The mystery of believing
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Galatians 3:2, KJV)
Man’s ability to believe is a mystery and a wonder. It is not mystical, but mysterious and an awesome wonder to realize the spiritual power that is hidden behind this capacity in us. This is the essence of what faith is.
The Apostle Paul addresses the Galatians and reveals a mystery of faith saying to them “received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”. He was asking them if they received the Holy Spirit by doing something the law demanded or by believing the Word of God that they heard. This statement reveals to us a mystery of faith or believing. When a person’s heart believes the Word of God, that person RECEIVES immediately from God. Believing is receiving.
Jesus Himself taught us this principle in Mark 11:24
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24, KJV)
Whenever your heart believes the Word of God, you receive that same instant whatever you believe. I have been talking about the Spirit and soul lately, and used the example of faith many times. Believing is not some strange mystical thing that our spirit does inside of us, and we have no control over. Believing simply means you accept as true what you hear or read in the Word. The problem is that it is not possible for the natural human being to accept the things about God. This is where the Spirit comes in. He gives us the capacity to believe the things of God, that is, to accept and see them as true.
The problem of faith today is for many of us, including myself, is that we think we have believed the Word but we often do not truly believe many of the things we assume we believe. Faith is not based on assumptions. It has to be true and real. The human heart can be trained to believe the Word. I just mentioned above that the Spirit of God breathes upon your heart and mind to be able to accept the things about God. All you need to do is to put yourself in a place where the Spirit breathes upon your heart. That is where meditation on the Word comes in. I often repeatedly exhort you to give your mind time to MEDITATE on the Word. This is not just some fancy spiritual thing to do. Each time you meditate on the Word, thinking and speaking it to yourself, the wind of the Spirit blows upon your heart, and the capacity to receive or believe the Word is imparted to you. This is why faith comes by hearing the Word!!!!
It is your turn. Do not sit and wonder why your heart does not believe the Word. Train it. You will have to pay the price. That price is not some seed to sow. It is time with the Spirit of God in the Word. The day your heart is trained to fully believe the Word, a new door into the supernatural will open up to you.
MEDITATE
Well, here it is again, the exhortation to spend some time to meditate on the Word. Take a moment and think upon the verse above, and speak the Word or mutter it to yourself.
APPLY THE WORD
Don’t just pray and ask God to “increase our faith” as the disciples did. He has already put a deposit of faith in you. Yes, ask the Spirit to help you grow in faith. But as you pray, get to work. Get to work on the Word. Train your heart in the Word.
PRAY
Ask the Spirit of the Lord to help you train your heart to believe the Word.
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My heavens Pastor, yourself and Holy Spirit are great buddies. Your teaching goes beyond the surface. I understand what you mean, now I cannot explain but the Holy Spirit reminded me of the mam who asked the Lord, to HELP MY UNBELIEF, gave me an understanding, yes, I do believe it help my unbelief and we have to look to Holy Spirit to seal it for us.
Oh praise the Lord! Thank you Joan for those kind words. Blessings there!