The believer is called to a life of faith. We are saved by faith, justified by faith, live by faith, stand by faith and walk by faith. The bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. What else should a Christian be more concerned about other than pleasing God! That makes the study of faith a necessity, and the walking thereby vital to success in life.

How does faith come? Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. It doesn’t come any other way. We must give diligence to hearing God’s Word. Interestingly, we are not just to read it only, but also to hear it. So many times we have become readers of the Word, and wonder why our faith never works. It is not just about reading and studying the Word, you’ve got to hear it also. Thank God we have many avenues we have to hear God’s Word today. Gone are those days when you had to be in church to hear the pastor preach, or be at home to listen to the Word of God on television, or video. Today we have smartphones, tablets and other devices. I have a 16gb memory card on my blackberry phone filled with sermons. What a wealth I carry with me! But as technology improves, we are oftentimes insensitive to the needs of our human spirit, that we can literally have a Word feast everyday on the go. Besides that, we must also develop the culture of speaking the Word to ourselves. Faith comes by hearing. Speak the Word to yourself, so you can hear it. The door to the human spirit is the mind. As you hear the Word yourself, it will permeate through your mind into your spirit, and when faith comes into your heart, you’d be set for continuous victories.

In addition to hearing, we ought to be doers. Faith without works is dead. James said it’s like a body without spirit. We should act our faith. We can be great hearers but little doers. What really is faith? Faith is simply acting on God’s Word. Remember Joshua and Caleb? Despite what they saw in the land, they were ready to act on God’s Word.

And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people;for they are stronger than we. (Numbers 13:30, 31 KJV)

Were there giants in the land? Yes! But Caleb said “who cares about the giants when God has told us He was going to give us the land?”. You see, friend, your experience is a lie. Never build your life on experience. Smith Wigglesworth, it was, who said “I’m not moved by what I see, I’m not moved by what I hear, I’m moved by my faith in God”. That should be our lifestyle. Your faith should not be based on your feelings and experiences. God’s Word should be the final authority in your life. Isaiah asked a question, who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1). God’s report is the final authority, not the word of the doctor, the economist or whoever. God’s Word is true, regardless of the situation. That situation is a lie. Even if I lay hands on the sick and he dies the next minute, I’d leave that place still agreeing with Jesus, that in His name, we shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Yes, it will bother me why the sick died, but I will not build my life on experience. I will not be scared out of God’s blessings by what I feel or go through. I will continue to act on God’s Word. That was the life of Abraham.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (Romans 4:18-22 KJV)

He refused to pay attention to the deadness of his body or that of his wife. You see, faith recognizes that there are oppositions but it doesn’t pay attention to them. Didn’t Abraham know it was impossible for his wife to have a child at that age? To deny that will be to tell a lie. Friend, he knew. But what did he do? He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. He refused to waver. God had given him His Word and that settled it. What else did he do? He put on his Praise shoes. That man got so addicted to rejoicing at God’s Word, that he was fully persuaded ( I love to emphasize that to myself!), fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. And he got his Isaac, but much more than that, he got God’s commendation.

If we must walk by faith, we must act on God’s Word. It is when we become the Word doers that we are blessed. Never live by your experience. Never walk by your experience. The just shall live by faith. We walk by faith and not by sight.

So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn’t abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn’t faze you. (Romans 3:3-4 MSG)