In the body of Christ, believers are asking for more faith to do great things.
If we are in Christ, we do not have a "faith" problem:
"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." (Luke 17:5-6)
The apostles themselves asked Jesus to "increase" their faith, yet He refuted their demand, telling them that having faith, no matter how much, was enough to accomplish great things.
How is this possible?
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
We have the faith "of the Son of God" in us -- We believers have God's faith in us!
Then what was the apostle's real problem? The Gospel of Matthew explains:
"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." (Matthew 17:19-21)
The disciples faced a dilemma: they could not heal a paralytic possessed with a demon. When asked why they could not, Jesus hit on the core problem: unbelief.
Unbelief is not a negative, but a positive, and existing force that works against our faith.
Unbelief is a powerful deterrent of God's will and work in our lives:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
We cannot receive God's grace and all of its attending blessings without faith
(cf Ephesians 2:8-10)
In his self-help book "Self Matters", Dr. Phil McGraw talks about the power of tapes and limiting beliefs in a person's life. When at rest or facing difficult situations, we tend to generate a running dialogue in line with negative tapes and fixed beliefs that we have tended by habituation in the face of stress or the unknown. Condemnation is the root of all stress, all fear, all pathology in a human being, as Pastor Joseph Prince has outlined in his book "Destined to Reign"
The negative self-talk that human beings work with on a daily basis becomes so entrenched, to prominent, that it can easily color and distort a person's every waking moment. Those who have suffered abandonment, for example, may carry with them a sense of dread or self-worthlessness, a chronic plaguing sensation that weighs down everything that a person endeavors to accomplish. When a parent or a teacher tells a young person that they cannot excel in some endeavor, there is a pernicious possibility that the child may internalize that judgment into a limiting belief, which will dampen a person's resolve and enthusiasm to attempt anything.
Limiting beliefs, negative tapes emanating from the core of an individual, are very powerful, very damaging, and very elusive without proper consideration and attention.
Why must a believer care about limiting beliefs and negative tapes? Because they are all variations of unbelief, they very thing that thwarts the faithful effectiveness of Jesus' followers, both then and now.
How then does the believer counter these nasty habits of the mind?
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24)
Here, the father whose child is afflicted with a dumb spirit, acknowledged his faith, his antagonistic unbelief, and the One who can heal his sorry state of mind as well as his child: Jesus Christ.
The Lord provided a specific spiritual regimen for combating unbelief:
"And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 11:29)
By prayer, we understand speaking the Word of God (which is Christ -- cf John 1:1) Whatever limiting beliefs or negative tapes have crept into our minds unknowingly, we fight them with the Truth of God's Word.
If we feel that our life is lacking purpose, we refer to scriptures like:
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiahh 29:11)
or
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." (Psalm 37:23)
If someone is facing a trial or challenge, meditate on the following verses:
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)
or
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)
Need strength for a major challenge?
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
With our minds saturated with the eternal and unchanging Word of God, fasting from negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, damaging self-talk becomes easier. Indeed, we are called to evaluate the truth of the negative trains of thought in our mind, then resolutely ignore them:
"And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." (Genesis 41:51)
And
"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." (Isaiah 43:18)
and
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The last verse Paul wrote in the context of our complete reconciliation with God through Christ, who become sin itself that we would be made the righteousness of God in Christ (v. 21)
So, what limiting beliefs are you facing now in your life? Do you feel that you have no right to speak up for yourself? Are you unsure of yourself in a word besought with conflict messages which converge only in their stark opposition to the supreme majesty of Jesus Christ? Do you fear for the future, or do you care with you some hidden shame of condemnation from a loved one long since estranged or deceased?
We are not called to meditate passively on such lies. Rather, we are called to an active life of faith and expectation in God:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)
This call to faith is more than mental assent that Christ existed and died on the Cross for our sin. Faith in the Son of God recognizes the infinite spiritual storehouse of blessings that await the believer who becomes a willing scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven, which dwells in us by the Power of the Holy Spirit. In effect, it means believing on Him, who lives and works within us!
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." (Galatians 4:19)
and
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27)
With Christ in us, we have nothing to fear; there is not obstacle that cannot be surmounted. All things indeed become possible:
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 JOhn 4:4)
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
For the unbelief in your life, for the limiting beliefs, life scripts, negative tapes, and self-defeating self-talk in your life, there is no other cure than Christ in you through the Holy Spirit, who speaks the truth to every lie, who casts out all fear, who undoes the undoable and makes all things possible in the life of a believer.
Let Him help you with your unbelief today, and see what great things He works in your life!
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