More about Faith... in Living Hope

Your faith have saved you from eternal hell. Romans 15:13, Overflowing hope is the gift of the God of hope by the power of the Spirit. Faith is a gift from God and only the Holy Spirit can provide faith in us. They key in order to make faith work, submission to God is the key. When we doubt means we disobeyed God. In term of "obedience" we are to present our bodies "as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." When you give your body, you give everything it contains within your body. What Christians needs to do is obey God's word in Faith. We are focus on our faith based on obedience to holiness, adding to our faith and fruit of the spirit through grace. In measure of faith... we are to add to our faith in obedience is listed In 2 Peter, Chapter 1, verses 5 through 9: "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. What Christians needs to do is obey God's word in Faith. We are focus on our faith based on obedience to holiness, adding to our faith and fruit of the spirit through grace. Working on of faith means nothing if you don't act on your faith. If you don't act, then you don't have faith. Faith is confidence in the character of God, and hope is the sweet anticipation of desirable things promised but not yet realized. Hope is a gift from the heavenly Father "who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope" (2 Thessalonians 2:16). The Christian's hope is sound because it is founded upon the character of God and the redeeming work of His Son Jesus Christ. For this reason Peter could call it "a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3). It is living because it rests on reality and not on fancy. It is not wishful dreaming but vital expectation with Jesus Christ behind it. Faith in Christ, in His Character and His will is the key to complete faith. Yes, faith is required to be healed (more importantly SALVATION). However, faith must come with the Holy Spirit in order for healing to happen. Holy Spirit is God and healing must come from God, not faith. Faith COMES with healing. The Holy Spirit is IN US and we have FAITH. Now the question comes, how or when healing happens? By our efforts or by God's discretion? There are those who will say that the Bible is saying its up to us while the Bible actually says "God decides". To God, He knows when there's a right time and way for everything, especially healing. Hebrews 11:39-40 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. In 2 Corinthians 4:18 says So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. In Ephesians 1:11, "He works all things according to the purpose of His own will." We are to trust in God's decisions which is REAL FAITH. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God says, "My thoughts are completely different from yours, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Colossians 1:28-29 (NIV) We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

More about faith and measure of faith

Matthew 9:5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? Mark 2:9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? Luke 5:23 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? What did Jesus mean by the phrase "According to your faith be it unto you" ? How much faith did those people have? Defining faith, at what level do we know how to measure faith? Did they have enough faith to be healed? Yes. Did they have enough faith to be saved? Yes. How does faith come to us? If they had enough faith to be saved, then salvation is what they received. Although faith is not mandatory for healing, it is for salvation. We can't be saved without faith and with regard to salvation, we are touched and cleansed from SINS when we came to Christ in faith, only in terms of the disease of sin which is worse than the diseases. Someone may try get "credit" for getting healed when they think they have done it from the works of faith (measure of faith). In reality, healing is from God at His discretion, the Holy Spirit-and using that person as an instrument to do God's will and plan. When Jesus performed miracles, He was trying to get people attention. The word marvel (Gk. thaumazo) is a very comprehensive word. It means amazed or astonished. When accompanied by a prefix (Gk. ekthaumazo), the word means "to marvel greatly" as in Mark 12:17. Luke 9:43 (NIV) And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. God's Grace and Gift: Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. As a disciple, my Christian faith should be inward, not outward because the Bible teaches that faith is of the spirit and not of the flesh. Acts 15:8 God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. A spiritually dead person is without the Holy Spirit, therefore we do not have the "ability" to get saved on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to prick and quicken us to be alive. All you did was responding to the Holy Spirit's conviction and He did the rest. There's no works involved. There's no measure of faith involved. Its a choice in matter of responding to the Holy Spirit's conviction in our hearts to be saved. Jesus said in John 16:8 "When He (Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." Later in the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." People can get worked up over "faith" when it is really nothing there to get worked up. Faith is obedience. You obey God simply because you have faith in Him. Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Revelation 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.