Does Increasing the Word of God Increase Faith?

SPEAKER A You once to every time in the sight of the good or evil sky don't break on you that I choice of life forever with that darkness. And. SPEAKER B The Bible assures us in Ephesians two, verses eight to ten, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Welcome to faith to faith Here are your hosts, Ettienne McClintock and Braedan Entermann. SPEAKER C Dear listener, greetings and a warm welcome. Thank you for joining us on the program again today. We're delighted to have your company. And just as we start, we just invite you to bow your heads with us for a word of prayer. Gracious Father in heaven, it's such a privilege today just to spend time in your Word. We're grateful for the encouragement we can get from it. But Father, as we read it, we know that these words are living and powerful, but they made alive because of the Holy Spirit. And as such, Father, we just pray for the guidance of your Holy Spirit. Baptize us. Afresh the person who's listening as well, Father. Give them a great measure of your Spirit to lead us into all truth and to understand this important subject of how faith can be increased. Strengthen our faith, Father. Strengthen it as we read your Word. This is our prayer. In Jesus name, amen. SPEAKER D Amen. SPEAKER C So Braedan today's topic we have in the form of a question. It says does increasing the word of God increase faith? So that's what we're going to discuss. SPEAKER D So I've got a question for you, Etienne. In all of your experience on radio, have you ever had someone give you a call and ask you for a million dollars? SPEAKER C Look, I don't even have to think too long about that one. No, definitely not. And if they had rung up and asked me for a million dollars, I would be very curious as to what would have motivated such an audacious request. SPEAKER D Why haven't they called you asking for a million dollars? SPEAKER C Well, first of all, I've never told anybody to ring me up and ask me for a million dollars. And the second thing is, I mean, for me to make a statement like that on the radio, first of all, I would have to have a million dollars in the bank that I can just give away. Certainly don't have that. I wouldn't make the statement in the first place. And if I was to make that statement and people rang up, well, then I wouldn't be so surprised. I guess I would expect that kind of request to come through because we do sometimes offer some free books or make books available that people can ring up for. We've had phone calls like that. So if you want to have this free book that we're making available. People ring up, they ask for the book, and we mail it out to them. So those are quite reasonable and common requests. We have phone calls that we have, but a million bucks? I would start questioning the validity of the question, just simply wondering, where would this person have had the motivation to do it? SPEAKER D Where do you get that idea from? SPEAKER C Yeah. Or secondly, just questioning whether they have maybe rung the wrong number. SPEAKER A Yeah. SPEAKER D It's so interesting. If we boil it down, they don't call because you never promised that's. SPEAKER C That right. SPEAKER D They don't ask for a million dollars because you never promised a million dollars. Because I was in a friend's car the other day and the radio was on, and I don't know what radio station it was, but they were saying that if you listen out for this particular artist, and if you hear their songs throughout the day, give us a call and you might get your share in $10,000. The people call through what's the reason is because the radio station actually promised that if you call at this particular time, you will be able to have a share in $10,000. If they didn't promise, they'd never call. It's kind of like this situation. Like, you don't just call up a radio station and say, hey, can I have $10,000 or Can I have a million dollars unless a promise is made. SPEAKER C That's right. So that would be the reason why people call in the first place. But the they call up and say, Look, I'd like a share in the $10,000 you mentioned. They go, what? $10,000? We never said anything, so that doesn't make any sense. But it's very logical. If they had made that statement that people would ring up and you'd expect them to say, listen, I want to be part of this deal that you're offering at the moment. I heard the song. SPEAKER D And so I think we're highlighting here the cause and effect thing. There's a reason why people call there's a reason why people call up for your books is because you've said, Give us a call because we'll give you a book. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D It's very, very simple cause and effect. SPEAKER C Well, Braedan, I think we should actually make available to people who are interested in a book, and let's say it'll be the first five callers, if they are interested in a book called Lessons on Faith Book, compiled through the writings of A. T. Jones and E. J. Wagner. If they are interested in a book for the first five people who call in, we will make that book available for free. All they have to do is just pay for the postage. And typically, it's probably no more than $7 to mail out a book like that. Nice. So we're making that available. I would expect some phone calls, yeah. But if I hadn't made that available, no one would even think, to make that phone call. So the book is called Lessons on Faith. SPEAKER D And it's amazing. This is kind of summarizing what we've been going through. SPEAKER C That's right, yes. So all we've been talking about, you can find those principles in this book. It's a wonderful little book. So let's see how many phone calls we get. The first five can get a free book. So, dear listener, if you're hearing out there and you're interested in the book and the material we've been covering in this program, you will be very much blessed by this little book. It's a fantastic little book, easy to read, it's written in some language, and that probably hails back about 100 years. But it's modern enough and simple to understand, but very logical, I think, particularly of Jones and the way he presents his messages. Very logical. But we're talking about cause and effect now. And for example, if we talk about the reason why things exist, for example, the underplass was flooded. Well, why was the underpass flooded? Because we received seven inches of rain in 4 hours. If there wasn't rain seven inches in 4 hours, the underpass wouldn't have been flooded. So another one, for example, this is to do with oral hygiene. I now have five cavities. Why? I never brush my teeth. So there's a lot of examples. I've been smoking cigarettes for 30 years. Now I have lung cancer. So why do I have lung cancer? Because I've been smoking for 30 years. For example, the light came on. Why? Because I flicked the switch on the wall. Cause and effect. Very simple. So it says also, why does water boil? It says when water is heated, the molecules move quickly, therefore the water boils. So it's all this cause and effect scenarios. The moon has a gravitational pool, consequently the oceans have tides. Now, if the moon didn't have a gravitational pool, if it was further away from us, there'd be less of a tidal effect, but there wouldn't be a tide on the that's right. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So cause and effect again. And then Fred was driving 75 km an hour. Unfortunately, he was driving in a 60 kilometer zone. Therefore he got a speeding ticket. SPEAKER D And if he wasn't speeding, you wouldn't. SPEAKER C Have got the ticket. Wouldn't have got the ticket. So now the reason why we're talking about cause and effect is we're talking about the cause or the reason for our faith. Now, we've quoted this text a number of times and it's such an important, simple principle to understand, but one that quite often can be overlooked in its simplicity is simply this in Romans, chapter ten, verse 17, that says, therefore, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So what is the cause of faith to exist in the first place? SPEAKER D It's the word of God. And hearing the word of God. SPEAKER C And hearing the word of God. Yeah, that's right. So therefore we can conclude, just like we concluded previously, the reason why the underplast was flooded is because we received seven inches of rain in 4 hours. The reason why faith exists is simply because the word of God was heard and understood. Was heard and understood. That's right. SPEAKER D Because this is such an interesting concept we're looking at. I think it's very important because when we read the story of scripture, when we read what people have been through and what they did, like in Hebrews chapter eleven, you've got this faith chapter, which is all these people and their experience of trusting in God, the reason why they trusted him. It wasn't just some random, spontaneous, out of the blue, out of the thin air kind of an experience. The reason why they had that experience is because they had received a promise from God, and that was what initiated their faith. Abraham would not have left his house unless God said, Go. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D Abraham would not have believed that he would become a great nation unless God had said, I will make you a great nation. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D In our last presentation, we were looking at how David was praying and saying, god, can you please establish my house and build my house, my kingdom? He would not have asked that unless God had just previously said, I'm going to build you a house and establish your kingdom. SPEAKER C That's right. Nathan the prophet came to him. So through the word of the prophet, god spoke to King David and said to him, I'm going to establish you a house. So therefore, based on that promise, he now goes and asks God, how much confidence would David have had in that prayer when he asked that prayer, knowing that that was God's will for him? 100%. SPEAKER D 100% confidence. And we're getting to a point here that has the power to totally transform the way we pray. David prayed with just no doubt. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D Why? Because God just told him, david, this is what I want to do for you. And so when he asked God to do the very thing that God wants to do, how much confidence do you have? SPEAKER C That's right. So if we want to pray that prayer of confidence, just like we see in the example of David in two Samuel, chapter seven, if we want to ask anything in faith, we must first of all be sure that we have a word from God in regards to that request. SPEAKER D Interesting. SPEAKER C Yeah. I think that's very important for us to understand that. So, for example, we know that the Bible says that God is long suffering and patient, not willing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance or all should come to a knowledge of God. So if we then pray, Lord, I do not want to perish. In other words, I don't want to be lost, I want to be saved, and I want to come to your knowledge if we pray that prayer? Can we expect God to answer that prayer 100%? SPEAKER D Because that's his desire. SPEAKER C That's what he said. That's right. SPEAKER D It's interesting. In each of our programs, Etienne, you open up with prayer. Why do you pray the things that you pray? SPEAKER C Okay, now I'll have to remember exactly what I said. I think I asked for God to bless our program, because God pronounces a blessing on anybody that preaches his word. So we're talking about the word that comes from the Bible. I also ask for God to lead us into all truth by the Holy Spirit and Jesus. In the book the Gospel of John, chapter 1415 and 16, it's very clear that Jesus says when he leaves, he's going to leave the spirit of truth, and he will guide you into all truth. So when we ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, it was based on the word of God and his promise. I would not have thought to have prayed that in my prayer if it wasn't for the fact that God had actually said in His Word, I will send you another comforter, the spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, doesn't seem nor know Him, but you know Him, and he dwells with you and will be in you. And then he says that the spirit of truth is there to lead us into all truth. So that's the promise we were claiming. SPEAKER D So that's so fascinating. What that's saying is that you pray with intentionality, and there's a reason why you say the things you say when you pray. Like just asking that question, why'd you pray that? And then the answer you've given me is because God promised that that's right. And then this is what we're connecting the dots here. And how much confidence do you have when you're asking God for the Holy Spirit? He says, I want to give you my Holy Spirit more than a father wants to give a good gift to their child. We can have so much confidence when we ask for the Holy Spirit that God will give it because he wants to, and it's his will. But imagine being in a situation where we were praying and we would be asked the question, Braedan, why did you pray that? And I go, I don't know. I don't know why I prayed that. It's almost like there's uncertainty. And no wonder there's so much uncertainty in many prayer lives. When people are trying to connect with God, they're just hoping for the best, just hoping that this will turn out. And there's no confidence. SPEAKER C That is so true. Quite often, people know that they have to pray. They know it's important to pray because that's communication with God. But sometimes the petitions are not based on faith. First of all, they do not have a thus say of the Lord, or they don't have anything from the word of God or a promise from god that they are claiming during their prayer. It's just a nebulous prayer, but they know it's important. And I sort of liken it to someone that finds himself in the middle of the ocean. He can't see any land anywhere. The waves are starting to come up a little bit. It's a little bit windy. And he knows if he just stays there, no. 1 may find him. They may send out some planes to come and try and spot them, but it'll be like a needle in the haystack because this ocean is really big. He's got no sensors, no beacons or anything to let them know where he is. But he's in a little rowboat and he starts rowing. He realizes if he rows, he might get a chance to hit the shore somewhere. He can't see any shore, so he hits in a direction, but he doesn't know where he's going. He knows he has to go somewhere if he wants to survive. But he's really being tossed around in this ocean rowing with uncertainty. And if we pray a prayer and we ask God for things that we don't know he's even promised to us, isn't that the same as this little man in the rowboat? We rowing. We know we have to row. We don't know where we're heading. We know we have to head somewhere because we want to be saved. We don't want to be lost. We don't want to we don't drown out in the ocean that's right. Or starve or run out of water and then die because of thirst. We got to do something. So we do something in prayer. But is it really effective? And I would suggest if it's not based on faith, it can't be effective. SPEAKER D That's interesting. The Bible says the prayer of faith will save the sick. It really talks about the prayer that's based on faith. And faith comes by the word of God. So when we pray based upon our when our prayers come from a heart that just trusts and believes in what God has promised, that actually has power to do wonderful, miraculous things, one prayer, and I'll just say this one prayer that will always be answered is when we cry out to God for help to overcome any sin in our lives. If we're in a position where we are just being overcome with the waves of temptation and doubt and we feel like our little ship is going to sink and go to the bottom, when we call out, Lord, save me. Remember how when Peter was walking on the water, this is a miracle. He was walking by faith and then he fell beneath the waves. The first reflex that came crying from his heart was, Lord, save me, I perish. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D He acknowledged that he was in danger. He acknowledged Jesus as Lord and said, I need your help. And I love what the Bible says there in Matthew 14. It says immediately Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. SPEAKER C That is incredible. We don't know how far he was on his way to Jesus when this happened. We don't know if Jesus was within 10 meters of the boat or 100 meters of the boat. Because they from a distance and they didn't recognize Jesus at the time. And then he said, lord, if it's you, call me to step out on the water. And Jesus said, Come. So Jesus wasn't close enough yet for them to see him effectively, so he started walking there. But whenever he said that prayer when he was sinking and he was fearing for his life, lord, save me. Jesus closed that gap instantly. SPEAKER D Instantly. SPEAKER C And he was there, and he pulled him out on the water. And then he said, why did you doubt it's? SPEAKER D Interesting, right? Well, obviously he's in a situation where he needs help, so he's crying out for help. But if we analyze it, why would he ask it's? Because Jesus says, I'm the savior of the world. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D I'm here to help and to heal and to strengthen and to bless. Why do we call out for help? Why do we ask for different things? Is because a mother hen wants to gather her chickens or little chicks under her wings. So I want to gather you and protect you and help you and save you and shield you. And so the reason why I pray prayers of that note and that tone is because god wants that for me. God wants to save me. The bible says that Jesus came to this world because he came to save people from their sins. SPEAKER C Yeah, to come and seek and save that which was lost. SPEAKER D And so I know that when I pray for deliverance and for salvation and for help in my struggle when I'm falling beneath the water, I know, guaranteed that he'll come to my rescue. Now, when I start praying for that Ferrari just to park in the garage, that's a different story. SPEAKER C Ferrari is mentioned in the bible, or promised to you in the bible. SPEAKER D And god actually never promised us that we will live life in luxury and ease, but he promised that we will have luxury in our hearts. He didn't promise us riches that we'll wear rich robes, but he said that we can wear a rich robe of his righteousness and have what the bible says. I think it's in peter. It says that god will give us the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. And it says which in god's eyes is of great value. So god will give us a beautiful character whether we're rich or whether we're poor, whether we're up or whether we're down, he's going to work in that domain. I don't pray for a Ferrari because god never promised a Ferrari. I don't pray for a mansion with hundreds of servants, because god never promised that to me. But what he did promise me is that in every trial and difficulty, he will be my friend. He will get me through it and help me to be a better person. SPEAKER C Yeah, it's quite amazing. Even in the Sermon on the Mount, jesus addresses this very topic. He says, do not worry so. Do not worry about life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. For in this life is it more than clothes and that. And look at the birds of the air. Says, for example, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. So the promise is there. Your bread and your water will be sure. That's another text in the Bible. So God guarantees for those who believe and accept Him and have that trust relationship with Him based on His Word, that he will provide for them, that he will clothe them, and some people even feel them when we're talking about spiritual matters. Well, I just don't understand the Bible. I just don't have the wisdom that comes from me to understand. For me, I'll say that again, I just don't have the wisdom that allows me to understand the Word of God effectively. I struggle with that. But you know that even in the Bible, is a promise for people who want more wisdom. SPEAKER D Absolutely. SPEAKER C And I've had to pray their prayer a few times. Sometimes I've wrestled with things in the Bible, go, Lord, I don't understand this. Please help me understand it. Please give me the Holy Spirit, which will lead me into all truth. Because Jesus promised, you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But there in the Book of James, it says, for example, if people feel they lack wisdom, this is James, chapter one, and verse five, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally. So this is not penny pinching or holding back a little bit. God gives liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to Him. Now it gives us a further counsel, further encouragement. In verse six there of James, chapter one, it says, but let Him ask in faith. Now, faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of God. God has just told you in verse five that if you lack wisdom, he wants you to ask from Him, and God will give to you liberally. Ask in faith, not with any doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not this man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. So God is wanting us to believe his promises, have that trust relationship with Him, accept His Word at face value, and then ask according to what he has promised. And if we believe, we will receive. It says that we need to ask in faith, not doubting. SPEAKER D So I've got a question there, Etienne. Some people might be thinking like, okay, I don't want to doubt, but I am doubting. Where do we get this confidence? How do we learn to trust God? I've just got a verse here in Hebrews. So after chapter eleven, which goes through and identifies all these people in this great honor roll of faith, listing the people and their challenges and how they rose above them in trust and faith in God, when it finishes chapter eleven, the first verse of chapter twelve follows and it says sorry, the first word is therefore. So after looking at chapter eleven, we get to chapter twelve. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Yes, we have here, it says, we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. And it's interesting. What do witnesses do? They testify. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D This chapter eleven, and many people who've gone before us in their walk with God, they surround us, as it were, and they're like testifying. They're saying, it's worth it. God is faithful. And so basically, all these people who've gone before us, these men and women in the Bible who've put their trust in God, if you were to ask them, hey, Abraham, is it worth giving God a go? You would say, Absolutely. God will never fail you. If we ask Daniel, Daniel is God trustworthy? He says, absolutely. And when we're reading through their stories in scripture, we are confronted with a God who is so faithful, even when human beings are so unfaithful. And as we read those stories and as we see how God always comes through, god is always there. It actually awakens in us a desire to have, to give God a go, to give God a crack. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And so when he makes a small promise in the scriptures, we go, god, I'm willing to hinge all on you, I'm willing to put my trust in you. And then he comes through. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D Our faith is confirmed. Our faith becomes sight. When Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water, he didn't have a guarantee of that, but once his feet were firmly planted on that water, which seems like a paradox, then his faith, his trust became a real, like, became sight. And when we do that, we start, wow, we want to find another promise in the word of God and claim that one as well. And we start to walk by faith. And walking by faith is walking, living our lives by trusting and depending that when God says something, he will do it. SPEAKER C He will do it. Exactly. And how do we know what God says? Well, we need to spend more time in his word. SPEAKER D Exactly right. SPEAKER C Yeah. So these people, these great men and women of faith, in Hebrews Chapter eleven, they all claimed the promises of God. They all looked for that city. Now, how did they know there was going to be another city? It says that city whose maker and builder is God. SPEAKER D God promised. SPEAKER C God had promised them. So that's why they looked forward to that city and they believed that God is offering them so much better than this life can offer them. How did they know that? Again, the word of God promised them eternal life and an everlasting kingdom which will be set up by God. SPEAKER D There's a beautiful parable in Luke, chapter 18. This is what Jesus says. It says, then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, not get discouraged. He tells a story about a lady, a widow, who comes to this judge wanting help. She wants him to avenge her of something and give her some justice, help her out. And he's a bad dude, he's a bad judge, he's not a good guy. She comes every single day. She's the first one in line to present her case every single day. And she just starts annoying him. He just gets so fed up with his lace. Oh, that lady again. Oh, that lady again. He doesn't care about her. No, he doesn't care a stitch about what she's going through. And then finally gets to the point, he goes, this lady is just driving me wild. I better just look after her and just do what she wants me to do because she's just really making me exhausted with coming every day. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And then God like Jesus is speaking here and he says, hear what the unjust judge said. He says, and shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And so Jesus is saying, look, this unjust judge eventually helped this lady because she just was persistent. He says, your heavenly Father actually wants to help you. Like don't give up, don't be discouraged. Like if this lady is not put. SPEAKER C Off by like a bad judge yes. SPEAKER D And she's willing to come there every day to get help. He says, like, your heavenly Father is so good. And when you turn up in prayer asking for things, you can be guaranteed that your heavenly Father wants to help you. So how much better? SPEAKER C Absolutely how much better? SPEAKER D So we can have confidence. SPEAKER C Absolutely can have confidence. And you know those closing comments of Jesus, will he find faith when he comes? There's so many people now that reject the creation account in the Bible. And we know faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God and believing. The word of God. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Hebrews chapter eleven, which you've been talking about. In verse three, it says by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. That faith in God as the Creator gives us a confidence when he speaks things into his existence. The same power is available in His Word when we read it. And we expect God to do that, he can create something out of nothing. And we in previous programs spoke about the fact that God justifies the ungodly. Well, how can he do that? Because he can create righteousness where righteousness doesn't exist. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C And so by faith we believe this and we believe his promises. Now, while we're in Hebrews, I just want to go to Hebrews chapter six, just to close off this program. Talks here about Abraham. And Abraham is known as the Father of the faithful. He's an example of what it means to overcome by faith and to conquer by faith and to believe God. And in verse 17, it says thus god determining to show more abundant to the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. So God said something, and then just to confirm the fact that you can trust that he adds something to it, he actually adds an oath to his promise. And then it says in verse 18 that by two immutable things, what are these immutable things? His promise and then his oath. On top of that, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong consolation who have fled for a refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. So whenever we read the Word of God, we believe in the Second Coming. We believe in a place where there's no more sin, no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more sadness. When all that's taken away, no more death. We can lay our hope in that. And then it says in verse 19, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. So what gives us faith? It is the word of God. How do we increase our faith? By spending more time in the Word of God. How can we pray a prayer of faith in full confidence? By praying according to the will of God and according to his promises. Dear listener, we pray that God has blessed you in our study today as we looked at the wonderful promises of God and how we can pray a prayer of faith and increase our faith so that we can receive more of the good things that God has promised in His Word for eternal well being and salvation. We look forward to catching up with you next time. Until then, God be with you. SPEAKER B Thank you for joining us on Faith. To Faith. If you would like more information about today's program or if you have any questions, please contact 3ABN Australia Radio by Phoning. 02 4973 3456. Or you can send an email to [email protected] You can also contact us on our 3ABN Australia radio Facebook page. We'd love to hear from you.