one other verse in another one of the gospels which deals with the same incident, and in that case the verse was still left in. It said, This kind only goes out with prayer.

It is interesting that suddenly these verses began to disappear from some of the translations.

Did man put the idea in, and were the original manuscripts that they discovered correct? Or could it be that somewhere along the line people kept stumbling over this idea.

You say, "Why do I need to fast and pray? That is crazy. What do I need to cast a demon out for?"

I want to tell you though that your level of authority is based on your faith. What do you want to do? Do you want greater authority in the earth or in the Kingdom of God?

Do you want to be able to speak to sickness and disease and command them to flee? Or do you want to speak to demon powers and command them to come out and to leave?

Do you want to speak to a dead body and command it to be raised from the dead? Or maybe speak to the weather and command it to change as Jesus did? Maybe you want to speak to water and turn it into wine.

If you want to exercise any kind of authority and power over the elements of this earth, that authority is going to come by faith. And the greater your faith level, the greater will be your level of authority.

Jesus had authority because He walked in faith. And faith always brings authority.

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