As believers in Jesus Christ, we are a part of a community who lives by faith. Faith is defined in the book of Hebrews (11:1) as the substance of things hoped for, the conviction/assurance of things not seen. By faith, we believe that God desires to build His Kingdom in us and through us. He wants to rule in every aspect of our lives. This includes our hearts, minds, and relationships. But, it also includes our bodies. Faith involves believing that God can restore and bring healing.
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According to Your Faith
• Greg Boyd
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As believers in Jesus Christ, we are a part of a community who lives by faith. Faith is defined in the book of Hebrews (11:1) as the substance of things hoped for, the conviction/assurance of things not seen. By faith, we believe that God desires to build His Kingdom in us and through us. He wants to rule in every aspect of our lives. This includes our hearts, minds, and relationships. But, it also includes our bodies. Faith involves believing that God can restore and bring healing.
It is God’s desire to bring wholeness and healing to our bodies, and by faith we believe that He can do this.
In the passage in Matthew, Jesus healed two blind men who believed by faith that this could take place. It was by their faith that their sight was restored.
It is through Christ that healing can take place. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” Acts 10:38. Sickness is part of Satan’s ploy to keep us in oppression and bondage. However, Jesus came to bring us life, freedom and healing.
As believers we are also anointed and empowered with the same Spirit that was in Christ. With God dwelling in us, we are able to confront sickness, disease, deformity and any other ploy of Satan, and by faith and prayer believe that God can bring healing and wholeness.
So, what does it look like to have a faith that believes in healing; whether physical, emotional or relational? Truthfully, it is very difficult to believe. We tend to not see many healings taking place today. Or, we pray for someone to be healed, and nothing takes place. Even in scripture, there is mention of a father who transparently shares in his unbelief that his son would be healed. “Jesus said, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Matthew 9:23).
When healing does not take place, it’s important to realize that it doesn’t mean we didn’t believe hard enough. The Bible mentions that there is a war going on between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan for this world, which is very complex. Our job is not to try to place blame or to explain, but to have faith and continue to be persistent in our prayers. God only desires us to obey and believe!
In the book of James it mentions that faith without works is dead. Kingdom faith involves having a vision that you are willing to act on. If you have a vision for how God wants to work in your life, you can then move towards this. By faith, we can believe that God is able!
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Focus Scripture:
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Matthew 9:28-30
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you"; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this."
