Joseph Prince - What To Do When You Don't Have Enough Faith?
This excerpt is from: Faith To Possess The Land (28 Nov 2021)
What is the one thing that God wants from us that will cause Him to bypass a thousand people and zero in on you with favor and delight? What is that one thing? Faith. The Bible says: "Without faith, it's impossible to please God". Faith always gets God's attention. Why? Because faith justifies God and makes the devil a liar. On the other hand, unbelief justifies Satan and makes God appear to be a liar. Listen carefully, alright? It's alright if you are battling with unbelief and doubt in your heart. But expose yourself to the Word of Christ, expose yourself to the Word of God. Because if you don't have faith, faith cometh. How does faith come? By hearing and hearing and hearing.
The idea there is to keep on hearing. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ". And again, the context there is hearing through a preacher because you keep on reading and it says: "How shall they hear without a preacher"? Now, today we say: "We can hear God directly". You can hear God directly, yes. But there's also a danger that you think you are hearing God, but there is always safety. When a preacher preaches openly, alright? His messages can be openly tested. Amen. Scrutinized by everyone. Amen. Whether it is in line with the Scripture or not. Amen. There's safety there. And that faith that comes by hearing is hearing the Word of God from the mouth of a preacher. It's the preached word that brings faith. Hallelujah.
Faith is a rest. Rest means it is not you putting in the effort to produce that work. It is not you behaving right then you receive from God. Amen. It's not based on all that anymore. It is based on the work of another. Now when you see that, when you believe right, you will live right. It is always that, but it's not the other way around. It is not by living right, then you end up believing right. No, no. It's the other way around, friend. Amen. If you believe right, you will always live right. Amen. Even if you fall away, you will never forget because you have believed right. What is the right way? God's true nature. Amen.
The prodigal son had some believing right. When he was in the pig pen, he said of his father. And this is believing right. The Father is that generous. The Father is that kind. And he said: "In my father's house, there's bread enough and to spare. Even all the hired servants, they eat well". And he believed right about his father. That's what motivated him to turn towards God. And that's why it's so important for us to have a good opinion of God, because faith is also a good opinion of God. Amen. Like Sarah. "Through faith, Sarah received strength to conceive seed". The word "strength" there is "dunamis". Sarah received strength to conceive seed. Why? It says: "Through faith, Sarah received strength, dunamis, dynamite power to conceive seed when she was past the age of child bearing". Now notice: "Through faith"?
So let's say. Faith is a good opinion of God. Let's replace the word "faith" there. And we wouldn't do injustice to the Scripture there because faith is a good opinion of God. Through a good opinion of God, Sarah received strength to conceive seed. Holiness is not the reason for us possessing our promised land. If Israel had gone by their holiness, they would never have entered the land. No, it was their unbelief that kept them from the promised land. It is very clear. They didn't believe God. They didn't believe the spies when they came back and said: "This land flows with milk and honey".
Flows, my friend! The idea of super abundance flowing with milk and honey, they didn't believe, it was unbelief. And the Bible says very clearly in Hebrews 4. So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief and the word there is from the Greek word "unpersuaded". They are not persuaded, the opposite of faith. Unbelief. They didn't believe. Their heart is not persuaded that God is so good. In fact, they said in Deuteronomy 1: "Because the Lord hated us, He will not bring us into the land. The Lord hated us, He's going to deliver us to the enemy". They didn't believe in the love of God for us and many believers today, they're not possessing the land because they have a bad opinion of God.
You know, Sarah received strength to conceive seed. And it was because she had the good opinion of God that even though she's past the age of child bearing. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ". Hallelujah. She believed the preacher. Amen. And you know that the preacher actually came to their house one day with two angels and told Abraham: "This time next year, Sarah will conceive and Sarah laughed". So unbelief was actually part of her initial response, but later on, she trusted God. She came to a place of being persuaded, fully persuaded that God will do the good things that He said He will do for her. Amen. Thank you Jesus.
I want to share with you a testimony, talking about Sarah conceiving seed in her old age. Here is a testimony from a lady that just came in a sister from our church and she says:
My husband and I have had a desire for a baby for many years. In 2019, I decided to go for an IVF as I was getting older. However, it was not successful. In 2020, I tried again and failed again. I was sad and also lost. It was during an online service on Sunday, 8 November 2020, Pastor Prince prayed over someone for a fruitful womb. And I immediately claimed the blessing for myself. He also mentioned that God will resurrect the womb, regardless of age. I felt so encouraged after the prayer. In late 2020, I received the news that I was pregnant with twins. My baby boys were born healthy in July this year. God has completed my family with not one, but two babies. Praise God!
We have a picture here of the twins. Beautiful twins. Hallelujah. You see, this lady had faith that in spite of her age, yet she believed. She believed in God. What did she believe about God? That God wants to give her a baby, even in spite of her age, Praise the Lord. Now how did she believe that? She believed that because she kept on hearing the Word from a preacher. In this case, it's me. Amen. But imagine if the preacher says this, alright? "Let's not raise people's hopes up and let's not. When they're a certain age and all that, don’t believe, make them believe God. They'll be disappointed". But the Bible says: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for".
People say things like: "Don't raise people's hopes". But the Bible says: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for". If we don't hope for it. And hope always has got to do with the future. Alright? Faith has got to do with now, but faith is the substance of things hoped for. If you don't hope for. And hope, Bible hope is "elpis", the Greek word. It is always a positive expectation of good in our future. If we raise people's hopes, praise the Lord, we raise it up, scripturally based on the Word of God, they will never be disappointed. There's a verse that says: "This hope that maketh not ashamed". Or "hope that does not disappoint". Why? Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. We know, and we are assured that God loves us. Praise God.
So I want you to keep on believing. If you're believing God for a baby. Amen. Regardless of your age, just like this sister here. In the name of the Lord Jesus, receive this prayer right now in the name of the Lord Jesus. I speak fruitfulness to your womb and I speak fruitfulness to your husband in the name of Jesus. You shall conceive and bring forth a child to the glory of God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you’ll mark this sermon because this is the time you received from the Lord. this miracle. Now you are pregnant with a miracle. Not yet with a baby but it shall manifest in the days to come in Jesus' name. Amen. Receive that! Receive that! I felt inspired and led by the Spirit to pray that for you. Praise the Lord.