“HOW CAN I INCREASE MY FAITH?”
“HOW CAN I
INCREASE MY FAITH?”
Yes Dear
Readers, these are the three biggies for a Christian … as Paul
writes … faith,
hope and charity
(1 Corinthians 13:13) … and yes, the
greatest of
these is charity … but as mentioned … faith and hope are also very
important.
Much is
written in the Bible about faith, but what is faith built on?
Very simple
… it’s belief!
How do we
know this?
The
scriptures say of Abraham who was ‘dead as a dry stick’ (Romans
4:19),
that “He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong
in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:19).
Right there
Dear Reader is the connection between faith and belief …
Abraham
believed God could and would make? him the father of many
nations
(Romans 4:17) … nay … God says I have made thee already … now
… in
the present … not tomorrow … not next week … not
in ten
years time … but NOW!
I’m sure
what rocketed through Abraham’s mind was “How is this possible?” … but
he would
have said to himself something like “Well this is true in the natural
but it’s not
God’s truth!”
And that
Dear reader, is how we increase our faith.
Q: “Will we
believe what we think or will we believe what God has written?”
Let us receive
encouragement from the man with the child of a dumb spirit …
“… If thou canst believe,
all things
are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the
child
cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief.”
(Mark 9:23-24)
And here’s
the secret Dear Reader, ignore your own ideas, thoughts, ‘truth’,
circumstances
and so on … and believe what God has written and promised … (PS use the
King
James Bible) … the rest are only blasphemous versions.
What are
your circumstances right now?
Moses at the Red
Sea knew all about it … he didn’t look at his impossible situation
… but
looked to the Lord … and I reckon he would have said something like
“Lord, let
us be destroyed now, but if it please your will, save us … your will,
your way
and your time.”
Now Folks,
that’s what I call faith.
William Law, a clergyman
in the 18th century said …
“If
anyone could tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and
perfection,
he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise
God for
everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever
seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God
for
it, you turn it into a blessing.”
Now let’s study Paul’s
life and faith built on belief
You’d reckon if anyone knew
how to pray, it would be
Paul the apostle.
And as we study Paul’s
life, it will obvious how
he prayed.
But you might say “I’m
just an ordinary Christian?”
In your eyes - “Yes”, but
in God’s eyes “No”.
I don’t understand?
You may not have the
official title of Pastor,
Preacher, Evangelist or Teacher but when you think about it, all
Christians do
the same work. As Christians, we all witness, care for other
Christians, teach
them the Bible and preach and exhort others as well.
So?
We’ll look at 2nd
Corinthians and see
what challenges Paul faced and how he prayed and took them to the Lord.
As Paul says Be ye followers of me, even as I
also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
What is 2nd
Corinthians about then?
The theme is “The
Ministry”. It describes Paul’s
infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions and distresses for
Christ’s
sake (2Cor 12:10).
But not just Paul, 2nd
Corinthians is a
description of the trials, tests and tribulations that await
for any Christian.
God will put you through
such trying circumstances
such that you will be able to speak personally of his comfort and deliverance not from
your head, but from your heart.
From experience and not
just out of a book, you will
know, that you know, that you know, that you know … that comfort and
consolation only comes from the Lord.
And this will come from
throwing yourself 100% in
utter dependence with praise, in crippling circumstances, on God the
Father
Why?
Then God will get all the
glory like Moses at the
Red Sea! And Shadrach and companions in the firey furnace!
What sort of
circumstances did Paul face?
Paul uses 45 words in 2nd
Corinthians, to
describe his ministry.
They are “anguish,
perplexity, devour, smite, bondage, weak, despair, forsaken, faint,
persecuted,
sorry, grieved, down, perish, burden, cast down, groaning, poor,
chastened,
hunger, beaten, perils, pain, infirmity, stoned, reproaches, offended,
weariness, mourning, trembling, fear, poverty, affliction, despair,
necessities, imprisonments, distressed, destruction, tumults, killed,
tribulation, dying, suffering, terrified, death.”
But you might say “Ooo! I’m
not sure that’s for me!”
Dear Reader, you have no
choice. Your life is no longer your
own. You will be conformed to the image
of the Son (Romans
8:29) whether you like it or not. You can’t hope to fight God and win.
Put it
this way, the sooner you get on the program the better.
The sooner and quicker
you learn how to pray the right way the better.
Welcome to the Christian
life! And furthermore, you will thank and praise the Lord from the
bottom of
your heart that he has seen fit to destroy any form of self-support or
confidence you may have in yourself, in order for him to get all the
glory.
(Psalm 119:75)
As Paul states “And
he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in
my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I
take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in
distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
(2
Corinthians 12:9-10)
Indeed, “…that the
excellency of the power
may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
Paul talks about Israel in
the desert and their
five chief sins of lust, idolatry, fornication, tempting and murmuring
(1Cor 10:6-19,10-11). Paul says we are to use these for our examples,
admonition and
teaching.
So?
Do you know what really
“killed” them and delayed
their journey? The journey from Egypt to Canaan (their promised land)
should
have only taken them a couple of weeks apparently. Why did it take 40
years? MURMURING!
“And when the people COMPLAINED,
it
displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled;
and the
fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the
uttermost
parts of the camp.” (Numbers 11:1).
They kept wanting their old
life in Egypt. God was
giving them manna from heaven, but they wanted the old life of Egypt –
the
fish, the melons, the cucumbers and so on.
What’s murmuring?
It’s called having a whinge
and a whine,
complaining, bleating, not being content with what you have, grumbling,
sullen,
frowning, upset with your lot in life, being dealt a ‘bad hand’ in
life,
walking around depressing others with any upsetting details of your
life,
seeing your glass as half-empty and not half-full.
“It’s
too
hot today.” “I want more money” “I wish I had a better marriage!” “I
deserve
better!” “Why me Lord?” “I’m a Christian Lord, you should be treating
me
better.” “Not rissoles again” “Why can’t we have a nicer house like our
neighbours!”. “Look at my clothes. Why can’t I have better shoes?” Got
the
picture yet?
It’s alright for you, but
you don’t know the
crosses I have to bear!
Try this one. What if, as
an infant, your parents
took you to the doctor to fix up a minor eye condition? The doctor put
the
wrong ointment on your eyes and you were made blind for life?
This was the lot of Fanny
Crosby who
used her blindness to write hundreds
of hymns for the Lord. She
found her work for the Lord through her
handicap. (Blind from a medical mishap when 6 weeks old!)
Well
I just don’t feel like it!
Well
you are sinning if you don’t start praising and thanking the
Lord for
everything that comes your way. God says …
“And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them
who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
“Giving thanks always for
all
things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ;”
(Ephesians 5:20)
“Be careful for nothing; but in
every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be
made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)
“Rejoice evermore. Pray
without ceasing. In every thing give
thanks: for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians
5:16-18)
God is in no hurry. Unless
you get on his prayer
program, you’ll just spin your wheels and sink further into the mud
(Hosea
4:16).
Well,
that’s all easier said than done
Let me put it this way.
What does a father want from his children? Thanks, gratitude and
appreciation.
Do you think that any good father doesn’t know what his children want
and in
advance as well? What parent likes their child to be on the whinge and
whine
all the time? “I want this and I want that” “My friends have such and
such and
I don’t” Their focus in on themselves about what they need and want.
God the Father is the
same. He knows what we need before we
even ask. But most people just keep bashing on God’s door for their
health and
wealth and whatever else they want, as though God is ignorant of their
needs.
What he wants to hear is
our praise and thanks for, and in all, our situations. – good,
bad and ugly. In his time, when and where he
sees fit, his will, will be done. When we don’t do this we sin. God
says …
“And 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.”
(Romans 12:2)
Our thoughts must be his
thoughts.
Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ;
(2 Corinthians 10:5)
I don’t get it
Look, God just loves to
be the first and last port of call in all matters of life. He
deliberately
knocks out any form of self-support we have. God hates our
independence. Our calamities are his
blessings to us in disguise. HE’LL GET ALL THE GLORY
when
he delivers.
Well I still don’t like it!
And I’ll tell you why.
You still think it’s your life. You won’t have the life you want. “If I was a Doctor or a
Lawyer I could serve him better.”
You secretly hate the
fact your life is over, being put to death in Christ. You may have a
fear about
being sent as a missionary?
This won’t be easy
It’ll be as easy as you
want it to be.
There was a crippled
girl who
hesitated going to the doctors to get healed. “I don’t think I’d
better” she
said. “I’ve grown to love Jesus very much, because he is such a
strength to me
in my weakness, and I’m afraid that if I were made well, there might be
the
chance of my loving him less”.
God said to Paul “… My
grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness. Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of
Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's
sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
And that is
how to increase your faith Dear Christian.
Harley
Hitchcock
June 2025
This
website’s front page is:
www.
“BIBLE ANSWERS TO THE MOST FIVE ASKED QUESTIONS BY
CHRISTIANS”
THE OLD SCOTTISH SAYING …
“DREE THEIR
ANE WEIRD”
aka “endure their own word”
“CHRISTIANS ARE TO FOLLOW PAUL”
…
but if Christians follow Paul, how can they follow Christ?
“WHERE
IS THE 
IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT?”
