The Operation of Faith
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” Genesis 17:1,5
And again
“And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever, And his disciples heard it.” Mark 11:13-14
And again
“And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” Luke 13:12
And again
“And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.” Joshua 6:16
What is common to the above scriptures?
“for a father of many nations have I made thee”
And again
“No man eat fruit hereafter forever”
And again
“Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity”
And again
“for the LORD hath given you the city”
Answer?
The declarations were made in the past tense, even though there was no manifestation in the physical to correlate such statements.
Abraham was still without the seed, yet “a father of many nations have I made thee”.
The fig tree was still standing, yet “no man eat fruit hereafter forever”.
The woman was still bound, yet “thou hath loosed from thine infirmities”.
The wall of Jericho was still standing, yet “the LORD hath given you the city”.
Why so?
“… even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Romans 4:17
God is a faith operator. For he calleth things that be not as though they were.
To operate by faith is to speak in the present as though that which you want in the future is already manifest, even though it is not.
Your only evidence of it's manifestation is your faith.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..." Hebrews 11:1
Then Manifestation
“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.” Genesis 21:1-2
And again
“And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursed is withered way. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” Mark 11:20-22
And again
“And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” Luke 13:13
And again
“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat…” Joshua 6:20
And again
Thank you for reading.