FAITH IS THE VICTORY

Faith is a practical expression of your confidence in God and His Word. When you put your confidence in God's Word, no matter what your circumstances are, your faith becomes your victory.

A. Faith is the Believer's victory (1 John 5:4).

1. Faith is a practical expression of your confidence in God and His Word.
2. When you put your confidence in the Word, faith becomes your victory.
3. You have already been healed, delivered and made wealthy in Christ Jesus.
4. God always leads you down the path to victory (2 Corinthians 2:14).
a. Your life will be a testimony to others of how good God is.
5. God will always use faith to cause you to triumph.

B. You need faith to bring you into victory.

1. The great heroes and heroines of the Bible refused to abandon their faith in God, even when faced with death (Hebrews 11:32-40).
a. These men and women would have rather been tortured than to deny their faith.

b. They still didn't receive the fulfilment of the promise of the Holy Spirit coming to live inside of them.
i. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us to speak directly to us.

2. In order for you to be victorious in life, you must first receive the seed of faith.
a. You must first believe God's Word in order to experience victory (Mark 9:23).
b. Faith is a must if victory is your dream.
c. Just as you need oxygen to breath, you must have faith to be spiritually "alive" in the kingdom of God.

C. God will perform what He has spoken to you (Luke 1:45).
1. God won't support or perform anything that He didn't tell you to do.
a. If you are doing something God didn't tell you to do, stop.
b. Make sure you hear from God before stepping out on anything.

D. Faith commands blessings; it is your foundation.

1. Faith is the foundation to which you must add other spiritual forces (Psalm 11:3; 2 Peter 1:5).
a. You can't do anything without a strong foundation.
b. Faith is your access to the power of God.
i. Faith will connect you to your God-given ability to get results.

2. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

a. The written Word (logos) or the Rhema Word (spoken directly to your spirit) are the two ways God will speak to you.
i. God will implant His Word in your spirit through the Rhema Word.
ii. The Holy Spirit will speak directly to your spirit.

b. You must have sufficient knowledge of the written Word before you can hear God speak directly to you.
i. The written Word is the gateway to the spoken Word.
ii. Behind every scripture is a revelation that God wants to speak directly to you.
iii. The gates of hell cannot prevail against a Rhema Word spoken directly to you from God.
iv. The spoken Word of God becomes your anchor to keep you grounded through the storms of life.
v. Meditate on the written Word long enough to receive a Rhema Word from God.
vi. God's spoken Word will always line up with His written Word; His method of operation never changes.
vii. Noah was able to continue building the ark in the face of ridicule because of the Word he had received from God concerning future events.

E. The key to your victory lies in your ability to hear God's voice.

1. Saul, a persecutor of Christians, heard the voice of the Lord on the road to Damascus and his life was changed forever. His name was changed to Paul and he became a great apostle.
a. Those who were with Saul on the Damascus road all saw the light, but only he heard Jesus' voice because God's message was specifically for him (Acts 22:6-10).
b. The light represents hope, while the voice is the substance that will cause you to triumph.

2. Being able to clearly hear God's voice is critical to you being able to do exploits in the kingdom of God.

3. You may be able to hear the Word through the verses of scripture, but are you able to hear God's voice?

4. Only take steps after you have heard from God.
a. Examples: marriage, jobs, business endeavours, etc.

Scripture References: 1 John 5:4; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Hebrews 11:32-40; Mark 9:23; Luke 1:45; Psalm 11:3; 2 Peter 1:5; Romans 10:17; Acts 22:6-10