A great sermon by Apostle Andre that is as relevant today as ever!

God has reminded us of substance of faith and how it works, and now we can look out for the these faith pirates so that the words we receive the faith it stimulates will never be stolen!

Commitment to something eliminates the opportunity to quit before it is finished. This commitment is based on a sense of belief that what you have committed to will succeed. This is faith, but you must know how faith works in order to have it. On the high seas of life there are faith pirates that will try to steal your spiritual treasure, your faith! They come unexpectedly and they are fierce. There is no mercy asked or given. It is a battle to the finish! You either win or loose! They have only one thing in mind: to rob you of your faith. Here comes the first one! Watch out!

1. IGNORANCE

Not knowing what faith is can rob you of your faith.

Heb 11:1 – Faith is the substance. It is the evidence that something exists. Nothing that exists, has not been real in the unseen realm before it manifested/ materialized in the seen realm.
Every person has been in the mind of God before being born.
Faith is something you can stand on, which no one else can see.
Eg. Jesus walked on a layer of faith and not on the water.
If faith is substance of what you hope for find out what you hope could be true!
If faith is evidence of what you cannot see what would you like to see?

2. INSISTING ON SENSE EVIDENCE AND NOT WORD EVIDENCE

Faith is believing something that you have no other evidence for, except believing it. The reason why you believe that specific thing, is your substance. You see what your eyes cannot see yet by faith. You hope for something that does not have substance at this stage. What are you hoping for and what are you hoping to see?

Two types of faith:
– Word faith Abraham believing God’s word against all hope.
Centurion asking for one word from Jesus for healing.

Romans 4:17
17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
The New King James Version

– Sense faith Thomas – John 20. He insisted on seeing first before he could believe, but Jesus then told him that those who believe without having seen, are blessed.

John 15:7 – Word dwells and remains in you. Choose to believe what God says in His word above your circumstances. What God has promised will come to pass if you can carry on believing.

3. FAILURE TO HAVE CORRESPONDING ACTIONS

If God’s Word is good enough to take you to heaven/new earth, it is good to live by.
Faith without works is dead. If you believe something, act accordingly.
The things you believe for takes time to manifest, but you should enter the rest of faith – after the battle – and patiently waiting for it to come to pass.

Process:

– First get a WORD
– FAITH comes because of the word.

– You SPEAK/CONFESS it.

– You ACT accordingly.

An example of this is Peter when he walked on the water. He received a word from Jesus, then believed it was Him and that he could walk towards him, then he acted accordingly and got out of the boat. This resulted in a miracle.

4. CONFUSING FAITH AND HOPE

Mark 11:24

Faith is now, hope is in the Future.

Your senses and people around you, make you believe you do not have what you believe for, but faith says: “I do.”
Faith is based on the Word of God you have received.

Hope – compare Mental Assent
You can not act on hope, it is like the blue print of a house. You can not live in a blue print.

Faith is building that house and living in it.

Divine visitations do not make you a faith hero or a spiritual giant.
Gideon had a visitation from an angel and signs from God, but received no faith.
He was still fearful and went down to the enemy’s camp and heard there that they were afraid of him. That is when he got faith. He knew then that his enemy would be defeated.

Faith is the silent knowledge of your enemy’s defeat. During the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales the average French team defeated the mighty All Blacks in the quarter finals because the French fly-half told his team mates: ‘We can beat the All-Blacks today. I see it in their eyes.’ He inspired his team to believe that they could win the match and they did so convincingly – to the astonishment of the rest of the world!

5. SELF DECEPTION

The world says: “Just in case!” All insurance, medical aid and other schemes base their entire strategy on the fact that people cannot predict their future and therefore they focus on the fear and uncertainty of people in order to sell their product! If you decide to invest in such schemes let your motive be one of faith or investment rather than fear and uncertainty.
Don’t allow your new life in Christ to be controlled by the old ways of the world. Cut loose and trust God 100%.

Faith says: “I have.”

James 1:26 – deceives himself – does not walk according to faith’s rules.
The words of your own mouth ensnare you.

Proverbs 6:2
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.

The New King James Version

Proverbs 18:21
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

The New King James Version

6. DOUBTING THE INTEGRITY OF GOD’S WORD

2 Corinthians 1:20
20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
The New King James Version
How can he…?
Understand it spiritually because God has said it.

John 16:23
23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
The New King James Version
Whatever!
Condition – FAT – Faith’s Answer Time
FMT – Faith’s Manifestation Time

Numbers 23:19 – God is not a man that He should lie.
Questioning age – let go of the question principle (in spiritual matters).

7. DOUBT’S LOCATION

Mark 11:23
23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
The New King James Version
In his heart… what is going on in your heart? The heart and mind: that is where the real battles are raging. Wrong thinking produces wrong believing.

When you have been made a new creation, everything is made new. This includes your way of thinking. Do not go back to the old ways of thinking.
II Cor 5:17.

8. INCONSISTENCY OF PURPOSE

Purpose according to the Word is true. Stick with it, it cannot fail

Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The New King James Version
– God is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him. Believe that He will do it. Hebrews 6:11: Show diligence unto the end. Don’t bend or bow = won’t burn.

Hold fast to the profession of faith –
Hebrews 10:23
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
The New King James Version

9. FAITH COMES AND MOVES

1. Faith always comes, regardless of feelings.
2. The God kind of faith comes to whosoever will.
3. Faith grows out of the Word, not by praying for it (why pray for something you already have?)
4. Faith moves, it is a tangible force.
5. Faith should not be allowed to stand still. It either strengthens or weakens, but can never remain static.