But with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you. 2 Corinthians 10:15.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater. 2 Thessalonians 1:3.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I have given each born again believer a measure of faith, just like I physically give everyone the same set of muscles, but whether you develop your faith, like your muscles, is up to you. You can grow in faith. You can enlarge your faith. You can develop your faith. If you have a talent in you for playing the piano, it will lie dormant unless you develop it. And how do you do that? You get instructed, you listen to master pianists, you practice, and you persevere until you can play like a master.
Jesus noticed people’s faith and He commented on it. He talked about little faith, lost faith, lack of faith, faith the size of a mustard seed, and great faith. He marveled at the lack of faith in those who knew Him, He was grieved at unbelief, and He highly esteemed great faith. Why? Faith allowed Him to release the BLESSING, faith allowed My power to flow into the life of the person of faith to heal, deliver, and increase. And My Son loved going about doing good and healing all those oppressed of the devil. And you can do the works He did and greater. How? The same way He did them, by faith.
To live by faith to the utmost you must keep growing in faith, going forward from faith to faith, until your faith has no cap, that is, no limit, on what you can believe, receive, accomplish and have through faith in My Word.
And today we continue My instructions on living by faith with Life Lesson No. 7: Growing in faith. Just like a baby grows and matures into an adult, so your faith grows and matures to the full stature of Christ Jesus Himself.
How does a baby grow healthy and strong? He eats and exercises. He starts on milk and as he grows he moves to solid food. He starts with mere kicking his legs and crawling and eventually can walk, run, and even become a star athlete! And an infant as he matures learns the language of his country and masters more and more vocabulary until he can express what he wants to convey at the highest level.
And in all this growing, the quality of the food, the diligence applied to exercise, the quality of the teachers and instructions the child receives, the diligence applied in studying, the diligence applied in mastering skills, all make a tremendous difference in the level to which the child matures into being an adult.
And the same is true of faith.
We have already learned that faith comes by HEARING and hearing My spoken and anointed Word. But you also grow in faith the same way, it does not stop when you heard once. By continuing in My Word you increase your revelation knowledge from faith to faith. The revelation of My Word keeps unfolding more treasures—new knowledge, new insights, new levels of understanding, fresh revelation to a measure beyond what you can contain until you enlarge your heart. With your heart you believe, so as your faith grows so does your heart, and by heart I mean your spirit, the inner man of the heart, which cannot be seen with physical sight but must be spiritually discerned. Yet it is the most important part of you, for a strong and mature spirit will bring you through any trial, whereas your mere physical nature cannot. The victory that overcomes the world is your faith. So the more your faith matures, the more victorious your life will be.
My Words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. My Words are Spirit and Life that give you eternal life. You grow your faith on the good quality food of My Word. For man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that proceeds out of My mouth. All Scripture is breathed by My Spirit and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that you may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16.
So where do you begin? Put aside unhealthy food, that is, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of My Word, so that by it you may grow thereby. 1 Peter 2:1-3. The baby draws milk from his source, that is his mother, and the same is true spiritually, you draw your milk from your source, which is Me, and I am My Word. And you must keep on growing, for no one is meant to stay an infant all their life, and everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the Word of righteousness, for he is an infant, but solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:13-14. A baby will put almost anything into his mouth that he can get ahold of. And this is unfortunately true for many, even believers, they will hear and read all sorts of worldly idle talk, godless philosophies, pornography, and a host of other sources contrary to My Words and wisdom. Just as an athlete stays away from foods that will impede his developing a healthy, sound body so too you who are growing in faith to reign in life through Christ Jesus.
I explicitly tell you that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars, so be on guard about these things. My Spirit guides you to all truth, and one way is that I have given you instructors to guide you. I have blessed you with some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip you for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of My Son, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. And as a result, you are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but able to discern good from evil by knowledge of My Word. So, speaking the truth in love, point out false doctrines and things contrary to My Word that destroy true faith to the brethren.
And if you are constantly nourished on the Words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have in Christ, then you can begin to exercise your faith by speaking and doing it. For just as hearing, reading, and taking in My Word feeds your faith, meditating upon it and speaking it and doing it (obeying it, even when everything appears contrary to it) exercises your faith. Therefore do not see trials as mountains that stop you from going forward, instead consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4. How did My Son tell you to exercise your faith when it is only the size of a mustard seed? Speak to the mountain to be cast into the sea and watch it obey you if you stand your ground and don’t draw back.
Exercise your faith by speaking in faith, singing in faith, and thanking in faith. Do not get yourself bogged down in worldly idle talk—godless chatter—that leads to sin. And an accelerated way to build yourself up in your most holy faith, is by praying in the Holy Spirit, that is, in tongues. Jude 1:20. Worldly minded people who are centered only on the natural are devoid of the Spirit, but you who are indwelt by My Spirit can build yourselves up by praying mysteries in tongues.
And in growing to a mature man in the physical, able to express himself skillfully, he must learn the language and study the vocabulary until he is proficient in it. When you believe in Jesus you are born again as a citizen of My Kingdom and your conversation is in Heaven. And Jesus shows you how a mature and perfect citizen of the Kingdom speaks, He told you that He did not speak on His own initiative but only spoke My Words and His life was powerful and fruitful. You must learn to speak the language of Heaven, and it is My Word, for My Word is established forever in Heaven. But if you do not read and study My Word, how will you know My language?
As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Thanksgiving establishes you in faith and makes you grow in faith for it will bring miracles.
I watch over My Word to perform it. I perform the promise contained in that Word.
What I told Joshua for his growth in faith and hope still holds today: be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; “do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7-9.
Moses told the people to write My Word on their doorposts and keep it in their houses, to speak them to their children and their children’s children, to speak them when they got up the morning, to speak them along the way during the day, and to still be speaking them when they laid down at night. He knew the importance of feeding on My Word. In fact, Jesus was quoting what My Spirit had already written through Moses years and years before: “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4. Moses knew the power of being filled with, speaking, and obeying My Word—he had seen it part the Red Sea and drown their enemies. He had seen Me rain down Manna from Heaven. He has seen the water gush out of the flinty rock at My Word. And he could not get enough of My Word. Day and night, he was constantly talking with Me. I called him My friend. And that is grown up indeed.
I love you. I want you to grow your faith by feeding it with My Word, exercising it by speaking My Word as a prophet of your own life, and by praying in the Spirit, singing, and making the joyful shout! And never forget the voice of thanksgiving, that is where I see your faith and where wonders happen. That is how you access and make withdrawals from your Heavenly account.