Fa i thH e a r S p e a k D o

• Most mothers I know are women of action. • They are not passive when it comes to their

children. – Proactive – Intentional – Take Charge

• When it comes to faith you need to be like your mother.

• Don’t just wait for things to happen. • You have to be proactive and intentional.

• In Wave Jumper, we talked about having the faith to believe God for the impossible situations in life.

• I want to build upon that foundation this morning.

Matthew 17:20 – "You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." (NLT)

• If we had the faith, nothing would be impossible! • But, Why is it so hard to believe God for the

impossible? • There are probably several answers to this. • But, I zeroed in on 2 simple points which come from

a child’s prayer of grace: • God is great and God is good!• Having the faith to believe for the impossible is not

hinged on who you are or what you can or cannot do.

• Rather, it is hinged on who you believe God is.

1. God is Great – If you are going to believe God for the impossible, then you have to believe there is absolutely nothing impossible for Him.

2. God is Good – Nearly every other religion has a belief that their god is great.

• But, the Christian Faith is unique in that we believe that our God is Good.

• Not only does He possess unlimited power, He wants you to experience it.

• Not only does He have the power to heal you, He wants to do it too.

• This is the starting point: You must have a correct view of who God is and what He desires to do in your life.

• But, it shouldn’t stop there. • You need to grow your faith to new levels.• No one can transplant a heart of faith in you. • It doesn’t work that way. • Your faith is like a muscle. • The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

• The more opportunities you have to use your faith, the more times you see answers to your prayers, the stronger your faith becomes.

• Like muscles, faith grows through resistance. • On June 1, 1996, Lisa and I took a gigantic step of

faith.• This was all good and well except for one minor

detail— • How would we make it financially? • In our minds, this was huge! • Did we hear from God?

• Could we leave the comforts of 2 good jobs and transition to live by faith?

• I remember walking around with earthquakes in my stomach.

• My mind was screaming, “This is not a good time for us to do this! What if you fall flat on your face? What will people think of you? You have a reputation of being solid guy!”

• BUT . . . we had a promise from God! • He told us that we would not be diminished. • We have not been!

• Arriving at the place in our walk with God where we could obey Him in such large matters did not happen overnight.

• This was the result of a long process of hearing His voice and obeying Him.

• Our faith was growing little by little over the years. • It grew to the point that we knew He would take

care of us. • We knew that He had done it in the past, and we

firmly believed He would do it again.

• We did not know how, but we just knew He would. • And, He has!• Here’s the key point: You have to be intentional

about making your faith grow. • This type of testimony doesn’t just happen by

chance or good luck.• It takes time to develop your faith. • What is the best way to make your faith grow? • It may surprise you!

• It is through Word of God! • The Bible is no mere book. • It is a living document—living, active & sharper than

a double edged sword (Heb. 4:12). • You might even say that it is a living force. • It is called the Word of God because in it God spoke,

and still speaks today.• The Bible lays out a process of faith formation: Hear,

Speak and Do.1. Hearing the Word of God ignites faith.2. Speaking the Word activates faith.3. Doing the Word demonstrates faith.

1. Hearing the Word ignites faithRomans 10:17 – So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJV)

• The Word of God ignites faith in us like a spark. • You probably remember the old song, It only takes

a spark to get the fire going . . . • That what hearing the Word of God does for us. • It is the spark that gets the faith fire going.

• There is something about hearing the Word audibly that causes your faith to grow.

• You must immerse yourself in the Word of God.• If your faith isn’t based on the promises of God’s

Word, then all you have is wishful thinking. • Wishful thinking never produces answers. • Most believers only have wishful thinking. • That is why the impossible in their lives remain

impossible.

• If hearing the Word builds your faith, then the opposite must be true as well.

• Listening to junk can fill your mind with doubt and confusion.

• Guard your ears from the faith robbers. • Many believers say, Why has God not answered my

prayers? • Then, they spend much of their time filling their

ears with junk from the world.

• If you want to build your faith, you need to consume as much of the Word as possible.

• Cut down your exposure to worldly influences and increase your exposure to the Word.

2. Speaking the Word activates faith (gets it rolling)• This is certainly something I did not learn growing

up in church. • In fact, I had trouble with this step at first. • It seemed a little hokey or like talking to yourself. • You know what most people think about those

who talk to themselves.

• I didn’t have a problem with the hearing part, but I had difficulty with the speaking part.

• Then God showed me how important it is to speak His Word.

• This is the missing link for many believers. • They know the Word, but it has not really

transformed their lives. • Let me put it this way: Hearing God’s Word is like

turning the key in the ignition. • But, speaking God’s Word is like putting the car in

drive.

• Every time God’s Word is spoken there is potential for faith.

• It is up to us to activate that faith. • When you were saved, most likely you heard the

Word of God concerning salvation. • The potential for saving faith was made available. • You accepted it, and your faith for salvation came to

life.• This is the same way faith is introduced into every

area of your life.

• When you hear the Word of God concerning whatever need you have, there is potential for your faith in that area to be increased.

• Therefore, it is your responsibility to activate your faith, and you do it through speaking the Word.

• Look at what God told Joshua:Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (NKJV)

• Look at the pattern: Confession leads to Possession. • Or, confession leads to good success. • What was the formidable task which stood before

Joshua? • He was to lead a band of ex-slaves without any

formal military training to take possession of the Promise Land.

• How did God tell Him to do it? • Keep the Word of God in your mouth! • I doubt they teach that strategy at the Army War

College.

• Most people when they read that verse think it only means to keep the Word in your heart or mind.

• But, that is not what God said. • He told Joshua to keep the Word in His mouth.• Now that I know this, I talk to myself all the time. • Some of my best sermons have been preached to

an audience of one—Me! • Whenever I am discouraged I get out Psalm 42 and

start speaking it out loud. • Whenever I need healing, I confess Deuteronomy

34:7.

• Whenever I am afraid, I speak Psalm 91:11-12 out loud.

• It is amazing how quickly the atmosphere of fear, doubt and discouragement disappears when you begin to speak God’s Word.

• It melts like a warm knife cutting through butter. • This is not just for ministers or the heroes of faith

like Joshua either.• It is for you too.

• If you want to grow your faith for the impossible in your life, you need to get good at preaching the Word of God to yourself.

• As you do, you will notice the way you see your circumstances change.

• Your faith will rise above your fears and feelings. • Homework Assignment: Listen to your confessions. • Particularly listen to what you say concerning the

impossible situations in your life. • Does your mouth match what God’s Word says? • If not, you need to start preaching to yourself!

3. Do the WordJames 2:17 – So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (NLT)

• It’s possible to hear God’s Word, memorize it and to even speak it, yet never walk in faith.

• If you think about it: It is not really faith until you do it.

• Remember the story of Peter walking on water?• It illustrates this point.

1. It started with Peter hearing the Words of Jesus. • This is how his faith was sparked. • His faith is starting to rise on the inside.2. The next step is to speak it. • Peter needed to activate the faith that had been

sparked, so he shouts to Jesus, If it’s You, tell me to come.

3. Finally, Peter demonstrates his faith by actually stepping out of the boat and defying the law of buoyancy.

• In the word Jesus spoke, Come, was contained the power for Peter to walk on water.

• And his obedience to it, released the power to walk on water.

• Within every promise in God’s Word is the power to change your situations.

• It is your obedience to that Word which releases the power to change it.

Conclusion• Your faith will grow as you begin to exercise it:1. Hearing the Word ignites faith2. Speaking the Word activates faith3. Doing the Word demonstrates faith• If you will do this, you will notice your faith

growing little by little. • It won’t happen overnight, but you will notice your

faith muscles growing.

Commissioning Service

I hereby commission you to preach the Word of God to yourself.

Fa i thH e a r S p e a k D o