Phil,

I haven't yet read the other posts on this subject, but a really good Lesson 
2 - and I know God is speaking to me about "How big He is"!

--
Carol - Reading, UK

To you, o Lord, I lift up my soul;
In You I trust, o my God.  . . .."  PS25:1-2 NIV.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 7:29 PM
Subject: Faith - Lesson 2


> i.    The Origin Of Faith.
>
>     Let's begin by four statements concerning faith which I will
> first present and then, as the study continues, I will prove
> biblically.
>
>     1.  Faith is a fixed value.
>     2.  God has faith.
>     3.  You will never have more faith than you do right now.
>     4.  Faith and more faith isn't what we need.
>
> Since in this section, we are focusing on "The Origin Of Faith,"
> let's answer the question, "From where does faith come?"  to
> answer this question, I am going to focus on these three areas.
>
> A.  The Source Of Faith.
> B.  The Strength Of Faith.
> C.  The Size Of Faith.
>
> A.  The Source Of Faith.
>
>     Romans 12:3 says, "God has dealt to every man the measure of
> faith."  The Greek word for "dealt" in this verse means
> (separating or dividing into equal portions).  For example, when
> cutting a pie, we attempt to cut the pie into equal portions so
> everyone gets the same amount.  If you were God and cutting that
> same pie, it would be exactly equal portions.  When giving candy
> to our children, or in my case, our grandchildren, everybody gets
> an equal amount.  Otherwise, somebody's feelings are going to get
> hurt.  We don't give more to one than the other because that
> wouldn't be fair.  God doesn't play favorites either because He
> loves us all the same, that is, equally.  Thus, the faith we have
> is proportioned to everyone equally, exactly, and precisely.
>
>     The Greek word for "measure" in this same verse means an
> instrument of exact measurement.  This Greek word has been
> transliterated and given us the word "metronome."  this time
> keeping device sits on a piano and assists us in keeping perfect
> time to the music we play.  Thus, an exact measurement of faith
> allows us to keep perfect time with the Lord and His perfect will
> and God is the One who keeps perfect time in our lives.
>
>     According to this verse, "Who gives us this exact
> measurement of faith?"  Yes, it is God Himself who gives us the
> faith.  So the real question now become, "Where did God get it?"
>
>     If I were to ask if god has righteousness verses God is
> righteousness, I'm sure you would say, God is righteousness.  If
> I were to ask if God has holiness or is God Holiness, I'm sure
> you would agree that God is Holiness.  If I were to suggest God
> has love but God Isn't love, I would imagine you would totally
> disagree with that statement and say, God is love.  Yet, if I say
> God has faith, or God is faith, most would disagree with both
> statements.  So let's discover what the Bible says is the truth
> concerning this matter.
>
>     Hebrews 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and
> finisher of our faith."  Some would quickly point out that the
> verse says it is "our faith."  Let me just as quickly point out
> the focus is on Jesus and not us.  Besides, if we have faith as
> Born Again Believers, where did we get it?  Hebrews tells us we
> got it from the Lord Jesus.
>
>     The Greek word for "author" in this passage means (head,
> leader, chief), as in "The Commander and Chief," of our faith.
> Likewise, the Greek word for "finisher" in this verse means (one
> who perfects).
>
>     A friend of mine builds houses for a living but he is called
> a framer because he, and his crew, builds the structure, or
> framework, of the house.  Others come in to do the wiring,
> plumbing, sheet rocking, and they literally "finish" the house.
> This is what Jesus does for our faith.  Our faith comes from
> Jesus and He finishes it for those who are continuing to walk in
> it.
>
>     Unfortunately, for some, this raises yet another question.
> If Jesus is the "author," and "finisher" of our faith, that must
> mean that Jesus has faith, or He is faith, so where did He get
> it?  Before answering that question, let's continue and we will
> return to this issue later.
>
>     Although it is likely we are not yet in agreement that our
> faith has been given to us by God, and that Jesus is the
> Perfecter of our faith, let's look at another aspect of faith
> that will begin to bring things into focus.
>
> B.  the Strength Of Our Faith.
>
> "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,
> (Romans 10:17).
>
>     Several years ago, this passage of Scripture continually
> came to my thoughts.  Over a period of a couple of weeks, it
> nearly drove me crazy.  I finally stopped working one day, sat
> down at my computer, and dialed the verse into the window and
> began studying each word.  What bothered me the most, during this
> two week period, is that still small voice of the Holy Spirit
> kept misquoting the verse.  He said, "Faith comes out of hearing
> the Word of God."  I knew that was wrong so maybe, just maybe,
> that wasn't the voice of the Holy Spirit in my thoughts after all.
> Of course, as it turned out once again, I was wrong and He was
> right.
>
>     The Greek word for "cometh by" as used by the King James
> translators means (out of), or "out from).  Coupled with the
> question, what are we hearing, and the answer is the Word of God,
> then the verse literally reads, "Faith comes out of hearing the
> Word of God."  This can only be true, of course, if we are
> listening at the time.  Listening, that is, with our spiritual
> ears.  In fact, the experience itself I just describe is exactly
> how faith literally comes out of hearing the Word of God.  This
> also means, in my opinion, but I am far from done proving it, that
> faith must be a fix value, that is, a fixed amount.  Why?  Because
> such is the nature of God's Word; it never changes.  If faith
> comes from hearing the Word of God, and God's Word is fixed, or
> true, or without error, then the faith which comes out of the Word
> of God must have the same spiritual characteristics.  Thus, I
> believe faith is a fixed amount.  Let's not stop yet, though,
> proving that faith is, in fact, a fix value or an exact spiritual
> measurement.  In this line of thinking, and only in this way, I am
> calling this the "strength" of our faith because our strength,
> metaphorically speaking, and sometimes even physically speaking,
> comes from total dependency upon God's Word.
>
>     We have looked at the A.  Source Of Faith, and B.  The
> Strength Of Faith, so let's move to the next point in the
> outline.
>
> C.  The Size Of Faith.
>
>     Question.  How much faith does it take?  I'm referring to
> whatever you are asking God for and believing.  Does it, as was
> earlier suggested, take a little faith, medium sized faith, 75
> percent faith, or off the scale faith in order to get the job
> done?  You see, this is why I do not personally believe that faith
> has a size or measurement other than the exact measurement we
> received at the moment of salvation.  As I said, the faith you
> have now is all the faith you are ever going to have.
>
> Illustration.
>
>     Several years ago, I was listening to one of my favorite
> daily Christian radio programs.  If I mentioned the man's name,
> everyone who listen to Christian radio at all would know him.  I
> still greatly admire this man and still often listen to his radio
> programs.  I have even purchased a number of his tapes over the
> years and still would if I heard something I desired to review and
> keep for my personal satisfaction and spiritual growth.  So, what
> you are about to read is in no way a criticism of this man or his
> ministry.
>
>     One day, his guest was a man who had been working on the
> engine of a prop aircraft.  He had pushed on the prop, it swung
> back, struck his nose, and literally sliced his nose off.  As the
> testimony goes, the man began screaming, "I am healed by the
> stripes of Jesus.  I am healed by the stripes of Jesus."  People
> came running and even his wife, who just happened to be driving to
> the airport, and because she felt the Lord telling her to get to
> the airport as I recall, drove into the parking lot shortly after
> the accident.  She ran out to the area where the plane was parked,
> fell down beside her husband, and in spite of the crowd and the
> medical team trying to work on him, started praying out loud in
> tongues.  If you don't believe in speaking in tongues for today,
> forget that last part but keep reading.  They took the man to the
> hospital, and without pain killing drugs, literally sowed his nose
> back on.  That night, the man was standing in a church speaking
> and giving his testimony of healing.  The testimony itself is not
> what bothered me about what I heard.  By the way, for you
> skeptics, the phrase "By His stripes we were healed?"  That is a
> quote from both First Peter 2:24 and Isaiah 53:5 except in Isaiah,
> it says, "By His stripes we are healed."  The Greek and Hebrew
> words used for the word "healed" is translated, (cured).  You
> cannot be cured from your sins; only forgiven.  Thus, the passages
> of Scripture are not metaphorical but literal.  The word is used
> repeatedly throughout the New Testament in passages where it says
> Jesus cured the sick.  Look it up for yourself if you doubt what I
> have just said.
>
>     what bothered me in this man's testimony was not how he was
> healed by the stripes of Jesus.  It was what he began to teach
> about faith, and said how we exercise our faith, and learn how to
> walk in faith, which bothered me.  Why?  Because what he taught
> wasn't Scriptural.
>     I made mention of this previously but I felt it was worth
> repeating in more detail again since it related directly to the
> size of faith it takes to get a prayer answered.
>
>     As the man continued after his testimony, he was asked by the
> host about how we make our faith work.  The man suggested we start
> out with small things, such as a head ache, and once we achieved
> success in the smaller areas, then advance to the more difficult
> and complex.  This implies that faith must have a predetermined
> size which God has preordained for each individual situation and
> will not, therefore, accept anything less.  It is this concept
> which I find totally unscriptural.  Let's return to the original
> passage I used when beginning this study on faith.
>
> "And the Apostles said unto the Lord, increase our faith,"
> (Luke 17:5).
>
>     As I pointed out, these same disciples came to Jesus on
> another occasion and said, "Teach us to pray," and Jesus did
> teach them to pray.  He, Jesus, used what we call the Lord's
> prayer to teach them a format to which they could relate.
> Unfortunately, some religions today have made what Jesus taught,
> the central form of worship in their denominations and such was
> not at all the point Jesus was trying to get across, but I
> digress.  The issue is, Jesus did not increase their faith upon
> their request.  Instead, on more than one occasion, Jesus started
> teaching, it would appear, on mustard seeds and trees and
> mountains and oceans.  Let's quote the very next verse in Luke 17
> but this time using verse 6 in the passage.
>
> "And the Lord said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed,
> you might say unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the
> roots, and be though planted in the sea; and it shall obey you."
>
>     I realize that most of us have been taught he was speaking
> and teaching metaphorically and spiritually and that Jesus really
> didn't mean what He said.  After all, He was just teaching.
> Right?  Yes, He was indeed teaching all right but He was teaching
> about faith or did we forget that already?  What, then, was Jesus
> trying to say?  Was He suggesting the disciples had faith even
> smaller than a mustard seed?  That seems difficult to believe
> since His disciples had been preaching and teaching on their own
> and casting out demons, healing the sick, and doing everything
> they had seen Jesus already doing.  So they must have had a fair
> amount of faith, otherwise, how could they have done those
> miracles at all?  Let me explain what I mean by comparing yet
> another passage of Scripture.
>
>                        Matthew  17:14-20
>
> 14  And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a
> certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying.
> 15  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore
> vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the
> water.
> 16  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure
> him.
> 17  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse
> generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer
> you? bring him hither to me.
> 18  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and
> the child was cured from that very hour.
> 19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could
> not we cast him out?
> 20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for
> verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
> seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder
> place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto
>      you.
> 21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
>
> This is quite a fascinating portion of Scripture in many ways.
> There is a great deal of theology that could be gleamed from this
> miracle but it isn't the miracle upon which I wish to focus at the
> moment.
>
>     First, and foremost, we have the mustard seed comparison
> Jesus used again.  The disciples also failed in their attempts to
> cast the demon out.  Odd, you might think, because they had
> already been doing exactly that, and much more, as Jesus sent them
> out under His power and authority.  Since the disciples came to
> Jesus and asked Him why they could not cast the demon out, they
> apparently figured it didn't work because they did not have enough
> faith.  As it turns out, that wasn't the problem at all.
>
> "19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could
> not we cast him out?
> 20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief."
>
>     Because of their "unbelief?"  Wait just a minute here.  Did
> Jesus get mixed up on His doctrine or something?  Shouldn't it be
> their faith that was in question?  What's believing have to do
> with anything?  You see, the disciples made the same mistake we
> normally make, and that is, we think faith has a size for each
> individual thing we face in life.  This erroneous interpretation
> of Scripture leads one to believe that if they pray, and nothing
> happens, then they just didn't have enough faith.  Yet Jesus made
> it perfectly clear, it wasn't their lack of faith but what they
> believed.  They thought if they just had enough faith, or more
> faith, or a whole lot of faith, things would happen.  Jesus
> explained to them it had nothing to do with their faith which they
> thought needed increasing but what they believed.  Jesus was
> trying to get them to see, and understand, that it was not the
> size of their faith that made the difference but the size of their
> God.  How big is God?  Whatever you believe.  The variable in any
> situation, therefore, is not how much faith you have, or need, but
> what we believe.
>
>     In this particular case, Jesus said prayer and fasting was
> required.  Why?  For the disciples to have gain greater insight to
> why the demon was there in the first place and to remember the
> authority Jesus had already given them.  The fasting and prayer
> certainly wasn't for the demons benefit.
>
>     Before leaving this lesson, let me mention that I am far from
> finished proving what I believe about faith.  the other lessons
> expand upon what I have taught thus far.  If you stop here,
> without reading the rest of the lessons, you will go away with the
> wrong conclusions.  What I teach and believe and live by is not
> even taught by Charismatics and Pentecostals so don't try and get
> ahead of me.  If you out run your headlights, you might end up as
> your own road kill.
>
> End Of Lesson Two.
>
>
> It Sounds Like God To Me.
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com