God Works Through Faith
Many of us have parts of our lives that are based on some kind of limiting fear. I've lived much of my life and still do with limiting fears. But, as those fears raise their ugly heads, I can overcome them. You will never totally eliminate fears. That is unrealistic. But, you can know how to deal with those fears. Then as those limiting fears are overcome, you will move from a realm of fear to a realm of faith.
Fear is a robber of time and joy. I know. Fear will have you be like an airliner circling the airport. Just going in circles and using up energy and time. Regardless of whether you walk in fear or faith, time marches on. I'm sure you've read and heard that time is the one commodity we can't grow and get back back. Once time is gone, it's gone. Time waits for no one.
It really doesn't matter who you are or what you do. At some point, fear is going to try and raise its ugly head. And it will try to steal your time. Once that time is gone, it's gone. You will procrastinate, be in a state of analysis paralysis, seeking constant advice and feedback, asking God over and over to confirm His word and direction for you, seeking advice from your spouse, friends, co-workers and mentors. It's a never ending circle that goes around and around and around. It's like a carousel that never stops. You'll be riding that carousel horse for the rest of your life, if you allow it.
Fear is a robber of time and joy. I know. Fear will have you be like an airliner circling the airport. Just going in circles and using up energy and time. Regardless of whether you walk in fear or faith, time marches on. I'm sure you've read and heard that time is the one commodity we can't grow and get back back. Once time is gone, it's gone. Time waits for no one.
It really doesn't matter who you are or what you do. At some point, fear is going to try and raise its ugly head. And it will try to steal your time. Once that time is gone, it's gone. You will procrastinate, be in a state of analysis paralysis, seeking constant advice and feedback, asking God over and over to confirm His word and direction for you, seeking advice from your spouse, friends, co-workers and mentors. It's a never ending circle that goes around and around and around. It's like a carousel that never stops. You'll be riding that carousel horse for the rest of your life, if you allow it.
Move The Mountain
Jesus taught a short, yet so very powerful message regarding faith. He said "...if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'move from here to there' and it shall move..." (Matthew 17:20). This is a rather powerful and radical statement.
Let's look at a mountain. Mountains can form in a couple of ways. One way is for volcanic activity to force magma up to toward the surface of the earth, forming a volcanic mountain. These mountains occur when there is no volcanic eruption and are like a dome. Over time, wind and rain cause wear and tear on the dome, causing peaks and valleys.
Another type of mountain is caused by the movement of tectonic plates. When these plates collide, they push land upward. This land is shaped by weathering and erosion. You can find out more about how mountains are formed at www.nationalgeographic.com.
Either way, mountains are formed by forceful action within the earth. So, what's the point of sharing this illustration? What Jesus is saying is that as forceful as the actions of the earth are to form mountains, faith is that powerful. But, He goes a step further. Instead of just having the power to form a mountain, faith has the power to actually move a mountain.
Let's look at a mountain. Mountains can form in a couple of ways. One way is for volcanic activity to force magma up to toward the surface of the earth, forming a volcanic mountain. These mountains occur when there is no volcanic eruption and are like a dome. Over time, wind and rain cause wear and tear on the dome, causing peaks and valleys.
Another type of mountain is caused by the movement of tectonic plates. When these plates collide, they push land upward. This land is shaped by weathering and erosion. You can find out more about how mountains are formed at www.nationalgeographic.com.
Either way, mountains are formed by forceful action within the earth. So, what's the point of sharing this illustration? What Jesus is saying is that as forceful as the actions of the earth are to form mountains, faith is that powerful. But, He goes a step further. Instead of just having the power to form a mountain, faith has the power to actually move a mountain.
The Six Laws of Faith
There are six laws that affect the level of the faith in your life. Just as there are laws of nature that affect the physical world around us, these six laws affect the spiritual dimension. These laws combined with the seeds of faith, will determine the level and growth of your faith.
It's written in Hebrews 11:3 that "By faith that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that which is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Often, we think the spiritual dimension doesn't play as large of a role in our lives as the physical dimension. But, this is not correct. This physical world we live in has its' roots in the spiritual dimension. It was created from the spiritual by God and exists for God, in the spiritual dimension (Colossians 1:16). This results in the spiritual dominating the physical.
So, it's very important to recognize the fact of spiritual influence and domination. Your outer world and your level of faith will be a reflection of where you are in the inside. Where you are on the inside is determined by where you are in relation to the six laws of faith.
The laws of faith are:
1. The Law of Capacity: You can only receive from God in relation to your capacity to receive from God.
2. The Law of Control: You are positive in your life to the degree you are in control of your life.
3. The Law of Belief: Your belief in your heart, determines your reality. Your heart will always show what you believe.
4. The Law of Expectation: What you expect in your heart becomes self-fulfilling. Your faith will only rise as high or low as your expectations.
5. The Law of Attraction: You attract to yourself, ideas and resources according to your dominant thoughts, along with God's favor. According to this law, things that are potential become actual.
6. The Law of Correspondence: Your outside world corresponds to your inner world. What you believe on the inside, manifests on the outside.
The Tiny Seed
The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds. Yet, the tree grows rather fast. It can grow to as much as fifteen feet. So, from one of the smallest seeds comes a good sized tree that grows fast. In other words, it's a very effective seed. Often we believe we are inadequate to generate strong faith. We think our past is filled with too many bad decisions. Or we feel distant from God for some reason.
The mustard seed was considered weak and unclean. This was because it could be mixed with other plants, animals and fibers. The mixing was considered a violation of the laws of cleanliness. But, Jesus found that seed worthy to use in an illustration regarding faith.
What that means is that no matter your past, no matter how unclean you feel or how unlovable you may feel you are, you have the capacity for strong and effective faith. Looking at your past, the things you've done, the bad decisions you've made is part of what I call lower level focus.
Lower level focus will cause you to move into the realm of fear instead of faith. When you move into the realm of fear, you run the danger of procrastination or the outright abandoning of what you want to accomplish. Either way, fear will rob you of time and effectiveness.
The mustard seed was considered weak and unclean. This was because it could be mixed with other plants, animals and fibers. The mixing was considered a violation of the laws of cleanliness. But, Jesus found that seed worthy to use in an illustration regarding faith.
What that means is that no matter your past, no matter how unclean you feel or how unlovable you may feel you are, you have the capacity for strong and effective faith. Looking at your past, the things you've done, the bad decisions you've made is part of what I call lower level focus.
Lower level focus will cause you to move into the realm of fear instead of faith. When you move into the realm of fear, you run the danger of procrastination or the outright abandoning of what you want to accomplish. Either way, fear will rob you of time and effectiveness.
Faith Seeds
are twelve major factors that determine to what degree you move into the realm of faith. I call these factors faith seeds. These seeds will determine how strong of a harvest of faith you will experience in your life or business. All of these seeds contribute to the growth of faith. But to the degree each of these seeds are planted and allowed to grow, will determine how strong your harvest of faith will be. Just like with the roots of fear, the type of soil you plant those seeds of faith in, will determine your harvest of faith. If your soil is one of hopelessness, the seeds of faith will have a difficult time growing and reaping a harvest of faith.
The faith seeds are:
The faith seeds are:
. The Renewed Mind
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There are twelve seeds of faith. The number twelve symbolizes God's power and authority. It also serves as the perfect governmental foundation. Examples are the twelve tribes of Israel, or the twelve disciples. These seeds of faith will serve as the perfect foundation of God's power and authority in your life as move from fear to faith.
