ICS Daily Devotions
General Faith
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Every believer has general faith. We will continue to grow and develop our faith in God based on His word. Sometimes, you will hear Christians share that they are believing God for something and then it didn’t come into fruition. Well, it has to do with their level of faith, whether they have heard from God or are purely just presumptuous.
Romans 12:3(NKJV) For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 10:17(NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The general faith is like a muscle that has to be exercised in order for it to get stronger to carry different loads. General faith is in operation when we choose to live a consecrated life.
All of us are given a measure of faith to operate in the spiritual gifts that God has given us, and we are to use it in proportion to our faith. We need to exercise our faith to operate in the gifts that He has given us. Our faith to operate in the gifts gets stronger when we yield to the Holy Spirit and witness His move through our lives.
What are the hindrances to general faith?
Matthew 13:57-58(NKJV) So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
There is nothing much that God can do if there is unbelief in the heart of the people. Jesus is telling us that the faith of men or the unbelief of men does play a part in seeing mighty works in our midst. If the people in the olden times had unbelief because Jesus was a carpenter’s son from their town, then how much more challenging it is for us to believe that a mighty move of God can work among us today! WE NEED TO DEAL WITH UNBELIEF.
Matthew 14:31 (NKJV) And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
There will be many opportunities for us to give up on the promises that God has given us when we are operating in the general faith. In this case, Peter received a word from God to walk on water which he did, but he started to doubt when he saw the wind and the waves. Doubt will hinder us from receiving from the Lord. Facts, figures and reports will cause us to doubt the ability of God! We need to battle the doubts and unbelief by choosing to stand on the Word that God has given to us. Believing in God’s Word will strengthen our general faith.
Sermon Series: CG Campaign 2019 – Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow
