Faith the World Sees

Faith the World Sees

“And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know...”

(Acts 3:16)

The Walking Cripple Causes Second Looks

The crippled man at the Temple gate was a common sight for anyone who regularly came to the Temple.  This man had been crippled from birth and it seemed that he was destined to a life of begging for money.  That all changed when Peter exercised the gift of faith, and God worked a miracle of healing.  What a shocker to the people gathered in the temple when this man came dancing and praising God into their midst.  They recognized him as the one who sat at the gate.  Could it be true?  They rubbed their eyes in disbelief.  They looked again, astonished at what they were seeing.  Before their eyes they could see faith in action.  Later the two disciples would be called into question before the Jewish leadership.  These leaders were not concerned so much with the message that they had preached, but, with the miracle that had been done.  They could deny the message but they could not deny the miracle.  It is “faith that the world sees!”

The gift of faith is special, supernatural faith, given as the Lord wills, only after someone has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  We can see it in action during times of danger, sickness, accidents, and in any situation that seems to be impossible.  It causes us to believe that God will do it. Through the gift of faith,  God is able to break all barriers.  This is more than ordinary faith.  This type of faith gives a mountain moving confidence that God is going to act.  This was referred to by both Jesus and Paul. (Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21; 1 Corinthians 13:2)

Lee Stoneking in his book on Spiritual Gifts states, “it is a miraculous, instantaneous touch of  abundant faith which surpasses all reason, looks impossibilities in the face and turns them into miracles.  We must expect a miracle.  Keep in mind that every miracle begins with an impossibility.” 

Not every Spirit filled believer is promised this gift.  (1 Corinthians 12:8,9)  This gift is given as the Spirit wills.  It is one of the three power gifts.  It allows us to act like God acts.  Often evangelists are used in the power gifts because these gifts bring a demonstration of the power of God.  This becomes a great testimony of what God can do and can be very effective in bringing sinners to Christ.

The gift of faith is closely related to the working of miracles and the gifts of healing.  However, the gift of faith receives while the other two gifts are more active.  The gift of faith receives the miracle but the working of miracles performs the miracle.  The gift of faith expects the miracle to happen.  The gift of faith is the greatest of the three power gifts. This is because it takes supernatural faith before the other two gifts can be used. 

We see this type of faith in the following examples.

Two Old People Have a Baby Boy

Abraham and his wife were past the child bearing age but still believed that God would give them a son.  Faith stood still, waiting for the miracle for twenty five years.   The gift of faith can cause us to see supernatural blessings.

The Last Night in the Tomb

The raising of Lazarus took the gift of faith to quicken his dead body.  The working of miracles was also present as well as the gifts of healing.  The gift of faith can enable us to see the dead raised.

Boat Rocks on a Stormy Sea

On the stormy sea of Galilee, Jesus exercised the gift of faith and the working of miracles when he quieted the raging storm.  The gift of faith can provide us with personal protection.

 News Flashes From the Old Testament

This is also shown in the stories of the three Hebrew children being thrown into the fiery furnace and Daniel’s overnight trip to Lion’s Den Hotel.  In the case of Paul being bitten by a snake, we see faith in action as he shakes it off and it falls into the fire.  Through faith, he did not suffer any evil effects. 

Elijah was fed by a raven during a time of famine.  Elisha used this type of faith in the story of the lady who went into the oil business.  She went around collecting empty vessels and as she filled them she saw faith in action.  The gift of faith provides for the supplying of our needs.  

In Waves of Fear ; Faith Arrives!

Paul exercised the gift of faith when he said, “I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”  (Acts 27:25)  He said this in the face of probable shipwreck due to a fourteen night storm.

Paul tells us in Galatians 3:5 that we can see people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit through the eyes of faith.  Supernatural faith also allows us to cast out devils.  It should be noted that ordinary faith can also be used to cast out some devils. (Mark 16:17)

Once Blind, Now Sees!

As we survey the Gospels we see that Jesus often healed the blind; people that could not see.  In the Old Testament we do not find the prophets and priests healing the blind.  The healing of the blind was the ministry to be performed by the Messiah.  (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5)  In one situation Jesus healed a blind man who later was questioned by the religious rulers.  He couldn’t identify much about Jesus but there was one thing that he did understand.  He testified,  “I once was blind but now I see!”  Let us begin to release the power of God in our lives and the faith that the world can see.