How to Believe God
Acts 27:25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
As a result of current events and those that will surely happen in the future, what should we do as Believers? How can we cope with such uncertainty with confidence and peace of mind? What must we do to adjust to the changing world scene? Is there a remedy for such stress and insecurity? I believe there is. I know there is. Let’s take a look at what the Word says and what the Founders of our Christian Faith did in situations similar to those we are facing today.
This is a time in the history of the human race that Believers must Believe God. Jesus emphasized the need to be ready in the parables He taught. In His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 and 25) when He preached on the Mount of Olives He told us to watch, to be ready, to be prepared, to be faithful. In light of current events and what seems to be approaching on the world scene, the need to Believe God is absolutely necessary for survival.
We need to learn How to Believe God before the time of crisis. It can be antsy to wait until the Storm has hit before we know how to Believe God. It’s too late to pray when the crisis comes. And if you do not know how to believe God, it’s too late to learn when you are in the middle of a situation. The prudent thing to do is to learn how to believe God and be ready when the crisis comes.
Paul openly declared that he believed God while he was standing on the deck of a sinking ship. But…. Paul had ample opportunity to Learn how to Believe God before his shipwreck experience in Acts 27. He stood on the Word for his deliverance many times.
2 Cor 11:
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches
The time to exercise faith is before the crisis comes. The time to learn how to believe is before the storm hits. We can build up ourselves in Holy Faith so that when the unexpected happens we will have a reserve of faith laid up to draw from. Like money in the bank. When the bill comes due, there is something in the bank to pay the bill with.
Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
In Paul’s experience he had testified that he was READY. Ready for whatever might come and for whatever might happen. He was Ready.
Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
2 Timothy 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
What Believing God is not: (All these are good, but they do not qualify as believing God)
Praying…. You can be a prayer warrior and still not believe God. How you pray and what you say reveals if you are believing God or not.
Speaking in Tongues… all the wonderful gifts of the Holy Ghost are exciting and beneficial, but you can exercise any or all of them and still not Believe God.
Attending Church… It’s great to attend church… to not “forsake the assembling of ourselves together” but you can still have a crowd of people attending church who don’t know how to believe God.
Singing… Great singing and great music can be performed by talented individuals who do not believe God. Participating in the joy of praise and the exuberance of dancing before the Lord is not necessarily believing God.
Worshiping… can be engaged in without believing God.
Preaching…. Can be exercised by those who are not believing God and heard and accepted by others who are not believing God
Testifying… May be offered by some who have received great miracles, but who still are not believing God.
Witnessing… Telling others of your experiences with God and your blessings from God is not necessarily believing God.
Intercession… May be long and loud without really believing God
Reading the Bible… is good, but you can read the Bible and not believe God
What Believing God is:
Believing God is a conscious and determined act of the human will to:
1. Trust wholly and unreservedly in God.
2. Rely on God.
3. Place confidence in God.
4. Absolutely and totally depend on God.
5. Fully surrender and yield to God.
- Unquestionably expect what God says to come to pass… to really happen.
I’m sure we all understand the importance of believing God. We need to be able to believe God. The question is… How Do we Believe God? How can we learn to Believe God? This is the heart of our message today.
FIRST… I really cannot fully believe in something or Someone I know little about. The first step in learning how to believe God is to learn as much as we can about Him. Not just to Know about Him, but to Know Him. Knowing Him is more than being acquainted with Him. Knowing Him is more than knowing about Him. Let’s take a little True or False test:
Question number one: Is God Good? T or F. If He is good, How do we know He is Good? What makes Him Good? Why can we rely on, trust in and depend on His goodness? Has He proven His goodness to us? How? Can we trust Him to be good in every situation and at all times… no matter what? Even if we are unfaithful? Even if we sin? Even if we are in doubt and fear and unbelief? Is God good when I am bad? Does He ever change from His goodness? Will He be good tomorrow? Is He good even when things are bad? Do you really Believe that God Good all the time? The Nature and Character of God defines His goodness. Our understanding of God and His Nature is revealed in several ways:
God’s Nature is revealed in Creation
God’s Nature is revealed in History… His intervention in the affairs of men
God’s Nature is revealed in His Word
God’s Nature is revealed in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ
These are the primary ways we have to know the Character and Nature of God.
Question number two: Does God Honor and Keep His Word? T or F. Does He do what He says He will do? Even when situations seem to contradict His Word, do I still believe… anyway? How can we know He keeps His Word? What proof do we have that God actually does what He says He will do?
- Fulfilled Prophecies… History. The rising and falling of Nations
- The resulting promises that are fulfilled as we Obey His Word
- Supernatural impartation when we receive Revelation
Testimonies of the faithful….
SECOND… I cannot fully Believe unless I come into an understanding of what God has Done for me. Are you saved? Are you Born Again? Are you Redeemed? Then just what does this mean? It means everything if you understand the TENSE of your REDEMPTION.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
The redemptive work planned and executed by God through His Son Jesus Christ has been done. It is accomplished. It is finished. Nothing more is (or can be) done. It is a Perfect and Complete supernatural act. It has been finished and it still is finished. Everything that ever needs to be done to make us free and keep us free has already been done. We have been delivered from the curse. The curse has been canceled in our behalf. What is the curse? Sickness. Therefore, We are the well resisting sickness.
Poverty. We are the rich resisting poverty.
Bondage. We are the delivered resisting bondage.
Terror. We are the Protected resisting terror.
Fear. We are the Secure resisting fear and worry.
Death. We are the Living resisting death in all its forms.
THIRD… If I am to Believe God, I need to know what His Will is. What is the Will of God? What is His Plan? What has He purposed for me? Jesus prayed for the will of God to be done on earth as it (the will of God) is being done in heaven. The will of God is the same thing that a last will and testament is here on earth. The Will is what God has provided for His Children. It is what He has left for His heirs. The Will of God is the Word of God… the composite of Truth that provides revelation and knowledge to those who belong to Him. The level of “all things possible” living must come from a revelation of His Will… which is His Word. What it is. What is says. What it promises. How it works. Why it works. To have an understanding of the Will of God opens the door for one to Believe God… because you will know what you can Believe God for….
FOURTH… What part of me is capable of really believing God? The Bible speaks of “believing with the heart…” Paul writes in Romans 10:9…
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…” What is believing “with the heart”? Understanding the fact that man is a Spirit, who has a Soul and who lives in a Body in essential in comprehending the things of God and being able to believe God.
“But the natural (psuchikos) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually (pneumatikos) discerned…” 1 Cor 2:14
- The body feels (the natural man…. The 5 senses)
- The mind thinks (reasons… the natural, unrenewed mind)
- The Spirit believes (The heart. The inner man. The Real You)
Now… which of the above is really capable of Believing God? Not the body. Not the unrenewed mind. But…the recreated Human Spirit which is made in the Image of God and is partaker of the Divine Nature….
2Pet 1:
4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers (a partner, an associate, a companion, a comrade, a sharer) of the divine nature,
So then, “BELIEVING” with the heart originates in the Will (mind) as a conscious and determined act, and explodes out of the Recreated Human Spirit as a Revelation.
Our main problem is a mind problem. The mind tends to believe and act on what the senses tell it. This is called “sense knowledge.” When what we do is dictated by sense knowledge, we are living in and on the natural, carnal level. The Word tells us that “to be carnally minded is death, but to be Spiritually minded is Life and Peace…” (Romans 8:6) “Death” has many first cousins. Worry is one. Fear is another. Then comes anxiety, dread, stress, unrest, sickness, poverty, bondage, terror, unstable marriages, messed up kids, fractured and broken relationships. Death has many facets. Sense knowledge invites death into our lives and hinders our Spirit from believing God. This is why Paul tells us that it is important for us to “renew” our minds.
Romans 12:
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
FIFTHLY…. How can Believing God change things in the Natural World?
Believing God is a Spiritual Thing. It originates as a conscious act of the human will and literally explodes out of the Recreated Human Spirit as Revelation… but how does all this relate to my need? To my storm? To my sinking ship?
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
How do we get God’s Abundant Supply to my Constant Need?
We need to understand the Natural World as it relates to and exists with (along side of) the Spiritual World. Most people do not realize that there are literally two Worlds existing (in the present) side by side. One is the Natural World (the world we can see and touch and taste and hear and feel). The visible, natural, physical world. This is the world we live in. The world that our mind (soul) and our body relates to. This world is easy to perceive because it relates to our reasoning… our senses… our sight. It can be experienced and understood by the natural faculties of man. However, the “natural” man cannot receive (understand) the things of the Spirit of God because they are “spiritually discerned…” they relate to the Other World…The Spiritual World.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man (psuchikos) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthinans 2:15 But he that is spiritual (pneumatikos) judgeth (investigates, examines, searches and discerns) all things, (as to whether they are Truth or Fact…)
Believing God begins in the Spirit and manifests in the Natural. It effects change in the Natural World because it is REALITY in the Spiritual. World. What we make as a determined and conscious act of our human will starts things happening. When It (our believing) explodes as a Revelation coming out of our Spirit, it produces change in the physical, natural world. The Spirit of God and the Truth of His Word are always more Powerful in operation than the natural and physical facts that are happening all around us.
The Word talks about seeing the Invisible….
Hebrews 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
The Word tells us that we walk by faith and not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
Walking by sight is living in and by the principles that operate in the natural world. Walking by Faith is living in and by the principles that operate in the Spiritual World. If there is a natural world that operates by Facts there is also a Spiritual World that operates by Truth.
The Word says that we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen….
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Jesus told us that we would know the Truth and the Truth would make us Free.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
How does one come to know the Truth? Listen:
John 8:31 ¶ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Truth, which is activated by Faith, is more powerful than Facts that are activated by reason. Faith was present before Facts existed. Faith gave birth to facts. The Faith of God produced the Fact of Creation. Faith always takes precedence over facts. Truth has more power than Facts. When the Word (Truth) is mixed with Faith it becomes Revelation. It becomes Wisdom. It becomes the primary force that functions in the Spiritual World. Truth is Spiritual. Facts are natural. Truth is “unseen” Facts are “seen.” Truth is understood by Faith, Facts are understood by Reason. Truth is the functioning force in the unseen Spiritual World; Facts are the functioning force in the visible Natural World. What we believe and how we believe determines which “World” we live in.
When we Believe with the Heart… we choose to live by Faith. We live by Revelation. By the Rhema Word. By understanding. By KNOWING. Then we are enabled to discern the difference between the Truth and the Facts. When facts contradict Truth then we choose to believe the Truth. And we continue to believe the Truth until the Truth becomes a fact.
Review:
Acts 27:25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2Timothy 1:12 …for I know whom I have believed, (“faithed”) and am persuaded (fully confident and totally convinced) that he is able (has the power) to keep (from being snatched away) that which I have committed (deposited) unto him against that day.
What Believing God is not: (All these are good, but they do not qualify as believing God)
Praying…. Speaking in Tongues… Attending Church… Singing… Worshiping… Preaching…. Testifying… Witnessing… Intercession… Reading the Bible…
What Believing God is:
Believing God is a conscious and determined act of the human will to:
1. Trust wholly and unreservedly in God.
2. Rely on God.
3. Place confidence in God.
4. Absolutely and totally depend on God.
- Fully surrender and yield to God.
- To Unquestionably expect what God says to come to pass… to KNOW that it will really happen.
FIRST… I really cannot fully believe in something or Someone I know little about. The first step in learning how to believe God is to learn as much as we can about Him. Is He Good? Does He keep His Word?
SECOND… I cannot fully Believe unless I come into an understanding of what God has Done for me. I must be convinced of the TENSE of my Redemption.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
THIRD… If I am to Believe God, I need to know what His Will is.
FOURTH… What part of me is capable of really believing God? The Bible speaks of “believing with the heart…” (Spirit – Soul – Body)
FIFTH…. How does Believing God relate to the Natural World? Believing God is a Spiritual Thing. It originates as a conscious act of the human will and literally explodes out of the Recreated Human Spirit as Revelation… but how does all this relate to my need? To my storm? To my sinking ship? We need to understand the Natural World as it relates to and exists with (along side of) the Spiritual World.
dickbraswell 
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