Faith that goes the distance

Bible proclaims in Romans 10:17 that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the word of God.” The word hearing should not be taken literally using physical ears but it is hearing within one’s spirit being. In my Christian walk, I have realised that the only way the word of God produces faith in a believer’s life is when the word lives within the soul of a believer resulting in a life changing experience.
Simply put, the engrafted word becomes alive and real on the heart of the hearer and he or she will manifest a transformed life befitting principles of the word of God in their daily lives. Therefore, the level of faith is dependent on the amount of the living word engrafted within one’s inner man.
Faith is the foundation of Christian character and the security of a soul. Hebrews 11:6, says, “But without faith it is impossible to please God.” An extensive search of the word “Please” reveals that to please someone is to be in agreement with them. If I could paraphrase this verse 6, it now reads. “But without faith it is impossible to line your life up in agreement with God.” 
In Christianity, faith believes in an unseen God through His Son Jesus Christ. Faith believes that the entire world happenings are controlled in the spiritual realm. Faith in Christianity is centred on Jesus Christ as the object of adoration.
The reason why I chose to bring faith as a subject is that taking from Hebrews 11:6, you would see that God is not happy with many contemporary faithless Christians today. Faith is for today whereas hope is for tomorrow, but for us to walk with God now, we need faith! For one to tap into the abundant resources of God, one’s life must be in agreement with God. The success of one’s Christian walk and relationship with God is determined by the level of one’s faith. Indeed, faith is the backbone of a victorious Christian experience.
In his teachings on the subject of faith, Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa said if a Christian decides to make God happy, faith has to be developed in Him each time he or she relates with Him. Breaking down the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 Prophet Makandiwa compared faith with the cake ingredients like salt, flour, eggs, milk etc. Demonstrably, with all the necessary ingredients put together, one will have a cake. Faith is a quiver in a believer’s heart who desires to communicate with God. Faith is a spiritual hand that one can stretch in order to reach out and receive from God. When faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live, hence prayer and faith are Siamese twins.
Faith does the impossible. For example the story of the woman with the issue of blood recorded in Mark 5:34 is a perfect example of faith doing the impossible. Faith is power that qualifies our limitations and our lack of qualifications. The object of faith should be able to transfer power. Faith trusts. Faith has something it must do to the object it believes in. The difference between a Christian and a demon is that a demon believes in God, but it does not do anything about it, whereas a Christian believes in God and validates His commandments and believes in them and acts on them.
A great man of faith Prophet Makandiwa has demonstrated that there is a level of faith in every contemporary Christian that should sustain him or her in their Christian walk. He said a person is who he or she is according to the faith that he or she possess. Bartemeous had faith in Jesus so that he would have his eyesight restored and yet he remained poor. He developed faith in one area of his need but lacked faith to break foundational poverty.
Faith has to be confessed in order to attract what it believes in. Prophet Makandiwa teaches that one has to keep confessing his faith in order for the word of God to come to pass. When one speaks about that which one does not physically see until he or she realises it, that’s faith. God Himself operated in faith as recorded in Genesis 1:3. “Let there be light and there was light.”
Prophet Makandiwa teaches that all things created by God have ears, that’s why Jesus said; “You shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he sayeth” (Mark11:23).
Even mountains, trees and man made objects like machines and other things have ears to hear and they can only hear the language of faith.
Faith has no replacement, it cannot be substituted. No man can operate in this realm and achieve great things in this life without faith. God does answer prayers offered with faith. Faith is a divinely ordained vehicle that carries a Christian to the sacred place where he can meet his God. Faith will endure to the end. Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac to be born.
Caleb waited 40 years to receive his land. Noah waited 120 years to receive his physical salvation. Faith does not look at the calendar, but to Christ Jesus. Hope may last a few minutes or a few months. Faith will endure until it is replaced by the thing for which we believe God for. One servant of God made this observation, “Faith that fizzles out at the finish, had a flaw in it from the first.”
In our nation of Zimbabwe, God has raised his servant Prophet Makandiwa and others. It is our duty to believe in God who sent him and others for our benefit and our future posterity’s benefit. 2 Chronicles 20:20 supports my point of view that “believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established and also believe in His servants, the Prophets and you shall prosper.”
Zimbabweans have faith in God! Let us have faith in the servants of God whom He sends for our prosperity. The prosperity of the nations of this world lies in the hands of God’s servants. Faith is an awareness of God, an experienced communion, a real fact. Faith needs guarding, that’s why Christ was so much concerned for the welfare of His disciples and was determined to strengthen Peter’s faith by His own victorious prayer, Luke 22:31 and 32.
Faith takes the place of evidence of things not seen. We sometimes talk of seeing with the eye of faith. It brings into view what can be seen in no other way. It keeps us focused upon the promises of God.
A stronger faith determines how victorious one is in one’s spiritual life. Is your faith strong enough to go the distance? Remember Hebrews 11:6, “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.”
Zimbabweans, have faith in God.
l Pastor Takura Rukwati is a serving member of UFIC.