The Gift of Faith – Gifts of the Spirit – Part 6

Gift of Faith

This post is part 6 in a series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  This one is about the Gift of Faith referenced in the bible

1 Corinthians 12: The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.

This gift of faith is not the same faith as the faith someone needs for salvation.  The bible says  Romans 10:9  (NLT) “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

This believing in your heart is faith for salvation and we do have to have some level of faith to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior and also to believe that there is a heaven and there is a hell even though we cannot see it.  This requires faith.

“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

Actually every human on earth, saved or unsaved, have some level of faith.  You believe that when you work and your employer says your check is




deposited on a specific date it is there.  When you put your money in the bank you can actually use your bank card to purchase things in a store without checking every day that the money is there.  We all believe something on some level by faith.  This belief only gets shifted when something is not where you are expecting it to be.

However, the faith that is referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is not the same kind of faith.  As the scripture says above it is a “great faith”.  This is beyond the regular faith.  This is the faith that is required for the gift of intercession, gifts of healing and to also perform miracles.

Not many Christians would attempt raising someone from the dead, casting out a demon or healing someone in front of  a large audience.  This requires the faith where you know the Holy Spirit will show up and perform it.  I want you to know that usually when this gift is in operation the person that is walking in the gift already knows before they make a move that God is going to show up and do it.  Through the word of knowledge they already had the information on what was about to happen.  They then follow the instructions of the Lord to see it happen.

Romans 12:3-4 New International Version (NIV) “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,”

From this verse we see that we do not all have the same level of faith.  That’s why some can walk in signs, wonders and miracles and others cannot.  That’s why some can raise people from the dead and others cannot.  That’s why some operate in the gifts of healings and others do not.

Therefore, for Christians to say that these gifts have ceased because they are not operating in them is incorrect.  They’re not operating in them because they don’t have the “measure of faith” from God required to operate in these gifts.

How do we increase our measure of faith?

Romans 10:17 New King James Version (NKJV) “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
We increase by reading God’s word and believing what it says.  So when we read the word and we come upon a scripture that seems impossible we Gift of Faithknow that we have a stronghold or some resistance in that area in our life.  How then should we respond?  We need to
2 Corinthians 10:5 “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
That’s it.  Take the thought captive.  If God says it can be done, then it can be done.
Read Hebrews 11 to see those who have gone ahead and walked in this great faith.  Have you ever heard of David Hogan?  He has trained everyone in his ministry as well as the community in where he serves to raise people from the dead https://freedom-ministries.us/.
We’re not going to completely agree with someone’s theology however, you can’t deny their gift.  If you believe God is calling you to walk in a specific gift my advise to you is to find people who are operating in it and learn from them.  You have to get in the environment in order to grow in the gift.  Giftings can be passed through impartation.  You can catch things in the spirit.
There is no church that is equipped to do everything in the body of Christ.  So we go through seasons in life where God specifically tells us that we need to learn about one gift or another.  If you church doesn’t operate in or teach about whatever God is telling you, then you need to find one that does.  I’m not telling you to leave your church, what I am saying is that you need to take responsibility for your own growth.  You can watch other services and teachers online, go to their conferences, take their online courses, etc.  Whatever you need to do to learn and grow is what you need to do.
Many times we can outgrow the place where we are planted.  You need to know when you have learnt everything you need to learn from one ministry and/or church and move on to the next place where God sends you. Discern your season.
Blessings

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