The Faith of God Week 3 Forum Thursday, April 7, 2016

[Sister, Denise Donadelle]

Welcome to week 3 Forum.  I trust that your are putting to work the principals that you have learned. Faith without works is dead.  Be Greatly Blessed.

 

Discussion Forum:   Video “You already have Faith, Get Rid of Unbelief” Pt. 2

This week’s forum is based on video clip “You already Have Faith, Get Rid of Unbelief” Part 2, the speaker: Pastor Creflo Dollar.   Watch the entire video  twice and then post your response to the following question based on Part 1 and 2 of the video:   Cut and paste the above link to watch the video.

• Discuss how can you have faith in God and still be in unbelief?

• Remember to interact with each other on the forums

[Rhonda]

You can have faith in God and still be in unbelief when you walk around with fear, worry and the cares of this world. Unbelief comes when your thoughts don’t line up with Word of God. Unbelief can come through your though process as a result of: ignorance, natural inputs contrary to the truth, and a harden heart.

Unbelief causes your faith to become unproductive and ineffectual. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. You can have faith in your heart or spirit man, yet doubt in your head. It is hard to think of the Word of God becoming unfruitful. Yet it can when you choke it out according to Mark 4:18-19. Faith can be sown in your heart and yet not produce fruit. The seed is still there, it is just being smothered and is like wasted seed.

It is important to remember that faith feeds off of the Word of God and unbelief short circuits and counter balances faith. I really liked what Pastor Dollar said, “when you are facing problems, consider the promise and what Jesus has already done in the past.”

[Lilly Chalwell]

Ronda, the last passage you stated, “consider what God did for you before,” really stood out to me also. I believe when you consider the victory you received before, it helps to build on your faith, bringing your faith to a higher level from faith to faith.

[Lilly Chalwell]

Luke 9:37-41, we are all familiar with this scripture, where this man brought his son to the disciple to cast out a demon spirit, and they were not productive in the process. They went to Jesus asking, why couldn’t we cast it out? He responded, “because of your unbelief.” These were the same disciples that were doing mighty works. The same disciples in Matthew 10:1 who Jesus gave the power to cast out devils. What happen then? They were in faith and unbelief at the same time. I’m comfortable saying, that they had faith, but were considering the situation which, entertained unbelief; it might have been a different nature of issue than they dealt with before.

Faith and unbelief could be working on the same issue at the same time; however, whichever one is given the most attention, that’s the one you would be tempted to believe. However, if you want what you believe to manifest, you have to have faith in the word of God, pertaining the situation, nothing waving, then and only then, would the promise come to past.

I can’t help but to mention Abraham, He only considered the promise. You can’t be tempted with anything you don’t think on. He didn’t study the problem, nor did he think of it. There is a saying, “you can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest.”

Unbelief comes in four forms: ignorant, disbelief, natural things, and hardness of heart. We are to focus on the promises of God because focusing on the situations would produce unbelief, which would short circuit, our faith.

[Marita Smith]

Lilly I have to agree with you that faith and unbelief could be working on the same issue at the same time. The one you meditate on the most weather its faith or unbelief will manifest, as man thinketh in his heart so is he.

[Marita Smith]

We can have faith in God and still be in unbelief because of four reasons Ignorance: not having the knowledge of what the word of God says concerning the situation we maybe facing, because we do not know the word; we worry, and carry the care of the situation and in constant fear, when God continue to tell us in his word Fear Not. Unbelief: This happens because we don’t believe in God’s truth; his written word, his word said by Jesus stripes we are healed(1Peter 2:24) if that’s what his word said then that’s what we are to believe, and not be moved by how we feel or what the doctor’s report says.The word says whose report are we going to believe? we are to be believe God’s report and in his redemptive work where healing is provided.

We also tend to be moved by our natural senses which is another reason for us to be in unbelief while we have faith in God. Our bank accounts may not have what we need to pay the bills, we begin to confess the problem, how am I going to get these bills pay? how am I going to buy food? considering the problem, and not confessing and considering the promise; that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think(Eph.3:20) My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus which he already provided for us from the beginning.(Phillip> 4:19) because we meditate on the problem and not the promise, our faith begins to short circuit and we get into unbelief.

By hardening our hearts we can be in unbelief while we still have faith in God. This is possible be cause we are deprived of wisdom, understanding and judgment. A hardened heart can also comes from what we don’t consider, whatever we focus our attention on, or meditate on, will cause our hearts to become flexible to bring that thing to pass. Whatever we consider not, will produce a harden heart and won’t come to pass.(Mark 8:17) Jesus is asking his disciples why are you over there reasoning among yourselves? how is it that your heart is in a hardened settled state? don’t you remember how I fed the thousands with just five loves and two fishes? why are you contemplating and reasoning that we have no bread? Why are you considering the problem and not considering the promise? was I not able to bring the bread? why is this an issue with you? why haven’t you consider or remember what I have already done?

As Children of God we are to take the time to consider God’s words, God’s promises and all that Jesus has already done for us, when we don’t we end up with a hardened heart. When we are faced with a situation we are to consider how Jesus already dealt with it, we are to consider him as the author and the finisher of our faith. When we consider the promise, his word, and when we have considered what Jesus has already done. We are now putting our hearts in a flexible position for what we consider, what we focus on, and what we think on to come to pass. When we consider the problem, contemplate on the problem reason the problem, we are not considering the promise, our hearts through not considering the word now become hardened and against that promise coming to pass in our lives.

[Rhonda]

Marita, I believe that being moved by our natural senses is one of the biggest reasons for unbelief. We live in a natural world and sometimes it is easy to led by the physical senses. It is important that believers walk by faith and not by sight.

[Monica Harrigan]

Marita, Christians having a hardened heart was rather surprising to me, but it all makes sense. If I don’t consider God’s word and make my heart flexible towards His word, then I’m hardening my heart towards His word. I must continue to consider His promises, His great works and not allow unbelief to creep in by way of a hardened heart.

[Donna Riley]

Well said Marita. Finances are a big issue in our lives. Our giving truly is an indication of how much faith we have in the word of God. To many are in unbelief so fear creeps up on us and keeps us from giving God what is rightfully His. The tithe is His, and the offering is how we get ourselves out of poverty.

[Monica Harrigan]

There are three (3) contributing factors that allows unbelief to be present despite having faith in one’s heart. Those factors are; fear, worry and carrying the cares of a situation. We have all been given the same measure of faith. We have the God kind of faith. However, when fear, worry and carrying the care of a situation is present, so is unbelief. In Matthew 17:20-21 God was referring to “unbelief”.

There are four (4) causes to fear, worrying and carrying the cares of a situation; ignorance, disbelief, natural disbelief and a hardened heart. Ignorance is to not know the truth. The truth is God’s word. If I don’t read my Bible it will be impossible to know God’s word. Disbelief is to be taught wrong and to follow tradition instead of God’s word. Natural disbelief is to believe based on what I see, hear and feel. Believing in my natural senses and not considering God’s promises causes unbelief. A hardened heart is one deprived of wisdom, judgment and understanding. A hardened heart comes because of what we don’t consider. When I consider not, that will produce a hardened heart. Whatever I focus my attention on that is what my heart will become flexible towards and that is what will come to pass. Christians can have a hardened heart when we don’t consider God’s words, his promises and the great things he’s already done.

We must always keep God’s word close to our hearts and meditate on it day and night. We must consider his promises and not the problem. Unbelief short circuits and counteracts our faith. When I consider only His promises, I can’t be tempted as I am not considering the problem, but His promises.

[Donna Riley]

Monica this class has greatly impacted my life because I always focused on hearing the word of God. Now I know where I was going wrong. Not meditating and especially not speaking the word I feel is what has been missing. As usual it has been in the Bible all this time. I just don’t know why it takes us so long to get it. But the Bible does say in Romans 10:14, “How will they hear without a preacher.” I have already changed my focus to the solutions rather than the problems in my life. It is a lot more comfortable and productive this way.

[Monica Harrigan]

Yes Donna, this class has really made me more conscious of my faith walk. I constantly say the word regarding any situation and I say it out loud now more than I ever had before. My faith is increasing and so is my time spent reading and meditating on the word.

[Donna Riley]

One can be standing in faith for a particular thing, but find themselves in fear, worrying and stressing over the same problem in their life. This comes as a result of unbelief. Unbelief comes when the person is not single minded, but double minded. An example of being double minded is quoting scripture and worrying at the same time. Unbelief comes through ignorance which is a lack of knowledge of how to deal with the situations in life according to the Bible. Disbelief is another form of unbelief. This comes when one is sitting under the wrong teachings. Once wrong teaching is imbedded in a person’s belief system, it becomes tradition, thus making it the most difficult to get freed from. Natural unbelief comes as a result of dwelling on what the physical senses are portraying. Someone who is believing and praying for healing does not receive or keep their healing because the minute pain is felt the person says, “I did not get healed.” And last, unbelief can exist in a person who is standing in faith for something because of a hardened heart. This unbelief comes in when we consider the problem more than we meditate on the promise which is the solution. The heart becomes hardened because it has spent so much time with the problem that it feels the situation is impossible. Also the person will use this as an opportunity to tell themselves it just was not meant to be or God did not want me to have it. The end results in one’s life are based on what the person was meditating on or considering.

Faith requires being single minded, not paying attention to what is going on around you and sometimes you have to endure long suffering believing the victory is yours. Faith requires that no matter what appears to be going on around you; you must stand on the word of God concerning your situation; speaking and believing that what you say will come to pass.

[Rhonda]

Donna you are correct when you stated that unbelief comes when the person is not single minded, but double minded. The Word of God tells us in James 1:8 KJV A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

[Stacy Gregoire]

You can have faith and still be in unbelief because the two states are not mutually exclusive. In other words, unbelief can be present when faith is present if certain conditions exist.  If a person is in fear, worried about a situation or is troubled over the care of something then unbelief is present.  When we are considering the problem more than we are considering the promises of God and what he has done for us in the past, we enter into unbelief.

I like what Pastor Dollar said about Abraham. We look to him as the prime of example of faith in the Bible, but we also have the same faith that he had.  The difference is that Abraham did not allow unbelief to choke out or short circuit his faith in the promises that God had given him.  He didn’t think about, he “considered not” the circumstances in the natural, but his focus was all on what God had told him.   So then, your thought life is really where it begins and ends as far as unbelief is concerned.

The fear, worry and care are symptoms of unbelief but there are root causes of unbelief that we have to recognize in order to fix the problem. The first cause is ignorance.  If you just don’t know the truth you can’t walk in it as was the case with Paul in I Timothy 1:13.  The second cause is disbelief also known as wrong teaching.  Churches and people create practices that become tradition and may not have a Biblical basis.  The third cause is natural unbelief.  This comes about when our physical senses move us off of the Word.  We let how we feel, what we see and what we hear affect our faith.  We overcome natural unbelief with fasting and prayer according to Mark 9:29.  The fourth root of unbelief and the most hard to identify sometimes, I think, is a hardened heart. A hardened heart is defined as being deprived of wisdom, understanding and judgement.  We, as believers don’t think that are hearts are hardened to God because we believe and have faith.  It can be there, however, and it shows up when we forget what God has done for us already. It was less than twenty four hours between the miracle of the loaves and the fishes and Jesus walking on the water and yet the disciples were in unbelief because they considered not what He had already done. Our hardened hearts show up when we are surprised when what we have been believing God for actually comes to pass.  It’s like we didn’t really actually expect it i.e. doubting God, unbelief.

Since unbelief begins with your thought life we have to renew and keep renewing our minds with the Word of God. We may have to fast and pray. We have to meditate His promises daily and even more so when we are faced with a situation.

[Lilly Chalwell]

Stacy, Abraham action is a perfect example of how we should deal with every situation. We are to Look in the Word of God, get the solution, meditate on it day and night, don’t waver concerning the promise but be fully persuasive that God is going to do just what He promised. Amen!

[Stacy Gregoire]

Donna, you hit the nail on the head for me with your statement that we spend so much time with the problem that we feel the situation is impossible.  I just spent the last week making my financial situation my best friend. I looked at it forwards, I looked at it backwards, I looked at it sideways. I was saying my scriptures, reading my confession but as soon as I got done, someone would call for a payment or the children would need something or something would pop up and I would start adding and subtracting all over again.  I finally just got tired of trying to figure it out (which I shouldn’t have done in the first place) and just gave it to God.  This second video really helped me get it together because I saw where my heart was hardening.  We know what He’s done but we have to remind ourselves. It helps me to speak it out and to write it down.  He told us to put Him in remembrance of His words and we need to put ourselves in remembrance of what He’s already done.

[Monica Harrigan]

Stacey, Pastor Dollar’s comments regarding Christians with hardened hearts resonated with me as well. The mere act of not studying and meditating on the word for our situations can harden our hearts in that area. That shook me because I never looked at it in such a serious manner.

[Stacy Gregoire]

Lilly, you’re right that we can’t be tempted by anything that you don’t think on.  The battlefield is in our minds and we have to constantly renew it with the Word of God, be single minded and be focused.

[Roxanne Rhymer]

You can have both unbelief and faith at the same time.   We can be a person of faith and still allow worry, cares of the world, and concern to stifle our faith.   This is not how God wants us to be.  He wants us to live by our faith and get rid of our unbelief.   When Creflo Dollar spoke about how the disciples walked with Jesus and still let unbelief get the best of them, it really caused me to think.  They were the ones that was there to witness all the miracles that Jesus did!  They were there when Jesus divided the two fish dinner!  They were there when he healed the sick, the lame, the blind, and the oppressed and they were STILL plagued with unbelief in their hearts.  Imagine that these same disciples did many miracles themselves, but unbelief still took hold of them.  It was their natural unbelief that did not allow them to help the boy that was vexed with the spirit.

Believers today can still be plagued by natural unbelief.  At times when we look around at the situations that are going on around us we think this is too hard for God.  We start worrying and trying to figure a way out for ourselves.  In the videos I learned that that is where fasting comes in.  We can handle that kind of unbelief by putting our flesh in order.  At times we must stabilize ourselves by fasting, praying, and thinking on the many ways that Jesus was there for you in the past.

We must consider how Jesus brought us through before.  We have to remind ourselves of how Jesus delivered us in the past.  How He blessed us when we thought that we were going under.  How He healed our bodies when we were riddled with pain!  Considering the ways of Jesus will build our faith and get rid of unbelief.   We will not have a hardened heart if we only think on Jesus and what he has blessed us with.

[Marita Smith]

Roxanne you are so right its very important for us to put ourselves in remembrance of all what Jesus has done for us, and what he has already blessed us with that our hearts don’t become hardened against the promises.

[Sister, Denise Donadelle]

Sister Donna this is your season. The Holy Spirit is alive now within you. You have allowed his light to illuminate your spirit, soul and mind with the revelation knowledge of getting rid of unbelief in your life.   I can sense from your testimony that you will no longer be tempted with anything because you will no longer meditate on your challenge but you will meditate on the promises of God concerning the particular challenge.

Based on all of your testimonies you know the steps to get rid of unbelief by getting rid of ignorance, disbelief, natural things that is contrary to the truth and most importantly a harden heart.   Think constantly on the promises of God in order to prevent a harden heart.  The result of your life will be based on what you think on, or consider.

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