what you don't Know about faith.

The bible told us in Hebrews that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So, it would mean that faith is a powerful weapon needed to walk with God. The bible says it is impossible to please God without faith.

Let's dive into this considering three sub-topics

• What is faith? 
• The enemies of faith
• How to increase in faith

1. WHAT IS FAITH? 

(Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen )

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we desire comes to pass, It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.

 In simple terms, faith is said to be an expectation that is backed up by a strong assurance of result.

Many people have faith in different things but let's talk about faith in God.

 Now I will say faith in God is the understanding and conviction you have about what God can do based on the testimony or record you have of Him, based on the integrity of his word.

 Faith in God is having absolute trust in God. Having total dependency on God.

When you depend on a man for something knowing full well that you will get it, that is not faith.

God might have spoken to a man that he will die at the age of 70 years and so when a gun is pointed at him when he is still at 45 years old he still declares God's word "I shall not die but live says the lord", his complete trust on that word of God is faith. Because he trusts the integrity of God to keep his word.

This will make us know that faith comes by believing God's word. When you hold on to God's word without any form of doubt, that is faith. 

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when he was called out of his father's house to go to a land where God will show him. He went without knowing where he was going to.

 (Hebrews 11:8)

Abraham had conviction in the word of God that says "to a place that I will show you" that was why he stepped out even without knowing where he was going to.

Faith is like a blind man that has trust in his walking stick, the walking stick is the word of God. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We can infer that a man of faith is a blind man who can only get to his destination by total dependence on his walking stick, which is God's word.

The only sight faith has is the integrity of God's word

2. THE ENEMIES OF FAITH

  i. FEAR and doubt: The presence of fear is the absence of faith

You can never be afraid of what you have control over, many of us have big dangerous dogs and many times when we return from our places of work, the dog bark at us but we are not scared because there is a consciousness that says to you "this is my dog". 

The same barking a stranger heard and runs away, is the same barking you hear and move closer to the dog.

 What causes fear many a times is ignorance, not knowing what God has said about a thing makes us live below the normal standard. The bible made it known to us that God lives inside of us but we're still afraid of the gods outside of us. It is not enough to know God's word, the understanding of the person of God kills fear.

Fear and doubt works together, when there is doubt, fear begins to set in. Doubt also comes as a result of lack of complete trust in God's word

(Matthew 14:31:Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. " You don't have much faith, " Jesus said. " Why did you doubt me? ")

Peter was only able to walk on water because of the faith in the word of Jesus that says "COME" but he saw the wind and began to doubt if Jesus's word before the wind started is still valid when the wind started. If Peter was a man of faith, he will be a blind man and will not see the wind but will only depend on his walking stick which is "come".

3. How to increase in faith

Jesus remains the author and the finisher of the faith of every believer. So, a believer might not have a faith problem but the problem of unbelief. Reading God's word and not believing is the work of a veil which can be removed by the illumination that come by prayer.

 Read more on how to increase in faith.