In the previous article, Faith’s Influence on Your World, we discussed that our faith is the victory that overcomes the world, and the force of faith flowing out of you will subdue and transform any situation in your life! Jesus Christ is the perfect expression of the Father, and the way He responded to any individual in Scripture is how He will respond to you when you come to Him in faith!
Let’s look at this principle in action in Matthew 17:14-21. And when they have come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 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. And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 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. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
This father besought Jesus on behalf of his demon-possessed son. At this point, all of Jesus’ disciples had been anointed and placed into the healing ministry. They had already been casting demons out with success, so this father brought his tormented son to a miracle meeting expecting his son to receive deliverance. This man experienced nine faith failures. We know that his faith was severely damaged at this point because in Mark’s account of the story, he says to Jesus, “If You can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” (Mark 9:22 AMPC).
I want you to see that those nine faith failures were not the will of God. It was not the will of God for that demon to stay on that boy! Remember, we said in “Faith’s Influence on Your World” that we can determine how Jesus will respond to us by how He has responded to others. We said that God is pleased when all are healed. God is pleased when His will is done, and He was not pleased with the devil on that young man! Jesus is the only One in that scenario who perfectly expressed the will of the Father, and what did He do?
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. And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
~ Matthew 17:17-18 ~
The will of God was done when that young man was delivered! Jesus’ response was, “Bring him to Me!”
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
~ John 6:37-38 ~
If Jesus will not reject anyone who comes to Him, friend, He will not reject you! Follow that through verse 38, and you will see that it is the Father’s will that you are accepted and received when you come to Him. It is not the physical act of coming to Him, but the act of faith in coming to Him that pleases Him. When you come to Him in faith, He will not reject you, but He will judge your enemy, break the back of the curse in your life, and set you completely free!
Do you see this? Faith is a Heavenly force that conquers all forces of the curse! It is the victory that overcomes the world! Right now, your faith is influencing your situation!
For faith to influence your world, it must be released. Hebrews 11:3 tells us that through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. There is not a separate Hebrew word for “words” and “things,” and so another way to read that text could be, “The worlds were made of all these substances.” This planet was made by the Word of God. You release your faith in the same way God released His-by speaking faith-filled words into your situation. Faith IS substance, and it will give substance to the thing you are hoping for.
When God gave you the measure of faith (Romans 12:3), He gave you the world. The substance of your victory is in your faith. You have the substance that overcomes the world inside of you. If you will use your faith, and declare the living, substantive Word of God in your situation, the grace of God will influence, or flow into, that situation through that channel and change your world! Friend, use your faith, and you are guaranteed victory!
Faith is the force that will change your course; Jesus exerted the force of faith on that devil and out he went!
How do you get to the place of fully persuaded faith? Faith is not something we do to get God to move on our behalf; rather, it is a response to what He has already done for us. God has made up His mind about what He wanted to do for us; the choice now is ours. We must get our hearts established on the established covenant, and we do that through meditating on the Word, as God told Joshua (Joshua 1:8).
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
~ 2 Peter 1:19 ~
The Word is sure. As you meditate on it, it gets sure in your heart. Find the promises that cover what you are believing in, and meditate on them over and over. Meditate on the Word till you see it working. That Word will arise in your heart, and you will release your faith-filled words into your world, and influence it for the glory of God! Your faith is the victory that overcomes the world!
